Quiz: How well do you know your Tesco catastrophes? October 23, 2014 Has Tesco hit rock-bottom? The supermarket's chairman, Sir Richard Broadbent, announced his departure this morning on the back of first-half results showing the profit "overestimation" it had originally thought £250m, but £263m. The news sent Tesco shares down by a surprisingly muted 5.6 per cent in early afternoon trading, although analysts didn't mince their words when [...]
Quiz: How well do you know your Tesco catastrophes? October 23, 2014 Has Tesco hit rock-bottom? The supermarket's chairman, Sir Richard Broadbent, announced his departure this morning on the back of first-half results showing the profit "overestimation" it had originally thought £250m, but £263m. But this isn't the first time Tesco has come off the rails. How well do you know your Tesco catastrophes? Test yourself below. [...]
The good, the bad and the ugly: What the analysts say about Tesco October 23, 2014 It’s another dark day for Tesco. The supermarket's estimated £250m profit black hole was even larger than expected at £263m, £70m of which came prior to the period it initially identified as problematic. Profits collapsed 91.9 per cent as it took the hit of the accounting error, it completely ditched its forecasts, cash flow was [...]
Unilever share price falls as it records lowest growth in five years October 23, 2014 While Dave Lewis is putting out one fire at his new employer Tesco, things back at Unilever are also looking less than rosy. The consumer goods business, where Lewis had worked for 28 years before becoming Tesco chief executive, this morning reported its weakest rate of quarterly sales growth in five years. Underlying [...]
Who will replace Tesco chairman Richard Broadbent: Runners and riders October 23, 2014 Wanted: Heavyweight to lead a City institution. Must be good with numbers and new people. Retail knowledge preferred. Must be willing to have difficult conversations, understand customers and be confident in implementing new strategies. Hobbies should include "brand archeology". It’s a tough job. Is there anyone who would want to fill chairman Richard Broadbent’s shoes [...]
Tesco share price: The rise and fall of a retail empire in one chart October 23, 2014 We knew it was bleak for Tesco, we were just waiting to put a figure to the despair. Now we know: the profit overstatement was understated by £13m (the final figure was £263m) and a 91.9 per cent plunge in pre-tax profits to £112 million for the first half of the year. The results are [...]
Tesco firefighter Dave Lewis has no time to pause as results come in October 22, 2014 It's day 53 for Dave Lewis as chief executive of Tesco. Ordinarily, that might be a time for a new boss to pause for breath, but the firefighting engulfing him since his arrival looks like the first act of a much longer-term drama. The word emerging from Tesco’s Cheshunt HQ is that there will [...]
Is Waitrose boss Mark Price right that the Big Four supermarkets are “20 years out of date”? October 22, 2014 James McGregor, director of Retail Remedy, says Yes. Mark Price is correct that structural shifts in retail are a far bigger threat to the Big Four (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons) than Aldi and Lidl. Yes, the discounters are a problem, but they’re not the big problem. The main issue is that people’s grocery shopping [...]
Tesco share price wobbles ahead of results: Here’s how the last four weeks unfolded after that profit overstatement October 22, 2014 Tesco’s share price opened slightly higher this morning but then dipped 1.3 per cent after a two day rally. It's a slight waiver after the supermarket made steady gains this week, with a 2.7 per cent rise on Monday and 3.5 per cent on Tuesday. It signals a positive start to the week in which [...]
Three things to look out for from Tesco’s results tomorrow – other than the numbers October 22, 2014 When Tesco publishes its first-half results tomorrow, including an update on its investigation into an expected £250m profit black hole, all eyes will be on the numbers. Initially, investors will look for the specifics of exactly how much profits were "overestimated" by, and what effect it has on the supermarket's previously reported profits and future [...]