Canary Wharf gets gleeful for Random Acts dance festival July 25, 2013 BALLET, contemporary, Irish and African dance and jazz performers have added a touch of glee to the gangways of Canary Wharf this week. The “Random Acts” are not an impromptu expression of joy at the market’s recent rallies, but part of the City of London Festival, which was spurred on by enthusiasm for cultural activity inspired [...]
Britvic and AG Barr drinks fly off the shelves July 25, 2013 SOFT drink makers AG Barr and Britvic reported sparkling sales yesterday thanks to their marketing campaigns and hotter weather boosting demand. Britvic, which this month walked away from merger talks with its smaller Scottish rival AG Barr despite an improved offer, said third quarter revenues rose four per cent to £316.3m. Simon Litherland, who took [...]
Wet European spring dampens SABMiller July 25, 2013 SABMILLER, the world’s second-largest beer maker, suffered a decline in lager sales during April to June, blaming Europe’s cold and damp spring earlier in the period and a cooler build-up to summer in the United States. The company, which derives two-thirds of its sales from emerging markets, said its lager volumes declined by one per [...]
Reed Elsevier triples 2013 share buyback July 25, 2013 PUBLISHING and events group Reed Elsevier beat forecasts for first-half earnings yesterday and reiterated its full-year outlook, saying it expected further revenue and profit growth this year. The group reported underlying sales growth of five per cent. In Europe, underlying sales were down 0.8 per cent. The Anglo-Dutch publisher said underlying adjusted operating profit grew [...]
General Motors tops forecasts July 25, 2013 GENERAL Motors posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday as the US carmaker narrowed its losses in Europe on aggressive cost-cutting and raised prices in North America. Net income in the second quarter fell to $1.2bn from $1.5bn a year earlier, hurt by higher costs related to the rollout of redesigned trucks and losses in Asia [...]
Shire’s stock at record high as revenue rebound ups growth July 25, 2013 BRITISH drugmaker Shire has raised its earnings outlook after product sales rebounded in the second quarter, marking the success of its efforts to reap profits from its specialist drug portfolio. Having missed market sales forecasts in May, Shire has returned to higher growth and now expects earnings to increase by a double-digit rate in 2013. [...]
Analyst Views | How are AG Barr and Britvic faring now that merger talks are off? July 25, 2013 NICOLA MALLARD INVESTECAs far as AG Barr is concerned we think it is a very sound company. They have plenty of scope to grow given their market share… For Britvic they are by and large already a national player. They look less attractive from a revenue perspective but they are working through the new strategy, [...]
Fullers, Mitchells & Butlers and Marston’s toast summer sales July 25, 2013 THREE of Britain’s pub companies yesterday raised their glasses to strong quarterly sales thanks to a summer of sport and the recent weeks of hot weather. Marston’s, which owns around 2,100 pubs including the Pitcher & Piano chain, said like-for-like sales at its destination and premium pubs jumped six per cent over the 10 weeks [...]
Unilever feeling more cautious July 25, 2013 UNILEVER has become more cautious about prospects for emerging markets, a big growth driver for the consumer goods company which yesterday reported underlying second-quarter sales expansion shy of market expectations. The Anglo-Dutch maker of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove skincare products said yesterday emerging markets’ growth was slowing as a result of broader [...]
New chief exec at Travis Perkins July 25, 2013 Travis Perkins, the building materials group, said yesterday its long-standing chief executive would retire in the new year, as it posted a 4.1 per cent rise in first-half profit. The firm said Geoff Cooper, chief executive since 2005, would step down as CEO on 1 January and as a director on 6 March. He will [...]