Joules' Woes Mount As Consumer Confidence Fades: The London Rush

Charles Capel and Leonard Kehnscherper, Bloomberg News

Shoppers on a pedestrianized shopping street in the center of Bradford, UK, on Saturday, July 2, 2022. UK consumers are starting to crumple in the face of soaring prices, according a series of reports that paint a grim picture of the nation’s cost of living crisis. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Here’s the key business news from London-listed companies this morning.

Joules Group Plc: The British lifestyle company’s trading has “softened materially” since its last update as a result of warm and dry weather reducing sales of its rain-proof and warm clothes and accessories and as weaker consumer sentiment requires heavy discounting to entice sales.

The group now expects a full-year adjusted loss before tax “significantly below” current market expectations and is in discussions with its bank on a waiver of certain covenants on its facilities

The Financial Conduct Authority: The UK watchdog warned buy-now-pay-later companies that their adverts could mislead customers if they emphasize the benefits of the products without also warning of risks like the consequences of missing payments or possible impacts on credit scores.

The regulator says adverts, including promotions by social media influencers, could mislead customers, especially as people are making tough choices about how to pay for products in the cost of living crisis

Kingspan Group Plc: The insulation maker says inflationary pressures have eased in recent months, but the impact of shorter energy supply over winter will be something they’ll have to monitor closely.

The company posted more than 4 billion euros of revenue in the first-half of the year for the first time, saying it has been able to navigate “large” input cost increases with only a little impact on its margin

Retail Sales: Britain’s online stores drove an unexpected jump in retail sales last month, offsetting declines across much of the rest of the industry.

The volume of goods sold in shops and on the internet unexpectedly rose 0.3% in July after a decline of 0.2% the month before, according to the latest Office for National Statistics data
That came after consumer confidence fell to the lowest since 1974 as concerns about a recession increased and soaring inflation tightened a squeeze on household finances.

Outside The City

UK consumer confidence fell to a record low as concerns about a recession increased and soaring inflation tightened a squeeze on household finances. And the crisis of confidence is set to worsen “with the darkening days of autumn and the colder months of winter,” according to Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK.

That’s as London’s tube network largely grinds to a halt today as workers go on strike.