Dairy Crest looks for growth February 7, 2013 Milk, cheese and butter supplier Dairy Crest Group said yesterday it is working to restore profitability as its sales grow in the mid-single digits. The firm, which last year agreed to pay farmers more for their milk, said it intends to restructure its balance sheet and has no plans for acquisitions. Shares in the FTSE [...]
National Express wins in Germany February 7, 2013 National Express has won two rail franchises in Germany worth a total of €1.6bn (£1.4bn). The British firm will operate routes serving North Rhine-Westphalia for 15 years starting in 2015. National Express operates the c2c franchise in the UK and coach services in Spain, but has ambitions to spread into Europe, with bids in for [...]
Sony to put end to four year loss as yen weakens February 7, 2013 SONY has announced a dramatic fall in losses, and said it expects to post an annual profit for the first time since 2008 later this year. A combination of a weak yen and cost cutting meant losses in the final three months of 2012 were down to ¥10.7bn (£72.8m), compared with ¥158.4bn in the same [...]
Mortgage aid schemes help housebuilder Bellway grow February 7, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway said yesterday demand for its properties is rising, helped by new sales outlets and the government’s NewBuy mortgage scheme for first-time buyers. The firm said it completed sales on 2,597 homes in the six months to the end of January, a rise of 5.8 per cent on last year. The average price has [...]
Fujitsu to post loss as it rejigs microchip arm February 7, 2013 JAPAN’S Fujitsu expects to post an extraordinary loss of ¥ 170bn (£1.16bn) this business year due to the one-time costs of reorganising its microchip business and writing down the value of its European IT services arm. Fujitsu and Panasonic said yesterday they are combining their struggling LSI chip units, which produce highly-customised chips used in [...]
Smith & Nephew counting on emerging markets for growth February 7, 2013 ARTIFICIAL joints maker Smith & Nephew yesterday said emerging markets would help counter slow European and United States trade in 2013, as it posted a drop in fourth-quarter profits after rivals’ new products hurt its knee implant business. The group posted revenue of $1.08bn (£688m), slightly down on a year ago, trading profit of $272m, [...]
Statoil hikes investment as it eyes ramp-up in exploration February 7, 2013 NORWEGIAN oil major Statoil will ramp up spending this year to $19bn (£12bn), as it eyes the completion of around 50 wells in 2013. The state-controlled group said yesterday that it would lift its capital spending to an average of $21bn in 2013-16, compared to an investment of $13.7bn in 2010. The high spending will [...]
Earnings dip at Coca-Cola firm February 7, 2013 COCA-COLA Enterprises’ earnings fell 11 per cent in the fourth quarter as Europe’s largest Coca-Cola bottler faced restructuring costs. The Georgia-based company reported net income of $100m (£63.7m), or $0.34 per share for the fourth quarter, down from $113m or $0.36 per share in the fourth quarter of 2011. Excluding items, comparable net income for [...]
City Moves for 8 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 7, 2013 RWC The investment management firm has appointed Dan Mannix as chief executive. Mannix joined in 2006, and has been a senior member of the management team. He previously spent five years as head of wholesale at JP Morgan. Fladgate The commercial law firm has announced the appointment of Charles Proctor as partner. He will advise [...]
Best of the Brokers February 7, 2013 LANCASHIRE HOLDINGS Lloyd’s of London insurer Lancashire has been upgraded to “add” by Nick Johnson of Numis, with a target price of 915p. He points out the FTSE 250 company has a “trend to pay out 100 per cent of earnings”. He sees room for an improved return on net assets thanks to “a more [...]
