Mitchells & Butlers sales grow in Q1, M&S LFL sales tick up 0.2% in third quarter

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The FTSE 100 was called to open 25 points higher at 7,600.

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Marks & Spencer reported a 0.2% increase in third-quarter like-for-like sales as a rise in food sales helped to offset falling sales in the clothing & home department.

Chief executive Steve Rowe said: “As we drive a faster pace of change, disappointing one-off issues - notably waste and supply chain in the Food business, the shape of buy in Menswear and performance in our Gifting categories - held us back from delivering a stronger result.

“However, the changes we made earlier in the year in Clothing have arrested the worst of the issues of the first six months and we are progressively building a much stronger team for the future."

Pub group Mitchells & Butlers said like for like sales grew 2.6% in the 14 weeks to January 4 with a strong performance over the Christmas period.

The owner of Harvester and All Bar One group reported like-for-like sales growth of 5.6% over the core three-week festive period.

“Overall sales have strengthened over the period since our last update with like-for-like growth of 3.5%, with particularly strong food sales growth,” the company said.

Distribution specialist Bunzl said it had bought US firm Joshen Paper & Packaging for an undisclosed sum.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Joshen operates from a number of locations across 11 states in the US, and delivers packaging and other goods not for resale to customers operating in the grocery sector.

Revenue was expected to be approximately £225m in 2020, Bunzl said.

“As a grocery business, Joshen's operating margin is below the average for the company's North America business area. The company anticipates that it will realise a number of synergies over the next few years,” it said in a statement.

Newspaper round-up

Investors trapped in Neil Woodford’s main fund, which collapsed last year, have expressed their dismay that the former star stock-picker and his business partner, Craig Newman, took home £13.8m in dividends from their investment management company last year. “It’s absolutely despicable but not a surprise,” said IT Consultant Ian Flaherty, awaiting the outcome of the administration process to see how much of his £10,000 savings held in the fund has been lost. – Guardian

Whirlpool should offer the owners of more than half a million recalled washing machines the option of a refund alongside a repair or replacement, according to the Which? consumer group. The US company is launching the UK-wide recall on Thursday after admitting that up to 519,000 appliances sold under its Hotpoint and Indesit brands between October 2014 and February 2018 were a fire risk because they could be affected by a door lock flaw that could lead to overheating. – Guardian

Beleaguered retailers have suffered their worst year on record as sales were driven into reverse by a whirlwind of collapsing firms, soaring costs and flagging consumer confidence. The British Retail Consortium’s latest figures revealed a 0.1pc fall in total sales last year. That contrasted with 1.2pc growth in 2018 and marks the first outright decline since the body began collecting figures in 1995. – Telegraph

US close

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday despite news that Iran had fired rockets at two Iraqi bases hosting American troops, albeit without killing any servicemen.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.56% at 28,745.09, while the S&P 500 was 0.49% firmer at 3,253.05 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.67% stronger at 9,129.24 - a new record high for the index.