Stock Spirits warns that Polish duty increase will hit 2014 sales January 28, 2014 STOCK Spirits Group, the central and eastern European spirits producer that listed on the London Stock Exchange in October, warned that sales and earnings in 2014 would be hit by an expected increase in alcohol duty by Poland. The 15 per cent tax increase from 1 January was expected and the firm said that performance [...]
CTC Aviation flies into the US January 28, 2014 CTC Aviation, a UK-headquartered airline pilot training company, yesterday announced plans to expand in the US, opening a new crew training centre in Phoenix, Arizona. The firm, which was listed in the Sunday Times’ list of fastest growing UK private companies, is investing $7m in the move, which it says will expose it to the [...]
Europe car sales to end decline January 28, 2014 Europe is set to end six years of falling car sales in 2014 with a two per cent increase in passenger car registrations, the Association of European Carmakers (ACEA) said yesterday. New car registrations in the European Union fell 1.7 per cent last year to 11.85m, the lowest level since 1995, when the EU had [...]
Vimpelcom slashes its dividend January 28, 2014 Vimpelcom, Russia’s third biggest mobile operator, said it plans to slash its dividend to pay down debt piled up in an aggressive expansion drive, marking an unexpected policy shift that spooked shareholders and sent its shares down 13 per cent. Vimpelcom’s expansion into Africa, Asia and continental Europe left the group with more than $20bn [...]
City Moves for 29 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 28, 2014 KPMG The professional services firm has announced the appointment of Mike Walters as a partner and head of its financial risk management group. He was most recently at Barclays, where he was global head of compliance. Nikko Asset Management The asset management firm has made two senior appointments. Takuya Koyama has been appointed global head [...]
Amec-led consortium wins £590m deal for Azerbaijan gas field January 28, 2014 FTSE 100 listed Amec is the latest British company to become part of the multi-billion pound project to bring gas directly from Azerbaijan to Europe for the first time. A consortium led by the engineering giant has been awarded a $974m (£587.5m) contract by oil major BP, to help develop the Shah Deniz gas field [...]
RWE takes £2.7bn hit on power plant losses January 28, 2014 RWE, the German energy giant that owns UK supplier Npower, yesterday said it had taken a €3.3bn (£2.7bn) hit on its 2013 earnings, mainly due to losses from its coal and gas-fired power plants. The company said that around €2.9bn of the writedown is attributable to “the significant deterioration in earnings” from its European power [...]
Silver surprises at Fresnillo but gold production fails to glisten January 28, 2014 IT WAS a tale of two metals for Mexican-focused miner Fresnillo yesterday, as its quarterly update showed a decline in gold production but a strong silver performance. The FTSE 100-quoted firm’s share price slid over three per cent on the update, as a temporary explosives ban for two of its mines continued to impede gold [...]
Greencore sales lifted by boom in convenience January 28, 2014 BRITAIN’S fast-growing convenience market helped boost sales at sandwiches to Yorkshire puddings-maker Greencore. The group’s convenience arm, which makes products such as salads for retailers including Marks & Spencer, posted a 9.1 per cent jump in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 27 December. This helped boost overall sales by 7.2 per cent on [...]
Pfizer beats earnings guidance January 28, 2014 Pfizer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results yesterday, helped by higher sales of drugs for cancer, nerve pain and arthritis, and forecast 2014 earnings in line with Wall Street estimates. The biggest US drugmaker said it earned $2.57bn in the fourth quarter. That compared with $6.32bn in the year-earlier quarter, when the company recorded a $4.8bn gain [...]