Reckitt Benckiser: Dettol, Durex and Gaviscon drive growth but America lags April 23, 2025 Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser has reported an uptick in profit driven by its core brands and emerging markets despite a slowdown in North America. Group revenue at the company rose by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year. This growth was driven by emerging markets China and India, where like-for-like revenue [...]
M&S: FTSE 100 giant battling cyber attack April 22, 2025 M&S has revealed it has been battling what it has described as a “cyber incident” over the past few days. The FTSE 100 giant said that it’s made some “minor, temporary changes to our store operations to protect customers and the business” and “we are sorry for any inconvenience experienced.” M&S confirmed that it is [...]
Wilkinson Sword makes first profit since pandemic April 22, 2025 Wilkinson Sword surged back into the black for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The High Wycombe-headquartered business reported a pre-tax profit of £7.2m for the 12 months to 30 September, 2024. The profit is the first since Wilkinson Sword reported a £337,000 surplus in [...]
Diageo looks to luxury to drive growth April 22, 2025 The past three years have been challenging for the global alcohol giant Diageo. The group booked a windfall during the pandemic years as stuck-at-home consumers splashed out on high-end alcohol to drown their sorrows, but this explosive growth soon evaporated. Diageo, best known for its Guinness and Johnnie Walker scotch whisky brands, struggled against the [...]
InPost acquires competitor Yodel to become UK’s third-largest delivery firm April 17, 2025 Poland-based InPost has acquired competitor Yodel as it cements ambitions to grow in the UK market. InPost expects the deal to boost its market share to eight per cent, as well as rapidly increasing its capacity to more than 300 million parcels annually. Under the terms of the deal, InPost has acquired 95.5 per cent [...]
Sainsbury’s warns on growth as trolley wars heat up April 17, 2025 Sainsbury’s has said it expects no profit growth in the next year as competition in the grocery market intensifies. The supermarket giant reported retail underlying operating profit of £1.036bn in the 52 weeks ended March 1, up 7.2 per cent from £966m last year. It said double-digit growth at its Sainsbury’s retail arm was partially [...]
WH Smith: High street profit slumps ahead of Modella sale April 16, 2025 WHSmith’s high street division has reported a significant drop in trading profit, falling by over 30 per cent as it prepares for its sale to private equity firm Modella Capitlal. The retailer’s high street business delivered a profit of £15m for the six months to Febuary 28, 2025, down from £22m in the same period [...]
Frasers to launch Sports Direct in Australia and New Zealand April 15, 2025 Frasers will enter into a long-term agreement with wholesaler Accent Group to launch Sports Direct across Australia and New Zealand in the next step in its international growth plans. The 25-year partnership aims to rollout up to 100 Sports Direct stores across the region, which would boost the total number of Sports Direct stores by [...]
B&M: Poor UK sales weigh on earnings for bargain retailer April 15, 2025 Discount retailer B&M expects full-year earnings to fall year on year as poor UK sales weigh on overall company performance. However, the company told markets this morning that it expects to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) above the midpoint of its £605m-£625m guidance range. The firm lowered its expected full-year EBITDA [...]
Halfords: Sales jump but retailer warns tariffs could hit supply chain April 15, 2025 Motoring and cycling specialist Halfords has reported an uptick in sales but warned US President Donald Trump’s tariffs could push up costs across its supply chain. The retailer and services provider told markets this morning that sales grew 2.3 per cent in the year to March 28. Its share price rose more than 13 per [...]