DIY chain Kingfisher to return cash to investors

Kingfisher, Europe's biggest home-improvements retailer, said Tuesday that it will return cash to shareholders after annual profits rose by a quarter, sending its share price surging. London-listed Kingfisher said in a results statement that it would return £200 million ($329.9 million, 239 million euros) to investors in its current 2014/2015 financial year, which could take the form a share buyback and special dividend. The group added that it had agreed to sell its entire 21.2-percent stake in Germany peer Hornbach for £195 million following a review of the investment. Kingfisher said that its net profits jumped 25.9 percent to £710 million in the group's 2013/2014 financial year that ended on February 1. That compared with profit after tax of £564 million in the same part of the previous year. The company, which runs the B&Q home improvements chain in Britain as well as Castorama and Brico Depot stores in France, added that revenues grew 5.2 percent to £11.13 billion. In reaction, the group's share price soared by more than seven percent in morning deals. The stock later stood at 427.8 pence in early afternoon trade, up 5.24 percent from Monday's closing level, topping London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies. The FTSE was 1.16-percent higher at 6,595.96 points.