Aeroflot dives into the red August 28, 2014 RUSSIAN carrier Aeroflot yesterday announced first-half losses of 1.9bn roubles (£31m) blaming “significant one-off events and a weaker rouble”, down from a 45m rouble profit in the same period last year. It announced a nine per cent rise in revenues, due mainly to the Sochi Winter Olympics. Aeroflot was forced to suspend flights of its fledgling [...]
Ofgem forecasts lower margins at energy firms August 28, 2014 UK ENERGY regulator Ofgem yesterday predicted that profit margins of the large suppliers would be lower over the coming year compared with previous estimates. Only a month ago, the watchdog had forecast that the biggest energy suppliers would double their profit margins over the next year. Ofgem’s latest supply market indicator report saw it cut [...]
Biggest deal ever for DCC as it buys French Esso petrol stations August 28, 2014 FTSE 250-listed support services group DCC announced its biggest deal in its history, as its energy division bought hundreds of petrol stations from Esso in France. It gives it a four per cent share of the local market. The deal is valued at €106m (£84m), with the acquired business estimated by DCC to provide annual [...]
Gulf Keystone staff to return to Kurdistan to boost production August 28, 2014 GULF Keystone, the oil and gas exploration company with operations focused in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, is looking to return more employees to the area as it believes the security situation has stabilised, as it seeks to ramp up production from its assets there. However, it warned that its production target for its major [...]
All is well at Spire Healthcare as shares rise on thriving revenues August 28, 2014 Spire Healthcare saw its shares jump up 7.7 per cent yesterday, as it reported a solid rise in revenues in the first half of the year, in its first results since floating last month. Revenue at Spire, which runs 39 private hospitals and 13 clinics in the UK, rose 10.5 per cent in the first [...]
City Moves for 29 August 2014 | Who’s switching jobs August 28, 2014 Colliers International The commercial real estate services firm has announced the appointment of James Evans as an associate director in its national investment team. He joins after six years at JLL, where he initially worked in King Sturge’s special projects and European valuation teams and then in the M&A team. F&C Investments The investment firm [...]
Best of the Brokers for 29 August 2014 August 28, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com N BROWN GROUP Investec has kept a “buy” rating, but cut the target price to 520p from 550p. The broker thinks while there are a plethora of new initiatives, the benefits from the implementation of a more retail and marketing-led trading strategy are [...]
London Report: Ukraine tension and ore prices weigh on FTSE August 28, 2014 A RATCHETING up of tension in Ukraine yesterday took its toll on Britain’s top share index, knocking it back from its highest closing level in nearly two months. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Russian forces had entered his country and the military conflict was worsening after Moscow-backed separatists swept into an eastern town. The blue-chip [...]
New York Report: Wall St takes a tumble over world concerns August 28, 2014 US STOCKS edged lower yesterday, after the latest tension between Ukraine and Russia snapped the focus of investors back to the volatile region. However, a trio of economic reports pointed to improving conditions and helped mitigate declines. The second reading of gross domestic product showed the US economy rebounded more strongly than initially thought in [...]
Heart disease to cost UK £18.4bn by 2020 August 28, 2014 In less than six years heart disease will cost the UK €23.1bn (£18.4bn), according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research. The UK will be one of the hardest hit countries in Western Europe by cardiovascular disease, the figures suggest, with only Germany estimated to spend more. By 2020, direct and indirect [...]