Cash Is King As Wesfarmers Sells Down Coles Stake
Wesfarmers has raised $1.060 billion from another sale of part of its stake in Coles Group. Wesfarmers said it had sold 5.2% of Coles at $15.39 a share.
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Mosaic & Star Stand Down Staff, Wesfarmers Shutters Kmart NZ
Major women’s fashionwear retailer Mosaic Brands has become the latest chain operator to shut stores and stand down staff indefinitely. Casino operator, Star Group has also stood down around 90% of its staff of 9,000 while Wesfarmers has shut its Kmart stores in New Zealand as the coronavirus outbreak continues to escalate.
Read MoreEarly Data Shows Panic Buying Turning Around Retail Sales
Investors have paid no heed to partial figures from the ABS yesterday showing a 0.4% rise in seasonally adjusted retail sales in February. The rise came from the supermarket sector as other parts of retail, particularly associated with tourism or hospitality, are likely to plummet.
Read MorePanic Buying Extends To Supermarket Shares
Shares in Coles, Woolies, and Metcash surged yesterday as investors took heed of the impact of the panic buying will have on sales and earnings for the March quarter at least.
Read MoreCOL – UBS rates the stock as Sell
Coles’ result came in 3% above the company’s pre-announced number earlier in the month, largely due to better than expected cost-outs. UBS is surprised by the solid performance of the supermarket in the face of higher levels of investment by rivals.
Read MoreStaff Underpayments Blot Solid Half From Coles
As Coles Group forecast earlier this month, the country’s second supermarket chain turned in a solid result for the first half of 2019-20.
Read MoreColes Joins Woolies In The Staff Underpayments Club
Coles has now joined rival Woolworths (and a host of other companies, listed and unlisted) in underpaying staff – in this case, some of its salaried managers.
Read MoreColes Hypes Up Sales Growth After Solid Holiday Season
The country’s second-ranked supermarket chain has slipped out a surprise early earnings update which speaks more to corporate spin than anything else.
Read MoreKaufland Exit Sparks Rally In Coles, Woolies Shares
No wonder shares in Coles and Woolworths soared to record highs late yesterday – a major potential rival from Germany has quit before it got around to opening a store in this country.
Read MoreColes Shares Rally After Q1 Sales Top Analysts Forecasts
Coles shares rebounded yesterday after its first-quarter sales performance was better than expected by analysts.
Read MoreAnalysts Downgrade Coles Ahead Of Q1 Sales Report
Signs of investor worries about the first quarter trading performance of our two biggest retailers – Woolworths and Coles which are both due to update the market this week on how they went in the three months to the end of September.
Read MoreCOL – UBS rates the stock as Sell
The company’s maiden FY19 result was messy, UBS observes, but in line with expectations. Supermarket earnings were 3% ahead of the brokers forecasts.
Read MoreColes Pays Special Dividend Despite Earnings Fall
In the wider retail sector the country’s second major supermarket chain, Coles Group has completed the financial year with OK trading figures, but a one-off surprise for shareholders.
Read MoreCOL – UBS rates the stock as Sell
UBS found two positive surprises from the company’s strategy briefing. Fourth quarter like-for-like sales were ahead of expectations and $1bn of cumulative cost reductions by FY23 were announced.
Read MoreCosts Out Convinces Coles Investors
Coles shares hit an all-time high of $13.69 yesterday after the company revealed its new strategy, the highlight of which was of course cost cuts – $1 billion by 2023.
Read MoreColes Wields The Axe Ahead Of Strategy Update
Meanwhile, Coles, yesterday revealed swingeing cuts at its head office in Melbourne with a reported 450 people departing, including some senior managers.
Read MoreCollectables Help Coles Lift Q3 Sales 2.1%
Coles has lifted its third-quarter food and liquor sales 2.1% to $8 billion, thanks in part to its latest kid-focused collectables campaign.
Read MoreCOL – Macquarie rates the stock as Neutral
The company has undertaken an exclusive partnership with UK-based online retail group Ocado. This is expected to double the company’s home-delivery capacity and improve online margins.
Read MoreCOL – UBS rates the stock as Sell
Coles’ result fell short of the broker on higher supermarket costs and lost market share in the second quarter. Liquor did well and cash flow was otherwise strong but margins compressed.
Read More‘Retail Calendar’ Reporting Clouds Coles Interim
An essentially meaningless interim result yesterday from the country’s newest listed retailer, Coles Group thanks to the spin-off from Wesfarmers and the impact on the company’s management, sales, and costs.
Read MoreSupermarket Shares On The Slide
Tougher times for our small listed supermarket sector? Metcash shares took a hit for a second day while the relisted Coles is feeling the pinch as well.
Read MoreColes Returns To The ASX After 11-Year Absence
Coles and Wesfarmers separated yesterday without too much fuss on a day when the volatility could have done anything to the shares with Coles shares returning to the ASX at $12.41 after an 11-year absence.
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