Ent One hit shows hike revenue 30pc May 25, 2010 ENTERTAINMENT One saw revenues jump a staggering 30 per cent, buoyed by hit franchises Twilight and Peppa Pig. The children’s cartoon starring Peppa brought in almost £100m in sales, including revenue from a lucrative range of children’s toys. It has a number of major programmes in the pipeline, including Stephen King collaboration Haven, a version [...]
Homeserve looks to foreign expansion after revenue hike May 25, 2010 HOME insurance giant Homeserve says aggressive international expansion will fuel further revenue hikes after it smashed analyst expectations yesterday. Its full-year figures showed revenue growth of 16 per cent and Ebitda up 10 per cent. It also upped its dividend by almost a quarter. Chief executive Richard Harpin told City A.M.: “I have been at [...]
3 unveils iPad price plan as competition hots up May 25, 2010 AS Apple’s smash hit iPad prepares to launch in the UK this Friday, mobile carrier 3 announced details of its competitive Sim only price plan for the device. The contract-free offer allows users to connect to use internet on the go from just £7.50 a month, for 1GB of data usage. It also has a [...]
Inquiry into leaks in Rajaratnam case May 25, 2010 FEDERAL investigators are examining possible improper leaks about the federal insider trading case against Raj Rajaratnam, the Galleon Group founder’s legal team said yesterday. The US Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility has opened an inquiry into allegations of misconduct by individuals in the US Attorney’s office and the FBI, a 11 May letter [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 25, 2010 INVESTEC Citigroup reiterates its “buy” rating for Investec and said that the bank’s client franchise businesses should benefit from an expected cyclical recovery in 2011. Moreover, Citi believes it is in a stronger competitive position than it was before the global financial crisis given the misfortunes of many of its peers. SANTANDER Evolution Securities maintains [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 25, 2010 Electra Private Equity Electra has appointed Colette Bowe as chairman after three years on the board. Bowe, an economist, began her career at the Department of Trade and Industry and then became chief executive of the Personal Investment Authority and chairman of European asset management at Robert Fleming. She is currently a board member at [...]
Ofgem warns on mergers May 25, 2010 ENERGY regulator Ofgem yesterday called for a change in energy network legislation, saying industry mergers could hamper its ability to regulate effectively. Ofgem said while some mergers could benefit customers, a reduction in the number of companies in the networks sector would make it more difficult to push for efficiencies and improve service for customers. [...]
Prudential and BA suffer as reputations sink May 25, 2010 YOUGOV’S BrandIndex scores show the insurance giant Prudential slipping since its announcement that it intends to acquire the Asian life insurance firm, AIA. BrandIndex has witnessed a dramatic drop in Prudential’s buzz score, which is measured by taking those who have heard something positive about a brand in the last week and subtracting those who [...]
Boost for plastics manufacturer Victrex as sales and profits surge May 25, 2010 HIGH-TECH plastics company Victrex today posted a three-fold increase in first-half pre-tax profit and raised its interim dividend by 23 per cent. The Lancashire-based polymers and thermoplastics manufacturer said pre-tax profits were £30.8m compared with £10.2m in the same period a year earlier, with revenues rising 88 per cent to £89.3m as underlying sales growth [...]
Coalition agenda set out in Queen’s Speech May 25, 2010 THE Queen has outlined the programme of laws the UK’s coalition wants to push through over the next 18 months. Measures include a shake-up in the electoral system with the prospect of five-year fix-termed parliaments. Plans to introduce ID cards will be ditched under the new coalition government, which said it was aiming to “rebalance” [...]