Agenda: Primark, Sainsbury’s and M&S update the market

Primark

Primark posts its preliminary results on Tuesday.

The fashion giant said it expects sales in the 52 weeks to September 14 to be up 4% year on year on a constant currency basis despite a 2% fall in like-for-like sales.

Primark said its full-year operating profit outlook remains unchanged, and its margin will be up year on year despite the impact of the strong dollar in the second half of its financial year.

The retailer said it “continued to gain significant market share” in the UK, where sales rose 3% overall and like-for-likes dipped 1%. Primark said it was “encouraged” by customer response to its new Birmingham superstore, which stocks the retailer’s full fashion range as well as new food, beverage and beauty services.

BRC-KPMG

The latest BRC-KPMG retail sales figures are released on Tuesday.

Retail sales fell in September as the “spectre of a no-deal Brexit” continued to affect consumer spending habits, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

On a total basis, sales fell 1.3% in September compared to a 0.7% increase in the same month last year. This was below the three-month average decline of 0.4% and the 12-month average growth of 0.2%, a new record low. It was also the worst September since the BRC-KPMG records began in 1995.

During the period, UK retail sales fell 1.7% on a like-for-like basis, after falling 0.2% the previous year. This was worse than the three-month average of -0.8% and 12-month average of -0.4% – the lowest 12-month average since August 2009.

M&S

M&S posts its interim results on Wednesday.

Marks & Spencer recorded a fall in its preliminary pre-tax profits, but boss Steve Rowe heralded “green shoots” in the department store’s ongoing transformation plan.

Profit before tax and adjusted items fell 9.9% to £523.2m in the 52 weeks to March 30. Excluding adjusted items, the retailer’s pre-tax profit rose 26.6% to £84.6m.

Group revenue fell 3% to £10.4bn during the period. M&S food sales were down 0.6%, exacerbated by a 2.3% decline in like-for-likes.

The department store’s clothing arm posted a 3.6% decline in sales, which it said was “impacted by store closures”. Like-for-like sales were also down 1.6%.

Intu

Intu posts its fourth-quarter results on Wednesday.

In the six months to June 30, Intu’s net rental income slumped 17.9% to £205.2m. On a like-for-like basis, rents were down 7.7%. That drove underlying earnings down 32.1% to £66.4m.

The value of Intu’s shopping centre portfolio, which includes Lakeside in Essex, Newcastle’s Metrocentre and the Victoria Centre in Nottingham, fell 8.8% year on year to £8.36bn.

Footfall edged up 0.4% in its UK destinations and grew at 3.5% in its Spanish malls.

Intu boss Matthew Roberts said the first half had been “challenging” for the business and admitted there were “no quick fixes” to the company’s problems. But he insisted he was “confident that we can address them head-on”.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s posts its interim results on Thursday.

The grocery chain hailed “improved sales momentum” during its second quarter despite challenging trading at Argos weighing on its top line.

Same-store sales slipped 0.2% in the 12 weeks to September 21, but total retail sales edged up 0.1%. Sales in its core grocery division increased 0.6% as it lauded improvements in its performance “relative to the market”.

Clothing sales advanced 3.3% during the quarter, but general merchandise sales dropped 2%.

Sainsbury’s said it plans to shutter another 60-70 standalone Argos stores and open around 80 new shop-in-shops at its larger supermarkets.

Halfords

Halfords posts its interim results on Thursday.

The cycling and car parts retailer trimmed its profit guidance for the second time this year after blaming poor weather and weak consumer confidence for a slump in sales.

Halfords’ like-for-like sales declined 3.2% for the 20 weeks to August 16. Retail like-for-like sales were down 3.9%; however, its autocentre sales registered a slight uptick of 1.2% during the same period.

The specialist retailer said it expects underlying profit before tax to be within the range of £50m to £55m this financial year, down slightly from its original guidance of £59m.

The Works

The Works posts its half-year pre-close update on Thursday.

The value retailer’s like-for-like sales grew 3% for the 52 weeks ending April 28, 2019, which it said was driven both in-store and online.

The Works also posted £2.3m in profit before tax, down from £2.6m the previous year. However, when adjusted to reflect the “full-year impact of the post IPO debt structure”, the adjusted profit before tax was £6.7m, up from £4.2m.

Superdry

Superdry posts its half-year pre-close update on Thursday.

The fashion retailer slid into the red after a tough year, at the end of which founder Julian Dunkerton took control after staging a boardroom coup.

Dunkerton, who alongside chairman Peter Williams returned to Superdry in April, prompting the resignation of most members of the incumbent board, said he would strengthen the business by focusing on design, “reigniting” the brand DNA, rebuilding profitability and building a team to stabilise Superdry.

The fashion retailer posted a statutory pre-tax loss of £85.4m in the year to April 27, compared with a profit of £65.3m in the previous year.

On an underlying basis, profits slumped almost 57% to £41.9m.