2025-06-05 09:49
Company to cut back discounts in Americas and EMEA Forecasts profit growth in fiscal 2026 2025 profit beats analysts' estimates Shares up 17% June 5 (Reuters) - British bootmaker Dr Martens (DOCS.L) , opens new tab forecast a return to profit growth in the current financial year on Thursday, backed by its new CEO's plan to put more emphasis on shoes, sandals, and bags, as well as the boots it is best-known for. Shares in Dr Martens jumped 17% as the market welcomed profit for its full financial year ended March 30 that beat expectations, and CEO Ije Nwokorie's strategy shift. Sign up here. The company also plans to scale back discounting in its key markets including the U.S. "We're shifting our strategy now to broaden our focus and give people more reasons to buy Dr Martens," Nwokorie told Reuters. "The strategy that the business had... broke growth in boots, built awareness around the world - but the market shifted away from boots," he added. Online sales of shoes, mules, and sandals grew and at Dr Martens' stores in the 2025 financial year, while sales of boots, which sell for $110 and up, declined. The company makes most of its lace-up chunky boots in Vietnam but said despite U.S. tariffs it would not hike prices of its spring/summer collection in the United States as the products were already in the country. Dr Martens has shifted its supply chain away from China, where it used to make 50% of its products, and now expects to produce 62% of its autumn/winter collection in Vietnam and 31% in Laos. Ahead of the possible return of a 46% U.S. tariff on Vietnam, Dr Martens said most of its autumn/winter collection will be in transit or in the U.S. by the start of July. "We've looked at different scenarios, but we're dealing with the reality in front of us and we feel confident about our ability to ride these waves," said Nwokorie. Since its initial public offering in January 2021, Dr Martens shares have lost more than 80% of their value. As part of his turnaround push, Nwokorie announced a new Americas president and new chief brand officer last week. The company said adjusted pre-tax profit for its 2026 financial year would be within the range of analysts' expectations, between 54 million pounds and 74 million pounds. For its year ended March 30, Dr Martens reported adjusted pre-tax profit of 34.1 million pounds ($46 million), above analysts' consensus forecast of 30.6 million pounds. Revenue from the Americas fell 11% during the year. https://www.reuters.com/business/bootmaker-dr-martens-cut-discounts-americas-emea-2025-06-05/
2025-06-05 09:09
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Few British businesses now expect to be directly affected by recent changes in U.S. trade policy, with only 12% naming it as one of their top three sources of uncertainty, down from 22% a month earlier, a Bank of England survey showed on Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs on imports to the United States in early April. Britain secured a partial exemption from the tariffs in early May, although the details are still to be finalised. Sign up here. The BoE said 70% of businesses surveyed in May as part of its monthly Decision Maker Panel expected that U.S. tariffs would have no impact on their sales, prices or investment plans. Twenty-two percent expected sales to fall over the year ahead, 20% said they would invest less, 15% expected to lower prices and 7% expected to raise prices as a result of changes in U.S. trade rules, the BoE said. The survey took place from May 9 to May 23 and covered 2,129 firms. BoE Governor Andrew Bailey has said that domestic wage and price developments are likely to be important for future BoE rate cuts than U.S. trade policy, although April's tariffs did help swing some officials' decision to vote for a cut in May. May's DMP survey showed that firms surveyed in the three months to May expected to raise wages by 3.7% over the next 12 months, the lowest amount since the BoE started asking this question regularly in 2022. Businesses in the panel said they had raised wages by 4.8% over the 12 months to May - some way below the 5.6% increase in wages for the whole economy recorded in official data for the first quarter of the year. Firms expected to raise prices by 3.7% over the coming year, 0.2 percentage points less than they expected in April. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/british-firms-shrug-off-us-tariffs-boe-survey-shows-2025-06-05/
2025-06-05 07:28
JAKARTA, June 5 (Reuters) - Oversupply in the global nickel market is expected to persist over the next few years given production capacity expansion and slower growth in demand for the metal used in batteries and stainless steel, speakers at an industry event said this week. A surge in new nickel supply in Indonesia, the world's biggest producer with a market share of about 63%, has led to benchmark prices halving over the past three years. Sign up here. "The market is in oversupply, and in Indonesia, several projects in the pipeline will be completed soon, increasing production capacity," Macquarie analyst Jim Lennon told an industry conference organized by Shanghai Metals Market in Jakarta. Lennon expects the surplus to continue until 2027-2028. The most-traded nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange traded at $15,380 per metric ton as of 0400 GMT on Thursday, after touching a five-year low of $13,865 on April 7. Nickel hit a record high above $48,000 a ton in early 2022. Lennon said the $15,000 level is key for industry costs. After production cuts began in 2022-2023, half of existing producers are at risk if prices fall below that level, he said. Meanwhile, nickel demand growth has been weighed down by the surge in use of cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries. The analyst has cut his estimate for the battery sector's nickel demand in 2030 to 967,000 tons, compared with an industry consensus forecast for 1.5 million tons two years ago. The battery sector consumed 518,000 tons of nickel last year. Denis Sharypin, strategic marketing director at Russia's Nornickel, said prices pushed down by oversupply mean that about one-fourth of nickel producers globally are making losses on a cash-cost basis. Indonesian smelters of nickel pig iron, an alloy used in stainless steel, have also been battling compressed margins, said Steven Chen, global sales head at Eternal Tsingshan Group Ltd, part of China's Tsingshan Holding Group. "Smelters are really struggling, which may lead to reductions in production, and widespread cutbacks or shutdown in some of the smaller smelting operations may be in a not-distant future," Chen said. Indonesia's mining minister has said the government will manage nickel ore supply and demand to support prices. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/nickel-oversupply-persist-expansion-slower-demand-growth-industry-experts-say-2025-06-05/
2025-06-05 07:24
June 5 (Reuters) - European shares traded slightly higher on Thursday, supported by strength in automakers and industrial metal miners as investors awaited the European Central Bank's policy decision. The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged 0.2% higher by 0704 GMT, extending gains from the previous session after Germany's approval of a tax relief package lifted investor sentiment. Sign up here. Investors remained cautious ahead of the ECB meeting later in the day, where a 25-basis-point interest rate cut is widely expected. Industrial metal miners (.SXPP) , opens new tab gained 0.6%, supported by firm copper prices, while automakers (.SXAP) , opens new tab rebounded 0.5%, recovering from losses in the previous session. Trade uncertainty remained unresolved as U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for countries to present their improved trade negotiations passed without any concrete developments. A defence spending commitment of 5% of GDP across the NATO alliance will happen, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters in Brussels ahead of a NATO defence ministers' meeting. Defence stocks in the bloc were broadly lower, with the index (.SXPARO) , opens new tab down 0.3%. Among stocks, Eutelsat (ETL.PA) , opens new tab fell 13% after South Korea's Hanwha Systems (272210.KS) , opens new tab offered to sell its entire 5.4% stake in the company for about 78 million euros ($85 million). Shares of London-listed Wizz Air (WIZZ.L) , opens new tab plunged 22% after the budget carrier reported an annual operating profit that came in below analysts' expectations. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/european-shares-edge-higher-ahead-ecb-policy-decision-2025-06-05/
2025-06-05 07:23
BEIJING, June 5 (Reuters) - Floods in northern China from June to August are likely to be more severe this year, authorities said on Thursday in an initial forecast for a region spanning densely populated cities to sprawling cropland vital to grain cultivation. Extreme storms and floods are set to be more frequent and more intense, state broadcaster CCTV cited the water resources ministry as saying. Sign up here. China is no stranger to summer floods, especially its south. But as global warming picks up pace, the entire country has been roiled by extreme swings from record precipitation to wilting drought, driving mitigation efforts, even in the historically drier north. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/china-warns-more-severe-northern-floods-this-summer-2025-06-05/
2025-06-05 07:22
TOKYO, June 5 (Reuters) - Japan is planning to propose strengthening cooperation with the United States on rare earth supply chains in upcoming tariff talks, with recent export restrictions by China in mind, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday. Japan's Jiji Press also reported that the U.S. had shown flexibility in reducing an additional portion of reciprocal tariffs imposed on Japan. Sign up here. President Donald Trump hit Japan with 24% tariffs on its exports to the U.S., although, as with many of his levies, he paused them until early July to allow time for negotiations. A 10% universal rate remains in place in the meantime. The U.S. has signalled flexibility in lowering the currently suspended additional 14%, Jiji also reported, without citing any sources. Japan's chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, is heading to Washington from Thursday for a fifth round of talks with U.S. counterparts, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Japan has been urging the U.S. to review its tariff policies, including the 25% import levies on Japan-made vehicles. Car manufacturing is Japan's biggest industry. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/japan-propose-cooperation-rare-earths-us-tariff-talks-nikkei-reports-2025-06-05/
