Kingfisher: French trading dampens performance of B&Q owner March 25, 2025 Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, has reported a drop in sales driven by the weak consumer market in France. Sales fell 1.5 per cent to £12.78bn in the year ended January 31, Kingfisher told markets this morning. This drop was overwhelmingly driven by a 6.2 per cent drop in sales in France, [...]
JD Sports: Nike woes could spell trouble for retailer says broker March 24, 2025 London broker Peel Hunt has downgraded its forecast for JD Sports ahead of the company’s full-year results next month due to short-term industry issues. Peel Hunt cut its projected profit before tax and earnings per share for JD Sports by three per cent for the financial year 2026. The broker attributed the downgrade to an [...]
Asos shares spike on positive trading update March 21, 2025 Asos shares rose by over a fifth this morning after the company posted a better than expected market update. The e-commerce retailer told markets that it expects a “significant improvement in profitability” this year, adding that its own brand full-price sales have returned to growth. Investors reacted positively to the news. Asos’ share price had [...]
Profits at DFS shoot up as retailer grabs market share March 13, 2025 DFS has swung back to profit as demand for home furniture has recovered. Share in the sofa retailer rose more than 13 per cent in early trades. The company told markets this morning that underlying profit before tax nearly doubled to £17m in the 26 weeks to December 29, up from £8.7m last year. Last [...]
Deliveroo reports first full year of profit March 13, 2025 A bump in the number of people ordering takeaways and groceries in the UK and Ireland helped Deliveroo swing to a profit last year. The food delivery company told markets this morning that gross merchandise value (GTV) increased by five per cent to £7.4bn in the year ended December 31, up from £7bn last year. The [...]
John Lewis scraps staff bonus again despite tripling profit March 13, 2025 The John Lewis Partnership has scrapped its staff bonus for the third year in a row despite a near-tripling in profit. The company, which owns both John Lewis and Waitrose, told markets this morning that profit before tax increased from £42m to £126m over the 52 weeks to 25 January. Overall sales rose three per [...]
Concern for British high street deepens with flat February sales February 28, 2025 Online shopping drove retail sales in February, offsetting flat in-store sales on the high street. In-store sales were lower in real terms in February, meaning that actual sales volumes shrank year on year, according to accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. Total like-for-like sales grew by 2.3 per cent in February. Retailers faced particularly challenging [...]
Ocado: Shares slump as double-digit growth fails to offset losses February 27, 2025 Tech and grocery platform Ocado has reported another year of losses despite a strong performance in its online delivery arm. Its share price fell by more than 13 per cent in early trades. Overall revenue rose by 14.1 per cent to reach £3.1bn in the year ended December 1. Lucy Rumbold, equity research analyst at [...]
Hammerson: Bicester Village sale hits earnings February 26, 2025 British shopping centre giant Hammerson has reported a drop in earnings due to the impact of portfolio sales despite an overall rise in rents and occupancy. Despite higher rents across its portfolio, Hammerson’s rental income fell to £189m during the year, down nine per cent year on year. Hammerson attributed this to the impact of [...]
New Look closes all stores in the Republic of Ireland February 21, 2025 High street fashion giant New Look will fully exit the Republic of Ireland, putting all of its workers in the country at risk of redundancy. The retailer’s Irish arm, which employs about 347 people, has entered into redundancy following years of losses at the high street chain. The privately-owned company said it has had to [...]