Madejski property firm widens losses but gets time from banks January 8, 2013 THE PROPERTY company controlled by former Reading Football Club owner Sir John Madejski widened its losses last year, but gained more breathing space from its lenders. Sackville Properties posted losses after tax on continuing operations of almost £10.9m for the year to 31 March 2012, up from £4.6m the previous year. Turnover rose slightly to [...]
Concordia loss adds to rise in wrecked ships January 8, 2013 THE STRICKEN Costa Concordia cruiseliner, which ran aground off the coast of Italy last year, helped push up the total number of ships lost worldwide to 106 in 2012, according to figures released yesterday. Half of the ships lost were either sank or became submerged, while 22 per cent were abandoned after running aground. Collisions accounted for [...]
Samsung sees fifth successive record quarter January 8, 2013 KOREAN electronics giant Samsung, the world leader in mobiles and memory chips, said it had earned a quarterly profit of $8.3bn (£5.2bn), as it sold close to 500 handsets a minute and as demand picked up for the flat screens it makes for mobile devices, including those for rival Apple products. That run of five [...]
Chipmaker battles hot up at Vegas consumer show January 8, 2013 FASTER and more powerful mobile phone technology became the focus of Las Vegas’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) yesterday, as microchip makers battled to show off the designs they hope will be used in the next generation of smartphones. Two US processor manufacturers – Qualcomm and Intel – have both unveiled their latest mobile microchips, in [...]
Bond and The Hobbit rescue Cineworld from Olympic blues January 8, 2013 A STELLAR lineup of film releases at the end of last year rescued film theatre chain Cineworld from a subdued summer, with cinema goers spending more than ever on tickets and popcorn, despite the draw of the Olympics. The company said yesterday that revenues across the group had risen by 2.4 per cent in 2012, despite [...]
Robert Walters waits for job market uptick January 8, 2013 RECRUITMENT firm Robert Walters is looking for growth overseas as it waits for the UK jobs market to improve, it said in a trading update yesterday. The firm’s eponymous chief executive said the firm will “continue to invest in areas which will enable us to build our market position” while trimming its cost base in [...]
Hearst profits hit by deal January 8, 2013 THE OWNER of Cosmopolitan and Esquire magazines, Hearst, saw profits more than halve in 2011 in the UK after its £76.6m acquisition of Hachette Filipacchi’s British business. Hachette Filipacchi’s UK arm, which publishes magazines including Elle, was bought by the US-based publisher alongside the US, Russian and Ukrainian businesses in 2011, although the price of the [...]
Britvic and AG Barr investors give green light to £1.5bn deal January 8, 2013 THE MERGER of soft-drinks makers Britvic and AG Barr was rubber stamped by shareholders on both sides yesterday. The deal, which will create one of Europe’s biggest soft drinks firms with a market capitalisation of over £1.5bn, is set to be completed by the end of January. The vote was passed fairly unanimously, although 39 [...]
Interserve in board shake up January 8, 2013 Support services firm Interserve yesterday said it continued to trade in line with expectations, following several contract wins at the end of last year. The FTSE 250-listed firm also unveiled a board shake up, with Les Cullen succeeding director David Trapnell, who will retire after 10 years. Earlier this week, Interserve announced the $41.3m (£25.7m) purchase [...]
Base Resources joins AIM January 8, 2013 Kenyan-focused Base Resources started trading on London’s junior stockmarket yesterday, under the ticker BSE, in a move to expand its international footprint. It is also listed on the Australian securities exchange. The company is developing the Kwale Mineral Sands project around 50km from Mombasa in Kenya. RFC Ambrian acted as Base Resources’ nominated adviser and [...]
