Ocado Q3 sales drop, JD Sports posts record H1 results
London open
The FTSE 100 was called to open eight points higher at 7,076.
Stocks to watch
JD Sports Fashion reported record first-half results boosted by pent-up demand after UK stores reopened from lockdown and acquisitions in the US. Pre-tax profit before exceptional items jumped to £439.5m in the six months to the end of July from £61.9m a year earlier as revenue rose to £3.89bn from £2.54bn. JD said it expected annual headline pre-tax profit for the full year to be at least £750m. The FTSE 100 company declared no interim dividend but said the final dividend could be larger depending on potential trading restrictions.
Ocado Retail posted a 10.6% year-on-year drop in sales for its third quarter. The company blamed the fire at its Erith Customer Fulfilment Centre for the bulk of the drop. Management said that prior towards the conflagration, which occurred towards the middle of the quarter, its sales had been tracking in line with expectations, slipping by 1.8% over the first six weeks of the quarter. Sales had surged by 54% during the same period one year before.
Newspaper round-up
Property giant China Evergrande Group has said that it cannot sell properties and other assets fast enough to service its massive $300bn debts, and that its cashflow was under “tremendous pressure”. Only hours after angry investors besieged its Shenzhen headquarters and the company denied it was set for bankruptcy, Evergrande issued a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange saying that a significant drop in sales would continue this month, which was likely to further deteriorate its liquidity and cash flow. – Guardian
The travel industry has called for ministers to tear up the UK’s Covid traffic light and PCR testing rules as figures reveal their “devastating impact” on overseas flights and holiday bookings in peak season. Bookings for holidays abroad this summer were down 83% on 2019, according to data from the Travel Association (ABTA), with half of travel companies reporting no increase in bookings compared with last summer, despite the vaccination programme. - Guardian
Heathrow will have no rail or Tube services on Boxing Day, leaving passengers facing the prospect of travel chaos on one of the busiest days of the year for the airport. Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) are planning engineering works, The Telegraph can disclose, meaning passengers will only be able to get to the airport by car or coach. - Telegraph
MPs have accused the insolvency profession of operating like the “Wild West” after an inquiry found evidence of alleged widespread misconduct including “intimidation”, “deception” and “misappropriation of assets”. The all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking said that it had received “startling” evidence about the profession this year in response to prominent failures and complaints. - The Times
The world’s biggest retailer was at the centre of an elaborate hoax yesterday seemingly aimed at manipulating the price of a cryptocurrency. A press release purportedly from Walmart claimed that it would allow customers to pay for purchases online using litecoin from next month. - The Times
US Close
Wall Street stocks closed on a mixed note on Monday as the blue-chip Dow Jones and the S&P 500 bounced back from five consecutive days of losses.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.76% at 34,869.63, while the S&P 500 was 0.23% firmer at 4,468.73 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.07% weaker at 15,105.58.