Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
Burberry
There’s a solid set of results in from Burberry LON:BRBY covering the quarter to 28th December. Comparable store sales are up 3%, with continental Europe performing particularly well. The statement notes however that sales in Hong Kong halved against the same period a year earlier. New product lines are performing well and as a result the company is upgrading its outlook for the full year. Sales are now expected to grow by low single digits, up from the previous unchanged view, whilst cost saving initiatives are proving more productive than had been anticipated, too.
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Pets at Home
Pets at Home LON:PETS has published its Q3 trading update today, again showing a sweet spot for the retail sector. Group sales are 7.9% ahead, with online and vet group revenues leading, although there’s no let up in physical sales, either. The sector as a whole remains resilient against a backdrop of broader economic uncertainty and the company remains on track with plans for the full year.
JD Wetherspoon
There’s a quarterly business update out from JD Wetherspoon LON:JDW this morning, noting that like for like sales over the 12 weeks to 19th January were up by 4.7%, down slightly against the figure for the first half, suggesting that concerns over the broader economic outlook overshadowed any bounce off the back of the election result or the Christmas rush. As is becoming the norm for these statements, the majority of the document is used as a platform for the founder, with Corporate Governance now joining Brexit as a regular fixture, Perhaps more critically the company states that it still expects a full year trading outcome which is in line with previous expectations.
A quick note on Dixons Carphone to conclude, whose quarterly update we covered yesterday. The company issued a replacement note early afternoon, having misstated group sales as +2% when they should have been -2%. Despite the error, the market was ambivalent – shares sold off immediately on the back of the news before recovering and finishing around 5% higher.
