Genel Energy in Kurdistan expansion May 14, 2012 Oil company Genel Energy is to buy a 23 per cent stake in the Bina Bawi exploration licence in Kurdistan for $175m to expans its presence in the region. The Bina Bawi licence lies alongside Genel’s already producing Taq Taq oilfield, whose current potential output is about 80,000 barrels a day, and is projected to [...]
Plus Markets considers closure May 14, 2012 Plus Markets, the British stock exchange for small companies, said it planned to shut itself down after failing to attract an acceptable takeover offer. The loss-making group, which put itself up for sale in February, has informed Britain’s financial regulator that it plans an “orderly closure” after suffering a drop in its cash reserves, it [...]
Serco buoyed by UK contract wins May 14, 2012 British outsourcing company Serco said almost £4bn of contract wins in the first half of the year and an improving outlook in the UK left it confident of meeting 2012 targets. The British group said it expected first half revenue growth to be around six per cent, almost entirely from last year’s acquisitions, with good [...]
Travis Perkins sales rise as market share edges up May 14, 2012 Builders’ merchant and do-it-yourself retailer, Travis Perkins, said it was on track to meet profit expectations for the year after posting a rise in sales and market share gains in the first four months of the year. The group, which also trades as City Plumbing, Keyline, Tile Giant, Wickes and BSS, said group revenue rose [...]
William Hill board wins knife edge vote over pay May 8, 2012 Shareholders in William Hill, Britain’s biggest bookmaker, joined a growing rebellion over executive pay, with almost half voting against a £1.2m retention bonus for the chief executive. William Hill said on Tuesday 49.9 per cent of proxy votes were against the pay package, and 50.1 per cent for. Chairman Gareth Davis declared the resolution passed [...]
Molson Coors profit beats forecasts May 8, 2012 Molson Coors Brewing Co, maker of Molson Canadian, Coors Light and Blue Moon beers, reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit, helped by price increases. Net income was $79.4m (£49.1m), or 44 cents a share in the first quarter, compared with $82.6m, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 0.1 per cent to $691.4m, [...]
London Metal Exchange receives bidders’ proposals May 8, 2012 The London Metal Exchange has received a number of detailed proposals from a short-list of bidders regarding a potential acquisition of the exchange, it said. The LME, the world’s biggest metals marketplace, said the board would now consider the proposals and give shareholders further information “as appropriate”. The LME did not say who the proposals [...]
Struggling miners dent FTSE May 8, 2012 The FTSE 100 dipped this morning as political uncertainty sent shockwaves across the Eurozone while heavyweight commodity stock were dented. A win by socialist Francois Hollande in the French presidential election and chaos in Greece – where no party gained enough seats to form a government – served to sap investor confidence. In London the [...]
HSBC profit rises May 8, 2012 HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, beat expectations with an underlying profit of almost $7bn (£4bn) in the first quarter thanks to a rebound in investment banking income and a fall in US bad debts. HSBC said its underlying profit in the first quarter was $6.8bn, up 25 per cent on the year and above the $5.8bn [...]
Thomas Cook seals £1.4bn refunding package May 8, 2012 Thomas Cook has announced a refinancing package of £1.4bn giving the struggling travel company a further three years to sort out its debt pile. The company said the new arrangement gave it “greater financial flexibility” and “further stability”.
