World news
- Fast Retailing swings to a loss in the third quarter as COVID-19 weighs on sales.
- The Japanese retail holding company says its net profit tanked to £670 million.
- The Yamaguchi-based company reports a 15% decline in its nine-month revenue.
Features & analysis
Latest World news
Workspace Group (LON: WKP) expressed confidence on Thursday that customer enquiries recovered quickly in June as the British government started to ease Coronavirus restrictions. The office space provider, however, still forecasts occupancy levels to remain under pressure in the short term. In the first quarter that ended on 30th June, Workspace posted £16 million in loss. According to CEO Graham Clemett of Workspace Group: “As our existing custom...
Rolls-Royce (LON: RR) reported a cash burn of £3 billion in the first half (H1) on Thursday, attributed to COVID-19 restrictions that slashed its engines’ hours flown by 50%. For the second quarter, it still estimated an additional £1 billion of outflow. Shares of the company opened less than 2% up on Thursday but tanked roughly 10% on market open. At 263 pence per share, Rolls-Royce is more than 60% down year to date in the stock ma...
Persimmon plc (LON: PSN) said on Thursday that its revenue in the first half (H1) of the ongoing financial year came in 32% lower. The British housebuilder attributed the decline to the Coronavirus pandemic that brought construction activities to a near halt in recent months and delayed deliveries. Since it returned to work last month as the government eased COVID-19 restrictions, however, it expressed confidence that reservations were recovering...
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) released its quarterly financial results on Wednesday that highlighted its digital sales to have more than doubled in April and May as customers stockpiled cleaning supplies amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. Levi’s also posted a 62% decline in Q2 sales on Tuesday. Shares of the company are currently about 5% down in extended trading on Wednesday. At £7.79 per share, Bed Bath & Beyond is roughly 40% down yea...
United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) said on Wednesday that it had issued notice to roughly 36,000 of its frontline employees about a potential layoff as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the global airline industry. The potential job cut represents more than 33% of United’s workforce. United Airlines named Brett Hart as the next president to succeed Scott Kirby in May. Shares of United Airlines opened about 3% down on Wednesday. At £25 per share, th...
Allstate Corp (NYSE: ALL) announced plans of buying National General Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: NGHC) with a cash offer of £3.12 billion on Tuesday. The U.S. insurer wishes to expand its footprint in auto insurance amidst the Coronavirus pandemic that has reduced claims and minimised traffic on roads. Shares of National General opened about 65% up on Wednesday. At £26.72 per share, the property and casualty insurance company is now 50% up year to dat...
Sources confirmed late on Tuesday that Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) is interested in acquiring Intersect ENT (NASDAQ: XENT) and has already forwarded its offer to the medical device manufacturer. The bid, as per the sources, is now under review by Intersect’s board of directors in collaboration with the company’s advisers. Shares of Intersect jumped a little under 40% in extended trading on Tuesday. It is now only 20% down year to date in the stock mark...
Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) released its quarterly financial results on Tuesday that highlighted a massive 62% decline in its sales in the fiscal second quarter. The company attributed the decline to the Coronavirus pandemic that temporarily closed its countrywide stores in recent month. Levi’s settled its dispute with garment workers last week. Shares of the company tanked 5% in extended trading on Tuesday. The £4.38 billion company that...
Deutsche Post AG (ETR: DPW) released its preliminary quarterly financial results on Wednesday that highlighted a 16% year over year increase in operating profit. The company also expressed plans of offering a bonus to its employees for their efforts in sustaining operations amidst COVID-19. In June, Deutsche said that its dependence on Amazon was falling during the health crisis. Shares of the company opened about 1% up on Wednesday and jumped an...
FirstGroup plc (LON: FGP) said on Wednesday that it swung to an annual operating loss in the financial year that ended on 31st March. The group attributed its dovish performance to the Coronavirus pandemic that weighed heavily on passenger volumes in 2020. FirstGroup said: “The impact of Coronavirus in March, traditionally a significant trading period, resulted in average passenger volumes declining by 90% by month end, with international lockdow...
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) released its quarterly financial results on Tuesday that topped analysts’ estimates for earnings and revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter. Shares of the company remained almost flat in premarket trading on Tuesday but jumped more than 5% on market open. Paychex introduced Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness estimator and reporting in June. At £59.67 per share, Paychex is currently about 13% down year to...
Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) said on Tuesday that it inked an agreement with the U.S. government that makes it liable to deliver 100 million doses of its candidate vaccine for COVID-19 in the U.S. by January 2021. In exchange, Novavax will receive £1.27 billion in funding from the government to test, manufacture, and commercialise its potential vaccine. Shares of the company were reported about 35% up in premarket trading on Tuesday. The £4.61 bil...
Reach plc (LON: RCH) expressed plans of slashing its workforce by 12% or 550 jobs on Tuesday. The company attributed its decision to COVID-19 that weighed on its regional and national newspapers and curbed circulation and advertising. Reach’s competitor, News Corp UK, also expressed plans of slashing its workforce in June. CEO Rebekah Brooks of the Times publisher said that it was time to make difficult decisions to secure the future of the compa...
In the next phase of its broader restructuring, Lufthansa (ETR: LHA) said on Tuesday that it now plans on cutting around 1,000 administrative jobs and 20% of its leadership positions to combat the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Shares of the company are currently about 1% up on Tuesday. The £3.92 billion company is roughly 45% down year to date in the stock market. Learn more about value investing strategy. Lufthansa has an excess of 22,000 full-t...
Plus500 (LON: PLUS) revealed an almost 300% increase in its first-half (H1) revenue on Tuesday to a record £564.2 million as compared to £148 million in the same period last year. The online trading platform attributed the unparalleled success to robust trading volumes in recent months as COVID-19 restricted people to their homes. Learn more about Plus500. Roughly 45% of this revenue or £247.6 million was generated in the second quarter. In Q2 la...
Halfords (LON: HFD) said on Tuesday that its underlying cycling sales came in 57.1% higher in the recent quarter. The company attributed the increase in sales to the Coronavirus pandemic that pushed people into avoiding public transport on recommendation of the British government in the past few months. Shares of the company tanked about 9% on market open as Halfords gave a dovish outlook on profit. At 166 pence per share, the British retailer is...
JD Sports (LON: JD) reported an increase in profits on Tuesday but warned that customer traffic was still weighed in European malls due to COVID-19. The retailer also announced to have suspended its final dividend as it estimated a significant hit to its full-year financial performance in 2021 due to the ongoing health crisis. JD recently expressed plans of appointing administrators for its Go Outdoors brand. Shares of the company opened more tha...