The bike and car parts retailer who wants to own Britain on the move June 20, 2010 Halfords and its chief executive David Wild are having a good recession. Earlier this month, the bikes and car maintenance retail chain posted a strong set of full-year figures: pre-tax profits rose 42 per cent to £110m, while sales rose three per cent to £832m. The FTSE 250 business said the trend for healthy living [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UGANDA TAX ROW DELAYS HERITAGE SALE OF OIL FIELD Uganda is insisting that Heritage Oil, the UK-listed oil explorer, must agree to pay $360m (£243m) in capital gains tax on the “super profits” it will make on a $1.35bn oilfields sale before it will sanction the deal. Uganda’s energy minister said the government [...]
Sainsbury’s sales grow at sluggish pace June 16, 2010 SAINSBURY’S followed its arch-rival Tesco in unveiling lethargic first quarter sales growth yesterday, weighed down by low food inflation and a challenging consumer environment. Like-for-like sales for the first quarter grew at their slowest rate in five years, just 1.1 per cent, excluding fuel sales, which jumped due to inflammatory oil price pressures. Including petrol, [...]
HOW DOES SAINSBURY’S PERFORMANCE COMPARE TO ITS PEERS? June 16, 2010 JAMES MONRO | S&P EQUITY RESEARCH “These results put Sainsbury’s in line with Tesco in terms of growth, adjusting for Clubcard sales, but we would have liked to see more given the benefit of two weeks of World Cup sales. But Sainsbury’s may need more margin investment to keep up with its rival over the [...]
Bonuses are back for top boardrooms June 16, 2010 THE average FTSE 100 boardroom bonus topped half a million pounds in the first half of this year, with an average pay rise for top directors of 23 per cent, research out today reveals. Bonus payments rose to an average of £558,918, a dramatic bounce from last year when payouts fell 30 per cent, according [...]
When process becomes more important than any one person June 16, 2010 FOR better of worse, some businesses become identified with their bosses. Look at Steve Jobs at Apple, whose share-price dropped when rumours about his health circulated last year. Or BP when it was run by Lord Browne, a man whose attitude towards the business he ran is often compared to that of Louis XIV’s towards [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 16, 2010 TESCO ING reiterates a “buy” recommendation on Tesco and said this was a fairly lacklustre first trading update, although the market shouldn’t be hugely surprised. ING noted Tesco’s chief executive Terry Leahy expects the first quarter to be a low point for the year and he continues to talk about “recovering global consumer markets.” CARPHONE [...]
Tesco growth falters on low food inflation June 15, 2010 TESCO, the UK’s biggest supermarket, yesterday said stalling levels of food price inflation had put the brakes on its sales growth for the first quarter of the year. Like-for-like sales in the UK, adjusted for VAT, inched up just 0.1 per cent over the three months to the end of May, excluding sales of petrol. [...]
Tesco chief Leahy to retire June 15, 2010 THOSE with an innate fear of homogeneity may break into a cold sweat at the mention of Tesco, but there is no question that the supermarket is a robust business play. Faced with a decidedly tricky first quarter – roaring petrol prices eating a hole in shoppers’ pockets; depressed food inflation; a raft of potholes [...]
Trio of efficiency experts drafted in to mobilise review of spending June 15, 2010 THE government has appointed cost-cutting stalwarts Sir Peter Gershon, Dr Martin Read and Lucy Neville-Rolfe to advise on tackling waste in public services, the Cabinet Office announced yesterday. The trio will form part of the Efficiency and Reform Group which is charged with finding savings in procurement, property and workforce costs. All three have advised [...]