Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
Greggs
Greggs LON:GRG has published its latest trading update this morning, showing further stellar growth for the company. Sales rose by 7.2% in 2018, but that figure has been comprehensively beaten with a 13.5% uplift for 2019. The number of shops now stands at 2050 and employees have shared in a £7m bonus, too. Profits for the full year are now expected to be slightly ahead of forecasts, despite wage and broader price inflation pressures.
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J Sainsbury
There’s a mixed bag of numbers from Sainsbury LON:SBRY in their Q3 update which has just been released. Grocery sales are up, with solid growth in the online channel and clothing has performed well too, but general merchandise is struggling. That combined to see total sales fall 0.7% on the same period last year – the business may be turning a corner, but investors could be forgiven for wanting to see more evidence of this. Full year results will be published at the end of April.
Topps Tiles
Keeping with retail, Topps Tiles LON:TPT has posted Q1 numbers which served to highlight the political and economic uncertainty which has been gripping the UK economy. Trading conditions remained challenging, resulting in a 5.4% decrease in sales over the last 13 weeks – although this shows a marked improvement over the 7.2% fall in the first 8 weeks of that period. The general election appears to have acted as something of a turning point – management, staff and investors will be hoping the headwinds continue to abate from here.
