ANALYST VIEWS: WHY DID DIAGEO’S RESULTS LEAD TO A DROP IN SHARE PRICE? February 10, 2011 MARTIN DEBOO | INVESTEC Given the momentum around the stock in recent months, where we sense that enthusiasm for a gradual American recovery, buoyant M&A speculation and anticipation around a compelling first-half profit story have galvanised the share price. This is a a poor result with further hangovers to come. The market had assumed there [...]
Diageo hit as sales slow down in Europe February 10, 2011 SHARES in drinks giant Diageo dropped yesterday after the company said that European sales were weakening and that it was pinning its growth hopes on middle class drinkers in emerging markets. The company said like-for-like sales in the six months to 31 December rose four per cent to £5.3bn. Operating profit increased two per cent [...]
Arena bags Olympic contract February 10, 2011 The UK’s largest racecourse operator Arena Leisure said yesterday it had won a catering contract for the 2012 London Olympics, which was expected to boost its profit. The company, which would provide catering services at two venues for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, said its 2012 net profit contribution from the contract would [...]
Esprit profit drops February 10, 2011 Clothing retailer Esprit Holdings posted a 21 per cent fall in first-half net profit and will switch its textile sourcing to Bangladesh from southern China to cut costs. Esprit, like rivals such as the world’s No3 fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz faces the challenge of rising raw material costs, such as cotton, which will pressure [...]
Jaeger moves into Russia February 10, 2011 Jaeger has signed a deal with JamilCo, one of Russia’s leading luxury brand distributors, to bring the British brand to Russia. The first two stores are set to open in spring 2011 in Moscow, with more to follow in autumn 2011 in Moscow and St. Petersburg. “We are delighted to be expanding into the Russian [...]
La Rinascente in sale talks February 10, 2011 Italian department store chain La Rinascente could be put up for sale, after its three major stakeholders started discussions about selling their shares. Investment bank Deutsche Bank, which owns just under a third of the 13-store chain, Italian landlord Prelios, which owns a fifth, and Italian private equity firm Investitori Associati, which owns 46 per [...]
Winter freeze sees jump in energy supply February 10, 2011 INDUSTRIAL production jumped by half a per cent in December, fuelled by a surge in energy supply as households cranked up the heating, official data showed yesterday. Spikes in the supply of electricity (up 12.3 per cent) and gas (up 10.3 per cent) drove up the UK’s index of production, recorded by the Office for [...]
Do you agree with the bank’s rates decision? February 10, 2011 ANDREW CLAUDET | CHEESWORTHS “My gut feeling is they should have raised rates. It’s a tough call really. But I am worried about inflation because I think the rates they publish are not always indicative of costs, for example with petrol prices. I’m a saver so my savings aren’t going to be worth much.” GAJ [...]
Rates risk for repossessions February 10, 2011 REPOSSESSIONS fell by 24 per cent last year, while the number of mortgages in arrears also dropped, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. Yet stubbornly high inflation has heightened the risk of a hike in interest rates, which would lead to an upturn in repossessions, the CML said. “As we go through 2011, [...]
Inflation expectations rise across the Eurozone February 10, 2011 INFLATION expectations in the Eurozone have shot up, according to an official survey released yesterday. The anticipated rate of consumer price inflation for this year jumped from 1.5 per cent to 1.9 per cent, the European Central Bank (ECB) revealed. For 2012, expectations rose from 1.6 per cent to 1.8 per cent. “Although the forecasts [...]
