Is Tesco saved? A small victory for Dave Lewis in the supermarket’s Christmas results, but 2016 remains a challenge January 14, 2016 Tesco reported its best Christmas trading results since Dave Lewis has been at the helm but does this really mean that ‘Drastic Dave’ and his management team can breathe a little easier? The dynamics of grocery shopping has changed with value and convenience the two biggest factors for consumers. Competition has never been fiercer so it would [...]
Asos on fleek? Share price dips despite strong sales growth January 14, 2016 Online fashion retailer Asos unveiled results ahead of expectations this morning, with retail sales of £446.9m in the four months to the end of December, up 22 per cent from last year. But that wasn't enough to impress investors. The figures In a statement this morning, the retailer said group revenue had risen 23 per cent to [...]
Home Retail Group’s share price rises despite disappointing figures as break up of Homebase and Argos looms January 14, 2016 Home Retail Group has warned that profits will be at the lower end of expectations, after a "mixed" performance from Argos. The figures Argos like-for-like sales decreased 2.2 per cent in the 18 weeks to 2 January to £1.84bn, although new digital concessions added in the past year contributed 3.1 per cent to growth. At Homebase, like-for-like sales grew by five [...]
Tesco’s share price soars as supermarket beats expectations for Christmas trading as sales rise January 14, 2016 Tesco has beaten expectations for its Christmas trading, with sales up for the six weeks to 9 January, prompting the supermarket's share price to soar more than seven per cent this morning. The figures The UK's largest retailer grew group sales by 2.1 per cent in the six weeks to 9 January, with UK like-for-likes [...]
GoPro share price dives after camera company announces disappointing sales and staff cuts January 13, 2016 Shares in wearable camera company GoPro dived 22 per cent in after-hours trading yesterday after the company estimated revenue would be below expectations. GoPro said it is expecting sales revenue of $435m (£301m) for the final three months of 2015, below analysts' expectations. Shares dropped to $11.22. “Fourth quarter revenue reflects lower than anticipated sales of its capture [...]
Australia’s Wesfarmers in advanced talks to buy Home Retail Group’s Homebase for £340m January 13, 2016 Home Retail Group last night signalled the break-up of its retail empire after revealing that it is in advanced talks to sell Homebase to one of Australia’s biggest listed companies for £340m. The Perth-based Wesfarmers, which operates department stores and supermarkets as well as coal production facilities, began talks with Home Retail in September before [...]
Dunelm share price drops as the homeware chain blames the weather for disappointing Christmas sales January 13, 2016 Dunelm's share price has tumbled nearly five per cent after the homeware chain blamed the warm winter weather for disappointing second quarter sales, placing it among the retail losers this Christmas. The family-owned listed company, which has 151 stores selling everything from curtains to sofas, said like-for-like sales slid by 0.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to 2 January after stripping out the impact of [...]
CMC confirms it will float on the London stock market earlier than expected in February 2016 and hopes to raise more than £240m, despite market swings January 13, 2016 Spread-betting company CMC Markets today confirmed it was proceeding with plans to float on the London stock market. The long-awaited announcement followed weeks of speculation in the City that financier and former Conservative treasurer Peter Cruddas was looking to take his company public with help from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who have been advising CMC on the [...]
FTSE 100 index rises over 6,000 mark as it opens sharply higher on oil companies as share price of BP and Shell rise with pharmaceuticals including Shire and AstraZeneca January 13, 2016 The FTSE 100 climbed back over the 6,000-point mark in the first hour of trading today, as the index rose after positive trade data from China helped abate fears of a possible slowdown in the world's second largest economy. Improvements in Chinese export data appear to suggest that while the economy is slowing, things may not be nearly [...]
Sainsbury’s share price drops, while Home Retail Group’s rises on back of detailed plan for renewed Argos bid January 13, 2016 Sainsbury's trading update may have beaten expectations – but attention has been focused on the supermarket's bid for Argos parent Home Retail Group. Although the original offer was rebuffed, Sainsbury's has until 2 February to decide whether to make a second bid. Renewed speculation has pushed Home's share price up five per cent, although Sainsbury's share [...]