Essar Energy to exit Kenya refinery October 3, 2013 India’s Essar Energy, which co-owns east Africa’s sole refinery in the port city of Mombasa, said yesterday it would sell its 50 per cent stake to Kenya’s government after abandoning plans for a $1.2bn (£740m) upgrade. Essar wanted to raise the refinery’s crude handling capacity to 4m tonnes of crude per year (79,000 barrels per [...]
Intertek buys GXT in £45m deal October 3, 2013 Intertek Group, a product testing firm, yesterday bought Global X-Ray & Testing Corporation, a US-based provider of non-destructive testing and mechanical integrity services to the oil and gas industry. Intertek bought the company from private equity firm Platte River Equity and the management shareholders for $72m (£45m).
William Hill hit by shortfall as bets go wrong October 3, 2013 BOOKMAKER William Hill reported strong growth of its sportsbook wagers while operating profit fell 31 per cent due to unfavourable results – particularly in football – hurting the company’s bottom line in its third quarter ending 1 October. Chief executive Ralph Topping warned yesterday that there is no certainty that the group can make up [...]
Ted Baker stays in fashion with strong surge in half-year sales October 3, 2013 BRITISH retailers may be bemoaning the tough conditions on the high street, but Ted Baker’s sales continued to smash expectations in the first half of the year. The fashion retailer yesterday posted a 31 per cent rise in revenue to £155m in the 28 weeks to 10 August thanks to new store openings and strong [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of William Hill’s mixed financial results? October 3, 2013 SIMON FRENCH PANMURE GORDONManagement indicate that there can be no certainty of recovery in the fourth quarter 2013 to meet market consensus estimates; however, we believe there are positive signs that the underlying business continues to remain strong. We retain our buy recommendation and 518p target price. JAMES WHEATCROFT JEFFERIESThe two main upsides are: stronger-than-expected [...]
New Weetabix owner milks strong growth October 3, 2013 WEETABIX, the iconic cereal brand which also owns Alpen as well as Ready Brek, defied one of the worst wheat harvests in over half a century to post a six per cent rise in sales last year. The company, which was forced to scale back production of some of its mini ranges after UK crops [...]
Cotswold Outdoor’s earnings climb as web presence builds October 3, 2013 COTSWOLD Outdoor has rebounded from a tough few years with a 14.6 per cent rise in full-year sales to £103.4m. The firm, which has 68 stores selling climbing and camping equipment, said like-for-like sales jumped 6.8 per cent in 2012, helped by “very strong” web sales and four new branches opening during the year. Profits [...]
City Moves for 4 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 3, 2013 Colliers International The property company has announced the appointment of Richard Eales as head of finance in the UK and Ireland. Eales was most recently at Hamptons International, where he was head of commercial finance for 11 years. He is a qualified accountant. Renaissance Capital Benjamin Samuels has been appointed global head of equities at the [...]
Best of the Brokers for 4 October 2013 October 3, 2013 INLAND HOMES Aim-listed Inland Homes has seen its target price upgraded to 60p by brokers at Fincapp, who say the company is well placed to take advantage of the house price boom in the south east. “Unit sales will rise quickly from 55 in 2012 to over 240 by 2015,” the analysts said. HOCHSCHILD MINING Analysts [...]
London Report: BP’s court win sees FTSE defy US shutdown October 3, 2013 THE FTSE 100 rose yesterday, boosted by heavyweight BP which won a rare legal battle related to its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but ongoing US government shutdown uncertainty sapped momentum. Energy firm BP – the UK’s fifth biggest company by market capitalisation – rose 1.1 per cent after it won a legal [...]
