By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
U.K. stocks rose Wednesday, with Tesco PLC advancing despite
reporting its biggest yearly loss on record, while Rolls-Royce PLC
shares gained as the engine maker named its next chief
executive.
U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 7,076.80.
Tesco shares were among the best performers, rising 2.1%. The
supermarket chain said it swung to a pretax loss of 6.38 billion
pounds
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesco-reports-massive-loss-after-turbulent-year-2015-04-22)
($9.54 billion) for the year to Feb. 28. After a turbulent year
that revealed a pattern of accounting overstatement, Tesco logged
GBP7 billion in charges, including GBP4.7 billion related to the
impairment of fixed assets.
Tesco's new chief executive, Dave Lewis, has been making changes
at the supermarket company, including closing unprofitable stores
and selling noncore assets.
"While Tesco looks like it's on a downward spiral with another
major dip in trading profits, its planned recovery strategy
promises to steer the retailer back on course," said Simon
Johnstone, senior analyst at Kantar Retail, in a note. "A
three-pronged attack to improve performance is centered on
strengthening the balance sheet, repairing its reputation and
rebuilding the brand."
Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce said Warren East will become its next CEO
after its current CEO John Rishton retires on July 2. East
previously served as CEO of chip designer ARM Holdings PLC .
Rolls-Royce shares jumped 4%, while ARM shares turned lower, by
0.2%.
Among Wednesday's decliners, shares of Hargreaves Lansdown PLC
fell 2.2% after Jefferies downgraded its rating on the investment
services firm to hold from buy.
The FTSE 100 on Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-climbs-as-arm-sky-bounce-higher-2015-04-21)
finished higher by 0.2%.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
