Stagecoach is on track with 39pc profit rise December 5, 2012 SHARES in Stagecoach rose 5.9 per cent yesterday to 308.7p after the bus and train operator posted a 39 per cent rise in half-year profit. The firm said revenues rose 8.5 per cent to £1.4bn in the six months to the end of October, pushing pre-tax profit from £88.7m to £123.7m. Stagecoach’s train business, which [...]
EasyJet growth sends McCall’s pay up as airline alters targets December 5, 2012 EASYJET boss Carolyn McCall earned almost £2m last year, a rise of 28 per cent, as the budget airline looks to overhaul its bonus structure at the behest of investors. In a year when the firm reported a 28 per cent rise in profits to £317m and a doubling of its dividend, McCall was awarded [...]
Fastjet soars on Emirates tie-up talks December 5, 2012 LOW-COST African carrier Fastjet is in partnership talks with Emirates, the firm said yesterday. “Talks are at an early stage but this represents a great opportunity for both parties,” said Fastjet chief executive Ed Winter. Fastjet has wasted no time since launching its first commercial flight in Tanzania last month, starting discussions to buy South [...]
Diageo cheers vodka sales as it mulls buy out of Ketel One December 5, 2012 SPIRITS group Diageo yesterday said it would consider buying out the 50 per cent of premium vodka brand Ketel One it does not already own if it came on the market. The owner of Smirnoff vodka paid $900m (£559.1m) in 2008 to acquire half of Ketel One and form an exclusive marketing and distribution joint [...]
New Year present for Polymetal investors as firm plans dividend December 5, 2012 FTSE 100 miner Polymetal said yesterday it will pay its first ever special dividend, handing back $191m (£118m) to investors after solid financial results. Polymetal will pay a special dividend of $0.50 per ordinary share on 21 January next year. Chief executive Vitaly Nesis said: “The implementation of our new dividend policy reflects the importance [...]
Guy Grainger to head Jones Lang December 5, 2012 Guy Grainger was yesterday named as UK chief executive of real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle from next year. Grainger, currently retail lead director and a UK board member, will replace Andrew Gould, who has been promoted into a senior regional EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) role. Gould will take up the new [...]
SSP secures £70m Norway deal December 5, 2012 Food and drink provider SSP said yesterday it had expanded its business at Norway’s Trondheim Airport after it secured a £70m deal to operate six new outlets from next autumn. SSP, which specialises in outlets in travel locations, said the new outlets would include coffee shop Caffè Ritazza, Pizza Hut and convenience store Point. SSP, [...]
Watchdog’s Libor control plan unveiled December 5, 2012 REGULATORS will monitor Libor submissions and check up on potential conflicts of interest of those handing over the interest rate data, under new plans published by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday. The approved persons regime – which regulates who can take senior banking roles – will also be amended to include bankers responsible for [...]
City A.M. | MPC votes 7-2 against any new policy December 5, 2012 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “No new quantitative easing and no further cut to rates. Quantitative easing (QE) needs to be halted – despite worrying signs that the economy has ground to a halt again, not least dire purchasing managers’ index (PMI) business survey figures – because it is a key contributor to the rise [...]
Treasury could owe the Bank of England £60bn over QE losses December 5, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT’S plan to take £35bn from the Bank of England’s quantitative easing (QE) scheme could “reverse with a vengeance”, analysts warned yesterday, with the state potentially owing the Bank £60bn. The QE programme has built up a cash surplus that the Treasury is taking to reduce new gilt issuance. But if the price of [...]