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Let's take a look at some of the individual stocks on the move today here in Europe. I'm Caroline Hepga and I'm joined by Blueberg reporter Chloe Mala. Good morning, Good morning. Let's start with Akado shares in the online grosser got some really bad news this week. What's happened?
Yeah, so very bad day yesterday for Okada and that is continuing today. So shares actually dropped the most on record yesterday, and there is after Kroger over in the US said that it would close three automated facilities that use Ocado's tech in January. So Crogo is Ocado's biggest client and it has a partnership where it essentially the automated It uses automated warehouses that has the robotic arms provided by Ocado to package deliveries. So that's the partnership
that is existing. But yesterday Kroger said that it would shift from completing online orders through those warehouses that use that tech to using its own store network, at least in some areas. So this is quite tough for Ocado and that really throws into question the ambition of becoming the tesla of grocery, which is something that the company
had said it wanted to be. So we're seeing that weakness from yesterday extend into today and investors are continuing to take stock of what that means for the company. And obviously that's a company that's also been trying to convince investors that going all in on robotics and then technology is worth it. But so far Acado hasn't seen a massive retunnel investment from this strategy, and this Kroger change of heart is really a massive setback.
Yeah, they've still got five US locations in terms of the deal between Akkada and Croger. But yes, it was very very difficult, isn't it yesterday? And today? Let's also think about so another British retailer, wh Smith. How are the market's viewing the resignation of its CEO.
Yeah, so the CEO, Carl Counting, has just resigned in that it is following an investigation into the accounting era that was discovered earlier this year, and that is an accounting era that had forced the company to cut its profit outlook for North America. So over the summer, if we can remember as far back as the wh Smith has said that it'd found an overstatement of about thirty
million pounds in its profits for North America. Now it's saying that it could be actually as much as fifty million pounds and that is following an independent review by Deloitte. And so the CEO handed his resignation following that probe, and also the leadership in North America for the company is also being a reviewed. This has been a massive
problem for the company. The shares plunged over forty percent when that accounting era was discovered and announced, and they've not really recovered and we are seeing even more weakness this morning.
Meanwhile, and just lastly, the budget airline Jet two. It's pre tax profits beat. What more do we know in earnings? Yeah, so pre tax profit be.
It also said that it should meet a profit expectations for this year. Also announced a one hundred million pound buyback and that is all being really well received by the market. The shares have jumped this morning on the back of those results. It really really short investors that you know, things might be getting a little bit better after a lot of concerns around pricing weakness for budget airlines.
So back in September, Jet two had actually issued a profit warning and had said that demand was a little bit shaky because of the ongoing cost of living crisis, and it had cut back its winter capacity. So this had all also shaken that broader low cost airline industry. We had seen the shares of easy Jet and Ryan Air also being dragged down on the back of that profit warning, and there were concerns that people were booking
flights later and later and sometimes not at all. But this update from jet to today has been really reassuring for the market and that things that maybe at least not getting worse and potentially might be getting better next year.
That's interesting. I'm sure you have not escaped the jet too, add that I have not millions of people around the world. I mean, it was a clever advert, wasn't it very clever? You know the camera you're sort of holding the hand of the camera as you go on holiday. Yeah, there's a clever little trick that went viral.
And I've still not used Jet two, but maybe i'll maybe I'll try it out.
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