BUSINESS LIVE: Kingfisher cuts profit forecast, Ocado sales rise and Trustpilot shares soar

Ocado has reported a rise in sales as price cuts enticed shoppers during the summer months.

The online grocer said third-quarter sales grew 7.2 percent to £569.9 million, with a return to positive volume growth in August in the retail business, which is run as a joint venture with M&S.

Construction group Henry Boot saw profits fall in the first half of the year despite turnover growth, as uncertainty in the housing market increased.

The company saw a 24.5 percent year-on-year increase in sales to £179.8 million in the six months to June 30.

Kingfisher’s share price is down 6.5 percent this morning, while Naked Wines is down 7 percent.

Trustpilot’s share price is up almost 18 percent this morning, while Tui is up 6.1 percent and Ocado is up 3.5 percent.

The chairman of Naked Wines has apologized to shareholders after a ‘tough’ year in which the online wine seller made a loss.

New sales fell from £34m to £26.9m in the year to April 3, 2023 and Naked Wines posted a loss of £15m in 2023, compared to a profit of £2.9m last year.

Shares in naked wines fell almost 10 percent to 63.25 pence on Tuesday morning and is down more than 50 percent this year.

The pound hit a 15-week low against the dollar yesterday as traders bet an expected rate hike this week would be the last.

Sterling fell to a low of $1.2366 ahead of a decision by the Bank of England on Thursday, which is widely expected to see interest rates rise to 5.5 percent from 5.25 percent.

The currency could take another hit if the Bank signals at this week’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that the rate hike is over.

The FTSE 100 index rose 10.71 to 7663.65 at 10.45am.

While the cost of living is putting a strain on families’ pockets, Britons are still keen to spend their money on winter holidays, the boss of P&O Cruises says.

Britain’s largest cruise line has seen passengers return to its ships, while parent company Carnival has revealed bookings are at an ‘all-time high’.

Trustpilot shares rose sharply on Tuesday morning after the group said it had beaten profit expectations following a stellar first half of the year.

The ratings website raised earnings estimates above market expectations after a 16 percent increase in bookings to $99.2 million.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Today the OECD has painted a challenging global picture, but it is good news that they expect UK inflation to fall below 3 per cent next year.

‘Only by halving inflation can we achieve higher growth and living standards.

“We were among the fastest in the G7 to recover from the pandemic, and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) has said we will grow faster than Germany, France and Italy in the long term.”

Hargreaves Lansdown has reported a 50 per cent rise in profits this year as rising interest rates push customers to choose their savings offering.

The group said pre-tax profits rose 50 per cent to £402.7 million, while sales rose 26 per cent to £735.1 million in the 12 months to June 30.

B&Q owner Kingfisher has cut its profit forecast for this year due to low consumer confidence.

Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, has cut its profit forecast for the year from £634m to £590m.