Dixons £460m loss fuels fears of High St bloodbath but new boss insists turnaround plan is still on track. The new boss of Dixons Carphone (DC.) insisted his turnaround plan was on track despite racking up a thumping loss and slashing the dividend. On another bleak day for the High Street, it reported first-half losses of £440million, having made a profit of £54million in the same period last year. With the dividend cut from 3.5p a share to 2.25p, shares fell 6%, or 9p, to 142p, their lowest since a merger with Carphone Warehouse in 2014. But chief executive Alex Baldock, who joined in April, insisted its turnaround was progressing as it recorded a 1 per cent increase in sales to £4.9billion. The 48-year-old said: ‘We believe in our plan, are under way, making early progress and determined to make it a lasting success.’
‘Worse than expected’ Superdry (SDRY) results send its shares plummeting as former boss agitates for return to top table. The fashion firm, which has seen its shares crash 81% across the year, came clean today about a massive 49% decline in half-year profits, as well as poor store sales and deteriorating margins. It also warned that its earnings for the full-year will fall short of the mark. The half-year numbers were worse than analysts predicted and triggered a sharp sell off, taking the firm’s share price to below £3.74, lows not seen since 2012. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: ‘Expectations were already low for Superdry given mild weather having a negative impact on coats and jackets. ‘However, its half year results are even worse than expected, prompting questions as to whether the business has really lost its way.’
Interserve in crunch talks with the pensions regulator over its retirement scheme as firm fights for survival. The pensions watchdog is on red alert over the crisis at Interserve (IRV) amid fears over the future of the ailing contractor’s retirement scheme. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is in talks with company bosses and trustees of the pension scheme as the firm fights for survival. Shares are down 49% this week and 87% this year amid warnings that it could become ‘Carillion mark two’ following the collapse of its rival in January. Interserve is now in crunch talks with its lenders to ease its crippling debt burden.
Sainsbury’s and Asda challenge watchdog in court over claim ‘unprecedented scale and complexity’ of tie-up warrants extra time to respond to probe. Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) and Asda are challenging the competition watchdog in court over being granted more time for responses to the probe into their £12billion mega-merger. The two ‘big four’ supermarkets are applying for a judicial review, arguing the ‘unprecedented scale and complexity’ of their planned union warrants the extra time. The CMA on the other hand is firm in its view the timeframe given is adequate, and typical for such a merger. It has said it will defend its position in court, and is ‘not willing to compromise on the thoroughness or objectivity’ of the investigation.
Shares in engineering giant Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) were flying as it promised investors profits for the year would top £450million. It is still struggling with problems on the Trent 1000 engine, used to power Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aeroplanes. Earlier this year, blades on the engines were found to be wearing out faster than expected. Though Rolls has increased its maintenance and repair capabilities, it said a ‘high level’ of aircraft were still grounded. The business is also set to deliver 500 large engines to customers in 2018, which is 50 fewer than it planned in March, due to supply-chain issues.
Drugs company 4D Pharma (DDDD) has bounced back from a hefty fall, after its top brass said they knew of no reason for the sliding share price. 4D specialises in live biotherapeutics, medicines made from bacteria to treat diseases from asthma to cancer. After falling 29.5% on Tuesday, 4D was back up 46.1%, or 41p, to 130p yesterday after confirming all its clinical study timelines were on track. It is developing treatments for asthma, Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
Brexit-sensitive builders including Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) (up 189p, to 3500p), Barratt Developments (BDEV) (up 20.9p, to 468.1p) and Persimmon (PSN) (up 80.5p, to 1971p) also added to the blue-chip index’s gains, as investors expected Prime Minister Theresa May to survive a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
Wood Group (John) (WG.), which provides engineering services to the oil and gas sector, sank as it said it was unsure what recent volatility in the price of oil would mean for customers’ spending. Wood depends on oil and gas firms building and maintaining new drilling structures, but companies are likely to hold back on this spending when oil prices are lower. Its shares dropped 10.2%, or 65.6p, to 578.6p.
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) was also trying to get back onto the front foot, as its shares climbed 4.14p, to 29.44p after sliding dramatically following its third profit warning of the year. Traders appeared to be hunting a bargain with the travel agent’s shares, which have lost almost 80% of their value this year. Now, the drastic sell-off seems to be drawing to a close.
Landscaping company Marshalls (MSLH), which makes items from paving slabs to road bollards, shot up as it bought brick maker Edenhall for up to £17.2million. The deal should start adding to Marshalls’ earnings within the first year. Shares rocketed 45.2p, to 462p. Shares in stockbroker AJ Bell were on the rise, as they became freely available for all investors to trade following their market debut last week. When it floated on Friday, only investors who had bought shares through the initial public offering could trade. Still, the price shot up more than 30% and added £62m to founder Andy Bell’s 25.5% stake. As new investors piled in yesterday, shares climbed another 9.6%, or 21.5p, to 245p, increasing Bell’s paper wealth a further £22million.
Addiction treatment company Indivior (INDV) received a temporary reprieve from a US court, which denied an application from competitor Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to immediately restart selling its cheaper copycat drug in the US. Indivior was granted an injunction to stop Dr Reddy’s selling the drug, which was overturned last month. Now it is filing to have its case reheard to ban Dr Reddy’s permanently, and the ruling gives it breathing space.
The Norwegian oil group DNO has upped the ante in its bid to launch a hostile takeover of Faroe Petroleum (FPM) by setting a three-week deadline for its £608million offer. DNO slammed the British company as it published an offer document, and told shareholders they have until 1pm on January 2 to respond to its approach.
