Lockheed looks beyond US sales April 22, 2014 Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon’s largest supplier, yesterday reported a 23 per cent jump in operating profit and earnings per share in the first quarter, and raised its earnings per share outlook for the full year. But Lockheed said sales to the US military are likely to drop by six per cent this year after a [...]
Colt slumps as it exits mobile call contracts April 22, 2014 TELECOMS group Colt will withdraw around 85 per cent of its voice contracts – or calls from mobile operators that it carries on its network – over the next few months as part of a review of the business. Colt’s shares crashed 10.1 per cent on the announcement yesterday to close at 130p. On the [...]
Newly rebranded Connect Group extends £215m magazine deal April 22, 2014 CONNECT Group, the London-listed newspaper and magazine wholesaler that is today rebranding from Smiths News, has secured an agreement with Frontline and Seymour worth £215m a year until 2020. Frontline distributes titles from H Bauer, Immediate Media and Haymarket, while Seymour’s titles come from a number of publishers including Future Publishing and Dennis Publishing. The [...]
Chinese yuan drops to lowest in a year as People’s Bank steps in April 22, 2014 CHINA’S currency traded at the lowest level against the dollar in more than a year yesterday, as the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) intervened to ease reserve rules for the country’s rural lenders. The yuan has not been lower against the US currency since the first quarter of 2013, trading at 6.238 to the dollar [...]
Polymetal commits to London listing as gold production rises April 22, 2014 RUSSIAN precious metals miner Polymetal said yesterday that it has no plans to move its listing from London to Moscow, as it unveiled a 34 per cent surge in gold output in the first quarter. The FTSE 250 company, which fell out of the top 100 index last year, shrugged off recent proposals from Russian [...]
Amerisur’s revenue jumps 301 per cent on higher production April 22, 2014 SOUTH America-focused oil and gas explorer Amerisur Resources yesterday reported a 301 per cent rise in full-year revenue, boosted by higher production from its flagship Platanillo field in Colombia. The Aim-listed firm’s revenues rose to $169.2m (£100.5m) in 2013, while pre-tax profit went up 274.6 per cent to $75.3m. “We have made significant progress in [...]
Qinetiq mulls new markets as it sells US unit April 22, 2014 THE CHIEF executive of Qinetiq yesterday said he would consider “strategic acquisitions” both in the UK and overseas, as the British defence technology firm announced the long-awaited sale of its struggling US services division. FTSE 250-listed Qinetiq has agreed to sell the unit, which offers cyber security services, for $165m (£98.1m) to US-based company The [...]
Boeing pens $4.6bn plane deal with Chinese airline Shandong April 22, 2014 BOEING has agreed to supply Chinese carrier Shandong Airlines with new planes. Shandong has bought 50 Boeing 737 planes, worth $4.6bn at list prices, as part of its plan to nearly double its overall fleet by 2020, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua. The airline is majority-owned by Air China, which also features the [...]
Dragon Oil ramps up production April 22, 2014 Aim-listed oil and gas explorer Dragon Oil yesterday said it expects the pace of drilling to pick up considerably, as it unveiled a 0.7 per cent rise in production in the first quarter. The company is looking to increase output by 10 per cent this year and between 10 and 15 per cent next year, [...]
Genel Energy on track for year April 22, 2014 Kurdistan-focused oil explorer Genel Energy, which has former BP boss Tony Hayward as its chief executive, yesterday said production jumped 35 per cent in the first quarter and that it remains on track to meet full-year production and revenue guidance of 60,000 to 70,000 barrels of oil per day and revenue of between $500m (£297m) [...]