When times are hard it’s easy to impress April 20, 2011 SHAREHOLDERS may have been handed a carrot today in the form of a reinstated dividend, but long-term a return to the stick is looking more and more likely. Argos has been underperforming for Home Retail Group since Christmas 2008, and unless Terry Duddy really throws his weight behind it that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. [...]
Reckitt profit rises despite Becht’s exit April 20, 2011 RECKITT Benckiser beat first-quarter earnings forecasts – boosted by its recent SSL acquisition – after last week’s shock news that chief executive Bart Becht was to retire sent its shares tumbling. The British maker of Cillit Bang cleaners and Nurofen painkillers, which took over Durex condoms and Scholl sandals maker SSL late last year, said [...]
Heineken sales in acquisitions boost April 20, 2011 HEINEKEN said yesterday it will raise its advertising spending this year as it reported a 22 per cent increase in first-quarter sales. Net profit was €151m (£133.5m) at the world’s second largest brewer. It said sales grew 22 per cent to €3.59bn from a year ago, mostly due to the company’s acquisition of Dos Equis [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THERE LIFE AFTER BART BECHT? April 20, 2011 ANDREW WOOD | BERNSTEIN Fears by some investors that the departure of Bart Becht heralded a disappointing quarter are unfounded. Growth was led by continued strong growth in the developing markets …with flat growth in Europe not being the disaster that some had feared. We are not surprised to see the stock react positively MARTIN [...]
Ideal Shopping agrees takeover April 20, 2011 TV CHANNEL Ideal Shopping’s management is teaming up with the private equity group Inflexion to buy the company. Ideal announced last year that it was reviewing its options. It said yesterday that its independent directors have agreed a sale worth 220p a share with Bidco, a vehicle that brings together Ideal directors Mike Hancox and [...]
Waitrose takes the challenge to Ocado with warehouse opening April 20, 2011 WAITROSE is setting itself up to directly compete with Ocado, by opening a massive “virtual shop” in west London to step up the delivery of orders from its website in the capital. Waitrose will use the the warehouse in Acton to store goods ready for dispatch. The supermarket has a clause in its contract with [...]
Tate & Lyle sells Vietnam branch April 20, 2011 TATE & LYLE yesterday announced that it has agreed to sell its Vietnamese sugar business in a cash deal worth £33m, subject to regulatory approval. The sale to Vietnam firm TH Milk Food Joint Stock Company is part of the firm’s efforts to address its debt pile. The transaction is conditional on the Vietnamese government [...]
No rate rise in sight for King and his doves April 20, 2011 TWO thirds of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) still oppose moves to normalise interest rates, despite rising price pressures. The Bank expects inflation in the coming months to exceed its February predictions, it said yesterday. “There remained a significant risk that inflation would exceed five per cent,” the MPC’s minutes revealed. However, [...]
Gross mortgage lending springs back in March April 20, 2011 MORTGAGE lending bounced back in March from the previous month but is still two per cent lower than a year ago, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed yesterday. Evidence of a seasonal recovery for the UK’s housing sector is emerging, as gross mortgage lending rose 21 per cent from £9.3bn in February [...]
American home sales are set for bumpy recovery April 20, 2011 HOME sales in the US bounced back in March, reflecting “uneven recovery” in the housing sector, data showed yesterday. Sales of existing homes jumped 3.7 per cent compared to February, exceeding expectations, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said. Compared to March 2010, sales were 6.3 per cent lower – yet this partially reflects elevated [...]
