Morrisons’ share price falls 2.5 per cent as dividend is cut on sales and profits decline March 10, 2016 Sales and profits at Morrisons have fallen again – but the supermarket management is talking confidently about progress made so far, and guided on future dividends in an effort to woo shareholders. Morrisons' share price was down 2.5 per cent in mid-morning trading, however, as investors digested the news that this year's dividend was being slashed [...]
Home Retail Group posts “significantly stronger” cash flow as time ticks on in Sainsbury’s vs Steinhoff bid for Argos March 10, 2016 Home Retail Group has revealed much higher cash flow levels and signs of improvement at Argos – the centre of a bidding war between Sainsbury's and Steinhoff. The figures Argos' like-for-likes dropped 2.6 per cent in the year to 27 February, to £4.1bn, as the retailer sustained second half declines of two per cent. Margins fell [...]
Zara owner Inditex to slow down store openings as consumers shift online March 9, 2016 Inditex shares rallied this morning after the world's largest fashion retailer posted a strong start to the year and said it will be slowing down the pace of store openings as consumers shop increasingly online. The Zara and Massimo Dutti owner said it plans to grow store space by six to eight per cent in the coming year compared with eight per cent [...]
FTSE 100 index opens flat as Prudential rises but miners extend losses after falling yesterdays March 9, 2016 The FTSE 100 index opened flat today, after it faltered yesterday on the back of weak Chinese trade data. The UK's blue-chip index rose 0.02 per cent to 6,126 points on the news. "The weakness of yesterday’s data merely serves to reinforce the importance of this weekend’s retail sales and industrial production data. A similarly abysmal showing here [...]
Supermarkets abandon more schemes as pressure mounts on Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Tesco March 8, 2016 The number of developments ditched by Britain's supermarket titans has jumped since the first half of the year, with construction and planning applications also in decline, new research shows. Property advisory firm CBRE's latest analysis of the grocery property market shows that the number of abandoned schemes rose by 13.3 per cent in the second half of 2015. Proposed projects [...]
Legalising cannabis would generate £1bn in tax, say the Liberal Democrats March 8, 2016 Legalising cannabis could raise £1bn annually in tax, a new study by the Liberal Democrats has claimed. According to the report, "credible estimates" have shown £1bn in government revenue could be raised, and the panel conducting the study recommended taxing cannabis in line with its potency. As has been the case in US states such as Colorado and Washington, [...]
Tesco’s share price climbs as it stems declines but Asda and Morrisons crowned worst performing supermarkets in the UK March 8, 2016 Tesco has continued to stem its declines, but Asda and Morrisons have tumbled further, according to Kantar Worldpanel's latest figures for the supermarket sector. Sales at Tesco fell 0.8 per cent – meaning its performance is still well below the sector average of 0.5 per cent growth – but a relative improvement on last month's decline of [...]
Retail sales run out of steam in February despite half-term and Valentine’s Day boost March 8, 2016 RETAIL sales slowed in February after a strong start to the year that was boosted by the January sales. Like-for-like sales rose by 0.1 per cent last month compared with February in 2015, when they had increased 0.2 per cent, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG’s monthly data released today. The February [...]
Urban Outfitters share price rockets as clothing company reports $1bn in sales in fourth quarter March 7, 2016 Urban Outfitters shares have jumped by almost six per cent in after hours trading, after the retail group announced fourth quarter earnings that beat expectations. Net income dropped to $73m (£51m) in the fourth quarter of the 2016 fiscal year, from $80m one year earlier, equivalent to 61 cents per share. Wall Street was expecting the [...]
Bed specialist Dreams reports tripled earnings, and sales up 19 per cent, after restructuring March 7, 2016 Dreams do come true for some. Bed specialist Dreams has reported a tripling in earnings, and sales up 19.4 per cent, in 2015. The figures The company reported earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of £21.1m, up 207 per cent from £6.9m in 2014 . This figure was pre-exceptional items – including one-off and non-recurring costs involving refinancing and restructuring [...]