What the other papers say this morning – 19 June 2014 June 18, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES US share dividends hit record US share buybacks and dividend payments climbed to a record level in the first quarter of 2014, as companies chose to boost shareholder returns in the absence of robust revenue growth. Members of the S&P 500 index – led by Apple, IBM, ExxonMobil and FedEx – spent $241bn [...]
Bottom Line: Family will struggle to get backers to bite February 12, 2014 INVESTORS in Morrisons clearly aren’t convinced that a private equity prince is waiting in the wings ready to swoop with a buyout offer for the struggling supermarket. After an initial leap upwards – recovering little of the downwards slump it has seen over the past two year – shares closed just 0.25 per cent higher, [...]
Justin King’s final curtain: Sainsbury’s CEO goes out on sliding sales June 11, 2014 It is chief executive Justin King’s last set of results, and Sainsbury's has reported a 1.1 per cent fall in like-for-like sales – in line with expectations. Including fuel, they dropped 2.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 7 June. But shares have risen by as much as two per cent this morning. Darren [...]
Mothercare sales slide but promises lean retail operation April 10, 2014 Baby goods retailer Mothercare has suffered a fall in like-for-like UK sales of 0.3 per cent for the 12-weeks to 29 March, according to the company's latest trading statement. Total UK sales for the troubled retailer also fell by four per cent for the same period. Mothercare also saw worldwide network sales decline by 2.5 [...]
Morrisons tops FTSE despite profit decline as supermarket remains confident of second half bounce September 12, 2013 Supermarket Morrisons has seen its pre-tax profits drop from £440m to £344m in the half year to 4 August (release). The announcement also includes a 10 per cent decline in underlying profit to £401m. We anticipate an improvement in our sales performance during the second half and accordingly the Board believes the Group's performance for [...]
Mears soaring in spite of extra costs from Morrison purchase August 13, 2013 MEARS, the social housing support services group, yesterday unveiled a 15 per cent jump in first-half profits, despite spending £6.4m on restructuring costs after acquiring the Morrison social housing business. The firm’s adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £15.5m and revenues rose 49 per cent to £457.8m. The Morrison business boosted revenues by £128m over the [...]
Share slump for Snoozebox as its losses grow April 16, 2014 SHARES in Snoozebox fell out of bed yesterday after the portable hotel provider said it was raising a further £11m as its annual pre-tax losses doubled. The Aim-listed firm said that while turnover rose 80 per cent to £6.7m and margins improved in 2013, the cost of growing the business had sent losses to £9.4m. [...]
Clipper Logistics plans London float as it eyes European growth May 6, 2014 LOGISTICS firm Clipper yesterday unveiled its plans to float on the London Stock Exchange, as it looks to accelerate its European expansion drive and take advantage of the growing online retail market. The company provides tailor-made logistics solutions for pure-play online retailers such as Asos and traditional high street retailers adopting multichannel strategies such as [...]
London Report: Glimmer of light for pharma deal brightens FTSE May 21, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index edged up yesterday as shares in drug-maker Astrazeneca rebounded on the view that what appeared to have been an unsuccessful £69bn bid for the company may still have a chance of going through. Pharma giant Astrazeneca rose 2.6 per cent, adding the most points to the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which [...]
Supermarkets are getting a quiet boost as entertainment spend booms online May 29, 2014 In the UK, one third of our spend on entertainment – so on CDs, DVDs and games – is now done online. Data from Kantar Worldpanel, covering the first part of this year, show that one in every three pounds people spend on physical entertainment objects is online. Interestingly, 20 per cent of all online [...]