Boards are in the spotlight October 11, 2011 THE DIVERSITY policies of several UK firms that still have no female board members will be in focus today, as they receive a letter from the Prime Minister urging them to make clear their plans for change. Lord Mervyn Davies recommended in February that women should make up a quarter of boards of FTSE 100-listed firms [...]
Family businesses see sales hike August 17, 2011 THE economy may be weighed down by high inflation and unemployment but family owned businesses appear to be weathering the storm. The top 10 family owned firms all increased their sales in the last year. Total sales for the UK’s biggest family-owned businesses rose 10.2 per cent to £35.5bn, driven by a strong performance from the [...]
A feast fit for a king to raise money for our real heroes February 7, 2012 The City’s hottest dinner ticket – the Square Mile Salute – is almost upon us again: and this year the organisers are hoping even to surpass last year’s fantastic evening. The charity event will see a bakers’ dozen of the country’s finest chefs prepare amazing canapés and caviar and an unbeatable six course feast accompanied [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 12, 2011 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS Panmure Gordon rates the owner of Silver Spoon and Twinings as a “buy” and said it remained confident of its 14 per cent earnings per growth forecast for the year. ABF last week confirmed that trading for the first two months of the year is in line with expectations and that it [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 12, 2011 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS Panmure Gordon rates the owner of Silver Spoon and Twinings as a “buy” and said it remained confident of its 14 per cent earnings per growth forecast for the year. ABF last week confirmed that trading for the first two months of the year is in line with expectations and that it [...]
AB Foods hit by slowdown at Primark February 28, 2011 A SLOWDOWN at Primark’s British stores hit the shares of owner Associated British Foods (ABF) yesterday as tax rises and inflation squeezed consumer spending. The budget retailer’s like-for-like sales growth slowed to three per cent in its first half. Primark has been a star performer for the company but with materials like cotton spiralling in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 17, 2011 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS Nomura said the recent run of group earnings downgrades looks to be coming to an end. It said like-for-like sales growth of between 2-3 per cent in ABF’s retail division and favourable EU sugar pricing would offset weakness in its ingredients division. It said it was optimistic about a recovery in 2012 [...]
AB Foods hits £10bn but warns over price rises November 9, 2010 THE company behind clothes chain Primark and kitchen staples such as Kingsmill bread and Ovaltine yesterday reported that sales passed £10bn for the first time. Revenues at Associated British Foods (ABF) rose 10 per cent to £10.2bn in the 53 weeks to 18 September, while profits jumped 26 per cent to £825m. That allowed ABF [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 19, 2011 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS Credit Suisse rates the retail group “overweight” with a target price of £10.60. The broker expects underlying group earnings to reach £353m, a rise of 6.6 per cent on last year, when ABF reports half-year results next Wednesday. It thinks like-for-like sales at Primark will be down three per cent, with the [...]
Primark “performing well” in tough market September 13, 2010 Clothing chain Primark has continued to perform strongly despite the tough consumer environment and expects annual sales growth of six per cent, owner Associated British Foods (ABF) said. The strength of sterling against the dollar helped the chain when goods were bought in the dollars because of a favourable exchange rate, the company said. However [...]