TRAVEL NOTES January 16, 2011 Dukan Diet’s idyll Let us hope the troubles in Tunisia are over soon. The year’s must-do diet has launched a residential programme in Tunisia at the idyllic Residence Tunis. The three-part plan will see you drop pounds through reducing carbohydrate and fat, gorging on 28 different vegetables and eventually, resuming your normal diet. One for [...]
Northern Foods still open to other takeover bids says CEO January 13, 2011 NORTHERN Foods reported in line Christmas trading yesterday, as its acting chief executive said the door was open for tycoon Ranjit Boparan to make a counter bid that could derail its merger plans. Northern Foods is set to put its £1.7bn merger with Irish food manufacturer Greencore to a shareholder vote on 31 January, but [...]
Tesco shares drop on poor Xmas figures January 13, 2011 TESCO shares took a hit yesterday as it announced disappointing Christmas sales figures. Like-for-like sales in the UK missed forecasts, rising just 0.6 per cent in the six weeks to 8 January. The company blamed the poor weather on the performance with its larger stores worst hit. Tesco shares were one of the poorest performers [...]
Halfords hit as bike sales fall January 13, 2011 HALFORDS issued a worse-than-expected profit forecast yesterday as poor sales of children’s bicycles over Christmas hit the retailer. Cycle sales fell 16 per cent on a like-for-like basis as parents bought gadgets and electronic games instead of bikes. The weakness in bicycles was in contrast to strong car maintenance sales which were up 12 per [...]
Analyst views: Will Tesco bounce back from poor Christmas sales? January 13, 2011 PHILIP DORGAN | ALTIUM SECURITIES If we were to be critical, then we would say it has fallen short of how the market would have expected it to have performed from the time of its third-quarter announcement, whereas Sainsbury’s has actually done better. CLIVE BLACK | SHORE CAPITAL The good ship Tesco UK is certainly [...]
Dixons sees trade dented as the dire weather claims another retail victim January 13, 2011 DIXONS Retail yesterday forecast full-year profit around the bottom end of market expectations after Christmas sales were hit by December’s adverse weather. The company, which runs the Currys and PC World chains in Britain, UniEuro in Italy, Elkjop in Nordic countries and Kotsovolos in Greece, said it expected underlying profit before tax in the range [...]
Game bullish for full-year despite fresh competition January 13, 2011 COMPUTER games retailer Game Group posted 2.1 per cent lower like-for-like sales over Christmas and said annual profit would be within analysts expectations despite increasing competition from downloads. The company has been hit by an absence of new console launches in 2010, increased competition from supermarkets and changing gaming habits, with people increasingly playing mobile [...]
Tesco trading update sends investors running for cover January 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index fell yesterday as a disappointing trading update from Tesco upset food retailers and tobacco stocks were hit by a broker’s downgrade. At the close, the FTSE 100 was down 26.84 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,023.88, after hitting a 31-month closing peak on Wednesday. Tesco was the biggest FTSE 100 [...]
Provident Financial pre-Christmas sales help profits exceed market predictions January 13, 2011 DOORSTEP lender Provident Financial said 2010 results would be slightly ahead of market expectations after sales of loans strengthened further in the run up to Christmas despite disruption caused by heavy snow. “The group had a strong finish to 2010 and expects to report results slightly ahead of market expectations,” chief executive Peter Crook said [...]
Ferrovial returns to BAA talks January 13, 2011 SPAIN’S Ferrovial is in talks with investors to sell 10 per cent of UK airport operator BAA, which runs London’s Heathrow, by June, its chief executive said, in a move to halve a €24.5bn (£20.5bn) debt pile. Ferrovial will seek offers for the stake, estimated last year to be worth about €200m, in the last [...]