Inchcape in profit rise as its sales rally March 8, 2011 GLOBAL car dealership Inchcape saw its profit jump by 38 per cent last year as emerging markets performed strongly. Profit before tax and one-off items was £214m, also helped by cost savings across the business. However, Inchcape warned that it expected pressure on gross profit margins this year due to the appreciation of the yen [...]
Subway now bigger than McDonald’s March 8, 2011 SANDWICH group Subway has overtaken McDonald’s as the world’s largest restaurant chain, the company has said. Subway had 33,749 sites across the globe at the end of last year, compared with 32,737 for McDonald’s.In recent years, Subway has made a major push into international markets with its successful franchised business model, which emphasises small, low-cost [...]
John Menzies sees net debt fall as aviation arm gives firm a lift March 8, 2011 DISTRIBUTION company John Menzies yesterday reported a 28 per cent rise in profit to £45m thanks to a strong performance in its aviation division. Turnover across the group was up six per cent to £1.96bn. Profits in aviation – which handled 700,000 flight turns, 71m passengers and 1.7m tonnes of cargo in 2010 – were [...]
Weir profit soars on international growth March 8, 2011 ENGINEERING group Weir said yesterday it was confident on growth as it expects mining and oil and gas customers to continue to spend on valves and pumps, putting it ahead of schedule with a plan to double 2009 profits by 2014. Weir said growing demand for commodities in China was fuelling large mining projects and [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 8, 2011 Cordea Savills The international property fund manager has appointed Alexandra McGhee as head of fund finance, UK, with overall responsibility for the financial control and reporting on funds administered from London, Stockholm and Luxembourg. McGhee’s previous experience in European fund management includes the positions of business development director at Protego Real Estates and finance manager [...]
New demand for equipment hire helps to narrow Ashtead losses March 8, 2011 INDUSTRIAL equipment hire company Ashtead narrowed its third-quarter losses yesterday as wary contractors chose to rent rather than to buy equipment. The FTSE 250 company, which hires out equipment from diggers to small tools, posted a pre-tax loss of £1.7m for the three months to the end of January, compared to a £12m loss in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 8, 2011 INTERTEK JP Morgan Cazenove rates the product tester “overweight” with a target price of £21.30, up from a previous target of £20.50. The broker has also upgraded its 2011 earnings estimates by six per cent, arguing that the firm has one of the best opportunities in the testing sector. JP Morgan believes that the firm’s [...]
FTSE nudges higher as late rally boosts stocks March 8, 2011 A late afternoon rally nudged Britain’s top share index into positive territory yesterday, as investors eyed geopolitical turmoil in the Arab world and favoured defensive stocks. The FTSE 100 closed 0.98 points firmer at 5,974.76, having flirted with the key psychological 6,000 level earlier in the session after Kuwait’s oil minister said OPEC was considering [...]
Oil price drop and BofA forecast lift Wall Street March 8, 2011 AN upbeat profit forecast from Bank of America and a pullback in oil prices lifted Wall Street out of the technical danger zone yesterday in another sign of the market’s near-term resilience. The S&P 500 jumped back above a six-month trend line after closing just below it on Monday. Holding this level is a sign [...]
EURO RETREATS ON SOVEREIGN DEBT WORRIES March 8, 2011 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT JUST as euro-dollar broke through the key $1.4000 level on anticipation of an upcoming European Central Bank (ECB) rate hike, Moody’s downgraded Greece, bringing the rally to a sudden halt as sovereign debt fears returned to the currency market. On Monday, Moody’s reduced Greece’s sovereign debt rating by three notches [...]
