Dunelm Group (DNLM) bucks the retail blues with booming online sales but the homewares firm warns Brexit could knock it off course. ‘As far as retailers go, Dunelm is in good shape,’ one City analyst thundered today after the homewares retailer revealed a sharp rise in profits for the last six months. The firm, best known for cushions and home furnishings, was buoyed by strong sales online – up 36%, as recent investments in this division started to pay off. Sales picked up at its 170 stores too – rising 3.8%. ‘It is encouraging to see the company is embracing the rise of online sales, while also making respectable sales on the high street,’ said David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets. ‘The company is becoming more nimble, as net debt gas been slashed and the cash position has surged. As far as retailers go, Dunelm is in good shape,’ he added.Investors cheered the results, which come against a backdrop of falling sales in the UK retail sector and many home and furniture firms bemoaning challenging trading conditions.
Whitbread (WTB), the owner of Premier Inn, has announced a share buy-back of £2billion using the proceeds from the sale of Costa Coffee last month. The group, which sold Costa to Coca-Cola for £3.9billion last month, has shifted focus completely to its hotels business. The group’s share buy-back plans mean it will be returning £2.5billion in total to investors, having already kicked off a £500million programme in January. It also said it plans to ramp up cost savings by a further £220million.
Shares in Galliford Try (GFRD) jumped more than 7% today as it reported rising profits. But the Linden Homes owner said the a no-Brexit deal could hit confidence and imports of materials, damaging the new-build property market in particular. On an underlying basis, pre-tax profits rose 4% to a record £84.2million. Chief executive Peter Truscott said the group was now expecting full-year results towards the upper end of City forecasts for pre-tax profits of between £158.8 million to £192.5 million.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which owns Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaxa, has inked a $300million deal to buy luxury resort operator Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas from US firm Pegasus Capital Advisors. The deal beefs up IHG’s total portfolio of luxury hotels to 400 properties as the group tries to re-focus on higher-end hotels in a bid to stave off competition from services like Airbnb. Six Senses manages 16 hotels and resorts in popular destinations like Maldives, the Seychelles, Thailand, Oman, and Portugal’s Douro Valley.
Lloyds rocked by new whistle blowing claim: Insider says bank drove companies to the wall. Explosive new claims that Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) wrecked small businesses for a profit during the financial crisis are being probed by regulators. Bankers conspired to tip firms into administration by loading them with fees they could never pay, says a whistleblower’s testimony seen by the Mail. These companies’ assets were then seized by Lloyds and partner companies to boost profits, says the insider – a subcontractor involved in rescuing firms. Rumours have long swirled that big banks destroyed companies in the wake of the financial crisis to confiscate property and shore up their own balance sheets – claims the lenders deny. But this is the first time an insider involved in the process has spoken out about what went on.
Tui sees losses widen as its tour and airline divisions suffer at the hands of a weaker pound and hot summer. TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) shares fell after the holiday company reported its losses widened in the first quarter. Like its competitors, Tui blamed unusually warm weather over the summer and a weaker pound for the loss, which rose to €111.9million in the three months to the end of December, from €68.3million a year earlier. Most losses came from its tour operator business and airlines, but this was partly offset by profits in its cruises division and holiday ‘experiences’.However, Tui, which slashed its annual profit forecast just last week, said its growth strategy is still ‘intact’, and anticipates profits to be largely stable in 2019. Turnover in the quarter rose 4.4% to €3.7billion.
Debenhams shares jump as struggling department store secures a vital £40m lifeline from lenders. Debenhams (DEB) shares jumped after the struggling department store secured an extra £40million of funding from its lenders. The cash injection is a temporary reprieve that should cover a major rent payment due on March 25. The company said this new 12-month credit facility will allow it to continue trading while it works out a longer-term refinancing and recapitalisation package.
Plus500 was ‘too good to be true’: Shares in online trading site lose a third of their value as EU crackdown hits profits. Shares in Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) drop by nearly a third of their value after the Israel-based online trader issued a profit warning. Plus500, which benefited from the craze for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, has now warned that this year’s profits will be ‘materially lower’ than City forecasts. This is largely due to an EU crackdown on so-called contracts for difference (CFD) products, which account for a big chunk of its turnover.
After it took the cutter to full-year profit forecasts, shares in Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM) have been about as appetising to investors as leftovers from one of its stuffed crusts. Step forward Peel Hunt, which has retained a ‘Buy’ recommendation. Currently 247.1p the broker reckons the stock is worth 325p. Analyst Douglas Jack said: ‘The price underestimates long-term expansion potential, and overestimates the short-term downside risk from fewer store openings.’
UBS appeared to have a case of the munchies as its two substantive pieces of research yesterday focused on the fast food sector. As joint broker to beleaguered Just Eat (JE.), it provided a supportive ‘buy’ recommendation for shares in the takeaway delivery group, though it did cut its price target to 870p a share from 930p. The group is reeling from the departure of its chief executive and has been called out by an activist investor that thinks it should merge with a rival. However, UBS believes the current share price undervalues Just Eat’s prospects, with orders expected to grow 11% this year.
The London arm of UBS adopted a more bearish stance on Greggs (GRG), maker of the steak bake. Downgrading to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’, it reckons stock in the Newcastle-based chain now fully reflects its fairly resilient trading outlook. Greggs has grown around 65% in value since hitting a year-low in August last year.
It was a decent day for followers of remote meetings technology specialist Loopup Group (LOOP) which rose 7.7%, or 25p, to 350p as it said profitability in 2018 was ‘comfortably ahead’ of consensus expectations.
Tech tiddler Mporium Group (MPM) rose 12.2%, or 0.6p at 5.5p, after it saw a significant ramp-up in revenues after inking a lead generation deal.
Firestone Diamonds (FDI) sparkled and spiked 7.4%, or 0.2p, to 2.90p after it uncovered a 70-carat whopper from its Lesotho mine. A smaller 40-carat stone it unearthed sold in December for £775,000.
There was a boost for Kodal Minerals (KOD) – up 9.5%, or 0.02p, to 0.18p – after it unveiled its latest exploration drilling results from a lithium project in Mali.
It has been a tough month for Ebiquity (EBQ) with the shares down around 45% in that time. A trading statement from the marketing and media services group did little to lift the spirits as the company’s shares fell 8.2%, or 5p, to 56p, in the aftermath of what looked to be a fairly anodyne update.
