Famous five of business this week (August 02-06)

4 min read | August 07, 2021 09:34 AM AEST | By Suhita Poddar

Famous five of business this week (August 02-06) — Image source: Natee Meepian,Shutterstock

Monday – August 02

PayPal Holdings Inc. (LON:0R9U)

Amidst increased regulatory control and scrutiny concerning the crypto exchange firm Binance, the global payments major, PayPal announced plans of expanding its crypto business to the UK. It was among the first payment companies to embrace the crypto trend. As PayPal braces up to launch cryptocurrency trading in the UK, it is building its Ireland support team. Although PayPal’s crypto offering is very much restricted, the company expects impressive growth from the business segment in the coming months.

PayPal has been slow and steady with its progress in terms of its entry into the crypto business and DeFi in the coming months. The company aims at getting all necessary regulatory checks and permission from regulators before it decides to take the plunge in the UK market. While on the one hand we see regulators tightening their control on crypto trading. On the other, we are witnessing some of the major finance stalwarts and institutional investors make inwards into the crypto trading businesses alongside their legacy offerings to remain relevant as per changing market dynamics.

Tuesday – August 03

Ibstock Plc (LSE:IBST)

FTSE 250 listed Ibstock is a clay bricks and concrete product manufacturer. The company reported profits in the first six months of the year (ended 30 June 2021) and recorded revenues of £202 million for the reported period compared to £203 million for the same period in 2019 (pre-COVID level) and £131 million in H1 2020.

Recovery to pre-COVID levels can be attributed to the robust housing demand in the UK and growing demand from maintenance and repairs markets, as consumers prioritise spending on housing. The pre-tax profit for the period was £39 million in H1 2021, compared to a loss of £52 million in H1 2020 and slightly below £41 million reported for H1 2019. Adjusted earnings (EBITDA) reached £55 million in the first half of 2021 compared to £10 million in H1 2020 and £59 million in H1 2019.

Wednesday – August 04

com Inc (LON:0R1O) (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Amazon, the global e-commerce giant, rolled out two programs “ FBA Grade and Resell” as part of an initiative to give products a second life after they are returned or fail to get sold in the first go. The programs were launched two months after British broadcaster ITV reported that the e-commerce company has been destroying millions of items, including laptops, smart TVs, hairdryers, and drones, from its unsold stock at the company’s UK warehouse every year. The company received tremendous criticism from environmentalists and lawmakers for its action. In response, Amazon assured that it is concentrating efforts for zero product disposal and currently no items are being landfilled in the UK.

The FBA Grade and Resell program would enable third-party businesses registered on Amazon to resell returned items as “used” products and the FBA Liquidations program will enable sellers to use the e-commerce giants wholesale resale route and technology to get back a portion of inventory cost from returned items and surplus stock.

Thursday – August 05

Vodafone Group Plc (LON: VOD)

Vodafone Group Plc is a UK-based multinational telecommunications company. It is also a 45 per cent stake owner in Vodafone Idea. Vodafone Plc announced that it is ready to give its stake to lenders who are inclined for its stake or BSNL, the public telecom company of India, for free provided they take over the company. The lenders have stated that if BSNL agrees to acquire the company, dues owed by Vodafone Idea would be a book entry, and debt would be converted into equity in the process.

Friday – August 06

Morrison (WM) Supermarkets Plc (LON: MRW)

Morrison (WM) Supermarkets, one of the UK’s largest supermarket groups, agreed to a takeover offer valued at £6.7 billion ($9.3 billion) from a consortium led by Softbank (LON:0R15) owned Fortress Investment Group. The new Fortress offering includes 270 pence per share and an additional special dividend of 2 pence per share.

On 3 July 2021, the board agreed to a Fortress offer worth 254 pence a share totalling £6.3 billion. However, the supermarket group’s investors M&G, JO Hambro, and Silchester, indicated the offer was too low. In June 2021, Morrisons has rejected Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), a US-based private equity group, offer of 230 pence per share worth £5.52 billion.

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