Slower start to second half Excellent performance from UK business WH Smith’s (SMWH) half-year results were in line with expectations, but the market seemed disappointed. Its shares slumped by 7 per cent after the figures were published, with one analyst branding them “ok-ish”. Total group revenue rose by 8 per …
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Gross margin retreats Management points to market share gains This was always going to be a tough set of results for Focusrite (TUNE), after the music and audio hardware and software company cut its guidance last month in a context of “challenging market conditions”. The shares lost a quarter of their value after …
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Possible government intervention Powerful workforce In true Royal Mail fashion, news of a possible takeover was delivered to shareholders a few days late. On 9 April, International Distributions Services (IDS) received a non-binding proposal from billionaire Daniel Křetínský, otherwise known as the “Czech Sphinx”. Křetínský, who already owns 27.5 per cent …
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Apple has reportedly suspended production of vegan phone cases it started selling less than a year ago. The tech giant is said to have stopped making its FineWoven cases and watch straps following complaints that the £59 cases would become easily scratched and worn out. Apple introduced the material, a …
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Patent worries persist Shareholder discontent at AGM When AstraZeneca (AZN) announced a dividend hike ahead of a potentially fractious AGM last week, it was bound to be viewed as a sweetener for investors who’ve gone sour on the stock. Although its shares have now recovered after lurching downward in the …
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His ownership of significant stakes in Royal Mail and Sainsbury’s has forced him to be more open and, in his first British interview last year, he pledged to keep Royal Mail listed on the stock market, saying it was good if “every British citizen can invest in the shares”. Royal …
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DS Smith (SMDS), Entain (ENT), car registrations, Future (FUTR), Ascential (ASCL), Motorpoint (MOTR) and Gooch & Housego (GHH) Packaging giants DS Smith (SMDS) and Mondi (MNDI) are still in merger talks, having reached an agreement in principle last month. The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers has extended the offer deadline from 5pm on 4 April …
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Second-class deliveries under scrutiny Possible cost savings of £300mn Royal Mail has proposed halving second-class letter deliveries and slowing down business mail, in a bid to save £300mn a year. The UK courier, which is part of International Distributions Services (IDS), wants to deliver all non-first class letters every other weekday, …
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Simon Thompson is set for a pay-off of up to £700,000 after quitting as the boss of Royal Mail in the wake of a tempestuous battle with union leaders. Mr Thompson will formally step down from the helm of Royal Mail in autumn, leaving the UK postal monopoly on the …
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Press play to listen to this article LONDON — As Liz Truss gets down to work as Britain’s new prime minister, she faces an immediate problem. Half the British workforce appears to be going on strike. Across the country, rail workers, barristers, dockhands, bus drivers, garbage collectors, Amazon employees, and …
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