Pearson warns of falling earnings in 2014 after US education slowdown February 28, 2014 Publishing company Pearson has reported a fall in profit before tax of two per cent to £382m in its preliminary results for 2013. Adjusted earnings per share also fell by 15 per cent from 82.6p to 70.1p. However, sales at CER climbed two per cent to £5.2bn, while the company experienced growth in emerging markets. [...]
Rise in online gaming fails to stem William Hill profit loss February 28, 2014 Shares in FTSE 100 company William Hill are up a healthy 2.6 per cent following final results for 2013 showing a rise in online net revenue of 10 per cent and an explosion in mobile gaming net revenue of 166 per cent. However, the bookmaker suffered a seven per cent fall in profit before tax [...]
Rightmove traffic booms in wake of rising house prices February 28, 2014 Property website Rightmove has reported a rise in profit before tax of £14m to £97m for the year ended 31 December 2013. Revenue jumped by 17 per cent to £140m while the website's traffic rocketed 27 per cent to 14bn page impressions. Chief executive officer of Rightmove Nick McKittrick, commented: I'm delighted that Rightmove's popularity [...]
Big six told to shell out £400m to customers February 28, 2014 Customers of the big six energy companies may receive hundreds of millions of pounds back, after Ofgem wrote to the companies highlighting the issue, according to the BBC. £400m is thought to be owed due to credit left in customer accounts accumulated over the past six years from moving house or switching suppliers. It's estimated [...]
Asian markets fall as Yellen fails to inspire February 28, 2014 Asian markets are falling across the board as investors failed to be inspired by Janet Yellen's testimony to Congress on the strength of the US economy. There continues to be significant uncertainty over China's economic outlook. Volatility in the yuan has picked up as the People's Bank of China attempts to weaken the nation's currency. [...]
137 CEOs sign manifesto protesting EU energy policy February 27, 2014 137 CEOs representing EU manufacturing industry have put their name to a manifesto calling for major shift in the EU's energy and climate change policy. Published by the International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (IFIEC), the document called for an industrial renaissance to be at the heart of the strategy to move Europe out of [...]
2014 could see the UK’s first three parent baby February 27, 2014 The UK could allow a fertilisation technique which uses DNA from three people to create a baby without debilitating inheritable diseases by the end of 2014. The Department of Health (DoH) is launching a consultation on draft regulations to allow the technique, which involves the donation of healthy mitochondria to prevent mothers passing on mitochondrial [...]
Net annual immigration rises to 212,000 February 27, 2014 There has been a 38 per cent increase in net flow of long-term migrants to 212,000 in the year ending September 2013, an increase from the 154,000 seen in the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics. 532,000 people immigrated to the UK in the year ended September 2013, a slight increase from [...]
Domino’s boosts profits with 65m pizzas sold February 27, 2014 Takeaway pizza company Domino's has reported a jump of 11.6 per cent in profit before tax to £55m, for the year ended 29 December. The company enjoyed like-for-like sales growth of seven per cent in 670 UK mature stores. The final dividend was hiked 11.4 per cent to 8.8p per share, with the total dividend [...]
Merlin profits rise in wake of successful IPO February 27, 2014 Theme park company Merlin Entertainments has reported a jump in profits before tax to £186m for year ended 28 December, up £40m from the previous year. 2013 was an eventful year for the company with its flotation on the London Stock Exchange. The company reported strong growth in the number of visitors of 10.7 per [...]