Misys’ investors redeem shares February 22, 2011 Software firm Misys said the majority of its shareholders had chosen to have their shares redeemed as part of a scheme to return to investors some of the proceeds from the sale of its stake in Allscripts-Misys. The company said 69.5 per cent of shareholders elected to have their “B” shares redeemed. Meanwhile, 23.3 per [...]
Sindall chair plans growth February 22, 2011 CONSTRUCTION group Morgan Sindall painted a bleak picture of the UK building market yesterday but said it plans to increase its share of the shrinking market in 2011. Morgan Sindall posted a full-year pre-tax profit of £40.7m for 2010, missing consensus forecasts of £46.9m, on a five per cent fall in revenue to £2.102bn. The [...]
SWISS WATCH EXPORTS UP 16.9 PER CENT February 22, 2011 SWISS watch exports rose 16.9 per cent from the same period a year earlier to SwFr1.1bn (£723m) in January, the watch industry federation FH said yesterday. Exports of wrist watches were up 17.1 per cent year-on-year in January, with shipments of gold watches increasing by twice the average rate.
Croda plans share buyback of £50m February 22, 2011 BRITISH chemicals firm Croda International yesterday posted a higher full-year profit, boosted by strong demand for consumer and industrial products, raised its dividend and said it plans to buy back shares. The company, which has a market cap of over £2bn, said it expected to buy back shares worth about £50m this year. Croda, which [...]
Dynegy replaces top executives as they fail again to secure a sale February 22, 2011 DYNEGY’S top management have announced their resignations after failing to sell the company for the second time in a year. The power company terminated its $665m (£413m) deal to sell itself to Carl Icahn because the billionaire investor was unable to convince shareholders to agree to the $5.50-a-share cash bid on the table. Bruce Williamson [...]
Cold weather spurs Drax revenue February 22, 2011 Drax, the operator of Britain’s largest coal-fired power station, reported higher revenue for the full-year as the cold weather boosted power sales, but warned rising coal prices could pressure margins. Drax reported revenue of £1.65bn for 2010, comfortably beating the average forecast of £1.47bn. Pre-tax profit rose 61 per cent to £255m, but fell short [...]
Hargreaves on track for 2011 February 22, 2011 British energy support services firm Hargreaves Services has posted a near 10 per cent rise in first-half pre-tax profit driven mainly by higher commodity prices, and said it was on track to meet its full-year profit targets. The supplier of solid fuels and bulk material logistics said it saw a robust performance from its energy [...]
Price rise boost for Dragon Oil February 22, 2011 Dragon Oil’s profit soared 49 per cent in 2010 on higher oil prices as the Turkmenistan-focused company said it had widened its scope for potential acquisitions to include West Africa. Dragon Oil’s pre-tax profit jumped to $514.7m (£318.2m) in 2010, slightly behind a consensus of $517m in a poll of five analysts, from $345m the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 22, 2011 Hawkpoint Partners Simon Russell has been appointed as managing director of Hawkpoint Partners. With an extensive portfolio across top European companies, Russell was previously head of technology at Dresdner Kleinwort as well as the head of European technology at Thomas Weisel Partners. He has also provided advice to corporate clients including Liquavista, 2e2, Wolters Kluwer [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 22, 2011 BP UBS rates the oil major “buy” with a target price of 550p. The broker believes that BP’s 30 per cent stake in Indian explorer Reliance is worth $7.8bn (£4.8bn), slightly above the $7.2bn payment announced on Monday, and that the deal will raise BP’s gearing to around 16 per cent. UBS thinks the deal [...]
