BUDGET retailer B&M has warned of a drop in profits after UK sales slid 1.1 per cent in the second quarter and costs soared.
The group now expects annual earnings to be between £510million and £560million, a fall of up to 18 per cent, say bosses.
It follows a £30million surge in wage costs and a £14million packaging tax hit.
Underlying earnings for the half-year are set to tumble 28 per cent to £198million.
B&M said it was taking “decisive actions” to boost performance but said they will not bear fruit for 18 months.
The measures include cutting prices of key value items, more “manager’s special” promotions, reducing its number of ranges and improving availability of its most popular items.
Recently appointed boss Tjeerd Jegen said: “Since becoming CEO in June, I have led the business through a comprehensive review of our customer proposition and operations.
“We’ve concluded that while B&M’s value proposition remains strong, our operational execution has been weak.
“This has impacted our first-half trading performance, and this is reflected in the full-year outlook.”
He said the firm was “moving with pace” to make changes and “bring back excitement to our stores”.
B&M has 786 UK stores operating under the B&M brand and 344 under the Heron Foods and B&M Express brands.
It has 140 shops in France.
B&M has warned of a drop in profits[/caption]
Up in smokes
IMPERIAL BRANDS, the maker of Winston cigarettes and Blu e-cigarettes, has launched a £1.45billion share buyback to hand more cash back to investors.
The FTSE 100 firm said it is “on track” to meet annual targets, boosted by higher pricing and growing demand for smoking alternatives like vapes and heated tobacco.
It was boosted by growing market share in the US, Germany and Australia.
Ineos cuts 60 acid jobs
SIR Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos is to cut a fifth of jobs at an acids plant in Hull, East Yorkshire, blaming “dirt-cheap” imports from China and high energy costs.
Sixty will go at the Ineos Acetyls site, which makes petrochemical products such as acetic acid, a key component of vinegar.
More roles will be at risk without government intervention, the firm said.
Boss David Brooks said he was “left with no choice” as China has flooded the market since tariffs blocked it from the US.
Ineos urged the UK and Europe to impose similar trade levies.
Airbus no1 jet
EUROPE’S Airbus A320 has become the most-delivered jetliner in history, overtaking Boeing’s 737.
Boeing’s decades-old record fell with the handover of an A320-neo model overnight to Saudi carrier Flynas, bringing total deliveries to 12,260 since the A320 series entered service in 1988.
Airbus wings are manufactured at facilities near Bristol and in Broughton, Cheshire.
