Contract wins give Compass fuel for growth May 12, 2010 COMPASS, the world’s biggest caterer, yesterday said a succession of new contract wins and an improvement in operating margin were behind a 14 per cent increase in first-half pre-tax profit. The group, which counts Chelsea Football Club, London’s O2 arena, the Bank of England and the US Senate among its clients, said it had delivered [...]
First Group margins hit by big fuel hikes May 12, 2010 TRANSPORT giant First Group warned yesterday its margins had been hit by soaring fuel prices and cut backs in public spending. It led to a slump of 19 per cent in full-year profit – down from £326m in 2009 to just £264m. The cost of petrol alone hit the Aberdeen-based company for more than £90m, [...]
IBM to double profit by 2015 May 12, 2010 IBM said it expects its profit to roughly double to more than $20 a share by 2015, helped by growth in emerging markets as well as the company’s push into high-margin technology services and software businesses. IBM chief executive Sam Palmisano told an annual investor briefing yesterday that the company expects earnings per share (EPS) [...]
Tullow Oil poised to snap up Heritage Oil assets May 12, 2010 TULLOW Oil is poised to acquire a $10bn (£6.74bn) development project in Uganda as the exploration company awaits approval from the authorities. The group said it expected Ugandan approval to buy assets from Heritage Oil in the next few weeks, allowing it to develop in east Africa. Once the deal with Heritage has closed, Tullow, [...]
ITV loses ad price war but shares gain May 12, 2010 BRITISH broadcaster ITV failed in its bid to win more freedom to set advertising prices but its shares rose almost seven per cent yesterday as a new Conservative-led government raised hopes of deregulation. The Competition Commission ruled that ITV must continue to allow advertisers to renew their existing contracts, adjusted for audience share, and said [...]
Contract wins help swell order book for construction firm Balfour Beatty May 12, 2010 CONSTRUCTION firm Balfour Beatty yesterday said its order book has been boosted by a number of key contract wins, and the integration of a US acquisition is progressing well. Britain’s largest infrastructure contractor said that its order book was ahead of the £14.1bn reported at the end of 2009 and its trading performance so far [...]
Cattles losses pushed up to £745m after review May 12, 2010 BELEAGUERED credit lender Cattles’s losses in 2008 have been revised upwards to £745m after a forensic review revealed previous management had withheld information over the real state of arrears at its Welcome subsidiary. The loss, £190m more than initial estimates, was struck after an impairment charge of £794m spread across the firm’s lending businesses. The [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF FIRST GROUP’S RESULTS? May 12, 2010 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO “The stock currently trades at an undemanding 8.9 times March 2011 earnings. We believe this is too low for a company that offers both recovery potential and outsourcing opportunities. We remain buyers.” MANOJ LADWA | ETX CAPITAL “First Group’s set of numbers would be even more impressive if it [...]
BC Partners steps up €6bn funding drive May 12, 2010 EUROPEAN buyout house BC Partners is understood to be gearing up marketing for one of the year’s most eagerly awaited new funds, aiming to gather some €5.9bn (£5bn). The firm, which founded in 1986 and recently listed German chemicals distributor Brenntag and travel reservations group Amadeus, is thought to have sent out information to new [...]
Irish Nationwide stays in red May 12, 2010 STATE-run Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) may need further capital from the government if “almost inevitable” losses this year come in ahead of expectations, its chairman said yesterday. INBS, which reported a tenfold widening of its losses in 2009 due to a jump in bad loan provisions, is being propped up by a €2.7bn (£2.3bn) [...]
