Asda results hit rock bottom
Asda has disclosed its worst quarterly performance on record, after price deflation and a “competitive environment” hit the British supermarket hard.
Sales dropped 7.5 percent over the past three months despite a five-year plan to make £1.5 billion worth of price reductions.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon commented on his turnaround strategy, “while our turnaround will take time, I’m confident in the new leadership team there and want to assure you we’re addressing this with urgency.”
British supermarkets have suffered over the past few years, as discount stores such as Lidl and Aldi continue to lure customers and increase competition in the sector.
Tencent shares soar on impressive results
Shares in Chinese social company Tencent rose over 5 percent on Thursday, after reporting a 47 percent profit increase.
Revenue climbed 52 percent to 35.7 billion yuan, with net income also beating analysts’ expectations.
Tencent is the owner of WeChat, the most popular messaging service in China, but remains relatively unknown in the West. Its app has over 700 million users and is unrivalled in the Chinese market.
Tencent (HKG:0700) is currently up 5.18 percent at 203.00 (1420GMT).
Co-operative Bank sees “challenging” conditions ahead
The Co-operative Bank has narrowed its losses over the last six months, but warned that market conditions remain “challenging” retail banks.
Their half-yearly results, published today, showed losses shrinking to £177 million, with operating expenditure reduced to £222.8 million. The bank’s total capital ratio has also been reduced to 19.7 percent, compared to 21.6 percent half a year earlier.
CEO Niall Booker commented, “”Today’s market conditions are challenging for all retail-focused banks and the macroeconomic uncertainty following the result of the EU referendum, including the likelihood of lower-for-longer interest rates, may restrict our ability to grow revenue in the short term.”