Health and hygiene arm boosts Reckitt Benckiser February 13, 2013 Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser beat expectations over the full year, as sales of health and hygiene products led growth. The FTSE 100 consumer giant posted net revenue of £9.6bn over 2012, and full-year adjusted earnings per share of 264.4p, up seven per cent. Chief executive Rakesh Kapoor has shifted focus to fast-growing emerging markets [...]
Crest Nicholson float values firm at £553m February 13, 2013 Crest Nicholson this morning set a price of 220p a share for its London IPO, valuing the company at £553m. The property group said today it expected to raise gross proceeds of around £224.9m, comprising a primary component of £56m and secondary sales of £168.9m from existing shareholders. The shares will start trading on the [...]
FTSE boosted by Barclays February 12, 2013 The FTSE 100 edged up in early trading, with Barclays topping the blue chip leader board. The bank this morning unveiled new cost-cutting measures in a restructuring that will see it axe 3,700 jobs this year. It rose more than 2.5 per cent in early deals. “Significant management changes have been implemented, a universal banking [...]
Inflation remains unchanged at 2.7 per cent in January February 12, 2013 UK inflation remained unexpectedly flat for the fourth consecutive month in January at 2.7 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. It marks the longest period in which consumer price inflation growth has remained unchanged. The biggest upward contribution came from an 8.5 per cent rise in the price of alcohol [...]
Glencore-Xstrata base metal output dips February 12, 2013 Commodities trader Glencore and Xstrata, in the final stages of a £56bn mega-merger, this morning posted a drop in combined output across key metals including copper. The two companies’ combined production figures, released by Glencore this morning, show a nine per cent annual drop in copper output in 2012, and a one per cent fall [...]
G4S takes £70m hit for Olympic contract February 12, 2013 Security firm G4S this morning said it had agreed a £70m loss on the Olympic contract after reaching a settlement with Games organisers. G4S was rocked last year when just weeks before the London Games it admitted it could not recruit the necessary 10,400 security staff needed, and an extra 4,700 military troops had to [...]
Barclays to axe 3,700 jobs in strategic restructuring February 12, 2013 Barclays is to axe at least 3,700 jobs across the company this year, in a bid to reduce the bank’s cost base by £1.7bn in 2015 as part of a strategic restructuring announced this morning. Within the job cuts, 1,800 will come from the corporate and investment bank and 1,900 will come from within the [...]
Mining and banking shares boost FTSE February 11, 2013 The leading share index was modestly up in early deals, as mining and banking shares boosted the FTSE 100. Russian steelmaker Evraz rose 1.77 per cent. Miner Eurasian Natural Resources was up almost 1.7 per cent in early deals. Last week the Kazakh-focused miner soared more than nine per cent as it reported a jump [...]
Dutch property group Wereldhave to exit UK February 11, 2013 Dutch property investor Wereldhave said this morning it would exit the UK property market and spend up to €400m (£339m) on acquisitions in the next three years. The property company has sold off most of its UK portfolio for £243m, four per cent below book value. Following these disposals, its UK assets will comprise a [...]
Refining margins rise at Essar Energy February 11, 2013 India-focused Essar Energy this morning reported a jump in refining margins for the three months to December, thanks to a major expansion in refining capacity at its Vadinar plant. Refining margins at Vadinar over the quarter jumped 246 per cent to $9.75 (£6.18) a barrel, up from $2.82 over the same quarter last year, thanks [...]
