Surprise £118m dividend cheers Smiths investors September 18, 2013 ENGINEERING firm Smiths’ shares were one of the FTSE 100’s top risers yesterday after it unveiled a special dividend for shareholders alongside full-year results in line with expectations. The unanticipated dividend of 30p, worth £118m in total, drove the shares 2.6 per cent higher to close at 1,412p. Smiths also announced a restructuring programme that [...]
Analyst Views: Were Smiths’ full-year results in line with your expectations? September 18, 2013 SCOTT CAGEHIN | NUMIS“The statement was in line with expectations. Smiths has the operational scope to enhance margins, while strong cash generation should support development and acquisition opportunities. However, the firm’s exposure to government spend is not the best place to be at the moment. MICHAEL BLOGG | INVESTEC“The results are fractionally better than we [...]
US Treasury is closer to selling its stake in GM September 18, 2013 THE US Treasury has sold another block of shares in General Motors, reducing its stake to 7.3 per cent as it moves toward exiting its holdings in the carmaker by the end of March. The Treasury sold more than 110m shares between 6 May and 13 September, raising more than $3.82bn (£2.4bn), according to documents [...]
Tullow hires new director September 18, 2013 FTSE 100-listed oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil yesterday said it has appointed JP Morgan’s Jeremy Wilson as a non-executive director, effective from 21 October. Wilson is a JP Morgan lifer, who joined as a graduate and is currently vice chairman of its energy group. He held a number of senior positions at the US [...]
Falling metal prices drive down Highland Gold first-half profits September 18, 2013 HIGHLAND Gold, the Russian gold producer part-owned by oligarch Roman Abramovich, yesterday said first-half net profit fell by almost 65 per cent year-on-year to $17m (£10.6m) due to a steep fall in the gold price. Gold, which has seen its price plummet over 15 per cent this year, currently trades around $1,300 an ounce, compared [...]
Sirius unveils York reserve estimate September 18, 2013 British potash miner Sirius Minerals yesterday confirmed a reserve of 250m tonnes from just a one per cent area of its York Potash Project, which will provide mine life for over 50 years. The news follows an announcement earlier this week that Aim-listed Sirius will not submit its planning documents for the project until July [...]
Ferrexpo buys stake in Brazil miner September 18, 2013 FTSE 250-listed iron ore miner Ferrexpo yesterday said it has bought a 14.4 per cent strategic stake in Brazil-focused iron ore producer Ferrous Resources for $80m (£50.3m). “The investment represents access to a good quality asset in a major iron ore producing region,” said Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo. “Ferrous has all permits in place to expand output [...]
Fresnillo explosives ban to end in Oct September 18, 2013 FTSE 100 miner Fresnillo yesterday said it expects a temporary ban on using explosives at some of its mines in Mexico to be lifted next month. Fresnillo had reduced its full-year gold output guidance to 465,000 ounces following the ban and reiterates its guidance despite more mines being affected than expected. The company expects to [...]
City Moves for 19 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 18, 2013 Baker & McKenzie The law firm has announced the appointment of Paul Hibbert as a partner in its London office. Hibbert specialises in acquisition and leverage finance. He joins from Clifford Chance, where he was a senior associate in its London banking practice. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management The wealth management business has made two [...]
Best of the brokers for 19 September 2013 September 18, 2013 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS Morgan Stanley has started covering the food-to-sugar conglomerate with an “overweight” rating and a target of 2,140p. The broker reckons ABF is one of the strongest growth firms in the European staple stocks, driven by Primark’s enormous sales increases. LEGAL & GENERAL Canaccord Genuity keeps its “hold” recommendation and raises its target [...]
