Strong update buoys AZ May 5, 2011 SHARES in AZ Electronic Materials rose 3.1 per cent yesterday at 288.9p after the supplier of specialist chemicals for chip makers said trading in the first-quarter was strong, driven by buoyant end-user markets. Revenues in the quarter rose 27 per cent to $192.3m (£117m), the firm said, adding that underlying earnings were in line with [...]
Go-Ahead is at full steam May 5, 2011 BUS and rail group Go-Ahead expects to beat its previous full-year profit guidance after a strong performance over the last three months, helped by solid growth at its UK rail business. The company, which operates commuter rail franchises through its majority-owned joint venture Govia, yesterday said UK rail revenues grew by more than 10 per [...]
Smith & Nephew boosted by US May 5, 2011 ARTIFICIAL knee and hip maker Smith & Nephew (S&N) posted a solid first-quarter, helped by strong growth in its US knees business, after rival Synthes was snapped up by Johnson & Johnson. The British company reported trading profit of $241m (£147m) on revenue four per cent higher at $1.06bn yesterday, resulting in adjusted earnings per [...]
Japan crisis no threat to AMEC sales May 5, 2011 BRITISH oil services and engineering group AMEC has said the outlook for its nuclear unit was unchanged despite the nuclear crisis in Japan, as it reported a strong order intake for the first four months of 2011. AMEC said that its pipeline of orders grew to £3.25bn on 30 April from £3.14bn at the end [...]
NatExpress profits help rebuff Elliott May 5, 2011 BUS and rail operator National Express yesterday said growing first-quarter profit showed it did not need the radical change of strategy called for by rebel investor Elliott. The transport group said growth across all of its divisions had helped pre-tax profit grow 30 per cent in the first three months of 2011 and sought to [...]
Metal prices boost earnings at Vedanta May 5, 2011 INDIA-FOCUSED miner Vedanta Resources posted a 29 per cent jump in full-year earnings per share yesterday, on the back of strong metal prices and a background of robust demand for commodities. Vedanta, founded in 1976 by executive chairman Anil Agarwal (pictured), said yesterday its basic earnings per share came in at $2.83 (£1.72). The group [...]
Randgold bullish for 2011 May 5, 2011 WEST African-focused gold miner Randgold Resources has said its profit jumped 92 per cent in the first-quarter and that it is on track to produce at the upper end of its full-year guidance. Profit rose to $45.9m (£27.9m)?from $23.9m a year ago as gold production grew 24 per cent to 139,403 ounces, helped by its [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 5, 2011 Norton Rose The law firm has appointed renewable energy finance specialist Antje Günther as a partner in the firm’s Frankfurt office. Günther, who joins from DLA Piper, where she has worked since 2006, represents financial institutions, corporates and funds in domestic and cross-border transactions. Norton Rose opened a third German office in Hamburg on 1 [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 5, 2011 EASYJET Nomura expects the airline to report a half-year pre-tax loss of £162m at its update next Tuesday, hammered by rising fuel prices and disruption in North Africa. However, the broker expects the weakening dollar to give easyJet a rare tailwind, as it runs on a material short dollar position, and predicts a full-year profit [...]
Lloyds leads slide in banking stocks as FTSE loses ground May 5, 2011 SLIDING commodity prices thumped energy stocks and miners while Lloyds Banking Group led financials down, pulling Britain’s top share index lower yesterday, with technicals pointing to further weakness. Bearish investors came to the fore as heavyweight commodity stocks Royal Dutch Shell and Lonmin fell 1.8 and 4.1 per cent respectively on lower crude and metal [...]
