DIY chain Kingfisher’s profits drop 30% amid economic uncertainty; Mike Ashley to leave Frasers board – business live

Key events 5m ago Full story: Mike Ashley to step down from Frasers Group board 7m ago Kingfisher sees boom in insulation products 45m ago Pub group Fuller’s hit by soaring energy bills 1h ago Mike Ashley to step down from Frasers Group 1h ago Introduction: Kingfisher profits drop as DIY boom ends Filters BETA Key events ( 5 ) 5m ago 08. 47 Full story: Mike Ashley to step down from Frasers Group board Here’s our news story on Mike Ashley’s decision to step down from the board of Frasers Group , which owns high street brands including Sports Direct and House of Fraser. The move comes 40 years after he opened his first shop in Maidenhead, and shortly after Frasers returned to the blue-chip FTSE 100 index.

Mike Ashley to step down from Frasers Group board Read more 7m ago 08. 45 Kingfisher sees boom in insulation products Julia Kollewe Sales of insulation products, such as loft insulation, are booming as people try to cut their energy bills this winter, Kingfisher reports. At B&Q, there are up 110% compared with pre-pandemic levels over the last three weeks, CEO Thierry Garnier told reporters, and 82% higher than a year ago.

Overall, across the group, insulation sales are up 70% from 2019, and 32% higher than a year earlier. Garnier has also called on the UK government to announce more support for people on lower incomes this Friday, when it unveils its ‘mini-budget’. He also said cost pressures were easing, in particular costs of raw materials like metal and plastic, and freight costs.

9m ago 08. 43 Photograph: Katie Collins/PA Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny also flagged the rising economic uncertainty saying: . css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.

5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} “While sales continue to recover from the effects of the pandemic, we are conscious that consumers face increasingly challenging times ahead. And he urges ministers to provide more clarity on its energy bill support for businesses. .

css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1. 5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} “Businesses across the hospitality sector are experiencing unsustainable increases in energy costs. Despite having proactively purchased forward contracts to limit the impact on Fuller’s, we will see significant increases this year and do urge the Government to provide much needed clarity on its proposed support package so that we can plan accordingly.

Business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is expected to set out government’s energy support package for businesses on Wednesday, once MPs have returned to parliament following the Queen’s State funeral yesterday. 22m ago 08. 30 Shares in magazine publisher Future have tumbled by 15% in early trading, following reports that its successful CEO, Zillah Byng-Thorne, is looking to step down.

Sky News reported that Byng-Thorne, who has run Future since April 2014, has told its chairman she plans to retire from the publisher of Country Life and FourFourTwo magazines in the next 18 months. Future publishes a swathe of other titles, from Marie Claire to Metal Hammer, and also owns website such as TechRadar and comparison site GoCompare. Exclusive: Future, the London-listed media group behind Country Life, FourFourTwo and Marie Claire, is to kick off the search for a successor to Zillah Byng-Thorne, the veteran CEO who transformed it from an ailing £30m minnow to a £2bn digital powerhouse.

https://t. co/1dFbG0967d — Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) September 17, 2022 The company doubled its profits last year, thanks to strong revenues from magazine sales, digital advertising, and e-commerce in the boom in pandemic online shoppping. Staff at magazine publisher Future to share in £10m bonus pot Read more Last year Future’s shares soared to almost £40, from £14 in early 2020 before the pandemic.

But they’ve sunk back since, and are now down to £13. 90 this morning. Future’s share price over the last five years Photograph: Refinitiv Future has also made some layoffs across its publications.

Games Industry. biz says the changes affected staff on TechRadar Gaming, Android Central, Windows Central and iMore. It is with regret that a very small number of colleagues were affected, following a structure change to one vertical of our extensive brands.

With the current climate and addressing these challenges, it was a very difficult decision for us to make. — Future (@futureplc) September 13, 2022 45m ago 08. 07 Pub group Fuller’s hit by soaring energy bills Pub chain Fuller’s has warned that its gas and energy bill could more than double this year due to the global energy crisis.

Fuller, Smith & Turner says its energy costs are on course to hit £18m this financial year, up from £8m – although the government’s promised package of support could bring the bill down. The pub chain says: . css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.

5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} On 8 September 2022, the Government announced a new six-month scheme that will offer support to businesses at a similar level to that offered to consumers. As the details are yet to be published, we do not know, and are unable to quantify, the extent to which the scheme will mitigate increased costs. Prior to realising any financial benefit from this scheme, we expect our total gas and electricity costs in the current year to be c.

£18 million against a prior year figure of £8 million. Liz Truss’s energy bailout: key points at a glance Read more Fuller’s had purchased forward contracts to cover half of its gas and electricity needs for the year, and has added more contracts to provide some certainty over the winter months. The company has grown total sales by 50% year-on-year in the first 25 weeks of the financial year, thanks to the easing in Covid restrictions, putting them 3% up against pre-pandemic levels.

Fuller’s sales above pre-covid levels amid concern over ‘unsustainable rise’ in energy costs https://t. co/RsqVB8VVYg pic. twitter.

com/uCQNDqUJ6J — City A. M. (@CityAM) September 20, 2022 Updated at 08.

37 BST 1h ago 07. 48 Mike Ashley to step down from Frasers Group Retail chief Mike Ashley Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Mike Ashley is to set to step down as a director at Frasers Group , signalling the end of an era for the Sports Direct founder. Ashley, 57, will not be standing for re-election as a director at its annual general meeting and will step down from the board on October 19.

Ashley, who is also the company’s biggest shareholder through his investment vehicle, will provide Frasers with £100m of additional funding. Frasers Group started as a small store in Maidenhead in 1982. As well as Sports Direct, it also owns House of Fraser, and retail brands including Jack Wills, Sofa.

com and Evans Cycles. Ashley had already handed the reins of his retail empire over to son-in-law Michael Murray, who became chief executive of the company in May. “Since Michael Murray took over the leadership of Frasers Group earlier this year, the business has gone from strength to strength,” said Ashley, adding: .

css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1. 5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} “It is clear that the Group has the right leadership and strategy in place and I feel very confident passing the baton to Michael and his team. ” Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group to hand nearly £21m to incoming chief Read more Updated at 08.

11 BST 1h ago 07. 45 Introduction: Kingfisher profits drop as DIY boom ends Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the world economy and the financial markets. Profits at DIY chain Kingfisher have dropped by almost a third as the boom in pandemic home improvements ends, and the cost of living squeeze hits budgets.

Pretax profits at Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix chains, fell to £474m in the six months to 31 July, the firm reported this morning, down from £677m a year earlier. Sales dipped by 4% compared with the first half of 2021, when Covid-19 restrictions and the move to home working meant many households were improving their homes and gardens. Profit margins dropped as the firm tried to juggle rising raw material costs and supply chain pressures.

CEO Thierry Garnier insists the company has delivered “very resilient” sales in the first half of the year, pointing out that like-for–like sales are still 16. 6% above pre–pandemic levels. Encouragingly, Kingfisher is back to ‘pre-pandemic levels for in-store product availability’, after supply chain problems led to gaps on shelves.

The company says it is seeing good demand in ‘outdoor and ‘big-ticket’ category sales. But Garnier also warns that Kingfisher – like the wider retail sector – faces economic uncertainty: . css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.

5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} “Looking to the months ahead, although trading in the year to date has been in line with our expectations, we remain vigilant against the more uncertain economic outlook for the second half. We are therefore focussed on delivering value to our customers at a time when they need it most. Kingfisher – just a few impacts from a move away from strong Covid period demand for B&Q items.

Screwfix naturally less impacted and “strong and consistent execution, support our confidence in continuing to grow ahead of our markets. ” Call at 9 am will be important / insightful pic. twitter.

com/Lfo80wksdX — Chris Bailey (@Financial_Orbit) September 20, 2022 Kingfisher’s falling profits is the latest sign that Britain’s retail sector is facing tough times. Last week, Wickes flagged that the pandemic-fuelled DIY boom has significantly slowed, while John Lewis made a first-half loss of £99m and warned the outlook in the run-up to Christmas was “uniquely uncertain”. John Lewis suffers first half loss of £99m and warns of risk to staff bonuses Read more Also coming up today With the mini-budget looming on Friday, Labour are asking who will pay for Liz Truss’s tax and spending plans.

Pat McFadden, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, highlighted the difference between Labour’s proposals to fund an energy price freeze with a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and the Conservatives’ unfunded plans. He said under the Tory proposals, which will probably be paid for by borrowing, “working people will be left paying the bill for years to come” and the “fundamental question which remains unanswered on this is who pays, and what do you get for it?” Here’s the full story: ‘Who pays?’: Labour go on the attack over Truss’s energy plans Read more The London stock market is due to open higher, after being closed yesterday for the bank holiday to mark the funeral of Queen Elizabeth. European Opening Calls: #FTSE 7279 +0.

59% #DAX 12886 +0. 65% #CAC 6102 +0. 66% #AEX 667 +0.

28% #MIB 22275 +0. 61% #IBEX 8030 +0. 46% #OMX 1888 +0.

53% #SMI 10640 +0. 21% #STOXX 3518 +0. 53% — Pedro Gallego Gil (@_SirPeter) September 20, 2022 Investors are focused on central banks, with the US Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates sharply again on Wednesday, and the Bank of England likely to follow suit on Thursday.

The agenda 7am BST: German PPI factory prices for August 8. 30am BST: Sweden’s Riksbank interest rate decision 1. 30pm BST: US housing starts and building permits 1.

30pm BST: Canadian inflation for August Topics Business Business live Stock markets FTSE Sterling Kingfisher Mike Ashley Frasers Group Reuse this content.