Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, reported an increase of 37 per cent in net profit for the period of six months ended August 1, owing to improved trading by its division B&Q and cost cutting measures.

Kingfisher pocketed net profit worth £201 million in the first six months of 2009 as compared with £147 million in the same period last year.

Company's revenue soared to £5.5 billion against £5.13 billion a year earlier, representing an increase of 7.3 per cent.

B&Q posted a rise of 66 per cent in profits to £137 million, B&Q cautioned against challenging months ahead.

Speaking on the topic, Ian Cheshire, Kingfisher's CEO, said, "Looking forward, given widespread economic uncertainty, we continue to plan for challenging times."

The company, which operates over 820 stores in 8 European and Asian countries, also owns Castorama, Brico Depot stores in France.

Kingfisher announced an interim dividend of 1.925p-a-share.

In the recent trading, shares in Kingfisher gained 2.1 per cent.