WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 31, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES TOPAZ POSTPONES $1.7BN FLOTATION Topaz Energy & Marine, one of the biggest oilfield service companies in the Middle East, has pulled its $1.7bn flotation in London less than a month after announcing its intention to list, becoming the latest corporate victim of the civil unrest sweeping the region. Oman’s Renaissance Services blamed the [...]
Booker rises above retail gloom with jump in sales July 6, 2011 BRITAIN’S biggest cash and carry wholesaler has defied the retail sector gloom with a sales lift. Booker, which runs more than 170 branches in the UK, saw like-for-like sales rise by 7.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 June. Non-tobacco sales were up 5.7 per cent and tobacco sales up 10.1 per cent, [...]
Booker rises above retail gloom with jump in sales July 6, 2011 BRITAIN’S biggest cash and carry wholesaler has defied the retail sector gloom with a sales lift. Booker, which runs more than 170 branches in the UK, saw like-for-like sales rise by 7.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 June. Non-tobacco sales were up 5.7 per cent and tobacco sales up 10.1 per cent, [...]
M&S margins in squeeze July 10, 2011 MARKS & SPENCER gives a first quarter trading update this week, with analysts predicting pressure on margins after the retailer launched its earliest ever summer sale. Chief executive Marc Bolland is overhauling the retailer with a plan aimed at improving web sales and bringing in hundreds of new food lines. Keith Bowman at Hargreaves Lansdown [...]
FTSE rallies on strong corporate news March 25, 2011 Strong corporate earnings data have pulled stocks back to levels prior to Japan’s earthquake and tsunami crisis today despite fresh unrest spreading in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.34 per cent at 5,900.76 as traders bought into undervalued stocks and positive broker notes while remaining unfazed by geopolitical issues. “The speed of [...]
Greencore to buy rival Uniq in £113m deal July 12, 2011 GREENCORE has made a £113m offer for rival food company Uniq as it paves the way for a delisting in Ireland ahead of joining the London market. The Dublin-based company, which is one of Britain’s biggest providers of ready meals, said its 96p per share offer has received the backing of Uniq’s board, which put [...]
Premier Foods tumbles following profit warning June 30, 2011 PREMIER FOODS shares crashed 22 per cent after the firm issued a profit warning to the stock market late yesterday afternoon. Premier blamed high commodity costs, which have knocked £15m from its profits, and the temporary loss of major customer Marks & Spencer when Premier raised its prices. The maker of Hovis and Mr Kipling [...]
Premier Foods tumbles following profit warning June 30, 2011 PREMIER FOODS shares crashed 22 per cent after the firm issued a profit warning to the stock market late yesterday afternoon. Premier blamed high commodity costs, which have knocked £15m from its profits, and the temporary loss of major customer Marks & Spencer when Premier raised its prices. The maker of Hovis and Mr Kipling [...]
M&S sales rise bucks grim retail trend July 13, 2011 Retailer Marks & Spencer met forecasts with a seventh consecutive rise in underlying quarterly sales, as its older and more affluent customers cope better with a squeeze in disposable incomes. Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and upmarket foods, said Wednesday sales at UK stores open over a year, excluding VAT sales tax, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 10, 2011 TRAVIS PERKINS Numis raised the builder’s merchant to “add” from “buy” yesterday at a target price of 1,250p, expecting its acquisition of BSS to enhance its earnings per share by more than 13 per cent. The broker believes the combined group now looks cheap and supported by an improving industry backdrop, should continue to outperform. [...]