Ladbrokes suffers as punters stake less May 14, 2010 LADBROKES has seen revenue dip by six per cent in the first four months of 2010, as punters staked less in its betting shops. the group said that in UK stores the amount placed on bets plunged by ten per cent. Meanwhile profits from gaming machines fell after VAT was put back up to 17.5 [...]
Gartmore loses £1bn after manager’s suspension May 14, 2010 FUND manager Gartmore said clients withdrew more than £1bn in the wake of the suspension of one of its top fund managers. In a trading statement the company said that after a first quarter which had seen net inflows of £126m, it had since seen about £1.1bn of net outflows. Guillaume Rambourg returned to work [...]
EADS profit plunges over costly Airbus May 14, 2010 EUROPE’S largest Aerospace group EADS’s first-quarter profit plunged by almost two-thirds after persistent cost worries over its A380 superjumbo, it said. The parent company of Airbus posted a 64 per cent drop in operating profit to €83m (£71.3m), missing average market expectations. The figures included a slim profit of €7m profit for the Airbus commercial [...]
UK trade deficit widens May 13, 2010 THE UK’s trade deficit with the rest of the world widened in March, according to official figures. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found the gap rose to £3.7bn in March from £2.2bn in February. The ONS said the swings in the gap had been made worse by January’s bad weather which had [...]
BT profits on the up as broadband plans unveiled May 13, 2010 COMMUNICATIONS giant BT today unveiled plans to roll out super-fast broadband to two-thirds of UK homes by 2015 as it celebrated its return to profitability. The FTSE 100 group revealed group profits of £1bn for the year to 31 March – up from a £244m loss last year – after a significant improvement in its [...]
Ash cloud chaos costs Thomas Cook £70m May 13, 2010 THE chaos to air travel caused by the volcanic ash cloud knocked £70m off Thomas Cook’s profits. But the travel operator said its first half loss narrowed despite the setback. Thomas Cook reported a pre-tax loss for the half year to March 31 of £252.2m compared with £309m the year before. Northern European airspace was [...]
Tullett talks end with no deal May 13, 2010 INTERDEALER broker Tullett Prebon has said that talks with a possible buyer for the company had terminated. In March the firm revealed it was in preliminary negotiations that might lead to an offer, boosting its shares. That potential suitor has not been identified. The company said in a statement: “These discussions have been constructive, however, [...]
Sainsbury’s profit rises to £610m May 13, 2010 SAINSBURY’S made a pre-tax profit of £610m over the year to 20 March. The figure represents a 17.5 per cent improvement on the company’s figures last year. Like-for-like sales – excluding fuel – were up 4.3 per cent. Meanwhile total sales were up 5.1 per cent to £21.4m with new shops and a boost in [...]
Unemployment rises to 2.5m May 12, 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT rose by 53,000 to 2.51m in the three months to March – the highest total since 1994, according to official figures. However, the total number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell in April by 27,100 to 1.52m. The rate of unemployment remained at eight per cent, the Office for National Statistics said. Howard Archer [...]
FirstGroup profit slides May 12, 2010 TRANSPORT company FirstGroup saw its profits slide despite a £200m cost-cutting programme. Pre-tax profit slumped to £179.6m from £200m, in the year ending 31 March. UK bus revenue was up 1.9 per cent – while trains saw a 2.3 per cent rise. Total revenue for the group was Revenue £6.3m compared with £6.1m the year [...]
