What a weird chart.

From a recent RNS :- "HomeServe plc will, as planned, announce its results for the six months ended 30 September 2011 on 22 November 2011 and remains on track to achieve the consensus market forecast profit for the full year ending 31 March 2012."

The next woolworths I fear.

sub 70p this am.

The owner of this once iconic brand, Home Retail , is expected to turn in disappointing figures next week, after the shares have fallen by over 50% this year.

Home Retail: AlphaValue downgrades from buy to reduce, target cut from 151.1p to 108.8p.

.

Indeed!

Financial highlights
§ Sales down 6% to £5,492m
§ Cash gross margin down 7% to £2,027m
§ Robust management of costs with operating and distribution costs broadly flat at £1,930m, with the impact of both underlying cost inflation pressures and the investment in new initiatives having been offset by further cost savings
§ Benchmark operating profit1 down 61% to £98m; Group operating margin of 1.8%
§ Benchmark profit before tax2 down 60% to £102m
§ Basic benchmark earnings per share3 down 59% to 8.7p
§ Closing net cash position at 25 February 2012 of £181m
§ Full-year dividend of 4.7p; no final dividend recommended
§ For the 53 weeks to 3 March 2012, sales down 5% to £5,583m and benchmark profit before tax2 down 54% to £116m. Reported profit before tax of £104m. Reported basic earnings per share of 9.1p. Closing net cash position at 3 March 2012 of £194m. The 53rd week contributed £14m of additional benchmark profit before tax2 and £13m of additional cash.

Oliver Stocken, Chairman of Home Retail Group, commented:

"While the Group's performance in the short term cannot be immune from the economic environment, we continue to focus on its strategic advantages to ensure that it will be well positioned for the economic recovery over the long term. Against this economic backdrop, the Board has decided not to recommend a final dividend this year and therefore the full-year dividend is represented by the interim dividend of 4.7p. Future dividends will be set at a level which is sustainable and which reflects the trading prospects and financial position of the Group."

Some big-name retailers will release figures this week, starting with an interim management statement from Home Retail Group on Tuesday. Home Retail, which owns the well-known Argos and Homebase outlets, released a pretty dreadful set of full-year results last month, and canceled its final dividend.

To add to trading woes, the company's managers decided to spend lots of cash on a share buyback in the hope of boosting the share price, but the timing proved disastrous as the price carried on sliding. The slump has seen the shares fall from a 2009 peak of 329p to just 72p today. Recovery investors will be looking for signs that the bottom might have been reached.

Tuesday June 19 =

Quarterly trading is expected to pretty terrible for Home Retail group , which owns Argos and Homebase. The DIY and garden retailer is likely to have been hit very hard by the terrible April weather, which knocked its rival B&Q for six earlier this month. Trading at Argos is unlikely to have turned around, though analysts hope that a small increase in television sales ahead of the summer of sport might have helped a little. JP Morgan is forecasting that like-for-like sales at Argos will have fallen by 5pc and at Homebase by 8pc.

Home Retail Group plc

Interim Management Statement



Home Retail Group, the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer, today publishes an Interim Management Statement covering the 13 weeks from 4 March to 2 June 2012.



Terry Duddy, Chief Executive of Home Retail Group, commented:



"Over a particularly volatile trading period, Argos had a solid start to the year supported by its multi-channel performance, while at Homebase the poor weather conditions adversely impacted seasonal product sales. At this early stage of the financial year we are comfortable with current market expectations for full year benchmark profit. We will continue to plan cautiously, managing robustly both the cost base and the cash position of the Group while prioritising our investment in the ongoing development of our multi-channel capabilities."









Argos







Sales


£819m



Like-for-like change in sales


(0.2%)



Net space contribution to sales change


0.4%



Total sales change


0.2%



Gross margin movement


Down c.25bps












Homebase







Sales


£421m



Like-for-like change in sales


(8.3%)



Net space contribution to sales change


0.2%



Total sales change


(8.1%)



Gross margin movement




http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4390851

Recovering well, up 3.5%

Argos owner Home Retail Group, reporting next week, might also have done well, but questions remain for the retailer.

Rumours that it was seeking a restructuring of the Argos chain have been quietly dismissed. But many analysts believe it cannot continue with so many stores.

Terry Duddy has been chief executive of Home Retail for six years but some sources suggest it may be time for a changing of the guard in favour of newly appointed Argos boss John Walden.

Home Retail was making gains after Investec (Frankfurt: A0J32R - news) upgraded its rating on the stock from 'sell' to 'buy', saying that shares should react positively "to evidence of more resilient trading at Argos" after the group's second-quarter trading update next week.

over 96p

Home Retail: UBS upgrades from neutral to buy, target lifted from 90p to 115p

13 September 2012

Argos sales growth boosted by tablet computers

Argos parent sees shares surge
Argos has returned to sales growth, led by the popularity of tablet computers and e-book readers, owner Home Retail Group (HRG) has said.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19582844

Sold my holding

You do relise theres a div to be had in nov i think.,.

Bb made a good profit. A couple of new comps I want to invest in in the next week.
In and out now within reason seems to be working well for me. Cheers Bb.