Below are the key morning press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
John Lewis has warned it could ditch the annual bonus for its 81,000 employees as it flagged another big fall in profits and announced the departure of its department store boss. Paula Nickolds, who has been at the partnership for 25 years, is stepping down by mutual agreement next month before a previously announced management restructure. She has led the department store chain for three years, during which its profits have dived from more than £250m to potentially less than £50m this year. Nickolds said she was leaving after “some reflection on the responsibilities of her proposed new role” under the new chairman, Dame Sharon White, who takes the helm in early February. Nickolds’ departure comes as Rob Collins, the boss of Waitrose, exits this month. The retail group, which owns Waitrose supermarkets as well as its namesake department store chain, said it would consider next month whether to axe the bonus payment to staff for the first time in 67 years after sales fell by 1.8% over the key Christmas period. - The Guardian
Willie Walsh is stepping down as chief executive of British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) after 15 years at the top. The 58-year-old Irishman, who started his long career in aviation as a trainee pilot at Aer Lingus, will relinquish control at the end of March and leave the company in June. Arch-rival and compatriot Michael O’Leary, the pugnacious boss of Ryanair, said it was a huge loss to the industry and proof that you’ll never beat the Irish. But there was silence from Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson who has had a long-running feud with Walsh. And many of BA’s passengers caught up in pilot strikes, IT meltdowns and a cyber attack may be happy to see the back of him. Walsh said last November that he would retire before his 60th birthday, but has decided to call it a day a little earlier than expected. He will be replaced by 51-year-old Spaniard Luis Gallego, who has been credited with turning around Iberia, another part of the IAG stable. - The Mail
The departing boss of Tesco (TSCO) claimed the grocer had its busiest day ever during the festive period – despite recording flat sales. Tesco has emerged as frontrunner in the battle of the major grocers to win Christmas, with a modest 0.1% increase in sales during the six weeks to Jan 4. Third quarter revenues rose 0.4% in the UK, hitting £16.8bn. Chief executive Dave Lewis said the retailer sold more groceries on the day before Christmas Eve than any other day in its 100-year history. Mr Lewis, who is leaving this summer after five years in charge, said: “I’ve never seen the UK business run as well as it has this Christmas.” Tesco’s performance was boosted by cash and carry arm Booker, which it bought for £4bn in 2018. - The Telegraph
Strong demand for pub meals and drinks on key days including Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve drove like-for-like sales growth of 5.6% at Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) over the three-week festive period. The All Bar One and Miller & Carter operator said that it had achieved record growth of 6.5% across the five key days, which also included Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, selling 1.5 million meals and 6.4 million drinks. Phil Urban, 56, M&B’s chief executive, said that the performance over the festive trading season was particularly pleasing given the strong comparative trading in the previous year. Analysts praised the performance, with Nigel Parson, at Canaccord Genuity, headlining his research note “another Christmas cracker” and noting that M&B was “starting to make real progress in reducing its debt burden”. He said that over the next decade it could pay off £1.5 billion of its £2 billion debt. - The Times
Music investment fund Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG) has snapped up the rights to a back catalogue that includes number-one hits by Adele, Bruno Mars and Lana Del Rey. The firm said it had bought the royalty rights from Emile Haynie, an award-winning American producer. Haynie has collaborated with major hip hop and pop artists, with the back-catalogue sold to Hipgnosis comprising 122 songs. It is the latest deal struck by the company, which also bought separate rights to hundreds of songs from the Kaiser Chiefs and songwriter Fraser T Smith recently. - The Mail
Too many skinny jeans and too much food waste took the shine off Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) recording its first total like-for-like sales growth in three years. A recovery in the retailer’s food division lifted total like-for-like sales by 0.2 per cent as customers were lured in by its festive treats and a focus on attracting more family customers with cheaper prices. The grocery arm delivered a 1.4% rise in like-for-like sales but its perennially challenged clothing and home division suffered another slip, with like-for-like sales falling 1.7% and total sales declining by 3.7% to £1.06 billion. - The Times
Irish oil and gas group Providence Resources (PVR) has hired industry veteran Alan Linn as its chief executive. Linn, 62, has joined from UK shale group Third Energy and has previously had senior roles at Cairn Energy, Tullow Oil and Afren. AIM-listed Providence is developing the first commercial oil project off the coast of Ireland, but still needs to do more test drilling to secure new cash. Investors welcomed the move, with shares rising to 3.25p. - The Mail
Card Factory (CARD) has sounded a profit alert and warned that it does not expect to pay a special dividend next year after enduring tough Christmas trading. The card retailer said trading over the festive season had been “challenging”. It told investors that adjusted underlying earnings before interest, taxes and other items was expected to fall to £81 million for the year to the end of January, down from £89.4 million in 2019. Adjusted profits will also take a hit of as much as £10 million next year from market headwinds, it added. Like-for-like sales during the 11-months to the end of December were down 0.6%, compared with a 0.1% decline a year earlier. Analysts at Peel Hunt, the stockbroker, described the trading update as “truly shocking” and said the figures showed that like-for-like sales had “collapsed in recent weeks”. - The Times