Oil firms meet with Huhne March 31, 2011 OIL firms represented by Oil & Gas UK held crunch talks with the government yesterday over George Osborne’s controversial oil profit tax raid. Sources close to the talks told City A.M. they were “not hugely successful”, despite energy secretary Chris Huhne saying elements of the proposals “were up for consultation”. Oil & Gas UK will [...]
Petropavlovsk suffers hit from iron ore start-up costs March 31, 2011 RUSSIAN miner Petropavlovsk posted a 10 per cent fall in full-year profit due to start-up costs at its IRC iron ore subsidiary and higher gold production costs. Underlying earnings, before exceptional items including IRC, fell to $205m (£127m), beating the $191m consensus of eight analysts provided by the company. Revenue rose 30 per cent to [...]
JKX reassures on production targets March 31, 2011 OIL and gas producer JKX Oil and Gas said it was on track to hit its key production target this year, despite admitting that last year had proved “challenging” for the group. The FTSE 250 listed company said it remains on target to meet its 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) during 2011, [...]
SSE promises lift in full-year dividend March 31, 2011 SCOTTISH & Southern Energy (SSE), one of the UK’s biggest utilities, said it plans to raise its full-year dividend by at least six per cent and expects its annual profit to be in line with market estimates. In a pre-close statement the Perth, Scotland-based company said it would declare a dividend of at least 74.5p, [...]
Northern Rock bad bank repays £1bn… March 31, 2011 THE taxpayer has been repaid £1.1bn by the Northern Rock “bad bank”, which swung into profit last year. UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), the entity that now owns what were considered the more toxic assets of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, reported combined full-year profits of £477.5m yesterday, versus losses of £480m last year. In [...]
…As Coventry Building Society eyes loss-making good bank bid March 31, 2011 COVENTRY Building Society is putting together a bid for the loss-making “good bank” Northern Rock, the building society confirmed yesterday. Coventry is a surprise addition to the potential list of acquirers for the nationalised mortgage lender, its branches and its deposits, which includes self-styled challenger banks Virgin Money, Tesco Bank, OneSavings Bank and NBNK Investments [...]
Rothschild in China deal March 31, 2011 JACOB Rothschild’s RIT Capital yesterday launched an international private equity fund for private Chinese investors, the first of its kind. The fund, which is a joint venture with the Creat Group and Quercus Ventures, will aim to bring $750m (£467m) of Chinese cash under management for investment in “a wide range of sectors where the [...]
Edward Stobart dies March 31, 2011 Edward Stobart, who turned the family trucking company into one of Britain’s best-known brands as his distinctive green and white lorries thundered along the country’s motorways, has died at the age of 56. The company said in a statement: “It is with great sadness and regret that Stobart Group shares the news that Edward Stobart, [...]
Mothercare warns of tough times ahead March 31, 2011 BRITISH mother and baby products firm Mothercare joined the ranks of store groups warning on the trading outlook as Britons start scrimping on spending for their children. The group, which issued a profit alert in January, said it expected continuing weak demand after sales at UK stores open over a year fell 2.4 per cent [...]
Tate & Lyle sells plant March 31, 2011 SWEETENERS and starches maker Tate & Lyle sold a mothballed US ethanol plant in Iowa to Cargill yesterday, and reported a performance in line with expectations before a corn co-product boost to income. The London-based group, which makes sweeteners like Splenda, starches and ethanol, said it had sold the Fort Dodge plant for $57m (£35m). [...]
