Rolls-Royce and US army agree £371m contract April 23, 2012 ROLLS-Royce yesterday said it had won a $598m (£371m) contract to provide engines for the US military. The 268 engines will be used in V-22 Osprey aircraft. Rolls-Royce is the sole manufacturer of the engines for the V-22 and has a string of contracts with the US armed forces. Patricia O’Connell, Rolls-Royce’s president of customer [...]
ANALYST VIEWS April 23, 2012 DOUGLAS MCNEILL CHARLES STANLEY It’s a very satisfactory statement which provides scope for a modest increase in our FY13 earnings forecast. But the good performance is fully reflected in the share price, which seems to assume more growth in the US than we consider likely. We stick with our reduce recommendation. KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWN [...]
UK rail division gives a boost to Stagecoach April 23, 2012 STAGECOACH yesterday reported growth in its rail business, which includes London commuter franchise South West trains. The FTSE 250 transport company gave an upbeat forecast for 2012 across its businesses. Stagecoach said that its like-for-like sales across its UK rail operations had risen by 8.8 per cent in the 48 weeks to 1 April. Its [...]
Mother’s Day boosts takings at Greene King April 23, 2012 RECENT calendar highlights boosted Greene King as strong sales on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and St Patrick’s Day drove business up 4.5 per cent in the quarter. The pub operator said it sold 220,000 meals on Mothering Sunday, a 16 per cent increase on 2011 with wine sales up 18 per cent. Greene King chief [...]
ConocoPhillips lags forecasts as Kellogg’s cuts 2012 targets April 23, 2012 CONOCOPHILIPS, which is splitting into two stand-alone companies at the end of the month, reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by weak refining margins. Net profit for the first quarter was $2.9bn, or $2.27 per share, compared with $3bn, or $2.09 per share, a year earlier. Excluding $330m on net special gains, earnings were $2.02 [...]
GDF Suez benefits from gas as profits jump April 23, 2012 FRENCH utility GDF Suez yesterday posted a 5.7 per cent rise in first-quarter core earnings, thanks to growing demand for natural gas and contract wins in fast-growing emerging markets through British unit International Power. At its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, GDF Suez confirmed it would detail its nuclear review by mid-year, in the wake of [...]
Philips surprises with turnaround April 23, 2012 PHILIPS Electronics reported better-than-expected quarterly results yesterday, buoyed by one-off gains and a stronger performance at its consumer and healthcare businesses, in the first signs of a long-awaited turnaround under new management. Philips reported first-quarter net profit jumped 80 per cent to €249m as sales climbed seven per cent to €5.6bn. But the Dutch group [...]
BRITISH LAND SELLS VIRGIN ACTIVE SITES April 23, 2012 PROPERTY developer British Land has sold off five of the Virgin Active racquet sports clubs it bought last July. The clubs in Gloucester, Neath, Manchester, Oxford and Poole have been sold to three institutional buyers for a total of £33m, which the company said represents an average net initial yield of 6.5 per cent.
BP sues Argentinian firm Bridas April 23, 2012 ● BP yesterday sued Argentina’s Bridas Corp over a collapsed $7.06bn (£4.37bn) asset sale, saying it is willing to pay a $700m breakup fee so long as it will not face fraud claims arising from its conduct. The lawsuit stemmed from the November 2011 collapse of BP’s plan to sell its 60 per cent stake [...]
Borders dives despite gas find April 23, 2012 ● Oil explorer Borders & Southern yesterday said it made a significant discovery of gas condensate off the coast of the Falkland Islands. It said that a well drilled on the Darwin prospect off the south coast of the Falklands found the liquid, which often trades at a premium to crude oil. But shares in [...]
