Shed Media profits are up April 7, 2010 Shed Media posted a 24 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profit, helped by lower finance costs, maintained its final dividend and said 2010 had begun well. Shed, which produced the Oscar-winning documentary “Man on Wire”, said it launched a new drama series “Garrow’s Law” in the UK, while it grew business in the United [...]
Chloride full-year sales strong April 7, 2010 Power protection firm Chloride Group said its full-year sales were higher than last year and that its order book for the current fiscal year was strong. The company, whose products protect against power shortages at venues like Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and the Emirates stadium, said performance for the year ended 31 March was in line [...]
GM hints at moving to profit in 2010 April 7, 2010 CARMAKER General Motors posted a net loss for 2009, but said it was possible to make a profit this year and that it was laying the foundation to return to public ownership. GM reported a $4.3bn (£2.82bn) 2009 net loss covering the period from its emergence from bankruptcy in July through to the end of [...]
Election hits property market April 7, 2010 INVESTMENT in central London commercial property has fallen by 50 per cent in the first quarter of this year, according to figures released by property adviser Cushman & Wakefield. Just £1.63bn was invested across the City of London, Docklands and West End, down significantly from the £3.096bn in the final quarter of 2009. It is [...]
AA workers back strike action over pensions cap April 7, 2010 Workers at the private equity-owned AA breakdown service have voted to hold the first strike in the company’s 105-year history in a row over pensions, their union said yesterday. The Independent Democratic Union (IDU) said 57 per cent of thoseballoted supported the strike to protest against plans to limit theirpensions. The turnout was 87 per [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 7, 2010 MAN GROUP Execution Nobel has initiated a “buy” recommendation on Man Group as it says the global investor is well placed to build its long short capability with $1.5bn of surplus cash and its track record of successful acquisitions. Execution Nobel says that Man Group’s performance will bounce back and the risk reward ratio is [...]
Renault’s three way car tie-up could give £3.5bn cost savings in five years April 7, 2010 Renault, Nissan and Daimler will swap stakes and jointly develop cars in a tie-up that could lead to combined savings of $5.35 bn (£3.5bn) over five years. Renault and Daimler have been discussing cooperation plans for some months as carmakers worldwide seek partnerships that boost their competitiveness by sharing technology investment costs and gaining scale [...]
WHAT DO ANALYSTS THINK OF BREWER MARSTON’S FIGURES? April 7, 2010 PAUL HICKMAN | KCB PEEL HUNT We believe that Marston’s is among those companies likely to benefit from the World Cup. Management estimates that every England match is worth £0.25m in turnover, and the tenancies, with their high concentration of community locations, should pull in extra business. But it would be imprudent to upgrade ahead [...]
Marston’s sales benefit from appetite for food April 7, 2010 PUB group Marston’s saw first half revenues rise after being boosted by strong food sales. The company, which has 2,200 pubs across Britain, said sales at its managed pubs open for more than a year were up 1.4 per cent in the 26 weeks to 3 April. During the half year, food sales were up [...]
Thiam set for £5m payday April 7, 2010 TIDJANE Thiam, the architect of the biggest M&A deal of the year so far, Prudential’s audacious £23.4bn takeover of the Asian assets of AIG, is in line for a remuneration package worth up to £5.22m if he delivers on the insurer’s performance targets. Thiam could receive shares worth up to £2.7m as part of a [...]