Dunelm pays out £43m as profits surge
25th Feb 2010 11:47
Homewares retailer Dunelm is to return £43m or 21.5p per share to shareholders after a bumper first half. The cash payout is in addition to a 50% hike in the ordinary dividend to 3p. Chief executive Will Adderley said the payout reflects the very strong financial position enjoyed by the 100 outlet
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes below 5,500
12th Jan 2010 17:17
Equities staged a rally in the afternoon session but it was not enough to push the Footsie back into the black, largely because of weak miners, which took fright at moves by the Chinese central bank to cool down the economy by increasing the reserves ratio for Chinese commercial banks. Fresnillo, L
Read moreLondon afternoon: Chinese banking move sparks selling
12th Jan 2010 14:47
News that China has raised the reserve requirements for its banks in an attempt to choke growth in the economy has spooked global markets, including London. The prospect of China slowing down economic expansion does not sit well with miners such as Fresnillo, Lonmin, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Xstrata,
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Resilient Galiform leads the way
12th Jan 2010 14:35
Joinery company Galiform has built good gains after it said it expects pre-tax profits for the year to come in at the top end of expectations as it continued to perform resiliently. IT infrastructure services provider Computacenter is higher after it said 2009 profit before tax and exceptional item
Read moreLondon midday: Retreat picks up pace
12th Jan 2010 12:11
The market's retreat is picking up pace, as the losses suffered by miners lengthen in the wake of disappointing results from Alcoa, the US aluminium producer. Alcoa, which kicked off the fourth quarter earnings reporting season in the US, declared a slightly worse than expected loss from continuing
Read moreLondon open: Dull start despite Tesco cheer
12th Jan 2010 08:52
It's retail all the way today with Christmas trading statements from a host of a names including Tesco and Debenhams. So far, investors don't seem over impressed even though supermarket giant Tesco enjoyed its best Christmas in three years as shoppers braved the winter weather to stock up on festiv
Read moreDunelm says tough to maintain sales growth
12th Jan 2010 07:31
Home furnishings retailer Dunelm kept up its impressive performance through the first half, but warned it will become 'much more difficult' to sustain like for like growth over the next six to twelve months. The group, which operates 100 shops including 88 of out-of-town superstores, reported like
Read moreLondon close: Footsie down but above 5,000
3rd Nov 2009 16:24
London's blue chips ended off session lows and back above the 5,000 level, helped by positive reaction to announcements from Lloyds Banking and Legal & General. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remained resolutely out of favour, however, as the market reacted negatively to the revised terms of its part
Read moreLondon afternoon: Market licking its wounds
3rd Nov 2009 14:11
The FTSE 100 index clawed its way back above the 5,000 level over the lunch-time session, helped by positive reaction to announcements from Lloyds Banking and Legal & General. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remains resolutely out of favour, however, as the market reacted negatively to the revised ter
Read moreLondon midday: Retreat turns into a rout
3rd Nov 2009 12:08
The list of FTSE 100 constituents is bereft of risers, as stocks move swiftly into reverse while the market digests developments relating to the part-nationalised UK banks. The government is injecting another £25.5bn into Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), with a further £8bn available if things get wo
Read moreLondon open: Mixed reception for latest bank rescues
3rd Nov 2009 08:52
Footsie is lower as investors assess confirmation of bonus curbs, dividend cuts and asset sales from Royal Bank of Scotland and a £21bn cash call from Lloyds Banking Group. RBS will not be allowed to pay dividends for the next two years and have to divest its insurance arm and a raft of other busin
Read moreDunelm 'comfortably' to exceed interim forecasts
3rd Nov 2009 07:33
Dunelm has forecast a much better than expected first half after strong early growth continued with like-for-like sales up by 15.1% in the 17 weeks to end October. "The group is well positioned to achieve a sales and profit outturn for the first half of the financial year comfortably ahead of our p
Read moreSector movers: S&N downgrade hurts healthcare equipment stocks
7th Oct 2009 15:20
Smith & Nephew is leading the health care equipment sector lower after the broker UBS downgraded the hip and knee specialist to 'neutral' from 'buy.' UBS is worried about tightening health budgets in the US. Carphone Warehouse, whose second quarter trading statement is due tomorrow, is helping lift
Read moreDunelm founder offloads shares
7th Oct 2009 14:39
Bill Adderley, founder and life president of homewares retailer Dunelm has completed a placing of 15.6m shares, or 7.8% of the firm, at a price of 310p per ordinary share. He retains approximately 34% of Dunelm's issued share capital and will not sell any more shares for at least 12 months. Adder
Read moreBroker tips: InterContinental Hotels, Michael Page, Dunelm
7th Oct 2009 13:07
Ahead of results due on 10 November, brokers have been turning their attention to Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels and are seeing signs of a recovery in the business travel market. Broker Panmure Gordon said the relaunch of the Holiday Inn has been driving a turnaround in the fortunes of I
Read more