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 [...]
Currency headwinds hit Croda April 24, 2014 FTSE 100-listed chemicals manufacturer Croda International yesterday posted a slight increase in pre-tax profits to £65.2m for the first quarter, up from £65.1m. Revenue rose 2.9 per cent on a constant currency basis, but adverse foreign currency changes meant that reported sales fell 3.2 per cent to £274m. The firm said second-quarter performance is likely [...]
Cobham expects return to growth April 24, 2014 Shares in defence contractor Cobham rose over two per cent yesterday, after it predicted a return to revenue growth next year. The FTSE 250 firm said trading in the first quarter was in line with expectations, although currency headwinds impacted reported earnings. It expects revenue to decline by low-to-mid single digits in 2014. The company [...]
Computacenter revenues rise April 24, 2014 Computacenter, the provider of IT infrastructure services, has reported an eight per cent rise in first-quarter revenue, helped by growth in the UK and France. The company, which also supplies IT equipment and advises customers on IT strategy, said revenue rose to £745.1m from £691.9m a year earlier. Revenue from the group’s supply chain division [...]
City Moves for 25 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs April 24, 2014 Mayfair Capital The investment management company has hired Gill Roantree as chief operating officer. She joins from Schroder Property, where she was head of investment support. Towers Watson The professional services business has appointed Scott Robinson as UK head of its life insurance practice. He joined in 1997, and was most recently head of its Manchester [...]