Why Kingfisher’s CEO is ‘bullish’ about 2025, despite cost headwinds

Kingfisher boss Thierry Garnier is feeling relatively optimistic about the year ahead, despite the DIY giant posting a 35% drop in pre-tax profits.
The retail group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, saw its profits plunge to £307m in the year to 31 January as like-for-like sales slipped 1.7% to £12.8bn.
However, in the UK and Ireland, retail profits edged up 0.6% to £558m as sales across the two retail chains cumulatively rose 1.2% to £6.5bn on a constant currency basis.