US Corporate results round up April 24, 2014 Massive car recall hurts General Motors profit General Motors said yesterday that first-quarter profit tumbled 88 per cent after a massive recall due to defective ignition switches, but results still topped expectations on strong pricing for its redesigned pickup trucks in North America and improvement overseas. The company said its core operating outlook remained on [...]
Chunnel slams plan to axe HS2 link to Europe April 24, 2014 THE BOSS of Eurotunnel has said plans to axe the link between High Speed 2 and the railway to the Continent are “a mistake” that will cost more in lost productivity than the £700m saved. Jacques Gounon said “with a significant investment like this you’re making the wrong saving by not achieving such connections”, arguing [...]
Conviviality Retail in talks to buy Bibby’s Rhythm & Booze stores April 24, 2014 BARGAIN Booze owner Conviviality Retail confirmed yesterday it is in talks with rival off-licensing group Bibby Retail Services to buy a portfolio of stores as it seeks to gain a greater foothold in Yorkshire. The company, which floated on Aim last year, is understood to be interested in buying around 20 of the 50 shops, [...]
Food pulls in punters for Spirit April 24, 2014 Spirit Pub Company said yesterday that like-for-like sales at its managed pubs showed robust growth in March as a recovery in consumer spending encouraged more people to dine out. The company, which operates pubs under brands such as Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill, said that like-for-like sales at managed pubs rose [...]
Pernod snaps up US vineyard April 24, 2014 Pernod Ricard said yesterday it was buying Kenwood Vineyards to beef up its premium wines portfolio in the US, the French drinks company’s biggest market, and was looking for more small-scale acquisitions. The world’s second-biggest spirits group behind Diageo also said it still expected demand in China, where sales sank 28 per cent in its [...]
PAI Partners buys EMG Media April 24, 2014 French private equity firm PAI Partners is to buy audiovisual services provider Euro Media Group (EMG) in a deal which one source said was worth up to €200m. EMG, which provides television footage for events including the Fifa World Cup and the Winter Olympics, is the second investment by PAI’s new Europe VI fund. PAI [...]
Centamin soars on hopes a new Egyptian law will end court case April 24, 2014 SHARES in Centamin surged over 10 per cent yesterday, after the Egypt-focused gold miner noted a law change that should end a long-running court dispute over the validity of an exploration licence. The new ruling will restrict third parties from challenging contracts between the Egyptian government and investors, which will also apply to pending lawsuits. [...]
Amplats output slumps 39pc on labour tensions April 24, 2014 ONGOING strike action in South Africa caused Anglo American’s platinum output to fall 39 per cent in the first quarter, the miner said yesterday, as it lowered its full-year guidance for the precious metal. The FTSE 100-listed firm said it lost 185,000 ounces from affected production at the Rustenburg, Amandelbult and Union mines, pushing output [...]
Heineken returns to growth in Europe though profits tumble April 24, 2014 HEINEKEN yesterday reported a 37 per cent decline in first-quarter net profits to €143m (£117.63m), though parts of Europe raised more glasses of the brewery group’s beers. Like-for-like beer volumes rose 1.5 per cent, while revenues rose 3.4 per cent to €4.04bn. Currency movements and the divestment of the Finnish Hartwall unit hurt the firm’s [...]
Set-top box maker Pace on track April 24, 2014 SET-TOP box maker Pace yesterday announced that it is on target to reach its forecasted $2.7bn (£1.61bn) in revenue and 8.5 per cent operating margin by the end of this year. Chairman Allan Leighton, who is also the former chief executive of Asda, said that first quarter revenues were lower than in 2013 due to [...]