Daisy looks to milk data services after half-year loss nears £4m December 3, 2013 DAISY Group, the business communications service provider, saw a 2.5 per cent drop in its share price yesterday after its losses widened from £3.59m to £3.9m during the six months to 30 September. Chief executive Matthew Riley told City A.M. that the losses are part of a wider market trend: “Mainly due to the fixed [...]
Northgate plots more branches December 3, 2013 VAN HIRE firm Northgate is looking to open more branches in Britain next year after splashing out on new vehicles. Northgate said it has added 2,800 vehicles to its fleet in the last six months and launched two new outlets, with three more due by April. The FTSE 250 firm’s Spanish business, which has suffered [...]
ITE Group beats expectations as profit takes off in new markets December 3, 2013 EXHIBITIONS organiser ITE Group yesterday reported that its full-year profit beat expectations, helped by contributions from acquisitions and a jump in third-quarter revenue. ITE’s profits rose 8.3 per cent to £43.9m as the company expands in developing markets. “The group has now firmly established itself in the Asian exhibition markets through its investments in ABEC [...]
Petrofac signs pact with Nigeria December 3, 2013 FTSE 100-listed oil and gas services provider Petrofac yesterday said that, along with African oil and gas explorer Taleveras Energy Resources, it has signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of Nigeria’s state oil company. The agreement, which is extendable, allows the parties to explore options including [...]
Energy deals boost Sweett profit December 3, 2013 Aim-listed construction and property consultancy Sweett Group yesterday posted a 75 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £2.8m for the six months to 30 September. The firm raised its dividend to 0.5p per share from 0.3p in the same period last year. “Our order book now stands at £101m and in addition we have [...]
Stratex completes Tembo funding December 3, 2013 Stratex International, the Aim-listed gold and base metals explorer, yesterday said it has completed its private placement in Canada-headquartered gold explorer Tembo Gold Corporation. Stratex’s subsidiary Stratex Gold has been issued 17.5m shares in Africa-focused Tembo priced at C$0.10 (6p) per share, in return for a subscription of C$1.75m. “We are delighted that the equity [...]
City Moves for 04 December 2013 | Who’s switching jobs December 3, 2013 Baker Tilly The professional services firm has appointed Suneel Gupta as partner in its South Asia advisory group, with a focus on the UK Asian business market and cross-border work between India and the UK. He was previously a partner at BDO, and qualified at PwC. State Street Global Advisors State Street’s asset management business [...]
Best of the Brokers for 04 December 2013 December 3, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SMITH & NEPHEW Morgan Stanley has raised its rating from equal-weight to overweight and raised its target to 904p from 757p. The broker thinks new products will offset a decline in market share and that the company will reap the benefits of a cost-cutting [...]
London Report: Steepest fall for the FTSE since mid-November December 3, 2013 MINERS and oil companies led Britain’s FTSE 100 lower yesterday as strong economic data prompted investors to bet that equity-friendly monetary stimulus would soon be reduced. The FTSE 100 closed down 62.90 points, or one per cent, at 6,532.43 points, its sharpest one-day fall since mid-November. The blue-chip index has fallen roughly two per cent [...]
New York Report: Lack of festive cheer sends stocks down December 3, 2013 THE DOW and the S&P 500 fell for a third straight day yesterday, dropping from record levels in a broad decline as investors took profits amid signs of a weak holiday shopping season. Retail and consumer discretionary stocks were among the weakest of the day. Amazon slipped two per cent to $384.66 and was one [...]