B&Q owner Kingfisher’s profits fall 30% amid cost of living crisis

Chief executive calls on government to give more support to people on lower incomes in mini-budget

Profits at the B&Q owner Kingfisher fell by almost a third in the first half of the year as the pandemic DIY boom came to an end, but the company is benefiting from soaring demand for home insulation.

Pretax profits at Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix chains in the UK along with Castorama and Brico Depot in France, fell to 474m in the six months to 31 July, a near-30% drop from a year earlier.