Babcock is boosted by MoD deal March 30, 2010 DEFENCE services group Babcock International yesterday said a recently agreed contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would boost the value of its order book by 40 per cent and that second half trade had been strong. “Following the agreement with the MoD, the group’s order book will be increased by about £2.5bn to around £8.5bn,” [...]
Mouchel hit by Middle East strife March 30, 2010 BUSINESS services group Mouchel posted a 28 per cent fall in first-half profit yesterday, hit by the downturn in the Middle East and uncertainty on public sector contract awards ahead of the general election. Mouchel, which maintains highways, monitors the cleanliness of the drinking water and manages local government IT systems, yesterday reported a pre-tax [...]
Axa agrees £9bn takeover plan from NAB March 30, 2010 FRANCE’S AXA SA accepted a A$14bn (£8.5bn) takeover plan from National Australia Bank for its AXA Asia Pacific unit yesterday, moving closer to end a four-month takeover tussle. With AXA SA finally on NAB’s side, all eyes will now be on whether the competition watchdog approves Australia’s second-largest financial services deal, almost two months after [...]
Cranswick sales sizzling March 30, 2010 BRITISH pork supplier Cranswick said it expected full-year results at the upper end of market forecasts, helped by higher sales of bacon and a recent acquisition. The company, which supplies fresh pork and gourmet sausages to Britain’s food retailing and manufacturing sectors, said total sales rose 22 per cent for the year ending 31 March, [...]
StanChart to raise £500m in India listing March 30, 2010 Standard Chartered will raise up to $750m (£500m) in an audacious Indian listing. It plans to issue Indian Depositary Receipts (IDRs) – rupee-denominated certificates showing ownership of shares in Standard Chartered – the first such offering in Asia’s third-largest economy. It filed a draught prospectus with Indian regulators yesterday and hopes to complete the listing [...]
Miners cheer at prospect of higher prices March 30, 2010 ANNUAL iron ore fixed-price deals look to be teetering on the edge of extinction following BHP Billiton and Vale’s completion of a shorter quarterly contract with Asian steelmakers. The quarterly contracts were settled at $110-$120 (£72-79) a tonne next quarter, a substantial increase from the 2009-10 annual contracts, which were settled at around $60. Steelmakers [...]
Kazakhmys’ revenues and earnings take a tumble on heavy writedowns March 30, 2010 KAZAKHMYS, the Kazakh miner, recorded lower full year profits on the back of heavy writedowns. Revenue fell 27 per cent to $2.4bn and net profit was down 39 per cent in 2009 from $909m (£808) to $554m, the miner said yesterday. It posted a 50 per cent fall in consolidated annual earnings per share (EPS), [...]
Punch Taverns chief resigns March 30, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest pubs firm Punch Taverns said yesterday chief executive Giles Thorley is to stand down from the board after seven years at the helm during which the company’s debt rose to record levels. Punch, which has over 7,500 pubs across Britain, said it was well advanced in the process of appointing a successor as [...]
Successor has huge in-tray March 30, 2010 OUTGOING Punch boss Giles Thorley deserves some praise for his stewardship of the pubs firm through the recession. He was quick to cut the group’s dividend and ruthlessly disposed of underperforming sites, even when they had symbolic importance. The recent share placing was also a broad success. But there is no getting away from it: [...]
JKX plans to double production March 30, 2010 JKX, the oil and gas producer, reported a six per cent rise in production in 2009 and promised a year of growth as it looks to nearly double its production by 2011. It said it plans to invest $230m (£152m) in its Russian and Ukrainian operations in 2010, following a fundraising in January. This year [...]