H&M SALES BEAT FORECASTS September 16, 2011 Swedish budget fashion group Hennes & Mauritz yesterday reported sales for August that smashed worries that gloomy consumer sentiment would dent appetite for new clothes. Total sales were up eight per cent against analysts’ expectations of 2.3 per cent. Turnover in the June-August quarter was 26.9bn crowns (£3.17bn) excluding VAT.
Restructuring cuts losses for Centaur September 16, 2011 CENTAUR, the B2B publishing and exhibitions business, yesterday posted improved full-year results thanks to cost-cutting but still booked a loss on writedowns and redundancy payoffs. Revenue rose 14 per cent to £68.3m for the year to the 30 June, and adjusted EBITDA increased 50 per cent to £9.9m. But the company posted a pre-tax loss [...]
Pearson expands with a £252m Connections buy September 16, 2011 EDUCATION and publishing group Pearson is to spend $400m (£252m) to acquire a US-based firm which runs “virtual” public schools serving more than 40,000 students who chose not to attend traditional schools. Pearson, which is growing strongly in its education division, said the virtual schools were accredited and funded by the relevant states and were [...]
Eircom wins headroom on bank covenants September 16, 2011 LENDERS to struggling Irish telecoms group eircom have agreed to waive its debt covenants, averting a possible default on €3.8bn (£3.3bn) of debt, the company said yesterday. The waiver, which lasts until 15 December, “provides a necessary period of stability that allows restructuring discussions to take place during the next three months,” eircom Group chief [...]
MELTDOWN MONDAY THREE YEARS ON: THE EVENTS OF 15 SEPTEMBER 2008 September 16, 2011 ON 15 September 2008, global markets were thrown into panic mode as US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure a rescue sale. The announcement kicked off a day of unprecedented corporate chaos in the US – by late morning, Bank of America had agreed to buy struggling Merrill Lynch, and [...]
Snow slashes his £2.6m Evo share award September 16, 2011 ALEX Snow, chief executive of investment manager Evolution Group, has slashed a generous award of share options allocated to him just days before sale talks became public. Snow asked Evolution’s remuneration committee to reduce a gift of shares granted to him under its executive share incentive plan from 2m to just 1.29m after it swiftly [...]
Bank of America sells stake in HCA September 16, 2011 BANK of America said yesterday it has agreed to sell its stake in HCA back to the hospital firm in a move that will raise the firm $1.5bn (£950m). Bank of America is attempting to cut $5bn from its annual costs and bolster its cash pile as part of a restructuring. “The transaction is consistent [...]
Southern Cross extends loans September 16, 2011 EMBATTLED care home provider Southern Cross said yesterday it has extended its banking facilities for another week, giving it breathing space while it continues its restructuring. Southern Cross said the extension with lenders “will provide support for the process under which it is planned to transition homes to new operators nominated by Landlords”. The firm [...]
Arcapita ends AssetCo talks September 16, 2011 THE FUTURE of AssetCo was uncertain yesterday after the troubled fire engine supplier said Arcapita Bank had pulled out of takeover talks. Bahraini-based Arcapita said yesterday it has “been unable to reach satisfactory agreement with the Company’s existing lenders and preference shareholders” and so would not be making an offer for AssetCo. The two firms [...]
Kier sees lift in profits and ups dividend September 16, 2011 CONSTRUCTION firm Kier’s shares rose almost six per cent yesterday after it posted better than expected profits, helped by a shift away from public sector work as budgets come under pressure. Britain’s third largest contractor said underlying pre-tax profits for the year to June rose 24 per cent to £68.9m compared with £55.5m the previous [...]
