Latest news with #RaechelThankamJob
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bootmaker Dr Martens to cut discounts, forecasts return to profit growth
By Raechel Thankam Job (Reuters) -Dr Martens plans to scale back discounting in its key markets including the U.S., the British bootmaker said on Thursday, as it forecasts a return to profit growth in the current financial year. Over past quarters, Dr Martens, grappling with weakening demand for its pricey boots, particularly in the U.S., its largest market, has been ramping up marketing investments and discount offers to revive demand. The company, which makes most of its lace-up chunky boots in Vietnam, said despite rising costs and tariffs, it would not be hiking prices of its spring/summer collection as all of its stock is already in the U.S. market. Its shares jumped as much as 18% to 70.65p as the company also reported better-than-expected profit for the year ended March 31, 2025 despite profit having fallen nearly 70%, the third year in a row profit has fallen. The Trump administration's steep tariffs on trade partners have significantly increased supply costs for companies like Dr Martens, with Vietnam facing a 46% U.S. tariff rate set to take effect on July 9. For autumn/winter products, the bootmaker said that by the start of July, the majority of its stock will already be in the market or in transit, helping it keep prices unchanged for that season as well. Dr Martens said it continues to tighten costs. Its pivot away from discounts in the Americas is one of its initiatives to return to growth, which also includes simplifying its operating model and opening in new markets. The company forecasts adjusted pre-tax profit to be within the range of analysts expectations of 54 million pounds to 74 million pounds this year, as per a company compiled poll. For the year ended March 2025, Dr Martens reported adjusted pre-tax profit of 34.1 million pounds ($46.2 million), above analysts' consensus forecast of 30.6 million pounds, as per a company-compiled poll. Revenue from the Americas fell 11% during the year. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Keysight to divest Spirent units to VIAVI as part of US consent agreement
FILE PHOTO: United States Department of Justice logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) -Electronic equipment maker Keysight Technologies on Tuesday said it will divest Spirent Communications' high-speed ethernet and other business lines to VIAVI Solutions as part of a consent agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. On Monday, the DOJ required Keysight to divest three of Spirent's businesses, including high-speed ethernet, network security, and channel emulation business lines, to address antitrust concerns tied its acquisition of the British telecommunications firm for a purchase originally valued at $1.5 billion. (Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK's Domino's Pizza starts 2025 on a slow note as demand falters
By Raechel Thankam Job (Reuters) -Britain's Domino's Pizza Group on Tuesday posted a slower start to 2025 and forecast muted annual profit growth amid broader economic woes, sending shares down 3.8%. British firms are tackling the prospect of waning demand, as higher taxes and labour costs raise concerns about price hikes, impacting consumer spending habits. However, Britons defied a weak outlook for the economy to ramp up spending in January. Still, Domino's reported like-for-like sales growth of only 0.7% for the first ten weeks of 2025, trailing its fourth-quarter growth of 3% that was fuelled by higher orders. Total system sales - a term used in the franchising industry to represent sales of all outlets that use a brand - also grew by a slower 2.4% in the same period in 2025, compared with the preceding quarter. Shares of the company fell as much 4.4% to 280.9 pence by 1049 GMT, having risen as much as 2.3% earlier in the day in volatile trading. Despite uncertainties in the macro-environment, CEO Andrew Rennie told Reuters the company currently does not have the same inflationary pressures it had faced last year, and said it will continue to deliver the discounts it had provided last year. Rennie said Domino's will accelerate investments in automation to support growth without adding labour, to mitigate the expected impact of 3 million pounds per year from rising labour costs following the UK budget. The group, which operates under the umbrella of U.S.-based Domino's Pizza in the UK and Ireland, forecast 2025 underlying core profit to be in line with market expectations of 143-148.2 million pounds ($184.9-$191.6 million). In 2024, Domino's reported core profit of 143.4 million pounds. Separately, the company also named Ian Bull as its new chair, replacing Matt Shattock, who will be stepping down in April after five years in the role. ($1 = 0.7736 pounds) Sign in to access your portfolio
Zawya
19-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Holiday Inn owner IHG's $900mln share buyback disappoints, shares fall
Holiday Inn owner IHG announced a $900 million share buyback plan on Tuesday which fell short of some investors' estimates, sending its stock around 5% lower despite the hotel operator's better than expected annual room revenue. IHG's plan to return more than $1.1 billion to shareholders in 2025, including the buyback it said would start immediately and a 10% increase in dividend, overshadowed its results and purchase of European urban hotel brand Ruby for $116 million. Its shares, which had scaled all-time highs last week, were down 5.4% by 1446 GMT on the lower-than-expected buyback as well as concerns about rising expenses, according to analysts. "On balance, whilst this is a sound print overall, we believe SBB (share buyback) expectations were a touch higher on average, which might not be enough for the shares today in the context of the recent share price performance," JP Morgan analysts said in a note. Some had expected up to $1 billion in buybacks. IHG, which also owns Crowne Plaza and Six Senses hotels, reported growth of 3% in annual room revenue, boosted by a pick-up in demand in the United States and despite weakness in China. Analysts had expected average revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry metric, to grow 2.6% for the year ended December 31, 2024, a company-compiled consensus showed. CEO Elie Maalouf said he planned to expand the Ruby brand to the United States and Asia. The business operates 20 hotels in European cities. "We would expect this (Ruby) brand to compete with Hilton's Motto and CitzenM, both successful brands globally," analysts at Bernstein said in a note. In the United States, its largest market, IHG reported a RevPAR growth of 1.7% for the year. In China, RevPAR fell 4.8%. Peers Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide had forecast a downbeat 2025, hurt by poor performance at hotels in Greater China, while Hyatt Hotels reported a less than stellar fourth quarter last week. On Tuesday IHG reported annual operating profit in line with market expectations. ($1=0.9555 euros) (Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Clarence Fernandez and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bottler Coca-Cola HBC's full-year results top expectations, shares surge
By Raechel Thankam Job (Reuters) -Coca-Cola HBC's operating profit rose more than analysts had expected last year due to steady demand for coffee, energy and other ready-to-drink products, sending the bottler's shares nearly 8% to a record high on Thursday. Demand for sodas and energy drinks has held up in an otherwise declining packaged food industry as companies have diversified and tailored their product offerings to different regions and seasons. Coca-Cola HBC's organic earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) jumped 12.2% in 2024, exceeding analysts' average estimate of an 11.9% increase, according to a company-compiled poll. Its organic revenue growth of 13.8% also beat expectations. The company's shares were up 7.6% at 3,198 pence as of 1028 GMT. Earlier this week, Coca-Cola, which owns more than 20% of the bottler, gave a downbeat organic revenue growth forecast due to uncertainty fuelled by President Donald Trump's tariffs. While these tariffs have led to companies across sectors bracing for potential increases in costs, Coca-Cola HBC CEO Zoran Bogdanovic said any impact on commodity prices would be "immaterial" to the bottler. The company has also faced challenges in the Middle East due to consumer boycotts amid the Gaza conflict. However, Bogdanovic said that while the issue is not resolved, it has eased over the last few months. The Switzerland-based company expects core earnings to increase 7%-11% this year, compared with analysts' expectations of a 10.7% rise, according to company-compiled estimates. It also forecast organic revenue growth of 6%-8% for the year, compared to market expectations of 7.3%. Coca-Cola HBC said it expects moves such as adjusting package sizes to help counter the challenges of elevated inflation and currency fluctuations in markets such as Nigeria and Egypt. Sign in to access your portfolio
