Ofcom confirms BT’s price caps March 7, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission has given the green light to Ofcom’s proposed price caps for Openreach, BT’s wholesale broadband division. Ofcom, which regulates BT Openreach due to its “significant market power”, will lower annual charges by five to 20 per cent, with further reductions each year until March 2014. BT said it disagrees with some assumptions and will [...]
Buyout delivers for Sportech March 7, 2012 GAMBLING group Sportech’s 2010 acquisition of Scientific Games Racing, the US racetrack business, has finally proved a success as it swung the British company to profit last year. Sportech posted pre-tax profits of £8m, up from a loss of £5.9m in 2010. Revenues jumped 66 per cent to £118.2m, of which £67.3m came from the [...]
Costain looks to oil to fuel rapid growth March 7, 2012 ENGINEER Costain said yesterday it was on course to double its profits with its oil services operations set to expand. The company reported a 38 per cent rise in full year adjusted operating profit for 2011 to £24.1m. Finance director Tony Bickerstaff told City A.M. the company was buoyant in the UK due to a [...]
Cobham eyes lift as its civil aviation sales head upwards March 7, 2012 BRITISH aero electronics group Cobham expects to deliver further growth this year after cost cuts and a strong performance from commercial aviation boosted 2011 profit. Cobham, whose equipment helps military vehicles such as F-35 fighter planes communicate with one another, yesterday said 2011 pre-tax profit rose seven per cent to £328m on sales three per [...]
Melrose sees energy boost March 7, 2012 BRITISH manufacturing buyout group Melrose posted full-year profit at the top end of expectations and said strong energy and mining markets meant it was set for further growth. “The strong end-markets we have are proving their worth,” finance director Geoffrey Martin said ”We are 50 per cent into energy, oil and gas, and mining, which [...]
RPS profits on overseas sales March 7, 2012 RPS GROUP’S full-year results topped analysts’ expectations, and the British engineering consultancy said it expected 2012 growth to be fuelled by acquisitions and exposure to global energy markets. The company derived more than 70 per cent of its underlying profit from outside Europe and made five acquisitions during the year in a bid to expand [...]
It’s tough at the top: world’s richest fight to keep wealth March 7, 2012 MEXICAN telecoms magnate Carlos Slim Helu has kept his spot as the world’s richest man for the third year running, according to the Forbes list of billionaires out yesterday. But his family fortune slid $5bn to $69bn over the year, closing the gap between him and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who remains in second place [...]
WHICH SECTORS MAKE THE MOST BILLIONAIRES? March 7, 2012 ● TMT The tech and telecoms sector is holding firm towards the top of the table, with Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and Oracle owner Larry Ellison inside the top 10 and more than 100 across the entire list. Savvy investments in the likes of Facebook and Twitter can also make billions, as Netscape founder James [...]
REAL ESTATE TYCOONS DOMINATE UK LIST March 7, 2012 ● Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor – real estate Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor is ranked 78 on the list. As the sixth Duke of Westminster, Grosvenor is the wealthiest landowner in the UK with a net worth of $11bn (£7bn), down from $13bn from last year. Grosvenor, age 60, is based in Chester. He made his fortune though [...]
Employment lifts as firms grow bolder March 7, 2012 STRONG jobs figures published yesterday raised hopes that the economic recovery is finally underway. Permanent staff placements by recruitment firms grew for the second month running in February, according to the KPMG and Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) report on jobs, though temporary placements fell. Overall demand for staff rose at the fastest pace in [...]
