Category Archives: Financial

Currys results

Posted on by

This morning Currys PLC have announced  Full Year results for FY22/23, with group adjusted profit at the top end of guidance. Alex Baldock, Group CEO: “We’ve had a very mixed year. Our strengthening UK&I performance shows our long-term strategy is working well. But our long track record of success in the Nordics was brought to an abrupt halt. I’m proud of how our colleagues rose to this challenge, continuing to bring the benefits of technology within easy reach of millions of customers. Our long-term confidence is undimmed, with a business well set to benefit from an eventual macro recovery.”

Strix AGM

Posted on by

Strix Group Plc , the AIM quoted global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of kettle safety controls and other complementary water temperature management components, provides an update ahead of its Annual General Meeting
At the meeting, Mark Bartlett, Chief Executive Officer of Strix, will make the following statement:
We are pleased to report an improved trading performance and can confirm that profit after tax for the full year remains in line with market expectations*.
“At our full year results, we highlighted that, following a period of uncertainty across a number of Strix’s key export markets, sales data in 2023 indicated some green shoots were appearing. I can report that this trend has continued with Group performance in Q2 improving versus Q1. We are continuing to receive increased frequency of orders from customers, albeit with smaller quantities as they manage their cash balances prudently.
“We also continue to make successful progress on the integration of Billi which is in line and remains on track with our plan for the full year. This is another step that will propel Strix into a new growth phase, further diversifying away from the core Kettle Controls business.
Alongside this, we are continuing to implement a range of strategic initiatives across the business which include a functional streamlining programme to minimise the impact of the ongoing headwinds Strix is facing.
We will prioritise debt reduction with a clear plan to get net debt / EBITDA to below 2.0x during 2023 and to below 1.5x during 2024. As capital allocation decisions prioritise this, the Board, as previously announced, has decided after reviewing the level of net debt to propose a final dividend of 3.25p per share which would represent a total dividend of 6.00p per share.”
Current profit after tax consensus for year ended 31 December 2023 is £25.8m

Groupe SEB announces the acquisition of FORGE ADOUR

Posted on by

Groupe SEB announces the acquisition of FORGE ADOUR and becomes a european leader in planchas Established in 1978, FORGE ADOUR is a French family-owned company that specializes in the design, manufacture and marketing of planchas, accessories and outdoor kitchens for the Consumer market. With a presence mainly in France, the iconic Basque brand which this year celebrates its 45th anniversary 🎂, has also gained a foothold in Spain 🇪🇸, Germany 🇩🇪, Switzerland 🇨🇭 and the Benelux region in recent years, opening up opportunities for business development. ” 𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘖𝘙𝘎𝘌 𝘈𝘋𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘦 𝘚𝘌𝘉 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢 𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴. 𝘈 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵-𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘍𝘖𝘙𝘎𝘌 𝘈𝘋𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭 𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘒𝘙 𝘈𝘔𝘗𝘖𝘜𝘡, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘦 𝘚𝘌𝘉 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 i𝘯 2019

Korean home appliance firms struggle for foothold in China

Posted on by

Samsung and LG have repeatedly been knocking on the door of China’s home appliance market, but progress has been thwarted by intensified rivalry from local brands and escalating tensions between the two countries.

Korean TVs from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics accounted for a mere 4.1 percent of China’s TV market in 2022, according to market tracker Omdia.

That represents 3 percentage points drop from 2019.In terms of refrigerators, the number of Korean refrigerators imported to China shrunk by 21.8 percent in 2022 year-on-year.
 
Neither Samsung nor LG were included in the top 10 refrigerator brands sold in the country last year, according to global market tracker AVC.Haier, a value-for-money Chinese consumer electronics brand, accounted for 32.7 percent of the market taking the lead. Germany’s Siemens was the only foreign brand included in the list.
 

Haier inaugurates its European headquarters

Posted on by

Haier Europe has inaugurated the new European headquarters in the Energy Park of Vimercate, on the Green Building Campus. From here Haier Europe directly manages more than 45 commercial subsidiaries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, for a total of more than 10,000 employees.

The inauguration ceremony of the new headquarters was held in the presence of the Senior Leadership Team of Haier Europe, the Consul General of China in Milan Liu Kan, the Mayor of Vimercate Francesco Cereda, and Alessandro Spada, Alessandro Scarabelli and Gianni Caimi of Assolombarda. The Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso sent a congratulatory video message.

The new headquarters were designed with sustainability and high energy efficiency in mind, in an entirely plastic-free environment and certified according to the highest standards of energy management and environmental resourcesThe new Haier Europe headquarters will also have a dedicated product display area where visitors can discover and experience IoT solutions and connectivity in kitchen, laundry and home scenarios.

Amica

Posted on by

The term of office of the current Management Board of Amica S.A. expires at the end of June. Therefore, on June 27, 2023, during the Regular Meeting of Shareholders, a vote was held on the candidates for the President of the Management Board and individual Members.

Jacek Rutkowski was appointed President of the Management Board. He has been performing this function continuously for 20 years. The four of vice-presidents were also approved during the meeting:
· Robert Stobiński
· Adrianna Harasymowicz-Stajkowska
· Paweł Biel
· Michał Rakowski

The term of office of the newly elected Management Board will last four years (2023-2027). The detailed division of responsibilities within the Management Board will be approved at the meeting in early July.

Frasers getting into appliance retail

Posted on by

Frasers has upped its stake in AO World and Currys as it continues its acquisition spree.

The Mike Ashley owned group raised its holdings in the Bolton-based online electrical retailer for the third time this month to 22.2% from 21.3%.

It also lifted its shareholdings in Currys to 10.4%, which it said last week was part of a “strategic investment” as it looks to increase its “foothold in the electricals industry”.

Amazon-iRobot: the EU Antitrust

Posted on by

Amazon’s $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot is subject to an antitrust investigation by the European Union. iRobot which first introduced its Roomba robot vacuum cleaner in 2002 is of interest to Amazon which is already on the market with its products and which could integrate iRobots with the popular Alexa voice assistant.

The British antitrust recently examined the agreement giving its go-ahead but the European Commission’s investigation risks further postponing the effects of the acquisition. The preliminary investigation will conclude in early July, the Antitrust could carry out a supplementary investigation and ask for another 4 months. Amazon announced the deal in August 2022

Haier Europe growth strategy

Posted on by

The partnership with the ATP Tour is part of Haier Europe’s growth strategy, which aims to become one of the Top 3 household appliances in Europe by 2026. , what is most impressive is how quickly the group manages to grow. Since acquiring Candy-Hoover in 2019, we have seen the strongest market growth in Europe over the past four years.”

Last year, Haier Europe achieved a turnover of 3.2 billion euros, up 20%,Haier is the appliance group that has invested the most in Europe over the past 30years, The three manufacturing sites, tumble dryers in Turkey, Refrigeration in Romania and dishwashers in Turkey created over the past two years represent an investment of more than 180 million euros. In 2023 and 2024, the increase in our production capacities will continue with three new industrial investments in high-end cooking (Turkey), washing machines (Turkey) and large-capacity cold (Romania).This rapprochement with the ATP provides Haier with exceptional coverage in Europe and internationally. Haier is growing in turnover and production capacity