Thorntons is hoping for a bumper Easter February 25, 2013 THORNTONS is banking on Mother’s Day and Easter to boost sales as it plans to close 40 stores this year, after posting a 71 per cent rise in half-year profits yesterday. The high street chocolatier said profit before tax and one-off items jumped to £5.3m from £2.2m, while total revenues rose by 2.9 per cent [...]
Hedge funds turn on Ugg boots February 25, 2013 THE POPULARITY of Ugg boots could have finally plateaued. Deckers Outdoor, the US owner of the iconic brand, was yesterday revealed as the most shorted stock by hedge funds ahead of earnings. Short sellers have increased their positions by 14 per cent in the last month and 43.1 per cent of stock is now out [...]
HiWave Tech shares suspended February 25, 2013 HiWave Technologies, which makes gadgets to turn any flat surface into a music speaker, was suspended from the London Stock Exchange yesterday after it approached administration. The Cambridge-based outfit, which its owners are currently trying to sell, have opted to sell the firm through administrators.
Dreamliner woes pile up February 25, 2013 Japanese airline All Nippon has cancelled all flights using the beleaguered 787 Dreamliner plane, in a fresh blow for the aircraft maker Boeing. While transport authorities last week made progress in tracking down the cause of a battery fault that grounded the entire fleet in January, All Nippon has axed a further 1,700 flights.
Japan Tobacco stake on sale to fund quake fix February 25, 2013 JAPAN’S government is selling a third of its stake in Japan Tobacco to fundraise $10.4bn (£6.9bn) for rebuilding areas devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The country’s Ministry of Finance owns just over half of the $62bn former state monopoly, which is the world’s third biggest tobacco company. It is selling 33m shares, with [...]
Senior profits soar on boost from its purchase of Weston February 25, 2013 AIRCRAFT component maker Senior yesterday posted a 17 per cent hike in adjusted pre-tax profits for the full year, boosted by the company’s recent acquisition of commercial aircraft parts maker Weston. Revenue grew 14 per cent over the year to £729.8m and sales at its aerospace business grew 23 per cent to £470.5m. Weston, which [...]
Hertz beats forecasts but Dollar Thrifty deal costs dent earnings February 25, 2013 CAR rental group Hertz yesterday reported a quarterly loss due to costs related to its acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, but adjusted profit beat analysts’ expectations and the US firm forecast strong results for 2013 on higher pricing. Hertz, which acquired Dollar Thrifty for $2.6bn (£1.7bn) in late 2012, said it expects cost synergies of $300m [...]
African Barrick appoints chairman February 25, 2013 FTSE 250 miner African Barrick Gold has appointed Kelvin Dushnisky as chairman with immediate effect, replacing acting chairman Derek Pannell. Dushnisky, who joined the board of the Africa-focused miner last June, is currently senior executive vice president of ABG’s parent Barrick Gold Corporation. With more than 25 years of experience across the mining industry, Dushnisky [...]
Vedanta starts Rajasthan drilling February 25, 2013 Vedanta subsidiary Cairn India has kicked off the drilling of its first exploration well after a four-year hiatus. The drilling, in the Barmer Basin in Rajasthan, follows the Indian government giving the go-ahead for exploration operations in development blocks. Vedanta estimates its exploration activity will realise reserves of around half a billion barrels of oil [...]
Bunzl lifts dividend as buying spree pays off February 25, 2013 OUTSOURCER Bunzl yesterday hiked its dividend by seven per cent, as the chief executive hailed its recent buying spree for a jump in revenue. Revenue increased six per cent to £5.4bn over the year to December, as the FTSE firm added record annualised revenue of more than £500m. Over the year it made 13 acquisitions, [...]
