Starbucks reports like-for-likes up 4% in record quarter three: Coffee company Starbucks has reported global like-for-likes up 4%, for its 13-week third quarter ended June 26, 2016. The company saw like-for-likes rise 4% in the US, a 3% increase in the China/Pacific region and a 1% decline in the EMEA segment. Consolidated net revenues grew 7% to a quarter three record $5.2bn. The company opened 474 net new stores globally, bringing total stores to 24,395 worldwide at the end of quarter three. Membership in the company’s Starbucks Rewards loyalty programme increased 18% year-on-year – the company now has 12.3 million active loyalty members in the US. Mobile Order and Pay usage reached 5% of US transactions, up from 4% in quarter two FY16. Chief executive Howard Schultz said: “Starbucks record quarter three performance, highlighted by strong 7% comparable growth and record revenues and profits in China and 18% year-on-year growth in our Starbucks Rewards loyalty programme, demonstrates the strength and resilience of the Starbucks brand and business around the world. As we enter quarter four and approach fiscal 2017, we have clear line of sight to returning our US business to historic levels of comparable sales growth, which had been at or above 5% for the 25 consecutive quarters prior to quarter three.” Chief financial officer Scott Maw added: “Starbucks third quarter results once again reflect strong revenue and profit growth and represent the first non-holiday quarter in which our operating income exceeded $1bn. We are confident in the correctness of the strategic, operational and digital moves we outlined today and remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver significant, profitable growth over the long term.”

 

SABMiller chairman denies PSA discrimination: The chairman of SABMiller has insisted the company’s £76bn takeover by rival Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) does not discriminate against the majority of its investors, even though many of the brewer’s shareholders will not be able to take advantage of a contentious stock-and-cash offer. AB InBev’s offer faces growing resistance among SABMiller shareholders because sterling’s plunge since the EU referendum means the FTSE 100 company’s two largest investors, tobacco company Altria and Colombia’s Santo Domingo family, stand to receive about £6 a share more than other shareholders. The pair have pledged to accept a so-called partial share alternative (PSA) – consisting of unlisted AB InBev stock and a small amount of cash – instead of the £44 a share all-cash offer. The paper component helps cut their potential tax liabilities, but few other shareholders would be willing to hold unlisted stock. The PSA was originally worth £39.03, because of currency moves it is now valued at almost £50. SABMiller chairman Jan du Plessis told yesterday’s (Thursday, 21 July) annual general meeting the PSA was for a “variety of reasons, these are the only circumstances our two major shareholders would support the takeover offer.” He said “all shareholders are able to take up the [PSA] offer so in that sense there is no discrimination” but added: “I accept many, many shareholders may not want to, or may not be able to, accept the partial share alternative.”

 

Record-breaking 7.3m choose ‘staycations’: Millions of British holidaymakers are abandoning plans for foreign travel and embarking on “staycations” instead. Tourism boards across the UK have reported record- bookings and inquiries are up by a quarter as once-popular destinations overseas lose their allure due to terrorism and a weak pound. A record-breaking 7.3 million people have chosen to holiday in England so far this year, the latest figures show, while bookings to Egypt, Turkey, Brussels and Paris are falling. The choice to remain in Britain means workers will pump billions of pounds back into the economy. Experts said the boost “could not come at a better time” and claimed British families choosing to holiday at home would have a “disproportionately” positive fiscal effect. “Staycations” have been steadily gaining popularity since the start of the year with figures up 10% compared with the same period in 2015, according to Visit England. Justin Urquart Stewart, economist and director at Seven Investment Management, told the Daily Telegraph: “More people holidaying in the UK will hugely boost our economy at a time when we greatly need it. Families spend around 20% of their net incomes on holidays so the impact will be disproportionately large. As demand rises prices of UK AirBnb and hotel rooms will increase very quickly too, however.” Separate research by vouchercodes.co.uk, which sells last-minute discounted holidays, predicts an extra 2.5 million people, or 5% of the British population, will decide to holiday at home this year. Plans for trips abroad are being thwarted by a combination of factors. European breaks have escalated in price as the spending power of holiday money has fallen in line with the value of the pound, which has dropped 10% against the euro since Britain voted to leave the EU on 23 June. Holidays to Europe now cost the average family of four £245 more then they did prior to the vote, TravelSupermarket reported. The threat of terror attacks has also played a significant part. International figures show holidays to Egypt have nearly halved following the downing of a Russian passenger plane in October while the number of tourists arriving in Turkey has fallen for nine consecutive months to 1.75 million in April this year, 28% down on the same period last year. In May, Eurostar figures following the Paris and Brussels terror attacks showed a drop of 100,000 in passenger numbers to 2.2 million in the first three months of the year. The most popular destination for British holidaymakers travelling overseas this summer is the Mediterranean, according to the Association of British Travel Agents. Bookings to Portugal are up 23% year-on-year, while trips to Spain have increased by 22% over the same period, with none of the countries hit by safety concerns.