ANALYST VIEWS: WILL THE SUPERMARKET’S PLANS ATTRACT INVESTORS? March 10, 2011 PHILIP DORGAN | ALTIUM SECURITIES Morrisons has grown its sales, profits, margins and return on capital. Not bad considering the state of the consumer economy. It is to return £1bn to shareholders over the next two years and has committed to double digit dividend growth. We are maintaining our ‘buy’ recommendation. RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES [...]
Morrisons profit up as it unveils share buyback March 10, 2011 Supermarket group Morrisons has reported a rise in annual profit and issued details o f a share buyback plan. The company announced a pre-tax profit of £874m for the 12 months to the end of January, up from the £858m it made in the same period a year ago. Like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT, [...]
Insurance companies all under one umbrella March 7, 2011 THOSE hoping for huge short term gains to be had from shorting companies with significant underwriting and re-insurance exposure to either the Middle East and north Africa (MENA), or to Christchurch may be disappointed. Listed companies are understandably cagey about just how much exposure they have to those areas, and syndicates with underwritten liability are [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 6, 2011 GlaxoSmithKline Judy Lewent and Stacey Cartwright have been appointed as non-executive directors of GSK and will join the Board from 1 April 2011, when they will both become members of the firm’s Audit & Risk Committee. Lewent is the former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Merck & Co, and Cartwright is executive [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 6, 2011 WM MORRISONS Evolution Securities is backing the supermarket retailer ahead of its full-year results on Thursday this week. It sees “little room for any major positive surprise” in the numbers, as the UK consumer environment remains subdued and the food retailers remain under pressure. Yet it is upbeat on possible news of a share buyback [...]
Margin focus boosts Taylor Wimpey profit March 3, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey improved its operating margins to post an underlying annual profit ahead of expectations. Revenues remained flat for the construction firm at £2.6bn in the year to 31 December 2010, whilst the number of homes completed dropped to 14,272 from 15,166 a year earlier. An increase in average selling prices helped the builder [...]
Taylor Wimpey returns to profit March 3, 2011 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey swung to an underlying annual profit, ahead of expectations, and said it was evaluating proposals for its North American business. The builder is in the process of selling its Taylor Morrison operations to pay down debt and focus on its domestic market, with a growing list of potential buyers, including Canada’s privately-held [...]
Morrison sells off his stake in grocery chain March 1, 2011 SIR Ken Morrison, former chairman of Wm Morrison Supermarkets, has sold off his 6.07 per cent share in the grocers to less than one per cent over the last 18 months, the company has revealed. Wm Morrison said that it was notified yesterday of its former chief’s dealings, which have seen him sell over 130m [...]
Supermarket sales slowing as shoppers rein in spending March 1, 2011 SALES growth at grocers slowed in February, despite higher prices, according to market research published yesterday, adding to signs of growing caution among consumers since the start of the year. Kantar Worldpanel said grocery sales rose 3.9 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 20 February, down from 4.2 per cent growth for the [...]
Housebuilder nears £584m asset disposal February 28, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey is in the final stages of selling its Northern American businesses, City A.M. can confirm, with a handful of bidders left in the running. US peer Meritage Homes placed a bid for the firm before Friday’s deadline, a source familiar with the deal said yesterday, while privately-held Canadian firm Mattamy Homes is [...]