Domino’s sales top forecasts January 5, 2011 THE country’s biggest pizza delivery firm Domino’s Pizza yesterday said it expected its 2010 pre-tax profit to beat market forecasts following a strong finish to the year, sending its shares to an all-time high. Domino’s, which operates the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, has excelled through challenging economic conditions as cash-strapped [...]
Next sees snow knock £22m off Xmas sales January 5, 2011 NEXT posted a slightly-worse-than-expected fall in underlying store sales at Christmas, blaming the hit to trade from snow in December. It said that even though it lost an estimated £22m of sales because of the snow it was still in line to hit forecasts. The group, which runs over 500 stores in Britain and Ireland, [...]
John Lewis boosted by Christmas sales surge January 5, 2011 JOHN Lewis Partnership reported bumper Christmas sales, despite the snowy conditions that robbed other retailers of a seasonal boost. Sales at its John Lewis department stores in the five weeks to 1 January were £545m, up 8.9 per cent from a year before. The strong performance was driven by its electrical and home technology department, [...]
CITY VIEWS: CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BUYING GOODS OR SERVICES THROUGH YOUR SMARTPHONE? January 5, 2011 ADRIAN MILNE | ACCENTURE “Yes. I really like the idea of purchasing food – and especially pizza – through my smartphone” ANDREW HIBBARD | TRANSATLANTIC REINSURANCE I’m on the fence. I could see myself buying from Amazon but with items like clothes, I’d much rather try them on” KEIR MCCARTHY | BULLHORN “Definitely. In fact, [...]
BP hires new head of PR after Gulf spill January 5, 2011 BP has hired one of chief executive Bob Dudley’s former colleagues to repair the company’s public image following the Gulf of Mexico disaster, sources close to the company confirmed yesterday. Peter Henshaw is set to join the firm as a senior executive in the next month, with responsibility for rebuilding the company’s reputation. He most [...]
Ocado soars to fresh highs as it leaves IPO blues behind January 5, 2011 SHARES in Ocado, the online grocery retailer, rose to a new record yesterday, reaching a high of 212.4p after lunch before falling back to close at 200p, giving the firm a market capitalisation of £1.1bn. The 200p close is 5p up on the previous day when Ocado shares traded above their 180p July flotation price [...]
Petrofac gives job to drilling boss who quit over oil disaster January 5, 2011 OIL services firm Petrofac has hired the former boss of BP’s exploration and production (E&P) arm to run its energy developments business, less than four months after he quit BP in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Andy Inglis, 51, will join the Petrofac board in March after relocating to London from Houston, [...]
TOP OF THE GAFFES January 5, 2011 IT’S NOT JUST BP: EVEN THE BEST MEDIA SPINNERS CAN’T STOP SOME CHIEF EXECUTIVES FROM CAUSING HAVOC WHEN PUT IN FRONT OF A MICROPHONE 1 Gerald Ratner called Ratners’ jewellery products “total crap” in 1991. His remarks wiped £500m from the value of the firm (later renamed Signet), and “doing a Ratner” became synonymous with [...]
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD: LORD FORSYTH REACHES THE SUMMIT January 5, 2011 FOLLOWING The Capitalist’s update on Tuesday regarding the progress of the eminent Lord Forsyth, he wrote yesterday with a triumphant missive and picture: He has at last reached the top of Antarctica’s highest mountain and had just enough energy left to take a few snaps of himself brandishing an ice pick atop the summit. The [...]
Hardy tanks as well disappoints January 5, 2011 British oil explorer Hardy Oil and Gas has abandoned a second exploratory well in India after failing to find enough gas to make the project commercially viable, sending its shares down 17.5 per cent. Reliance Industries, an Indian company that owns 90 per cent of the D9 field, agreed with Hardy to shelve the project [...]