Business news with words announced+chain+profits. 4 news.

Kingfisher, the home improvement retailer and the company behind the B&Q chain, announced a drop in profits yesterday, saying that UK consumer demand is likely to "soften further".

Stage Stores Inc., the Houston-based chain of clothiers including Palais Royal, said today third-quarter profits sank by 13 percent to $2.4 million and announced a stock buyback plan.

Boeing is putting more money and people behind its delayed 787 Dreamliner program as it grapples with new schedule targets, the company said Wednesday. The company has sent hundreds of manufacturing and procurement employees out to work with its six major partners to deal with bottlenecks and other supply chain issues, Boeing chairman and chief executive Jim McNerney said after the company reported its third-quarter financial results. Boeing announced earlier this month that it had delayed initial deliveries of its popular 787 jetliner by six months because of out-of-sequence production work, software integration and parts availability. The delays will cause revenue to decrease $3.5 billion next year from previous estimates, although profits are expected to remain on track. Boeing will spend about $200 million more in 787 research and development costs because of the changes, officials said. But production will continue, and Boeing plans to deliver 109 Dreamliners by the end of 2009, down three from the original plan.

THE world's largest restaurant company, McDonald's Corp, has raised prices on some menu items in China. The move comes as rapid food inflation and rising wages cut into its profits in the fastest-growing major economy, Bloomberg News reported. The price of a Big Mac hamburger, Premium Grilled Chicken Sandwich and sundaes increased by 0.5 yuan (seven US cents) on September 28, while an Extra Value Breakfast rose 0.5 yuan to 1.5 yuan, an emailed statement sent by McDonald's China Co said yesterday. McDonald's faces increasing costs in China even as it pins high hopes for sales growth. Consumer prices in the world's most populous nation climbed at the fastest pace in 10 years in August, and the Oak Brook, Illinois-based fast-food chain last month announced wage increases in the country. Energy prices "Not only do you see commodity prices increasing across the board, but the costs to operate, such as energy prices, are also increasing dramatically" in China, Scott