Analyst Views: Has Ocado’s performance in the first quarter changed your outlook? March 12, 2014 CLIVE BLACK | SHORE CAPITAL Fundamentally we remain of the view that it is a distinctive business model in that it doesn’t work when it comes to earnings. The share price remains anomalous to our minds and the read across to other highly rated online retailers is spurious in our view. JAMES GRZINIC | JEFFERIES [...]
Ocado sales soar as Morrisons site gathers pace March 12, 2014 Online grocer Ocado has reported a jump in retail sales of 18 per cent to £218m, for the 12 weeks to 23 February. Average orders per week rocketed 18 per cent to over 155,000. Tim Steiner, chief executive officer of Ocado, commented: We are pleased with the continued growth in our business. We remain committed [...]
Property to join milk on sale at grocer Morrison March 10, 2014 SUPERMARKET chain William Morrison is this week set to sweeten its drop in profits with a property sell-off that could raise £500m for investors. The grocery giant, which has already said its Christmas sales were disappointing, is forecast to report annual pre-tax profits of between £734m and £805m, down from £879m in 2013 and the [...]
PLC awards 2014 and the winners are… March 6, 2014 …THE LIST IN FULL COMPANY OF THE YEAR Xaar ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR Julian Dunkerton, Supergroup NEW COMPANY OF THE YEAR Merlin Entertainments TURNAROUND OF THE YEAR Thomas Cook Group FUND MANAGER OF THE YEAR Mike Prentis, Blackrock ACHIEVEMENT IN SUSTAINABILITY Thomas Cook Group BEST PERFORMING SHARE AWARD Ocado BEST INVESTOR COMMUNICATION IP Group BEST TECHNOLOGY [...]
City Moves for 5 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 4, 2014 DAC Beachcroft The law firm has announced the appointment of Ruth Connorton as a commercial contracts partner. She specialises in non-contentious procurement matters. Connorton joins from Eversheds, where she was head of procurement law. Ashburton Investments The investment management firm has appointed Swati Jain to its London-based distribution team. She was most recently at IIFL Wealth, where [...]
Tesco slashed the price of milk. Here’s how dairy farmers have responded March 3, 2014 Dairy farmers have accused Tesco of sparking a price war with its supermarket rivals that will cause further damage to an already fragile dairy industry, after the retail giant slashed the price of milk. Britain’s biggest food retailer delivered a fresh broadside in the battle for customers’ loyalty after cutting the price of a four [...]
Sainsbury’s online boss promoted February 27, 2014 Sainsbury’s has promoted the head of its £1bn online business Jon Rudoe to the operating board, as the supermarket chain ramps up its online efforts. Sainsbury’s said the move reflected “the rapidly growing importance of online and digital sales channels,” with Rudoe taking over all responsibility for IT. Before joining Sainsbury’s in 2011 Rudoe was [...]
Here’s what 3 banks are saying about Tesco’s latest turnaround plan February 26, 2014 Tesco’s shares are down more than four per cent, after the supermarket chain scrapped its profit margin target and laid out plans to invest in lowering its prices, prompting analysts cuts their ratings and price targets. Deutsche Bank cut its earning before interest and tax (EBIT) forecast of a £50m decline in the year to [...]
Tesco retreats as Clarke puts the brakes on February 25, 2014 Supermarket pulls out of the space race with plans to slash spending and cut prices TESCO’S chief executive pledged yesterday to put the brakes on its UK expansion and spend £200m slashing prices as Britain’s biggest grocer seeks to revive sales and win back falling market share. Speaking at an investor conference, Philip Clarke laid [...]
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, [...]