JD Wetherspoon reports sales growth 3.6%
JD Wetherspoon says trading has remained “resilient” after reporting an increase in sales.
Like-for-like sales in the three months to 15 January grew by 3.6%, but the chain said the increase was mainly because the bad weather of a year ago had held trade back.
JD Wetherspoon opened 18 new pubs over the year and closed two. Including these changes, sales rose by 9.9%.
The chain said it still planned to open a total of 50 pubs this year.
It repeated its warning that profit margins would be squeezed over the year by higher costs.
JD Wetherspoon said that sales, profit and cash flow were “resilient”, although it said challenges were presented by government legislation, such as rises in excise duty, business rates and carbon tax.
Chairman Tim Martin also repeated his criticism of pubs having to pay higher VAT on food than supermarkets.
Airbus reports record orders for 2011
Plane maker Airbus has reported record orders for 2011 but has warned that demand for new planes will fall sharply this year.
The company said it received 1,419 orders worth about £91 billion ($140 billion) last year, compared with 805 for its fierce US rival Boeing.
Demand for the fuel-efficient A320NEO medium-haul jet was particularly strong, it said.
However, sales chief John Leahy said Boeing would make up ground this year.
It has launched its own fuel-efficient 737MAX, demand for which will be strong, he said.
Based on the 2011 order figures, Airbus holds a 64% share of the orders placed with the world’s two largest plane makers.
“It isn’t our goal to end up where Boeing was in 1995 with 81% of the market,” said Mr Leahy.
“Our goal remains to stay in a stable duopoly between 40% and 60% of the market.”
Airbus also said it had delivered 534 planes in 2011, compared with 477 by Boeing.
Burberry sales rise 21% on Chinese exports growth
Fashion retailer Burberry has announced a 21% rise in fourth quarter sales as Chinese export growth continues.
In the last quarter of 2011, revenue at the firm – famed for its camel, red and black check pattern – rose to £574 million with sales in Chinese shops up 30%.
The firm opened a new flagship store in Paris and a third shop in Sao Paulo in Brazil over the period.
Burberry said knitwear, men’s accessories and fragrances were among the best selling lines.
Angela Ahrendts, Burberry chief executive officer said: “Our investment in flagship markets and digital technology has enabled our global teams to continue to drive customer engagement.
“We remain focused on executing our proven core strategies to achieve long-term growth, while staying mindful of the challenging macro environment.”
In November, the firm revealed its profits for the half year to 30 September were 23% up on 2010, as the group reported a 16% rise in same store retail sales.
Homebuilder Bovis predicts increased profits
The Homebuilder Bovis is predicting an increase in profits for 2012.
UK housebuilder Bovis says it expects a significant increase in profit for 2011, following strong earnings growth.
The Kent based group expects to record profits of about £31 million for last year, up 68% on 2010.
The firm also expects to report an 8% increase in overall home completions for 2011, to 2,045 units.
It also said forward sales at the start of 2012 were up 35% year-on-year, at 568 homes, thanks to a rise in private and social housing reservations.
“The group can deliver significantly increased profit and, coupled with improving efficiency of capital employed, a stronger return on capital employed in 2012 and beyond,” said chief executive David Ritchie in a statement.
Bovis said the average sales price rose 4.5% to £180,100 pounds in 2011.
Bloomsbury sales improve with ebook success
Publisher Bloomsbury has reported strong fourth quarter trading, helped by cook books and a 38% jump in ebook sales.
The firm said its bestsellers included River Cottage Veg Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Heston at Home by Heston Blumenthal.
Bloomsbury also said that its sales of Harry Potter box sets continued to be strong.
It added it expected its annual results to be ‘in line with expectations”.
The Harry Potter novels have sold more than 450 million copies through Bloomsbury in Britain, and publishers Scholastic in the United States.
Its increasing focus on ebooks paid dividends, the firm said, as sales of ebooks between September and December were up 38% from the year before.
Bloomsbury has also earned revenues from intellectual property and publishing services projects.
In October, the firm announced a long term licensing deal for the Wisden cricket brand in India with revenues of £2.1 million over five years plus a royalty share.
Next sales grow as online business outperforms
Next has reported that its autumn and pre-Christmas sales grew after buoyant online business trading.
Total sales at the clothes retailer between 1 August and 24 December rose 3.1% compared with a year earlier, ignoring the effect of rising VAT.
However it’s Next Directory sales grew by 16.9%.
But its High Street business, which sees some two-thirds of sales, recorded a 2.7% fall, sending Next’s share price 3.1% lower by the close of trading in London.
Next has seen its share price rise 39% over the past 12 months, easily outperforming a 5% fall in the broader FTSE 100 index.
Next reconfirmed its full year profits forecast at £565 million, narrowing the range to plus or minus £7 million.
The total sales growth figure of 3.1% was in the middle of its previous guidance of 2.5% to 4%, despite the “slightly disappointing” numbers from its 500 stores.
Next expressed uncertainty in its statement as to why the High Street performance had been so weak, particularly considering that last year’s sales had been hurt by cold weather.
One possibility cited in its statement was its long-standing policy of not cutting the price of its products in the run-up to Christmas.
Next said it was cautiously optimistic about its end of season sales – which began after the end of its latest reporting period – and expected results to be slightly ahead of budget.
The retailer said it expected sales this year to be helped by a probable freeze in the price of its products.
It forecast generating £200 million surplus cash in the year ahead, which it said it would return to shareholders via share buybacks.
Apps downloads hit record high at the end of December
For the first time more than a billion apps have been downloaded in a single week according to new research.
Analytics firm Flurry said 1.2 billion apps were downloaded in the last week of December.
Activity was buoyed by the facts that many users received new devices for Christmas and firms offered discounted apps over the holiday period.
The US was responsible for nearly half of the downloads, followed by China and the UK.
With 81 million downloads, the UK easily surpassed Canada (41 million), Germany (40 million) and France (40 million).
It was beaten to second spot by China with 99 million downloads. The US was out ahead with 509 million.
Flurry thinks this level of download activity will become more standard.
“Looking forward to 2012, Flurry expects breaking the one billion download barrier per week will become more commonplace,” the firm said in its blog..
“While [Apple] iOS and [Google] Android growth continues to amaze, the market is still by all measures relatively nascent.”
Unsurprisingly, Christmas proved a boom time for device makers.
Flurry estimated that nearly seven million Android devices and iPhones were activated on Christmas Day.
Apple does not disclose such figures but Google confirmed that more than 3.7 million Android devices were activated over the Christmas weekend.
Luxury carmaker Bentley sees sales rise 37% in 2011
Luxury carmaker Bentley has reported a 37% rise in sales in 2011, claiming global demand has returned to pre-recession levels.
The Crewe-based firm sold 7,003 cars, whose prices start at £133,000, in the year to December 31.
The US continues to be Bentley’s number one market with 2,021 cars sold in 2011, an increase of 32%.
However, China took second spot with sales almost doubling to 1,839, surpassing the previous year’s record.
Bentley’s chairman and chief executive, Wolfgang Duerheimer, said: “It has been particularly pleasing to see renewed interest in Bentley in established as well as and new and emerging markets, all of which is contributing to a positive financial result for 2011.
“We want that success to continue and, with a new Continental V8 model set to attract new customers in 2012, have ambitious but realistic plans which reflect global economic conditions.”
Sales of cars in December rose 69% to 1,059, compared to the same month in 2010.
The month’s figures were boosted by the first deliveries of the new Continental GTC model, which was launched to the public in October.
December’s figures were the best since Bentley’s record year of 2007 and the second best month in its history.
However, the firm is still negotiating with unions over an ongoing pay dispute. In December, staff at the Bentley factory in Crewe rejected a two-year pay deal.
The Unite union had recommended the 2,700 workers accepted the offer of a 4% rise for the first year and 3% in the next.
Gin is the new tonic for business growth
A new generation of boutique gin distilleries – some in residential homes – is driving a British gin revival.
London is in the midst of a craft distilling revival.
New microdistilleries can be found in residential houses – such as Sacred Spirits, based in London’s sedate Highgate. And they’re tucked away in terraces – such as gin and vodka makers Sipsmith in Hammersmith.
These new distillers are a far cry from the back-street operators who turned out rough booze in the 19th Century.
The gory excess of London’s spirit craze at that time was gruesomely portrayed in the artwork of George Cruikshank and William Hogarth – whose print Gin Lane depicts dead babies, binge-drinking children and starving alcoholics.
It is not exactly a refined image of alcohol – but despite this, some of today’s gin makers still take a measure of inspiration from the past.
“We try to reflect the old school way of distilling, which is known as one-shot,” says Sipsmith co-founder Sam Galsworthy.
He proudly shows off Prudence – distillers traditionally give their stills female names. She is an impressively gleaming room-sized copper machine, but she could easily fit several times over in just one of the stills used by bigger spirits brands.
“We do not blend, we do not make a concentrate,” Galsworthy says.
“People are drinking less, but they are drinking better. If they’re going to have a gin and tonic, they’re going to have a better gin and tonic, they’re just going to have it less frequently. That is one of the indicators that will happen in a recession.”
These new companies are operating in a tough economic climate, but even more surprising is that some are thriving in a stable-to-declining market for gin, one that is dominated by big brands with marketing clout.
Since Sipsmith opened up the first new copper-pot distillery in London for nearly two centuries – requiring the issuing of a special licence – at least half a dozen more distillers have opened up elsewhere in the capital, some in the most unlikely places.
Bombardier wins £188 million Southern trains contract
Derby trainmaker Bombardier has won a £188 million contract to build 130 carriages for rail company Southern.
The Department for Transport had been criticised for choosing German rival Siemens over Bombardier as preferred bidder for the £1.4 billion Thameslink rail contract.
It is hoped the new contract will help secure the Canadian owned company’s future in Derby.
Bombardier announced 1,400 job cuts after losing out on the Thameslink deal in June.
Transport Secretary Justine Greening said: “This deal for more than 100 new carriages is great news for rail passengers and brilliant news for Bombardier and Derby.
“It lands Bombardier with a crucial train order and I look forward to Bombardier workers in Derby being among the winners of this important deal. This deal, helped along by my department, shows my determination to invest in Britain’s railways.”
Paul Roberts, from Bombardier, said: “We are delighted to be awarded this contract by Southern. This is a significant project which emphasises the performance of Bombardier’s products in the UK. The new trains will be manufactured in the UK, with initial production commencing in the latter half of 2012.”
The firm did not say what impact the deal would have on jobs.
Southern runs services in south London, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. The new carriages will go into service from December 2013.