Bottom Line: Too much sweetener leaves a bitter aftertaste for investors February 13, 2014 IN THE three-and-a-half years since Tate & Lyle sold its iconic sugar and golden syrup business to American Sugar Refining, investors have had a fairly sweet ride. Since its refocus as an agribusiness – manufacturing sweeteners, corn syrups, dietary fibres and texturants – shares have risen by a third, and as recently as November management [...]
Rexam expands into Saudi Arabia February 13, 2014 Beverage cans maker Rexam yesterday said it bought a 51 per cent stake in Saudi Arabia’s United Arab Can Manufacturing, a supplier to The Coca-Cola Co, for $122m (£73.4m) as part of its strategy to expand in emerging markets. Rexam, which makes cans for Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Heineken, said UAC’s plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, [...]
Lancashire results disappointing February 13, 2014 Shares in insurer Lancashire Holdings took a tumble yesterday after it announced disappointing results for 2013. The group recorded a pre-tax profit of $218.1m, down from $236.8m the year before. Despite this, total net revenue rose to $642.6m from $639.6m in 2012 but this was offset by higher insurance losses. Group chief executive Richard Brindle [...]
Growth in train at Hogg Robinson February 13, 2014 Corporate travel specialist Hogg Robinson has seen a fresh rise in train bookings for UK business trips, though air travel has been slow to improve. The firm’s public and private sector clients have been rushing to travel to meetings by rail, in an early sign of economic confidence that finance boss Phil Harrison hopes will [...]
Rio Tinto hikes dividend after slashing costs February 13, 2014 RIO TINTO chief executive Sam Walsh proved his mettle with the miner’s full-year results yesterday, which showed higher earnings and production, larger-than-expected cost savings and a 15 per cent dividend increase. Walsh has slashed costs and divested non-core assets at the FTSE 100 Anglo-Australian firm since he took up the role a year ago, as [...]
Amec rises on Foster Wheeler bid February 13, 2014 ENGINEERING firm Amec plans to issue $800m (£481m) notes this year to part-finance its acquisition of Foster Wheeler, as it said yesterday that it had made a definitive $3.3bn offer for its US rival. The FTSE 100-quoted company could still be usurped by a rival bid, but chief financial officer Ian McHoul told City A.M. [...]
EDF Energy rakes in £1.7bn from UK unit as nuclear output grows February 13, 2014 FRENCH energy giant EDF yesterday said that its UK earnings rose by 1.4 per cent to £1.69bn last year, as the company’s nuclear production reached an eight-year high. The results did not give a breakdown of profit margins for the firm’s UK domestic supply business. “Our financial performance means we can make the big investments [...]
Imperial Tobacco considering a market listing for its Logista unit February 13, 2014 IMPERIAL Tobacco led the FTSE 100 risers yesterday following the announcement that it is considering an initial public offering (IPO) for its European logistics division. Madrid-based Logista distributes Imperial’s cigarettes in countries including France, Spain and Italy but also has non-tobacco customers. Last year it recorded revenue of £8.3bn and an adjusted operating profit of [...]
Gem Diamond sparkles after mega discovery February 13, 2014 GEM DIAMONDS shares sparkled yesterday after the firm said it had recovered two white diamonds of around 160 carat each from its Letseng mine in Lesotho at the end of last month. The firm said the two rough diamonds are expected to fetch top prices at a February tender. Shares closed 2.7 per cent higher.
Spending shoots up as visitors made 30m trips to UK last year February 13, 2014 MORE than 30m visits were made to the UK during 2013, a six per cent boost from the same figures in the previous year. In total, new Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that 32.9m trips were made to the country last year. Visitors spent £21bn while staying in the country, a 13 per cent [...]
