Tesco shares fall as CEO steps down due to cancer diagnosis
UK and Ireland Tesco CEO Charles Wilson announced his resignation on Tuesday, in order to deal with his cancer diagnosis.
He will remain on Tesco’s executive committee and lead the integration of the recently-acquired wholesaler Booker. Wilson was diagnosed with throat cancer in April, and has since been undergoing daily radio therapy.
In a statement, Tesco said:
“The good news is that Charles has responded very well to the treatment and all the signs are that the treatment has been successful.
“However, given the nature of the illness and the need for Charles to remain vigilant in his recuperation, we have agreed to make the following changes to responsibilities within the senior leadership team.”
Chief product officer Jason Tarry is set to become chief executive of the UK and Ireland business and Andrew Yaxley will be promoted CEO Ireland.
Tesco (LON:TSCO) shares are currently trading down 1.08 percent on the news, at 257.10 (1009GMT).
UK GDP up in May after release of first monthly figure
UK GDP grew by 0.2 percent in the three months to May, in the first monthly figure released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
From now on, the ONS will release a monthly indicator and a rolling three-month figure, instead of one set of data every three months.
In the three months to May, the economy grew by 0.2 percent compared with the previous three-month period.
“The first of our new rolling estimates of GDP shows a mixed picture of the UK economy with modest growth driven by the services sector, partly offset by falling construction and industrial output,” said the ONS’s head of national accounts, Rob Kent-Smith.
“Retailing, computer programming and legal services all performed strongly in the three months to May, while housebuilding and manufacturing both contracted.
“Services, in particular, grew robustly in May, with retailers enjoying a double boost from the warm weather and the royal wedding. Construction also saw a return to growth after a weak couple of months.”
UK construction industry also showed signs of recovery in May up 2.9 percent compared with April.
The recovery of private housing repair and maintenance work drove the sector’s recover, growing 7.3 percent in May 2018 following a weak start to the year.
MySale shares jump 14pc on positive yearly expectations
Shares in MySale Group jumped 14.8 percent to 68.8p in morning trading.
The online retailer saw an increase in shares on Tuesday as the group announced a revenue growth of ten percent and end-of-year earnings to reach the top end of expectations.
”The group continues to invest in enhancing our proprietary technology platform, which has a key role to play as volumes increase, efficiencies are unlocked and operational gearing improves,” said Carl Jackson, the group’s chief executive.
”We move into the new financial year with confidence and with the expectation that our strategic plans will continue to support the group’s profitable growth,” he added.
Revenues in MySale from A$268 million in 2017 to A$295 million at the end of this year.
The group has websites in Australia, New Zealand, South-East Asia and the UK and popular online flash-sales.
Jackson said he expects 2018 to be “another record year” for the group.
TP Icap shares tumble 31pc after firing CEO
Shares in broker TP Icap (LON:TCAP) plunged over 30 percent on Tuesday morning, after the group fired their CEO and warned on lower profits for the full year.
The move surprised both investors and chief executive John Phizackerley himself, who said he only found out about the decision on Monday.
Rupert Robson, chairman of TP Icap, said: “The evolving landscape is driving up costs across our industry. The acquisition of ICAP has given us greater scale to withstand this pressure. However, it has become clear that a change of leadership is required to execute our medium-term growth strategy and deliver the detail of the integration process.”
He will be replaced with immediate effect by Nicolas Breteau, its head of Global Broking.
TP Icap, the largest interdeal broker, also warned that earnings for the full year would come in below the bottom end of market expectations, as the effect of Brexit, Mifid II regulatory changes, legal fees and IT security take their toll on figures.
Shares in TP Icap, which was formed in 2016 after a merger with Tullet Prebon and Icap, are currently trading down 31.68 percent on the news at 287.06 (0925GMT).
Photo-Me shares up on full-year pre-tax profit boost
Photo-Me (LON:PHTM) shares rose on Tuesday morning after the group reported an increase in pre-tax profit for the year, boosting investor sentiment after a downbeat trading update in May.
The group reported a pre-tax profit for the year of £50.2 million, up from £48 million the previous year, with revenues climbing to £229.8 million from £214.7 million previously.
The group also pleased investors with a dividend boost, up to 4.73 pence from 3.49 pence in 2017.
This set of results will boost investor sentiment, after the group warned on profits back in May on the back of steep competition in its key Japanese market and an investment to restructure its Japanese subsidiary to boost profitability.
Commenting on the results, Serge Crasnianski, CEO, said:
“2018 has been another year of good operational progress
“Our Identification business continues to perform well as we focus on government partnerships for the adoption of our secure ID upload technology in new countries.
“Supported by steady cash flows from our global, market-leading photobooth estate, the Group will remain focused on investing in new and complementary products to drive further profitability and extend the suite of services available through our established instant-service equipment network. We remain confident for the future.”
Shares in Photo-Me (LON:PHTM) are currently trading up 6.36 percent at 116.36 (0909GMT).
Kier Group on track for expectations, boosted by savings plan
Property services group Kier Group (LON:KIE) saw shares edge up on Tuesday morning, after reporting results on track to meet expectations despite its construction group suffering the effects of bad weather.
Year-end net debt is expected to between £170 million and £190 million, in line with previous forecasts, with average month-end net debt of about £375 million after its construction business was hit by the poor weather in February and March.
The group also announced a cost-savings plan that will include the sale of non-core assets, which began last month, which will improve productivity, operating margins and cash generation.
Which assets it expected to sell were unclear, but it said the benefits would be realised from 2020 onwards.
The construction and services order books increased to more than £10 billion, providing a 90 percent secured revenue position in these businesses for 2019, Kier added.
“The strength of the Construction and Services order books, together with the long-term Property and Residential pipelines, provides a robust platform to deliver our Vision 2020 targets,” Kier said.
Shares in Kier are currently trading up 1.18 percent at 946.00 (0854GMT).
Ocado slides into losses after heavy reinvestment
Online grocery retailer Ocado Group (LON:OCDO) reported a loss for the first half, after heavy reinvestment outweighed a rise in revenue over the period.
Pre-tax losses for the six months to 3rd June hit £9 million, a steep fall from the £7.7 million profit posted last year. This came despite a 12.1 percent rise in revenue to £799.9 million, and a retail revenue boost of 11.7 percent to £736.6 million.
The group attributed the profit loss to reinvestment in a technology platform for retailers, marking themselves out as the most innovative grocery delivery firm in the market.
“This is a transformational period for Ocado,” chief executive Tim Steiner said.
“We have developed unique and proprietary technology to offer retailers an end-to-end operating solution for grocery retail that enables them to meet the changing needs of consumers.
“In the past six months we have partnered with some of the world’s, biggest, best and most innovative retailers to help them redefine the shopping experience for their own customers. As a result, we are beginning to fulfil our ambition to change the way the world shops.
‘In order to fully capitalise on the opportunities ahead of us, we are working at pace, investing more and focussing sharply on execution to bring on new capacity in the UK and to achieve successful outcomes for our partners.
“We are confident that we have the ability to scale-up the business, deliver on our commitments and drive sustainability”, he concluded.
Ocado has had a strong year already, pushing into the FTSE 100 for the first time in June and signing a massive deal with US firm Kroger for its new technology.
Shares in Ocado are currently trading 2.62 percent down however, at 985.00 (0836GMT).
Boris Johnson latest to resign over Brexit plan
Boris Johnson has become the third senior Conservative party member to resign in the past 24 hours, putting the pressure on Theresa May.
Following the all-day meeting at Chequers on Friday, Brexiteers David Davis, Steve Baker and Johnson have all walked out rather than supporting the prime minister’s soft-Brexit deal.
“This afternoon, the prime minister accepted the resignation of Boris Johnson as foreign secretary. His replacement will be announced shortly. The prime minister thanks Boris for his work,” said a spokesperson from Downing Street.
Shortly after the Chequers summit, it emerged that Johnson referred to Theresa May’s Brexit plan as ‘polishing a turd’.
Earlier on Monday, Davis resigned and called May’s proposal for a UK-EU free trade area governed by a “common rule book”, “hands control of large swathes of our economy to the EU and is certainly not returning control of our laws in any real sense”.
He was shortly replaced by Dominic Raab. Raab is currently housing minister and was also a prominent Leave campaigner in during the referendum.
It is unclear if other senior party members will also decline following the Friday meeting.
“Theresa May’s government is in meltdown. This is complete and utter chaos,” said Labour’s deputy prime minister, Tom Watson.
“The country is at a standstill with a divided and shambolic government. This prime minister can’t deliver Brexit and has zero authority left,” he added.
The latest resignations come just days before Donald Trump is due to meet the prime minister on his official trip to London.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to march in London and across the UK during his trip, which will take place on July 13.
Nissan admits to falsifying emissions tests, shares fall
Nissan (TYO: 7201) has admitted that it falsified data from car exhaust emissions tests from factories in Japan.
The group released a statement that said it had found evidence that the exhaust emissions and fuel economy tests were carried out in a way deviating from the set tests.
“This issue came to light during the course of voluntary checks conducted by Nissan,” said the firm in a statement on Monday.
“As a companywide exercise, Nissan will continue to carry out comprehensive checks of frameworks, organizations and processes related to regulatory compliance.”
“Strict adherence to compliance is a top priority for Nissan’s management, and if issues are discovered, appropriate measures will be taken. Nissan is committed to promoting and enforcing compliance and awareness thereof in all operational area.”
The group did not say how many cars were involved in the incident or whether the falsified tests were also carried out in cars manufactured outside of Japan.
Shares in the group fell over 4.5 percent on Monday following the news.
“Nissan understands and regrets the concern and inconvenience caused to stakeholders as a result of its kanken issues last year. Proactive initiatives to prevent recurrence of such issues have led to the discovery of this misconduct, for which the company is regretful,” said the car manufacturer.
“A full and comprehensive investigation of the facts outlined above, including the causes and background of the misconduct, is underway.”
This is not the first time Nissan has had to apologise from its factories in Japan. Last September, the group admitted to having unqualified workers carry out final inspections at the end of production lines.
Volkswagen faced a similar backlash in 2015 after the group was found fitting ‘defeat’ software designed to fool emissions tests on millions of its diesel cars during the infamous emissions scandal.
Miton’s assets under management up 35%
Miton Group plc (LON:MGR) boosted its assets under management by 35 percent in the first half, after tripling net inflows.
The investment management firm reported a jump in net inflows to £616 million for the first half, up from £195 the year before. At the end of June, closing assets under management were £4.53 billion, up from £3.35 billion on-year. Miton have enjoyed a similar fate to their counterpart Mattioli Woods, another asset management firm who saw their assets under management grow ahead of targets.
“The first half of the year saw continued strong organic growth and momentum within the business,” said chief executive David Barron.
“We have seen positive net inflows across a wide range of strategies and good long-term performance.”
Miton are up 14.6 percent since markets opened this morning, up 8.25p to 64.75p. Analysts from Peel Hunt have reiterated the ‘Buy’ stance they have maintained on Miton stock since the start of the year.