20th Oct 2015 10:18
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Tuesday.
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COMPANIES
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J Sainsbury was the only big four UK supermarket to increase sales in the past 12 weeks, for the third consecutive period, according to Kantar Worldpanel's grocery market survey. Sainsbury's sales rose 1.1% in the 12 weeks to October 11 to GBP3.96 billion from GBP3.92 billion in the same period a year earlier, as its market share stayed flat at 16.1%. Wm Morrison Supermarkets came in second place, with an overall sales decline of 1.0% to GBP2.64 billion from GBP2.67 billion, as its market share slipped to 10.8% from 10.9%. Next was Tesco, which saw a 1.7% fall in sales to GBP6.89 billion from GBP7.01 billion, as its market share declined to 28.1% from 28.8%. The worst performer of the big four was Wal-Mart Stores-owned Asda, which suffered a 3.0% decrease in sales to GBP4.08 billion from GBP4.20 billion.
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Meanwhile Waitrose, the upmarket supermarket owned by the John Lewis Partnership, also performed well, with sales rising 2.1% as its market share remained flat at 5.2%. The good performance from Waitrose came as Mark Price, its managing director and deputy chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, stepped down. Rob Collins, the retail director of Waitrose, will take over from Price when he steps down in April 2016.
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InterContinental Hotels Group said it achieved record hotel signings in the third quarter of 2015, but reported a drop in revenue per available room due to the effects of currency translation, although it grew in three of its four operating regions on a constant exchange rate basis. The hotel operator, which owns brands including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental Hotels, said global RevPAR in the third quarter fell 0.4% on the same period the year before due to the strengthening of the dollar, although it grew 4.8% at constant exchange rates, led by a 3.6% rise in room rates. Regionally, RevPAR grew 4.3% in the Americas at constant exchange rates, 7.8% in Europe and 7.1% in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, but was down 0.7% in Greater China.
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Double-digit sales growth for both Premier Inn and Costa Coffee pushed Whitbread interim profit higher, the company said on Tuesday, leading the group to express confidence in its medium-term targets as it continues to invest heavily in both of the two booming consumer businesses. Whitbread said sales for Costa Coffee rose 16% in the half to GBP514.6 million, with UK sales up 17% and international sales rising 14%. UK like-for-like sales increased 4.4% and its Costa Express units, automatic dispensers installed primarily in supermarkets, also performed well. Systems sales for Costa in total rose to GBP755.4 million, up 15%.
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Al Noor Hospitals Group confirmed it has received a "highly preliminary" indication of interest from Abu Dhabi-based VPS Healthcare Group, following its proposed reverse takeover of South Africa's Mediclinic International Ltd last week. This brings the number of potential suitors for the private hospital group to three, having also received a competing approach from London-listed peer NMC Health.
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Go-Ahead Group said its overall trading in the first quarter has been satisfactory and affirmed its full-year expectations for its bus and rail operations. The transport operator said trading in its UK regional bus business in the first quarter, covering June 28 to October 19, was broadly in line with the second half of its 2015 financial year, with revenue up 1.0% but passenger journeys down 1.5%. London bus revenue rose 2.0% in the quarter, though the group said its quality incentive contract continues to be hit by congestion in the capital from roadworks. The rail business performed well again, however, with passenger revenue from its Southeastern service up 6.0%, London Midland revenue up 11.0% and GTR revenue up 4.5%.
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Publishing and business information company Informa reaffirmed its full-year expectations on a "consistent performance" in its third quarter, taking its revenue growth for the first nine months of 2015 to 6.9%. Informa said that, on an organic basis, revenue growth for the nine months to end-September was around 2%.
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ASOS reported growth in profit in its recently-ended financial year as sales rose strongly and it invested in its warehouses and technology systems. The online fashion retailer reported a 1% rise in pretax profit in the year ended August 31 to GBP47.5 million from GBP46.9 million the year before, as revenue rose 18% to GBP1.15 billion from GBP975.5 million. By region, UK retail sales were up 27% and international retail sales increased 11%.
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MARKETS
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UK indices were trading mixed with the FTSE 100 lower but supported by positive trading updates Intercontinental Hotels Group and Whitbread.
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FTSE 100: down 0.4% at 6,326.30
FTSE 250: up 0.1% at 16,940.12
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 744.05
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GBP: flat at USD1.5499 (USD1.5489)
EUR: up at USD1.1365 (USD1.1322)
GOLD: up at USD1,174.34 per ounce (USD1,170.76)
OIL (Brent): flat at USD48.51 a barrel (USD48.83)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Britain welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping for a three-day state visit on Tuesday as several groups planned to protest China's human rights abuses. Hundreds of protesters and supporters of Xi gathered near Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth's London residence, ahead of the official welcome ceremony and a series of meetings between the Chinese leader and members of the royal family.Prime Minister David Cameron, who is scheduled to meet Xi on Tuesday before formal talks on Wednesday, said he expected the two sides to sign deals valued at some GBP30 billion during the visit.
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Germany's producer prices declined at the fastest pace in seven months and the fall was much worse than the decrease economists had predicted, preliminary data from Destatis revealed. The industrial producer price index dropped 2.1% year-on-year following a 1.7% slump in August. Economists had expected a 1.8% fall.
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Canada's Liberal Party beat the incumbent Conservatives of Stephen Harper, election results showed. "The Canadians have chosen change - real change," Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, the eldest son of former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau, told his supporters at a rally broadcast live by several television channels. The Liberals had 184 confirmed seats, comfortably above the 170 needed for a majority, CBC reported online. Some pollsters had predicted they would fall short and need to form a coalition. The Conservatives were second with 99 seats. Harper resigned as party leader but kept his seat in parliament.
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The US and the EU are seeking progress on tariffs during the latest round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations this week in Miami. The 11th round of talks, which began Monday and are to conclude Friday, are to further address harmonizing regulations and new rules for public procurement. Brussels and Washington have been negotiating the trade deal, which would create the world's largest free trade area with 800 million people, since 2013. Despite running past the initial schedule, Malmstrom said talks were making progress.
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Japan will remove tariffs on about 30% of the agricultural products it earlier defended as sensitive, under a recently concluded Pacific trade pact, local media reported. During negotiations, Japan sought to maintain its import tariffs on 586 goods in five key farm categories - rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy products and sugar. Now 174 of those will be lifted under the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, Kyodo News agency reported, citing unnamed government sources.
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Chinese hacking of US companies that appears to be aimed at stealing intellectual property has continued despite an agreement reached last month by US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping that aimed to halt such attacks. Online security firm Crowdstrike said that its systems had detected prevented intrusions into companies committed by "actors we have affiliated with the Chinese government."
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Syrian government forces claimed gains against Islamic State as they sought to relieve a military airbase besieged by the extremist group east of Aleppo. A Syrian military source, who declined to be named, said the army had captured three villages as it advanced towards Kweires airbase, where hundreds of troops are thought to be besieged.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]; @ArvindBhunjun
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