4imprint (FOUR), retail sales and Mining (EDV)
Shares in promotional goods group 4imprint (FOUR) shot up by 17 per cent this morning, after it said pre-tax profits would be “slightly above the upper end” of analysts forecasts. According to a year-end trading update, revenue grew by 16 per cent to $1.33bn in 2023, while profit before tax jumped by at least 35 per cent to $140mn. JS
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Weak end to 2023 for British retail as volumes plunge
British retail sales volumes plunged by 3.2 per cent in December, according to the ONS, the biggest monthly fall since January 2021 when Covid-19 restrictions were in place. This dire end to the year for the retail sector was significantly worse than expected by economists and suggests the UK could have ended 2023 in recession. A key driver of the weak performance was earlier Black Friday sales last year, with monthly non-food store sales volumes down 3.9 per cent in December after an uplift in November. Food store sales volumes fell 3.1 per cent, making it a less than merry Christmas for the sector as a whole.
British Retail Consortium director of insight Kris Hamer said the volumes downturn “capped a difficult year for retailers, with sales volumes across 2023 below those seen in 2019”. CA
