Wetherspoon rallies against higher taxes May 2, 2012 PUBS OPERATOR JD Wetherspoon said yesterday “unsustainable” higher costs from a tough tax regime in Britain left it cautious on full-year prospects, even as it reported a rise in third-quarter sales. The company, which has over 800 pubs across Britain, said its tax bill in the current financial year would be about half a billion [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 25, 2012 ARM HOLDINGS Investec maintains its “buy” rating on the microchip maker because of good long-term prospects. The target price is static at 800p, due to the last quarter’s “uneventful” results and no catalysts on the horizon. Costs were slightly higher than expected, and foreign exchange movements have prompted a modest forecast cut for the full [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 19, 2012 JD WETHERSPOON JP Morgan Cazenove rates the pub chain “underweight” and has raised its target price from 381p to 390p. The broker has trimmed its like-for-like sales growth for 2012, from two per cent down to one per cent, following half-year results earlier this month that showed a sales dip. However, JP Morgan’s earnings per [...]
Marston’s up despite fears over Budget March 14, 2012 PUB operator Marston’s reported solid trading yesterday despite a tough period for the leisure sector and said it was looking ahead to a strong 2012. Like for like sales over the last 23 weeks were up 3.5 per cent on last year at the British brewer – which has 2,150 outlets across the country – [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 11, 2012 JD WETHERSPOON N+1 Brewin has cut its rating of the pub chain from “hold” to “reduce” with a lowered target price of 375p, down from 443p, in reaction to what it calls “a mild profit warning” in the firm’s results on Friday. The broker has also pared back its forecasts for new openings of Wetherspoon [...]
Weatherspoon blames tax as expansion plans cut March 9, 2012 British pubs operator JD Wetherspoon said it would cut back expansion plans, blaming a harsh tax regime for exacerbating tough trading conditions, and was cautious about prospects for the second half following a decline in sales. The company, which has over 800 pubs across Britain, said it would scale back new openings to 40 pubs [...]
Wetherspoon and co make for easy laughs March 1, 2012 Film THIS MEANS WAR Cert: 12A *** WHEN Charlie’s Angels director McG meets Simon Kinberg, writer of the original Mr and Mrs Smith script, the result is big, brainless fun. Throw a great cast into the mix, ensuring they can deal with some incredibly cringeworthy clichés, and you’re onto a dumb-but-enjoyable winner. When CIA agents [...]
More cruise liner than chic January 23, 2012 Kitchen Joël Antunès 29 Old Burlington Street, London, W1S 3AN T: 020 7494 5660 FOOD * SERVICE ** ATMOSPHERE * Cost per person without wine: £65 Legends aren’t what they used to be. Almost anyone can be one. You have to do something pretty heinous to be both famous and dead and not be called [...]
Wetherspoon margins hit by VAT costs January 18, 2012 JD WETHERSPOON reported better-than-expected sales in the Christmas period but its chairman Tim Martin called on the chancellor to rethink “punishing” tax increases levied on the pub sector. Martin said the company is still on course to open around 50 pubs in the current financial year but warned that it may scale back future expansion [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW HAS WETHERSPOON FARED AGAINST RISING COSTS? January 18, 2012 PATRICK COFFEY | LIBERUM CAPITAL Despite JD Wetherspoon’s investment for the future, we believe the company’s valuation is inconsistent with a sector under pressure from rising costs and macro-uncertainty… We reiterate our “sell” recommendation. PAUL HICKMAN | PEEL HUNT Posting a good second quarter result shows Wetherspoon robustly on course for our modest earnings growth [...]