Langton Capital – 2020-04-15 – Suspended animation, PPHE, 888, government aid etc.:
Suspended animation, PPHE, 888, government aid etc.:A DAY IN THE LIFE: So, whilst many workers are busier now than ever (though rarely in a good way), many others find themselves with time on their hands. Of course, this could be an absolute curse. But it could mean that some have time to brush up on their language skills, to tend to the garden or to do that bit of DIY that’s been on the list for a couple of years though, it has to be said, now would not be a good time to cut your thumb off and clog up an A&E bed for a few hours. Meaning that we could come out of this poorer but with somewhat tidier houses, with more of those catchup books read (I might give Gustave le Bon’s The Crowd another go) and more knowledgeable in other areas as well. Als we Nederlandse lezers hebben, laat het me weten als ik probeer het opnieuw! My German and French have pretty much rusted to bits and, as there’s an inexhaustible supply of dog and cat videos on YouTube, maybe that’s my true calling. Follow us intraday on @brumbymark. On to the news: LANGTON PREMIUM EMAIL: Corporate Offer: Premium email just £295 (plus VAT) for a single subscriber or £495 (plus VAT) for multiple subscribers. Drop us a line to get involved. Retail Offer: Easy in, easy out. £30 per month (inclusive of VAT, £25 net) via PayPal. Email us for details or check here. ADVERTISE WITH US: Langton’s free email now carries adverts. See front page of website for today’s copy & contact us for further details. SUSPENDED ANIMATION, A FEW THOUGHTS: We’re in week four. A few more observations. 15 April 2020. Supply and demand have both gone to zero: How will the industry cope? What costs are being met etc.? See Premium Email. PUB & RESTAURANT NEWS: • Foodservice markets losing £1bn per week in sales. • Industry analyst Peter Backman has updated on his thoughts re the food sector saying that he would ‘observe that the foodservice market is currently losing sales to the retail market at the rate of about £1 billion a week. After allowing for the differences in gross profit between foodservice and retail, this translates into a gain for the retail market of about £200 million (perhaps slightly more) in food sales each week. This need to be to added the sales of alcohol and soft drinks that would normally be sold in pubs and which consumers are now buying from the on-trade.’ • Fears that some of the changes may become permanent. • Backman says ‘this is a huge shift of several hundred millions of £ per week with implications for the supply chain: manufacturers are now producing almost exclusively for the retail market, and as I observed last week, foodservice-focused distributors are having to find business in unusual places. The longer the lockdown persists the more these short-term developments will become baked into the foodservice supply system with implications for what happens when restrictions are finally removed, and consumers start to eat out again.’ • Backman says ‘within the foodservice market itself, there are flickering signs of life in takeaways – with peaks on Mondays but a poor showing over Easter. Delivery is also improving somewhat, and the aggregators are now also attracting business from consumers who are shopping online from convenience stores.’ • The Guardian quotes Vaughn Tan, a professor at UCL, as saying that the current crisis will force the industry to ‘fundamentally rethink what it even means to be a restaurant.’ Restaurants have been around for thousands of years – but I think we know what he means. • KFC has reopened 11 branches around the UK for takeaways. • Writing in the Evening Standard, chef Yotam Ottolenghi has warned of ‘tremendous’ damage being done to the restaurant industry unless the Government steps in to allow the deferment of rental payments. • The CBI has said that it expects the sharpest downturn in the economy for generations. Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI director-general, said the country needed to ‘to start building the UK’s revival plan.’ She said ‘desperately hard though it is while the human toll on our country is so high, we need to begin to chart a route to economic recovery – the more hidden toll on livelihoods, hope and opportunity demands it. This plan needs to hear from many voices – from business, employees, unions, all political parties, other parts of civil society. Government has much to do and no-one doubts it is at full stretch, but now is the time to start building the UK’s revival plan.’ • Coffee prices are said to be rising as the coronavirus pandemic has led to a spike in demand. • The BCC reports that only 2% of firms had successfully accessed the government’s loan scheme whilst the portal through which wages will be subsidised is not even open yet. The BCC told Sky ‘if businesses don’t have the money in their accounts they’re going to have to look at all of their costs and make some really difficult decisions. One of those will be if they continue to employ people even if they have the furlough scheme or not.’ • Only 9% of companies entitled to helicopter money grants of £10k or £25k depending on size are reported to have received their cash. • Burger King has been told by the ASA to withdraw its advert saying that its vegan-friendly Whopper is ‘100% Whopper, no beef.’ The company says ‘we communicated from the outset that the Rebel Whopper is aimed at a flexitarian audience.’ • Over 6,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Government to include tronc and service charge payments in its furlough scheme. • Global contract catering company Sodexo yesterday warned that revenues will be down by up to £2.4b as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The company says that financial H1 numbers to end-February were up 5.1% but revenues in the second half will be sharply lower. • Sodexo, in line with most operators, says that it has furloughed staff, cut costs where it can and reassured investors that it is well-positioned for the future. Sodexo says ‘in the UK and Ireland, we are aiming to redeploy employees where possible to support the NHS and other critical sites as part of the national response to Covid-19.’ Unsurprisingly, CEO Denis Machuel says ‘we have seen a significant number of sites fully or partially closed in Education, Corporate Services and Sports & Leisure, and the Olympics Games have been pushed back a year.’ • Diageo has sold its Dutch liqueur brand Petrus Boonekamp to Italian company Gruppo Caffo 1915. • Oasis and Warehouse are reported set to appoint administrators. Some 2,300 jobs will be at risk. • Pub Aid reports that many pubs ‘are continuing to work tirelessly to support their local communities. The help takes many forms, from offering essential supplies to customers, to preparing hot meals for local homeless and other vulnerable people, as well as keeping regulars entertained and connected during isolation with online quizzes, music nights and more.’ HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: • PPHE has updated on trading saying that ‘trading in January and February was in line with Board expectations.’ This is ancient history, of course. The group adds ‘from mid-March in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary, our hotels were either temporarily closed or capacity was significantly reduced.’ • PPHE says ‘the Group’s financial liquidity position is robust’ and it adds that ‘significant actions taken to preserve cash and reduce costs and overheads.’ The group adds ‘as at 14 April 2020, the cash position throughout the Group amounts to £149.9 million. In addition, the Group has an undrawn overdraft facility of £3.8 million.’ • PPHE CEO Boris Ivesha says the ‘review of operational costs has been carefully balanced with the business’ needs for the future to ensure that, as the impact of Covid-19 reduces and a sense of normality resumes, the Group is well-positioned for continued success.’ Looking ahead, the company says it ‘is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity across its portfolio. In the UK, only Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London remains open to accommodate key workers, and in the Netherlands four of our six hotels, which are currently open, are operating at a significantly reduced capacity. Furthermore, operations in Germany and Hungary have been significantly reduced. In Croatia, where our operations are seasonal and typically opened around the Easter holidays, the properties are currently closed.’ • The company concludes ‘given the fast-moving nature of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting ongoing uncertainty regarding disruption to the hospitality industry and our markets, it is not possible to provide meaningful earnings guidance for the current financial year. However, having taken the measures detailed above, the Group is well positioned to withstand a continued and significant decrease in business activity across our markets during 2020.’ • Safestay yesterday updated on its financial position yesterday saying that it was ‘pleased to confirm a new £5 million overdraft extension with HSBC.’ It says ‘all of our hostels have been closed since 1 April 2020.’ It says ‘operational costs associated with the running of the individual sites and our head office have been greatly reduced. Capital expenditure and the conversion of hotels into hostels has been suspended. Individual agreements have been reached with landlords involving a mix of suspension of rents or rent reductions for a limited period. As a result, the monthly cost base of the Group has been significantly lowered to approximately £0.6 million of which half relates to payments which can be temporarily deferred.’ • European president Ursula von der Leyen has told German tabloid newspaper Bild that consumers should hold off before making holiday plans for the summer. The UK FCO has advised against all but essential travel. • Heathrow Airport is hitting record levels of revenue for freight or cargo-only flights. CEO John Holland-Kaye says the airport ‘continues to serve the nation by keeping vital supply lines open, and helping people get home.’ On a less bright note, the airport expects passenger demand this month to be down by more than 90% on the same month a year ago. • Wizz Air is to cut almost 1,000 jobs. • Analysis by IATA suggests that international airline passenger revenues will fall by $314 billion in 2020, a 55% decline against 2019. IATA goes further and says ‘the world is heading for recession.’ • Marriott International has announced a new $1.5 Billion 364-Day Revolving Credit Facility. It has also been granted covenant waivers for its existing facility. OTHER LEISURE: • 888 Holdings has reported full year numbers to end-December saying that revenue rose 6% to $560m with casino and sports revenue up and poker revenues lower. The company reports basic EPS of 13.5c and a final dividend of 3.0c per share. Regarding current trading, the company says ‘the Board is monitoring closely the spread of COVID-19. While it is unclear how this fast-moving situation will evolve over the coming weeks and months and it is incredibly difficult to predict how consumers will react throughout this period of unprecedented uncertainty, as a purely online operator with diversified brands across product verticals and a strong balance sheet, the Board is confident in 888’s ability to manage these challenges.’ FINANCE & ECONOMICS: • Local councils are reported to have paid out around £1bn to small businesses. As we enter the 4th week of lockdown, around 9% of promised monies have been paid out. • The CEBR is suggesting that UK house prices could fall by around 13% by the end of the year. One in nine mortgage holders is taking a payment holiday. The housing market is currently frozen. • The CBI has said that, as time slips by, job cuts are likely to be made permanent as business cannot keep labour on its books indefinitely. • The government’s furlough portal is set to open on 20 April. What is the betting it will crash? Firms have already paid out March ‘wages’ to furloughed staff and April’s payment will be due shortly. • The IMF says that the global economy could shrink by 3% this year. The fund says a ‘partial recovery is projected for 2021.’ It says the UK will shrink by 6.5%. This is a larger drop than that seen over the financial crisis. • The OBR in the UK has said that the UK economy could shrink by a somewhat greater 35% in Q2 this year with unemployment rising by 2m people. GDP should bounce back in Q3 – if the lockdown is over by then. • The OBR is projecting government borrowing of £273bn this year up from earlier estimates of £55bn. The borrowing level will be the largest since WW2. • The Social Market Foundation is suggesting that the ‘triple-lock’ re pensions in the UK be removed in order to smooth the cost of the current shutdown across the generations. • Sterling stronger at $1.2605 and €1.1484. Oil lower at $29,82. UK 10yr gilt yield 0.33%. World markets mixed yesterday. UK set to open down around 20pts. START THE DAY WITH A SONG: Yesterday’s song was the well-worth-a-listen Can’t Let Go by Caught a Ghost. Today, hopefully not a reference to post-pandemic Britain, who sang? There’s a crazy old woman smashing bottles on the sidewalk, Where her house burnt down two years ago People say that back then, she wasn’t that crazy RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • Today’s Market: Despite the 2.4% rise on Wall Street yesterday, the FTSE 100 index is expected to dip slightly this morning (according to the Proactive private investor website), after the gloomy outlook report from the IMF and a soft showing from Asian markets overnight (the Nikkei is down 0.4%)…The spread-betting firms expect the FTSE 100 to open c10 points down at around the 5780 mark. • Today’s News: The struggling fashion chain QUIZ has announced that it is re-starting its Online operation today, following health and safety changes in its warehouse. Today was meant to be the JD Sports finals but they were postponed a while ago because of the pandemic. AO.com remains the only retailer to have said nothing about recent trading… • News Flow This Week: The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales figures for March (the 5 weeks to April 4th) are out first thing tomorrow and are likely to look reasonably strong overall because of the temporary boost to Food retailers from the stockpiling surge in mid-March. Otherwise, there is no Retail company news scheduled this week, following the long Easter weekend, TRADING STATEMENTS & EVENTS: Upcoming results are set out below: • 14 Apr 20 Covid-19 updates: Mitchells & Butlers, Revolution Bars • 15 Apr 20 Covid-19 updates: PPHE • 15 Apr 20 888 Holdings FY numbers • 17 Apr 20 Flutter Q1 numbers • 22 Apr 20 Fevertree FY numbers • 23 Apr 20 Gear 4 Music FY numbers • 23 Apr 20 Domino’s (US) Q1 numbers • 28 Apr 20 Pepsi Co Q1 numbers • 28 Apr 20 Starbucks Q2 numbers • 29 Apr 20 YUM Brands Q1 numbers • 29 Apr 20 Nichols AGM • 30 May 20 Minoan AGM • 7 May 20 Intercontinental Hotels Q1 numbers • 7 May 20 Coca Cola HBC Q1 numbers • 12 May 20 On the Beach H1 • 13 May 20 Marston’s H1 numbers • 13 May 20 Stock Spirits H1 • 13 May 20 Compass Group H1 • 13 May 20 C&C full year numbers • 14 May 20 Flutter AGM • 19 May 20 Cranswick FY numbers • 21 May 20 Young & Co full year numbers • 11 Jun 20 Fuller’s FY numbers THURSDAY’S TWEETS: • Covid ££ side effects #41. Permanent kick in the teeth for property? Working from home, no shops, pubs, restaurants, can’t use 2nd homes etc. etc. Not likely, in the short term at least, to put upward price pressure on property. • Covid ££ side effects #42. Disaster recovery plans to be taken more seriously, less smirking at the Swiss? Many things are OK until they are really, really not. Even playing with a tiger. Companies need more fat on the bone, hence skipping dividends, issuing new equity etc. • Covid ££ side effects #43. Might we be grateful for what we’ve got? Pubs, beer gardens, the odd pizza, o/seas holidays? Granddad B left UK only once. Out in 1915 (vertical) & back 1917 (horizontal) & that’s it. Happy with 2pts a mild a week, more food & fewer bullets thereafter LANGTON CAPITAL: Made in Hull. Like all the best things. Langton Capital is a financial advisory company providing insightful views on the UK and global leisure industry and the wider consumer sector in general. 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