Coca-Cola HBC
(Shares) Coca-Cola HBC has lagged the wider stockmarket this year. But there is plenty of upside for the soft-drink bottling group as the global economy reopens. A first-quarter trading update showed that despite Covid-19 restrictions continuing, sales were up by 6.1% year-on-year. The company’s “geographic diversity” also allowed it to benefit from “accelerating sales in emerging markets”, with Russia and Nigeria both posting double-digit growth.
2,509p
Marks & Spencer
(The Sunday Telegraph) Marks & Spencer (M&S) has had a series of “turnaround” executives who have failed to tackle the “deep-seated decline in its fortunes”. Its record pre-tax profit of £1.2bn was achieved in 1998. Last year’s figure was just £67.2m. But new executives Archie Norman and Steve Rowe could turn that around. Norman grasps what customers want: “a clearly understandable product range that offers reliable quality and value”. Concentrating on a smaller range of products is easier to manage and costs less. M&S is also renewing its online presence better to compete with rivals. The group could soon be “materially more profitable, and the shares could be materially higher”.