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Safeway
Safeway (LSE: SFW) posted pre-tax profit of £166m for the 28 weeks to October, up 10% on the same period last year. Turnover improved 7.9% from £4.39b to £4.74b with like-for-like sales growth up 5%.
Safeway said its market share stood at 9.7%, up 0.2% on last year. An interim dividend of 2.77p per share has been declared, an increase of 5%.
The Fool Says
Safeway's customer-centric strategy looks set to deliver improved results for the full year. Operating margins improved by 0.2% to 4.8% suggesting a tighter control on cost at the supermarket. Return on net assets rose from 4.8% to 5.2%, which also confirms a more efficient use of the company's resources. Asset turnover, which is a measure of the volume of sales per pound of assets employed, jumped from 1.39 to 1.46. This is further confirmation of the successful implementation of its new corporate strategy.
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Mothercare
Mothercare (LSE: MTC), the specialist retailer for expectant mothers and parents of young children, reported an 8% drop in turnover from £230.4m to £211.8 at the six-month interim stage. The company posted operating profit before exceptionals of £1.8m compared with a loss of £3.3m last year. The company, which was formerly part of the retailer Storehouse, also disclosed sales growth of 4.7% and like-for-like growth of 2.2% for ongoing operations. For the five weeks to November 20, sales rose 3.3% with like-for-like growth of 1.6%.
The Fool Says
Mothercare has endured a period of change, which saw the disposal of BHS and the restructuring of its business to become a more focused and efficient operation. It has disposed of underperforming outlets and identified key areas for growth. These include what it calls "destination ranges" in home and travel products, which has achieved consistent growth in sales and market share. The strength of the company lies in its brand, which is trusted and well respected. It plans to leverage the brand through expansion of UK stores, Mothercare Direct and Mothercare International. However, at an estimated forward P/E of 26, the shares look a bit pricey especially when there are other retailers with just as good a brand out there in the high street.
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