E-cigarette demand boosts sales for British American Tobacco August 1, 2019 Demand for e-cigarettes boosted first half sales for British American Tobacco (BAT), mitigating the decline in demand for traditional smoking products. The figures Revenue in the first half rose 4.6 per cent to £12.17bn. Read more: Dividend star British American Tobacco gets cheaper The Lucky Strike and Pall Mall owner said profit from operations slumped [...]
Lego Movie 2 fails to deliver for Merlin Entertainments August 1, 2019 Theme park operator Merlin Entertainments reported weaker trading at Legoland in the first half of the year due to poor weather and a lack of visitor momentum from the latest Lego film release. Read more: Merlin Entertainments accepts £4.8bn takeover offer The figures Revenue rose in the 26 weeks to 29 June to £763m – [...]
Buoyant Next shows retailers how it is done July 31, 2019 Investors exposed to the troubled sector of retail property were dealt a fresh blow during trading today. Shopping centre landlord Intu led the market fallers after it cancelled its dividend and posted mounting losses, wiping 32 per cent off an already-battered share price. Read more: Shop prices fall as retailers tempt customers with discounts Although Intu’s downward spiral [...]
Body found in search for Indian coffee tycoon VG Siddhartha July 31, 2019 The body of missing Indian coffee tycoon VG Siddhartha has been found near a river on the outskirts of the city of Mangalore. Siddhartha – the founder of Starbucks rival Cafe Coffee Day – disappeared on Monday after reportedly walking away from his car and driver. Read more: Cafe Coffee Day founder goes missing The [...]
McDonald’s trials Fleet Street takeaway store for City workers July 31, 2019 McDonalds has today launched a trial takeaway-only store in Fleet Street targeting City workers on the move. The new “grab-and-go” format marks the fast food giant’s attempt to adapt to the needs of different customers during a difficult time for the restaurant sector. Read more: McDonald’s revenue and income falls The Fleet Street McDonald’s to [...]
Intu share price crashes as it cancels dividend amid mounting losses July 31, 2019 Intu’s shares plummeted this morning as it cancelled its dividend and fell to an almost £900m loss for the first six months of 2019. The retail landlord admitted there were “no quick fixes” as it blamed the wider retail collapse for its property woes. Read more: JP Morgan downgrades shopping centre landlord Intu Instead it [...]
Just Eat profits plunge 98 per cent on delivery investment July 31, 2019 Just Eat saw profits plummet in the first half of this year due to investment in its delivery platform, however revenue was up as more customers signed up to the takeaway app. The figures Profit before tax plunged 98 per cent from £48.1m to £800,000. Revenue was up 30 per per cent from £358.3m to [...]
Next leads FTSE 100 as it ups profit forecast after sales boost July 31, 2019 High street retailer Next announced this morning it expects to make more profit this year than previously forecast after a boost in full price sales. Shares in the company rose more than seven per cent this morning as it increased its full year profit guidance by £10m to £725m, a boost of 0.3 per cent [...]
Travis Perkins confirms Wickes demerger plans July 31, 2019 Travis Perkins has confirmed that it is planning to spin-off DIY retailer Wickes as the builders merchant revealed it made a profit in its half-year results. Read more: Travis Perkins accelerates plans to sell Wickes The figures Like-for-like revenue grew eight per cent to £2.7bn. Operating profit was £64m in the six months to 30 [...]
Ladbrokes Coral-owner GVC hit with £5.9m fine over safeguarding failures July 31, 2019 Ladbrokes Coral’s owner GVC has been fined £5.9m by the Gambling Commission after it found the bookmaker failed to put in measures to prevent money laundering and customers coming to harm between 2014 and 2017. GVC, which acquired the bookmaker in 2018, has been ordered to make a series of changes to its business and [...]