FTSE 250 Movers: Dixons likely to report weak first quarter

25th Jul 2011 13:43

As the risks mount up at Dixons Retail, UBS downgrades the electricals retailer from "neutral" to "sell", saying that trading is "set to remain tougher for longer". The Swiss broker thinks that Dixons, which owns PC World and Currys, is likely to report a weak first quarter "given the tough World Cup comparative [of last year] but we expect [the second half] to remain tough". The profit estimate for the following year is reduced by 14% to £95m. Dixons' shares fell 3.2% to 15.67p at 10:21 on Monday morning.Domino's Pizza posted a sharp rise in first-half profits in the first half of the year despite the tough economic climate, but the pizza delivery group could see margins squeezed in the second half as it triples advertising spending. Pre-tax profits in the 26 weeks to 26 June rose to £20.1m from £17.5m over the same period the previous year, on sales that rose to £258.4m from £237.1m. On a like-for-like basis, stripping out the impact of new stores, sales growth was 2.4%, a sharp deceleration from the 13.7% growth seen the previous year. "We are confident we will see our like-for-like sales grow more strongly in the next 26 weeks," said chief executive Chris Moore. Stockbrokers Peel Hunt said the interims are better than expected and that they "there is potential" for the broker to upgrade its forecasts in the future. Premier Foods was down 3.06% to 20.25p. The UK's largest food producer had seen a mark-up in shares when industry veteran Mike Clarke was announced as its new head honcho less than two weeks ago. FTSE 250 - RisersDomino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 485.00p +5.64%Unite Group (UTG) 219.20p +3.20%Invensys (ISYS) 311.30p +2.84%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 429.80p +2.33%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 242.40p +2.06%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 260.00p +1.84%Savills (SVS) 355.80p +1.72%Bunzl (BNZL) 796.50p +1.66%Charter International (CHTR) 799.00p +1.65%Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 192.90p +1.53%FTSE 250 - FallersHalfords Group (HFD) 330.10p -5.82%Perform Group (PER) 186.60p -5.28%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 15.45p -4.57%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 41.56p -4.24%Misys (MSY) 396.60p -4.02%Rank Group (RNK) 141.00p -3.75%Supergroup (SGP) 1,128.00p -3.18%Premier Foods (PFD) 20.25p -3.06%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 501.00p -2.91%PZ Cussons (PZC) 369.00p -2.89%