B&Q parent company Kingfisher hailed a near 50% jump in annual profits yesterday amid a strong performance for its UK DIY business.

Kingfisher saw adjusted pre-tax profits leap to £547m in the year to January 30, compared with £368m in the previous 12 months.

Profits at the UK and Ireland arm soared 64.5%, benefiting from total sales growth in the year as the home improvement market remained resilient despite the recession.

Kingfisher said its UK division, which also includes Screwfix, saw total sales increase 1.2% to £4.4bn during the year, with retail profit growing to £217m.

A brighter spring last year and the trend for customers to “improve not move” helped offset the economic downturn.

B&Q saw same-store sales improve 1.3% as better weather drove demand for outdoor products, while kitchen, bathroom and bedroom sales grew 7%.

The retailer said improved merchandising, new ranges and competitor withdrawal helped to drive B&Q’s market share at a time of weak demand for “big ticket” purchases.

Customers looking to spruce up their homes cheaply offset the lower home moving activity, meaning DIY and decorative products remained “relatively resilient”, with a 2% sales fall.

B&Q has driven an improvement in margins by making fewer price cuts, driving through supply chain savings and better sales of high-margin products.

This helped the DIY chain to grow retail profit by 79.4% to £195m. It completed a revamp programme for nine large and eight medium-sized stores last year and added 1% more space.

It now has 119 large stores and 211 medium outlets in UK and Ireland.

Its other UK business, trade supplier Screwfix, saw sales decline 4.3% to £471m.

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