French Connection shares (LON: FCCN) fell 16.52% on Tuesday afternoon as the group revealed pre-tax loss to widen in the six months ending 31 July 2020.
The fashion retailer posted a pre-tax loss of £13.2m. This is in comparison to the loss of £4.6m loss a year previously.
French Connection also reported a 53.1% fall in revenue down to £23.9m “predominantly owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Retail revenues for the period were £10.1m, down 57.6% from £23.8m. The group said this “reflects both the lockdown period but also the permanent closure of nine retail locations in the first half.”
Stephen Marks, chairman and chief executive said: “This has undoubtedly been the most difficult trading period that the Group has ever faced and I would like to thank our staff, both those who have kept the business running and those who have been on furlough, for their ongoing commitment to French Connection.
“Despite the unprecedented difficulties we continue to face alongside the rest of the High Street, having been able to secure the necessary financing we feel that we are well positioned to navigate an extended period of uncertain consumer demand but also ready to capitalise on any opportunities that may arise especially given the good performance of wholesale, while maintaining a very tight control of costs,” he added.
French Connection shares (LON: FCCN) are currently trading -17.65% at 7,37 (1427GMT).
Despite research claiming that the average British household has saved more than £2,000 during lockdown, the impression I get is that while many people have reduced their outgoings, many have also suffered a brutal slash to their income. With that in mind, here are some dates for big Sales between now and the holidays, to help you win at Christmas shopping.
October 13-14th Amazon Prime Day: A good opportunity for prime members to take advantage of free and fast delivery while also enjoying good deals. The Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) sale start from the moment the October 13 begins, and will feature store-wide discounts, with early deals including the Amazon Alexa Dot dropping from £50 to £19, and the Echo Show dropping from £80 to £40.
October 31st Halloween scarily good deals: Both instore and online, Halloween is a promotion period, with deals available not just on costumes and decorations, but according to Money.co.uk, consumers could also enjoy up to 40% off RRP on appliances, homeware and jewellery.
November 27th-30th The Weekend of Mayhem: Although it’s the biggest sales weekend of the year, I’ve decided to lump Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the lesser-known Small Business Saturday, under one banner – on account of the fact that these days being prime shopping time is hardly ground-breaking news. On Black Friday (which usually lasts for the whole weekend), shoppers can enjoy bargains on a range of goods, Cyber Monday offers a similar opportunity on online retail, and Small Business Saturday is a growing trend which encourages UK shoppers to support local businesses. The weekend sees retailers bring in introductory offers on their Christmas ranges, with electronics seeing some of the best discounts, at around 60% off RRPs.
December 10th Hanukkah: The Jewish Festival of Lights lasts for more than eight days and is a traditional time of gift-giving. With this in mind – and likely enjoying another opportunity to stimulate retail activity – lots of companies line up bargains for the early-December holiday period, with savings potential reaching as much as 50% off RRP.
December 14th Green Monday: Centred around the panic buying by late shoppers, this USA trend has, like many sales traditions, been adopted in the UK, with deals on everything from fashion, to electronics and toys. Money.co.uk says that during this period, shoppers can expect Amazon and eBay to host sessions for discounted goods, with potential savings up to 50% off RRP.
These insights came from research carried out by Money.co.uk, who also stated that they expect Brits’ Christmas spend to be 25% higher this year, with 30% saying that lockdown had inspired them to splash out more on festivities, and more than a third saying they’d begun Christmas shopping by September.
Commenting on the research findings, Money.co.uk personal finance expert, Salman Haqqi, said: “Just 15% of Brits shop for Christmas presents year-round, according to our survey, but there are huge savings to be made as a result of sales and discount periods throughout the year for those who do.”
“The two-day shopping event from Amazon provides discount opportunities to take advantage of for shoppers who want to maximise their spending power.”
“Money.co.uk surveyed 2,000 shoppers across the UK in July this year to paint an accurate picture of the nation’s Christmas shopping habits. Highest on the agenda is spending to recover from a year blighted by the coronavirus lockdown, according to the data.”
“In 2019 the average amount spent on a Christmas present for mums was £63, according to the money.co.uk data. But in 2020, that figure is set to climb to £71. The same is true for dads – with 2019’s average present spend on fathers of £51 being trumped by 2020’s average of £63.”
“Even family pets are set to feel the extra warmth of a more expensive present this Christmas – with last year’s Christmas spend on pets presents rising from £27 to £31 in 2020.”
“The only exception, it seems, is the nation’s children. While 46% of the nation says that it intends to spend the most on its kids as usual this year – the actual spending value on presents for children looks set to reverse the trend by going downwards, from £129 in 2019 to £116 in 2020.”
Automotive retail group, Marshall Motor Holdings (AIM:MMH), saw its shares rally around 11%, as the company enjoyed a booming recovery in trading during the third quarter – led by particularly strong activity in September.
The Society of Motor Manufacturer and Traders (SMMT) noted that total new vehicle registrations were down by 4.4% in September. In this sense, Marshall Motor Holdings ‘significantly’ outperformed the market, with like-for-like new vehicle sales up by 18.4%, and total new vehicle sales rising by 33.9%, as a result of strategic acquisitions made in 2019.
Similarly, while the SMMT reported that new vehicle retail registrations fell by 1.1% in September, the Group’s like-for-like vehicle retail sales grew by 19.1% – ahead of the market, with total new vehicle retail sales up 38.6%.
Meanwhile, the company’s fleet sales were also up by 17.1% on a like-for-like basis, with total new fleet sales up 23.9%, compared with the SMMT’s reported fleet registrations decline of 7.4%. Similarly, used vehicle sales rose by 15.7% on a like-for-like basis in September, and 29.4% in total.
Overall, total revenue was up by 28.0%, and by 16.3% on a like-for-like basis. This progress saw the company change its full-year guidance, from break-even, to an anticipated profit-before-tax of £15 million.
Marshall Motor Holdings responds
Commenting on the optimistic update, company Chief Executive, Daksh Gupta, said:
“Our strong culture, brand partnerships with scale, in-house technology platform and online presence, coupled with our exceptional colleagues have enabled the Group to significantly outperform the wider automotive retail market through this important post-lockdown trading period. Our operational performance in August and September, in particular, was strong across all key like-for-like new vehicle sales metrics and we have also delivered significant like-for-like growth in both used car sales and aftersales. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all of our colleagues who have worked tirelessly through these unprecedented times and contributed so magnificently in delivering this performance.”
“Whilst this period of positive trading has been welcomed following the significant impact of COVID-19 in the first half of the Year, there remain a number of uncertainties regarding the trading environment for the remainder of the Year and beyond. We are also mindful that the market in Q3 was positively impacted by pent-up demand for new and especially used vehicles, which, allied to restricted supply, created favourable conditions from which the Group was very well positioned to benefit. It is for these reasons that we have taken appropriate actions in terms of limited business closures and restructuring measures to ensure the Group is well placed to meet these potential future challenges”.
Investor notes
Following the update, the company’s shares rallied by 10.83% or 13.00p, to 133.00p apiece 13/10/20 11:00 BST. Today’s price represents the stock’s highest price since the start of lockdown, with the price last hitting this level at the start of March.
At present, the company has a p/e ratio of 5.24, and was given a 61.29% ‘Underperform’ rating by the Marketbeat community.
FTSE 100 listed energy company, SSE plc (LON:SSE), saw its shares rally on Tuesday, as it announced the sale of its 50% stake in two energy-from-waste ventures.
The two projects, Multifuel Energy Limited (MEL1) and Multifuel Energy 2 Limited (MEL2), will be sold to the European Diversified Infrastructure Fund III, an infrastructure fund managed by First Sentier Investors, for a total cash consideration of £995 million. The deal is expected to reach completion once it has been granted antitrust approval by the European Commission.
At present, the MEL1 and MEL2 ventures are joint-owned by SSE and Wheelabrator Technologies Inc, and consist of the operational Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 and Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 facilities (MEL1), and the Skelton Grange Multifuel development project (MEL2) – all of which are located in West Yorkshire.
The two MEL1 components have a capacity of 75MW apiece and are capable of processing around 725,000 tonnes and 675,000 tonnes of waste every year respectively. The MEL2 component is set to reach financial close around April 2021, and commence commercial operations in 2025. It is expected to have a capacity of 45MW and will be able to process 400,000 tonnes of waster per year.
The decision to sell followed SSE identifying the two ventures as an early priority for sale, in an effort to free up £2 billion from disposal of non-core assets by autumn of next year.
Today’s announcement follows the sale of the company’s 25.1% non-operating stake in Walney Offshore Wind Farm to Greencoat UK Wind for £350m and the agreement to sell its 33% equity interest in meter asset provider MapleCo to Equitix, under which SSE will receive net proceeds of around £90m on closing.
With these three disposals, SSE is more than 70% of the way to completing its disposals goal. With the proceeds of the sales, the company plans to invest £7.5 billion in low-carbon energy infrastructure over the next five years, which it says will both lower UK emissions and reduce its own net debt.
SSE sale to spur on future investment in low-carbon energy
Speaking on the announcement, company Finance Director, Gregor Alexander, commented:
“This sale marks a major step in our plans to secure at least £2bn from disposals by autumn 2021, with just over £1.4bn now delivered. While these multifuel assets have been successful ventures for SSE, they are non-core investments and we are pleased to have agreed a sale that delivers significant value for shareholders while sharpening our strategic focus on our core low-carbon businesses.”
“Our disposal programme demonstrates how the company can create value from our assets and supports our plans to invest £7.5bn over the next five years in the low-carbon infrastructure needed to stimulate a green economic recovery and help the UK transition to a net-zero future.”
Investor notes
Following the news, SSE shares rallied by 3.85% or 51.00p, to 1,377.00p a share 13/10/20 11:15 BST. At present, this is around 4% behind analysts’ target price of 1,418.30p a share, and short of its half-year high, in July, of 1,436.00p.
Analysts currently have a consensus ‘Hold’ rating on the Group’s stock, a p/e ratio of 15.86, and was allocated a 61.74% ‘Underperform’ rating by the Marketbeat community.
Sareum Holdings shares (LON: SAR) plunged almost 10% after the group said it would find out this week whether it would receive grant funding for preliminary studies of a coronavirus anti-inflammatory.
The small molecule therapeutics specialist is awaiting on the grant application, which is successful, the group can begin initial studies fatal respiratory symptoms of Corona.
Sareum Holdings posted a £0.99m loss for the year ending in June. This is compared to the £1.45m loss a year previously.
Dr Tim Mitchell, chief executive, said: “Sareum has continued to make good progress with the preclinical development of our proprietary dual TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor programmes.
“Most recently, we have overcome an important formulation challenge with SDC-1801, which will now be advanced into the toxicology studies needed to complete our preparations for clinical trials.”
“Regarding SRA737, we continue to monitor Sierra Oncology‘s activities as it explores options to fund the future development of this novel compound. We were pleased to note that as of 25 September 2020, the website www.clinicaltrials.gov is reporting that the Phase 1/2 trials of SRA737 as a monotherapy and in combination with low dose gemcitabine in solid cancers are complete.
“We look forward to the results of these completed trials being disclosed. We will provide further updates on this and other programmes when appropriate,” he added.
Sareum Holdings shares (LON: SAR) are trading -9.28% at 1,39 (0921GMT).
B.P Marsh & Partners shares (LON: BPM) surged almost 12% on Tuesday as the financial group interim results for the six months to 31 July 2020.
Pre-tax profit rose from £5.6m a year earlier to £6.5m in the latest period and Net Asset Value per share rose to 396.2p, from 360.9p a year earlier.
“B.P. Marsh’s diversified investment portfolio has shown its resilience, delivering NAV growth despite the ongoing market uncertainty,” said Brian Marsh, chairman of the group.
“The outlook is positive for the rest of the year, in no small part due to the hard work and dedication of our investee companies and our own employees in the period.”
Commenting on results and dividend, Marsh said: “During the Period we have seen a 5.1% increase in the valuation of the portfolio from £115.7m to £122.1m, which we are encouraged by, considering the continuing uncertain backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our portfolio continues to perform in line with management expectations, and the Group aims to be able to deliver Net Asset Value growth at the year end. Our Net Asset Value as at 31 July 2020 was £142.6m or 396.2p per share, up 4.2% over the Period and 9.7% over the prior twelve months.”
The group remains positive of its outlook and said it is confident in carrying out new investments.
B.P Marsh & Partners shares (LON: BPM) are currently trading +10.21% at 259,00 (0858GMT).
Europa Oil & Gas shares (LON: EOG) fell after the group announced its final results for the 12 month period ended 31 July 2020.
Revenue for the full-year fell from £1.7m in 2019 to £1.2m in the 12 months to the end of July 2020, whilst pre-tax loss widened from £0.9m to £1.2m.
Chief executive, Hugh Mackay, has stepped down and Simon Oddie has been appointed as the interim chief executive and executive director.
“The award of the Inezgane permit offshore Morocco, the granting of planning consent for the Wressle Oil Field, the refocus of the Offshore Ireland portfolio onto the proven gas play of the Slyne Basin following the acquisition of FEL3/19 and the 1.2 tcf Edge prospect – much progress has been made during the year under review,” said Oddie.
“While the ongoing pandemic and volatility in oil and gas prices may impact exact timings of planned activity, we are confident that the momentum behind our various projects will continue to build in the year ahead.
“Our objective is to expose our shareholders to significant value creating opportunities while minimising risk. Our UK production, which is set to dramatically increase once Wressle comes online, provides us with a low risk cash flow generative platform. Our offshore Ireland and offshore Morocco assets, which hold company-making volumetrics, provide us with multiple opportunities to generate significant value.
“We also intend to resume our efforts to add a third leg to our business by securing a late stage appraisal project, once market conditions improve. Our confidence in Europa’s assets and team remains as high as ever and with this in mind, I look forward to providing further updates on our progress in the year ahead,” he added.
Europa Oil & Gas shares (LON: EOG) are fell on Tuesday’s opening 14.29% and are currently trading at 0.88 (0843GMT).
The UK’s unemployment period has jumped to 4.5% between June – August.
A month ago, the unemployment rate was 4.1% according to the Office for National Statistics.
The number of people between this period that were unemployed is 1.52 million, a number that has rapidly increased amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ONS said: “The annual increase was the largest since September to November 2011 and the quarterly increase was the largest since May to July 2009.
“The estimated UK unemployment rate for men was 4.9%; this is 0.8 percentage points higher than a year earlier and 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous quarter.
The estimated UK unemployment rate for women was 4.0%; this is 0.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier and 0.1 percentage points higher than the previous quarter.”
The news comes as the government is winding down the furlough scheme.
The unemployment figures are likely to hit part-time staff and self-employed people the hardest.
“Estimates for June to August 2020 show 32.59 million people aged 16 years and over in employment, 102,000 fewer than a year earlier. This annual decrease was driven by men in employment (down by 213,000 on the year to 17.04 million),” said the ONS.
“Employment decreased by 153,000 on the quarter; men in employment decreased by 115,000, while women in employment decreased by 38,000. This quarterly decrease was driven by people in employment aged 16 to 24 years, the self-employed and part-time workers, but was partly offset by increases in employment for people aged 25 to 64 years and full-time employees.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, responded to the new figures: “I’ve been honest with people from the start that we would unfortunately not be able to save every job. But these aren’t just statistics, they are people’s lives. That’s why trying to protect as many jobs as possible and to helping those who lose their job back into employment, is my absolute priority.
“This is why we put together an unprecedented £190bn package of support and have a comprehensive Plan for Jobs. Our measures have focused on protecting people’s livelihoods, which is what the furlough scheme has done and what our support schemes – including SEISS, the Job Support Scheme and Job Retention Bonus – continue to do.”
It’s no secret that the capacity utilisation of airlines, hotels and recreational outlets has been greatly diminished by the COVID pandemic, but recent data provided by Stockapps illustrates just how much of a hit European tourism has taken in 2020.
According to Stockapps Researcher, Rex Pascual: “As countries shut their borders to protect their citizens from the pandemic, global tourism virtually stopped. This was very apparent in Europe’s leading tourist destinations which were also one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.”
During March, COVID pandemic panic was in full force, and saw UK tourism fall by 96%. Meanwhile, Italian tourism dropped by 98%, and summer holiday hotspot, Spain, saw tourism collapse to just 3% of volumes seen last year.
Stockapps year-on-year bookings data
On the worst-hit of the European countries, Pascual added: “The global tourism industry is one of the hardest hit industries with regards to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data presented by Stockapps.com, at the height of the lockdowns in Europe, France experienced a 99% decrease in reservations on popular accommodations sites; Airbnb, Expedia and Booking.com compared to 2019.”
The research also indicated that even a summer spree was not enough to offset most of the damage done by the virus, with restrictions painting a rather bleak image of what the ‘new normal’ might look like for travel and tourism sectors.
On the one hand, French and Spanish tourism did recover to just 13% and 16% below their normal levels in June. However, Italy lagged behind, with its peak in August still 44% below normal levels, and UK tourism experienced the most modest recovery, with its high in August still 55% short of normality.
We might imagine that these statistics are downbeat but hardly surprising given the year we’ve all had. What we should be worried about, though, are the volatile developing markets which are highly dependent on consumer demand, both from Western tourists, and for goods.
As stated by Oxford Professor, Sunetra Gupta: “[…] my primary reason for being vocal has all along been my deep concern about the economically vulnerable, in this country and globally. I am terrified when I read reports of 260 million people going under the poverty line as a result of [lockdowns].”
“We must consider all the consequences. I think we also need to take a more holistic view and not just this individual, nationalistic view. Think globally, think internationally.”
Worth a thought, nonetheless. Lockdown may save our loved ones’ lives – but through loss of commerce, it may also cost others theirs.
Two years on from the game’s understated release, Among Us has announced itself as the latest big trend in the international gaming community.
This fact was never more clearly evidenced than through data published by Safebettingsites.com, which noted that downloads of the game at the start of September were 3710% what they were at the start of January.
Among Us is inspired by social deduction game, Mafia, and designed to be played by 4-10 players, who are either assigned the role of ‘cremate’ or ‘imposter’. Imposters have to try and kill all of the crewmates without being caught before the crewmates finish their minigames; crewmates can win the game by finishing their mini-tasks before everyone is killed, or if they figure out who the impostor is.
The game was already well-received in South Korea and Brazil but only became popular in the US once influential Twitch Streamers began to broadcast themselves playing the game. Once this occurred, the game achieved ‘meteoric’ popularity, and saw downloads increase from 1.1 million during the first two weeks of 2020, to 42 million Steam downloads during the first half of September.
Safebettingsites Among Us data
Despite its limited popularity, and only having three developers, Among Us was consistently updated and improved since its release in June 2018.
Commenting on the game’s success, Safebettingsites Researcher, Rex Pascual, noted: “On September 20, 2020, Among Us reached over 388,000 concurrent viewers on gaming platform Steam, placing third in its rankings behind well-established gaming behemoths CS:GO and Dota 2 and in front of long time number one PUBG. This achievement is all the more impressive considering Among Us was the creation of a team of only three developers compared to the development teams of such games like PUBG.”
The independent developers of Among Us, InnerSloth, decided in September that it would cancel the release of the game’s sequel, Among Us 2, due to the surge in popularity of the game’s original installation.
The company also remains independent, though it will be interesting to see if this remains the case, with chatter of a second game giving the group an attractive pipeline going forwards. However, in addition to its clever hook, what makes Among Us and its counterparts so popular, are their artistic and cult feel, which is highly personal to the company’s small team.
While the game’s developers might seek backing for future projects, any kind of takeover would risk losing the indie charm, which plays an integral part of the company’s current success.
