William Hill beats the odds January 19, 2012 High street bookmaker William Hill yesterday reported an expected six per cent growth in revenues for 2011, despite a two per cent fall in gross win margin due to a few unexpected football results, and said its operating profits were likely to be around £274m. The gambling company saw a 28 per cent boost in [...]
UK economic gloom hitting oil explorers January 19, 2012 OIL and gas firms drilled 34 per cent fewer wells in the UK-controlled parts of the Continental Shelf last year as the grim state of the economy took its toll, according to a report by Deloitte. Operators drilled just 49 wells in UK waters compared with 74 wells in 2010, on a par with activity [...]
Ruspetro shares start lower January 19, 2012 SHARES in Ruspetro, the first company to brave a main market listing in London this year, opened at a small discount to their issue price in conditional dealings yesterday. The oil and gas exploration group with assets in western Siberia priced its shares at the bottom of the range at 134p earlier in the week, [...]
Hawkpoint hires former Lazard banker Kiernan January 19, 2012 CORPORATE finance advisory firm Hawkpoint has hired a prominent former Lazard merger and acquisitions banker, Peter Kiernan, who is known for helping to engineer US food group Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury. Kiernan, who had been head of UK investment banking at Lazard, will become vice chairman at Hawkpoint, the firm said yesterday. The British firm [...]
Polymetal’s gold and silver production rises but broker views dent its shares January 19, 2012 RUSSIAN precious metals miner Polymetal expects 2012 gold output to range from 590,000-640,000 ounces, up from 443,000 ounces last year, as it expands mining operations, it said yesterday. Silver output is expected between 21-23m ounces this year, up from 19.9m ounces in 2011. The company produced 6.4m ounces of silver in the fourth quarter, up [...]
Premier is on course for 50 per cent output boost January 19, 2012 BRITISH oil firm Premier Oil yesterday confirmed it was on track to grow production by around 50 per cent over the course of this year, in line with its previous target, and said it would focus more on existing assets than new acquisitions this year. Premier plans to bring two new projects in the North [...]
London 2012 IMAGE OF THE WEEK January 19, 2012 HOCKEY | RIVERBANK ARENA This week the Olympic organisers announced that the Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament will take place from 2-6 May at the Olympic Park’s Riverbank Arena. The men’s Australian and German teams, ranked number one and two in the world, will be among the teams competing, along with the men’s and women’s [...]
China premier defends Iran deal January 19, 2012 Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has defended his country’s extensive oil trade with Iran against pressure from the west to impose sanctions over its nuclear energy programme. Wen was speaking at the end of a six-day visit to the Middle East, with tensions running high over possible US sanctions on countries that do energy trade with [...]
Edinburgh votes down Mitie work January 19, 2012 Shares in outsourcing group Mitie slipped 1.3 per cent yesterday after Edinburgh Council voted against its £170m facilities management deal. Mitie was named as preferred bidder last week for the seven-year contract to run school meals and maintenance work, but has been knocked back by the council after it voted to carry out the services [...]
Knight Capital’s earnings soar January 19, 2012 Knight Capital’s quarterly profit rose four-fold, it said yesterday, as the electronic trader earned more revenue from its market-making activities despite challenging market conditions. The firm’s shares jumped 10 per cent on the news that its fourth quarter earnings had soared to $40.2m, from $9.2m a year ago. Knight Capital, which is based in the [...]
