BUSINESS LIVE: Kingfisher cuts profit forecast, Ocado sales rise and Trustpilot shares soar

The chairman of Naked Wines has apologized to shareholders after a “difficult” year in which the online wine seller suffered losses.

New sales fell from £34m to £26.9m in the year to 3 April 2023 and Naked Wines posted a loss of £15m in 2023, compared with a profit of £2.9m for the year past.

Stocks in naked wines It plunged almost 10 per cent to 63.25 pence on Tuesday morning and is down more than 50 per cent so far this year.

The pound hit a 15-week low against the dollar yesterday as traders bet that this week’s planned interest rate rise will be the last.

Sterling fell to a low of $1.2366 ahead of the Bank of England’s decision on Thursday, in which rates are widely forecast to rise from 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent.

The currency could take a further hit if the Bank indicates at this week’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that the rally is over.

The FTSE 100 index at 10:45 am was up 10.71 at 7,663.65.

Although the falling cost of living is hitting families, Brits are still keen to spend money on winter getaways, says the boss of P&O Cruises.

Britain’s biggest cruise company has seen passengers flocking back to its ships, while parent company Carnival has revealed bookings are at an “all-time high”.

Shares in Trustpilot rose sharply on Tuesday morning after the group said it had beaten profit expectations following an excellent first half of the year.

The review website updated earnings guidance beyond the upper range of market expectations after a 16 percent rise in bookings to $99.2 million.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Today the OECD has presented a challenging global outlook, but it is good news that they expect UK inflation to fall below 3 per cent next year.

‘Only by halving inflation can we achieve greater growth and living standards.

“We were among the G7 countries that recovered the fastest from the pandemic, and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) has said that we will grow faster than Germany, France and Italy in the long term.”

Hargreaves Lansdown has reported a 50 per cent rise in profits this year as rising interest rates pushed customers towards its savings offer.

The group said its pre-tax profits had grown 50 per cent to £402.7 million, while revenue rose 26 per cent to £735.1 million in the 12 months to June 30. .

B&Q owner Kingfisher has cut its profit forecast for the year, citing low consumer confidence.

Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, has cut its profit forecast for the year from £634m to £590m.