Danone shares tumble as profit suffers from low Spain revenue June 19, 2012 SHARES in French food group Danone fell yesterday after it warned of a hit to profits as Spanish consumers switched to cheaper yoghurts and milk prices rose, causing growth at the Actimel maker to stall. The world’s largest yoghurt maker said demand had fallen sharply in Spain and southern Europe as the Eurozone debt crisis [...]
Airbnb doubles bookings June 19, 2012 US home rental site Airbnb said yesterday it had seen a dramatic rise in bookings in the last five months. The number of nights booked on its site has doubled to 10m as the number of properties listed also doubled to 200,000. Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s chief executive, has highlighted international expansion as the reason for [...]
Sports Direct hires Oriel June 19, 2012 Sports Direct International has hired Oriel Securities as its joint corporate broker. The FTSE 250-listed British sports retailer said yesterday that Oriel will now work alongside Bank of America Merrill Lynch with immediate effect.
Weir Group reaffirms target June 19, 2012 Shares in engineering giant Weir Group rallied 4.6 per cent yesterday after it reconfirmed its full year guidance. Stock prices have dropped since February after warnings of decreased orders in its oil and gas news that the firm was back on track, and an 18 per cent yearly increase in its minerals division, boosted investor [...]
Ofcom rules out caps on media ownership June 19, 2012 OFCOM yesterday came out in opposition to imposing limits on media ownership just days after Ed Miliband called for caps on media market share. Publishing its response to a handful of questions proposed by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt in October, Ofcom said a review of media plurality should be conducted every four or five years. The [...]
Imagination sinks on Apple reliance fears June 19, 2012 IMAGINATION Technology, the chip designer, yesterday reported a 30 per cent jump in full year revenues to £127.5m. But its shares plunged as much as 10 per cent on fears that the London-listed company leans too strongly on its business from Apple. Analysts doubted whether Imagination has a large enough range of clients to hit [...]
Pluthero pockets hefty packet as CWW board forgoes bonuses June 19, 2012 NONE of Cable & Wireless Worldwide’s directors received bonuses in 2011/12, the year in which the telco’s value dropped by almost a third. But John Pluthero, the former CWW boss under whose management the company slipped to a staggering £443m first half loss, pocketed £790,938, including a £656,750 salary and £134,188 in lieu of pension [...]
Kewill turns it back on Kestrel’s offer and supports higher bid from Francisco Partners June 19, 2012 KEWILL yesterday announced an increase in the takeover price offered by Kinetic Bidco, the investment vehicle owned by the Francisco Partners Fund. The British software firm said it has now been offered £102.7m, up from the £89.5m price offered last month. The 110p per share offer – formerly 96p per share – represents a 44.7 [...]
Daisy Group to give first dividend June 19, 2012 Telecoms firm Daisy Group has pledged to pay a maiden dividend next year after annual revenues increased on the back of its acquisition spree. The Lancashire-based firm, which provides telecoms services to SMEs, has shown rapid growth and made more than 20 acquisitions in recent years. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose [...]
F&C Global Small Companies up June 19, 2012 The F&C Global Smaller Companies Investment Trust yesterday announced it had beaten its benchmark, and would make its 42nd consecutive dividend hike. Shares gained 0.8 per cent in the year to 30 April while net asset value total return was down 0.1 per cent. That compares to the trust’s benchmark, which fell four per cent. [...]
