Lockheed Martin is going great guns in spite of US budget cuts July 23, 2013 LOCKHEED Martin, the Pentagon’s largest supplier, yesterday beat analysts’ forecasts with a 10 per cent rise in second-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year profit forecast. Lockheed, which builds F-35 fighter jets, Aegis missiles and new coastal warships, reported net earnings of $859m (£559.7m), up from $781m a year earlier. Earnings per share rose to $2.64 [...]
Croda profits rise in first half July 23, 2013 FTSE 100-listed chemicals firm Croda International yesterday posted a 6.3 per cent increase in pre-tax profits in its half-year results, up to £133.1m. Sales in the company’s key consumer care division edged up by 2.3 per cent but performance technologies sales fell by 0.7 per cent, impacted by continued weakness in the European automotive sector. [...]
Beazley warns on reinsurance July 23, 2013 THE TRADITIONAL reinsurance business will be permanently changed by the ongoing influx of new money, the boss of Lloyd’s insurer Beazley said yesterday. “Pension funds are investing in catastrophe bonds, a potential new form of reinsurance. It’s getter cheaper to invest so it’s not going away,” Andrew Horton said. He was speaking as Beazley unveiled a 28 [...]
Earnings jump for Provident July 23, 2013 SUB-PRIME lender Provident Financial lifted first half pre-tax profit by seven per cent after strong growth at credit card provider Vanquis Bank. The firm, which targets the 10m people in Britain likely to be refused credit by the main lenders, made a pre-tax profit before one-offs of £76.5m in the first half of 2013. But [...]
Petropavlovsk cuts jobs July 23, 2013 FTSE 250-listed miner Petropavlovsk yesterday said it had cut 720 jobs, reduced its office space and cancelled management bonuses, as it unveiled a six per cent increase in half-year gold production, with gold sales up four per cent. The firm is aiming to reduce its net debt and is targeting a nine to 12 per [...]
Premier Oil plugs well July 23, 2013 FTSE 250-listed Premier Oil yesterday said that it has plugged and abandoned a Vietnamese well despite discovering gas, after finding indications of overpressure which can be dangerous to drill in. “[It] was a frontier exploration well and was the first to test the prospectivity of the Oligocene section in the Phu Khanh Basin [in Vietnam],” [...]
City Moves for 24 July 2013 | Who’s switching jobs July 23, 2013 Marsh Jane Barker has been appointed chairman at the insurance company. She is currently chief executive of Equitas, a position she has held for six years. She was previously chief operating officer at the London Stock Exchange. PwC The professional services company has announced the appointment of Umang Paw as a partner, and head of [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 July 2013 July 23, 2013 LADBROKES Morgan Stanley has upgraded its rating for bookmaker Ladbrokes from “underweight” to “equal weight” to reflect the ongoing strength in the UK online market, offset by modest reductions in retail. It has raised its target price from 165p to 215p. WH SMITH Kate Swann may have stepped down as chief executive of WH Smith [...]
London report: FTSE nudges down despite China boost for mining sector July 23, 2013 THE FTSE finished off seven-week highs yesterday, with China’s reassurance on growth lifting miners but failing to provide enough momentum for the broad index to overcome technical resistance. Basic materials, the third-biggest sector in the FTSE 100 and the market’s clear laggard this year, outperformed after the Chinese premier made a commitment to maintain growth [...]
New York report: S&P slips from its record high July 23, 2013 THE S&P 500 snapped a four-day winning streak last night and pulled back from Monday’s record closing high, while healthy earnings from United Technologies gave the Dow a slight lift. Earnings as a whole, though, were lukewarm and held back the broader market. Technology shares weighed on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Yet Apple’s [...]
