Dev Secs cuts half-year losses October 23, 2012 DEVELOPMENT Securities yesterday said it has reduced its half year loss to £0.7m from £1.3m the same time last year and said it was optimistic about its strategy of realising gains from its property portfolio. The developer said it had generated returns of £11.9m in the six months to 31 August from disposal of assets [...]
Production jump at Dragon Oil October 23, 2012 ■ Aim-listed Dragon Oil yesterday announced a 13 per cent increase in production over the third quarter to 69,600 barrels of oil per day, up from 61,500 barrels last year. Over the three months to September, three wells were put into production. Around $91m (£57m) was spent on infrastructure and drilling over the period. The [...]
Capital Drilling warns on revenue October 23, 2012 ■ Emerging market-focused Capital Drilling yesterday warned on its full-year revenue, as a result of industrial action in Egypt and a weaker than expected performance in Tanzania, sending its shares down 17 per cent to close at 39p. Capital Drilling derives 40 per cent of its revenues from these two key countries. The drilling company [...]
EU airlines must pay for delays October 23, 2012 ■ European Union airlines must pay compensation for delayed flights unless the delay was caused by circumstances beyond their control, the bloc’s highest court said. Travellers should be recompensed for delays of more than three hours, the European Union Court of Justice ruled yesterday, reaffirming a right established three years ago in a case involving [...]
Who’s switching jobs October 23, 2012 BT Dan Fitz has been appointed company secretary of BT Group. He is currently group general counsel, and replaces Andrew Parker. Fitz has also previously served as group general counsel at Misys, and held the same position at Cable & Wireless. BlueBay Asset Management Erich Gerth has been appointed global head of business development at [...]
Best of the Brokers October 23, 2012 DIRECT LINE Nomura has begun to cover the newly listed firm with a “reduce” rating and a target price of 174p. Nomura said it was confident in Direct Line, but this was already factored into the price. LLOYDS Ian Gordon at Investec has advised investors to sell the bank’s shares and “seek refuge” in Barclays, claiming [...]
FTSE 100 down while Trinity Mirror tumbles October 23, 2012 The blue chip index was down in early trading today, while Trinity Mirror sustained heavy losses on the FTSE All-Share. The newspaper publishing group lost 11.5 per cent in early trading, after four people filed legal claims accusing the group’s newspapers of hacking phones. Defence equipment firm Chemring fell 7.6 per cent, as it announced [...]
Trinity Mirror shares tumble on hacking claims October 23, 2012 Shares in newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror slumped this morning on claims that it was involved in phone hacking. A lawyer lodged the claims in court yesterday on behalf of Sven Goran-Eriksson and three others. The Daily Mirror publisher has previously denied any involvement with phone hacking. The publisher said in a statement today it had [...]
Whitbread boosted by Premier Inn and Costa October 23, 2012 Hotel and coffee shop operator Whitbread this morning posted a 10.6 per cent increase in first-half profit, boosted by its Premier Inn and Costa Coffee brands. Pre-tax profit for the leisure group came in at £193.4m over the six months to 30 August, up from £174.9m in the same period last year. Total sales at [...]
Mulberry warns on profits October 23, 2012 Luxury brand Mulberry this morning issued a profit warning, largely due to a fall in wholesale shipments over the half year to 30 September. Mulberry, which makes luxury leather handbags, said this morning that wholesale shipments to third parties were down four per cent over the period to £30m. As a result, it expects revenue [...]