Mitchells & Butlers suffers as its sales growth slows in economic uncertainty July 21, 2011 PUBS and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers said yesterday sales growth had slowed in the last two months and that the outlook was rocky because of the economic climate. M&B, whose chains include Toby Carvery and All Bar One, said underlying like-for-like sales were up 2.8 percent in the nine weeks to 16 July. Underlying [...]
B&Q decline takes toll on Kingfisher July 21, 2011 SALES at Kingfisher’s B&Q have slumped, with the company warning of “challenging” trading conditions. Like-for-like sales at B&Q, which has 330 stores, fell 6.7 per cent in the 11 weeks to 16 July. Kingfisher’s UK sales overall dropped by 5.5 per cent, with a good performance by trade supplier Screwfix offsetting some of the poor [...]
Halfords sales decline as fuel costs hit motorists July 21, 2011 CAR parts and bicycles retailer Halfords said the soaring cost of fuel has forced cash-strapped motorists to reduce mileage and scrimp on expenditure on their beloved cars. Motorists’ average mileage was down one to two per cent, the company said, while petrol has risen 15 per cent year-on-year. “When you are seeing the scale of [...]
Britvic blames cold for slump July 21, 2011 BRITVIC volumes in the UK in the last four weeks fell 8.2 per cent, while Irish volumes were down 13.2 per cent. Total revenue in its business across the globe rose 12 per cent to £324.9m. However, excluding Britvic’s French business, acquired last May, revenue declined two per cent due to weakness in Ireland. The [...]
Howden up as DIY dwindles July 21, 2011 KITCHEN supplier Howden Joinery is benefiting from a growing trend for consumers to shy away from do-it-yourself projects, it said on reporting a rise in first-half revenues and profits yesterday. The firm, which supplies kitchen units and joinery to over 200,000 small builders posted a near nine per cent rise in its first-half pre-tax profit [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN KINGFISHER TURN AROUND ITS FLAGGING UK SALES? July 21, 2011 RAMONA TIPNIS | SHORE CAPITAL Whilst the UK performance is much worse than we had expected, it is understandable given the pull through of summer ranges into quarter one and the closure of Focus with its promotional activity. The encouraging point is that gross margins are up for the quarter despite tough comparatives. We say [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 21, 2011 BNY Mellon Michael Cole-Fontayn has been appointed as the new chairman of EMEA at BNY Mellon, retaining his existing responsibilities as chief executive of the depositary receipts division. Cole-Fontayn succeeds Tim Keaney, chief executive of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, who is relocating to New York. Cole-Fontayn joined BNY Mellon in 1984 and has worked in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 21, 2011 ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT Singer Capital rates the fund manager a “buy” with a 275p target price ahead of its third-quarter results, which are expected to show a one per cent rise in assets under management and a strong upward trend in revenue margins as its asset mix shifts towards higher margin equity pooled funds. Singer [...]
Europe agrees sweeping new powers for rescue fund July 21, 2011 Eurozone leaders agreed at an emergency summit on Thursday to give their financial rescue fund sweeping new powers to help Greece overcome its debt crisis and prevent market instability from spreading through the region. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said leaders of the 17-nation currency area had agreed to ease lending terms to Greece, Ireland and [...]
Morgan Stanley beats forecasts July 21, 2011 Morgan Stanley has seen its second quarter revenues jump by 17 per cent, beating market expectations. The US bank’s net revenues totalled $9.3bn (£5.7bn) in the three months to 30 June, up from $8bn a year earlier. Morgan made a net loss of $558m, or 38 cents per share, during the quarter. However, it was [...]