Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to abandon Australian stock listing January 9, 2014 RUPERT Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has started the process to remove its listing from Australia’s stock exchange, a move that the company said was designed to simplify its operating structure and cut compliance costs. Following the move 21st Century Fox’s shares will be listed solely on the US Nasdaq exchange and it is expected to [...]
Gulf Keystone steps up crude output as it exports to Turkey January 9, 2014 AIM-LISTED oil and gas explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) yesterday showed how much progress it has made in developing the Shaikan oil field in Kurdistan, as it steps up its crude oil exports. The firm began exporting crude oil from the Shaikan field in December. A three-year court battle over ownership of the field ended [...]
Serco awarded extension to run Boris Bikes January 9, 2014 SERCO, the beleaguered outsourcing firm under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), yesterday said it has won a £38m two-year contract extension with Transport for London (TfL) to manage and operate the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme. The original contract to design, build and operate the service – commonly known as Boris Bikes, named after [...]
SIG expects profit to increase on British residential construction January 9, 2014 BUILDING materials supplier SIG has said it expects full-year underlying pre-tax profit to be no less than £85.8m, helped by cost cuts and a recovery in the British residential construction market. SIG, which supplies insulation products, materials for roofs, and interior fittings, said it expected construction activity in the UK residential market to remain buoyant, [...]
Grafton selling more building supplies in Britain and Ireland January 9, 2014 BUILDERS’ merchant Grafton posted an eight per cent rise in annual revenues to £1.8bn yesterday, as demand for DIY and building equipment started to recover. Grafton, which moved its primary stock listing from Dublin to London in October, said its UK merchanting business posted a 3.2 per cent like-for-like rise in revenues, or a total [...]
Porsche and Audi break records as demand for luxury cars rises January 9, 2014 PORSCHE and Audi have both posted annual sales jumps, benefiting from the global surge in demand for luxury cars and giving a boost to parent firm Volkswagen. More than 162,000 Porsches were delivered last year, up 15 per cent on 2012 and a company record. In the US, the marque’s biggest market, sales were up [...]
Heritage output rises in Nigeria January 9, 2014 Energy explorer Heritage Oil yesterday said production from its OML 30 oil field in Nigeria has reached over 50,000 barrels of oil per day, in part benefiting from production from the Uzere West Field restarting in December after two years. The London-listed company said multi-well drilling campaigns are planned to begin this summer in Papua [...]
Bunzl buys three overseas firms January 9, 2014 FTSE 100-listed distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl yesterday said it completed three acquisitions in the US, Germany and Brazil at the end of 2013. The three acquired companies sell personal protection equipment and posted revenues last year of $48m (£29.2m), €6m (£4.9m) and 18m Brazilian real (£4.6m) respectively. Bunzl did not reveal specific deal values [...]
Shanta Gold output hits target January 9, 2014 East Africa-focused miner Shanta Gold yesterday said it had produced 64,054 ounces of gold in 2013, marginally above the guidance of 63,000 ounces. The amount of materials going through the processing plant has reached the target 1,275 tonnes per day, resulting in consistent gold output of around 6,500 ounces per month in the fourth quarter. [...]
City Moves for 10 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 9, 2014 Grant ThorntonThe business advisory firm has announced the appointment of Richard Milnes as a partner in its financial services tax team. He joins from EY, and has previously worked in international tax for Shell and as head of tax planning at Lloyds. CouttsThe bank has recruited Matthew Spencer as executive director and head of intermediaries [...]