Sector movers: Hard times for retailers
Retailers are on the slide after up-market department store and supermarket group John Lewis warned yesterday that it expects trading conditions to be very challenging this year.
The partnership, which owns the Waitrose supermarket chain as well as the eponymous department stores, said sales for the first five weeks of the year to 1 March are up 2% in John Lewis while at Waitrose, which tends to be less affected by a downturn in consumer confidence, sales are up 8%. Overall group sales for the five to 1 March rose 6%.
Aerospace and defence firm Cobham is still going well today after reporting a 12.9% rise in pre-tax profits yesterday.
The group also announced that it had won a $54m contract for the supply of its ROVIS digital vehicular intercom systems to the US Army.
Underlying pre-tax profit rose to £206.5m in the year ended 31 December from £182.9m last time, thanks to strong organic growth. Revenue increased 4.5% to £1.06bn.
The group's order book is up at £1.8bn compared with £1.6bn previously, helped by increased order intake in all its technology divisions, giving the company confidence that it will achieve its growth targets in 2008.
Top performing sectors so far today
Personal Goods 7,228.50 +0.90%
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Aerospace and Defence 3,357.10 +0.07%
Health Care Equipment & Services 3,954.90 +0.06%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Mining 25,401.20 -3.16%
Insurance (non-life) 1,146.50 -2.28%
General Retailers 1,525.00 -2.18%
Technology Hardware & Equipment 191.80 -1.94%
Life Insurance 4,590.00 -1.66%
