CFOs and analysts don’t always see eye-to-eye. Even hard numbers can be a matter of opinion. This weekend, Andrew Higginson, CFO of the UK supermarket giant Tesco, had enough of puny analysts poking holes in his company’s performance.
"At the end of the day, that is how they make their money, but that does not mean they really understand how our business is run," Higginson told the Telegraph newspaper. "You just have to take these things with a pinch of salt."
Last week Tesco reported a 3.1 percent rise in like-for-like sales during the Christmas shopping season. But despite the fact that the firm is on track to meet its profit targets, analysts were not impressed. The supermarket chain, which fended off a takeover attempt by rival Marks and Spencer last year, has been taking flack for losing market share in its retail clothing business, despite a big push in that direction during the last several years.
Tesco has not just been feeling heat from analysts and investors. Plans to expand a supermarket in Liverpool have drawn the ire of residents, according to the Liverpool Echo. “We have a thriving shopping center, so we do not need this,” a local lawmaker told the paper. “It could destroy independent businesses and the character of the area.”
Tesco said it would take such sentiments into account before embarking on its multi-million pound project. The most likely answer will be that local residents, like uppity analysts, just don’t understand how Tesco’s business is run.
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