Victrex sales up on high demand for its plastics April 7, 2011 HIGH-TECH plastics firm Victrex said yesterday its first-half sales volume rose 22 per cent on higher demand for its polymer products. Victrex, whose key polymer products are used in aircraft components, car parts and surgical instruments, said its sales volume rose to about 1,434 tonnes for the six months ended 31 March from last year’s [...]
Mondi to decouple SA unit April 7, 2011 UK-based paper maker Mondi plans to decouple its South African packaging business from the group and list it under a new name on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the company announced yesterday. Mondi, which owns 70 per cent of Mondi Packaging South Africa, said the demerger would provide shareholders and both businesses the opportunity for growth.
Electrocomponents sales rise April 7, 2011 Electrocomponents has said it expects full-year pre-tax profits to be marginally above previous forecasts, with sales topping £1bn for the first time. The company said sales growth has remained strong since its interim management statement in February despite more demanding comparatives. Group sales grew by around 17 per cent in the quarter to the end [...]
US passes thyroid cancer drug April 7, 2011 UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has had a new drug to treat thyroid cancer approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The drug is called Vandetanib, and is a daily oral pill to treat adult patients with a rare form of thyroid cancer who are getting sicker and are not candidates for surgery. AstraZeneca runs [...]
BRANSON MULLS VIRGIN ATLANTIC TIE-UP April 7, 2011 SIR Richard Branson is considering selling down his 51 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic in order to keep the airline competitive. The entrepreneur said a possible partnership “makes sense” although it is currently “too soon to say” whether this will be the final outcome of consultations with Deutsche Bank. He plans to remain a [...]
Vedanta extends Cairn offer April 7, 2011 VEDANTA pushed on with its offer to take over 20 per cent of Cairn India yesterday, despite the Indian government’s decision on Wednesday to further scrutinise the deal. Vedanta and Cairn have extended the offer period by a month to 20 May to try and get the deal out of the doldrums, after more than [...]
Nokia’s credit rating cut as rival HTC overtakes April 7, 2011 MOBILE phone group Nokia suffered two big knocks yesterday after Taiwanese rival HTC overtook the firm in terms of market value and Moody’s cut its credit rating. HTC’s shares rose 5.3 per cent to value the firm at $33.8bn in Taipei trading, surpassing Nokia’s $33.6bn valuation in a sign of the Finnish giant’s changing fortunes [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 7, 2011 Ernst & Young The professional services firm has appointed Steve Varley as UK and Ireland managing partner, effective from 1 July, when he will take responsibility for overseeing 11,000 people in the UK and Ireland. Varley has been a member of Ernst & Young’s UK and Ireland leadership team since 2006, most recently as markets [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 7, 2011 BRITVIC Goldman Sachs has downgraded the soft drinks firm to “sell” and cut its target price by 77p to 384p. The broker thinks the firm’s sales mix will continue to suffer as UK and Irish customers look for better value. It also expects Britvic’s management to admit rising input costs during interim results next month [...]
Getting Olympic rental prices for your home April 7, 2011 JUST 476 days until the Olympics, reads the countdown clock in Trafalgar Square. It heralds the flood of millions of people into the city to watch the games. Preparations are already underway: the Tube is being renovating stadiums are being built and hotels are hiking their prices. If you’re looking at all this and wondering [...]
