Halfords hit by soaring price of fuel October 6, 2011 A SURGE in petrol prices has further dented sales at Halfords as cash-strapped drivers are forced off the road. The retailer said like-for-like sales fell 2.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to 30 September, compounding a 1.1 per cent drop in the previous three months. Sales of car maintenance products were down 3.3 per [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS HALFORDS ON THE RIGHT PATH? October 6, 2011 NICK BUBB | ARDEN PARTNERS It is disappointing to see profits under-shooting at the Autocentre business, but we are holding our full-year group profit before tax forecast at £99m, after a solid quarter two in the core business. Having expected to have to downgrade again, we are relieved by today’s news and so, despite the [...]
ICG attracts €1.1bn to new fund October 6, 2011 Buyout funder Intermediate Capital Group yesterday said it has raised €1.1bn at the first closing of its new Europe fund, well on the way to its €2bn target. Around €500m came from the firm’s investment company. ICG said in a trading update that its mezzanine funds are performing well compared with private equity funds, and [...]
TNT Express warns on profits October 6, 2011 Dutch freight and delivery firm TNT Express issued a profit warning yesterday as the global economic slowdown led more customers to snub air transport in favour of cheaper shipping. TNT Express, which listed in May after it split from Dutch mail group PostNL, cut its 2011 outlook and said it saw revenue pressure in Europe, [...]
Ferrexpo pellet production rises October 6, 2011 Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo said total production of pellets in the third-quarter was slightly higher than last year, helping send the firm’s shares up 10 per cent. Total pellet output rose about 1.5 per cent to 2.33m tonnes in the third quarter, the company said yesterday.
Greggs is on a roll as sales grow again October 6, 2011 HIGH street baker Greggs yesterday reported a rise in sales growth in the third quarter despite the squeeze on consumer spending. Like-for-like sales rose 0.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to 1 October, the company said in an interim management statement. That compares with a rise of 0.4 per cent in the first half [...]
Legal market overhaul starts as Tesco law comes into force October 6, 2011 SUPERMARKETS, banks and other high street stores are now able to offer legal services to their customers, after a new law to liberalise the UK’s legal sector came into force yesterday. The Legal Services Act, dubbed the Tesco law, introduces the idea of alternative business structures (ABS), which allow law firms to seek outside investment, [...]
Cranswick is boosted by shoppers’ switch to pork October 6, 2011 SAUSAGE specialist Cranswick has seen an increase in pork sales as consumers switch to cheaper meats. The group, which issued a profits warning in July, said the versatility and relatively low price of pork are key to this positive trend. It added that the growing popularity of pork products has been a contributory factor to [...]
TED BAKER BUCKS HIGH STREET GLOOM October 6, 2011 British designer clothing brand Ted Baker yesterday posted strong first-half results led by growth in its overseas and online businesses, and raised its interim dividend 13.5 per cent. The fashion retailer, which began as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1987, said for the 28 weeks to 13 August, pre-tax profits rose to £8.5m from [...]
EasyJet looks to open new French bases October 6, 2011 LOW-COST carrier easyJet has unveiled plans to open two new bases in France next year, stepping up the competition with the nation’s flagship carrier Air France-KLM. EasyJet announced yesterday it will add two Airbus 319 aircraft in Nice and Toulouse airports, bringing the airline’s number of French bases to five – with the other three [...]
