Mobile payments dominate agenda as rivals line up plans February 27, 2012 MOBILE payments were top of the agenda at Mobile World Congress yesterday, with the telecoms industry’s biggest players scrabbling to become the gatekeepers to consumer spending. Vodafone announced a tie-up with Visa to allow customers to pay for goods by swiping their phones instead of paying by card or cash. The scheme, which will be [...]
AB Foods hit as Primark growth slows February 27, 2012 SHARES in Primark-owner Associated British Foods dipped yesterday despite an upbeat outlook from the firm, after it admitted sales growth at its discount fashion cash cow had slowed in recent months. The company said it expected like-for-like sales at Primark to have grown by two per cent in the first six months of its financial [...]
LK Bennett boosted by international expansion February 27, 2012 LK BENNETT, the upmarket womenswear brand, has shrugged off the economic gloom to report a 17 per cent rise in full-year profits to £54.6m. The retailer, which runs 107 shops in the UK and 40 in Europe and US, said “excellent growth” in internet sales and a strong expansion overseas had helped drive sales up [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK FOR AB FOODS? February 27, 2012 DARREN SHIRLEY | SHORE CAP We do not anticipate any material changes to group forecasts post today’s update, though given the breadth of ABF’s operations we would not be surprised if we tweak divisional forecasts post speaking to management. We commenced 2012 with ABF our preferred stock of the FTSE 100 food producers … we [...]
ALPARI BACKS SAILING SERIES February 27, 2012 TAKING the City’s love of yachts to the next level, online foreign exchange trading services group Alpari has set sail with a global boating competition, the newly-named Alpari World Match Racing Tour. Co-captains Jim O’Toole, chief executive of the tournament, and David Stuart, chief operating officer of Alpari, announced the partnership yesterday alongside a bespoke [...]
WITTY VODAFONE CHIEF BRINGS THE HOUSE DOWN February 27, 2012 VODAFONE almost brought the house down yesterday. Not with an announcement, you understand: literally. During a press conference with chief executive Vittorio Colao, the Vodafone stall was stormed by security and everybody ordered to evacuate. Outside a crowd had gathered to gawp at the side of the two storey structure, which had bulged open and [...]
HISCOX SETS HIGH TARGET FOR HIS BRAINY BUNCH February 27, 2012 SMUG faces on the board of the insurance group Hiscox as chairman Robert Hiscox announces his retirement after 47 years: “I have always aimed to employ people brighter than I am… I am convinced that the current top executives prove that I have achieved my employment ambition.” So take a bow, directors Bronek Masojada, Stuart [...]
Bunzl shares at record high as profits rise February 27, 2012 BUSINESS supplies distributor Bunzl showed its recession-proof qualities with a greater-than-expected 11 per cent rise in yearly pre-tax profit yesterday, boosting its already outperforming shares to a record high. FTSE 100-listed Bunzl, which supplies supermarkets, hospitals and hotels with products ranging from carrier bags to toilet rolls, reported a 2011 pre-tax profit of £306.1m on [...]
Hoare Govett’s larger clients look poachable February 27, 2012 JEFFERIES Group, the global investment firm that has picked up the Hoare Govett name and around 50 of its remaining employees, has done a good job in hanging on to many of the firm’s stars. So, corporate advisers like Paul Nicholls and Chris Zeal have made the move across to the new firm, as has [...]
Cookson looks abroad to grow February 27, 2012 BRITISH industrial materials group Cookson said its increasing exposure to developing markets would fuel growth in 2012, surprising the market which had looked for sales to stay flat mainly due to sluggish Europe. Cookson, whose products are used in the glass and solar industries, yesterday forecast mid-single digit growth for 2012, after reporting a better-than-expected [...]
