Analyst Views: What is your view of Centamin following yesterday’s results? March 24, 2014 JONATHAN GUY | RBC CAPITAL MARKETSCentamin’s scale of resource and production, in conjunction with a diverse shareholder base, could make it one of the more credible acquisition targets among the gold miners. [But] any bid for the company is unlikely to materialise whilst the political situation in Egypt remains challenging. CAILEY BARKER | NUMISFull-year results [...]
Kentz’s shares lifted by higher profits and growing order book March 24, 2014 KENTZ’S shares climbed yesterday after the engineering firm unveiled a rapidly rising order book in 2014 and said full-year performance would be ahead of its previous expectations. The FTSE 250-listed company’s order book increased from $3.1bn (£1.9bn) at the end of 2013 to $4.1bn at the end of February 2014. “Current trading and new business-winning [...]
Petrofac wins $1bn engineering and procurement deal in Oman March 24, 2014 OIL AND gas services firm Petrofac yesterday said it has won a contract in Oman worth over $1bn (£610m), boosting its already strong position in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 firm won the four and a half year engineering and procurement deal from oil and gas producer Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), to provide services [...]
Laird hires Numis as joint broker March 24, 2014 Electronic parts maker Laird yesterday said it has appointed Numis Securities, with immediate effect, as joint corporate broker alongside JP Morgan Cazenove. The FTSE 250-quoted company, which makes components for Apple and Samsung, said in January that it was trading in line with expectations. The company also said that it is building a new manufacturing [...]
JLIF hikes shareholder payout March 24, 2014 John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) yesterday hiked its full year dividend to 6.375p, a four per cent increase on last year’s payout. The net asset value of investments in the fund rose 50.8 per cent to £818.1m over the 12 months ending December, helped by a £282.2m equity fundraising. JLIF owns a number of hospitals [...]
Hutchison falls after Watson deal March 24, 2014 Hutchison Whampoa shares fell as much as six per cent yesterday after a $5.7bn deal to sell a stake in its health and beauty retailer to Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings disappointed investors hoping for a higher valuation. The stock saw its steepest drop in two-and-a-half years in the first trading session after Temasek on [...]
City Moves for 25 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 24, 2014 Barclays Business UK The bank has appointed Judith Gage as head of real estate for its business division. She joined the retail team in 1986, and was appointed manager in the business team in 1996. Charles Stanley The investment management firm has hired Simon Davis as a director of wealth management in its financial services [...]
Best of the Brokers for 25 March 2014 March 24, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com LLOYDS Investec has returned to a “buy” rating on the bank, two months after downgrading it to a “hold”, and sticks to its 85p target. The broker says it’s safe for investors to get back into the water now Lloyds has tackled its PPI [...]
London Report: Ukraine strife and China data hit FTSE shares March 24, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday on concerns about the situation in Ukraine and a slowdown in Chinese growth, while energy providers were hit by worries they may be forced to break up their businesses. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.6 per cent lower at 6,520.39 points, falling for nine of the past 12 [...]
New York Report: Technology and biotech stocks drag on market March 24, 2014 US STOCKS fell yesterday, with some of the market’s recent best performers like technology and biotech shares leading the way down. Concerns that the crisis in Ukraine could escalate gave investors a reason to drop some of the market’s biggest trading favourites. The Nasdaq fell below its 50-day moving average earlier, in a sign of [...]