Currys PLC conveyed a positive outlook for the upcoming year, buoyed by indications of a rebound. The consumer technology product and service retailer, headquartered in London, forecasts its adjusted pretax profit—excluding its operations in Greece—to be in the range of GBP 115 million to GBP 120 million for the fiscal year concluding on April 27. This projection is on par with the GBP 119 million adjusted pretax profit from the previous year and surpasses the initially estimated minimum of GBP 105 million.
The company reported a 2% increase in group like-for-like sales over the 16 weeks following the Christmas peak season. Despite this uptick, the annual like-for-like sales for the group saw a 2% decrease. Specifically, the UK and Ireland experienced a 2% drop in like-for-like sales, while the Nordic region recorded a 3% decline.
Tag Archives: Financial
De’Longhi Reports First Quarter 2024 Earnings
Key Financial Results
Revenue: €658.8m (up 9.4% from 1Q 2023).
Net income: €51.3m (up 33% from 1Q 2023).
Profit margin: 7.8% (up from 6.4% in 1Q 2023). The increase in margin was driven by higher revenue.The persistent growth of the coffee business, as well as the recovery of the nutrition and food preparation category, led to an organic increase in turnover at constant currencies in the high single digits for the third consecutive quarter. The consistency of trends, combined with the one-month consolidation of the business combination between La Marzocco and Eversys, enabled the Group to increase turnover by about 10%”, commented CEO Fabio de’ Longhi.
Midea reports 10 pct revenue increase in Q1
Chinese home appliance giant Midea Group saw its revenue rise 10 percent year on year to 106.5 billion yuan (about 14.99 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2024, the company said on Monday.
It was its highest quarterly revenue since the second quarter of last year, when it raked in 101.2 billion yuan, Midea said in a quarterly report.
The company raked in 9 billion yuan in net profit attributable to shareholders in the January-March period, up 12 percent year on year, it noted.
Midea has been expanding its new overseas channels and markets, and advancing its localized services. In the first quarter of 2024, the company’s overseas e-commerce retail sales increased by approximately 60 percent year on year
Electrolux in crisis?
Electrolux, a multinational company, finds itself in a challenging situation during the first quarter of 2024. Let’s delve into the details:
Financial Losses:
The company reported an operating loss of 720 million crowns for Q1 2024, a significant increase compared to the previous year’s loss of 256 million crowns.
This financial setback was partially offset by a decline in raw material prices.
Reasons Behind the Crisis:
Intense Competition: Electrolux faces fierce competition, particularly from Chinese competitors.
Promotions and Cost Pressure: To remain competitive, the company has had to run continuous promotions. Additionally, families worldwide have shifted toward low-cost products, impacting premium household appliances under the Electrolux brand.
North America’s Struggle:
North America, once a profitable market for Electrolux, now faces challenges.
Despite cost-cutting efforts, thousands of layoffs did not translate into profits due to high price pressure from Asian chains and importers in 2023 and Q1 2024.
Leadership Change:
CEO Jonas Samuelson has resigned, leaving the company.
The new organizational structure aims to streamline operations and reduce costs.
Speculation on Buyers:
Midea and Haier are rumored to be potential buyers for Electrolux.
In summary, Electrolux grapples with financial losses, leadership changes, and a tough market environment. The road ahead involves strategic decisions and adaptation to remain competitive in the global landscape.
LG Financial Results
LG announced its financial results for the year 2023, disclosing a consolidated revenue of KRW 84.2 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 3.55 trillion. This marks the third consecutive year of achieving record-breaking annual revenue. The operating profit is also solid, approaching levels seen during the prior period of pent-up demand.
Despite challenging external factors such as an economic slowdown and reduced demand, LG’s core business of home appliances and the burgeoning vehicle components business have demonstrated remarkable resilience, maintaining continuous growth for eight consecutive years. The combined revenue of these businesses exceeded KRW 40 trillion last year, a substantial increase from KRW 18 trillion in 2015. Over the same period, the proportion of these two businesses in the total revenue has risen from 32.5 percent to 47.8 percent.
The performance is attributable to LG’s strategic efforts to enhance its business portfolio. The company successfully expanded its B2B business by identifying market turning points early on and integrated new business models, including subscription services, into existing frameworks. Furthermore, LG’s innovative content and service business model, leveraging its extensive user base of hundreds of millions of products globally, has also contributed to securing robust profitability.LG Home Appliance & Air Solution Company achieved an annual revenue of KRW 30.14 trillion, marking eight consecutive years of growth and ushering in the era of KRW 30 trillion. Introducing new business models including subscription services and expanding the B2B share in areas such as HVAC, components and built-in solutions contributed to this growth. The operating profit recorded an increase of over 76 percent compared to the previous year, reaching KRW 2.08 trillion.
In the coming year, the Company will accelerate a shift in its business model towards future readiness, including Direct-to-Consumer initiatives. It aims to expand the deployment of home appliance operating systems and extend subscription services to international markets. Additionally, there will be a swift progression in building smart home solutions that reflect the value of “Zero Labor Home.” In terms of products, the Company will seek to maintain its strategic approach of solidifying the premium leadership of key products, such as washing machines and refrigerators, while swiftly expanding region-specific lineups. To sustain continuous growth in the B2B sector, especially in areas like HVAC, the Company plans to strengthen its capabilities by establishing a complete, local business operation that encompasses product development, production and sales, with a focus on the evident electrification trends in regions such as North America and Europe.
Amazon-iRobot deal scrapped
Amazon is scrapping its planned takeover of vacuum maker iRobot following opposition from EU competition authorities.
The companies said in a joint statement that they were “disappointed” but there was no clear regulatory path for the purchase of the Roomba maker.
Electrolux Group reports loss in the fourth quarter – driven by North America
Electrolux Group announced today that operating income, excluding non-recurring items, in the fourth quarter of 2023 is estimated to be approx. SEK -0.7bn (-0.6). The underlying loss in business area North America is estimated at approx. SEK -1.4bn (-1.2), driven by intensified price pressure, lower volumes and elevated cost levels related to the cooking manufacturing transition.
Net sales in the fourth quarter for the Group is estimated to be approx. SEK 35.6bn (35.8), an organic decline of about 1%. Operating income for the Group is estimated to approx. SEK -3.2bn (-2.0) and includes non-recurring items of approx. SEK -2.5bn (-1.4). Cash flow generation was strong in the quarter, expected to lead to an operating cash flow after investments for the full year 2023 of approx. SEK 3bn (-6.1).
The main driver behind the loss in North America was intensified price pressure and weak demand during Black Friday, as well as the remainder of the year. Cost discrepancy between production located in North America compared to certain parts of Asia, as previously reported, driven by currency, raw material and inflationary impacts, has resulted in lower market price levels, particularly in refrigeration, which is a key category for business area North America.
As previously communicated, the finalization of the transition of cooking manufacturing in Springfield from the legacy factory, which was closed in the quarter, to the new factory impacted earnings in North America negatively, both in terms of additional costs and impact on product availability. The ramp-up of the new Springfield factory is expected to be finalized in terms of volumes and cost efficiency by the end of 2024.
Electrolux Professional to buy Japan’s Tosei
Electrolux Professional on Friday said it had agreed to buy Japan’s Tosei Corporation (8923.T), a maker of professional laundry equipment and vacuum packing machines, for about 1.65 billion Swedish crowns ($163.3 million).
“Tosei will significantly strengthen our position in Japan which is the second largest laundry market, and third largest food service market globally,” Electrolux Professional CEO Alberto Zanata said in a statement.
Amazon’s $1.7 billion deal to buy iRobot is running into objections
European Union regulators have sent a statement of objections to Amazon about the company’s proposed $1.7 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot. In a press release, the European Commission says that it “has informed Amazon of its preliminary view that its proposed acquisition of iRobot may restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners
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Amazon can engage with the regulator to address its concerns. The EU has a February 14 deadline to reach a final decision.
Amazon said it would “continue to work through the process with the European Commission and focused on addressing its questions and any identified concerns”.
iRobot shares fell almost 20 per cent
Samsung in Global Top 5
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has been recognized for the fourth consecutive time as a “Global Top 5” by Interbrand, an international brand consultancy that annually releases its “Best Global Brands” ranking. On this occasion it was also announced that the Samsung brand has reached a value of 91.4 billion dollars, equal to a growth of 4% year on year.
Samsung follows Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google and is the first non-US brand, surpassing Toyota, Mercedes and Coca Cola.
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