Best of the Brokers for 19 February 2013 February 18, 2013 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS UBS has a buy rating on the clothing-to-sugar conglomerate and has raised its target price from 1,705p to 2,000p as currency tailwinds lift the firm. The broker also expects Primark to accelerate further this year, which combined with lower restructuring costs in grocery and ingredients should help deliver double digit earnings growth [...]
Morrisons faces fresh woe as half-year sales set for decline September 2, 2012 MORRISONS is this week expected to show it has come under further pressure in the first half of the year as a result of gloomy weather conditions and fiercer competition from rival Asda after the rival’s merger with discounter Netto. Analysts are forecasting that like-for-like sales at the supermarket could be down by 0.7 per [...]
Best of the Brokers February 26, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HOME RETAIL GROUP Espirito Santo rates the retailer “sell” with a fair value of 85p. The broker sees the reported closure of the firm’s Argos joint venture in China as a sensible step, allowing management to focus on improving the key domestic business. [...]
Horsemeat fear sends burger sales plunging February 26, 2013 SUPERMARKET sales of frozen burgers and ready meals have plummeted since the horsemeat scandal reared its ugly head last month, industry data shows. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel yesterday said frozen burger sales fell by 43 per cent and frozen ready meals declined by 13 per cent in the four weeks to 17 February, as retailers [...]
Ikea pulls sausages from stores as horsegate continues February 27, 2013 Ikea is pulling its wiener sausages from sale in France, Spain, UK, Ireland & Portugal. The sausages are produced by Dafgaard, the same Swedish suppler as its meatballs. Dafgaard is contesting the results of tests conducted on the meatballs by Czech Republic officials. "Out of 320 tests performed in the last three weeks, none contain [...]
M in meltdown as the founders join the exodus February 26, 2013 JUST a few hours after The Capitalist disclosed that five key members of staff had quit the City’s top flight financial PR agency M:Communications came the revelation that suggests things are getting serious. Founders Nick Miles and Hugh Morrison, both City veterans and big revenue earners, announced that they are also leaving the group, which [...]
Best of the Brokers January 14, 2013 WM MORRISON UBS rates the supermarket “neutral” and has cut its price target by 20p to 250p following lacklustre Christmas trading figures announced last week. The analyst warns that Morrison’s cost-cutting plan is being made more difficult by underlying declines in sales volumes and cost inflation. UBS has also pared its like-for-like sales forecasts for [...]
FTSE pauses for breath beneath the 6,300 mark February 11, 2013 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 was lifted yesterday by strength in energy stocks and food retailers, but the index was still struggling to break through the four-and-a-half year highs hit at the start of February. London’s blue chip index gained 13.13 points, or 0.2 per cent at 6,277.06, holding within the 70-point range of the last five [...]
Analyst views | Are you happy with Ocado’s results? February 7, 2013 PHILIP DORGAN PANMURE GORDON 2012 was another difficult year for Ocado. It failed to deliver accelerated sales growth and it needed to raise money… The debate now moves on to whether its assets are attractive to either M&S or Morrison and, if so, at what price? DARREN SHIRLEY SHORE CAPITAL Ocado’s 2011/12 preliminary results came [...]
Tesco voted worst supermarket in survey of 11,000 UK shoppers February 21, 2013 TESCO has been voted the worst of Britain’s nine major supermarkets in a poll carried out by one of the leading consumer groups. More than 11,000 Which? members rated the supermarkets with customer scores based on customer satisfaction and the likelihood they would recommend it to a friend. Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket group, came [...]