Suiting that’s fit for a king January 20, 2011 THERE’S a moment in the movie du jour, The King’s Speech, when Colin Firth’s Bertie, Duke of York (and future George VI) goes to Balmoral where his brother Edward, the Prince of Wales (Guy Pearce, above right) is hosting a rather racy party. Firth shows up wearing a kilt, and looks rather a ninny compared [...]
EasyJet takes £18m hit from snow January 20, 2011 EasyJet took an £18m hit from last month’s big freeze, though the pain was eased by rising first-quarter revenues as more travellers opted to fly with the low-cost carrier. The budget airline said that revenues for the final three months of 2010 rose 7.5 per cent to £654m pounds as passenger numbers rose 8.8 per [...]
Primark fuels AB Foods sales rise January 20, 2011 Primark-owner Associated British Foods reported a ten per cent rise in first-quarter sales led by its discount fashion retailer and saw further growth ahead despite the effect of higher commodity costs. The London-based group, which markets Silver Spoon sugar, Twining tea and Ovaltine drinks, said on Thursday its 214 Primark store chain had traded well [...]
UK economy has hit turbulence again January 19, 2011 AFTER a run of good news, the UK economy has hit choppy waters once more, though hopefully conditions will soon improve again. Growth bounced back between February and October 2010. Since then, manufacturing has remained buoyant; but services have slowed, especially in December (the snow was bad). Construction is slowing. The services sector purchasing managers [...]
UK sales help eBay results top forecasts January 19, 2011 ONLINE retailer eBay beat Wall Street estimates during Christmas trading, posting a five per cent rise in quarterly revenue to $2.495bn (£1.56bn). Net revenue dropped 59 per cent year on year to $559.2m, the firm said yesterday, following massive gains from selling internet phone service Skype in the same quarter last year. Underlying earnings rose [...]
Kesa profit squeezed by Comet sales January 19, 2011 ELECTRICALS retailer Kesa yesterday warned that profits would be at the lower end of expectations due to weaker sales at its UK chain Comet. Total like-for-like sales for the period between 1 November and 18 January were down four per cent. But Comet sales plummeted 7.3 per cent as tough competition, lukewarm consumer sentiment and [...]
ASOS surge driven by overseas sales January 19, 2011 SALES at online fashion retailer ASOS soared by 59 per cent over the Christmas period – with its international performance driving the company forward. Overseas sales jumped by 156 per cent while poor weather in the UK hit deliveries. The firm said UK retail sales increased 23 per cent to £56.3m, in the three months [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT IS DRIVING THE ADVANCE OF ASOS IN A TOUGH CONSUMER ENVIRONMENT? January 19, 2011 PHILIP DORGAN | ALTIUM SECURITIES With the launch of the US website going well, ASOS has accelerated its growth, as expected and management has reinvested margin gains in the offer, again, as expected. We are maintaining our ‘Hold’ recommendation. We are bullish that ASOS will hit its sales target, but think that the short-term outlook [...]
Credit fears for HMV send shares lower January 19, 2011 SHARES in HMV Group plunged yesterday after the music and book retailer confirmed some of its suppliers have had levels of credit insurance cut. A shadow has been cast over HMV since it issued a profit warning earlier this month with store closures ordered in an attempt to cut costs. The share price sank by [...]
William Hill in lift from online betting profit January 19, 2011 BOOKMAKER William Hill has said its annual operating profits are set to be at the top end of forecasts. It reported strong revenue growth in the final three months of 2010, in part thanks to a big jump in online business. Web-related revenue grew by a quarter compared with a year earlier, while retail revenue [...]