Marks & Spencer plc LSE: MKS brytyjska sieć handlowa

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The European quarterly corporate earnings season is in full swing, and has been generally supportive for the overall market.

The good news largely continued Wednesday, with Marks & Spencer stock soaring over 15% to their highest in two years after the British retailer beat forecasts for first-half profit and raised its full-year outlook, suggesting its latest attempt at an elusive turnaround is succeeding.

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Marks & Spencer stock rose 3.5% to a fresh 2 1/2-year high after a report suggesting that private equity firm Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) may be preparing a bid for it

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Marks & Spencer (OTC:MAKSY) stock climbed 2.3% after data from NielsenIQ showed the company was Britain's fastest growing food retailer in the key Christmas quarter.

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Britain's M&S pulls out of Russia and warns on outlook

LONDON (Reuters) -British retailer Marks & Spencer (OTC:MAKSY) will end its franchise agreement in Russia in the coming months and joined rivals in warning about the outlook for the current year amid a worsening cost-of-living crunch.

The 138-year-old clothing and food company ceased shipments in March to FiBA, its Turkish franchise partner in Russia, and said on Wednesday it would pull out of the relationship there, taking a charge of 31 million pounds ($39 million).

Several high profile western firms have announced plans to leave Russia since its invasion of Ukraine including McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Renault (EPA:RENA).

M&S had previously said it was unable to close its 48 Russian stores, which employ about 1,000 people, due to complex legal arrangements with its local partner.

Steve Rowe, who is stepping down as chief executive after six years in the top job, ending a 39-year career at M&S, told reporters there was no prospect of the retailer returning to Russia while President Vladimir Putin remained in power.

M&S reported adjusted pretax profit of 522.9 million pounds in the year to April 2 - in line with forecasts and up from just 41.6 million pounds in the pandemic hit 2020-21 year.

But for the current 2022-23 year, M&S cautioned it was starting from a lower profit base because it would not see a repeat of UK government business rates relief or any profit from Russia, and also expected only a minimal contribution to income from Ocado (LON:OCDO) Retail, its online delivery joint venture with Ocado, which has slashed its growth outlook.

"The business is now much better positioned and had an encouraging start to the year. However, given the increasing cost pressures and consumer uncertainty, we do not currently expect to progress from this lower profit base in 2022-23," M&S said.

Prior to the update, analysts were on average forecasting profit of 449.4 million pounds in 2022-23, according to Refinitiv data.

INCOME SQUEEZE

Last month, Tesco (OTC:TSCDY) and Sainsbury's both warned of lower profit this year.

Shares in M&S were up 0.3% at 0914 GMT, paring losses so far this year to 42.6%.

British consumers, facing the biggest squeeze on disposable income since at least the 1950s, were hit last month by a double whammy of surging household energy costs and higher taxes.

Data published last week showed overall inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.0% and the Bank of England thinks it will climb above 10% later this year.

Analysts say M&S's bias towards older, more affluent customers gives it some protection from the crisis, but are still concerned they will feel the pinch, with its food business at risk of shoppers trading down to cheaper rivals.

M&S said it expected the impact of declining real incomes to sharpen in the second half and endure for at least the remainder of the financial year. It expects the rate of cost growth to subside by the third quarter.

M&S said trading in the first six weeks of the new financial year had been ahead of the comparable periods in 2021-22.

Rowe will be succeeded by food boss and joint chief operating officer Stuart Machin

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Marks & Spencer Earnings Miss, Revenue Beats In Q4

Investing.com - Marks & Spencer reported on Wednesday fourth quarter earnings that missed analysts' forecasts and revenue that topped expectations.

Marks & Spencer announced earnings per share of £0.15 on revenue of £10.89B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of £11.87 on revenue of £2.44B.

Marks & Spencer shares are down 40% from the beginning of the year, still down 47.28% from its 52 week high of £263.00 set on January 10. They are under-performing the STOXX 600 which is down 10.97% from the start of the year.

Marks & Spencer follows other major Consumer Staples sector earnings this month
Marks & Spencer's report follows an earnings missed by Imperial Brands on May 17, who reported EPS of £1.05 on revenue of £15.36B, compared to forecasts EPS of £102.98 on revenue of £3,993M.

Coca Cola HBC AG had beat expectations on May 12 with first quarter EPS of £0.2655 on revenue of £1.77B, compared to forecast for EPS of £0.2606 on revenue of £1.62B.

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LONDON (Reuters) - European retail stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, spooked by U.S. retailer Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) slashing its quarterly margin forecast for the second time in less than a month.

Target said it would have to offer deeper discounts and cut back on stocking discretionary items, as inflation dents spending, adding to the gloomy global consumer outlook.

Europe's retail stocks index fell to more than a one-week low and was down 2.9% at 1229 GMT.

The drop in European retail shares weighed on the broader market with the benchmark index extending losses to stand 0.7% down on the day.

With the latest data showing headline consumer price inflation running at 8.3% in the United States, 9% in Britain and 8.1% in the 19-country euro zone, the outlook for shopper spending is grim.

In Britain, retail stocks had already been marked down by industry data showing shoppers cut their spending in May by the most since the country was in a coronavirus lockdown in early 2021.

Shares in UK clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer (OTC:MAKSY) were down 3.8%, clothing retailer Next was down 2.8%, home improvement retailer Kingfisher (LON:KGF) was down 4.2% and supermarket group Tesco (OTC:TSCDY) was down 1.4%.

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On the flip side, Ocado (LON:OCDO) stock slumped over 12% and Marks and Spencer (LON:MKS) dropped around 2% after Ocado Retail, a joint venture between the two companies, warned that it expects to report a decrease in full-year sales, as shoppers rein in spending in response to surging prices.

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Marks and Spencer (LON:MKS) stock down 4% after the U.K. retailer put off a decision on resuming shareholder payouts until closer to the end of its fiscal year, with inflation hitting the company's margins in its important food division.

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In broker note action, Marks & Spencer was boosted by rating upgrades at Exane, Goldman Sachs and Citi.

However, British Land was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'sell' at Goldman.

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M&S and banking shares higher, property stocks slide
Broker upgrades today reignited Marks & Spencer shares as investors also continued their return to heavily-sold banking stocks.

Improved positions by three City firms as M&S bids to reverse long-term market share declines in clothing helped get investors back on side after a pause in the stock’s recent rally.

The widely-held investment, which stood at 93p in October, surged 4% or 5.75p to 153.8p in the FTSE 250 index following new price targets that included Goldman Sachs at 180p.

The mood elsewhere was more cautious after the rally of the past two sessions petered out to leave the FTSE 100 index down 0.2% or 14.89 points to 7521.33.

The top flight finished 1.8% higher yesterday as contagion fears eased in the banking sector and energy stocks rebounded after an earlier slide in Brent crude futures.

BP eased 3.9p to just below 500p and mining giant Rio Tinto dipped 76p to 5264p in today’s session, but the recovery for banks continued as stocks from the sector occupied the first four places on the FTSE 100 risers board.

They were led by Barclays, which backed up yesterday’s 5% improvement by adding another 3% or 2.9p to 147p. NatWest and HSBC were 2% higher, while Lloyds Banking Group rose 1% or 0.6p to 48.8p.

The fallers board was dominated by stocks from the property sector after Goldman Sachs hit Broadgate and Paddington Central owner British Land with a “sell” recommendation.

The shares fell 4% or 17.3p to 381.6p, while rival Land Securities dropped 16.4p to 597p and warehousing and logistics firm Segro lost 26.6p to 717.4p as high interest rates continue to diminish the appeal of the sector.

Other blue-chip fallers came from the telecoms industry as Vodafone dropped 1.6p to 91p and BT Group surrendered 1.9p to 139.45p.

As well as M&S, mid-cap investors liked Bytes Technology Group after shares in the Microsoft reseller rallied 5% or 17.4p to 393p following a trading update showing annual operating profits will be up by around 20%.

The FTSE 250 index fell 58.41 points to 18,270.69, with shopping centre owner Hammerson among the leading fallers with a drop of 0.8p to 23.2p.

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Marks & Spencer gains on triple upgrade

Investing.com -- Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) stock rose nearly 4% on Wednesday after the U.K. retail stalwart received three upgrades from various brokerages, citing a slightly better outlook for the U.K. economy and the company's ongoing progress in restoring its brand power.

Citigroup analysts raised their price target on the stock from 150 pence to 175p, some 19% above Tuesday's closing price, on expectations that the company's £400 million (£1=$1.2229) cost-saving plan will help it defend margins at a time when the ongoing cost-of-living squeeze is expected to make it harder for companies to pass through price increases.

The group had said in January that it had largely managed to keep pace with inflation over the key Christmas period, with sales rising 9.9% from a year earlier. It noted that clothing and home sales, up 8.6%, were "well ahead of the market".

Clothing, the company's staple, was one of the categories highlighted for strong inflationary pressure earlier on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics, as it announced that inflation had accelerated to 10.4% in February.

Exane analysts meanwhile raised M&S to neutral from underperform after an annual survey it commissioned showed the biggest improvement in brand perceptions among the companies it tracks. By contrast, the survey showed no evidence of brand recovery at two big rivals, Next (LON:NXT) and Primark.

Goldman Sachs also upgraded the stock.

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Ocado (LON:OCDO) stock rose 2% after the online supermarket operation, half-owned by Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS), recorded a modest gain in revenue in the first quarter, even though record food inflation forced customers to cut back on purchases.

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Ocado made gains, after the online grocer and technology group said that Ocado Retail - its 50:50 joint venture with Marks & Spencer - saw a jump in first-quarter revenues and that it remained on track to return to sales growth and profitability.

The online grocer said retail revenues rose 3.4% in the 13 weeks to 26 February, to £583.7m, with average orders per week ahead 3.6% year-on-year at 381,000.

M&S shares also gained on the news.

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Ocado advanced after saying late on Thursday that it had "comprehensively won" a patent infringement suit brought by Norwegian warehouse robotics group AutoStore at the UK High Court.

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Szokujące zagranie sieci supermarketów. Usuwają z mleka datę ważności

Popularna sieć supermarketów wpadła na szaleńczy pomysł. Chce, aby z butelek z mlekiem zniknęły oznaczenia jego terminu przydatności do spożycia. Klienci mają sami oceniać, czy dany produkt nadal jest właściwej świeżości. Projekt ma na celu ograniczenie marnowania żywności.

Supermarket wprowadza ciekawy eksperyment na mleku
Pomysł z usunięciem oznaczeń na mleku chce wprowadzić sieć supermarketów M&S. Działa ona na terenie Wielkiej Brytanii. Akcja ma uświadomić konsumentom, jak wiele żywności wyrzucają, a także zachęcić ich do samodzielnego oceniania świeżości danych produktów.

Od tej pory klienci sami mają oceniać, czy dany produkt nadal nadaje się do spożycia, czy już nie. Mleko jest pierwszym przykładem, za nim mają nadejść kolejne. Wszystko jest zgodne z wytycznymi The Food Standards Agency, czyli Agencji Standardów Żywnościowych.

Jak ma być oznaczane mleko w supermarkecie?
Do tej pory na butelkach mleka widniały oznaczenia „należy spożyć do…”. Stosuje się je zazwyczaj do produktów świeżych, takich jak nabiał, mięso, ryby, czy wyroby garmażeryjne. Ten konkretny termin oznacza datę, po której zjedzenie produktu może skutkować zatruciem.

Drugim terminem używanym w przemyśle spożywczym jest „najlepiej spożyć przed”. Oznacza on minimalny okres trwałości, ale nie ostateczny. Do takich produktów zaliczają się makarony, kasze, kawa, herbata, czy niektóre słodycze.

Produkty, które przekroczyły swój termin „najlepiej spożyć przed” mogą częściowo stracić swoje walory smakowe. Często obserwuje się też zmianę konsystencji, zapachu lub koloru. Nie oznacza to jednak, że należy je z automatu wyrzucić do kosza. Właśnie tego chce nauczyć brytyjski supermarket swoich klientów.

Jaka jest strategia supermarketu na sprzedaż mleka?
Supermarket M&S usunął ze swoich etykiet oznaczenie „należy spożyć do…” i zastąpił je „najlepiej spożyć przed”. Ponadto zachęca swoich klientów, aby sami oceniali świeżość produktu na podstawie węchu. Ma to nauczyć konsumentów, by przestali ślepo wpatrywać się w etykiety, a zamiast tego kierowali się zdrowym rozsądkiem.

Projekt nie ma się kończyć jedynie na mleku. Z równie dobrym skutkiem nos pokieruje nas w kwestiach innych wyrobów nabiałowych, na przykład serów. Pieczywo można zaś oceniać wzrokiem szukając na nim ognisk pleśni. Poza tym warto go skosztować, aby upewnić się, że nie jest czerstwe.

Według organizacji badającej stopień marnowania żywności przeciętna brytyjska rodzina z dziećmi wyrzuca do kosza jedzenie o wartości 700 funtów rocznie. Oznacza to zmarnowane ok. 60 funtów w każdym tygodniu. W Wielkiej Brytanii przeprowadzono też badania dotyczące samego mleka. Każdego roku na śmietniku ląduje 490 milionów butelek o wartości ponad 250 milionów funtów. Z butelki mleka i odrobiny octu można przygotować zaskakujący śniadaniowy przysmak. Z naszymi podpowiedziami bez trudu odróżnisz w sklepie mięso świeże od zleżałego.

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Online supermarket Ocado was under the cosh after JPMorgan Cazenove cut its price target on the shares to 400p from 450p and placed the stock on 'negative catalyst watch' into first-half results. JPM said: "We believe Ocado's online grocery activities will continue to face meaningful headwinds in the next months."