Retail

  Bloomberg Whitbread Plc, the owner of Premier Inn hotels, reported a 12 percent increase in full-year earnings, exceeding analysts’ estimates, fueled by its Costa Coffee chain. Full-year underlying pretax profit rose to 546 million pounds ($792 million), Whitbread said in a statement on Tuesday. The median analyst estimate was for 539 million pounds. “Premier Inn and Costa benefit from ...

  Bloomberg Alibaba has found favour again with US investors, rebounding from its February low. But the company still can’t buy love in Hong Kong, where it first planned to list before departing for a New York float. The latest battle: Hong Kong’s takeover panel, part of the Securities and Futures Commission, ruled on Tuesday that while it won’t punish ...

  Bloomberg McDonald’s reported a big jump in first-quarter earnings as chief executive Steve Easterbrook said higher sales in all regions showed a turnaround plan was succeeding. Earnings were $1.1 billion, up 35.4 percent from the year ago period. Revenues dipped 1.0 percent to $5.9 billion. Easterbrook took over as chief executive in March 2015, following a long run of ...

  DUBAI / Reuters A $1 billion Dubai indoor theme park built by a local family conglomerate will break even in its first year of operation, the company said, dismissing concerns that the city is headed for a glut of entertainment attractions. IMG Worlds of Adventure, which owners Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group (IMG Group) predict will be the world’s ...

  Bloomberg BHS Group Ltd. expects to enter administration, a company representative said on Monday, putting 11,000 jobs at risk in what would be the biggest U.K. retail collapse since Woolworths Group Plc in 2008. Advisory firm Duff & Phelps is working with the store owner on the administration, a form of insolvency protection, he said. BHS, which opened its ...

  Bloomberg AutoNation Inc., the largest auto retailer in the US, reversed early-morning losses to reach a five-week high after convincing investors it can weather a plateau in new-vehicle sales and rebound from a quarter that missed analyst expectations. Shares in the dealership group rose 3 percent to $49.49 after touching $50.24, the highest intraday price since March 14. The ...

  Bloomberg Canada’s consumer is showing no signs of letting up. Retailers are off to the best start of the year since 2005, and consumer price pressures are stronger than anticipated, data show. That adds to evidence that households are leading a rebound in growth that’s on track to be among the fastest in the Group of Seven this year. ...

  LONDON / Reuters Lebara, the mobile phone group often seen selling SIM cards to new arrivals at major railway stations in Europe, says its knowledge of a group largely ignored by major brands will help it also sell digital services like online TV to them. The privately owned group targets the thousands of people who arrive in London, Amsterdam ...

  PARIS / Reuters Zodiac Aerospace has announced shortening of average delays in aircraft seat production to days rather than months, sending its shares higher in a respite from factory congestion which disrupted airplane deliveries. The French aircraft interiors and systems manufacturer said it was on track to get its seats business back to normal within 18 months and also ...

  JOHANNESBURG / Reuters South Africa’s Steinhoff has increased its stake in Darty to 20.4 percent, it announced after a frantic bidding war with French rival Fnac for Europe’s third-largest electric goods retailer. Five new offers in less than 24 hours lifted Darty shares by more than 23 percent this week to their highest since the end of 2010 and ...