Imperial says profits will fall in Spain June 13, 2011 IMPERIAL Tobacco, the world’s fourth-largest cigarette maker, yesterday warned a price war in Spain could wipe hundreds of millions of pounds off its profits in the region. The firm, which makes the popular Spanish Fortuna brand of cigarettes, said adjusted operating profits in the region could be up to £110m lower than previously expected. It [...]
Price war sees earnings go up in smoke June 13, 2011 WHAT’S this? Have the Spanish decided to kick the habit? A 16 per cent underlying decline in cigarette volumes during the first half certainly suggests so. The ban on smoking in public places, higher duties and a weak economy appear to have taken their toll. Now Imperial Tobacco has warned that a price war is [...]
Royal wedding helps traffic stats at BAA June 13, 2011 BAA, the Spanish operator of six British airports, yesterday said passenger traffic jumped 9.2 per cent last month compared to a year earlier. It said the late Easter holidays and royal wedding celebrations had led to more passengers travelling at the beginning of the month. The second Icelandic ash cloud only had a marginal effect, [...]
ENRC shares lead FTSE on Glencore talk June 13, 2011 SHARES in Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) jumped 4.65 per cent yesterday following rumours that Glencore is planning a £12bn takeover bid. The Kazakh miner was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 after reports that Glencore held talks in recent weeks with ENRC’s three billionaire shareholders Alexander Mashkevitch, Patokh Chodiev, and Alijan Ibragimov, who [...]
Gulf Keystone boss share transfer halted by divorce June 13, 2011 THE chief executive of an Aim-listed oil and gas group has been blocked from transferring shares by complex divorce proceedings. Gulf Keystone Petroleum said yesterday that 11.6m shares previously owned by its biggest shareholder, Gulf Keystone Petroleum Co. LLC, were transferred to Todd Kozel in May. The statement says, however, that the shares are “owned [...]
Kazakhmys gets $1.5bn Chinese loan for mining June 13, 2011 KAZAKHMYS, the world’s 10th-largest copper miner, secured a $1.5bn (£916m) loan from China yesterday to develop one of its most prospective copper fields and increase supplies of the metal to its largest market. Kazakhmys expects to conclude the full loan agreement with state-run China Development Bank this year, allowing it to develop its Aktogay field [...]
AGE STEALS A MARCH ON BEAUTY IN THE IMF LEADERSHIP CONTEST June 13, 2011 DO CITY insiders know something the rest of the world doesn’t about the IMF leadership race to replace the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn? Ever since Stanley Fischer announced his bid on Saturday, the odds on the Bank of Israel governor have been steadily shortening to make him Paddy Power’s “biggest liability” – even though at 67, [...]
Majestic eyes store growth as profits leap June 13, 2011 FINE wine drinkers helped Majestic Wine toast an eight per cent increase in its customer base in the past year that raised its profits by more than a quarter, it said yesterday. The failure of rival chains such as Oddbins, which went into administration in April, also boosted Majestic’s total sales by 10.3 per cent [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HAVE MAJESTIC’S RESULTS BEATEN YOUR FORECASTS? June 13, 2011 JOHN DICKINSON | BREWIN DOLPHIN Profit before tax was £0.7m ahead of our estimate, which was at the top of expectations. Majestic has built a good branded business in a competitive market and benefited from the demise of a lot of its competitors. We expect to raise our current year PBT estimate by £0.5m on [...]
William Hill ties in chief with £1.2m shares June 13, 2011 BETTING chain William Hill has paid its chief executive Ralph Topping shares worth £1.2m to keep him in post until the end of 2013, it said yesterday. Topping will receive a £600,000 salary in 2011 with raises in 2012 and 2013 to stay at William Hill, but has reduced his bonus and long-term incentive plan. [...]
