AIB picks Duffy as new chief November 22, 2011 Allied Irish Banks has appointed David Duffy, a former senior executive at Standard Bank and ING, as its new chief executive with a salary capped at €500,000. AIB, effectively nationalised late last year, has been searching for a new chief for a year. Ireland’s ministry of finance said Duffy was on a fixed contract of [...]
Pandora’s Europe turnover falls November 22, 2011 Danish jewellery maker Pandora promised a turnaround plan would start to show results next year, after posting a 32 per cent drop in quarterly operating profit. Pandora, which floated in Copenhagen last year, said its sales in Europe declined 28.6 per cent, while sales in the Americas grew 4.1 per cent and Asia Pacific fell [...]
Merck pays $950m to settle case November 22, 2011 Merck & Co will pay roughly $950m (£607.7m) to settle criminal and civil charges that it promoted the painkiller drug Vioxx for an unapproved use, the US Justice Department said last night. The fine will conclude a long-running investigation into Merck’s promotion of the drug, which was withdrawn from the market in September 2004. Merck [...]
Nationwide’s warning over Euro turmoil November 22, 2011 THE EUROZONE crisis is forcing up the cost of UK retail deposits, the chief executive of Nationwide warned yesterday as the lending giant reported a rise in profits. Graham Beale said the added funding costs would be felt for as long as the single currency remained mired in a sovereign debt problem. “Whilst the initial [...]
ICG profits up in squeeze November 22, 2011 SHARES in buyout lender Intermediate Capital Group shot up nearly 10 per cent yesterday after it posted forecast-beating first-half profit and said it should benefit from tighter credit market conditions. The stock closed up 9.13 per cent at 228.4p, although it is still down by a third in the year to date. Pre-tax profit for [...]
Paragon eyes takeovers as earnings rise November 22, 2011 BUY to let mortgage specialist Paragon posted a surge in full-year profits yesterday and said it remained on the lookout for acquisition opportunities, having bought a portfolio off Royal Bank of Scotland last month. Paragon’s pre-tax profits for the year ending September rose 12.5 per cent from a year ago to £80.8m, helped by acquisitions [...]
Homeserve reveals costs of mis-selling November 22, 2011 REPAIR and insurance specialist Homeserve has posted a pre-tax profit rise of ten per cent in the first half of the year, but warned that the possible mis-selling of its insurance products could cost the group up to £10m. The firm, which offers insurance against burst pipes, broken down boilers and electrical problems, recently suspended [...]
Finns snap up gas and oil firm Hamworthy November 22, 2011 DORSET-BASED oil and gas services group Hamworthy has agreed to be taken over by Finnish enginemaker Wartsila yesterday in a deal valuing the UK company at about £383m. The announcement will boost Wartsila’s presence in the fast-growing energy sector. Wartsila said it saw major cost synergies and sales opportunities from integrating Hamworthy in its ship [...]
M&B’s debts concern Joe Lewis camp November 22, 2011 MITCHELLS & Butlers’ largest investor Joe Lewis yesterday voiced concerns over the embattled company’s finances, despite a return to profit in its full-year results. A source close to Lewis’s investment vehicle Piedmont highlighted the sharp rise in M&B’s non-current liabilities on derivative financial instruments, which hit £235m for the full year to 24 September, up [...]
Enterprise Inns profits slip but stays positive November 22, 2011 ENTERPRISE Inns, Britain’s biggest pub landlord, saw its pre-tax profits slip 10 per cent to £157m in the year to 30 September 2011 after it sales dropped and it sold off some of its pubs. The pub group, which has been nursing itself back to health after a turbulent four years, said the average net [...]
