Insurer investors unimpressed with turnaround results in 2014 February 26, 2015 INVESTORS dumped shares at insurer RSA yesterday, with prices falling by 4.71 per cent, despite the company posting a return to profit in 2014. Pre-tax profits were jumped to £275m, from a loss of £244m in 2013, but were still a fraction of what the firm believes it can achieve in the coming years. Combined [...]
Merlin builds on Legoland as its profits soar 35pc February 26, 2015 Legoland owner Merlin Entertainments yesterday reported that its pre-tax profit for its first full year as a listed company had surged on the back of the summer blockbuster The Lego Movie. Merlin, the world’s second largest operator of visitor attractions, saw a five per cent increase in the number of attendees to its sites, which [...]
Capco returns pushed up by Covent Garden retail hotspot February 26, 2015 PROPERTY firm Capital & Counties (Capco) singled out the performance of its Covent Garden sites as driving a 25 per cent total return in the year to 31 December 2014. The company also saw a 25 per cent increase in its European Public Real Estate Association net asset value, while rental income grew from £64.8m [...]
General Election uncertainty spooks service firm Countrywide February 26, 2015 PROPERTY service provider Countrywide saw profits soar in 2014, but warned impending uncertainty due to May’s General Election will take its toll this year. The company continued to diversify last year, with the acquisition of 38 new businesses at the cost of £48.8m with 40 per cent of last year’s profit being derived from these [...]
Tobacco sales at British American beat market dip February 26, 2015 British American Tobacco (BAT), the world’s second largest tobacco firm, yesterday reported better-than- expected sales for the year, gaining a bigger share of a shrinking market. The London-based company reported revenues over 2014 fell 8.4 per cent to £13.97bn. On average, analysts had expected the figure to drop to £13.89bn, according to Reuters data. The [...]
Tech firm IBM’s silver lining February 26, 2015 COMPUTING giant IBM yesterday said it was targeting $40bn (£26bn) in annual revenue from the cloud, big data, security and other growth areas by 2018. IBM, which was a major player in the age of the mainframe, says the $40bn will come from areas which it calls its “strategic imperatives”, namely cloud, analytics, mobile, social [...]
Dominos delivers solid growth by online sales February 26, 2015 DOMINOS Pizza served up some hot results as their full-year report revealed double-digit growth in both sales and profits, sending shares up 5.4 per cent yesterday. The pizza franchise saw strong growth in its domestic UK market at 9.5 per cent, with solid performances in Ireland and Switzerland – which partially offset demand going stale [...]
Ladbrokes to close 60 sites February 26, 2015 BRITISH bookmaker Ladbrokes yesterday announced 60 shops will close this year after profits shrank over 2014. Chief executive Richard Glynn said: “The issues of shop closures is not a new one. Increased tax and regulation has poured more shops into the non-contributory bundle, and those are the ones which become eligible for closure. We’re working [...]
National Express rides towards higher profits February 26, 2015 NATIONAL Express reported a rise in profits yesterday, riding high on the strong performance of it’s UK bus and coach operations. Its pre-tax profits rose by three per cent in 2014, to £66.5m. Profits in National Express’ UK bus, rail and coach operations all rose in 2014. The company is now looking to expand its [...]
Scottish broadcaster STV quadruples dividend for 2015 as profits rise February 26, 2015 Scottish broadcaster STV yesterday posted a 14 per cent rise in profits for 2014, with a surprise quadrupling of its dividend, as its chief executive celebrated “the fruits of our work”. Revenues at STV, which holds the two ITV franchises for Scotland, increased seven per cent year-on-year to £120.4m, up from £112.1m in 2013, while [...]
