Tesco lifted profits last year but the UK’s biggest supermarket group has warned earnings will suffer this year as it prioritises price competitiveness in the face of soaring costs and a vicious squeeze on household incomes (The Financial Times £).
Total revenues for the UK’s biggest supermarket, which proved to be a pandemic winner by taking a share from rivals and boosting online sales, rose by 6% to £61.3bn in the year to the end of 26 February (The Guardian).
The group’s pre-tax earnings skyrocketed from £636m to £2.03bn in the 12 months to 26 February 2022, thanks to coronavirus costs plummeting by around 75%, alongside continued solid sales and Tesco Bank rebounding to profitability (The Mail).
Profits at Tesco have more than tripled in the past year but inflationary pressures, an investment in lowering prices and an uncertain consumer environment has prompted the grocer to nudge forecasts lower (The Times £).
The boss of Tesco has vowed to continue waging a war on Aldi by keeping prices low for shoppers “in their hour of greatest need” (The Teklegraph).
The Lex column in The Financial Times (£) says Tesco is “a cautionary inflationary tale”. “Grocery chain warns of profit hit but higher prices for food staples will boost rather than dent spending.”
Investors should admire Tesco for being such a well-oiled machine, writes Alex Brummer in The Mail.
London-listed grocers including Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer saw a total of just over £1bn wiped off their market value after Tesco warned that higher costs and a slowdown in spending could cause profits to fall this year (The Times £).
The Tempus shares column in The Times (£) advises readers to put Tesco in their basket of stocks, giving the stock a ‘buy’ rating. It also advises to buy shares in property investor Supermarket Income REIT.
A record surge in fuel prices pushed inflation to 7% in March as consumers felt the impact of the war in Ukraine on living costs, according to the Office for National Statistics (The Times £).
Surging prices and higher interest rates risk plunging Britain into recession this year, economists warned, as the cost of living rose at its fastest pace in 30 years (The Telegraph).
The boss of PZ Cussons has warned that household budgets will soon come under pressure and cautioned it was facing an escalation in its own costs (The Times £).
Healthcare products firm PZ Cussons has revealed sales grew last quarter following a strong performance in Africa and price increases on some goods (The Mail).
The cost of seafood is set to rise after British fishermen warned that soaring fuel prices could force them to tie up their trawlers (The Telegraph).
India’s Reliance Industries has emerged as another potential bidder for Britain’s biggest chemist, Boots (The Times £).
Reckitt Benckiser has begun a process to offload its Russian business amid pressure to stop selling its products in the country since the invasion of Ukraine (The Times £).
Amazon is adding a 5% surcharge to its delivery fees in response to rising fuel costs and inflation, the company told its third-party sellers on Wednesday (The Financial Times £).
Producer price inflation in the US registered its highest monthly jump in more than a decade as inflationary pressures spread throughout the world’s largest economy (The Times £).
No comments yet