laugh to be raised

The country's two biggest home improvement chains have suffered a DIY calamity with B&Q posting a slump in sales and the owner of Homebase recording a loss of more than £50m. B&Q owner Kingfisher was dragged to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after blaming wet weather and teething problems with its restructuring programme for an 8pc slump in second-quarter sales. Like-for-like sales fell by 4.7pc during the three months to July 31. Kingfisher also admitted that ongoing problems in its French business, which includes Castorama and Brico Depot, had continued over the summer, with sales plunging by 3.8pc to £1.2bn. Paid content 10 Most Luxurious Cars Under $35k 10 Most Luxurious Cars Under $35k Kelley Blue Book What Does Your Net Worth Say About How You’ll Retire? What Does Your Net Worth Say About How You’ll Retire? Fisher Investments Recommended by Kingfisher chief executive Veronique Laury Kingfisher chief executive Veronique Laury In the UK, Kingfisher said B&Q was affected by a tough comparison with last year, as total sales fell by 7.8pc to £967m, worse than analyst expectations. The decline was partially offset by its tradesmen-focused Screwfix business, where sales rose 10.8pc thanks to new specialist ranges and its “digital capability”. The company is undergoing an £800m overhaul of its business, which it hopes will bring in around £500m more in profit each year by 2021. But Kingfisher warned that the transformation, which includes removing the amount of duplication of products across its businesses in UK, France, Russia and Spain, was causing “business disruption”. Chief executive Veronique Laury said there was a “significant amount of change” planned for the second half of the year. She added that she was “well aware this year would be challenging given the step-up in transformation activity” and that Kingfisher remained “cautious” on the outlook for the second half of the year. Homebase is now owned by Bunnings Homebase is now owned by Bunnings George Salmon, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It’s sometimes difficult to get a grip on the underlying direction of travel at Kingfisher, so dependent is the group on the vagaries of the weather. However, with the transformative 'One' Kingfisher plan suffering from disruption and like-for-like sales in both France and the UK in negative territory, there aren’t many bright spots for investors in these results. "A silver lining of sorts is that it looks like Kingfisher isn’t alone in having difficulties in the UK. The group’s flagship B&Q chain saw like-for-like sales fall 4.7pc, which is similar to the fall at Bunnings UK, the new owner of Homebase", he added. The British arm of Homebase owner Bunnings reported a £54m annual loss in its first full year of ownership of the DIY chain. Bunnings UK and Ireland said that onerous costs related to its purchase of Homebase as well as work to overhaul stores had affected trading, with sales of kitchen and bathroom products particularly affected. The company, which is part of the Australian Wesfarmers retail conglomerate, bought Homebase for £340m in February last year. Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder said the first four Bunnings pilot stores were opened in the UK and Ireland during the year with a format that was "resonating well with customers". He added: "While significant transition, separation and integration activity was undertaken throughout the year to progress the acquisition agenda, the volume and pace of repositioning Homebase affected store execution and consequently trading performance." The company warned that "trading is anticipated to remain challenging, particularly in the short term, as customers continue to adjust to the new offer". In June Bunnings unveiled plans to create 1,000 new jobs in the UK. It wants to have up to 20 Bunnings pilot stores in Britain by the end of this year.