ANALYST VIEWS | DOES VODAFONE’S DOWNGRADED OUTLOOK DAMPEN ITS RESULTS? May 22, 2012 JONATHAN JACKSON KILLIK & CO Overall, today’s results were reassuring. Although the reduced guidance on revenue for next full year is a little disappointing, we are comforted by the expectation for stability in free cash flow, given that is the driver of the seven per cent dividend growth target. JERRY DELLIS JEFFERIES The outlook commentary is [...]
SJ Berwin and Mayer Brown in merger talks May 22, 2012 ONE of the UK’s top law firms is in preliminary talks with a US peer over a tie-up that would create a £900m business, it emerged yesterday. According to The Lawyer, City firm SJ Berwin has held exploratory merger talks with Mayer Brown – a Chicago-based firm that has a significant London presence. The news comes just a [...]
Shares plunge at Homeserve on FSA probe May 22, 2012 AROUND £200m was wiped from the value of repairs group Homeserve yesterday after it said the City regulator had launched a probe into mis-selling claims. The stock closed down by nearly a third after it confirmed the Financial Services Authority would investigate “certain historic issues”. The inquiry, which Homeserve said would take “a number of [...]
BATS in talks over deal to break into European futures market May 22, 2012 BATS Europe is in talks with exchange rivals over a clearing deal that will allow the share trading platform to break into European futures and challenge incumbents NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse. BATS Europe, which handles about a quarter of European share trading, has approached the main exchanges about recruiting their clearing houses to back [...]
Wonga hit by OFT warning May 22, 2012 THE OFFICE of Fair Trading (OFT) has written to short-term money lender Wonga to warn it against “aggressive”debt collection practices. The OFT said letters and emails sent from Wonga to customers suggesting they had committed fraud were without “appropriate justification”, and that if similar letters were sent again the lender would face a fine. Wonga said it [...]
Profits soar at investor ICG May 22, 2012 INTERMEDIATE Capital was the biggest riser on the FTSE 350 index yesterday after it posted a five per cent jump in profit. The firm, which specialises in providing mezzanine financing, posted fund management company profit before tax of £37.7m. Group profit before tax for the year to 31 March rose 31 per cent to £243.8m [...]
Dell shares dive as it struggles to grow income May 22, 2012 COMPUTER manufacturer Dell last night forecast disappointing second-quarter revenue as US and European corporate tech-spending weakens and consumer personal computer sales continue to shrink. Its shares dived more than nine per cent in after hours trading. Dell, like rival Hewlett-Packard, is losing market share to mobile devices such as Apple’s iPad as consumers choose to [...]
RALPH LAUREN GIVES DOWNBEAT SALES OUTLOOK May 22, 2012 FASHION brand Ralph Lauren said yesterday it expects lower wholesale sales this fiscal year, hurt by a slowdown in Europe and the closure of some China wholesale operations it will eventually replace with its own stores. Ralph Lauren said revenue rose 13.7 per cent to $1.62bn, while net income was $94.4m compared with $73.2m a [...]
Kcom posts jump in profits May 22, 2012 Telecoms provider Kcom Group’s full-year pre-tax profit rose 55 per cent, helped by an increase in sales at its KC business and a reduction in operating costs. Kcom, which provides communications services for enterprise and public sector organisations across the UK said pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 March rose to £51.1m from £32.9m. [...]
Destocking hits Victrex May 22, 2012 High-tech plastics firm Victrex reported a fall in its half-year profit as destocking by customers in the first quarter hurt sales. Victrex, whose key polymer product is used in aircraft components, car parts and surgical instruments, also hiked its interim dividend by 13 per cent to 9p per share. For the first half, Victrex said [...]
