Sainsbury's sales drop without royal wedding, heatwave and World Cup
Sainsbury’s warned that retail markets remain “highly competitive and promotional and the consumer outlook continues to be uncertain”
Company
J Sainsbury PLC
LON:SBRY
J Sainsbury PLC is a United Kingdom-based company principally engaged in grocery and related retailing, and financial services.
790 stories · page 4 of 8
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes higher again as bullish sentiment continues
Footsie closed around 50 points higher at 7,609 on Wednesday
Archive
Sainsbury's to take top spot in company news diary on Wednesday
A trading update from the blue-chip supermarket will be delivered in the shadow of the collapse of its planned merger with Asda
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes higher as global markets buoyed by US, China talks
The UK's premier share index closed around 73 points higher at 7,499, while FTSE 250 was also up - around 170 points to 19,632
Sainsbury's rating boosted to ‘neutral’ from ‘sell’ by Goldman Sachs ahead of first-quarter trading update
Goldman's analysts said: “While we continue to expect both grocery and non-food earnings to be pressured, and sit below consensus EBIT and EPS for FY20-22E, the stock has materially underperformed peers"
Archive
Sainsbury's set for fall in Q1 sales in wake of Asda deal fall-out
The Week Ahead will also bring updates from fellow blue-chips Associated British Food and Persimmon PLC, as well as the latest US payrolls report
Next Fifteen higher as it forecasts “positive change” from Archetype agency in second half
The digital communications firm said trading at the start of the year had been as expected, with results from the “significant” changes at Archetype forecast for the second half
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons lose more market share to Aldi and Lidl
Kantar said a wet start to the summer, compared to last year’s heatwave, has dented supermarket sales
Why Tesco’s Finest* convenience stores make perfect sense
Aldi and Lidl have been the runaway success stories in the supermarket sector in recent years, but the likes of Waitrose and Fortnum & Mason have more than held their own
Toilet roll maker Accrol expects further growth after successful turnaround
“We now have a good foundation for us to push on and continue to grow profitably,” CEO Gareth Jenkins said.
Sainsbury's appoints former RBS executive to head financial services arm
Jim Brown replaces Peter Griffiths, who has run the business since 2012.
Archive
FTSE 100 closes higher led by defensive stocks
Footsie closed up 39 at 7,259, while mid-cap cousin FTSE 250 went the other direction, shedding over six points to close at 19,065
Archive
Aviva and CMC Markets in spotlight for busy Thursday
Investors look forward to a strategy update from Aviva's new boss, meanwhile, they are braced for CMC Markets results after the recent profit warning.
easyJet’s FTSE 100 relegation could be more of a dip than a descent
The budget airline is accompanied by generic drug maker Hikma on the list of firms facing the blue-chip trap door
Archive
US jobs data, ECB policy decision to make for up meagre flow of corporate news in coming week
Asides from the macro news, the Week Ahead also brings the latest quarterly FTSE indexes reshuffle, a strategy update from insurer Aviva, and results from Auto Trader
Sainsbury's and Asda become joint second biggest UK supermarkets, Kantar reveals
Kantar Worldpanel said Sainsbury’s and Asda both lost market share in the 12 weeks to May 19.
Archive
Netcall among Wednesday’s strugglers as its by NHS purchasing delays
Here's Wednesday's look at the major stock market movers
Marks & Spencer finals to fix FTSE 100 future
High street retailer has sunk to the relegation places in the FTSE 100 index
Will M&S be too late to the online party? Liberum thinks so…
M&S will have to deal with fierce competition: Waitrose recently unveiled ambitious plans to treble the size of its online business, while Tesco, Sainsbury and Amazon.com have been investing into their delivery propositions for a while
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes higher and global stocks rally as trade fears seem to ease
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 287 points at the time of writing
Morrisons edges lower as first-quarter growth misses forecasts
Like-for-like sales growth of just 0.2% in its stores was below the 0.5% analysts had expected, but Morrisons’ boss was relatively pleased with the “robust” performance given the drop-off in consumer confidence
Purplebricks isn’t the first UK company to fail to crack overseas markets, and it won’t be the last
Overseas markets, particularly the US, have proved tough for UK companies to crack, just ask Tesco, Next, Sainsbury’s and many others…
Archive
AIM tech stocks Blancco and Locations Sciences boosted by deal news
A look at some of the biggest risers and fallers in London on Wednesday.
Sainsbury's posts second straight quarter of underlying sales decline although full-year profit beats forecasts
The FTSE 100-listed firm said its underlying pre-tax profit rose by 7.8% to £635mln helped by synergies from the Argos general merchandise business it purchased in 2016
Archive
FTSE 100 closes firmly lower as investors shun risk and amid Brexit deal chatter
The UK's premier share index finished down nearly 33 points at 7,385
Sainsbury's badly lags rivals, adding to woes ahead of results
Latest supermarket sector figures showed growth for all big names except Sainsbury's
Archive
Will Next spring a surprise in Wednesday’s first-quarter trading update?
There’s a lot for investors to get their teeth into on Wednesday, with Sainsbury’s, GSK and Persimmon among the slew of companies reporting alongside Next
FTSE 100 closes higher after US inflation data
It comes after latest data showed that core inflation in the US was flat last month (March) while consumer spending rose
Sainsbury’s blocked merger with Asda could end up costing it over £1bn in charges and a battered share price
The FTSE 100 supermarket already booked £17mln in merger-related charges in its half year results in November, while its market cap has shed around £1.2bn since the day before the merger talks came to light last year
Sainsbury's needs Plan B to save the business after CMA rejects Asda merger, say analysts
Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe faces the boot unless he can come up with another plan to turnaround the business, according to AJ Bell's Russ Mould
Sainsbury's and Walmart's Asda abandon merger after competition watchdog rejects deal
“The CMA is today effectively taking £1 billion out of customers' pockets,” Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe said
Archive
FTSE 100 ends lower as US stocks retreat after mixed tech earnings
The FTSE 100 index closed 37.62 points, or 0.5% lower at 7,434.13, albeit above the session low of 7,405.99 as US stocks continued to post big falls on Thursday
Archive
Barclays set to kick off Q1 reporting season for UK banks
Aside from Barclays numbers, the Day Ahead will also bring updates from the likes of Taylor Wimpey and RELX, plus the final CMA decision on the planned Sainsbury's/Asda merger
UK competition watchdog expected to block merger of Sainsbury's and Asda
Jefferies and JP Morgan think the CMA will reject the proposed merger of Sainsbury's and Asda
British Land to sell 12 retail superstores from its joint venture with Sainsbury's for £429mln
The group said the move is part of its long term strategy to reduce its Retail exposure to comprise around 30-35% of its business assets, down from around 50% currently
Sainsbury's likely to receive bad news from CMA on proposed Asda merger, says Jefferies
Jefferies said it was probable that private equity interest for Asda would "materialise swiftly" if the CMA blocks the company's proposed merger with Sainsbury's
Morrisons and Sainsbury’s take a hit from Tesco’s iffy finish
Tesco’s dividend hike offset what looked like a difficult end to the year for the supermarket giant, but there was no such hiding for rivals Sainsbury’s and Morrisons
Archive
FTSE 100 ends flat as the market awaits the outcome of EU leaders emergency meeting on Brexit
The raft of macro-economic news from the US, the UK and ECB policy failed to cheer the FTSE 100 as the focus turned to the meeting in Brussels
Archive
Tesco results to dominate company news on ‘Super Wednesday’
With the latest data showing the supermarket losing market share to discounters, investors will be hoping for news on how the group plans to maintain its position at the top
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 just about manages to close in positive territory as crude oil hits 5-month high and Brexit talks continue to take centre-stage
Brent crude hit a five-month high, led by OPEC's supply cut and geopolitical tensions
Asda overtakes Sainsbury's as UK's second largest supermarket ahead of CMA's merger decision
Sainsbury’s, which is in the process of trying to merge with Asda, lost market share as sales declined over the period
Are tobacco and supermarket stocks not the “safe harbour” investments they once were?
Most safe harbour stocks have been confined to a select group of market sectors that include tobacco and food retailers, although enthusiasm seems to be waning for these once dependable stocks
Private equity bids surge as buyout firms exploit weaker valuations amid tough UK market
Struggles in a number of different sectors present takeover opportunities for private equity firms this year but investments in UK stocks are risky given the uncertainty surrounding Brexit
Sainsbury's and Asda suggest selling up to 150 supermarkets to get CMA approval
Sainsbury’s and Asda said the proposals “represent a unique opportunity for existing operators to add additional scale or for a new operator to obtain immediate scale”
Sainsbury's-Asda merger to put pressure on Bakkavor and other suppliers, says Barclays
Barclays said it is concerned about the “increasingly competitive” UK ready-meals market, in a note on the European food ingredients sector
Walmart's Asda and J Sainsbury vow to cut prices in UK by £1bn per year if merger approved
A series of proposed remedies have been made to allay UK competition watchdog’s concerns about the planned merger
Sainsbury's and Asda vow to cut prices by £1bn per year if CMA approves merger
"We have proposed a reasonable yet conservative remedy package and hope the CMA considers this so that we can deliver the cost savings for customers," Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe said
Archive
Spring Statement to dominate on Wednesday amid fallout from Brexit deal vote
While major fiscal measures are not expected, the result of Tuesday's vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal could put the chancellor on the spot
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 clings on to gains as rumours swirl of visit by Theresa May to the Last Chance saloon in Strasbourg
Straight from the horse's mouth? Not really. It was the deputy head of the Irish government, Simon Coveney, who confirmed that Theresa May will fly to Strasbourg this evening “to try to finalise an agreement, if that’s possible”.
Archive
Shifting supermarket landscape the focus with first-half results from Morrison's
Aside from Morrison's, the Week Ahead will also bring updates from housebuilder Berkeley Group, insurer Prudential and fund manager Standard Life Aberdeen
Why you should wait to tuck into Greggs shares
Greggs shares have almost doubled since last summer, driven by a strong guidance upgrades, but that rapid rise has left it looking a little expensive to some City analysts
Sainsbury's continues to trail behind rivals in latest industry data
Sainsbury's was the only big four supermarkets to post a sales decline
Direct Line declares special dividend as 2018 profit rises 8%
"We enter a pivotal year of operational delivery in 2019," said departing boss Paul Geddes
M&S ready meal supplier Bakkavor predicts weaker margins in first half
Analysts at Peel Hunt repeated a ‘buy’ rating on the stock but cut its target price to 190p from 200p
Builders and building materials
Crest Nicolson appoints Sainsbury executive as new group finance director
Duncan Cooper, the director of group finance at Sainsbury’s, will replace Robert Allen, who left the company in October 2018 following a profit warning
N Brown makes interim CEO Steve Johnson permanent
Johnson had filled the position as a placeholder when incumbent CEO Angela Spindler abruptly left the online retailer in September
US private equity giant KKR weighing up bid for Walmart-owned Asda
Speculation that Walmart will look to sell its UK arm to a private equity house has been rife following last week’s report from the UK competition regulator, which effectively killed Asda’s merger with Sainsbury’s
Blue-chip banks worry for Sainsbury’s if Asda merger collapses
Rightly or wrongly, the CMA is now widely expected to block the proposed merger with Asda, and UBS and Berenberg aren’t convinced by the standalone Sainsbury’s business
Shore Capital chops Sainsbury's rating to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ as Asda merger looks set to exit the dance-floor
ShoreCap analyst Clive Black said: “There is more water to potentially flow under the bridge on this one, but expect considerable interest in songs sung by Ginger Rodgers today.”
Sainsbury's plunges as UK regulators leaning towards blocking £10bn Asda merger
“The CMA's current view is that it is likely to be difficult for the companies to address the concerns it has identified”
Walmart-owned Asda sees Q4 sales growth slow as Sainsbury's merger decision looms
The food retailer reported a 1.0% increase in like-for-like sales excluding petrol in the fourth quarter of 2018, below the 2% increase reported in its third quarter
CMA pushes back deadline for probe into Sainsbury’s-Asda merger
The UK regulator said the “scope and complexity” of the investigation and submissions from both the two main parties and third parties meant more time was needed to reach a “fully reasoned provisional decision”
Berenberg ups Morrisons rating to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’, sees as beneficiary of Sainsbury's/Asda merger
The German bank's analysts argued that the £7.3bn merger deal, announced last April, would materially improve the investment case the most for Morrisons
Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda lose market share to discounters over Christmas and New Year
Sainsbury's was the worst performer out of the UK's so-called big four supermarkets
Debenhams interim chair reportedly shortlisted for top job at Moss Bros
Terry Duddy would replace Moss Bros chair, Debbie Hewitt, who is stepping down later this year, if picked for the job
Sainsbury's could absorb at least 132 store closures as part of Asda merger, says UBS
UBS maintained a ‘buy’ rating on Sainsbury’s and raised its target price to 435p from 400p, citing the synergies expected to arise from the supermarket chain's proposed Asda merger
Archive
FTSE 100 closes in the red as global market unease continues
Britain's blue-chip index closed over 58 points lower at 6,642, while the FTSE 250 was also down
Archive
FTSE 100 finishes in red as China growth worries hit global equities
Top laggard on Footsie was oil services giant Wood Group, which shed 4.09% to 524.80p
Bakkavor confirms full year expectations in “robust” update
In a full year trading update, the group said like-for-like revenues had risen 3.2% compared to 2017
Lidl sees Christmas sales boosted by premium ranges but growth halves year-on-year
The group reported on Friday that in the six weeks to 30 December, UK sales rose 8% year-on-year
Tesco, Next and Ted Baker among the festive winners as high street survives Christmas - but only just
Below we provide a cut-out-and-keep guide to the major quoted retailers and how the quoted retailers performed
Archive
Moss Bros to wrap up busy week of Christmas trading updates from high street retailers
The day includes trading updates from retailers Moss Bros and AO World, plus UK gross domestic product data and US inflation figures
Tesco best of ‘Big Four’ as Christmas sales jump
Analysts had said that Tesco would be the best of its peers, and its cheaper own brands and price promotions helped to attract increasingly value savvy shoppers
Archive
FTSE 100 closes higher as Wall Street shares mixed; optimism over trade talks fades
The Footsie has been dipping below and above the 6,800 mark throughout the day
Analysts expect Tesco to have been best of the 'Big Four' over Christmas
Admittedly, the bar hasn't been set too high but the consensus among City number crunchers is that Tesco should have performed better than its rivals over Christmas
Archive
Debenhams set to disappoint again on Thursday
“Debenhams hasn’t updated on trading since 25 October and we know from many of its competitors that November was a terrible month for retailers and December is also likely to have been a struggle”
Does Sainsbury's need Asda more than Asda needs Sainsbury's?
“The big question now is what will happen to Sainsbury’s if it doesn’t merge with Asda,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell
Sainsbury's sales fall over key Christmas trading period amid tough competition
"Retail markets are highly competitive and very promotional and the consumer outlook continues to be uncertain," said Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe.
Archive
FTSE 100 closes higher as traders optimistic on China/US talks breakthrough
The UK blue-chip benchmark added around 45 points at 6,906, while FTSE 250 surged even higher.
Archive
Slew of retailer trading updates to continue, Sainsbury's takes supermarket focus
The post-Christmas assessment of the high street will carry on unabated on Wednesday, with updates expected from Ted Baker, Topps Tiles and Majestic Wines
Sainsbury's worst performer of big four supermarkets over Christmas, industry data shows
Sales at Sainsbury’s, which has agreed to buy Asda, fell 0.4% in the 12 weeks to December 30, Kantar Woldpanel said
WM Morrison falls as it warns of ‘change in consumer behaviour’ despite sales rise over Christmas
Like-for-like sales narrowly beat analyst forecasts, but confirmation that Aldi and Lidl are continuing to win over shoppers is likely to make investors a little bit nervous
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes higher as markets climb on trade talk optimism
Trade talks between China and the US are said to be going very well, which has lit a fire under US equities
Archive
'Big Four' supermarket sweep set to kick off with Christmas trading news from Wm Morrison
The update comes after Bradford-based Morrisons on Monday said it would cut an average of 20% from the prices of 900 products, including “store cupboard favourites”
Morrisons to slash prices as German discounter Aldi reports record Christmas
Aldi sold almost £1bn worth of food and drink in the run-up to the holiday season, and Morrisons has responded by slashing the prices of more than 900 products
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes lower after struggling to gain ground all day
The FTSE 250 on the other hand, a better gauge of UK companies, added over 180 points at 17,976
Archive
Slew of Christmas updates from retailers to dominate after Next's positive seasonal surprise
The Week Ahead will bring trading updates from the likes of M&S and Debenhams on the general retail front and all three of the listed UK supermarket groups – Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100: The good, the BATS and the Ocado in 2018
For Ocado, it was a case of "eat my shorts" as short sellers got burnt while for BATS, not enough cigarettes got burnt as e-cigarettes rose in popularity
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes with modest gains on final pre-Christmas full-trading session as late Santa rally glimpsed
At the close, the UK blue-chip index was 9.24 points higher at 6,721.17 just below the late session peak of 6,733.00 and well above the early low of 6,653.65
Deutsche Bank cuts target for both Sainsbury's and Morrison's amid Christmas slowdown
The bank said data from research body Kantar had reported a “significant slowing consumption trend in the four weeks up to 2 Decemberso-called”
CMA rejects request from Sainsbury's and Asda for more time in merger probe
Sainsbury’s and Asda had asked the CMA for an additional 11 working days over the Christmas period to respond to “a large amount of material recently provided to us”
FTSE 100 closes higher on speculation Prime Minister May will survive Brexit-related no-confidence vote
The benchmark index also gets a boost from optimism over US-China trade talks
Former Sainsbury's boss Justin King returns to M&S as a director to aid turnaround
Justin King led the development of the M&S Simply Food convenience format during his time as director of food at the retailer
'Big Four' grocers continue to lose market share to Aldi and Lidl; Morrisons rises on Amazon bid talk
Asda was the only supermarket among the so-called ‘Big Four’ to maintain market share in the period, Kantar Worldpanel revealed
Findel shares gain as it reports growth in first-half profits and record Black Friday sales
Findel maintained its guidance for the full year as it made a strong start to the second half on the back of record Black Friday sales
Archive
Mitie's first-half profits decline as it carries out turnaround plan
Mitie said its turnaround plan was delivering in line with plan in the second year of implementation
John Lewis sales fall sharply for second week running amid consumer spending slowdown
Britain’s largest department store chain reported that total sales in the week to 17 November had fallen 6.8% year-on-year, following from an 8.3% plunge the week before
Archive
Royal Mail profit warning and management changes to overshadow first half results
The day ahead includes first half results from Royal Mail and a third quarter trading update from Bovis Homes
UK's biggest supermarkets slapped with unequal pay lawsuit in wake of Lloyds pensions case
Female workers continue to march against discrimination in the workplace after a court ordered Lloyds to amend its pension schemes to make benefits equal for men and women
UK's Big Four supermarkets lose further ground to Aldi and Lidl, Kantar data reveals
Aldi and Lidl have been taking market share from the four biggest supermarkets including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda