Nokia reports a loss January 26, 2012 DESPITE selling over one million Lumia handsets since mid-November, Nokia has struggled to scratch the surface of the Apple dominated smartphone market. Fourth quarter operating earnings at the Finnish telecoms group swung to a loss of €954m as Nokia’s $250m partnership with Microsoft failed to make waves. The Christmas quarter brought in €10bn from net [...]
DARK HORSE HSBC TAKES RETAIL SITE IN LATE BID January 26, 2012 HSBC is committed to the City of London – for its latest retail opening, at least. The Capitalist hears the bank has gazumped a well-known restaurateur to emerge as the new tenant at 1 Bishopsgate, after offering a far higher, undisclosed, sum to turn the disused property into a “premier suite” retail bank in time [...]
Retail sales in biggest drop for three years January 26, 2012 Retail sales suffered their biggest annual fall in nearly three years in January, as shoppers reined in spending after picking up pre-Christmas bargains, an industry survey showed on Thursday. The Confederation of British Industry distributive trades survey’s balance for reported sales volumes plunged to -22 in January from +9 in December, its lowest level since [...]
Mitchells & Butlers sales better than forecast January 26, 2012 Restaurants and pubs group Mitchells & Butlers reported a better than expected first quarter sales rise, benefiting from milder weather over the Christmas and New Year period and strong demand for casual dining. The company, whose chains include Harvester, Toby Carvery and All Bar One, said it was confident of further growth in the year [...]
Lending slows as consumers pay back more January 25, 2012 BANK lending continued to slow in December, but remains up on 2010’s figures according to data published yesterday by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). New mortgage lending hit £8.7bn in the month, 12 per cent higher than in December of 2010 and the strongest month of 2011. However, annual net growth in the sector slowed [...]
Strong food shop performance has boosted jobs, retailers say January 25, 2012 RETAIL employment rose in the final quarter of 2011 as food shops prospered, reversing declines seen in the previous six months, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed yesterday. The final three months of the year saw a 0.5 per cent rise in retail employment compared with the same quarter of 2010 – equivalent [...]
Shop slump fails to faze WH Smith January 25, 2012 WH SMITH cheered investors yesterday after the books and stationery retailer posted an improvement in profit margins despite sales continuing to fall. Chief executive Kate Swann said the group had delivered a “resilient” performance in a challenging market after like-for-like sales fell five per cent for the 21 weeks to 21 January. The FTSE 250 [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: DID WH SMITH’S RESULTS MARK AN IMPROVEMENT? January 25, 2012 PHILIP DORGAN | PANMURE GORDON Management has now successfully shifted the seasonality of the business, but a break up looks unlikely in the short run and top line momentum is likely to remain subdued. We think shares currently lack a catalyst. JOHN STEVENSON | PEEL HUNT WH Smith delivered Christmas trading in line with subdued [...]
Child’s play: the UK toy market in 2011 January 24, 2012 THE UK was the top European market for toy sales in 2011, despite modest growth of just three per cent over the year. Sales in the Christmas week boosted figures, climbing 15 per cent thanks to the extra shopping day as Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday. In that one week alone sales totalled £131m, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 23, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES HAYWARD ACCUSED OF LYING TO US CONGRESS Lawyers for plaintiffs suing for damages over the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 have alleged that Tony Hayward, BP’s former chief executive, lied in a court statement and gave untruthful testimony to the US Congress when he testified about the spill. In a filing at the [...]