Charles Stanley profit and revenue up November 10, 2010 STOCKBROKER and wealth manager Charles Stanley has reported a pre-tax profit of £7.3m for the half-year. On an adjusted basis, pre-tax profit rose 24 per cent year-on-year to £8.2m, the firm said in a statement. The profit was fuelled by a seven per cent rise in revenues of £59.7m. Funds under management and administration rose [...]
ING plans double IPO November 10, 2010 Dutch banking and insurance group ING said it was planning two initial public offerings for its insurance activities as part of a mandatory split-up imposed because of its state bailout. “While the option of one IPO remains open, we are going to prepare ourselves for a base case of two IPOs for our insurance business,” [...]
Prudential sees jump in profit November 10, 2010 Britain’s largest insurer Prudential reported a 17 per cent rise in third-quarter group sales, beating expectations and helped by a pick-up in demand from emerging markets such as Asia. Prudential rivals such as Aviva, faced with slow-growing home markets, have been trying to expand business in Asia where insurance penetration remains low, with under four [...]
Sainsbury’s profit rises by 8pc November 10, 2010 Sainsbury’s has reported an eight per cent rise in underlying profit to £332m. The retailer said its share of the market had risen to 16.2 per, from 15.9 per cent. Like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of store openings and closures, rose by two per cent. The strongest growth came, not from food, but [...]
Lloyds axes a further 420 jobs November 9, 2010 Bailed out lender Lloyds Banking Group said it would shed a further 420 jobs, taking the total number cut since it bought rival HBOS two years ago to 22,500. The latest round of redundancies come as Lloyds, 41 per cent government-owned after accepting taxpayer-funded support during the financial crisis, closes personal loans unit Black Horse [...]
Rolls Royce wins £740m China plane contract November 9, 2010 Rolls Royce has secured a £740m order to supply engines for a fleet of Airbus A330 planes operated by China Eastern Airlines. The deal comes just days after it was suggested that a fault in a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine forced an aircraft to make an emergency landing. The incident is under investigation. China Eastern’s [...]
UK industrial output grows at forecast rate November 9, 2010 British industrial output grew in line with expectations in September, though its manufacturing component was slightly weaker than forecast, official data showed. The figures do not point to any future revision of the initial third-quarter GDP estimate, and will not shift market expectations that the Bank of England will keep interest rates at record lows [...]
Primark warns over rising cotton prices November 9, 2010 Primark owner Associated British Foods warned the sharp hike in cotton prices will hit margins at its discount fashion chain as it beat forecasts with a 25 per cent rise in full-year earnings. Chief executive George Weston said that Primark will not surrender its price leadership status in clothing and will take a hit to [...]
Vodafone raises forecast after £3bn boost November 9, 2010 Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, raised its full-year outlook and said it would receive a £3.1bn payment from Japan’s SoftBank in a boost to the firm after some investor complaints. The company also said it would push the sales of data plans and the disposal of non-core assets as it refreshed its [...]
Legal and General on target for full year November 9, 2010 Life insurer Legal and General said it was set to beat its cash generation target for the full year, helped by a cost cuts and buoyant sales over the first nine months. L&G generated £526m of cash in the nine months to 30 September, the company said on Tuesday, putting it on course to exceed [...]
