Waitrose is “well set up” to face arrival of Amazon, says outgoing boss Mark Price March 10, 2016 Waitrose's outgoing boss Lord Price played down the threat of Amazon's entry in the UK, insisting it was strong enough to fend off competition and would continue to be “one of the few” retailers to increase profitability this year. Price, who was made a peer last week ahead of his new role as trade minister [...]
Activist investor Worldview buys 69.44 per cent of Petroceltic’s debt March 10, 2016 Worldview has bought almost 70 per cent of London-listed, Dublin-based Petroceltic's debt, the company revealed today. Sunny Hill, which is wholly owned by the Worldview Economic Recovery Fund, has bought 69.44 per cent of the group's debt relating to its senior bank facility. Worldview said it had bought the debt "at a significant discount to face value". [...]
Aviva share price rises as it unveils 20 per cent profit boost and hikes dividend after Friends Life buyout March 10, 2016 What floods? Insurer Aviva said it was hiking its dividend after it completed its acquisition of Friends Life ahead of schedule. The figures Operating profits rose 20 per cent to £2.7bn in 2015, Aviva said this morning – seven per cent ahead of analyst expectations of £2.5bn. That allowed it to hike dividend by 15 per cent to 20.8p. Nice. The company said the [...]
FTSE 100 closes lower after ECB president Mario Draghi takes stocks on a rollercoaster ride of emotions March 10, 2016 Oh, Mr Draghi. What have you done to us? The FTSE finished almost 1.8 per cent lower at 6,036.7 points today – perilously close to the 6,000 mark – after European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi sent equities (and the euro. And gold) on an emotional rollercoaster ride. The index started the day off undulating gently, before rising [...]
Robert Walters share price up as recruitment company hikes its final dividend as profits prosper for year ended December 2015 March 10, 2016 Share price in Robert Walters rose today as the recruitment company announced an increase to both its profits and its dividend for the year ended December 2015. The recruiter revealed that profits before tax had rocketed to £22.4m, up 23 per cent from £18.2m the year before, while revenue had increased to £812.7m, up 20 [...]
John Lewis Partnership bonus 2016: Four charts showing just how generous it is and why staff are still celebrating despite it being cut to its lowest in years March 10, 2016 The bonus of staff working at high street favourite John Lewis and Waitrose is less than last year, but you'll still find them cheering that cut. They'll be taking home 10 per cent of their annual salary, amounting to a bonus pot totaling £145m, but that's less than last year and the third consecutive year it's been cut – so why the happy faces? [...]
Michael Page International share price down as recruitment company reveals strong profit growth for year ended December 2015, driven by robust jobs market in US March 10, 2016 Share price in Michael Page International fell today despite the recruitment company revealing strong profit growth for its year ended December 2015. The recruiter, which also trades as PageGroup, revealed a profit before tax of £90.7m, up 12.9 per cent on £80.4m the year before. Meanwhile, revenue inched up slightly to £1.1bn, an increase of 1.7 per [...]
Sweet: Krispy Kreme could be planning an IPO in London March 10, 2016 Krispy Kreme is planning an IPO in London, Morning Wire understands. It may be a volatile time to do it – but we'd imagine there will be a hole lot of interest… Sky News reported that the company's owner, Alcuin Capital Partners, had appointed Investec to oversee the flotation. The news comes a day after [...]
Amec Foster Wheeler share price jumps on plan to weather oil price rout March 10, 2016 Shares in Amec Foster Wheeler jumped this morning after it announced the sale of one of its units and plans to halve net debt in the next 15 months, despite Britain's largest oil and gas engineering group swinging to a loss in 2015. The figures: Amec made a pre-tax loss of £235m in the 12 months ended 31 [...]
John Lewis grows market share in challenging conditions, but PBT falls as pension charges and property declines take hit March 10, 2016 John Lewis Partnership has heralded its market share growth despite "challenging markets". The figures Profit before tax was down 10.9 per cent to £305.5m, in line with expectations, "entirely due" to pension charges and lower property profits, the partnership said. Operating profits before property rose 3.9 per cent to £8.87m at Waitrose and £1.8m at [...]