It’s a hat trick: Standard & Poor’s downgrades Tesco October 24, 2014 Standard & Poor's became the final major credit ratings agency to downgrade Tesco today, when it lowered the supermarket's long-term rating from BBB to BBB-. S&P said the downgrade "reflects our view that Tesco's credit metrics will weaken due to lower profitability". It came after the supermarket, which last month admitted it had "overestimated" profits [...]
Tesco share price drops to its lowest in over a decade October 24, 2014 After a devastating few days for Tesco, it would be understandable if the supermarket’s head honchos woke up this morning thinking things couldn’t get much worse. Unfortunately, though, the misery continued this morning after Tesco’s share price crashed to its lowest price for over a decade. Shares in the stumbling retail giant fell [...]
Battered Tesco is close to junk October 23, 2014 TESCO could be forced to scrap its dividend and sell chunks of its global empire, after its credit rating was downgraded to one notch above junk, driving up the cost of borrowing and underlining its dire financial plight. The warnings came after the supermarket’s profits dived 92 per cent and its chairman announced he was [...]
Tesco is shopping for a new chairman October 23, 2014 SIR RICHARD Broadbent yesterday announced his plans to leave Tesco, and said he felt the need for a demonstration of accountability by the supermarket’s bosses. His decision came as the firm revealed its pre-tax profits had slumped 92 per cent on the year to £112m in the first six months of its financial year. Sales [...]
FTSE recovers but Tesco’s woes drag down rival retailers – London Report October 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index recovered yesterday and ended slightly higher, tracking a broad rally in US stocks following some strong earnings results, although a slump in Tesco and Unilever capped gains. The FTSE 100 index ended up 0.3 per cent at 6.419.15 points, after falling as much as 1.4 per cent during the day. Troubled [...]
Dave Lewis’s shopping list: Blueprint for a Tesco turnaround plan October 23, 2014 Another update, another set of gloomy results from Tesco. The pattern is now well established, and yesterday’s weak trading numbers didn’t come as a great surprise. But one thing that did surprise was the apparent lack of a forward strategy. What is new chief executive Dave Lewis going to focus on? The issue of price [...]
Tesco’s credit ratings downgraded by two agencies October 23, 2014 Credit agencies Fitch and Moody's have downgraded Tesco's rating – with the latter saying it could be dropped further to junk status depending on the outcome of the ongoing investigation into its accounting practices. Moody's has dropped the rating on Tesco from Baa2 to Baa3, while Fitch has dropped it from BBB to BBB-. [...]
What businesses will Tesco sell after ruling out a rights issue to raise cash? October 23, 2014 Tesco may be in dire straits, but a rights issue was ruled out by chief executive Dave Lewis this afternoon. Rather, the team will look “to extract value” from the business, most likely by selling off some of its non-core business assets. The supermarket sells much more than just groceries after embarking upon a rapid [...]
Tesco boss Dave Lewis in video interview says “We’ve got to be a little bit disappointed” October 23, 2014 Tesco boss Dave Lewis has taken to YouTube to talk about the supermarket’s troubles after posting a 91.9 per cent drop in profits and a £263m profit understatement. “We’ve got to be a little bit disappointed," said Lewis, erring towards an understatement rather than overstatement this time. “It’s fair to say it’s been a challenging [...]
Tesco share price falls again: Chairman Sir Richard Broadbent steps down as profit overstatement is bigger than thought October 23, 2014 Shares in Tesco closed down 6.6 per cent in early afternoon trading, after the supermarket posted first-half results showing statutory profit before tax, which includes one-off items, collapsed by 91.9 per cent to £122m in the 26 weeks ended 23 August 2014. Sir Richard Broadbent, Tesco's chairman, announced he will step down, while the embattled [...]