Panmure posts larger yearly losses March 17, 2011 STOCKBROKER Panmure Gordon recorded a further slip in its profits, posting a bigger loss than a year earlier. The firm posted a pre-tax loss of £4.26m for the year, further into the red than the £3.08m deficit it recorded a year earlier. Net revenues were also down to £40.46m, from £50.86m a year earlier. “Obviously [...]
Arbuthnot profits are flat as it warns of tough year March 17, 2011 BOUTIQUE lender Arbuthnot Banking yesterday posted flat profits for last year and cautioned on difficult market conditions for the year ahead. The group, one of the oldest independent banks in London, posted pre-tax profits of £5.1m. Arbuthnot’s retail arm posted pre-tax profits of £8.5m, down from £10.2m a year earlier – although it saw underlying [...]
Crédit Agricole focuses growth on retail banking March 17, 2011 FRENCH bank Crédit Agricole’s new plan to grow net profit more than five-fold by 2014 disappointed hopes yesterday for an announcement on possible asset sales. New chief executive Jean-Paul Chifflet unveiled a new target of €6bn-7bn (£5.2bn-£6.1bn) in net profit by 2014 as the bank shifts its focus back from investment banking onto its retail [...]
Savills profit up but Asia could drag March 17, 2011 REAL ESTATE consultant Savills posted an 88 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £47.3m yesterday but warned that transactions in Asia are likely to fall this year in the wake of the Japanese disaster. The firm has evacuated all but one of its 70 Tokyo staff to the west of the country but said [...]
Ad recovery is boost for Aegis March 17, 2011 Marketing group Aegis beat forecasts yesterday despite suffering a £25m exceptional charge on the threat of bad debts from a Spanish former client. The debt provision pushed its pre-tax profits down 25 per cent from £91.2m to £68m but chief executive Jerry Buhlmann told City A.M. his firm had taken a “very prudent” view on [...]
Heritage Oil shares surge after talk of takeover interest from the Middle East March 17, 2011 HERITAGE Oil and Gas shares leapt 8.2 per cent to 313.5p yesterday after a report that a suitor from Abu Dhabi had made an informal takeover bid. Heritage turned down the £1.2bn, or 425p per share indicative offer after receiving a letter from the group’s advisers. Shares in the FTSE 250-listed group made their highest [...]
News Corp accused of nepotism in Shine deal March 17, 2011 NEWS Corp is being sued by a group of its shareholders over accusations the Murdoch family is treating the business “like a wholly owned family candy store”. Several legal filings allege nepotism over its purchase of Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine television company for £415m. Amalgamated Bank, a trustee for several investment funds holding more than 1m [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SAVILLS’ RESULTS? March 17, 2011 NAN ROGERS | COLLINS STEWART The figures were a little bit better than we were expecting, with the transactions business improving more than we had hoped. The dividend was also significantly higher. The Asian market could drop back this year, just because it was so strong in 2010, but the US market is looking particularly [...]
Lufthansa fears oil cost rises March 17, 2011 German airline Lufthansa yesterday said a sharp rise in fuel costs could hurt its profits, although economic recovery should boost the airline’s revenues and operating profit this year and next. In its full-year financial report, Lufthansa said it had swung to a 2010 net profit of €1.1bn (£956m),boosted by a €400m one-off tax effect. “2011 [...]
SIG expects housing growth March 17, 2011 Roofing and insulation firm SIG is considering resuming its dividend payments this year after yesterday posting a 3.1 rise in underlying pre-tax profit of £62.5m. Though revenues declined two per cent to £2.67bn, the firm said market conditions are set to stabilise and expects to see modest growth in residential building work. The FTSE 250-listed [...]
