BAE Systems may cut jobs to offset falls May 4, 2011 BAE Systems may be forced to cut more staff this year to help offset lower 2011 sales, which it still expects to be hit by reduced UK military spending and weakness at its land and armaments unit. “The group continues to anticipate a reduction in sales in 2011 as the volume adjustment in land and [...]
Linklaters names Elliott as senior partner May 4, 2011 MAGIC circle law firm Linklaters has said that Robert Elliott (pictured) will be its new senior partner from October, after David Cheyne steps down from his five-year turn in the post. Elliott has been a partner at Linklaters since 1990, having left the partnership at banking and finance specialist Wilde Sapte to join the restructuring [...]
Better Capital adds £210m May 4, 2011 BETTER Capital, the private equity fund founded by Jon Moulton, has announced its first set of results since it floated in late 2009, reporting a net asset value of £210.4m from 24 November 2009 to 31 March. The fund’s IFRS profits totalled £5.4m for the period, during which it made six acquisitions, including the high-profile [...]
BBA Aviation upbeat as sales rise May 4, 2011 Britain’s BBA Aviation said yesterday revenue for the first-quarter rose 13 per cent as an increase in flying activity boosted demand for its flight support services. The company, which provides refuelling, ground handling and other services to the general and commercial aviation markets, said sales at its flight support unit grew five per cent on [...]
Gem and Lucara end merger talks May 4, 2011 Gem Diamonds is no longer in merger talks with the Canada-listed miner Lucara Diamond, it said today. “No agreement has been reached in its preliminary discussions with Lucara Diamond Corp and these discussions are no longer ongoing,” said Gem, which operates in Africa, Australia and Indonesia. Lucara, like Gem, has operations in Lesotho and Botswana. [...]
Weir profits up on demand for oil May 4, 2011 British engineering firm Weir yesterday said it expects 2011 pre-tax profit to be £20m higher than previously guided after strong demand for valves and pumps from oil and gas customers in the first-quarter. Weir said yesterday that orders in the first three months of the year rose 30 per cent on a like-for-like basis, giving [...]
Losses narrow at MGM Resorts May 4, 2011 MGM Resorts International reported a smaller quarterly loss as hotel profits rose at its resorts in Las Vegas and earnings more than doubled at its Macau casino, sending the company’s shares up 9.6 per cent. MGM posted an adjusted loss of 16 cents a share yesterday, better than the loss of 19 cents a share [...]
Investors doubt growth prospects May 4, 2011 INVESTORS were struggling to digest Glencore’s 1,600 behemoth of a prospectus yesterday, with the doubters focusing on the key question that management will have to answer over the next two weeks: where’s the growth? One blue-chip investor told City A.M. that the firm’s profit forecasts are too modest and expressed concern about a medium-term commodities [...]
Prospectus reveals Glencore’s hybrid trader-miner model May 4, 2011 THE full extent of Glencore’s reliance on its trading arm was laid bare yesterday, revealing that 44 per cent of its operating profits come from “marketing activities” as opposed to “industrial activities”. The figure is key because many conventional commodities players are hesitant to invest in trading, a people business, rather than a business based [...]
High prices have stirred trader’s geopolitical risks May 4, 2011 GLENCORE has warned investors that it faces significant geopolitical risks that could materially impact its business, with “increased resource nationalism” due to high commodity prices flagged as a possible flashpoint. The company has endured repeated attacks on its corporate governance standards in the run-up to its float, with allegations that one of its subsidiaries has [...]
