New Kingfisher exec swoops for shares

Andrew Bonfield, who was appointed to the board of Kingfisher in February, has opened his account with the home improvement retail group.

The non-executive director bought 10,000 shares at 245.15p a time in the B&Q owner, paying a total of £24,515.

Bonfield was the chief financial officer of Cadbury, the British chocolate manufacture that was recently taken over by the US food giant Kraft. He has performed the same role at the pharmaceuticals companies Bristol-Myers Squibb and SmithKline Beecham.

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Kingfisher, which also owns the Castorama and Brico brands in France, raised its dividend for the first time in five years in March after profits bounced back in 2009.

Debt also tumbled and the group has now expanded its capital investment plans.

Total sales from on continuing businesses grew 4.8% to £10.5bn on a reported rate basis, and 1.1% on a constant currency basis. On a like-for-like basis, group sales were down 1.5%.

'Looking ahead, we remain cautious on the outlook for consumer demand across Europe,' chief executive Ian Cheshire said.

'However, we are confident that our experienced management team, successful international strategy and buying scale mean we will be able to drive continued growth through our own actions.'

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