WHAT DOES TIM CLARKE’S DEPARTURE MEAN FOR MITCHELLS & BUTLERS? May 21, 2009 JOHN BEAUMONT SINGERS “The resignation of Tim Clarke may be a bit of a shock to the market initially. He has been very good at guiding the strategy of the company since its demerger. But this does not change our thoughts that the company is well positioned to continue taking market share and is under-valued. [...]
Shanks seeks 71m in funds May 21, 2009 SHANKS, the waste management group, launched a massively discounted £71m cash call yesterday, saying it needed to cut its debt, and said its pre-tax profit was down 18 per cent to £33.9m. It will issue 158.7m new shares, giving two new shares for every three existing ones, at 45 pence each, around half the company’s [...]
JJB Sports looks forward to future after disastrous year May 21, 2009 JJB Sports yesterday revealed the full horror of the past year, posting a full-year loss of £189.2m. Executive chairman David Jones, the man who formerly led the clothes retailer Next in markedly better times, admitted that under its previous management the group came dangerously close to insolvency. And even at the moment nervousness over the [...]
Scottish eyes EDF’s UK power stations in its growth plans May 21, 2009 SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN, the energy group, announced its intention to expand yesterday, as it rounded up its debt refinancing project, and reported annual pre-tax profits of £1.25bn, up 2 per cent from £1.22bn last year. The UK’s second-biggest energy producer plans to seek European funding for a wind farm project in the Shetland Islands, which could power [...]
DEFENCE JOBS SLASHED May 21, 2009 WEAPONS tester QinetiQ said yesterday it was slashing 400 jobs, despite a 22 per cent hike in its full-year profits. It said it needed to axe the positions as it restructured its UK division. QinetiQ, like other defence companies, is suffering as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cuts its orders in the downturn. The MoD [...]
Mandelson warns of GM ‘pain’ May 21, 2009 Business Secretary Lord Mandelson warned yesterday there will be “painful change” after the takeover of GM Europe. He said whichever bidder wins GM’s British arm, Vauxhall, will be forced to cut costs and consolidate. He added he was working hard to secure the future of Vauxhall’s plants. Italian carmaker Fiat and Canadian parts maker Magna [...]
Microsoft pulls hearing request May 21, 2009 Microsoft has withdrawn its request for an oral hearing into EU charges that it sought to thwart rivals by tying its Web browser to its Windows operating system. “We will now consider Microsoft’s reply to the statement of objections without a hearing,” the European Commission said. The Commission is tasked with ensuring that companies do [...]
Xerox announces new boss May 21, 2009 Xerox said yesterday that Anne Mulcahy, who has been credited with revitalising the world’s top supplier of digital printers and document management services, will retire as chief executive in July and be replaced by Ursula Burns. Burns will be one of the few women chief executives in America’s Fortune 500 group of companies.
Tough times not over yet, warns Close May 21, 2009 MERCHANT bank Close Brothers yesterday warned market conditions remain challenging as it published a third-quarter trading update, the first since Preben Prebensen started his tenure as chief executive at the beginning of April. Close said its asset management division had been hit by reduced management fees and lower margins on asset income in the low [...]
Higher oil prices push TNK-BP into black May 21, 2009 TNK-BP returned to profit in the first quarter, it said yesterday, while analysts predicted other Russian oil majors would follow as higher oil prices and a drop in export taxes reversed losses sustained last year. TNK-BP, half-owned by BP, posted a first-quarter net profit of $747m (£471m), down 58 per cent year-on-year, as lower crude [...]