Card Factory (LON:CARD) have seen their shares crash on Thursday as the firm expects annual earnings to decline following a tough festive period.

Revenue in the eleven month period to December 31 was 3.6% which saw an increased from the 3.4% figure in the same period year on year. However, the firm said that like for like sales declined by 0.6%, which alerted shareholders.

Card Factory added that it had 47 net store openings in the UK and Ireland so far in the financial year, and the new stores are performing well.

The firm said that the total portfolio totals at 1,019 stores which 13 of which are based in Ireland.

Notably, the firm said it is not rack to meet its target of 50 net new stores openings, highlighting its “solid pipeline” of new opportunities.

The online unit saw positive revenue growth of 15% year on year during the 11 months, however over the same period last year revenue online rallied 59%.

The company said after the festive period it expects adjusted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, also excluding IFRS 16 adjustments, to be in the ballpark of £81.0 million and £83.0 million in the current financial year.

Alerting shareholders, this could show a decline by 9.4% from the £89.4 million last year.

Speculating further to 2021, the firm said its adjusted underlying Ebitda could take a hit off up to £10 million, amid more declines in high street footfall and a depressed pound.

However, shareholders will be disappointed by saying that the company did not expect to pay a special dividend during the 2021 financial year.

Card Factory didn’t comment on the dividend for financial 2020 other than to say it remains committed to its current dividend policy. For the first half of the year, it kept both the ordinary and special dividends flat, at 2.9 pence and 5.0p respectively.

There was some optimism for the firm as they enlightened the market about a deal struck wit The Reject Shop Ltd (ASX:TRS) an Australian discount shop chain with 360 stores in the country.

The company will update shareholders of its strategic review, when it reports its full-year results on April 21.

Card Factory try to fight slumping High Street

Card Factory said: “The Christmas trading period was challenging. The general election and weak consumer sentiment ensured that the long-running trend of declining high street footfall was maintained.

“Management was able to offset the footfall decline, in part, by once again increasing average transaction value. This was achieved by making more sophisticated use of data to improve ranging decisions, as well as continuing to improve the quality of products offered.”

The company explained: “To date there has been significant success in mitigating in large part the Ebitda impact of these external factors through a combination of offer improvements and business efficiencies. These efforts will continue, but the opportunity for efficiencies within the current business model is finite.

“Accordingly, the board anticipates that, on a business as usual basis, the net impact of market headwinds on financial 2021’s adjusted underlying Ebitda is likely to be in the range of GBP5 million and GBP10 million.”

Card Factory concluded: “The review is not yet complete, but the board is confident that it will yield a number of attractive medium term growth opportunities across both new and existing channels, albeit there may be a requirement for additional strategic investment in financial 2021 to support this future growth.”

Shares in Card Factory trade at 101p (-27.69%). 9/1/20 12:57BST.

Centamin (LON:CEY) have reported a very strong updated from the Sukari Mine in Egypt.

The firm said that Sukari, which is the company’s online producing mine totaled output of 148,387 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter in 2019.

The figure that was highlighted by Centamin showed a 51% rise compared to the previous quarter, which was due to improved grades, recoveries, and a year-end drawdown of gold-in-circuit.

Despite the impressive performance from the Sukari Mine, this was not enough for Centamin to meet their annual guidance.

Centamin reported today that gold production for 2019 was 480,529 ounces, which showed a 2% growth year on year but still falling short.

Centamin have reassured shareholders that they can make progress in 2020 as they issued a guidance of 510,000 and 540,000 ounces of gold.

The firm has seen difficulties at the Sukari Mine across 2019, which led to a decline in third quarter production by 17%.

Ross Jerrard, CEO commented: “As expected, the fourth quarter production result represents one of the strongest quarterly results from Sukari and is a significant achievement for our operational team. During 2019 there have been substantial changes in senior management and this transition in leadership is beginning to be reflected in our improved operating performance.”

Mixed year for Centamin

2019 has been a mixed year for Centamin, as the firm in July saw its gold production drop by 25%.

The company said production had fallen by 25 percent in the second quarter, after reporting low grades at its mine in Egypt. It is undergoing a “transitional zone” at its Sukari mine but expects production to be “materially stronger” in the second half of the year.

Later in the year, the firm said that the remained confident to meet their revenue guidance figures. Gold production in Q3 was 98,045 ounces, seeing a 17% from the previous quarter and 17% lower than the previous year.

Gold sales in this quarter were 108,826 in the third quarter. This saw a 3% fall, but a 2% rise in the prior year.

Additionally, Centamin said that Chief Financial Officer Ross Jerrard has been made interim CEO, following the departure of Andrew Pardey.

Centamin also announced the appointment of Jim Rutherford as a non executive director. He will become deputy non-executive chair after 2020’s annual general meeting, when incumbent Gordon Edward Haslam departs.

Rutherford looked like a sound appointment, as he was currently holding a role as non-executive director at Anglo American plc (LON:AAL).

Centamin and Endeavor – what will happen?

On December 3, news broke out globally that Centamin had been subject to a hostile takeover bid following a merger approach from Endeavour.

The firm saw their shares spike almost 8% on the announcement, which got shareholders licking their lips.

When this update hit news, Centamin seemed to firmly reject the prospect of a potential takeover, saying that the bid submitted did not value Centamin.

In a response to the £1.47 billion, all share combination proposal, Centamin said that it is ‘better positioned’ to deliver shareholder returns on a stand alone basis than a combined entity, leading to an unanimous board rejection.

Whilst the deal was firmly rejected, it seems that Centamin Chair Josef El-Raghy was most skeptical of the deal saying the following comments.

“The board strongly believes that Endeavour’s proposal significantly increases financial and operating risk without any material benefits to our shareholders. Centamin’s stated strategy has always been to maximise returns for all of its shareholders, having returned approximately USD500 million to shareholders since 2014. In addition, despite numerous requests, Endeavour has refused to enter into a customary non-disclosure agreement to allow the board to further assess the proposal.”

Endeavour explained: “As meaningful engagement has still not been forthcoming, Endeavour is today announcing the terms set out in its proposal in an effort to encourage the Centamin Board to engage in discussions.”

On Monday 16, lightning had seem to strike for Endeavour as it was reported that merger talks between the two firms had commenced.

After what seemed to be a stalemate, Centamin might have seen value in merging with Endeavour and talks commenced on Monday.

The merger values Centamin at around £1.47 billion, and Endeavour noted it has made several unsuccessful attempts at engaging with Centamin’s board.

Certainly, the deal will continue to take its twist and turns. The last two weeks have been extremely busy for shareholders of Centamin, with shares fluctuating up and down.

As the extension for talks has been granted until January 14, both parties will be keen to see what will unfold.

From today’s update it is clear to see why Endeavour have been so keen on acquiring Centamin, and the strong performance of the Sukari mine is something for shareholder to keep an eye on in 2020.

Shares of Centamin trade at 124p (+2.55%). 9/1/20 12:18BST.

Hilton Food Group PLC (LON:HFG) have continued their fine run of form giving shareholders a positive update.

The firm reported that it had traded strongly and that Australian operations had succeeded particularly well.

Hilton said that the yearly performance ending December 29 met board expectations saying that growth sales and volumes were strong.

Australia was the best performer, Hilton said, with year-on-year growth also strong. This reflects volumes from a new plant in Brisbane and higher volumes from the existing site in Victoria.

Looking at Europe, the firm has gained a boost as it now packages all of Tesco’s (LON:TSCO) lam and beef.

Seachill, a Hilton subsidiary, benefited from a full year of working with Tesco’s seafood unit as well as Waitrose’s breaded products.

The firm said that trading in the rest of Europe was “generally” good.

Notably, sales in Denmark have risen however this was offset by a dip in sales in Sweden and the Netherlands, however the firm still remain confident.

Central Europe did well, Hilton said, while Dalco, its vegetarian and vegan business, has also “progressed well”. Dalco has secured a number of new contracts, it added.

Hilton has had a reputation of performing strongly in the UK market, as the UK makes up over 50% of its revenue.

The Netherlands comes second with 18%, Sweden with 13%, Denmark with 6%, while Australia made up 1%.

The firm commented “Hilton’s trading outlook remains positive, with significant growth prospects underpinned by the previously announced expansion plans in Australia, in Central Europe (Fresh Food) and subsequently in New Zealand, as well as further opportunities arising from the move into fish via the Seachill acquisition and the roll-out of vegetarian products. Hilton’s financial position remains strong, underpinned by good operating cash flow and with incremental facilities to fund additional expansion opportunities. Hilton remains well placed to deliver continued growth over the medium term enhanced by further opportunities to develop our cross category business in both domestic and overseas markets.”

Hilton continues to flourish

The firm has seen a very productive few months, as it reported a solid half year of trading in July. In a trading update for the 28 weeks to the 15 July the company reported growing UK turnover, with “encouraging” growth in its Irish business.

Its business in Holland reported lower turnover than in 2017, but the group added that in Portugal “good progress” was being made.

The company also said first-half double-digit growth was achieved in Australia.

In October, the firm said that it was meeting expectations across the quarter.

Hilton stated that despite progress relating to the Fresh Food Factory, volumes remained ‘challenged’ in Central Europe. However, the Company has achieved growth in turnover alongside strategic progress in Western Europe and the UK, owing to an agreement with Tesco.

“In Western Europe we have made good progress in a number of markets. In the UK, we made significant strategic progress with an agreement to pack 100% of Tesco’s red meat.Turnover in the UK has therefore continued to grow driven predominantly by higher Tesco red meat volumes as well as increased Seachill volumes, where we have benefitted this year from the new business wins.”

The Group concluded by stating that its financial position remains strong and that it continued to explore investment opportunities.

Shares of Hilton Food Group trade at 1,070p (+1.71%). 9/1/20 11:54BST.

Dunelm Group PLC (LON:DNLM) have reported sales and margin growth in the second half of its financial year.

The British homeware firm said that like for like sales in a thirteen week period to December 28 surged 5%, which gives them a strong foot holding where rivals such as DFS (LON:DFS) have seen volatility.

The firm alluded to strong growth across the total retail system, as such total sales growth including new stores was 6.2% higher in the second quarter.

The company also impressively noted that gross margin improve by 110 basis points in the second quarter, mainly due to sourcing gains and lower product markdowns. Margin improvements were made across all product categories, Dunelm said.

Speculating further, Dunelm gave shareholders optimism by saying that it plans to add over 6,000 new online exclusive products in the current financial year.

Dunelm alluded to the successful transition to its new digital platform across the second quarter.

The FTSE 250 constituent expects pretax profit for the first half to total £83 million after adjusting for the impact of the new accounting standard IFRS 16. In the first half of financial 2019, Dunelm’s pretax profit was £70 million.

The company added that the regulation of IFRS 16 reduced pretax profit by £1.3 million in the first half of financial 20.

Pleasing results for Dunelm

Comment from Nick Wilkinson, Dunelm’s Chief Executive Officer:

“We are really pleased with our performance in the first half, building on the strong growth and profitability delivered last year. The second quarter was particularly strong in terms of sales and margin growth, on both one-year and two-year bases.

“The successful launch of our new digital platform during the quarter marked an exciting milestone for Dunelm. The transition to a modern, flexible, cloud-native platform has already improved our customer experience and will allow us to step change our retail innovation capabilities going forward. Our customers have responded well to the new website during Christmas and Winter Sale trading.

“Our ambitious growth plans are centred on extending and enhancing our customer proposition, helping more customers than ever create a home that they love. We are excited by the significant opportunities ahead of us.”

Dunelm gives shareholders satisfaction

The firm has seen a strong period of trading over the last few months as shares rallied at the start of December.

The firm said that gross margins were stronger than expected in the first half of its current financial year as a result of sourcing gains and better sell through.

The FTSE 250-listed homewares retailer said it now has a modern, flexible, cloud-native platform that will be used to accelerate the development of its customer proposition.

“In light of the above, the board now anticipates that the full year profit before tax will be higher than our previous expectations, assuming no significant change in consumer demand as a result of the outcome of the general election,” Dunelm said in December’s trading update.

Dunelm makes ground where rivals remain cautious

Laura Ashley (LON:ALY) who also provide homeware have struggled over the last few months. The homeware and clothing retailer said that, for the 52 weeks to 30 June, statutory loss before tax amounted to £14.3 million.

The primary causes for the year-on-year drop in profit are the underperformance of Home Furnishing and its website after a re-platforming exercise last November.

Total like-for-like retail sales were down 3.5%, whilst total group sales reached £232.5 million, down from the £257.2 million figure recorded for 2018.

Certainly, shareholders of Dunelm can remain optimistic for trading across 2020 as the firm looks set to deliver another successful year.

Shares in Dunelm trade at 1,145p (+0.17%_). 9/1/20 11:37BST.

Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS) have said that their performance has improved over the third quarter in an update on Thursday.

Shares of Marks and Spencer sunk 8.87% on the announcement and trade at 199p. 9/1/20 10:44BST.

The FTSE 250 listed firm said that performance has seen improvements on a like for like basis, however total sales declined in its Clothing and Home sector.

Notably, the period mentioned includes the festive holidays however British supermarkets seemed to have lost ground.

In the 13 weeks period which ended December 28 the firm said that its total UK sales dipped 0.6% year on year to £2.77 billion, however on a like for like basis this was a 0.2% rise.

Total sales were 0.7% lower at £3.02 billion, and this includes its international unit which saw a 2.3% fall in sales to £251 million.

The British supermarket mainly attributed its growth in UK trading to food unit, where sales climbed 1.5% year on year to £1.7 billion. Notably in the food unit, the firm saw a 1.4% rise on a like for like time scale.

The clothes unit, which contributed heavily to a slump back in November saw sales fall again by 3.7% to £1.06 billion and on a like for like basis sales fell 1.7%.

M&S said: “Revenue was adversely impacted by competitor discounting in December and lower furniture dispatches at the start of the quarter. We generated an improved run rate in traffic and orders, started to implement improvements to search and personalisation in the period and launched an instalment payment option.”

Marks and Spencer have left their full year guidance unchanged, which is something that shareholders can hold onto however they warned that gross margins will be at the lower end of expected guidance.

Chief Executive remains optimistic

Chief Executive Steve Rowe said: “The Food business continued to outperform the market and Clothing and Home had a strong start to the quarter, albeit this was followed by a challenging trading environment in the lead up to Christmas.”

“As we drive a faster pace of change, disappointing one-off issues – notably waste and supply chain in the Food business, the shape of buy in Menswear and performance in our Gifting categories – held us back from delivering a stronger result. However, the changes we made earlier in the year in Clothing have arrested the worst of the issues of the first six months and we are progressively building a much stronger team for the future,” he added.

Marks and Spencer going through a tricky period

Despite the firm just under a year ago agreeing a £750 million delivery deal with Ocado (LON:OCDO) the firm has seen a tricky few months across 2019.

In November, the firm saw its profits plunge which alerted an internal crisis.

Chief Executive Steve Rowe alluded to several factors which had caused the slump including blamed the 5.5% decline in like-for-like clothing sales in the first six months of its financial year on supply chain problems and buying errors that meant popular sizes quickly sold out in store and online.

Food sales returned to growth over the period, with like-for-like sales up 0.9%.

The retailer has cut the price of hundreds of everyday products and introduced new ranges in a bid to be seen as a supermarket rather than a convenience chain.

However Marks and Spencer did seem to be proactive as the firm did name Richard Price as the new managing new managing director of its Clothing & Home unit.

Price joined from rival F&F Clothing, Tesco PLC’s (LON:TSCO) fashion arm, and Marks may see the longer term benefits once strategy has been firmly affixed.

Tesco PLC (LON: TSCO) have seen their shares jump on Thursday morning after the firm gave shareholders an interesting update.

Tesco UK and Ireland saw its sales rise over the festive period, however total group sales fell following slumps in Central Europe.

The British supermarket is currently undergoing a review and restructuring program in Central Europe, and this may be the likely cause for the slip.

In Central Europe, the company is pursuing an “ongoing significant transformation”, which in turn, subdued sales. The company said it is simplifying its business in Poland. It is also making changes in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, in a bid to improve its “relevance”.

Additionally, the FTSE 100 listed firm said that its banking unit had halted mortgage lending. Tesco Personal Finance PLC will cease new mortgage lending as it looks to sell on its mortgage portfolio.

Without the mortgage freeze, Tesco Bank saw a 0.1% growth in the third quarter, and 1.6% in the festive period.

In the six week period which ended on January 4, the UK & Republic of Ireland sales increased by 0.2% and rose 0.4% on a like-for-like basis, excluding fuel.

Total group sales fell by 1.7%, however, and by 0.8% on a like-for-like basis, however shareholders have not seem to phased.

In the third quarter, the firm saw its grocerty sales fall 0.9% compared to a year ago whilst total sales dropped 1.4%.

Across the Christmas period, total sales over the 19 weeks period were down 1.5% year on year to £21.03 billion.

Turning to Asia, the firm saw total sales be equal over the 19 weeks period at £1.93 billion, however sales fell 1.6% on a like for like bass.

The company said on Thursday: “No decisions concerning the future of Tesco Thailand or Malaysia have been taken, and there can be no assurance that any transaction will be concluded.”

Chief Executive Dave Lewis said: “In a subdued UK market we performed well, delivering our fifth consecutive Christmas of growth. In our Centenary year, our customer proposition was compelling, our product offering very competitive and thanks to the outstanding contribution of our colleagues, our operational performance was the best of the last six years. As a result, this Christmas we had the biggest ever day of UK food sales in our history.”

“Tesco said they outperformed UK rivals with the biggest ever day of UK food sales in it’s history, but despite this, they still only managed to eak out a 0.1% rise in underlying sales in it’s home market during what it said was a “subdued” Christmas for consumer spending,” said John Woolfitt, Director of Trading at Atlantic Capital Markets.

He continued “this just goes to show that with all the hard work and price cutting, how hard an environment it is for the UK’s retailers.”

Slower trading for British Supermarkets

Only a few days ago, Morrisons (LON:MRW) reported that their sales have fallen in their update dating to January 5.

The firm said that challenging trading conditions coupled with consumer uncertainty were the largest contributors to the slump in sales.

Morrison’s said that said like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, were down 1.7% year-on-year.

Additionally the decline was further accelerated by a fall in retail sales, as a like for like performance in the wholesale unit remained flat.

Notably, fuel sales declined 2.8% year on year across the 22 weeks period, and total sales dipped 2.9% but the figure totaled 1.8% without fuel sale considerations.

The company said: “We managed costs well throughout the period, offsetting some of the impact on like-for-like sales of the challenging trading conditions and continued uncertainty amongst customers.”

Additionally, Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) have seen their shares dip as the firm reported a fall in quarterly sales, however shareholders got a pleasing result when the firm struck a deal with Coles (ASX:COL) in a wholesale agreement.

In the 15 weeks to January 4, total retail sales, excluding fuel, were down 0.7% from last year. Including fuel, sales were down 0.9%, which has seemed to edge shareholders.

Compared to 2018, on a like for like basis sales excluding fuel also were 0.7% lower year-on-year, but the like for like decline dropped further to 1.1% when including fuel sales.

Growth outside the big four

Kantar published data on January 7 which showed the rise of Lidl and Aldi in the British supermarket sector.

Aldi saw their market share rise to 7.8% during the period, as Lidl also grew to 5.9% from their previous 5.3% showing significant gain for the German firms.

A notable performance came from Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO) who showed the fastest sales rise along with the German firms.

Ocado saw a rise of 13% in year on year sales from £345 million to £389 million, as it increased its market share to 1.3% compared to the 1.2% figure last year.

Certainly the rise of German counterparts and the growth of smaller supermarkets has left Tesco and the other British supermarkets with ground to make up, and shareholders will be keen to see a response in the New Year.

Shares of Tesco trade at 256p (+1.99%). 9/1/20 10:37BST.