ENRC endgame in sight as 95pc accept takeover August 29, 2013 THE CONSORTIUM bidding to take over troubled FTSE 100 miner ENRC yesterday said that the majority of shareholders had agreed to their offer, bringing the number of acceptances up to 94.5 per cent and effectively signalling that the deal will go through. The bidders – led by ENRC’s three billionaire founders – already have the support [...]
Bumi hires new execs and aims to cut costs as earnings decline August 29, 2013 EMBATTLED FTSE 250 miner Bumi yesterday unveiled a management shake-up and said that the company’s separation is “at an advanced stage”, as it said half-year earnings had halved from last year. The company – which has been embroiled in a tug-of-war between its co-founders financier Nat Rothschild and Indonesia’s Bakrie family – has appointed industry [...]
Hunting helped by more drilling in the States and the North Sea August 29, 2013 ENERGY services firm Hunting said increased drilling in onshore United States and the Gulf of Mexico would drive a second-half recovery after poor weather earlier in the year curbed operations in Canada and dented margins. Hunting, which provides equipment and services for drilling and completing oil wells, posted core first-half profit (Ebitda) down 2.7 per [...]
Lamprell swings back to black despite dip in oil rig contracts August 29, 2013 OIL RIG maker Lamprell returned to profit in the first half of 2013, making a quicker than expected recovery from problems over wind-turbine vessels which caused heavy losses in 2012. Chief executive James Moffat told Reuters improvements had come faster than he had hoped since joining the Dubai-based contractor in March. Lamprell previously said it [...]
Steelmaker Evraz shines after its first-half numbers beat forecasts August 29, 2013 RUSSIAN steelmaker Evraz’s share price rose over seven per cent yesterday morning, after posting half-year earnings that beat analysts’ forecasts. Earnings fell 20.7 per cent to $939m (£606m), but this was 12 per cent above expectations, Denis Gabrielik, analyst at Otkritie Investment Bank, told City A.M. The FTSE 250 firm – which is part-owned by [...]
Petropavlovsk writes off $600m as gold price slump hits results August 29, 2013 RUSSIA-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk yesterday posted a first-half net loss after a gold price slump forced it to take about $600m (£386.9m) of impairment charges. Precious metals producers have had to write down billions of dollars after gold price fell 15 per cent since the start of the year. “These (impairments) have severely affected our [...]
Currency move hits Severstal August 29, 2013 Russian steel giant Severstal suffered a net loss of $44m (£28.4m) in the second quarter of the year, according to figures out yesterday. The firm said a $226m currency loss was responsible for the swing into the red. For the half-year, Severstal broke even, compared to profits of $582m a year ago. Chief executive Alexey [...]
Anglo Pacific falls to a loss August 29, 2013 Natural resources royalties company Anglo Pacific yesterday revealed its operating profits had fallen from £5.1m to £4.8m in the first six months of the year. The firm wrote off £34.3m of equity investments, sending it to a £30m loss for the period. APG acting chairman Brian Wides said: “The last six months have been a [...]
Soco reveals maiden dividend August 29, 2013 Soco International, the British oil exploration and production company focused on west Africa and Vietnam, unveiled its promised first payout to shareholders yesterday. Reporting record production for a third successive half-year, the company said it would pay 40p per share to shareholders by means of a special share scheme and target a future shareholder return [...]
City Moves for 30 August 2013 | Who’s switching jobs August 29, 2013 Alvarez & Marsal The professional services firm has announced the appointment of Keith Williamson as head of its global forensic and dispute team in Hong Kong and China. Williamson has over 18 years’ forensic and investigative accounting experience, and specialises in investigations into fraud, corruption and regulatory issues. He joined Alvarez & Marsal in 2011, having previously [...]
