Ocado September 7, 2010 OCADO chiefs were yesterday upbeat about the company’s prospects and had seemingly justifiable reasons for optimism with an almost 30 per cent sales hike. But the figures cannot be looked at in isolation and come on the back of a torrid flotation which saw chief executive Tim Steiner and crew pitched against some analysts who [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 20, 2011 BAE Systems Paula Rosput Reynolds (pictured) has joined the defence firm’s board as a non-executive, an appointment that will take effect from 1 April. Reynolds has spent more than 20 years in the energy sector, including roles as president and chief executive of AGL Resources in 2002 and Safeco Corporation. She took on the job of [...]
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR | THE SHORTLIST DAY 2 June 20, 2011 LUCKILY for all of us the City is full of rising stars, people we all think will make it to the top. This year’s selection includes Sam Smith, who has been making waves as head of the small cap broker finnCap. We’ve chosen two high-flying lawyers, one investment analyst and a fast rising star from [...]
HSBC drags FTSE back as investors eye inflation forecasts May 11, 2011 Banking giant HSBC sapped some of the confidence from the blue chip index today as it announced that it was aiming to slash costs by £2.1bn. The news followed a bruising start to the week for banks who have already earmarked billions for potential payouts over dubious insurance protection sales. HSBC fell 1.3 per cent [...]
Ocado sales surge but investors wary September 7, 2010 ONLINE retailer Ocado yesterday said its sales had surged by almost 30 per cent – but investors remained unconvinced and the announcement was greeted with a dip in its share price. The company, which recently completed a controversial flotation, hasn’t made an annual operating profit since it launched ten years ago, but hopes to go [...]
Ocado sales surge but investors wary September 7, 2010 ONLINE retailer Ocado yesterday said its sales had surged by almost 30 per cent – but investors remained unconvinced and the announcement was greeted with a dip in its share price. The company, which recently completed a controversial flotation, hasn’t made an annual operating profit since it launched ten years ago, but hopes to go [...]
Ocado sales surge by 30pc after flotation September 7, 2010 ONLINE grocer Ocado reported a 30 per cent jump in third-quarter sales as it seeks to boost confidence in the business following a turbulent initial public offering (IPO) in July. Ocado, whose shares are trading 13 per cent below an IPO price which had already been cut by almost a quarter from the company’s original [...]
WM Morrison in £32m deal to prepare ground for web war March 10, 2011 WM MORRISON yesterday announced a £32m deal to purchase a ten per cent stake in New York-based online grocer FreshDirect, as it prepares the ground to take on rivals on the web. Under the terms of the deal, Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips will take a seat on the board, and top Morrisons executives will [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 5, 2011 OCADO UBS has downgraded the online grocer to “neutral” from “buy” with an increased target price of 197p, following share price gains and an improvement in valuations among Ocado’s peers such as Amazon and Asos. It adds that the trading statement due on 10 January will shed light on the firm’s progress since floating. BETFAIR [...]
Ocado forced to slash float price July 20, 2010 OCADO caved in to investor pressure yesterday by slashing its IPO valuation by 20 per cent, in a desperate eleventh hour bid to keep the float alive. Ocado’s management were accused of arrogance for failing to listen to analysts and investors who baulked at the initial £1.1bn price-tag attached to the business. The online grocer [...]