Marks And Spencer Share Discussion Threads

[diku] 07/7/2021 23:29

Not keen on the idea of purchase of own shares...easy option and running out of ideas...

[pdosullivan] 07/7/2021 19:07

And just to add that MKS has only £168m of remaining 2021 bond and bank loan maturities versus (followed by zero in 2022). It had cash at hand of £674m at the start of April 2021 and no covenant tests until March 2022.

[pdosullivan] 07/7/2021 19:02

I seriously doubt they want to do a fundraise. The only condition where the par value of a share really matters is that companies are unable to issue new stock at a price that is below the nominal value. Unless you see a scenario where MKS (share price 152p) needs to do a rights issue / placing below 25p I doubt today's move is capital raise related.

[freedom97] 07/7/2021 17:14

Neil,

Where in todays RNS does it give the reason WHY! they are changing the nominal value of the shares? I know those who voted at the AGM would have read the AGM resolution data before voting, will know the answer as they would not have voted for the resolution yesterday if they hadn't. So I repeat WHY does the company need to reduce the nominal value of the shares for what purpose? I know it has no effect on the share price

"NOMINAL VALUE REDUCTION

As approved by shareholders at its Annual General Meeting held on 6 July 2021 ("AGM"), Marks and Spencer Group plc (the "Company") confirms that the nominal value of the Company's Ordinary Shares will reduce from GBP0.25 to GBP0.01 with effect from 8am on 8 July 2021.

The Company's issued share capital is unchanged, and each shareholder's proportionate interest in the share capital of the Company will remain unchanged. Aside from the change in nominal value, the rights attaching to the Ordinary Shares (including voting and dividend rights and rights on a return of capital) will remain unchanged."

In yesterdays AGM Results RNS it mentions that Resolutions 21 & 22 to "Authorise purchase of own shares" were passed.

But as far as I'm aware the company doesn't have to reduce the nominal value of shares before they purchase own shares back.

[debsdowner] 07/7/2021 15:39

All shares have a nominal value but it doesnt mean much and no relevance to share price.

[ashleyjv] 07/7/2021 15:38

My guess is that they want to do a fundraise.

We are to get 2 shares for each current share, 1 ordinary share 1p and 1 deferred share (24p) which will have no value.

[freedom97] 07/7/2021 15:23

Why is MKS changing the nominal value of the Company's Ordinary Shares from GBP0.25 to GBP0.01?

[johnwise] 07/7/2021 10:04

Marks & Spencer unveils its most durable, “hand-me-downable” and sustainable Back to School range to date

Marks & Spencer Kids has unveiled a new campaign highlighting the sustainable credentials of its new Back to School collection, which is also currently on offer at 20% off.

[johnwise] 07/7/2021 10:04

Marks & Spencer unveils its most durable, “hand-me-downable” and sustainable Back to School range to date

Marks & Spencer Kids has unveiled a new campaign highlighting the sustainable credentials of its new Back to School collection, which is also currently on offer at 20% off.

[xxxxxy] 07/7/2021 07:15

Marks & Spencer's version of Kate Middleton's designer dress is so beautifulAnd it's a fraction of the priceBy Lucy Quick 06/07/2021??BEN STANSALLGETTY IMAGESWe often want to steal Kate Middleton's amazing style, and now thanks to Marks & Spencer we can, sort of.RELATED STORYKate steps out in the perfect high street jeansAt the Royal Chelsea Flower Show back in 2017, the Duchess of Cambridge stunned fans when she arrived in a dress by French designer Marcel Rochas.The dark green silk midi-dress had a high neck, cinched waistline, flowing skirt and was covered in dahlias. Unfortunately, the dress came with an eye-wateringly expensive price tag - at £1500 it was out of most people's budgets.Thankfully, high-street giant, and one of Prima's favourite brands, Marks & Spencer has saved summer by releasing a lookalike dress for just £150.... Prima

[xxxxxy] 07/7/2021 07:11

Ocado, the online grocer, has reported a 20% increase in retail sales and hailed a permanent shift in grocery shopping in the Covid-19 pandemic.Retail revenues climbed by 19.8% to £1.2bn in the six months to 30 May, and Ocado cut its half-year loss before tax to £23.6m from £40.6m. At the end of the period, it was serving 777,000 active customers, a 22% increase year on year.The firm recorded positive growth in the three months to the end of May, even as Covid-19 restrictions began to ease. This meant, however, that fewer meals were being eaten at home and basket sizes began to return towards pre-pandemic levels. Over the half year as a whole, the average basket size was flat at £138.... Yahoo Finance

[pdosullivan] 06/7/2021 11:15

Surprised that nobody has posted about how Ocado significantly upgraded EBITDA forecasts for the M&S JV this morning.

[debsdowner] 06/7/2021 10:50

Online food sales now falling:

"Shoppers are starting to return to pre-pandemic habits when it comes to buying food, according to two leading grocers.

Sainsbury's says demand for online sales has fallen from peak levels as people return to shopping in stores.

Meanwhile online grocer Ocado says average order sizes have been falling as people start to eat out more often."

[debsdowner] 06/7/2021 10:42

Backlash over Morrisons bid as being greedy

[peterbill] 06/7/2021 09:51

Under the proposals, each of your existing ordinary shares of GBP0.25 will be subdivided into one new ordinary share of GBP0.01 and one deferred share of GBP0.24.

The deferred shares will have very limited rights and will be effectively valueless. As such they will not be credited to your account.

What's going on?

[xxxxxy] 06/7/2021 09:25

High streets may never recover from Covid, ministers warnIf fewer people return to work permanently, there are fears that many retailers and other companies will take a heavy hitByHannah Boland and Russell Lynch, ECONOMICS EDITOR6 July 2021 • 6:00amMinisters have admitted that footfall across Britain's high streets may never recover to pre-pandemic levels as Boris Johnson unveiled plans to lift restrictions in shops, restaurants and pubs on England's long-awaited freedom day later this month.Luke Hall, the minister for regional growth and local government, said Covid-19 had been the "largest, most synchronised shot to the economy, our social lives and the high street in living memory" and a full recovery could be impossible.... Daily Telegraph

[diku] 06/7/2021 08:19

Scrambling for MRW...is it about the business or development to residential side on the sites...and the money comes out of the business...

[xxxxxy] 05/7/2021 17:42

Slangevar! A breath of fresh competitive air from Scotch Whisky AssociationJuly 05, 2021By Catherine McBride – 6 minute read DESPITE the limited tariff-free quotas given to Australian beef and sheep meat imports, the National Farmers Union (NFU) is still complaining. But despite the all too predictable NFU tantrum, there is a breath of fresh air in the UK's agricultural industry – the Scotch Whisky Association.  How wonderful it is to hear its spokeswoman say it does not support tariffs and quotas. Admittedly, she was commenting on the lifting of tariffs imposed by the US government due to a WTO ruling, but she also called for a reduction in the tariffs still being imposed on US whiskey entering the UK and the EU. How enlightened for an industry to be happy for its competition to also have tariff-free access to its home market.  Whisky is the UK's largest agricultural export by a large margin. Should we be surprised that the one agricultural industry in the UK that is not asking for protection through tariffs and quotas is also the UK's most successful agricultural exporter? Does anyone at the NFU ever wonder if these two things may not be a coincidence?  Both Australia and New Zealand taxpayers can testify that after their governments removed agricultural subsidies, Australian and New Zealand farmers improved their productivity, widened their product range, and expanded their export markets. They also increased their value-added production.  Yet, no doubt the UK's NFU will complain the whisky industry is only successful because its product is addictive. I would, however, beg to differ, addictive or not, there is more competition in the alcohol industry than in any other food or drink sector – with many lower priced alternative sources of alcohol across the world. Swedish Aquavit and Italian Grappa do not command the market share of Scotch Whisky and Scotch Whisky is sold in countries with their own comparable products such as Japan and the US, and the UK's whisky manufacturers were not demanding a protective quota limit on Australian alcohol imports.  Both Australian wine and even Australian Whisky (yes, they make some) were not restricted by quotas or tariffs in the recent UK–Australia trade agreement. The agreement that will, according to the NFU, put the last nail into the coffin of the UK's beef farmers. Who knew that a measly 35,000 tonnes of beef would be the straw that will apparently break the camel's back and drive the UK's heavily subsidised beef farmers into bankruptcy? When, strangely, the 173,000 tonnes of fresh, chilled and frozen beef imported from Ireland annually has never managed to do this. In a country that consumes over 1.1 million tonnes of beef each year, the NFU claims it is that extra 35,000 tones that will destroy the UK grazing industry. Really? An industry that on average loses money on both its agricultural and diversified income each year. In all likelihood this quota is not even a commercial quantity, and may never be filled. If we divide total UK consumption by the market share of each UK supermarket, even Waitrose with only 5% of the market would require 55,000 tonnes of beef each year.  Yes, what so many critics seem to have overlooked is that wholesalers won't import something if they can't get enough to supply their clients. There are some great vineyards in Australia whose wines will never be imported to the UK because their production volumes are too small to supply the big UK distributors. UK wine wholesalers will openly tell anyone who asks they don't want to introduce their clients to a wine they can't easily restock. So, no UK supermarket is going to start replacing its UK/EU suppliers with Australian beef, if that means it may find itself out of stock two-thirds of the way through the year. Then it would have the Hobson's choice of going cap in hand to its old suppliers or paying the UK's high tariffs on 'out of quota' beef. An average steer carcass weighs about 350kg and so 35,000 tonnes divide very neatly into 100,000 carcasses. However, while some Machiavelli in Whitehall believes they have given Australia a quota that no supermarket would want to use, it is more likely that UK meat wholesalers will only import cuts of Australia's premium beef. Rather than waste space in a refrigerated container by importing awkwardly shaped beef carcasses, those containers will be stuffed full of fillets and T-bones and other premium cuts – some of which UK farmers still can't supply for fear of BSE.   Some UK farmers are now complaining Australian beef will cut them out of the premium beef market, this is possibly true, but if so then they only have themselves to blame – if instead of pressuring the Government to restrict Australian beef imports, the NFU had encouraged the DIT to give Australia a larger quota, then cheaper cuts might have been imported instead of restaurant quality beef. For some reason, the NFU believes that keeping cheaper producers out of the market will help them sell their own wares and are unconcerned that this would keep prices high for UK consumers.  However, US studies from the University of Missouri on the price elasticity of beef shows that for every 1% increase in price, sales of prime beef drop by 2.33%. Maybe UK price elasticity isn't so steep, but it would be certainly worth studying. In other meat sales in the UK, most prominently chicken, there have been astronomical increases in the quantity of chicken meat consumed as industrial production methods reduced its price. Chicken is now the most consumed protein in the UK when 60 years ago it was only for Sunday's roast or special occasions. Similarly, lowering the price of beef through increased imports may not destroy the market as the NFU fears, but instead increase the overall quantity sold. For UK farmers to benefit from this, however, they would have to increase their herds and unfortunately, they have done the exact opposite. Beef cow numbers have dropped steadily for the last 3 years. Although the Department of International Trade is talking about world domination for UK agricultural exports, since the 2016 Brexit vote UK farmers have been getting out of the beef business. Clever them. But why are the rest of us having to rely on Irish imports? Yes, despite the constant press reports about falling UK agricultural exports due to Brexit, the UK is still a net importer of food. The UK is not self-sufficient in food production – we import 45% of the food we eat. But most of this is still being supplied by the EU.  Surely it is time for the NFU to follow the ethos of the Scotch Whisky Association by improving their products rather than relying on protection from imports and subsidies to survive? 

[ccsicemanandrew] 05/7/2021 13:58

My wife works for M&S and in her store(Food only) they cannot get stock on the shelves quick enough.On a weekend she says it's like the store has been stripped of everything.They're also short of staff, so less staff costs but still getting the work done.

[johnwise] 05/7/2021 13:28

Marks & Spencer have launched a hamper for dogs - and it includes a G&T for the owner

Retailer M&S have launched an extra special hamper full of treats for your furry friend...

Spending on pets soared during lockdown, passing the £1billion mark for the first time.

[debsdowner] 05/7/2021 12:41

Sainsburys to go head to head with both LIDL and ALDI with further price cuts meaning more competition in the food sector



MARKS may have to up its game otherwise its food will lose out and its the most profittable part of the business.

[debsdowner] 05/7/2021 11:49

I supect if any other retailer is up for grabs it would be Sainsburys. Even Tesco could be a bid target but it would take a massive bid due to the market cap.

As for MARKS its a possibiity but I think its too ealry in the turnaroud, but the bid situation with others will prevent a massive fall now to 70p unless there is a profit warning here here.

Fair value at £1.5 now.

[netcurtains] 05/7/2021 11:46

just a reminder by NAV value MKS is great value