UK-listed retailers issued more profit warnings in Q2
FTSE retail companies issued four profit warnings during the period, but combined with the FTSE Personal Care, Drug and Grocery sector, which includes supermarkets, there were seven warnings from listed retailers.
Despite this increase, in the first half of 2025, FTSE Retailers issued a total of six profit warnings, a significant fall from the 12 warnings issued during the same period last year.
Silvia Rindone, EY Partner and UK&I Retail Lead, said: 'This [Q2] spike highlights both softening consumer demand and the deeper structural headwinds facing the sector. Retailers we speak to tell us that falling sales are currently indicative of a longer-term shift, with consumers becoming more value-focused and less brand-loyal, which leaves cost-pressured retailers in a bind."
She added: 'Despite ongoing pressures, including the rise in National Insurance Contributions and the National Living Wage, alongside tariffs, investment in technology including AI remains essential. The winners will be those who get the basics right, such as range, service, and pricing, whilst continuing to build for the future with leaner models, sharper propositions and digital resilience.'
In Q2, the number of profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies overall rose by 20% to 59 compared to 49 in the same period last year. Over the last 12 months, nearly a fifth (19%) of UK-listed businesses have issued at least one profit warning.
The leading factor behind profit warnings during the second quarter was policy change and geopolitical uncertainty, cited in nearly half (46%) of warnings. This marked a significant increase from just 4% in Q2 2024, and the highest percentage recorded for this cause in more than 25 years of EY's analysis.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
English cricket chiefs confirm sale of six Hundred franchises
The England and Wales Cricket Board expect a windfall of nearly £1 billion ($1.32 billion) from an auction of Hundred franchises, with the fifth edition of the 100 balls per side tournament due to start next week. Global investors, including four groups with links to the cash-rich Indian Premier League, have sunk vast sums of money into the competition's eight city-based teams. The 100-balls-a-side format, which features men's and women's sides, was launched to great fanfare in 2021. It has proved controversial, with many county cricket fans angry at the way the tournament deprives their clubs of key players at the height of the season. The Hundred has also squeezed a marquee five-match Test series such as England's ongoing clash with India into a congested seven-week schedule so it can have much of August to itself. But the ECB is confident that £520 million of new investment will eventually work its way into the game following a franchise auction earlier this year. The ECB confirmed Wednesday the sale of stakes in six teams has now been completed, but the 49 percent share of Oval Invincibles to Reliance Group, the creation of the wealthy Mumbai-based Ambani family, the owners of the IPL's Mumbai Indians -- has still to be finalised. And the joint takeover of the Trent Rockets by Cain International and Ares Management has yet to be completed as well, although the ECB said Wednesday that both deals "remain on track". But purchases for London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire have now been completed. "The Hundred has already played a vital role in growing cricket in England and Wales —- attracting new audiences, elevating the women's game and delivering high-quality entertainment," ECB chairman Richard Thompson said Wednesday. He added: "Crucially, this investment will not only fuel the competition's growth, but also channel transformative levels of funding into our professional counties and grassroots game." Three IPL ownership groups, out of a proposed four, have completed their takeovers, with the Sun Group taking full acquisition of Northern Superchargers.
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
At least 22 killed in Angola fuel hike unrest
01:51 30/07/2025 What's behind UK's possible recognition of a Palestinian state? 30/07/2025 Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption 30/07/2025 Gaza faces famine as Israeli bombings continue 30/07/2025 New Benin law offers citizenship to descendants of African slaves 30/07/2025 Tunisia's 'barbechas': the invisible workforce behind recycling 30/07/2025 Kenya: Justice sought for victims of protest crackdowns 30/07/2025 Angola: Deadly protests erupt over fuel price hikes 30/07/2025 Palestinian activist Owdeh Hathaleen killed by Israeli settler in West bank 30/07/2025 Portugal battles three large wildfires
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Aston Martin pares outlook as US tariffs weigh
The group narrowed its losses after tax to £148.8 million ($198.8 million) in the first half of the year, from £207.8 million in the period a year earlier. However, it expects full-year adjusted underlying earnings to improve only "towards breakeven", having previously forecast growth. Revenues dropped 25 percent to £454.4 million in the first six months of the year. Shares in Aston Martin slid more than five percent on London's second-tier FTSE 250. Automakers have been among the companies hit hardest by Trump's tariffs onslaught as he tries to bring auto production back to the United States. Aston Martin limited imports to the United States in April and May while awaiting a trade agreement between London and Washington. It resumed shipments in June after the deal slashed tariffs on UK car exports to 10 percent from 27.5 percent, on a limit of 100,000 vehicles annually. Aston Martin's chief executive Adrian Hallmark on Wednesday urged the UK government "to improve the quota mechanism to ensure fair access for the whole UK car industry to the 10 percent rate". The company added that it expected to sell its minority stake in the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One team for £110 million in the third quarter. "Aston Martin has spent decades proving that it is easier to make cars than money," said Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown. He added that "the group's operational performance should benefit from their ongoing restructuring efforts". Aston Martin said in February that it would cut about five percent of its workforce as weak Chinese demand contributed to widened losses in 2024.
