UK retail sales rose 1.1% in March, as milder weather encouraged shoppers to take to the high street. Retail sales rose in March according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), despite an increasingly difficult trading environment for the high street in the last few months. This proved ahead of economist expectations, who had forecast a contraction of 0.3% during the month. Overall, quantity of retail sales in the three months to March increased by 1.6%, compared to the last quarter of 2018. The growth suggests that shoppers had thus far not been deterred from spending despite persistent Brexit-related uncertainty. The year-on-year rise in retail sales between March of last year this year was 6.7%, proving the highest increase since October 2016. However, this figure proved particularly high due to unseasonably colder weather in March 2018, with the “Beast of the East” heavily impacting sales. Head of retail sales at the ONS, Rhian Murphy, commented: “Retail sales increased in the three months to March, following sustained growth throughout the first three months of the year. March’s mild weather boosted sales, with food shops also recovering after a weak February.” Despite the stronger UK retail sales figures, the high street is still struggling amid falling footfall levels, rising costs and subdued spending.

2,481 stores closed in the UK in 2018, according to PwC research compiled by the Local Data Company (LDC).

 

Moneysupermarket.com reported a 19% rise in revenue in its first quarter results on Thursday, sending shares up. The price comparison website said revenues grew to £104.9 million for the quarter ending March 31 2019, compared to £88.3 million during the same period a year ago. Moneysupermarket.com attributed the strong performance to ‘attractive offers’ alongside the introduction of Ofgem’s energy price cap, which led to a rise in energy switching from customers. Commenting on the future outlook, the company said that performance of its home services in the first quarter had been ‘exceptional’, rising by 70% on the year before. Moneysupermarket.com said it expects this to moderate during the course of the year. The firm said its expectations for the year remain unchanged. Mark Lewis, CEO of Moneysupermarket.com Group, commented on the latest quarter: “The reinvent strategy continues with a strong first quarter of trading, notably helping a record number of customers beat the rising energy price cap. MoneySuperMarket innovation continues, we have new branding and advertising to remind everyone how we can help them with their finances and ‘get money calm’ and new products like Credit Monitor are on the site.” Moneysupermarket.com is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE-250. In 2012, the group purchased MoneySavingExpert.com for £80 million. Shares in the firm (LON:MONY) are currently +7.98% on the back of the results.

Unilever (LON:ULVR) revealed a stronger-than-expected growth in its underlying sales for its first-quarter. Owner of iconic brands such as Dove, Marmite, PG Tips, Ben and Jerry’s, Magnum and Pot noodles, Unilever said that its underlying sales grew 3.1%, with 1.2% from volume and 1.9% from price. Analysts were roughly expecting a 2.8% underlying sales increase, according to Reuters. Unilever, whose underlying sales in emerging markets increased by 5%, is headquartered in London and Rotterdam. “We have delivered a solid start that keeps us on track for our full year expectations. Growth was led by emerging markets and was balanced between volume and price,” said CEO of Unilever, Alan Jope. Underlying sales in Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care division increased by 3.1%. Skin care and deodorants saw a strong start to the year, with hair and skin cleansing growing only modestly. The company said that its sales in oral care saw a decline as a result of challenging market conditions. The group’s Home Care division saw its underlying sales grow 6%. This was driven by its fabric solutions and home and hygiene, though its life essentials category was flat. As for its Food & Refreshment division, underlying sales grew 1.5%. Ice cream started the year strong, but sales in tea and savoury were flat. Dressings declined, impacted by continued high promotional intensity and the later timing of Easter. Unilever recently announced the launch of a new vegan Magnum ice-cream bar in a bid to cater for consumers pursuing a vegan lifestyle. But, Australian dairy farmers labelled the ice-cream bar “a problem for the dairy industry”. Earlier this year, Unilever made headlines for reportedly stockpiling its ice cream brands ahead of the UK’s departure from the European Union. “Accelerating growth is our number one priority. It requires both great execution and a continued strategic shift into faster growth segments and channels. We saw good performance in key growth channels including out-of-home and e-commerce and benefited from stronger global innovations and faster and more relevant local innovation,” Unilever’s CEO continued. The company now expects full year underlying sales growth to be in the lower half of a 3-5% range. Its full-year 2018 financial results continued to see profitable growth despite “volatile” market conditions. At 08:57 GMT Thursday, shares in Unilever plc (LON:ULVR) were trading at +2.6%.

Nestle (SWX:NESN) confirmed its annual guidance on Thursday following a good momentum in its US and China markets. The food group posted an organic growth of 3.2% excluding businesses under strategic review. This growth acceleration was largely supported by its fourth largest market, Brazil. Moreover, the US and China, two of the company’s leading markets, maintain a good momentum. Nestle, whose total reported sales increased by 4.3%, is a Swiss food and drink business headquartered in Vevey, Vaud. The company said that pricing improved to 1.2%, primarily reflecting increases in Brazil and the US. “We are pleased with Nestlé’s solid organic sales growth in the first quarter, building on our full-year 2018 momentum. Our increased speed, innovation for a changing world and execution focus are clearly paying off. We confirm our outlook for the year,” Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestle, commented. Nestle said that whilst all product categories saw positive growth, the largest contributions to this growth came from Purina pet care, dairy and infant nutrition. “In the quarter, we announced the launch of a new range of 24 premium coffee products under the Starbucks brand. The Nestlé and Starbucks teams did an outstanding job and developed these products in just 6 months,” the CEO continued. Last year, Nestle announced that it would pay Starbucks $7.1 billion to sell the company’s signature coffee products. As a result of the deal, Nestle now has the rights to market the signature coffee blend in retail outlets outside of Starbucks chains. Nestle said that its net acquisitions increased sales in the first-quarter by 6%, largely driven by its acquisition of the Starbucks licence. During the first-quarter, Nestle said that its success of its KitKat chocolate meant it did not need to add any new business to its portfolio. It sold its U.S confectionary business to Itay’s Ferrero last year in a $2.8 billion deal, made to push Nestle closer towards healthier products. But, as a result of its strong KitKat brand, Nestle emphasised that it did not need to fill the confectionary-shaped gap left after the sale. In the company’s ‘Zone Europe, Middle-East and North Africa’, the KitKat brand saw double digit growth, in addition to a strong demand for the recently launched Yes! snack back. At 09:09 CEST Thursday, shares in Nestle SA (SWX:NESN) were trading at +1.08%.

L’Oreal (EPA:OR) posted its first-quarter results Tuesday evening, revealing an 11.4% growth in sales across the business. Sales across the group came in at €7.55 billion and had increased by 7.7% on a like-for-like basis. Founded over 100 years ago, L’Oreal is now the world’s largest cosmetics business. “In the first quarter of 2019, L’Oreal maintains the rhythm set in the last quarter of 2018, with strong sales growth at +7.7% on a like-for-like basis, and +11.4% based on reported figures. As anticipated, the powerful underlying growth drivers remain the same as in 2018: Luxe and Active Cosmetics, skincare, Asia, e-commerce and Travel Retail” Chairman and CEO of L’Oreal, Jean-Paul Agon, commented on the results. Its division L’Oreal Luxe posted a rise of 14.2% on a like-for-like basis and 19% on reported figures, maintaining double-digit growth. Its Western Europe zone posted an increase of 1.1% like-for-like and 2.1% based on reported figures. North America grew 1.2% like-for-like and 9.2% based on reported figures. “At a regional level, the highlight is Asia Pacific, which has become the first Zone of the Group, powering ahead not only in China but also in India, Indonesia and Malaysia, which have all posted double-digit growth. In contrast, the first quarter saw modest growth in North America and Western Europe,” the Chariman and CEO continued. L’Oreal emphasised that, despite a volatile and uncertain economic environment, its start to the year gives the company confidence in its ability to outperform the market this year. It expects to see another year of growth in sales and profits. Indeed, particularly in its UK market, the UK’s departure from the EU and its subsequent six-month extension is creating particular economic uncertainty. High street retailers find themselves facing tough trading conditions amid a gloomy environment. The company posted strong third-quarter results for 2018 at the end of the year, largely as a result of the strong demand of products within its luxury division. At 09:39 CEST Wednesday, shares in L’Oreal SA (EPA:OR) were trading at -0.042%.

Tom Tom (AMS:TOM2) revealed a 14% rise in its first-quarter revenue on Wednesday in its first-quarter results. The digital navigation company said that its group revenue for the quarter was €170 million, a 14% increase compared to the €149 million figure from the same period a year prior. Its first-quarter revenue comes in above the €157 million predicted by analysts, according to Reuters. Tom Tom, who posted a 29% increase in its Location Technology revenue, is a Dutch company which employed 4,600 people across the globe as of 2015, and has 56 offices in 37 countries. The company said that it expects a full year group revenue of €675 million. €430 million of which is down to Location Technology. “We had a good start of the year, winning the first two available HD map deals, which gives us an early position in this growth market. Additionally, a number of driver navigation deals were announced. Revenue in our core activities was up 29% year on year,” Chief Executive Officer of Tom Tom, Harold Goddijn, commented on the results. “We will continue to invest in further improving the efficiency of our map-making platform and launch innovative products to enable driver navigation, automated driving and Maps APIs,” he continued. The company produces traffic, navigation and mapping products, in addition to other location-based products, and competes against rivals such as Google Maps. Elsewhere in digital technology, Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) drone delivery firm Wing was recently granted approval to operate in the skies over Australia. Provided that operation of the drones meets certain conditions, they have received the go ahead to deliver across Australia. Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) started the year by slashing production of its iPhone by 10% over the next three months following a cut to its revenue forecast. At 09:06 CEST Wednesday, shares in Tom Tom NV (AMS:TOM2) were trading at +1.74%.

Shares in Advanced Oncotherapy (LON:AVO) rose on Tuesday after the company announced the appointment of a new chief operating officer and President for its US division. The company, which specialises in developing proton therapy for cancer patients, said that Moataz Karmalawy is to assume the role as Chief Commercial Officer and President of its US division. In the announcement, Advanced Oncotherapy noted that Mr Karmalawy was General Manager of the Worldwide Particle Therapy Business for Varian Medical Systems, the world’s largest manufacturer of radiotherapy equipment, for 12 years. Commenting, Moataz Karmalawy, said: “Advanced Oncotherapy stands out as an incredibly exciting opportunity within the proton therapy market. The global capacity to treat patients with proton therapy has been disappointingly low due to the high cost of traditional proton therapy technologies. He added: “Having spent the last 12 years developing the market dominance of the largest supplier of proton therapy products, I have first-hand experience of the considerable clinical demand for a more readily available and affordable technology. It is therefore easy to see how the huge potential for the LIGHT system can address that demand. I look forward to realising that potential in my new role at an exciting time for the Company now that the technology has been validated.” Nicolas Sérandour, CEO, also commented on the appointment: “Bringing someone of Mr Karmalawy’s calibre and experience on board is a testament to the advantages of our next-generation proton beam technology and to the opportunity that presents itself as we move towards commercialisation of the LIGHT system. ” Shares in Advanced Oncotherapy are currently trading +8.86% as of 14:51PM (GMT) on the back of the announcement.  

UK employment hit a record high in February with 457,000 additional people in employment. The latest figures collated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that UK employment rate hit 76.1%. Meanwhile, unemployment remains at its lowest rate since records began in the 1970s at 3.9%. This was attributed to more women finding employment, increasing by 142,000 during the period. Nevertheless, the ONS said that wages still remained below 2008/9 levels, as inflation pushed down earnings.

While employment has reached a new record high, earnings of employees are still lower than before the 2008–2009 recession, after taking inflation into account https://t.co/Yy24g2Ng9o pic.twitter.com/0EPQVcS4rq

— ONS (@ONS) 16 April 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsMatt Hughes, ONS deputy head of labour market statistics, said: “Earnings have now been growing ahead of inflation for over a year but, in real terms, wage levels have not yet returned to their pre-downturn peak.” Employment minister Alok Sharma welcomed the figures, he commented: “The UK jobs market continues to go from strength to strength, proving the underlying resilience of the British economy.” “We must not take this for granted. We need to work urgently to get behind a Brexit deal that protects this jobs record and gives employers the certainty to continue to invest in their workforce and boost wages.”  

Galliford Try shares plunged on Tuesday after the company issued a profit warning for the full-year. The construction company also announced it was conducting a ‘strategic review’ into its business to remedy falling profits. As part of the review, the company said it will seek to reduce the size of its construction business. Instead it said it will focus upon ‘key strengths in markets and sectors with sustainable prospects for profitability and growth’. Galliford Try said that it now expects profits to be £30-£40 million lower than previously expected. Galliford Try is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index on the London Stock Exchange. Some of its biggest projects have included the restoration of the London St.Pancras Renaissance hotel, the centre court of Wimbledon, as well as the recently completed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. The completion of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route was delayed due to weather issues and the collapse of Carillion. Both Galliford Try and Balfour Beatty, who were joint-venture partners in the project, had to pick up the additional costs incurred after Carillion’s collapse into insolvency. Shares in the group (LON:GFRD) fell considerably on the back of the profit warning announcement. Shares are currently trading down 17.57% as of 12:14AM (GMT).