Datacash sees its profits surge September 9, 2010 PAYMENT service provider DataCash, which is to be bought by the world’s second-largest credit card network MasterCard, posted a 9.6 per cent rise in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit on strong performance across its segments. For January to June, DataCash posted an adjusted pre-tax profit of £8.3m, up from £7.5m a year ago. Revenue rose 6.3 [...]
Montgomery quits Mecom September 9, 2010 DAVID Montgomery, the media entrepreneur and former head of Mirror Group Newspapers, yesterday announced his intention to retire from Mecom, the group he founded to exploit the integration of a number of European newspaper titles. Montgomery’s decision to retire in January follows pressure from a number of the company’s leading shareholders who wanted him to [...]
Vodafone may sell minority assets after investor pressure September 9, 2010 VODAFONE, the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, is to simplify its structure following a drive to overhaul its portfolio after investor complaints. The company had said in July it would reconsider its strategy and look to “maximise shareholder value”, with analysts expecting it to seek to sell certain minority-owned assets. Vodafone, which this week [...]
Mecom September 9, 2010 THERE won’t be too many tears shed for David Montgomery, who yesterday agreed to retire from Mecom after shareholders representing more than 50 per cent of the stock said they wanted him out. As chief executive of the Mirror Group Montgomery made enemies with his legendary cost cutting and a dour manner. At Mecom Montgomery [...]
Thames River bosses share £26m payout September 9, 2010 THAMES RIVER CAPITAL, the fund firm recently bought by rival F&C, has shared £25.9m between the partners of its main subsidiary, despite a fall in profits and big outflows from its hedge funds. The payout to the 25 members of Thames River Capital, including chief executive Charlie Porter, chief operating officer Jeremy Charles and commercial [...]
APPLE RELAXES APP RULES September 9, 2010 APPLE, led by chief executive Steve Jobs, said it will ease restrictions for building iPhone and iPad applications, a move that should allow for the use of third-party tools such as Adobe Systems’ Flash software, and could ease the tension between the two companies. The US computer giant had been criticised by developers for what [...]
Takeover Panel prepares Code review response September 9, 2010 A PRIVATE put-up-or-shut-up deadline is the most likely significant proposal to come out of the consultation on proposed changes to the Takeover Code, according to M&A experts. The Takeover Panel’s response to the consultation – sparked by controversy over Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury earlier this year – is due in the next couple of weeks, [...]
Redrow calls for state help on mortgages September 9, 2010 THE head of housebuilder Redrow called on the government to take action over the sickly first-time buyer market in a bid to revive overall sales, after reporting better-than-expected annual results. Steve Morgan, the founder of Redrow who returned in a boardroom coup last year, described state intervention as a “no-brainer” due to low mortgage availability [...]
Arm shares rise to eight-year high as new chip is unveiled September 9, 2010 BRITISH chip designer Arm Holdings unveiled a new processor that could help it extend its dominance in mobile phones into new markets, sending its shares to a new eight-year high yesterday. Arm, led by chief executive Warren East, is making inroads into bigger rival Intel’s territory with design wins including Apple’s iPad tablet computer. Texas [...]
Premier Farnell boosts dividend after beating quarterly forecast September 9, 2010 ELECTRONIC components distributor Premier Farnell more than doubled its profit in the second quarter, beating market expectations, helped by strong growth in China and a recovery in North America. The company, which counts Philips, Microsoft and Nokia among its customers, posted underlying pre-tax profit of £23.8m for the three months to 1 August, up from [...]
