Latest news with #JamesDavey
Time of India
25-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Vodafone says close to returning to growth in Germany
By James Davey LONDON: Vodafone said it is close to returning to growth in Germany, its biggest market, as the mobile operator reported a tick up in first-quarter group organic service revenue growth. Vodafone has struggled in Germany since it was tripped up by a change in the rules on selling cable television to apartments. Its performance there is, however, on an improving trajectory. While first-quarter organic service revenue growth in Germany fell 3.2%, this was an improvement on the previous quarter's 6.0% decline. "We are close to returning to growth (in Germany), it will happen in the next few quarters," Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle told reporters on Thursday. "We can't give you the precise month, but it's coming," she said. The group as a whole reported a 5.5% rise in group organic service revenue in the first quarter, a slight increase on the previous quarter that reflected positive outcomes in Britain, the rest of Europe, Turkey and Africa. Vodafone also reiterated its full-year guidance of growth in profit and cash flow. Della Valle has reshaped the British group in the last two years, by selling operations in Spain and Italy and merging its British operations with those of CK Hutchison to create "VodafoneThree". Analysts have applauded Della Valle's actions, which have reduced debt and sharpened Vodafone's operational performance. Vodafone shares were up 2%, extending 2025 gains to 24%. "After two years of transformation and change, Vodafone is now well positioned for multi-year growth across both Europe and Africa," Della Valle said. VodafoneThree started operating on June 1 and is now fully consolidated in the group's results. Vodafone's full-year guidance includes the impact of the merger. It said it expected to report core earnings of between 11.3 billion and 11.6 billion euros ($13.3 billion and $13.6 billion) and adjusted free cashflow of 2.4 billion to 2.6 billion euros. First-quarter core earnings rose 4.9% on an organic basis to 2.7 billion euros.
The Star
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
M&S' food sales growth slows after cyberattack, says NielsenIQ
Pedestrians walk past the Marble Arch branch of British retailer Marks & Spencer Plc in central London, Britain, May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -British retailer Marks & Spencer's food business saw sales growth slow to 9.1% over the 12 weeks to June 14 year-on-year, reflecting the disruption that followed a cyberattack in April, industry data showed on Wednesday. Researcher NielsenIQ said M&S' food sales growth slowed from 10.8% in last month's report and 14.7% in the one before that. Though M&S' market share ticked up 10 basis points on the year to 3.7%, it was down from the 3.8% reading in last month's report. As part of its management of the cyberattack, M&S stopped taking online clothing orders and also took other systems offline. That reduced food availability and also resulted in higher waste and logistics costs. Last month, M&S said the attack would cost it about 300 million pounds ($409 million) in lost operating profit. The group resumed taking online orders for clothing lines on June 10 after a 46-day suspension following the attack. Most of NielsenIQ's data broadly echoed the findings of rival researcher Kantar's report on Tuesday, with robust performances from market leader Tesco, number two player Sainsbury's and online supermarket Ocado. However, M&S is not fully included in Kantar's market share data set. ($1 = 0.7341 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Zawya
24-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
UK grocery inflation hits highest level since March 2024, says Kantar
LONDON: British grocery price inflation rose to 4.7% for the four weeks to June 15, its highest level since March last year, dealing another blow for low-income households, data from market researcher Kantar showed on Tuesday. The figure compared to grocery inflation of 4.1% in last month's report. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah Young)
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tesco's UK sales growth accelerates in 'intensely competitive' market
By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) -Tesco, Britain's biggest food retailer, reported a better-than-expected pick-up in underlying sales growth in its first quarter and won market share from rivals, saying improvements in value, product quality and service were chiming with consumers. The group, whose share of Britain's grocery market has grown this year to 28%, a level not seen since 2016, did, however, leave its profit guidance for the full year unchanged on Thursday, with CEO Ken Murphy saying the market "remains intensely competitive". Shares in Tesco were up 2% after it said UK like-for-like sales rose 5.1% in the 13 weeks to May 24, having been up 4.3% in the previous quarter. Group sales were 16.4 billion pounds ($22.2 billion), up 4.6% on a like-for-like basis. Murphy said the UK outcome reflected "our powerful value proposition, strong availability and focus on product quality and innovation". Tesco's update bucked wider industry data published on Tuesday showing British consumer spending on non-food items lost momentum in May as households' confidence in their personal finances fell. STAYING TOE-TO-TOE Tesco said it still expected to report adjusted operating profit of between 2.7 billion and 3.0 billion pounds for the year ending February 2026, down from the 3.13 billion pounds achieved in 2024/25. The group had said in April it expected profit to fall in its 2025/26 year as it set aside cash to deal with a step-up in the "competitive intensity" of the British grocery market - a reference to a pledge of sustained price cuts from Asda, the number three player, which has been losing market share. "We're definitely seeing an intensification in competition, I think that broadly though it's been a rational intensification, in the sense that everybody is kind of staying toe-to-toe with each other," Murphy told reporters. "So you're not necessarily seeing massive movements in relative competitiveness but everyone has, I think, upped their game a notch." He said inflation at Tesco was running at below the industry rate - which jumped to 4.1% in May, according to market researcher Kantar. Most analysts think Tesco's strategy of matching the prices of discounter Aldi on hundreds of key items, together with heavy promotion of its Clubcard loyalty scheme, which provides lower prices for members, is working well. Tesco is also becoming increasingly digital, stepping up personalised engagement with customers and developing growth avenues such as its online Marketplace platform and retail media. "(Tesco) appears to be in a better position than many of its peers," John Moore, wealth manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said. ($1 = 0.7377 pounds) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After 46-day cyberattack pause, M&S resumes online orders
By James Davey and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer resumed taking online orders for clothing lines on Tuesday after a 46-day hiatus following a cyberattack. Shares in M&S, one of the best-known names in British business, were up 3% after it restarted standard home delivery in England, Scotland and Wales for the majority of its clothing range. "It's not the full range at the moment, we've focused on best sellers and newness," an M&S spokesperson said. "We'll be bringing product online everyday so customers will see that grow over the coming days." M&S said delivery to Northern Ireland will resume in the "coming weeks", as will click and collect services, next-day delivery, nominated-day delivery and international ordering. The 141-year-old M&S stopped taking clothing and home orders through its website and app on April 25 following problems with contactless pay and click and collect services over the Easter holiday weekend. It first disclosed it had been managing a "cyber incident" on April 22. M&S said last month it expected online disruption to continue into July and forecast the attack would cost it about 300 million pounds ($404 million) in lost operating profit in its 2025/26 financial year, though it hopes to halve the impact through insurance and cost control. The group said hackers broke into its systems by tricking employees at a third-party contractor, skirting its digital defences to launch a cyberattack. ($1 = 0.7429 pounds)
