Ted Baker (TED); media storm surrounding CEO appears not to have deterred shoppers
Expectations for the full year gross margin and FY19 earnings remain in-line with expectations
It could hardly have been a more tumultuous end to the year for Ted Baker, culminating in the founder and CEO, Ray Kelvin, taking a voluntary leave of absence in the final weeks before Christmas whilst allegations of sexual harassment are investigated.
Read more...Shoe Zone (SHOE); continues to delight investors since its IPO five years ago
The total dividend for the year has been raised 13% to 11.5p
Nobody told Shoe Zone that there’s a retail crisis. The company has delighted investors since its IPO five years ago with an 18% rise in pre-tax profit to £11.3m and 20% growth in earnings per share to 19.0p, an 8% beat against the market forecast. It opened 10 of its targeted Big Box superstores and now has 25 with 20 more planned in 2019.
Read more...Sosandar (SOS); announces third quarter results above expectations for revenue growth
The average order value rose by 10% to £106, rivalling longer established peers
Sosandar, the celebrity-endorsed online women’s fashion brand, has announced a record third quarter across key performance metrics (revenue, orders, site visits, and conversion), resulting in above-expectations revenue growth of 219% to £1.6m for the quarter. It now expects to exceed FY19 consensus revenue forecasts of £4.2m (revenue for the 9 months to 31st December, £3.4m) and deliver a net loss in-line with market expectations.
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TBC Bank Group (TBCG); subsidiary inspected for alleged violations in 2007/2008
NBG has issued a fine of about 1m Georgian lari
National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has inspected TBC Bank JSC, a subsidiary of the group, in relation to certain transactions between TBC Bank and certain entities. These transactions took place in 2007 and 2008 and allegedly did not comply with the relevant Georgian law relating to the regulation of conflicts of interest.
Read more...Sainsbury (SBRY); is now more than ever dependent on the Asda deal
Total sales were down 0.4% after growth of 1.7%
Retailers are splitting into winners and losers as each day progresses, and Sainsbury is firmly in the latter camp with market share for the last quarter down 0.4% year-on-year according to Kantar, giving ground mainly to Tesco and Asda.
Read more...Greggs (GRG); continues its impressive upwards trend
Like-for-like sales increased by 5.2%, implying growth of approximately 6.3% over the final 5 weeks
Greggs has continued its impressive upwards trend in company-managed store like-for-like sales growth across the fourth quarter and in the final 5 weeks of the year to 31st December 2018, upgrading its FY18 consensus earnings expectations for the second time in six weeks.
Read more...Accsys Technologies (AXS); collaborates with PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad
It is envisioned that Tricoya wood elements produced at the new plant would use acetic acid from PETRONAS’ existing joint venture
Accsys’s subsidiary, Tricoya Technologies Limited, has entered into an agreement with PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad to evaluate a Tricoya plant in Malaysia. Tricoya’s collaboration with PETRONAS evaluated the feasibility of jointly funding, designing, building and operating an integrated acetic anhydride and Tricoya wood elements production plant in Malaysia. As per the agreement, the parties have agreed to carry out the evaluation exclusively for a period of no less than 18 months.
Read more...Greene King (GNK); adds to its strong performance
Like-for-like sales up 3.2% for 36 weeks
Greene King’s Christmas statement adds a measure of assurance to the trading outlook. The managed Pub Company’s pubs added to their previous strong performance over the period, with like-for-like sales up 3.2% for 36 weeks, up from 2.9% at 30 weeks – equivalent to six week growth of 4.7% on our arithmetic.
Read more...Joules (JOUL); posts an upbeat half-year
What sets this business apart is its robust strategy that embraces e-commerce
Hot on the heels of an upbeat half-year pre-close trading update in December the lifestyle brand Joules has not disappointed over the Christmas period. For the seven weeks to 6 Jan total sales grew by 11.7%, a slower rate than the 17.6% reported for the first half, but still impressive in the current climate.
Read more...WM Morrison Supermarkets (MRW): sales growth fell off a cliff
In the background Morrison established a store-pick deal with Amazon
Morrison’s retail sales growth fell off a cliff in November and December, with like-for-like transactions down 0.9% against growth of 0.2% in Q3 and 2.6% in Q2. As a result, retail sales contributed an anaemic 0.6% to like-for-like growth for the nine weeks to 6 January, half the rate of Q3. Wholesale, down from Q3 growth of 4.3% to 3.0%, is largely the driver of total like-for-like sales growth of 3.6%.
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