Pernod Ricard bullish for 2010 as duty-free thrives April 29, 2010 FRENCH drinks group Pernod Ricard lifted its full-year profit target as it posted third-quarter sales above forecasts and said key markets such as the United States, Russia as well as duty free had improved. Pernod’s comparable third-quarter sales in North and South America combined rose three per cent, in Asia and the rest of the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS:?HOW DO YOU RATE WILLIAM HILL’S PERFORMANCE? April 29, 2010 NIGEL PARSON | EVOLUTION “This is a real self-help agenda situation. The key to William Hill is online because that is where the business is excelling at the moment. And the key performance indicator measure for that is very good. It is also just about to step up its marketing for the World Cup.” GEETANJALI [...]
Galiform’s revenues pick up as it cuts property debt April 29, 2010 BRITISH kitchen supplier Galiform reported a pick up in trading following a weather-hit slow start to the year, and said it had cut its property liabilities by £18m. The owner of Howden Joinery, which supplies kitchen units to small builders from over 450 depots, said yesterday sales rose 0.5 per cent on a same depot [...]
Whitbread boosted by Premier Inn chain April 29, 2010 Britain’s biggest hotel operator Whitbread reported a rise in full-year pre-tax profit as its Premier Inn hotel chain attracted holidaymakers by offering rooms for as little as £29 a night. Whitbread, which also owns Costa Coffee and the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pub restaurant chains, introduced new pricing initiatives to lure leisure customers to Premier [...]
London is key to Travelodge’s rapid growth ambitions April 29, 2010 TRAVELODGE’S London hotels helped the firm reap an eight per cent rise in revenue for the first quarter of this year. Hotels in the capital saw a surge in revenue of 16 per cent, compared to just four per cent across the rest of the country. The firm says it is now on track to [...]
Debenhams lingerie sales lifted by Carrie Bradshaw April 29, 2010 Sales of sultry lingerie among older women are booming in Britain thanks to the glamorous 40-somethings of “Sex and the City 2” and “Cougar Town”, retail chain Debenhams reported yesterday. The hit television show, and forthcoming feature film, featuring the bedroom antics of women in their 40s and 50s and their much younger partners, is [...]
HMV disappoints but says its summer will be strong April 29, 2010 HMV, the music, DVD, games and books retailer posted disappointing fourth quarter sales sending its shares down. The group, which runs over 400 stores under its own name as well as 313 Waterstone’s bookstores, said its like-for-like sales slipped 13.2 per cent in the 16 weeks to 24 April. Its stock tumbled 8.6 per cent [...]
Burger King tops Wall St forecasts on good margins April 29, 2010 Burger King reported a quarterly profit that edged past Wall Street’s expectations yesterday, helped by better-than-expected margins. The second-biggest US hamburger chain after McDonald’s had warned in March that bad weather in the central and eastern United States kept diners away during the quarter and it expected lower revenue and restaurant margins for the period. [...]
Sir Nigel Rudd resigns as chair of Pendragon April 29, 2010 SERIAL non-executive Sir Nigel Rudd, the man who co-founded and built up Williams Holdings, is to step down as chairman of motor dealer Pendragon, which was spun out of the conglomerate two decades ago. Rudd said yesterday he had been considering retiring from Pendragon for some time but had been prevented from leaving until now [...]
Hammerson says property market fragile April 29, 2010 ANGLO-FRENCH property investor Hammerson remains cautious about the outlook for the retail and commercial property markets, due to the weak economic recovery. “The economic recovery in our markets remains fragile, and uncertainties remain, not least regarding the level of unemployment and the prospect of further tax rises,” the company said yesterday . In the UK, [...]