Sainsbury’s to debut UK’s first till-free store
Sainsbury’s launched the UK’s first till-free store at Holborn Circus on Monday.
The UK’s second largest supermarket said that from today customers will be able to pay exclusively using their smartphones through an app.
The London location was selected due to the high volume of cashless transactions at the store.
Sainsbury’s said that 82% of transactions in the Holborn convenience store are cashless.
Sainsbury’s Group Chief Digital Officer, Clodagh Moriarty, commented on the launch:
“We know our customers value their time and many want to shop as quickly as possible – technology is key to that. This is an experiment rather than a new format for us – it hasn’t been done in the UK before and we’re really excited to understand how our customers respond to the app experience.
We’ll be with our customers and colleagues all the way over the coming months, iterating continuously based on their feedback before we decide if, how and where we make this experience more widely available.”
Other stores also offer the app payment technology including Blackfriars, Mansion House, Shoreditch and Clapham High Street among others.
However, Holborn Circus is the only location to go completely digital.
Sainsbury’s will no doubt be trying to compete with competitors such as Lidl and Aldi, which have both continued to increased their market share in recent years.
However, digital retailer Amazon have led the way with regards to cashless stores, having already opened its first AmazonGo locations in Seattle and Chicago.
Sainsbury’s will also be looking to show investors that it has an innovative strategy going forward, particularly after its proposed merger with Asda was blocked by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) last week.
Last Thursday, Chief Executive Mike Coupe expressed his disappointment over the decision.
He said in a statement:
“The specific reason for wanting to merge was to lower prices for customers. The CMA’s conclusion that we would increase prices post-merger ignores the dynamic and highly competitive nature of the UK grocery market. The CMA is today effectively taking £1 billion out of customers’ pockets.”
Shares in Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) are currently up +0.36% as of 14:10PM (GMT).
Mind Gym shares up on positive trading update
Mind Gym shares ticked up on Monday after the company released a positive trading update.
The company said that it expects revenue for the full year to be 14% higher than the year before, totalling $42.1 million.
Mind Gym said that it also expects adjusted profit before tax to be ahead of the previous year and in line with expectations.
In addition, cash generation proved strong, with improvements in working capital management during the second half of the year.
Mind Gym said it expects a cash balance at the end of the year to be £8.3 million.
The group is set to report its full-year results between 31 March and the 25th of June of this year.
Octavius Black, Chief Executive Officer of Mind Gym, commented:
“We are pleased with the Group’s overall performance in our first financial year as a listed business. Mind Gym has a distinctive proposition with proven impact which is recognised by many of the world’s largest companies. Behavioural issues remain high on the business agenda and the continued improvement in our client feedback scores gives us confidence in the continued strong demand for our products and solutions.
“We look forward to updating our stakeholders further on our performance and prospects when we announce our full year results in June.”
The AIM-lised firm provides human capital and business improvement solutions to companies. Shares in Mind Gym (LON:MIND) are currently +8.64% as of 12:39AM (GMT).Anglo Asian Mining shares rise after exploration results
Anglo Asian Mining shares jumped on Monday after the company announced it had identified multiple new targets at its Gedabek project.
The mining company published a summary of its 2018 geological exploration activities at its Gedabek and Gosha contract areas on Monday, sending shares upwards.
According to the update, the company completed a 3,385 linear kilometre helicopter-borne electromagnetic and magnetic survey.
The survey proved successful, locating ‘multiple highly promising and prospective mineral targets’.
In addition, Anglo Asian Mining said that the results also confirmed existence of further valuable mineable copper and gold extensions, via drilling at the northern and southern margins of Gedabek.
The firm’s Director of Geology & Mining, Stephen Westhead, commented, “The most significant exploration activity at Gedabek in 2018 was the ZTEM geophysical survey, a first for the Company and Azerbaijan. A summary of the results of the survey is being separately released today and we are now starting the investigation of anomaly target areas with ground based geological exploration.”
“The polymetallic discovery at the Asrikchay area of Gosha was also a very exciting discovery. It is the first of this mineral style identified at Gosha and the first indication of the presence of copper in the region.
“Exploration continues to underpin the future production and growth of the Company. The current exploration activities are already yielding significant results and I look forward to further updating our shareholders on the results of our efforts in the future”.
Shares in the AIM-listed company (LON:AAZ) are currently down +4.97% as of 11:33AM (GMT).
Jaguar Land Rover considers Addison Lee bid
Jaguar Land Rover is reportedly considering a takeover of private taxi firm Addison Lee.
Addison Lee was put up for sale by its owner, Carlyle Group, earlier this month for around £390 million.
Should Jaguar Land Rover pursue a take-over, this would see a shift for the company away from its traditional car manufacturing operations.
The automotive firm is in the midst of a turnaround plan amid falling profits, slipping car sales and controversies involving emissions.
Back in March, Jaguar Land Rover recalled 44,000 cars over carbon dioxide emissions.
Moreover, Jaguar Land Rover is also feeling the impact of the economic slowdown in China.
In February, the auto motor company reported a record £3.4 billion quarterly loss, in light of “challenging market conditions”.
Meanwhile, Addison Lee is fighting to compete with cheaper competitors such as Uber and ViaVan.
Carylyle Group have enlisted the help of Bank of America and Rothschild to oversee the selling of the business.
Jaguar Land Rover is currently owned by India’s Tata Motors.
Shares in Tata Motors (NSE:TATAMOTORS) are currently down -2.88% as of 10:48AM (GMT).
Philips first-quarter results fail to meet analysts’ expectations
The Dutch multination technology firm Philips posted its first-quarter results on Monday, unable to hit sales predications made by analysts polled for Reuters.
Analysts predicted that the health technology firm would reveal a comparable sales growth of 2.4%. Philips posted a 2% rise in comparable sales growth for the period, with sales in the quarter amounting to €4.2 billion.
The business posted a core profit of €364 million, which comes in higher that the €344 million from the year prior. Additionally, operating cash flow was reported as €14 million.
“We had a reasonable start to the year, as we delivered 2% comparable sales and order intake growth, further building on strong growth in 2018,” said Frans van Houten, CEO of Philips.
The company revealed a strong performance for its Oral Healthcare business, driven by its “innovative” portfolio such as its Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean toothbrush, which uses sensor technology to alert users when too much pressure is being applied, automatically reducing the intensity of brushing.
“We continue to expect our performance momentum to improve over the course of the year, based on the demand for our innovative products and solutions to improve people’s health and enhance care provider productivity, supported by our order book,” CEO Frans van Houten continued.
The company expects to his its growth targets by 2020.
“We reaffirm our overall targets of 4-6% comparable sales growth and an Adjusted EBITA margin improvement of 100 basis points on average per year for the 2017–2020 period.”
At the end of 2018, the CEO of Philips expressed his Brexit concerns, believing that the lack of progress may lead to the company having to rethink its operations in the UK. Frans van Houten said that the firm may have to change its entire supply chain in order to reduce the impacts of the UK’s departure from the European Union.
At 09:35 CEST Monday, shares in Koninklijke Philips NV (AM:PHIA) were trading at +1.96%.
Boeing: CEO to meet with shareholders for first time since fatal accidents
Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg is expected to be grilled on Monday during the company’s first confrontation with shareholders since the two crashes of its 737 MAX model.
Since the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes, airlines and governments across the globe have grounded the model. Investigations were triggered into the accident worldwide and the delivery of the jets to various airlines has stopped.
Dennis Muilenburg will face the task of restoring confidence in the company’s investors amid the aircraft’s health and safety concerns.
Earlier this month, the company said that the global grounding of the 737 MAX jets will set Boeing back by over $1 billion. This is a significant contrast compares to the company’s last update in January which included plans to introduce over 900 jet aircrafts in 2019, in addition to increasing sales and profits.
Airlines have also suffered from the grounding of the 737 MAX fleet. Last week the U.S’s leading airline based on passenger traffic, American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), estimated that the grounding of the model will impact its pre-tax earnings for 2019 by roughly $350 million.
Additionally, travel company Tui (ETR:TUI1) said that the grounding could cost it as much as €300 million as it sought to arrange alternative plans for its affected customers. Tui also underscored the uncertainty that prevails regarding if the Boeing 737 MAX will ever return to flight.
According to Reuters, two people familiar with the occurrence said that the U.S Federal Aviation Administration could give Boeing to all clear to return its jet to flight in late May to the beginning of June. However, various pilots believe that the new training proposals do not address their concerns on the matter.
The family and friends of one of the victims will hold a silent protest outside the meeting.
At 19:55 GMT -4 Friday, shares in Boeing Co (NYSE:BO) were trading at -0.57%, whilst shares in American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) were trading at -1.05%.
American Airlines reveals $350 million blow from Boeing 737 MAX grounding
American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) posted its first-quarter results on Friday, citing the impacts of the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes.
Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, it is the U. S’s leading airline based on passenger traffic.
The company has estimated that the grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX fleet will impact its 2019 pre-tax earnings by roughly $350 million.
American Airlines also revealed a first-quarter pre-tax profit of $245 million, as well as a first-quarter net profit of $185 million.
“As we progress toward the busy summer travel period, demand for our product remains strong. However, our near-term earnings forecast has been affected by the grounding of our Boeing 737 MAX fleet, which we have removed from scheduled flying through Aug. 19,” Chairman and CEO Doug Parker commented.
American Airlines also said that it expects its fuel expenses for the year to increase by $650 million as a result of the rising oil prices.
“We presently estimate the grounding of the 737 MAX will impact our 2019 pre-tax earnings by approximately $350 million. With the recent run-up in oil prices, fuel expenses for the year are also expected to be approximately $650 million higher than we forecast just three months ago,” the CEO of American Airlines continued.
“As we look forward to 2020 and beyond, we anticipate that our free cash flow production will increase significantly as our historic fleet replacement program winds down.”
The fatal Boeing 737 MAX crash caused the grounding of the fleet worldwide. Following two crashes in five months, airlines and government across the globe grounded the model in March 2019.
American Airlines is not the only carrier to be hit by the costs. Last month, travel company Tui (ETR:TUI1) warned on the impacts the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet may have on its profits, stating that it may cost it as much as £252 million.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) saw its own shares fall following the crash of the Ethiopian airlines Boeing 737 MAX. The company said that the global grounding of the planes will cost it over $1 billion.
Goldman Sachs: Brexit extension to exacerbate UK economy
Goldman Sachs said on Friday that the nation’s Brexit delay is set to damage the British economy even further.
With little progress being made on the matter in the UK, GBP/USD is currently trading around 1.2900 among Brexit deadlock.
Britain, home to the world’s fifth largest economy, was originally due to formally depart from the European Union on 29 March. However, as parliament was unable to agree on a deal, the deadline was pushed back an additional six months to the 31 October, a rather poetic date to end over three years of political chaos.
In a note entitled “Brexit – Withdrawal Symptoms”, Goldman Sachs said:
“The politics of Brexit have become more protracted and, as a result, the side-effects of Brexit on the UK economy have intensified.”
“From both a top-down and bottom-up perspective, Brexit has taken a toll on the UK economy – even though it has not yet happened,” it continued.
Others, such as the head of the International Monetary Fund, said that Brexit’s additional delay avoids a “terrible” no-deal scenario.
Goldman Sachs is not alone in predicting the economic damage caused by Brexit. S&P Global Ratings predicted that had voters not opted for leaving the European Union in the first place, the UK economy might have been roughly 3% larger by the end of last year.
Sector-specific issues have also been reported, with news recently emerging that an outright departure without a deal might cost the UK’s luxury sector £6.8 billion.
News also emerged on Friday of a fall in RBS (LON:RBS) profits, with Brexit cited as a key problem. The bank posted a £707 million profit for the first three months, which is down from the £808 million figure of the same period a year prior. It cited on the impact of the ongoing Brexit uncertainty and the effects this has on its business.