Ashtead Group Plc, the international equipment rental company is a top riser on the FTSE100 this morning after reporting nine month and third quarter results. the groups figures show a jump of 50% in pretax profit for the period to a record £293m. The results are underlined by strong revenue growth and an increased operating profit […]
Hiscox, the specialist insurance firm today announced the acquisition of Asian online motor insurance provider DirectAsia. In a deal valued at $55Million Hiscox will attempt to broaden its reach and take a short cut to markets in Asia. The group plans to invest significantly in DirectAsia in a bid to build its business and start […]
Insurance company, Amlin announced a rise in pretax profit for the last year of 23.3% helped by a decrease in insurance claims and premium growth. Major catastrophe losses dropped to £18.5m last year from £152.3m in 2012, as the only notable large disaster in 2013 was the European flooding in May and June. Highlights of […]
Final results from power station owner Drax Group (DRX.L) reveal a fall in pretax profit after higher carbon costs. Pretax profit fell to £32M from £190M. EBITDA for 2013 down 23% at £230 million, dividend was also cut to 17.6p a share from 25.3p. The company also highlighted the possibility of a weaker 2014 with the milder […]
First group Plc (FGP.L) have announced that after discussions with the Department of Transport they have agreed an extension to their current First Capital Connect rail franchise until Sept 14th 2014. This will allow the franchise to continue running until the start of the new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise which is proposed by […]
The bank, Lloyds banking Group (LLOY.L) received a boost this morning, which may help stem the falls after yesterdays results release after an upgrade by JPMorgan. Lloyds was upgraded to overweight from neutral and JPmorgan says it sees further upside despite the recent lowered forecast released by Lloyds when releasing their results, saying the results […]
food company Nestle (NESN.VX) has issued a statement today saying they expect another challenging year ahead amidst emerging market slowdowns. In 2013 Nestlé’s sales increased by 2.7% to CHF 92.2 billion, impacted by negative foreign exchange of 3.7%. Organic growth was 4.6%, composed of 3.1% real internal growth and 1.5% pricing. Acquisitions, net of divestitures, added 1.8% […]
Homeserve (HSV.L) the home emergency repair company today announced it had agreed to pay a fine of £30.6million to the FCA in relation to regulatory non compliance issues which have occured historically at the company. Homeserves issues mainly related to sales and marketing and problems with complaints handling procedures over the last 2 years. The […]
Aerospace company Rolls Royce (RR.L) today announced a new deal with Lockhead Martin to supply 600 engines for C-130J Hercules aircraft. The agreement secures the Rolls-Royce AE 2100 as the engine of choice for all variants of the C-130J to 2025. The engine agreement will service US Government and International contract requirements between 2014 and 2018. […]
Travel group, Thomas Cook Group (TCG.L) was downgraded by Numis Securities today as the company continues to struggle to cut its losses and return to profit. Numis changed its recommendation to ‘hold’ from ‘add’ after Thomas Cook revealed that although its losses have been cut for the last quarter, revenue is down as fewer people […]
Communications company Cable & Wireless (CWC.L) announced third quarter results and said it continued to have confidence in its outlook for 2014 with mobile revenue up 4% across the group and particularly strong sales in Monaco and the Carribean. Also having an impact is the companies current cost reduction program. The highlights of their interim […]
Johnson Matthey (JMAT.L) the chemicals company has today announced a replacement for Robert Mcleod who recently moved to the role of Chief Executive. The new finance director will be Den Jones who has many years experience working at board level with fellow FTSE company BG group. Chief Executive McLeod commented ”I am delighted that Den will […]
Barclays Bank (BARC.L) reported a sharp fall in adjusted pretax profit showing a 32% drop overall after lower profits and restructuring costs. The company also reported lower adjusted income after falls in head office and investment bank divisions. The companies fourth quarter results were badly affected by exceptional items including a big hit for regulatory […]
Broker JPMorgan today revised its outlook on Tate & Lyle (TATE.L) to overweight from underweight. The bank stated that earnings have been held back for the last couple of years due to the companies investment in its Speciality Food Ingredients platform, however that investment is now starting to show a return. JP Morgan anticipates that […]
RSA insurance announced late yesterday the appointment of their new CEO, the new man to front the company will be Stephen Hester, the former boss of RBS and the man credited with helping its turn around in fortunes after the credit crunch. RSA removed a number of senior staff and executives late last year after finding “financial […]
Telecoms company TALK TALK (TALK.L) announced an impressive third quarter performance, boosting revenues on new customer aquisitions: revenue rose 5.1 per cent to £436m. The company added more customers to TV, Fibre Broadband and mobile following a strong promotional drive during the period. Chief Executive, Dido Harding, said: “We are delighted with the material step up […]
Carnival (CCL.L) announced last night that bookings are up 17% under its Carnival Cruise Lines brand compared to the same period last year. Possibly another indicator that the global recession is continuing to wane and good news for the company which also owns the Costa, Princess and P&O cruise brands. Net bookings were apparently 565,000 over […]
Insurer Direct Line (DLG.L) today announced news that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has approved plans for Direct Line to provide legal services to customer under the subsidiary company DLG Legal services, this will be done in partnership with Parabis Law LLP. The company is expecting to start offering such services from this March. Related Posts:Technical Analysis – US […]
Following on from their early statement and previously announced 50p special dividend to shareholders in february, fashion chain NEXT (NXT.L) has announced a further special dividend of 50p to be paid on May 1st. The company recently announced a decision to buyback shares or issue special dividends depending on the current share price. Saying in […]
Telecoms group BT Group Plc (BT.A.L) gained this morning after a statement from the company revealed a profit increase of 8% in the 3rd quarter and raised its full year earnings outlook. The strong performance was due to increased earnings in its fibre broadband business and the success of its new sports channels. Gavin Patterson, […]
Britvic plc (BVIC.L) today reported Q1 results announcing a small rise in revenue of 1.3% at constant exchange rate (2.8% at the current actual exchange rate). The company said in a statement to investors “Britvic today reports its Q1 trading performance for the 12 weeks to 22 December 2013 and remains on track to deliver full […]
Miner, Anglo American (AAL.L) today reported Q4 figures, announcing rises in the output across most of its production and record copper production figures. Iron ore output rose 25% at its Kumba Iron Ore unit, Iron ore being the biggest contributor to profits during 2012. Copper productionincreased by 24% to a record 214,400 tonnes, driven by […]
Tech giant Apple Inc (AAPL) last night released news that it had sold a record 51 million iPhones and 26 million iPads in the run up to Christmas however despite this failed to reach most analysts expectation and the news proved disappointing to investors as shares in the company were subject to a sell off […]
Landlord, British Land (BLND.L) rose this morning after a positive update. The company reported like-for-like occupancy rose 30 points to 97.1% for the quarter. The companies statement highlights include an improved position in both Offices and retail and a strong financial position. Chris Grigg, Chief Executive said: ”We have had a good third quarter and the business is […]
80% taxpayer owned bank, Royal bank of Scotland (RBS.L) released news near the end of trading today detailing its plans to set aside another £3.1Bln to pay for fines, damages and customer compensation relating to the credit crisis and market rigging allegations. Boss Ross McEwan said “The scale of the bad decisions during that period […]
Shares in Vodafone (VOD.L) fell this morning as US telecoms giant ruled out any bid for the company for now. The company had been thought to be interested in a bid for Vodafone after speculating in October that Vodafone may present a great opportunity for entry into the European market. AT&T was asked to clarify […]
Punch Taverns (PUB.L) the Pub Landlord group today released a statement in response to fresh opposition to its recent restructuring plan released on the 15th January. A group of creditors including funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo Gordon Europe and Warwick Capital Partners have pledged to oppose Punch Taverns proposals in their current form and say the […]
Insurer Royal Sun alliance Plc (RSA.L) needs to raise capital following the recent scandal in Ireland and fill a hole in its balance sheet to cover the extra capital pumped into its Irish business. The company needs to raise an estimated £500M and part of this will be covered by the proposed sale of its […]
Citigroup this morning downgraded broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) to sell from neutral naming it as its least preferred share in the sector. Despite some positive commentary “For the past three years we have consistently argued that ITV has been on a positive trajectory in terms of quality, every metric we monitor or care about: audience share, […]
BG Group (BG.L) issued disappointing revise output targets for 2014 and 2015 this morning along with a profit warning, citing Egyptian turmoil. the company relies on Egypt for about 1/5 of its earnings. The news prompted a heavy sell off of the shares this morning. BG said it expected to produce between 590,000 and 630,000 […]
