BAT struggles as cigarette demand falls April 28, 2010 BRITISH American Tobacco reported a four per cent fall in underlying first quarter volumes yesterday as fewer customers bought cigarettes. The London-based group, which makes Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, said its consumers were finding economic conditions difficult and volumes suffered as a result of the decline in some markets. Overall volumes [...]
Greene King bullish for 2010 as food sales give it a boost April 28, 2010 PUB group Greene King said yesterday it was confident of meeting its full-year profit forecasts, boosted by strong sales of food, although it remains cautious on the outlook for consumer spending. The company, which has around 2,500 pubs in England and Scotland, said in a trading update that retail like-for-like sales were up 3.6 per [...]
Admiral on track to hit its targets as turnover rises April 28, 2010 MOTOR insurer Admiral said its performance in the first quarter put it on track to meet analyst expectations for 2010 as turnover was boosted by the firm insuring more cars. Admiral said yesterday that sales for the first three months of the year increased to £345m – 28 per cent higher than the same period in [...]
Honda drives into profit as market picks up April 28, 2010 CARMAKER Honda has reported a profit for the first three months of 2010. The Japanese company said it made a net profit of 72bn yen (£507m) between January and March, with sales rising by 28 per cent. A recovery in the major US and Japanese car markets helped Honda, as well as expansion in developing [...]
Spain’s BBVA confident bad loans are out April 28, 2010 Spain’s second-largest bank BBVA stabilised bad debts in the first quarter and yesterday said it was confident these have peaked ahead of its rivals, adding weight to the recovery for Spain’s property-hit lenders. BBVA also reassured investors it had little exposure to Greece and Portugal, following credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgrade of Greek [...]
Deka seeks Drapers Gardens April 28, 2010 DEKA, the German fund manager, is the frontrunner to buy the iconic Drapers Gardens office building in the City of London, according to advisers working on the deal. Drapers Gardens, which is owned by Canary Wharf and Exemplar Properties, was put on the market in March this year. The other bidders include European fund managers [...]
Stagecoach is boosted by bus and train ticket sales April 28, 2010 STAGECOACH posted a positive trading update after the transport group saw improved revenue and strong profitability during the first quarter. The Perth-based firm, which also has operations in the US and Canada, said higher revenue boiled down to economic recovery in all of the regions where it operated. Bus and rail revenue in the UK [...]
HYDRODEC: STEADY PROGRESS April 28, 2010 CHEMICALS group Hydrodec, led by chief executive Mark McNamara, saw its shares rise around 28 per cent to 8.25p on news that trading conditions and cash generation were improving. The group – which recycles used transformer oil – saw annual sales rise by 49 per cent to $10.4m (£6.8m) while pre-tax losses narrowed to $13.6m [...]
888 to cut costs after poor trading April 28, 2010 ONLINE gaming group 888 said it will have to take cost-cutting measures after disappointing second quarter trading in its casino, poker and bingo operations. The internet group said yesterday that second quarter daily average revenue was down by 13 per cent compared to the previous quarter, which was partly due to historical seasonal trading patterns. [...]
Forth Ports knocks back £640m offer April 28, 2010 A CONSORTIUM of shareholders bidding for Forth Ports could walk away from a takeover after the Edinburgh-based docks operator shunned a sweetened bid worth £640m. Shares in Forth Ports surged eight per cent to £13.42 after the board unanimously said the £14 per share offer from Northstream fell “far short” of the company’s value. It [...]
