Dubai’s Damac developer triples profits March 4, 2014 DUBAI luxury real estate developer Damac – which is building the Trump Estates that has interiors designed by Ivanka Trump – tripled its 2013 net profit and plans more new projects this year, it said yesterday. Damac, which listed its shares on the LSE in December, posted a net profit of $641.5m last year, against [...]
Australia fights about overseas cash for Qantas March 4, 2014 AUSTRALIAN politicians are grappling with plans to allow a foreign company to rescue Qantas, the country’s ailing airline. Prime Minister Tony Abbott wants to relax rules that block an overseas firm from owning more than 25 per cent of the flag carrier, and which limit overall foreign ownership to 49 per cent. Qantas has struggled [...]
Moneysupermarket makes more despite tough times for savers March 4, 2014 MONEYSUPERMARKET has made its investors richer after strong trading in the last year. Revenues rose 10 per cent to £225.6m while earnings jumped 26 per cent to £84m. Profits after tax were up 40 per cent to £34.7m. Travel comparisons and home services were proving particularly popular, the firm said yesterday. Moneysavingexpert, the site set [...]
CLS Holdings posts strong profits March 4, 2014 Property firm CLS Holdings posted a 27 per cent jump in full-year profits and a rise in net asset value yesterday thanks to strong demand. The company, which has a £1.1bn portfolio including swathes of property around London’s Vauxhall, said it took advantage of low interest rates to snap up 42 properties during the year [...]
Rotork buys South Korean firm March 4, 2014 Rotork, which makes valve controls and actuators for oil and gas, water, power and nuclear plants, said yesterday that full-year adjusted operating profit rose 8.5 per cent due mainly to acquisitions. The company also said it had agreed to buy Young Tech Co (YTC), a South Korean manufacturer and supplier of valve positioners, for £64m. [...]
Perform pledges to rebuild trust March 4, 2014 Sports rights group Perform revealed a three per cent drop in 2013 earnings yesterday, despite revenue climbing 37 per cent to £208m. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) slipped to £36.4m. Perform’s image was dealt a heavy blow in December when it warned that profit would be well below expectations and fall short [...]
City Moves for 5 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 4, 2014 DAC Beachcroft The law firm has announced the appointment of Ruth Connorton as a commercial contracts partner. She specialises in non-contentious procurement matters. Connorton joins from Eversheds, where she was head of procurement law. Ashburton Investments The investment management firm has appointed Swati Jain to its London-based distribution team. She was most recently at IIFL Wealth, where [...]
Best of the Brokers for 5 March 2014 March 4, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com TESCO Cantor Fitzgerald has cut the supermarket from “hold” to “sell” and slashed its target from 333p to 282p. The broker thinks rivals can easily beat Tesco’s recent price promises, meaning the firm erodes its margins in the UK to little benefit. Cantor [...]
London Report: FTSE reverses losses as crisis in Crimea eases March 4, 2014 THE UK’S top share index rebounded from two-week lows yesterday, recouping its losses in the previous session, with the perception that tensions between Russia and Ukraine were easing and robust earnings boosting investors’ risk appetite. However, investors remained cautious in placing strong bets on the sustainability of the share rally, given that Russia and the [...]
New York Report: S&P climbs to another fresh all-time high March 4, 2014 US STOCKS rallied yesterday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record as concerns about a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine eased, and the market recovered more than all of the previous session’s hefty losses. President Vladimir Putin delivered a robust defence of Russia’s actions in Crimea, saying he would use force in Ukraine only [...]