The latest Investing Matters Podcast with Jean Roche, Co-Manager of Schroder UK Mid Cap Investment Trust has just been released. Listen here.
The interim dividend is set at 30% of the last final dividend so 4p this year it was 5p last year, the one to keep an eye on is what will the final dividend be this year which if there is a 30% cut it will be about 5.25p giving a year dividend of about 9.25p and next years interim of around 2.7p Sainsburys is committed to 2x dividend cover meaning half of their profits will go to dividends.
Somewhat misunderstands current supply chain for fresh, short and long life chill, where "just in time" delivery is used which is ordered up automatically via POS (Point of Sale) how would they land up with "loads of meat" too shift? The suppler would end up with loads of meat to shift because if what stock the stores have, and this will be tightly controlled because of freshness control data, is not selling more will not be ordered. re-ordering is a 3 day process POS today, delivery to warehouse next day delivery to store day after. If the product is not performing to forecasts then manual alterations can and probably will be made to the automatic ordering systems.
The shop is smaller, the queue's bigger giving the impression of it being busier. put the same number of customers you get in the smallest of main supermarket stores into one of their stores and you would not be able to move or get through the queue in an hour or more. If you are happy, good for you I shop on quality first price second (I am lucky I have a choice of 2 ASDAS, 3 Sainsburys, 1 Tesco, 1 Waitrose, 1 M&S (2 soon) and 2 Aldi's and a couple of coop's as well as poundland and B&M within a circle of my home so can easily choose quality then price and not spend a fortune in getting the price) both of these lose on quality everytime.
But the problem is, it is not a bargain it is cheap crap laden food that will in the end be bad for their health, when regulations catch up with them and the government starts regulating sugar/salts/additives then they will falter. It is not a bargain when compared to own brand, at best it is just cheaper in many cases no cheaper and in a few more expensive. The difference is quality, if you ignore the basics brands the main own brand stuff is far better in quality and not more expensive. But you believe the media hype if you like.
Firstly, if talking Lidl and Aldi, they are not discounters, they sell inferior products (very high in salts fats and artificial additives,I'm diabetic I have to read labels!) at very high prices unfortunately this is not portrayed in the media nor understood by the public, they will eventually. A discounter sells a comparable product at a lower price. Why do they only compare their prices to brands? Because they compete very badly against supermarket own branded goods. The quality does not match that of own brand either, most, to my taste and dietary requirements is inedible. I think the Sainsburys strategy is about right as this set of results show, good mix of convenience and bigger stores joint ventures to diversify the portfolio. The big 4 have to compete where these con artists can't compete, online, delivery, quality and values. I happen to think this is where Sainsburys is the big winner and is much better placed than any of the supermarkets especially on quality and values. Some very astute sponsorships like the para-Olympics and the all round perception that ASDA's food is for fat people and Tesco is the big demon. Now a reminder when reading anything I write about Sainsburys..... I work for them... only in a small lowly roll but I do work for the company and have to be careful, in some cases, what I say. In part because part of my job is overview of the volumes going through the food side of the business.
What do you call a hefty slash? They have already said their dividend policy is 50% of profit (2/1 cover) so what the final divi is depends on the final operating profits. The media seems fixed on 17% as the fall in operating profits, which if this is true, then is far better than I was expecting which was in the range of 25-35%, still not hefty and still a decent yield.
I have accounts with X-O and Halifax I find X-O too slow if I deposit funds to trade I need them immediately available not available within an hour as their website service level is set at. Some say they are available immediately this has never been my experience when testing it with small amounts of cash. I use X-O simply for housing shares I get in certificate form which I may want to sell sometime. Their website, although recently revamped with much more security to go through is still as un-user friendly as it was before, clunky and almost homespun. Cash out is an issue as you have to email and request it and as I have never used it for trading no idea if money from sales are available immediately or not but looking at their terms I doubt it. X-O does not offer dividend reinvestment but in general trading is cheap. Halifax, use it simply because it is simple, fast and convenient. Money deposited is available immediately, money from trades are available to reinvest immediately, cash out takes a few days but is quick to initialise. Cash from trading is available usually within 5 days to cash out with a further 3 on top for the transaction so is a wee bit slow given we live in a world of instant transactions these days. Halifax does offer dividend re-investment and also offers monthly savings trading at a reduced fee although of course you get no actual choice when the deal is struck, it always seems to be at the top of the range that day and, most infuriating for me, they give fractions of a share, you cannot opt for whole shares only. They also offer short windows of reduced trading fees of £3.95 usually between 12 noon and 14:00 on Tuesdays or Wednesdays once a month.
I don't need to I know it is utter rubbish! You are the one making allegations come up with the examples, you must have had some to contact customer services and the names of the people you have contacted or contact Mike.Coupe@sainsburys.co.uk and publish his response.
Exactly how do you shop online with either of these? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKsGKERivTQ The rest of what you write is utter tosh do some research on the products and point out some actual examples. The only price differential is between locals and supermarkets, this reflects the higher cost in running a local than a supermarket and is the price paid for the convenience. You will also find that Tesco do the same, the other two only have one size store so don't have the need for differing price models.