US corporate results round up May 1, 2014 Cereal maker Kellogg gets a rude awakening from generic rivals Kellogg, the world’s biggest maker of breakfast cereals, reported a bigger-than-expected fall in quarterly revenue yesterday as competition from private-label brands and alternative breakfast items ate into cereal sales. Sales at Kellogg’s US morning foods business fell 5.5 per cent in the first quarter. Oaktree [...]
Lancashire shares drop despite strong results May 1, 2014 SPECIALIST insurer Lancashire saw its share price tumble yesterday despite releasing strong first quarter results. Concern about how much of the company’s profits would be returned to shareholders prompted the share price to fall by as much as 3.6 per cent yesterday morning, before closing down 2.3 per cent Lancashire posted a 47 per cent [...]
N Brown eyes US expansion May 1, 2014 N BROWN, the online and catalogue retailer which targets older and plus-sized shoppers, revealed yesterday it is plotting a major expansion push in the US after posting a 5.3 per cent rise in full-year profit. Chief executive Angela Spindler said that while it sells three brands online in the US, it has decided to focus [...]
Phoenix quick off the mark in bid to generate £500m of cash May 1, 2014 PHOENIX Group yesterday said it was already half way towards meeting its cash targets for the full year after just 90 days, amid a push to cut debts and build a warchest for potential deals in the future. The FTSE 250 listed insurer, which makes money off closed life insurance books, generated £235m in the [...]
Arm starts hunt for new finance chief as 12-year veteran leaves May 1, 2014 BRITISH microprocessor designer Arm will begin searching for a new finance chief after announcing that long-serving executive Tim Score will leave the firm next year. Score will retire next May having worked at Arm since 2002 and having overseen the company’s rise into the dominant smartphone chip designer. “Tim has been, and continues to be [...]
Quintain buys Aldermary House for £40m May 1, 2014 QUINTAIN has made its first foray into the City office market after snapping up Aldermary House for £40m. The developer, best known for its huge regeneration scheme in Wembley, said yesterday it had bought all the units in the Aldermary House Unit Trust, which owns the leasehold to the ten storey building at 10-15 Queen [...]
Greene King gives 275 pubs last orders and looks to sell off more May 1, 2014 BREWER and pub owner Greene King yesterday announced it is selling 275 of its tenanted and leased pubs to newcomer Hawthorn Leisure for £75.6m and said it could sell off more pubs than it had initially planned. Greene King will continue to supply its own beer brands to the pubs for the next three years [...]
Late Easter hits Aer Lingus results May 1, 2014 Losses at Irish airline Aer Lingus widened to €48.5m (£39.8m) in the first quarter of the year, which the firm said was due to the late Easter holidays and strike threats during March. Revenues were broadly flat at €259.4m. “Our short haul operation remains an attractive and profitable business despite the continuation of intense price [...]
Housing boom helps Howden May 1, 2014 Kitchen supplier Howden Joinery yesterday reported an 11.2 per cent rise in UK revenue in the first 16 weeks of the year, helped by stronger consumer spending and a recovery in the housing market. The company said like-for-like revenue for outlets open more than a year increased 8.5 per cent. Howden Joinery said it had [...]
Savills builds on its US business May 1, 2014 Property consultant Savills plans to buy US-based commercial real estate services firm Studley for up to $260m (£153.9m) to expand in North America. The FTSE 250 company said it expected to seal the deal by 30 May, following which it would rebrand its US arm as Savills Studley. The United States is Savills’ smallest market [...]