De Le Rue share price dips but boss Martin Sutherland defiant on firm’s future May 27, 2015 De Le Rue boss Martin Sutherland said he was “slightly surprised” at the decline in the company’s share price yesterday, after it announced a £40m drop in revenue during the year to 28 March. The banknote printer saw sales drop from £513.3m in the 2014 financial year to £472.1m, while pre-tax profit fell to [...]
HSS Hire share price edges back above tool firm’s list price May 27, 2015 Tool hire giant HSS saw its shares rise yesterday after reporting first-quarter trading in line with expectations. The company – which made its stock market debut in February – said it remains on track to open 50 new branches in the current financial year. Revenues in its first quarter came in at £72.5m, HSS reported – [...]
Rolls-Royce in €80m contract to deliver new British Army tanks May 27, 2015 Power systems manufacturer Rolls-Royce has signed an €80m (£57m) contract with General Dynamics European Land Systems to deliver 589 MTU Series 199 diesel engines for new British Army armoured vehicles. Delivery of the engines is to start in 2016, with the last engines to be delivered in 2022. According to Rolls-Royce, this will be the [...]
Plus500 shareholders vent fury as UK customers accounts stay frozen May 27, 2015 Under fire spreadbetter Plus500 was forced to defend itself against angry shareholders yesterday as it admitted all UK customers were frozen out of their accounts. The Israeli business, which has plummeted in value since the financial watchdog clamped down on its controversial customer recruitment practices, admitted in its annual meeting it has lost about $4m [...]
AG Barr sales lose fizz against Commonwealth games last year May 27, 2015 Irn-Bru maker AG Barr announced yesterday that it plans to expand its state-of-the-art canning plant at Milton Keynes to support future expansion, after reporting a decline in first quarter sales. The Tizer and Rubicon maker, which held its annual general meeting in Glasgow yesterday, said total group sales fell by 1.1 per cent in the [...]
UK M&A firms punching above their weight: Being bold, moving fast and paying cash key to takeover triumphs May 27, 2015 The study examined 265,000 deals over 20 years Companies pursuing aggressive merger and acquisition strategies deliver higher returns for shareholders than firms which act with more caution, a study finds. Businesses offering all-cash bids, and those that pursue overseas targets and avoid large transformational deals outperform their peers on a total shareholder return [...]
Plus500 share price gains as company defends “sustainable business model” May 27, 2015 Plus500's share price has risen by more than seven per cent in morning trading after the firm insisted it had a "sustainable business model" in a statement to the stock exchange. The Israeli-based spreadbetter is holding its annual general meeting today where it is expected to give further details about how recent freezes on some its [...]
Snapchat IPO: Founder Evan Spiegel reveals plans to take messaging app public May 27, 2015 Evan Spiegel, the co-founder and chief of the billion-dollar app Snapchat, has said the company is planning an IPO. "We need to IPO," the 24-year-old told a tech conference, ruling out an acquisition by a larger company. Spiegel did not divulge the time frame Snapchat is following to take the hugely popular app public, but [...]
Imperial Tobacco share price rises after $7.1bn purchase of Reynolds cigarette brands wins regulatory approval May 27, 2015 Imperial Tobacco's takeover of a number of cigarette and ecigarette brands from Reynolds American is set to go ahead after winning regulatory approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The British tobacco company entered into a purchase agreement for the brands as far back as July last year following Reynolds' $27bn (£17.5bn) takeover of Lorillard. [...]
Wizz Air profits and revenue soar to record success in 2015 May 27, 2015 Wizz Air has been flying high since it floated in February. The figures Eastern Europe's largest low-cost airline achieved record results in 2015, with profits up at €146m (£103m) for the 12 months to 31 March – a 67 per cent increase from €87m in 2014. Revenue also went up by 21 per cent [...]