Langton Capital – 2022-10-13 – Rank, Entain, GAW, labour issues, delivery, easyJet & other:
Rank, Entain, GAW, labour issues, delivery, easyJet & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: I was looking for a stapler the other day and, as I couldn’t find it for some time and when I did it was covered in dust, it occurred to me just how little I use the thing. And the same could be said for hole punches, paper clips, envelopes, postage stamps and even the telephone. At least the land line rather than the mobile. Indeed, I don’t print much, either and, as we bought a couple of dozen boxes of printer paper three or four years ago and haven’t used a quarter of it, it’s entirely likely that the stuff could easily last longer than I do and, as Frank Skinner pointed out once, we could any of us be outlived by our pens, pencils or other random consumables. Which is a bit of a sobering thought but, as I’m not really going anywhere with that, let’s move on to the news: LANGTON EMAIL: The Free Email is now written in short form. Extended versions of many stories are in the Premium Email. Reply to this email if you would like to upgrade. Prices for the Premium at time of writing are £345 for one subscription, £595 for multiple, both plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option HERE https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=87YUG2Z5W7PSN PUBS & RESTAURANTS: The labour market: There is no doubt that the hospitality industry is short of labour. That said, there are disagreements as to whether Brexit, Covid, the low unemployment rate or the high and apparently growing inactivity rate, are to blame. But, whatever the reasoning, costs across hospitality are rising for labour… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Delivery: A Censuswide survey commissioned by Deliverect has found that 57% of UK consumers are now purchasing up to three takeaways per week, compared to 49% last August. The research also found that 49% are more likely to cut back on eating and drinking out… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Energy costs: The Energy Prices Bill, which will, when it becomes an Act, be the mechanism via which business is subsidised for higher energy prices, has made it clear that those who agreed fixed contracts before 1 April this year will be covered. This has been positively received. UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls said ‘The measures in this Bill will provide relief to all manner of hospitality businesses, from the smallest companies to the largest…’ Other news: A Technavio report has found that the gin category is expected to grow by $6.7bn during 2021-2026, representing a CAGR of 7.59%. The data noted how ‘on-trade distribution is a popular distribution channel for standard gin’ and that ‘43% of the market’s growth will originate from Europe’. UK Hospitality’s Sustainability Programme has outlined plans to deliver on its 2040 net-zero aims for the sector… COMPANY NEWS: New World Trading Company has reported numbers for the year to end-March 2022. The company is planning to open 5-8 new sites a year. NWTC owns eight brands including The Botanist, The Florist and The Oast House. The company reported revenue up 16% vs 2019 levels to £59.9m in the year to 31 March 2022. Adjusted EBITDA increased to £6.7m with a profit after tax of £1.2m… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Restaurant Group shares were down 6% yesterday on the back of an analyst downgrade. Moody’s reports on Brown-Forman Corporation’s plans to purchase the super-premium rum brand Diplomático in Venezuela and says ‘we expect the deal will require at least some debt funding…’ PepsiCo has reported Q3 numbers, beating analysts’ estimates. The shares rose around 4% on the news. The co has raised its guidance for revenue and profit for the full year and says ‘in stressful times, we’re kind of the affordable luxury, so a simple snack or a beverage… is a relatively small amount of money.’ PepsiCo says that higher prices drove revenues with increases in unit prices of around 17%. The co now says 2022 organic revenue should rise 12%, from estimates of 10% earlier, and its EPS estimate is up to $6.73 from $6.63. In Q3, the company earned a profit of $1.97 per share on revenue of about $22 billion. M&S is to step up its store-closure programme with one in four of its larger stores set to close. It said ‘the goal to rotate the estate to higher quality new space remains the same, but our ambition is to go faster.’ Hundreds of workers at the Amazon warehouse in Coventry plan to vote for strike action, despite the retailing giant refusing to engage with unions. With the backing of the GMB union, they have now become the first Amazon workers in the UK to take part in a formal ballot for strike action, demanding £15 an hour. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: easyJet today updated on trading for the year to end-September saying that it turned in a ‘strong performance in the quarter [Q4] with EBITDAR between £665m-£685m, in line with Q4 FY19.’ Re the outlook, easyJet says it will increase capacity by 30% in FY23 and it says that booked load factors are ahead of the same point in 2019… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Heathrow reports that it has opened talks with airlines about implementing a ‘seat factor cap’ during the busiest days of the Christmas period… Travel Weekly reports that consumers are increasingly looking for cheaper holidays in May in order to mitigate cost of living concerns. ACI Europe reports that European airports saw the best monthly passenger performance in August since the start of the pandemic, but were still 12% down on pre-Covid levels… OTHER LEISURE: Rank Group has updated on Q1 trading to end-September saying that group net gaming revenue was up by 2% on the same period last year. It says that Grosvenor Casinos was down 5% whilst Mecca, Enracha (Spain) and Digital were up by 2%, 24% and 13% respectively… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Entain has updated on Q3 trading saying that group net gaming revenue (NGR) was up 2% on the quarter with online NGR up 1%. It says this is ‘broadly in line with expectations and [is] demonstrating positive underlying momentum…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Games Workshop has today declared a dividend of 45 pence per share ‘in line with the Company’s policy of distributing truly surplus cash.’ It reports that ‘including this dividend, total dividends declared in the year so far are £1.65 per share (2021/22: £0.65 per share).’ FINANCE & MARKETS: The Press, picking up on the surprise drop in GDP in August, is suggesting that a recession is now that bit more likely. Hard to disagree with that… Whilst the above signals a recession, interest rates rose yesterday with the UK 10yr gilt at one point yielding 4.6%. Rates subsequently settled back somewhat. Claims by Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg that the UK’s financial turmoil was not linked to the 23 Sept mini-budget have been widely trashed as little more than gaslighting. The CBI says ‘recent market volatility stemming from the Government’s “mini”-Budget – alongside other global developments – underlines the clear need to restore macro-stability and boost business confidence…’ The Telegraph opines that ‘the mortgage market is still in chaos almost three weeks after the Government’s mini-Budget sparked market mayhem and warnings of impending house price falls. The speed of the fallout for homeowners could be like nothing seen before.’ The UK trade deficit widened in August. The BCC says ‘a loss of momentum in goods exports is detectable.’ The UK Land Registry has recorded house price falls in the City of London and Tower Hamlets, which includes Docklands, of 17% and 12% respectively in the year to June. Whilst the City at least is not a major residential area, the sites could be lead indicators. The public accounts committee report, Regulating After EU Exit has suggested that “poor preparation and planning” is hampering the evolution to a new regulatory environment. It says there are shortages of the vets, toxicologists, lawyers and economists needed to implement regulations. Sterling up at $1.1086 and €1.1422. Oil higher at $92.44. UK 10yr gilt yield up 2bps (having been higher) at 4.44%. World markets lower yesterday and London set to open some 18pts down as at 6.30am. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. |
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