IMI is bullish on margins August 26, 2010 IMI posted a sharp rise in first-half profit that beat market forecasts on higher margins, which the British engineer expects to go up further in the second half, and said it sees new clean energy laws driving growth in several markets. For the January to June period, IMI reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of £136.4m, [...]
Strong growth for Filtrona August 26, 2010 British plastic and fibre products supplier Filtrona reported a 37 per cent rise in its first-half adjusted pre-tax profit, helped by a revenue rise in its higher margin divisions, and forecast strong growth in the second half. The company, which develops and manufactures products for use in consumer, medical and industrial markets, raised its interim [...]
New business wins aid Huntsworth August 26, 2010 UK public relations firm Huntsworth posted a nine per cent rise in its first-half pre-tax profit, helped by new business wins, and said it could weather cuts to government spending. Huntsworth, whose public relations brands include Citigate, Grayling and Red, raised its interim dividend by 20 per cent to 0.90p. For the January to June period, [...]
Salamander eyes Asia expansion August 26, 2010 Salamander Energy is looking to expand further in Asia through acquisitions and farm-in deals, its chief executive said, after swinging to a first-half adjusted profit on higher production and crude oil prices CLc1. Salamander forecast average production for the rest of 2010 to rise to 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) after completing [...]
Tanfield hit by funding concerns August 26, 2010 Tanfield Group’s shares nearly halved in value, hitting a seven-year low yesterday, after the troubled electric van maker said it was in talks to sell its shares at a substantial discount to tackle a cash shortage. The company said it expected the fundraising to be structured as an open offer, partially underwritten by certain directors. [...]
Blast from the past as Nadir returns August 26, 2010 A TORY Prime Minister is slashing the budget, Iron Maiden are top of the album chart and now exiled tycoon Asil Nadir is back in the UK. It’s like the 1980s never ended. Nadir, 69, touched down to a media scrum yesterday, accompanied by his glamorous 26-year-old wife, Nur. Tanned, wearing a double breasted suit, [...]
Price hike joy at Kazakhmys August 26, 2010 KAZAKH copper miner Kazakhmys benefited from the rise in commodity prices in the last six months, but warned yesterday cost hikes could catch up and dent future earnings. Underlying profit rose 159 per cent to $696m (£448m)?in the six months to July, though pre-tax profit dropped 5.2 per cent to $631m due to exceptional items. [...]
UK oil firms post mixed results as they aim to widen exploration August 26, 2010 BRITISH oil explorers Premier Oil and Soco International flagged potentially transformational drilling plans for the second half of 2010 yesterday as they unveiled mixed results despite higher oil prices. Soco said its exploration programme, already under way in Vietnam and the Democratic Republic of Congo, could quadruple its reserves base, while Premier said drilling plans [...]
Petropavlovsk cuts its gold targets by less than feared August 26, 2010 RUSSIAN miner Petropavlovsk cut its gold production target for the year by less than expected, helping to outweigh disappointing interim results. It cut its gold output guidance by around 40,000 ounces for the year, to 636,500 to 670,000 ounces. Many analysts had already factored in lower production, pushing the shares down 11 per cent since [...]
Glencore moves to divest $5bn of gold assets August 26, 2010 THE WORLD’S biggest commodities trader Glencore unveiled plans yesterday to spin off or list its gold assets, worth up to $5bn (£3.22bn), as it reported a surge in first-half profits due to strong metals prices. Swiss-based Glencore has also dropped the idea of finding a partner for its Prodeco coal assets, a source close to [...]