Card Factory up on delivery of maiden results September 18, 2014 DISCOUNT greeting card shop Card Factory reported its half-year results yesterday, showing underlying profits that grew 9.3 per cent, but an overall £7.9m loss due to the costs of its initial public offering (IPO) in May. Revenues during the six months to 31 July rose 8.9 per cent to £149.4m on the back of an [...]
Confident shoppers Hoover up vacuums ahead of Brussels’ ban September 18, 2014 THE UK recovery received a fresh boost from confident consumers splashing out in August, official figures showed yesterday. Retail sales were up 3.9 per cent on the year in August, driven by sales of luxury goods and powerful vacuum cleaners that are being banned by the European Union. There was a six per cent uptake in purchases [...]
Furniture and vacuum cleaners drive retail sales into 17th month of growth September 18, 2014 Retail sales are starting to look healthier, with the volume of items bought in August up 3.9 per cent year-on-year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is the 17th month of consecutive year-on-year growth, prompting the ONS to say “it would be true to say that the underlying picture is one [...]
Card Factory share price up as it reports rise in underlying profit after IPO September 18, 2014 Card Factory released its half-yearly report today, showing underlying profit before tax at £14.9m for the first half of its 2015 financial year, up from £1.8m in the first half of 2014. But the group made a loss, as the cost of its May 2014 IPO and debt-refinancing issues forced it £7.9m into the red. [...]
PwC opens talks with operators over Phones 4u September 17, 2014 SUITORS picked through the remains of collapsed high street mobile retailer Phones 4u yesterday as administrator PwC entered negotiations with mobile operators and other interested parties over acquiring all or part of the business. PwC is understood to be looking to reach a deal within a 48-hour window that closes before the end of the [...]
JD Sports trading at record level September 17, 2014 JD SPORTS said yesterday it enjoyed record trading in the first half of the year as the sports retailer doubled profits. Revenue increased by 27 per cent to £721.5m in the six months to 2 August as sales at its sports stores, JD and Size?, jumped 28 per cent. The strong performance helped drive pre-tax [...]
London Report: Shares slip as FTSE waits for Scotland verdict September 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index yesterday slipped and underperformed gains on rival European bourses, as the uncertainty raised by Scotland’s vote on independence pegged back the UK stock market. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.2 per cent, or 11.34 points, at 6,780.90 points. Engineering conglomerate Smiths Group was the worst FTSE stock in [...]
JD Sports share price jumps 7 per cent as it posts record profits September 17, 2014 Shares in JD Sports rose seven per cent in mid-morning trading as the retailer posted record first-half results as its pre-tax profits soared, rising 170 per cent to £16.4m. Revenue also jumped to £721.4m, an increase of 27 per cent. The bulk of the growth was in the company's UK and European sectors. Peter Cowgill, [...]
Shares slump as Asos issues third profit warning September 16, 2014 ASOS suffered a wardrobe malfunction with investors yesterday, after the online fashion retailer issued its third profit warning in seven months. The former stock market darling warned it would need to cut prices across its international markets, including Australia, after the strength of sterling made the price of its clothing less appealing for customers. Asos [...]
Destiny sales: Xbox and PlayStation evenly split despite Sony’s exclusive advertising September 16, 2014 In its first week on shelves, Destiny has sold more copies in the UK than any other new video game series in history. According to official sales monitor Chart Track, Activision's new game has beat a record previously set by Ubisoft's Watch Dogs in May. Activision will be cheered by the top-line figures, [...]