Zoopla owner ZPG sees profits rise by a third
Property sales site owner ZPG (LON:ZPG) announced a 31 percent rise in profits on Wednesday, benefitting from a 33 percent boost in sales.
ZPG, the owner of Zoopla, Prime Location and Uswitch, saw pre-tax profits hit £29.5 million for the six-month period to March 31, with sales up 33 percent to £156.9 million.
Bad weather actually benefitted the company, in contrast to many of the high street groups reporting today, with more consumers turning to Uswitch to search for cheaper energy providers to combat the weather.
“Our property division performed well across each vertical, helped by demand for additional products, cross-sell and new contract wins, including the continued return of agents to our portals,” said ZPG’s founder and chief executive Alex Chesterman.
“Our comparison division also performed well with leads up across each vertical. Energy had an exceptionally strong first half as a result of ongoing optimisation of the consumer journey and extreme weather during the period, prompting increased switching levels.”
ZPG shares are currently up 0.12 percent at489.60 (0935GMT).
IG trading revenue up for 2018, but set to take a hit the year after
Online trading platform IG is expecting net trading revenue for fiscal 2018 to come in higher than the previous year, with other key figures also up on previous guidance.
Trading revenue is now expected to be around £565 million, up from £491 million last year. Operating expenses for fiscal 2018 are expected to be around £254 million, with the group’s charge for variable remuneration is expected to be at £36 million, up from £24 million last year.
However, the group is likely to suffer a hit from new regulatory measures put in place by the European Securities and Markets Authority, meaning fiscal revenue for 2019 is likely to be lower than for this year.
IG also confirmed that Chief Commercial Officer Bridget Messer and Chief Information Officer Jon Noble had been appointed as Executive Directors to the board, taking effect from 1st June 2018.
Restaurant Group hit by Beast from the East
Restaurant Group shares rose 4 percent on Wednesday morning, despite sales falling by 4 percent after poor weather affected footfall.
On a reported basis, sales fell 3.1 percent in the 20 weeks to 20 May. Sales improved in the first seven weeks of the second quarter, like-for-like sales declined by just 1.8 percent as the company made moves to entice customers back in.
The group, who owns chains including Frankie & Benny’s and Garfunkel’s, said it expects to see further benefit from its strategic initiatives “as the year progresses”.
“We expect to deliver results for the full year in-line with current market expectations.”
The group blamed weak sales on the Beast from the East and a generally challenging high street climate.
Shares in Restaurant Group (LON:RTN) are currently up 3.59 percent at 324.85 (0913GMT).
M&S profits sink again on costly turnaround efforts
Marks & Spencer saw profits sink 62 percent over the year to March, after accelerating its store closure programme and cutting hundreds of jobs.
It latest turnaround plan led to a £321.1 million cost hit, with closing stores and revamping existing ones turning out to be a costly business. The group revealed the location of the further 14 stores that are to be closed, on top of the 21 that have already been shut.
Performance fell heavily in the fourth quarter due to the effect of “unseasonable weather” in March.
The group also said its clothing and homeware ranges were failing to attract young people and families, despite a rise in womenswear sales for the first time in seven years.
M&S (LON:MKS) shares are trading slightly up on the news, up 2.91 percent at 300.29 (0904GMT).
Britvic shares up 6pc despite profit fall
Britvic (LON:BVIC) shares rose over 6 percent on Wednesday morning, despite profit after tax for the first half of the year sinking by over 13 percent.
Profit fell to £33.3 million during the six month period, after restructuring costs of £21.6 million had a negative impact on results.
The company recorded a sales increase of 3.6 percent, up on the same period a year ago, with ARP up 0.5 percent to 57.4 pence.
Revenue increased by 4.5 percent to £733.2 million, with adjusted earnings (EBIT) up 9.4 percent to £80.5 million. Adjusted earnings per shares rose 12.2 percent to 21.2 pence.
Simon Litherland, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We have delivered a strong first half performance with solid revenue, margin and earnings growth. We have also made good progress in innovating to meet consumer needs, growing our international presence and transforming our supply chain.
“While it is too soon to guide on the ongoing consumer impact of the soft drinks levy, early indications of the competitor and customer response are broadly as we anticipated. We have exciting commercial plans in place for the second half and I remain confident of continuing to make progress this year”.
Shares in Britvic are currently trading up 6.13 percent at 805.00 (0851GMT).
Pets At Home report fall in profits, shares fall
Pets At Home (LON: PETS) has reported a 17 percent fall in pre-tax profits in full-year results.
Chief executive Peter Pritchard remained positive despite the fall in profits, saying there is “a bright future” for the pet shop.
The group has said the next financial year will be the second of its three-year “financial transition” as it aims for sustainable profit growth.
Margins fell to 51.7 percent from 54.2 percent in the same period last year. Like-for-like revenue rose by 5.5 percent.
“The veterinary services market is a very attractive space in which we can grow. We have a profitable business delivering strong returns, achieved largely through our preference to work in partnership with vets who share in the success of their practice,” said Pritchard.
“The shortage of qualified vets in the UK remains an industry wide problem, so we have chosen to slow our practice rollout to be sure we open practices in quality locations for the best vet partners.”
Pets At Home are hoping to open five superstores, 20-25 vet practices, and 10-20 grooming salons in the next year.
“Our plans to reposition retail are working, more customers are coming back to shop with us, and we are committed to returning the business to profit growth. But it hasn’t been easy. We took decisive action, threw passion and energy into it, and delivered targeted pricing changes to give customers the products that mattered most to them, with the service and value they expect from us,” said Pritchard.
In Tuesday’s early morning trading, Pets at Home shares were down 3.9 percent at 151.8p.
Mortgage lending sends Nationwide profits down
Nationwide Building Society (LON:NBS) profits fell for the second year in a row, after a slump in mortgage lending.
The group cited “intense competition” as a reason for the weaker profits, with demand for savings and mortgage lending falling.
Nationwide reported a 7.3 percent drop in bottom line profits to £977 million, with net mortgage lending falling to £5.8 billion from £8.8 billion the previous year.
However, Nationwide said the figures were in line with its financial performance framework. The building society also said that it had given an extra £560 million in benefits to members.
Joe Garner, chief executive of Nationwide, said the building society was providing “outstanding sevice and great value, backed by record capital strength”.
He said: “As a mutual, without shareholders to reward, we were able to deliver £560 million in extra value to members during the year, as a result of the better rates, fees and incentives we can offer compared to the market average.”
Topps Tiles shares up despite pre-tax profit dropping by a third
Topps Tiles (LON:TPT) shares rose over 4 percent on Tuesday morning, despite pre-tax profit dropping by over 30 percent in the first half.
Severe weather across February and March kept customers away from stores, and combined with rising input and marketing costs, pre-tax profit fell by 33 percent over the period.
However, revenue increased 3.7 percent to £110.5 million, and like-for-like sales grew by 0.6 percent. Growth in the first quarter was strong with sales up 3.4 percent, but it was offset by a 2.2 percent fall in the second quarter.
Its dividend remained steady at 1.1p per share.
“While we are retaining a cautious view of market conditions for the remainder of the year, we remain confident in our ability to continue to extend our market leading position,” Topps Tiles said.
Shares in Topps Tiles rose 4.35 percent at 72.00 (0932GMT).
Entertainment One boosted by Peppa Pig again
Entertainment company Entertainment One (LON:ETO) saw strong growth across all geographic areas, driven largely by its popular Peppa Pig brand.
Full-year revenue from its family and brands division, including the popular cartoon pig, rose by 56 percent to £138.6 million. Group adjusted profit before tax is up 11 percent to £144 million, with adjusted diluted earnings per share up by 10 percent.
Chief executive Darren Throop said it had been “a strong year for the Group”, combining “Film and Television operations into the Film, Television and Digital Division for FY19, completed the acquisition of the remaining stake in The Mark Gordon Company and continued the reshaping of our Film business.”
“All of these initiatives sharpen our operational focus and facilitate success in today’s evolving entertainment market.”
Peppa Pig’s popularity has grown across China and the US, where is continues to be a key market due to its appearance on the Nickelodeon channel.
Entertainment One said it expects Toys R Us store closures in the US and UK may have “some impact for its brands in the short term” but “this impact is not anticipated to be significant”.
Shares in Entertainment One are broadly flat, up 0.17 percent at 289.50 (0924GMT).
Halfords shares sink 10pc after reporting flat profits
Halfords (LON:HFD) shares plunged over 10 percent on Tuesday morning, after the group announced profit would be flat for the full year.
The group posted figures in line with full year numbers, with total group revenue up 3.7 percent and 2 percent on a like-for-like basis.
Underlying pre-tax profit came in at £71.6 million, down £3.8 million year-on-year. The group had to absorb around £25 million of additional cost of sales as a result of the weaker pound.
Halfords also announced the appointment of former British Airways boss Keith Williams to replace Dennis Millard, who is retiring after nine years in the role of chairman.
“We anticipate the motoring market will remain robust and continue to see good growth prospects for the cycling market although we do not expect prices to rise in cycling this year as in the previous year,” the group said.
“Given this, the phasing of our remaining FX mitigation actions and decisions to accelerate investment in services and customer capabilities, we currently anticipate FY19 Underlying Profit Before Tax to be broadly in line with FY18.”
Shares in Halfords are currently down 10.28 percent at 348.10 (0910GMT).