Catlin’s Japan losses could reach $200m April 20, 2011 CATLIN Group yesterday estimated its losses from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami will be around $200m (£122m), net of reinsurance and reinstatements. The insurer also admitted that the estimate – which is based on total insured losses of between $20bn and $30bn – is subject to a considerable degree of uncertainty as the full scale [...]
Russian oil group Rosneft launches a share buyback April 20, 2011 RUSSIA’S top crude producer, Rosneft, announced a share buyback programme yesterday as the company continues to negotiate its $16bn (£10bn) share swap deal with BP. Rosneft said it will start with $100m to $200m worth of shares buyback in coming months, sending its share price up 1.7 per cent. The company also said that its [...]
Cost savings and sales lift Meggitt April 20, 2011 BRITISH aerospace equipment supplier Meggitt said its orders jumped 15 per cent in the first-quarter compared to last year, indicating good growth perspectives for 2011. The FTSE 250 firm reported its revenues were up 12 per cent, bolstered by a market recovery that was driven mainly by soaring civil aerospace orders. “Within the period we [...]
Bunzl on M&A trail after 12pc rise in revenues April 20, 2011 DISTRIBUTION group Bunzl has funding of more than £200m to spend on acquisitions to consolidate the markets in which it operates, chief executive Michael Roney said yesterday. The London-headquartered company has reported a strong start to 2011, with revenues up 12 per cent in the first quarter year-on-year. Bunzl, which provides retailers with not-for-sale goods [...]
Peugeot Citroen reports demand in new markets April 20, 2011 FRENCH carmaker Peugeot Citroen yesterday said strong demand in emerging markets helped it offset supply chain problems in Japan in the first-quarter, leading to a better-than-expected 10.2 per cent rise in revenue. The group stuck to its 2011 objectives yesterday but said there would be a likely hit of up to €150m (£132.7m) to automotive [...]
Centrica in Caribbean tie-up April 20, 2011 Centrica, the largest supplier of gas to UK households, has signed a sharing deal for the production of hydrocarbons with Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean’s leading oil and natural gas producer. The British energy giant will construct a floating liquefied natural gas facility along with Trinidad and Tobago’s state-owned integrated energy company Petrotrin.
Chemring makes £55m purchase April 20, 2011 British military equipment maker Chemring is to spend £55m buying a business that supplies the US military with devices for detecting chemical and biological threats. Chemring said in a statement yesterday that it had agreed to buy the Detection Systems operations and other related assets from General Dynamics Corporation in a cash deal that will [...]
Xstrata expands copper project April 20, 2011 Mining group Xstrata is buying up copper projects in Queensland, Australia for A$175m (£113.7m) to help expand its nearby production operations, the firm said yesterday. Xstrata is buying the tenements from Exco and expects initial production to start in the second-half of 2012, once open pit mining at the Ernest Henry mine has ended. The [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 20, 2011 Barclays Corporate Barclays Corporate has appointed Tan Kah Chye as head of trade and working capital, joining from Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, where he held the position of global head of trade finance for the past six years. At Barclays, Chye will use his experience in senior trade finance roles in Asia and Europe [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 20, 2011 BERKELEY GROUP HSBC has upgraded the housebuilder’s rating from “neutral” to “overweight” and has raised its target price by 340p to £12.30. The broker has raised its forecasts and ratings for a number of British residential property firms after government support for new builds in the Budget and a growing resilience in prices. HSBC sees [...]
