Hellman’s sues US firm for calling its no-egg mayonnaise “Just Mayo” November 11, 2014 Is an egg-less mayonnaise a mayonnaise at all? This is the big debate that's cracked open in the condiment's corporate world. Unilever, which manufactures Hellman's mayonnaise, is suing the American firm Hampton Creek for creating a no-egg mayonnaise brand with what it argues is a misleading name – “Just Mayo”. It accuses Hampton [...]
Just one UK company ranked among the world’s top 50 innovative firms in BCG report October 27, 2014 Britain's biggest firms are lagging behind US and Asian firms in terms of innovation, according to a new report that lists just one UK firm among the world’s 50 most innovative companies. The single British firm was multinational Unilever, which owns brands such as Lynx, Ben and Jerry’s and Dove. The firm finished in 49th [...]
Tesco’s falling share price eats away at Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart’s bonuses October 27, 2014 Here's another reason for Dave Lewis to be concerned about Tesco's tumbling share price – it's already cost him around a quarter of the bonus accrued at his previous employer Unilever. Tesco bought out awards that both Lewis and new chief financial officer Alan Stewart forfeited from leaving their previous employment, which in the [...]
Just one small Cornetto! Unilever’s cheap goods for the cash-strapped October 23, 2014 Unilever yesterday promised investors that new, cheaper products would help it grow profits, even as reticent consumers dragged its sales growth in the third quarter to its weakest in nearly five years. Sales volume rose only 0.3 per cent, well below analysts’ estimate of 1.8 per cent and growth of 1.9 per cent in the [...]
FTSE recovers but Tesco’s woes drag down rival retailers – London Report October 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index recovered yesterday and ended slightly higher, tracking a broad rally in US stocks following some strong earnings results, although a slump in Tesco and Unilever capped gains. The FTSE 100 index ended up 0.3 per cent at 6.419.15 points, after falling as much as 1.4 per cent during the day. Troubled [...]
The good, the bad and the ugly: What the analysts say about Tesco October 23, 2014 It’s another dark day for Tesco. The supermarket's estimated £250m profit black hole was even larger than expected at £263m, £70m of which came prior to the period it initially identified as problematic. Profits collapsed 91.9 per cent as it took the hit of the accounting error, it completely ditched its forecasts, cash flow was [...]
Unilever share price falls as it records lowest growth in five years October 23, 2014 While Dave Lewis is putting out one fire at his new employer Tesco, things back at Unilever are also looking less than rosy. The consumer goods business, where Lewis had worked for 28 years before becoming Tesco chief executive, this morning reported its weakest rate of quarterly sales growth in five years. Underlying [...]
George Osborne braced for bad news on deficit reduction – London Report October 19, 2014 Public finance figures due out tomorrow are likely to be a blow to chancellor George Osborne, with tax receipts lowered by very low earnings growth. Economists predict that Osborne is now unlikely to meet fiscal targets for the year, despite improved economic activity, stronger house prices and an improved labour market. Howard Archer, of IHS [...]
Why Tesco’s share price just fell to an 11 year low September 22, 2014 Another surprise announcement this morning from Tesco has further dampened the supermarket’s outlook when it really must have been hoping to move on from recent rough times. Shares fell more than 11 per cent to an 11-year low after announcing a £250m error in its first-half results. Whether its an accounting error or something worse, investigating the [...]
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 [...]