UK tops list of matured loans March 6, 2012 Half a trillion dollars of European leveraged buy-out loans are due to mature between now and 2016, according to law firm Linklaters. The largest burden will fall on the UK with $172bn of loans that need refinancing, compared to $86bn in France and $83bn in Germany. The telecoms sector is set to take the biggest [...]
Bwin.party sells poker website March 6, 2012 Gaming hybrid Bwin.party has agreed to sell Ongame, its business-to-business online poker network, to US rival Shuffle Master for a maximum of €29.5m. The digital entertainment business has been trying to offload Ongame since June as part of a strategy to divest peripheral parts of the business since Bwin and Partygaming’s merger. Shuffle Master will [...]
RWE to scale back its asset sell-off plans March 6, 2012 RWE, Germany’s second-biggest utility, plans to sell fewer assets after finding another €1bn (£834m) of cost cuts and raising its capital as it positions itself for a future without nuclear power in its home market. The company, which owns British utility NPower, reported a 45 per cent drop in 2011 net profit yesterday. It now [...]
Apple can even generate buzz with no product March 6, 2012 APPLE’S new iPad has had an impact even before it is unveiled. The product’s overall Buzz score on YouGov’s BrandIndex has increased by two points since the announcement of its release less than a week ago. Looking at longer term trends over the last year, we have seen the uninterrupted rise in its recommend scores [...]
EasyJet back in traffic growth March 6, 2012 BUDGET airline EasyJet has reported a 3.7 per cent year-on-year rise in passenger numbers for February. EasyJet carried 3.97m passengers last month, compared with 3.83m a year ago. The figures mark a return to strong passenger growth for the airline, after it posted a fall of 0.4 per cent in January. Its load factor, a [...]
Aviation boosts John Menzies March 6, 2012 JOHN Menzies yesterday posted a full-year pre-tax profit that topped expectations, boosted by contract wins in its airline ground handling business. John Menzies, which also distributes newspapers in the UK, said it made a positive start to the year and was trading in line with its expectations. Its Menzies Aviation unit reported a 31 per [...]
Fresnillo sees silver price lift its profits March 6, 2012 FRESNILLO, the world’s largest primary silver producer, said high metals prices boosted 2011 profit and helped more than double its final dividend, offsetting rising electricity prices, wages and the cost of tighter safety controls. The Mexican miner has no debt and $685m (£434m) in cash on its balance sheet at the end of 2011, but [...]
Wood Group profits rise is fuelled by engineering unit March 6, 2012 OIL industry services group John Wood yesterday reported a better than expected 16 per cent rise in full-year profits, helped by a strong performance at its core engineering unit where it expects to see further growth this year. The company, which designs, builds and maintains oil and gas facilities and pipelines, said increased exploration and [...]
Meggitt growth lifts off March 6, 2012 British aircraft parts supplier Meggitt expects to benefit from airlines renewing fleets with more fuel-efficient planes this year, after that trend helped it deliver strong growth in 2011 profit. The company, which supplies flight displays and wheels to planemakers Airbus and Boeing, said yesterday 2011 pre-tax profit rose 26 per cent to £323m on sales [...]
Cape sees record revenues March 6, 2012 Industrial service firm Cape said yesterday it had achieved record revenues in its first year in the FTSE 250. The company provides insulation, painting, industrial cleaning and training. Revenue jumped 11.1 per cent to £722.5m in 2011 with adjusted pre-tax profits of £69.4m compared with £69.1m the year before. In spite of delays to key [...]
