Gusbourne Share Discussion Threads

[andy_bristol] 17/11/2004 12:16

surprised to see GUS drift today, especially as the results tomorrow should be very positive

[powderhound] 17/11/2004 08:19

does anybody have any news regarding the massive spike in volume yesterday?

[waldron] 05/11/2004 08:13

Extract:

City traders clearly have short memories. Only two months ago many got their fingers badly burnt when, as opposed to announcing a takeover approach, MFI unveiled a horrendous profits warning. Yesterday they piled into the furniture retailer convinced that some form of corporate action is on the way.

Such was traders' enthusiasm that MFI closed 5.3 per cent better, up 5.5p to 108p, as a massive 95 million shares changed hands. Two theories were put forward by market players on MFI. The first talked of an outright bid for the furniture retailer with private equity either backing a move by the management team to take the group private or going it alone. Such a deal could see MFI shareholders getting well over 150p a share.

Others suggested that it was the group's Howden building materials division that caught the eye of a predator. Kingfisher was talked of as most likely to be interested in the business from among the retailers, with private equity again in the frame. Analysts have long argued that Howden is the best part of MFI's business and have argued that it could be worth up to £1bn. But the sale of the unit would not be a straightforward matter for MFI. Its retail operations have a shared manufacturing base with Howden.

September's profits warning from MFI sent its shares plummeting as bulls rushed for the exit. The company blamed the setback on supply chain problems, which had caused incorrect products to be delivered to some customers. But MFI also faces longer-term problems. The most dangerous of these is growing competition from the likes of Homebase, B&Q and Argos.

[purple boots] 04/11/2004 20:25

I'm not very good on the tech.analysis, but has this formed a bull flag?

[tonyleongson] 04/11/2004 14:44

maywillow,
thanks for the info on Argos.
tony

[ariane] 04/11/2004 14:36

MFI shares rally on bid rumours

Shares in furniture retailer MFI have jumped 9% on rumours that Argus-owner GUS and other retailers could be about to launch a takeover bid.
B&Q-owner Kingfisher is also rumoured to be interested in making a bid for the firm, or for just its successful Howden Joinery business.

MFI has been struggling to revive sales and its shares have fallen more than 40% over the past year.

It had to issue a profits warning in September because of delivery problems.

At the time it said there had been "significant issues" with its new supply chain system, which meant orders had not been delivered as planned.

The company, which floated on the market in 1992, has faced increased competition from rivals.

However, its Howden Joinery business - which sells kitchens and carpentry products to the building trade - has remained a success.

In September, MFI said the Howden's business had continued to perform "strongly", with trading ahead of expectations.

At lunchtime in London, MFI shares were trading 9.27% higher, up 9.5 pence at 112p.

[maywillow] 28/10/2004 06:56

Chief executive
Terry Duddy Headquarters
489-499 Avebury Boulevard
Saxon Gate West
Central Milton Keynes, MK9 2NW


Employees
48,700 employees (UK and Europe)


Sales (2004)
£3,384m (Argos)
£1,483m (Homebase)
£235m (European Home Shopping)
£60m (Financial Services)



Main activities

General merchandise retailing through stores, catalogues and websites.
556 Argos stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
278 Homebase stores in the UK.
Financial Services to ARG customers, principally insurance and lending.
Facts & figures


ARG is the UK's largest non-food retailer by sales.
There is an Argos catalogue in more than two-thirds of UK households and an Argos store within 10 miles of 98% of the UK population.
Argos sells more toys and Christmas gifts in the UK than any other retailer.
Homebase is the third largest DIY retailer in the UK.
Wehkamp is Holland's market leader in home shopping, with a 30% market share, and one of the country's largest e-tailers.

[tonyleongson] 27/10/2004 19:30

Can someone tell me who has the current top job at argos?

TIA

[waldron] 14/10/2004 08:03

(Adds detail throughout)
LONDON (AFX) - GUS PLC, the UK retail and business services group, said it
continues to make good progress with sales growing strongly across its
operations, noting that tough conditions continue in some of its markets.
The company said sales at its Argos high-street catalogue business grew 13
pct in the six months to Sept 30, or 7 pct on a like-for-like basis.
While that represents something of a slowdown on the 9 pct like-for-like
sales growth reported in the first quarter, GUS warned in July such a rate was
unsustainable.
Six month sales at its Homebase home improvement chain grew 6 pct, or 4 pct
like for like, up from 3 pct in the first four months of the year.
"GUS has delivered another strong performance in all our businesses in the
first half," chief executive John Peace said in a statement.
"Despite continuing challenges in some of our markets, we remain on track
for a further year of good progress."
Experian, GUS' credit checking business, achieved first half global sales
growth of 7 pct at actual exchange rates, or 15 pct after stripping out the
impact of a stronger pound.
Luxury goods group Burberry PLC, in which GUS retains a 66 pct stake,
yesterday revealed it grew sales 8 pct -- 14 pct at constant exchange rates --
in the same six month period.
The lock-up arrangement that GUS entered into when it sold Burberry shares
last year expires on November 18.
[e-mail]
rhb/ab

[waldron] 14/10/2004 07:39

LONDON (AFX) - GUS PLC, the UK retail and business services group, said it
continues to make good progress with sales growing strongly across its
operations despite what it called challenging conditions in some of its markets.
The company said sales at its Argos high-street catalogue business grew 13
pct in the six months to September 30, or 7 pct on a like-for-like basis.
While that represented something of a slowdown after the group reported 9
pct like-for-like sales growth in the first quarter, the company had warned in
July such a rate was unsustainable.
Sales at its Homebase home improvement chain grew 6 pct, or 4 pct like for
like.
Homebase had grown like-for-like sales 3 pct in the first four months of the
year.
[e-mail]
rhb/slm/

[waldron] 14/10/2004 07:17

RNS Number:0624E
GUS PLC
14 October 2004


14 October 2004


GUS plc
First Half Trading Update


GUS plc, the retail and business services group, today issues its regular update
on trading.

John Peace, Group Chief Executive of GUS, said:

"GUS has delivered another strong performance in all our businesses in the first
half. We have also successfully completed the partial IPO of the Lewis Group in
South Africa and made additional infill acquisitions for Experian. Despite
continuing challenges in some of our markets, we remain on track for a further
year of good progress."


Argos Retail Group

% change in sales year-on-year
Six months to 30 September 2004 %

Argos - total 13
- like-for-like 7

Seven months to 30 September 2004

Homebase - total 6
- like-for-like 4


Argos
Argos again outperformed its market in the first half of the year. It increased
total sales by 13%, with new stores contributing 6% of this growth.
Like-for-like sales increased by 7%. Consumer electronics, photography, white
goods and leisure categories performed particularly well.

Gross margin was in line with the previous year as gains from supply chain
initiatives were again re-invested in lower prices for consumers. Prices on
re-included lines in the Autumn/Winter 2004 catalogue are approximately 5% lower
than last year.

At 30 September 2004, Argos had 570 stores after opening 14 in the first half.
Argos Extra is now available in 146 stores, offering 3,800 more lines than the
13,200 in the main catalogue. Argos Direct, the delivery to home operation, grew
sales by 30% and accounted for 24% of Argos' sales in the first half.

Homebase
Homebase continues to make good progress in improving its customer offer. Sales
in the seven month period to 30 September 2004 increased by 6% with new stores
contributing 2% of this growth. Like-for-like sales increased by 4%. Strong
performances in kitchens, bathrooms and tiling continued and there were good
uplifts from new ranges in areas such as paints and power tools. Gross margin
was in line with the previous year, as supply chain gains funded lower prices
and increased seasonal promotions.

At 30 September 2004, Homebase had 283 stores having opened five in the first
half. The number of stores with mezzanine floors increased by 21 during the
period to a total of 88.


Experian

% change in sales year-on-year for the six months to 30 September 2004
Continuing activities only At actual exchange At constant
rates % exchange rates %

Experian North America 3 15
Experian International 14 16
Global Experian 7 15

For the fifth consecutive six-month period, Experian delivered double-digit
growth, with total worldwide sales from continuing activities up by 15% at
constant exchange rates.

Experian North America

In dollars, Experian North America grew sales from continuing activities in the
first half by 15%, of which corporate acquisitions contributed 8%. The
anticipated slowdown in the mortgage refinancing market reduced Experian North
America's total sales growth by 4% in the period.

Excluding corporate acquisitions, Credit achieved mid single-digit growth. There
was particular strength in Consumer Direct (which now has 2.0m subscribers to
its credit monitoring services) and continued growth in value-added solutions in
areas such as on-line notification, fraud and scoring/analytics. Sales growth in
Marketing continued to improve, especially in database management and e-mail
solutions. Strength in the retail and financial sectors offset some continued
weakness in the catalogue sector.

Experian International
Experian International, which accounts for about 45% of Experian's worldwide
revenue, grew sales from continuing activities by 16% at constant exchange rates
in the first half. Of this, 7% came from acquisitions.

Credit sales saw further double-digit growth in the first half, led by continued
strong performances in consumer information in the UK and Spain, in business
information services in France and in decision solutions throughout the region.
Marketing showed good year-on-year increases, particularly in
business-to-business marketing and the insurance sector. Experian's continuing
outsourcing operations in France also achieved good organic growth.

Burberry
GUS has a 66% stake in Burberry. The following is an abridged version of
Burberry's Trading Update released on 13 October 2004.

% change in sales year-on-year for the six months to 30 September 2004
%
At actual exchange rates 8
At constant exchange rates 14


Total revenues at Burberry in the first half increased by 14% at constant
exchange rates.


Retail sales increased by 12% at constant exchange rates, driven by newly opened
stores, with a marginal contribution from existing stores. Wholesale revenue,
which accounted for approximately 57% of sales in the first half, increased by
13% at constant exchange rates. On the basis of orders received to date,
Burberry anticipates mid to high single-digit wholesale growth for the Spring/
Summer 2005 season. Licensing revenues increased by 31% at constant exchange
rates, with approximately half of this increase driven by gains in Japan and
half driven by other licences, especially in fragrances where Burberry has
entered into a new licence with its existing partner Inter Parfums SA.

The lock-up arrangement that GUS entered into when it sold Burberry shares last
year expires on 18 November. GUS has no current intention to sell further
Burberry shares following the expiry of this arrangement and will continue to
assess its holding as part of the strategic review process announced in May
2004.

Future announcements

GUS will announce its interim results for the six months to 30 September 2004 on
18 November 2004. The Third Quarter Trading Update will be on 13 January 2005.


Enquiries

GUS
David Tyler Finance Director 020 7495 0070
Fay Dodds Director of Investor Relations

Finsbury
Rupert Younger 020 7251 3801
Rollo Head

GUS announcements are available on its website, www.gusplc.com. There will be a
conference call to discuss this update at 3pm today, with a recording available
later on the GUS website.

Certain statements made in this Trading Update are forward-looking statements.
Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from any expected future results in forward-looking statements.








This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END
TSTILFEDIDLVLIS


GUS(GUS)

[maywillow] 11/10/2004 18:57

GUS May Say Argos' Sales Growth Slowed as Spending Slackened
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- GUS Plc, Britain's second-largest retailer by market value, may say Thursday revenue growth at its Argos chain slowed as rising interest rates damped spending.

Sales at Argos stores open at least a year probably climbed 7 percent in the six months ended Sept. 30, according to the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. First-quarter same-store sales rose 9 percent, GUS said July 21.

U.K. retail sales declined for the first time in 18 months in September, the Confederation of British Industry said last month, adding to evidence that five interest-rate increases since November are damping consumer spending. Argos's sales are increasing at a faster pace than competitors' as the retailer adds products, cuts prices and expands its home-delivery service.

``Given the slowdown in retail sales generally through the summer, there may be a downside risk to our forecast'' for an 8 percent gain in Argos' same-store sales for the first half, Goldman, Sachs & Co. analysts wrote in a note. ``Nevertheless, we believe Argos is continuing to outperform its major competitors.''

The 561-store Argos chain, where shoppers pick merchandise from a catalog and have it brought from a back room or delivered to their homes, accounts for about two-thirds of GUS's sales. GUS also owns Homebase home-improvement stores, the Experian credit- information business and 66 percent of Burberry Group Plc.

Homebase, Experian

At Homebase, which ranks second in the U.K. home-improvement market behind Kingfisher Plc's B&Q unit, first-half same-store sales probably rose 3 percent, the same as in the first-quarter, according to the survey. The chain is adding kitchen and bathroom products and adding mezzanine floors to extend its selling space.

Revenue at Experian North America probably increased 11 percent at constant exchange rates in the half, while Experian International's sales rose 17 percent, the survey showed.

GUS in May said it may sell or spin off Experian over the next two years and focus on its U.K. retailing businesses if that would create additional value for shareholders.

Burberry, the U.K. luxury-goods retailer, reports sales separately Wednesday. Revenue for the six months may have gained 14 percent at constant exchange rates, maintaining the growth of the first quarter, according to the survey.

Sales at Burberry are benefiting after the company opened nine new stores last year. Chief Executive Rose Marie Bravo has said she will add a further 8 percent to its selling space this fiscal year as it expands in the U.S. and opens a store in Rome.

[grupo] 03/10/2004 08:25

GUS is looking good



We last recommended readers buy GUS, the retail and business services group headed by John Peace, the chief executive, in December 2001, when the shares were trading at 625p. Since 2001 the group has changed significantly. GUS has partially floated off Burberry, its luxury goods brand, acquired Homebase, the DIY chain, and sold its home shopping division.


But the transformation is not yet complete. The board is "reviewing strategic options" across the group. In practice this is likely to mean Experian, the credit services division, will be demerged or partially floated. GUS is also in the process of floating its South African retail division, while its Argos Retail Group, the engine behind the company's growth, could acquire other chains.

After our tip in 2001, the shares had a rocky ride, slumping to a low of 440p in August 2002. Nonetheless, the group has been growing impressively. Between March 2002 and March 2004 GUS's pre-tax profits rose from £552m to £827m. Over the past four years GUS has been among the three best-performing FTSE100 index stocks in terms of shareholder returns.

GUS reported strong first quarter sales in July. Analysts expect an upbeat first half pre-close update on October 14, although the exceptional 9 per cent same-store sales growth at the Argos chain in the first quarter is unlikely to be sustained. The shares (909.5p) should have much further to go. Buy.

[pratbh] 13/8/2004 14:59

This looks a very strong stock in theory, brokers are extremely upbeat. Wonder why the stock keeps slipping back every second day !!!

[fortyfive] 29/7/2004 13:32

this is a rocket ship, keeps going up. 15% equity is on loan currently in the market, I smell a t/over bid or major event comming on Experian. quite strong selling in the market trades, but price still up.....trouble is I ain't bought in yet.

[fortyfive] 22/7/2004 11:42

Capt. - I think you just said why GUS is such a solid share - everyone wants these digital gadgets a a low price-Argos delivers. DIY keeps going, experian booming in a bad debt risk environment.
I'm still looking to get in at a decent discount, but the price is so solid due to prospects of returned cash from experian and other sales. good tip in tempus again. I'll give it 3 weeks max and buy anyway(or if any FTSE dip) as details of the demerger will no doubt come after the beach season is over and it will be too late then.

[captain.] 21/7/2004 11:11

Been reading gus results most of the argos performance came from electrical goods and taking market share from dixons, fd also saying performance won`t be repeated in the next quarters, might be a good time to take profits

why this has pushed up clothing retailers is beyond me different sectors

[captain.] 21/7/2004 10:24

Gus caught the market on a good day wonder how the results would have been perceived with ftse at 4300

still good results though it`s a diversified act this one so i`m not sure why it`s rubbing off on other retailers argos, homebase and experian all catering for totally differing sectors.

[fortyfive] 16/7/2004 17:24

bounced up well today though.

[fortyfive] 15/7/2004 18:20

Any ideas on re-entry price to GUS(finals due 21-7). 770p looks OK to me if it ever gets down there, given Experian (I know from contacts) is doing fantastically well and must be worth £2b(if the AA is worth 1.8B!).