ENRC independent directors tell shareholders to consider offer August 8, 2013 ENRC’S independent board yesterday recommended that shareholders should “seriously consider” the £3bn offer from the company’s founders, despite the price “materially undervaluing” the Kazakh miner. The board said that there was a lack of alternatives for investors and that an imminent de-listing could adversely affect the liquidity, marketability and value of the ENRC shares. The [...]
Lord Browne plans boardroom return August 8, 2013 LORD Browne, the former boss of FTSE 100 oil giant BP, is planning a return to the boardroom of a London-listed company according to Sky News. Browne – who is a partner at private equity firm Riverstone Holdings – is to take a board role at the firm’s new energy investment firm, Riverstone Energy, which [...]
Schroders looks to the future as earnings rocket August 8, 2013 SCHRODERS, Britain’s biggest listed asset manager, yesterday offset the exit of a top fund manager by hailing surging performance at its recently purchased wealth unit. The 200-year old business said fresh hires and a raft of new manager talent from Cazenove Capital would take the sting out of the departure of manager Richard Buxton [...]
Bottom Line: Company is well placed to grow despite fund manager shake-up August 8, 2013 SCHRODERS’ half-year results yesterday bore all the hallmarks of a Cassandra-like prophecy. The £1.5bn redemption linked to the exit of equity kingpin Richard Buxton seemed to validate the doom- mongering ahead of the move. Since Buxton’s new home, Old Mutual, lured £250m more after his arrival it is tempting to treat his exit as [...]
Aviva boss talks down scale of recovery at UK insurance giant August 8, 2013 AVIVA’S share price hit a two year high yesterday – but the company’s new chief executive insists he has merely made “satisfactory progress” on his turnaround plan. First half pre-tax operating profits at the FTSE 100 insurer were up five per cent to over £1bn, with the stock closing up 7.6 per cent. Mark Wilson, who took control [...]
Swiss Re sees revenues rise August 8, 2013 SWISS Re, the world’s second largest insurance firm, posted positive second-quarter results yesterday – in spite of high payouts for the flooding that engulfed large parts of Europe and Canada earlier in 2013. The firm said that all components of its business had contributed positively as net revenue jumped to $786m (£505m). Although the number [...]
Apollo lift-off hikes dividend August 8, 2013 APOLLO Global Management yesterday reported a tenfold increase in second-quarter profit, in line with analyst expectations, as the value of its funds jumped and it announced its highest ever dividend since it went public in 2011. Economic net income after taxes totalled 50 cents per share, compared with five cents a share a year ago. [...]
Commerzbank shares soar as provisions fall August 8, 2013 COMMERZBANK shares soared by 15.6 per cent to €7.66 yesterday as a pickup in its investment bank and lower provisions for bad shipping loans took the sting out of a sharp fall in quarterly net profit. The bank’s second-quarter results showed net profit slumped to €43m (£37m) from €270m a year ago, but this was [...]
Standard Life hits record sales due to asset management arm August 8, 2013 SCOTTISH insurer Standard Life yesterday reported record new business sales, largely thanks to a strong performance by its fund management division. Pre-tax operating profits rose six per cent to £304m for the first half of 2013, with a substantial jump in the number of customers joining the company through corporate pension schemes. “Standard Life Investments [...]
Henderson eyes overseas push amid record half year profits August 8, 2013 FUND manager Henderson Group yesterday said it will target a bigger push into the US and Asia to help grow the business after surging to record half-year profits. Chief executive Andrew Formica told City A.M. he would like to double the firm’s exposure to those regions in the next three to five years, adding more [...]
