TIPSTERS AT SQUAIREGAIN RECKON THIS IS A DOUBLE YOUR MONEY

And again'

11 July 2006

Laura Ashley Holdings plc

Purchase of Own Shares

13 July 2006

Laura Ashley Holdings plc

Purchase of Own Shares

Nice bit of news

Laura Ashley forecasts swing to profit in H1

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=1410982

Nice lot of buys today following the tip in Sunday's Telegraph. These should all be long termers as well so there are great hopes of this reaching 30p soon. Or am I too optimistic?

Topped up today the chart looks good to me.

Nice looking chart. lovely figure Laura has.
Think you'll do well, but I am already too heavily into retail, and in truth I am looking to lose a few rather than gain, but bloody good luck, all.
Alan

Nice one Laura

Laura Ashley H1 pretax profit 3 mln stg, up from 0.3 mln stg loss yr-on-yr
AFX


LONDON (AFX) - Laura Ashley Holdings said that its first half pretax profits were up at 3 mln stg, from a loss of 0.2 mln stg a year earlier.

It said that like-for-like retail sales were up 13.1 pct in the 31 weeks to Sept 2.

Looking ahead, CEO Lillian Tan said, 'Despite challenging retail conditions in the UK, we believe that our recovery will continue, underpinned by solid operational efficiency throughout the business.'

Results for the 26 weeks to 29 July 2006


Summary


Profit before tax of 3.0m (2005: -0.2m)(1)

Total Group sales (including royalties) up 5.8% to 106.5m (2005:
100.7m)

UK retail sales(2) up 10.3% to 81.6m (2005: 73.9m)

UK retail like-for-like sales(2) up 13.2% with better margin
performance

Continued cost management and increased productivity across the
business

Successful realignment of the UK retail store portfolio continues



Commenting on the results Lillian Tan, Chief Executive Officer, said:


'This strong improvement from last year is the result of management's continued
focus on product enhancement, margin improvement, increased efficiency and a
successful store realignment strategy. Despite challenging retail conditions in
the UK, we believe that our recovery will continue, underpinned by solid
operational efficiency throughout the business.'

23 October 2006

Laura Ashley Holdings plc

Notification of Interest

Laura Ashley Holdings plc ('the Company') received notification on 20 October
2006 from Bonham Industries Limited that on 18 October 2006 it purchased 125,000
of the Company's ordinary shares of 5 pence each at an average price of 0.26
per share increasing its total shareholding to 182,570,822 ordinary shares,
representing 24.47% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company.

The Company's Chairman Dr Khoo Kay Peng, KKP Holdings Sdn. Bhd. and Soo Lay
Holdings Sdn. Bhd. are each interested in the above shares.

Problems with Laura I got out of these a few weeks back and put it into ASM.

Now looking good for Laura

Laura Ashley sees FY trading profit about 10 pct ahead of consensus forecasts
AFX

LONDON (AFX) - Home furnishings and fashion retailer Laura Ashley Holdings PLC said it expects its normalised trading profit for the full year ending Jan 27 to be about 10 pct ahead of the brokers' consensus forecasts.

In a trading update, the company said total UK retail sales increased 12.5 pct, while like-for-like sales grew 8.7 pct for the 50 weeks to Jan 13, adding that it has has benefited from 'strong' margin growth.

Laura Ashley said it has opened 17 new stores across the UK to date while closing 10 under-performing stores, and that the performance of the new stores has been 'encouraging'.

newsdesk@afxnews.com

Terrible outlook statement so gone short.

Current Trading and Outlook

There has been a decline in performance since the beginning of February, which we attribute to a general weakening in the consumer economy. For the 8 weeks to 26 March 2011, like-for-like UK retail sales have decreased by 4.2%. We believe that our strong product offer and brand, robust balance sheet and continued operational efficiencies give us a sound base to face the tough outlook ahead.

You are the "mechanical trader".

Looks like a lot of holders have missed this bearish item in the accounts today........

7 Contingent Liabilities

a) Under the terms of the sale agreements entered into during the year ended 31 January 2004 for the disposal of certain former European subsidiary companies, the Company has a potential liability of GBP0.3 million in relation to warranty and tax claims (2010: GBP0.3 million).

Chart showing the very bearish position ALY finds itself in today. doesnt look very good for the rest of this year.

goldfingers point on the contingent liability is a red herring imo - it refers to disposals in 2004 and s/b put in context with the 24.1m PBT

if he where to focus on CL's my guess is it is the second that could be of potentially more sleepless nights

Yep noticed that one aswel Joe (the US one), but Ill be using that later today. Cheers

We close close our Laura Ashley long ahead of the stop. The stock had a chunky down move yesterday.

http://www.investorsintelligence.com/x/marketdataindex.html?op=art&aid=60133

The weekly chart paints a dire picture of the position here in ALY.

http://charting.webs.com/ALY%202.JPG

Now just look at this and consider the effects on the retail industry, in todays Sunday Express.......

UK NEWSSHOPAHOLICS' SALVATION FROM BANKS

Customers will be blocked from using their cards once they have reached a set limit
Sunday April 3,2011
By Geoff Ho

BANKS will soon be able to block debt-laden consumers using credit cards on spending sprees.


Card giant MasterCard has developed a payment control system which, it says, will allow customers to better keep track of their spending.

It allows card holders, either through their online accounts or by contacting their bank, to set limits on how much they want to spend in a specified period.

When they approach the limit, they will receive an alert telling them how much more they can spend. Once someone has reached their limit, they will not be able to use their card until the next spending period, when the limit will be reset.

Royal Bank of Scotland offers the system to its corporate customers.

Michael Fiore, MasterCard group head, emerging payments, said: This enables people to take personal control over their cards and spending.


The development comes as Britons continue to splurge on their credit cards



Say I wanted help as Im on a budget and want to control how much I spend in restaurants. I can go set a limit and set up alerts for when I approach that limit. Once I go past that limit, it will block transactions. But if they really need to, people can override these limits so they dont get stranded.

Mr Fiore also said that the system allows people to decide where their credit cards can be used.

He said that people can set it so that cards can only be used in England or the countries of their choice. This means that if the card is cloned, fraudsters will not be able to use it abroad.

James Daley, of Which? Money financial guide, said: Anything that helps people budget has to be welcomed. We know people struggle to stay within limits and before the credit crunch people had easy credit and worried about it all later. We need more tools like this to help people get on top of their debts.

The development comes as Britons continue to spend on their credit cards. According to data released last week by the Bank of England, the amount people owe on credit cards rose by 100million to 58.5billion.

Debt experts say the number of women falling into debt in the past decade has rocketed, in many cases due to overspending in desperate attempts to emulate celebrities.

The situation is so bad that women now make up 40 per cent of all people declared bankrupt compared with 29 per cent in 2000, according to the Government-run Insolvency Service.

The average familys debts will surge by thousands more than expected, it was claimed last night. Average household debt is likely to reach 77,309 by 2015, the Office for Budget Responsibility is thought to have ruled, up from the 66,291 previously predicted.

Total family debts are now tipped to hit 2.126trillion across the UK, 303billion more than earlier forecasts, as rising prices and stagnating wages force people to borrow more, according to a Sunday newspaper.

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/238378Shopaholics-salvation-from-banks#ixzz1IUALQP5S

Wont be good news for the retail trade as you already know the sector takes a dive when M@S come out with bad results... from Yesterdays Sunday Express....


Marks & Spencer in sales slump shock


MARKS & SPENCER IN SALES SLUMP SHOCK



The downbeat figures from Marks & Spencer follow a profit warning from Dixons
Sunday April 3,2011
By Emma Vickers

MARKS & SPENCER is poised to deliver a dramatic 6.2 per cent slump in like-for-like non-food sales on Wednesday as households finally hit the brakes on spending.


The iconic department stores expected performance in clothing and furniture for the 13 weeks to April 2, is its worst since the arrival of its new chief executive Marc Bolland last year, reflecting dire times facing the UK high street.

This represents a slowdown from the previous quarter, when same-store sales of general merchandise were up by 3.8 per cent.

Consumers spent throughout 2010 but Januarys VAT rise, coupled with the impact of Government cuts has curbed their spending habits, according to Numis retail analyst James Dilks-Hopper.

If you look across the retail sector everyone is struggling. The VAT impact was significant. In January spending was up as retailers were holding back the increase, but when promotions stopped in February, spending just fell, he said.

Marks & Spencers like-for-like food sales for the quarter remain buoyant, however, increasing by an estimated 1.3 per cent. This has helped bring the like-for-like total for all goods up to minus 2.5 per cent, analysts predict.

The downbeat figures from Marks & Spencer follow a profit warning from electrical retailer Dixons last week. Its shares fell 18 per cent.

Chief executive John Browett said sales of PCs, laptops and televisions had slumped after unemployment fears kept wallets closed.

Mothercare and Laura Ashley both said last week that UK sales had slipped in recent weeks.

Matthew McEachran, analyst at Singer Capital Markets, said: The trading environment is very difficult. Theres a big question over whether customers, having bought general merchandise over the past 12 months, will keep on buying.

Household names HMV and JJB are struggling to stay afloat and wine chain Oddbins is expected to go into administration tomorrow.

Separately, retailers and other commercial landlords were hit on Friday by a hike in business rates, with some central London office occupiers facing increases of up to 23 per cent.

The parameters used to calculate business rates, such as the Retail Price Index (RPI) and property values, have been skewed by recent unusual economic events, landlords argue. RPI is unusually high due to soaring inflation and high buildings rates values were calculated before the property crash, leaving landlords at a loss.

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/money/view/238443/Marks-Spencer-in-sales-slump-shock-Marks-Spencer-in-sales-slump-shock-#ixzz1IUDkegZd