Kingfisher shares climb on bumper profits March 25, 2014 B&Q owner Kingfisher is enjoying a rise in share price of four per cent after the company announced bumper profits before tax of 9.8 per cent to £759m for the year 2013/14. The company saw revenues rise 5.2 per cent to £11bn despite a difficult first quarter in 2013 and a weak economic environment in [...]
In charts: UK house prices may be rising, but it could be time to buy in Europe October 13, 2014 The house price boom in the UK may be slowing, but at least the market here isn't in bad shape. That's not the story across the channel. We have higher prices than before the crash and there is enough demand in the market, even if it is waning slightly. Many countries on the continent are still suffering [...]
Better weather means B&Q owner sees profit up in second quarter September 11, 2013 Retail group Kingfisher, who own companies including B&Q and Screwfix, have seen a statory pre-tax profit increase of 10.2 per cent in the 26 weeks up to 3 August (up £401m from £364m for the same period last year) (Release). CEO Ian Cheshire puts the increase down to better weather, commenting on the effect of [...]
Inflation likely to remain well below 2pc mark – London Week Ahead November 16, 2014 Inflation figures released today are likely to show that price rises, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), remained far below the Bank of England’s two per cent “target” in October. Most economists expect inflation to remain unchanged at 1.2 per cent, although September’s fall from 1.5 per cent in August means there is [...]
Witts joins Imperial Tobacco board February 5, 2014 Kingfisher’s finance director Karen Witts has been appointed as non-executive director of Imperial Tobacco, the owner of DIY chain B&Q said yesterday. Witts will join Imperial Tobacco’s board today with immediate effect, taking the number of women on the company’s board to three and meeting the target set out in Lord Davies’ 2011 report for [...]
Spell of hot weather jumpstarts B&Q owner’s ailing sales July 24, 2013 Kingfisher, Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer and owner of B&Q and Screwfix, has reported like-for-like sales at its UK and Ireland stores open more than a year were up 2.5 per cent in the ten weeks to 13 July, thanks to the spell of hot weather (release). Total group like-for-like sales were also up 2.5 [...]
Best of the Brokers for 28 January 2014 January 27, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SMITH & NEPHEW UBS has upgraded the medical technology group from “neutral” to “buy” with a target price raised from 780p to 1,000p. The broker is impressed by the popularity of S&N’s new knee replacement, and thinks the firm’s wound care product Santyl can [...]
Co-op Group in turmoil: Sutherland quits and rival factions begin the fight for control March 11, 2014 THE CO-OP was plunged deeper into chaos yesterday as chief Euan Sutherland sensationally quit after just 10 months, inflaming a divisive row over modernising the mutual that threatened to split the board. Sutherland’s exit leaves serious question marks over the business’ future, with his resignation statement pointing to deep divisions at the top of the [...]
7 UK retail bosses that have quit unexpectedly February 24, 2014 Mothercare’s future on the UK high street looked promising when Simon Calver, the former head of online movie rental service Lovefilm, was appointed by chairman Alan Parker two years ago to lead its turnaround efforts. The board banked on his online experience to overhaul its estate and turn the chain into a multi-channel retailer. But [...]
Could pee-power be the next energy source? Bill Gates backs scientists using urine to charge phones August 14, 2014 When explorers were filling in the 'here be dragons' gaps on maps and discovering weird and wonderful things like the potato, drinking urine was often resorted to as a means of survival. Now the BioEnergy team at Bristol Robotics Laboratory – a collaboration between the University of Bristol and the University of the West [...]