Demand for luxury boosts HR Owen August 30, 2012 LUXURY car dealership HR Owen reported a sharp lift in half-year earnings yesterday, as sales of new Ferrari and Lamborghini models, including the Aventador thrived. Pre-tax profit at the group, which opened a new Ferrari boutique at The Berkeley in June, rose by 23 per cent in the six months to the end of June.
Online firm Playtech cashes in on demand for social gaming August 30, 2012 DEMAND for bingo products and casino games such as blackjack, roulette and slots helped online software group Playtech post a better-than-expected 64 per cent rise in first-half earnings. Playtech develops software platforms for online and other games for clients including Irish bookmaker Paddy Power and gaming company Gala. It also has a 29 per cent [...]
Melrose confident on outlook August 30, 2012 Industrial turnaround group Melrose reported a nine per cent increase in revenue for the first half yesterday, after completing the £1.5bn acquisition of manufacturing group Elster. Melrose, which buys underperforming manufacturing businesses, turns them around and sells them, recorded increased revenue of £564.6m, up from £516.6m over the first half of last year. The firm, [...]
APR profits up as CFO departs August 30, 2012 Temporary power specialist APR Energy yesterday posted a sharp jump in revenue for the first half of this year. Revenue was up by 162 per cent to $155m (£98m) over the six months to 30 June, while pre-tax losses narrowed to $1.9m from $32.3m over the previous year. The results come as chief financial officer [...]
Salamander hit by lower production August 30, 2012 Asia-focused oil and gas firm Salamander Energy posted a 74.5 per cent drop in first-half profits yesterday, driven by lower oil production. Pre-tax profit slumped to $15.9m (£10m) over the first six months of the year, compared to $62.4m over the same period in 2011. Salamander said that average production dropped to 10,700 barrels of [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs August 30, 2012 Ernst & Young The professional services organisation has added seven information security specialists to its risk advisory practice. The expansion is in response to growing demand from UK companies for information security services. Among the cohort is Robin Gaddum, who joins as senior manager. Gaddum, a fellow of the Business Continuity Institute, previously led IBM’s [...]
Best of the Brokers August 30, 2012 SEGRO Morgan Stanley has downgraded the property group from “overweight” to “equalweight” with a price target of 240p after a good run by the shares. It says a further re-rating may be triggered by Europe disposals. TED BAKER Singer has downgraded the retailer from “buy” to “fair value” with a target price of 1,000p, seeing [...]
FTSE edges lower with investors still cautious ahead of key EU meetings August 30, 2012 FRESH concerns over demand from China weighed on mining stocks and dragged Britain’s top share index lower yesterday, with investors bracing for a series of meetings that could pave the way for further central bank stimulus. The FTSE 100 closed down 24.08 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,719.45, in volumes just 58 per cent [...]
Wall St treads water ahead of Jackson Hole August 30, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday after several days of muted trading as investors took a defensive posture before Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s much-awaited speech today. Bernanke, due to speak to central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at 1400 GMT today, is expected to keep markets guessing about the timing of another round of bond purchases. [...]
Steady hands will be navigating Barclays through murky waters August 30, 2012 THE appointment of Antony Jenkins as the new boss of Barclays is a clear indication that the Barclays of the future will be very different from that of the past. He may be an insider – a Barclays man – but Jenkins is a retail banker, having made his name at Barclaycard and in branch [...]
