Ferrari’s greenest car March 2, 2010 FERRARI yesterday presented its first hybrid car – the experimental model HY-KERS – at the Geneva Motor Show. It said it had applied Formula One technology for a greener, but no less sporty, ride. The new car will see less fuel use, lower CO2 emissions – and a new breed of Ferrari owners plugging in [...]
WH Ireland in the red March 2, 2010 STOCKBROKER WH Ireland remained in the red over the past financial year despite a nascent pick-up in activity in the small cap broking sector, though the firm insisted yesterday the worst of its woes are behind it. WH Ireland made a pre-tax loss on continuing operations of £2.08m over the year to November, slightly narrower [...]
Provident Financial’s profits drop March 2, 2010 SUBPRIME lender Provident Financial posted lower-than expected profit for the full year as customers were more cautious in their borrowing habits, a trend which is likely to continue in 2010, it warned. The firm, which specialises in loans to people who usually need to borrow less than £500 and pay it back in weekly instalments, [...]
Allied Irish posts first full-year loss March 2, 2010 ALLIED Irish Banks said it would try to sell assets or a stake in the group before approaching shareholders or the government for further capital, after posting its first ever full-year net loss. Allied Irish, in which the government last year acquired a 25 per cent indirect stake and which is also participating in a [...]
Paddy Power hit by punter-friendly year March 2, 2010 PADDY Power yesterday blamed a series of difficult-to-call sporting events for a year-on-year drop in profits. It reported turnover of €2.7bn (£2.5bn) but Ebitda dropped eight per cent year-on-year to €67.2m. The firm blamed the drop on a tough year for predicting sporting results. It said Cheltenham was particularly difficult to predict and its decision [...]
Pinsent to move in 2011 March 2, 2010 PINSENT Masons, the law firm, has completed its search for a new City of London office and will move into 30 Crown Place in early 2011. Comprising 197,000 sq ft, the 16 storey building, near Liverpool Street, will be the largest in Pinsent Masons’ international network of offices. The firm said it had taken a [...]
Admiral sees revenues rise 18pc to £1.1bn March 2, 2010 INSURANCE group Admiral has seen record growth after breaking the £1bn revenue barrier at the same time as posting double-digit growth in UK profits. Income for 2009 reached £1.07bn, marking an 18 per cent increase from 2008 when turnover came in at £910m. Chief executive Henry Engelhardt said the group’s results were driven by the [...]
Coventry posts a £75m operating profit in 2009 March 2, 2010 COVENTRY Building Society saw operating profits during 2009 climb to £75m after the UK’s third largest building society took a healthy share of the market. The UK based building society saw its operating profits rise by four per cent from the £71.7m it posted in 2008, while it’s pre-tax profits for 2009 also reached £56.2m. [...]
JLT: We have outperformed our US rivals March 2, 2010 JARDINE Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has seen double-digit growth in 2009 revenue and profits as the Lloyd’s of London listed insurer said it will avoid making any large acquisitions. Revenue for the group climbed to £612.9m, marking a 14 per cent increase on 2008 when income came in at £536.1m. Likewise, profits before tax reached £102m [...]
Foreign firms boost cash to buy UK peers March 2, 2010 THE amount of money spent by overseas firms on acquiring UK companies surged in the fourth quarter of last year to £13.8bn from £4bn in the previous three months, official data showed yesterday. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed however that the number of transactions had remained broadly unchanged, Significant acquisitions of UK?firms [...]