Philip Morris snaps up UK-based ecigarette manufacturer Nicocigs June 26, 2014 Tobacco giant Philip Morris announced yesterday that it had bought UK-based ecigarette manufacturer Nicocigs, owner of the Nicolites brand, for an undisclosed sum. The deal was done on the same day as Philip Morris revised its profit forecasts down by around four per cent, to between $4.87 (£2.86) and $4.97 per share. The revision was [...]
Ministers take a step closer to plain packaging for cigarettes June 26, 2014 The government moves a step closer to introducing plain packaging for cigarettes today, with a statement introducing a final consultation on the measure. Health minister Jane Ellison yesterday announced a six-week consultation, ending on 7 August, to include draft legislation as an advance warning to tobacco manufacturers. In November last year, the government commissioned Sir [...]
UK’s Pinewood Shepperton studio triples profit to £5.4m June 26, 2014 Pinewood Shepperton studios, home to Channel 4’s The Taste, tripled its profit after tax for the last financial year from £1.8m to £5.4m, helped by the release of big-budget films, including Disney’s Cinderella. Pinewood, which recently won the right to expand its site despite widespread local objection to the plans, boasted revenues of £64m, up [...]
Countrywide cheers with £20m payout June 26, 2014 SHARES in Countrywide surged over five per cent yesterday, after it said it would pass the proceeds of its recent sale of its stake in property portal Zoopla on to shareholders. It plans to pay a special dividend of £20m, worth 9p per share, alongside its interim dividend, on 15 September. Countrywide sold around nine [...]
Dart stock nosedives after Jet2 owner warns of weak bookings June 26, 2014 PACKAGE holidays and logistics business Dart Group’s shares yesterday plummeted by almost 25 per cent after it warned that current year profits would be lower than previous market expectations. The warning came on the back of the Leeds-based Jet2 airline-owner’s report of pre-tax profit of £42.1m for the year ended 31 March. This was up [...]
DS Smith hurt by fears weaker euro will weigh on earnings June 26, 2014 SHARES in cardboard maker DS Smith fell 5.9 per cent yesterday after it announced it expected earnings to be hit this year due to a weaker euro and difficult economic conditions in Europe. Although DS Smith posted good results for the last financial year – pre-tax profits more than doubled to £167m, up 104 per cent [...]
UK inequality ticks up despite stagnant pay June 26, 2014 The average disposable income is £1,200 lower in real terms than before the impact of the financial crisis, according to figures published yesterday, which also confirmed that inequality ticked up slightly last year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK’s Gini co-efficient, a popular measure of income inequality, rose to [...]
Fund managers bearish about prospects for Chinese economy June 26, 2014 FUND managers are unconvinced about the potential for the Chinese economy this year, and a sizeable majority expect the country’s imports and exports to get worse as the summer gets underway. In a survey conducted by Capital Spreads and seen exclusively by City A.M, twothirds of the hundreds of fund managers surveyed expect that both [...]
LED firm LPA lights up sales June 26, 2014 LED lighting maker LPA Group yesterday said it was playing “catch up” after half year revenues fell 7.8 per cent, but kept a bullish outlook for the rest of the year. The group, which makes lights for the transport industry, said pre-tax profits rose to £186,000 thanks to lower financing costs despite the dip in [...]
Costain on way to a £1bn year June 26, 2014 Engineering group Costain yesterday said that it remained on course to deliver a result for the year in line with expectations and had a record forward order book. During the first half of the year, the company was appointed to Network Rail’s £2bn National Electrification Programme, the Crossrail North East Spur contract and three transmission [...]