Depressed mining stocks are finally starting to look attractively valued July 12, 2010 IT WAS a tough second quarter for London-listed miners, which were dealt a severe blow by a toxic combination of general risk aversion, a planned tax on miners’ profits in Australia and a government-orchestrated slowdown in China. After reaching 25,356.51 on 6 April – its best level since July 2008 – the FTSE 350 mining [...]
Wetherspoons in sales dip as tough times hit its pubs May 5, 2010 INTERACTIVE INVESTOR PUBS group JD Wetherspoon is feeling the sobering effects of lower consumer spending and tax and duty rises with sales growth slowing in recent months. Same outlet sales for the 13 weeks to 25 April slipped 0.8 per cent. This was much steeper than the 0.2 per cent decline recorded over the nine [...]
IS JD WETHERSPOON LOSING MOMENTUM? May 5, 2010 SIMON FRENCH | PANMURE GORDON “We believe the group is well positioned to deliver meaningful like-for-like sales growth in the fourth quarter given recent price increases and the World Cup.” CHARLIE MENEGATOS | ACCENDO MARKETS “While the progress reported by Wetherspoons is on track and shows progress in growth and sales, we believe investors may [...]
JD Wetherspoon urges caution as sales drop May 5, 2010 PUBS group JD Wetherspoon is feeling the sobering effects of lower consumer spending and tax and duty rises with sales growth slowing in recent months. Same outlet sales for the 13 weeks to 25 April slipped 0.8 per cent. This was much steeper than the 0.2% decline recorded over the nine month period. Meanwhile total [...]
Punch pays price for pub bailout plans April 22, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest pubs firm Punch Taverns yesterday reported a 20 per cent drop in first-half pre-tax profit and said it was paying £2m a month to bail out struggling tenants. The company, which has over 7,100 pubs, said pre-tax profit fell to £66m in the 28 weeks to 6 March compared with £82m the year [...]
Thumbs up to all-day pubs, but not Lynx effect April 6, 2010 During the last month, here at YouGov, we have invited our panellists to give their opinions on anything they like, using our new “tygga” service. The aim is to let panellists use their own words when describing any brand or topic, rather than just asking them to self-prescribe as “satisfied” or “dissatisfied” customers of the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 14, 2010 HOME RETAIL GROUP Charles Stanley said the group’s fourth quarter trading update covering the eight weeks to 27 February was mixed. Trading was impacted by poor weather in January, but the impact on profits has been limited as the period is traditionally a low volume one. The broker remains cautious especially over the growing threat [...]
Wetherspoon dividend back as profit rises March 11, 2010 PUB chain Wetherspoon announced the end of a year-long dividend freeze yesterday after successfully completing its debt refinancing. Shareholders will receive a 12p dividend on 1 April for the year to July 2009 with a further special dividend of 7p a share. Last year it scrapped its dividend payment as it negotiated its refinancing. It [...]
JD Wetherspoon restores dividend after record profit March 11, 2010 PUB chain Wetherspoon today announced the end of a year-long dividend freeze after successfully completing its debt refinancing. Shareholders will receive a 12p dividend on 1 April for the year to July 2009 with a further special dividend of 7p a share. Last year it scrapped its dividend payment as negotiated its refinancing. It has [...]
THE TIPSTER March 10, 2010 HOMEBUILDER Barratt Homes is proving an interesting punt at the moment after speculation that rival Persimmon is mounting a bid of 170p per share. Barratt would make an interesting purchase as it is trading at a significant discount to its net asset value and has a large bank of land. ETX Capital is quoting 122.21p-122.79p. [...]