Ian Pollard – Singles Day at Primark

Alibaba invented Singles Day as a shopping celebration for the unattached as opposed to the romanticism of Valentines Day. It is now the world’s biggest online sales event, exceeding the combined totals of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Yesterday saw sales hit a record $1bn in 85 seconds and the total spend for the day […]

Ian Pollard – Kingfisher’s #KGF double digit dive

Kingfisher KGF Despite double digit declines in virtually everything for the half year to the 31st July, Kingfisher tries to put a brave face on things and claim that for the third year in a row, it is on track to deliver strategic milestones. That can only be true if it had some very peculiar […]

Ian Pollard: SSE Impacted By Triple Weather Whammy

SSE plc SSE The first quarter was impacted by weather conditions with hydro output higher than last year due to higher snow melt but for both years output was below expected levels, with this year, some 20% lower than expected. Output from onshore and offshore wind farms has been around 15% below expectations due to […]

Ian Pollard – BP, Phoenix Like From The Ashes

BP plc (BP.) 2017 was one of the strongest years in BP’s recent history and on the exploration front it was the most successful since 2004. Underlying  profit rose by 139%. Underlying replacement cost profit soared both for quarter 4 and for the full year. For the quarter it rose five fold from $400m. to  […]

Brexit Fears Grow Over Freedom To Fly

Dart Group DTG is aware of the uncertainty surrounding Brexit negotiations and the effect which the outcome of these could have, especially on the extent of its “freedom to fly”. For the year to 31st March revenue rose by 23% and the proposed final dividend is to be increased by 26%. Profit before tax for […]

Marks & Spencer – Awaiting Sir Archie

Marks & Spencer M&S must be desperately awaiting the arrival of Archie Norman in the hope that he can achieve the turn round which has so far eluded the company. Todays results paint a sorry picture for a company which was once the leading presence on the UK high street.Profit before tax for the year […]

Retailers On The Rebound

Marks & Spencer MKS what a pleasure it is to see a shopkeeper back in charge of Marks and not just any old shopkeeper but one who knows the business inside out, one who has started turning it round in a very short time and who sounds confident and is confident that he can do […]