Spreadex Market Update

Mothercare joins Debenhams on the scrap heap as online sales slide



"It really does seem as if 2018 is going to be a race to the bottom between Debenhams, Mothercare and any other bricks and mortar retailer that hasn’t already successfully pivoted online."

Micro Focus actually posted some attention-grabbing numbers, namely a 28.7% surge in revenue to $145.7 million and an 80.3% jump in revenue to $1.23 billion. Yet the fact that revenue dropped 2.9% year-on-year to $664.7 million when the effects of its HPE Software merger were stripped out, alongside its group results coming in at the bottom end of expectations, soured investors on the tech firm, who sent the stock to a 4 month low.

Though the brunt of the week’s retail news comes from Tuesday onwards, investors did get a bleak sector preview in the form of Mothercare’s latest results. Very much in the Debenhams, rather than Next, school of post-Christmas updates, the baby specialist unveiled an ugly 7.2% plunge in like-for-like sales, with an especially ominous 6.9% drop in online sales. This inevitably led the firm to issue a profit warning, with expectations for the full year now standing between £1 million and £5 million against the £10 million estimated by analysts, news that caused the stock to haemorrhage nearly 26% in value. It really does seem as if 2018 is going to be a race to the bottom between Debenhams, Mothercare and any other bricks and mortar retailer that hasn’t already successfully pivoted online.

DISCLAIMER


Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 64% of retail investors lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. For professional clients, spread betting and CFD trading can also result in losses larger than your initial stake or deposit.

Spreadex Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, provides an execution only service and does not provide advice in any way. Nothing within this update should be deemed to constitute the provision of investment advice, recommendations, any other professional advice in any way, or a record of our trading prices. This update does not constitute or form part of an offer of, or solicitation for a transaction in any financial instrument, nor shall it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefore. Any persons placing trades based on their interpretation of the comments or information within this update does so entirely at their own risk.

No representation, warranty, or undertaking, express or limited, is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained within this update by Spreadex Ltd or any of its employees and no liability is accepted by such persons for the accuracy or completeness of any such information or opinions. As such, no reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information and opinions contained within this update.

The information contained within this update is the intellectual property of Spreadex Ltd and is protected by UK and International copyright laws. All rights reserved. Users may however freely download, distribute and reproduce extracts of the contents, subject always to accrediting Spreadex Ltd as the source and providing a hyperlink to www.spreadex.com.