British convenience store operator McColl’s Retail Group PLC (LON: MCLS) saw moderately disappointing fundamentals for the third quarter of the financial year, following a period of strategic readjustment.
The Group said that they were undergoing a reduction and optimisation of their store base during Q3, and said this round of results reflected this change, a difficult trading environment and some of the poor performance owed to poor weather.
McColl’s booked a 2.2% reduction in LFL sales during Q3, alongside a 3.6% dip in total revenue. This followed a 0.1% in LFL sales and 1.2% revenue decrease on a year-on-year comparison for the full-year to-date.
The Company did say though, that it had made good progress on its operations and strategy. It was continuing to review its product ranges and had opened four new convenience stores opened during the third quarter.
McColl’s comments
Jonathan Miller, Chief Executive, said,
“As we outlined in our interim results, this has been a highly unseasonable summer for the retail sector and our sales performance reflects both this and the ongoing macro-economic uncertainty.”
“The fundamentals of the convenience channel are strong and our focus remains on good retail execution whilst maintaining strong capital discipline. We continue to make operational progress and we anticipate results in line with expectations for the full year.”
Investor notes
Despite remaining steady for most of the day, the Company’s shares dipped 2.38% or 1.15p to 47.25p a share 29/08/19 15:10 BST. Peel Hunt analysts reiterated their ‘Buy’ stance on McColl’s stock, while Liberum reiterated their ‘Hold’ stance. The Group’s p/e ratio is 7.26 and their dividend yield stands at 8.42%.
Elsewhere in retail and on the highstreet, there have been updates from; Boohoo Group PLC (LON: BOO), Burberry Group plc(LON: BRBY), Associated British Foods plc (LON: ABF), H&M (STO: HM-B) and Sports Direct International Plc (LON: SPD).