Whitbread kicks off £500m share buyback scheme with Costa sale cash but Premier Inn owner’s shares still fall. Whitbread (WTB) has kicked off a £500million share buyback scheme as it ploughs ahead with its plan to return a ‘significant majority’ of the proceeds it raked it from the sale of Costa to Coca-Cola for £3.9billion earlier this month. The FTSE-100 listed group, which is now focused on its Premier Inn hotel operations, has seen its share price fall over 4% this morning. The firm has warned that it remains cautious about its performance within the UK due to ‘increased uncertainty and continuing high inflation.’
Primark tops expectations over Christmas to sweeten parent firm Associated British Foods (ABF) profits as sugar sales sour. After gloomily warning of ‘challenging’ trading in November, High Street darling Primark pulled through to deliver a better-than-expected performance over Christmas. Owner of the cut-price fashion chain Associated British Foods (ABF) said today that profits at Primark are ‘well ahead’, as it revealed a 4% uplift in sales over the last four months. The positive update comes despite the retailer bemoaning tough trading in November, when a slew of retailers complained of falling shopper numbers, and bad weather weighed on Primark’s European arm.
Premier Foods reports Christmas sales slip as ‘sweet treats’ stumble and firm stockpiles raw ingredients for Brexit. Premier Foods (PFD) saw its ‘sweet treat’ revenues fall by 6.9% in its third quarter, but has opted to maintain its full-year profit forecast. The Mr Kipling owner, maker of Bisto gravy and Oxo-cube saw its sales hampered by logistics issues, while oversupply dented overall sales in the third quarter. Non-branded sweet treat sales plunged by 20.7% in the quarter as the group pulled out of a number of lower margin seasonal and non-seasonal cake contracts
Housebuilders on the move as profits flood in thanks to taxpayer-backed Help to Buy scheme. Revived hopes of a softer Brexit, following Theresa May’s failure to push through her deal for leaving the EU through the House of Commons, helped. Investors feared that the economy could slow if the UK suddenly cut ties with the continent, and this has weighed on companies like Bovis since, theoretically, fewer people would buy houses. But it said the UK housing market ‘remains strong, with demand for new homes supported by attractive mortgage finance and Government initiatives’. The same optimism caused Metro Bank (MTRO) to soar, as the lender’s shares lifted 10.1%, or 188p, to 2056p. said uncertainty surrounding Britain’s departure from the EU slowed sales of larger homes, however. For 2018, it built 3,759 homes, 3% up on the previous year. The average selling price rose to £273,000 from £272,400. Greg Fitzgerald, the chief executive, said: ‘The significant improvement across all areas is expected to deliver a record year of profits.’ Bovis was up 35.4p, to 962.2p, Persimmon (PSN) climbed 119p, to 2320p, Taylor Wimpey (TW.) rose 8.75p, to 164p and Barratt Developments (BDEV) edged up 19.5p, to 518p.
Bread and cake manufacturer Finsbury Food Group (FIF) was also left feeling flat as it released a trading update for the latter half of 2018. The maker of Disney-branded cakes, Thorntons baked goods and Weight Watchers snacks plummeted 9.8p, to 83.2p, after revenue slipped 3.5% to £152.3million.
Drinkers propped up The City Pub Group (CPC), as total revenue leapt by 22% to £45.6million in the 52 weeks to December 30. The majority of the 1.6% like-for-like growth was driven by increased sales, the South of England chain added, since price increases only kicked in at the end of 2018. It owns and runs 44 pubs, and shares fizzed up by 5.1%, or 10p ,to 207p.
Over-50s insurance and travel specialist Saga (SAGA) declined, as it warned competition in the insurance sector was tough. Shares dipped 1.7p, to 101.5p.
Ground engineering business Van Elle Holdings (VANL) was on shaky foundations as it announced results for the six months to the end of October. The Nottinghamshire firm, which also builds the infrastructure for rail networks and has worked on stations such as East Croydon, said profit sank 53.6% to £2.6million. A quiet start to the financial year pushed revenue down by 18.4% to £42.9million, though new boss Mark Cutler has already begun to cut costs.
Reckitt boss bows out with £116m: Rakesh Kapoor to retire by the end of 2019 after masterminding turnaround that saw shares surge 90%. The boss of Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) could trouser £30million after leaving – on top of the £86million he was paid while in charge. Rakesh Kapoor, one of the FTSE 100’s best-paid chief executives, will retire by the end of 2019 after 32 years at the company, including more than eight in charge. The 60-year-old was hailed for a 90 per cent surge in shares during his time at the top and for masterminding a major overhaul of the business, which is behind brands such as Dettol, Cillit Bang and Durex.
Education publisher Pearson sees share price fall as it reports squeeze on its US business. Education publishing group Pearson (PSON) has seen its share price fall over 6% after revealing its total revenue slipped by 1% in the last year. In today’s trading update, the group said its revenue levels had come under pressure amid challenging trading conditions in the US. Looking ahead, the firm said it expects pressures in its US higher education business to continue this year, leading to flat revenue or a fall of up to 5%.
Accounting scandal at Patisserie Valerie is even worse than we feared, cafe chain owner admits. The owner of stricken cafe chain Patisserie Valerie has admitted its accounting scandal is worse than previously thought. In a strongly worded statement, Patisserie Holdings (CAKE) spoke of the devastating effects of a fraud that involved ‘significant manipulation’ of its books, including thousands of false entries. Initial findings from a probe into the scandal reveal cash flow and profitability have been overstated. The chain is now pleading with lenders for a further extension to loan arrangements. Patisserie Valerie, headed by entrepreneur Luke Johnson, has overhauled its management after a £40million black hole was discovered on its books and former finance boss Chris Marsh was arrested on suspicion of fraud.
Bovis Homes says it is on course for record profit but claims uncertainty over Brexit is still putting off buyers of larger properties. expects to post a record profit for the last year, it said in a trading update today. The group said it will see profits for 2018 that are slightly ahead of market expectations after a ‘significant step-up’ in operating margins. Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald, said: ‘The significant improvement in operational performance across all areas of the business is expected to deliver a record year of profits for the Group. ‘Customer satisfaction is a key priority and the Group’s return to 4 star housebuilder status along with another controlled and disciplined period end reflect this. ‘We are looking forward to delivering the first homes from our new housing range in 2019 and continuing to make further operational and financial progress.’
Fantastic year for films – with hits like Mamma Mia, Avengers and Incredibles – lifts revenue at Cineworld Group (CINE). Record numbers of film fans visited Cineworld last year to watch blockbusters such as Mamma Mia, Avengers and Incredibles 2. The cinema chain, which bought US rival Regal for £2.6billion in March and has 790 sites with 9,518 screens, saw revenues rise 7.2%. Growth was driven by an 8.6% rise in sales in the US. In the UK and Ireland, revenues were up 3% while sales in the rest of the world rose 3.1%. The highest grossing films in the UK were Avengers: Infinity War, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, and Incredibles 2. Cineworld said it had a strong slate of films for the year ahead including Toy Story 4, Star Wars: Episode IX and remakes of Disney classics Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King.
