Oil and gas output boosts Devon February 15, 2012 Devon Energy posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on rising oil and gas output yesterday, even as it boosted reserves to record levels, and predicted six per cent production growth this year. Devon, which signed a $2.2bn shale deal with China’s Sinopec last month, reported a dip in fourth-quarter net profit to $507m, from $562m a [...]
SSE raises $700m in placing February 15, 2012 Utility group Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) yesterday completed a $700m (£446m) fundraising drive, selling senior notes to 22 American investors in a private placing. The FTSE 100 firm said the funding deal as an all-in cost of around 4.25 per cent, when converted to sterling, and has a weighted average maturity of 10.3 years. [...]
Telenor claws back Vimpelcom February 15, 2012 Norway’s Telenor yesterday wrestled back partial control of telecom firm Vimpelcom from Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group, in a move that gives it more say over strategy and could prolong a long-running corporate battle. The company said it has bought 234m shares in Vimpelcom that will boost its voting share to 36.36 per cent.
Airbus chief orders probe into failings February 15, 2012 THE CHIEF executive of Airbus yesterday revealed that he had launched an internal inquiry into the failings which had allowed wing cracks to develop in its flagship A380 jet. Tom Enders moved to allay fears that the planes were unsafe while pledging to tighten up procedures in the future. The world’s largest planemaker, owned by [...]
Strikes batter Qantas earnings February 15, 2012 AUSTRALIA’S top airline Qantas Airways this morning posted a 51.5 per cent fall in first-half underlying profit after a bitter industrial dispute and high fuel bills took their toll and said it planned job cuts to offset challenging conditions. Qantas, which suspended all flights for two days last year to bring a battle with unions [...]
Coryton given lifeline by KKR and Morgan Stanley February 15, 2012 CORYTON refinery will continue to operate for at least three more months after Marcel Van Poecke, a co-founder of insolvent owner Petroplus, teamed up with Morgan Stanley and investor KKR to provide fresh crude supplies. Coryton, in Essex, is the most coveted asset of the five refineries owned by Petroplus around Europe, traders and analysts [...]
Comcast reveals $6.5bn buyback as it manages to keep hold of customers February 15, 2012 COMCAST yesterday reported that it had significantly cut cable customer losses, and announced a dividend increase plus a $6.5bn (£4.1bn) share repurchase plan. The largest cable company in the US lost 17,000 video customers in the fourth quarter, down from 135,000 subscribers in the same quarter in 2010. It also decreased cable losses for the [...]
Manchester Airport overhaul hints at interest in BAA sites February 15, 2012 MANCHESTER Airport could make a bid for one of BAA’s airports in the coming months, after its supervisors laid out a new ownership structure to allow it to expand. Manchester Airport Group is in talks with the local councils that own it, with a view to attracting a private investor to beef up its purchasing [...]
Deere does well as its farming conditions drive stronger sales February 15, 2012 DEERE & Co reported a four per cent rise in quarterly earnings yesterday as higher prices and growing demand for farming and construction machinery offset the rising cost of production, materials and meeting emissions regulations. The Illinois-based farm equipment maker posted fiscal first-quarter net income of $533m (£339m), or $1.30 per share, compared with $513.7m, [...]
BACON NUDE FETCHES £21M AT AUCTION February 15, 2012 A 1963 painting by Francis Bacon has been sold for £21.3m, making it the second most valuable piece of contemporary art ever sold at Christie’s auction house. The Portrait of Henrietta Moraes – described as “sexually charged” by Christie’s Francis Outred – had been in a private collection for 30 years, and had not been [...]
