The boss of Kingfisher is to leave before the end of a five-year restructuring programme after the DIY group reported another year of falling profits.
The group behind the Screwfix and B&Q chains said a decision had “been made to launch the succession process for the position of chief executive”, although no date for the departure of Véronique Laury, 53, has been given.
The outgoing executive is one of only six women who head a FTSE 100 company and her departure comes after a number of shareholders in the retail group agitated for change amid lacklustre results.
Laury’s exit was announced as Kingfisher reported a 13% fall in pre-tax profits to £693m in the year to 31 January 2019, with poor trading at its French chain Castorama more than offsetting a stronger performance in the UK. When one-off costs related to property, restructuring and store revamps were included, pre-tax profit slumped 53% to £322m.
Kingfisher is also considering closing 15 loss-making stores over the next two years, including three B&Q shops.
Click here for the full Times article (£)
Click here for the full Telegraph article (£)
