Sainsbury’s, TUI and PZ Cussons

“The blue chip index opened on the front following firmer Wall Street stock indices with the market looking to US durable goods data this afternoon,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s like-for-like sales fell again in the second quarter due to food price deflation. Sainsbury’s had a decent first quarter which boss Mike Coupe attributed to strong sales of football kit ahead of the European Championships, vinyl records and healthy growth in its online business.  Of those three, the first two were hardly sustainable.

“In addition, data from Kantar WorldPanel shows that Sainsbury’s is losing market share again, presumably to the discounters like Aldi and Lidl, so a lot depends on whether Coupe’s lunge to buy Argos-owner Home Retail is the right strategy. The group already has 15 Argos Digital stores open in Sainsbury's stores and plans to open 200 new digital collection points by the end of the year.

“Travel group TUI remains bullish about double-digit underlying earnings growth. Revenue and bookings are up 1% despite problems in Turkey, underlining the sustained strength in demand for the group’s package holidays and the flexibility of its model and the ability to remix capacity.

“PZ Cussons remains on track and well placed to pursue new opportunities. The financial position of the group remains strong with cash in line with expectations. The strength of the group's brand portfolio and new product pipeline is serving the group well and has left it well placed to manage the challenging trading conditions that exist in most markets.”

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