Alliance Trust gets a year to show results as Elliott Advisors gives 12 months’ notice April 28, 2015 Investment firm Alliance Trust has been put on 12-months’ notice by activist investor Elliott Advisors to show results or be forced to change its strategy. In a vicious battle over the past month, both sides have been rallying support among shareholders, with Elliott pushing for three new directors to join the board, and Alliance [...]
BP finance boss Brian Gilvary commits to dividend as bid talk continues April 28, 2015 BP finance chief Brian Gilvary yesterday reconfirmed the company’s commitment to sustaining its dividend payout while shrugging off questions about potential bids for the oil giant. The group announced an interim dividend of 10 cents, or 6.67p, per share yesterday, and Gilvary said keeping the shareholder payout at the top of its agenda had [...]
Santander profits rise as it wins over current account customers April 28, 2015 Santander UK’s profits rose sharply in the first quarter as the lender continued to win customers from rivals. The high street bank yesterday reported profits of £470m for the three-month period, up 13 per cent on the year. It is engaged in a fierce battle with Halifax for new current account customers. Both brands offer [...]
Kier Group will raise £340m to pay for Mouchel April 28, 2015 Construction group Kier will control 30 per cent of the UK’s road network if its proposed deal with international infrastructure firm Mouchel goes ahead. The FTSE 250 company yesterday confirmed that it has entered into a conditional agreement to buy Mouchel in a deal worth £265m. Shares in Kier Group went up by [...]
Balfour Beatty sells Edinburgh stake for £72m to specialist fund manager Equitix April 28, 2015 The transformation of infrastructure group Balfour Beatty moved forward again yesterday, as the company announced the sale of its 50 per cent interest in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh public-private partnership for £72m. Balfour’s investment is being bought by funds managed by specialist fund manager Equitix, and the sale is expected to complete in June. [...]
GoPro share price dips despite huge rise in profits April 28, 2015 The camera-maker had a great start to the year, but its results have failed to impress investors. The figures During the first three months of 2015, GoPro's profits went up to $16.8m (£10.95m), or 11 cents per share. This is almost double the value posted in the first quarter of 2014, and exceeds analyst expectations [...]
Twitter share price plummets as results are leaked early and fail to meet expectations April 28, 2015 Twitter had a disappointing first quarter, and this was made even worse by the accidental leakage of its results. The figures In the first three months of 2015, Twitter experienced a 74 per cent rise in revenue to $436m (£284m), and had earnings of seven cents per share. This failed to meet analyst expectations of [...]
Endurance International Group’s share price is tanking after Gotham City compared it to Quindell, Gowex April 28, 2015 Gotham City Research has got investors' attention with a note about Endurance International Group (EIGI), with a target share price of “$0.00 per share”. The shadowy analyst firm posted an intriguing tweet earlier today saying it had found a company “that gets us just as excited as Quindell and Gowex did”. https://twitter.com/GothamResearch/status/593045486216425472 [...]
RBS spin-off Williams & Glyn loses chief executive John Maltby ahead of IPO April 28, 2015 Williams & Glyn, the challenger bank being carved out from RBS as a condition of the latter's bailout during the financial crisis, has lost its chief executive before it has even launched. John Maltby will be replaced by Jim Brown, currently chief executive of Ulster Bank. Maltby will take up his former role [...]
Standard Chartered profit dives 22 per cent in the first quarter April 28, 2015 British bank Standard Chartered has said that profit before tax fell by 22 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, as it quashed speculation that it could be eyeing a move east. Pre-tax profit fell to $1.47bn (£96.2) in the first three months of the year, largely due to the performance of its corporate and [...]