International Power profits March 9, 2010 INTERNATIONAL Power yesterday warned that energy markets would remain subdued in the UK and the US, though strong demand from Asia and Australia boosted the firm’s full-year profits by 10 per cent. International Power, which has interests in over 45 power stations around the world, said pre-tax profits surged by 13 per cent to £1.3bn [...]
Shanks walks away from its takeover talks with Carlyle March 9, 2010 RHIAN NICHOLSON INTERACTIVE INVESTOR SHARES in waste management group Shanks slumped by as much as 20 per cent yesterday after it pulled out of takeover talks with US private equity group Carlyle. The FTSE 250 group says it is unwilling to recommend a final price of 120p cash per share to shareholders, claiming the £475m [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF INTERNATIONAL POWER’S PERFORMANCE? March 9, 2010 COLIN TYLER | OC&C STRATEGY “I have to say, I’m not terribly surprised at the results. They have benefited significantly from increasing regulation on the compliance that generates revenue. Also, a lot of previous contracts are continuing to expand. It shows that a lot of the contracts had benefited from additional revenue.” LAKIS ATHANASIOU | [...]
F&C is poised to buy Austrian C-Quadrat March 9, 2010 UK FUND manager F&C Asset Management is poised for a takeover of Austrian rival C-Quadrat, as its annual results for 2009 are published today. F&C announced yesterday that it could offer around £11.33 per share for the Austrian asset manager, adding that any offer would be dependant on C-Quadrat’s founders Alexander Schütz and Thomas Rie [...]
Apple’s iPhones break – but we still love them March 9, 2010 WHAT a remarkable brand Apple is! My daughters and I all have iPhones, and all of them are broken – yet we still love our beautiful gadget. A friend of mine who is an avid advocate for all things Apple, and who relies on his iPhone every hour of the day, was shocked when it [...]
Shore Capital returns to profitability March 9, 2010 BOUTIQUE investment bank Shore Capital Group swung strongly back into the black over 2009, boosted by a revival in trading activity on the markets. Shore’s adjusted pre-tax profit came in at £14.6m for the year to December, compared to a loss of £1.3m in 2008. Revenue almost doubled to £39m. The group said its equity [...]
BA extends talks over strikes March 9, 2010 Unions have agreed to extend a deadline for talks aimed at averting a British Airways cabin crew strike. Unite union and BA will continue talks until noon today. Union members have voted twice for strike action in a row over pay and working practices. The extension to the TUC-chaired discussions has raised hopes that a [...]
Hallmark’s revenues fell in 2009 March 9, 2010 Hallmark Cards’s revenue fell roughly seven per cent to $4bn (£2.67bn) last year, the greeting cards maker has revealed. Sales dropped amid poor economic conditions and the new trend of shopping for birthday and holiday greetings on the internet. Consolidated revenue was down from just over £4.3bn in 2008. The company axed around 1,000 jobs [...]
UK coal shares rise on merger approach March 9, 2010 BRITAIN’S largest coal mining company UK Coal said yesterday it was assessing a merger approach which would reduce its exposure to “the volatile performance of its deep mines”. The coal miner emphasised that it hadn’t received a cash offer from its major shareholder or any other party. It denied reports that John Whittaker’s Peel Holdings [...]
Npower follows in footsteps of rivals as cuts gas prices March 9, 2010 GERMAN energy provider Npower has been forced to follow its competitors and cut household gas prices by seven per cent from March 26. This month has seen a string of gas providers reduce prices and out of the “big six” only EDF Energy and Scottish Power have yet to make the move. Eon cut its [...]