THE DAILY BRIEFING
EMPLOYEE REP Staff at Sports Direct, which has been blighted by uproar over its working conditions, have elected an employee to attend board meetings.
Alex Balacki, 30, a store manager in Barnstaple who has been with the company for 13 years, will start his 12-month role as an employee representative later this spring.
It follows fierce criticism of working conditions at the firm’s warehouse in Shirebrook, Derbyshire.
Sports Direct shares fell 0.8pc, or 2.6p, to 306.2p.
SALES DIP Homewares retailer Dunelm posted a 2.2pc fall in sales in its stores and home delivery. However, when WorldStores, which it bought in November last year, and new stores were included, total revenue jumped 11.4pc to £255.1m.
INSURER PAIN Profits at insurance mutual LV= fell 81pc to £20m in 2016 after a change in compensation payments for victims of serious accidents. LV= said the change had cost it £139m.
NEW CHIEF Publisher Time Out has appointed a former TripAdvisor marketing boss Christine Petersen as chief executive of its business division, Time Out Digital. She will report to chief executive Julio Bruno. Shares were flat at 135p.
SHARES SLUMP Shares in MayAir were up after the firm reported lower than expected profits for the year.
The firm, which specialises in air purification, reported a 23pc fall in profits to £5m in 2016 but shares rose 0.6pc, or 0.5p, to 85p.
JOBS AXE Bathroom accessories supplier Norcros is to axe 90 jobs from its UK tile business. The Cheshire-based firm, which makes showers, taps and tiles, said the reorganisation of its Johnson Tiles business would result in around £2.3m in exceptional costs. Shares rose 13.1pc, or 20p, to 172p.
HUNTING PROFIT Oil and gas industry servicer Hunting said revenue in the first three months of the year was better than expected due to strong activity in the US shale industry. It reported profit for the first quarter of £4.4m. Shares rose 3.8pc, or 22.5p, to 609.5p.
KELLER SWOOP Keller Group has bought US geotechnical sensor company GEO-Instruments for an undisclosed sum to boost its capability and help it meet the growing market trend for technology. Keller shares fell 0.3pc, or 2.5p, to 921p.