First Derivatives profits up 15pc May 25, 2011 AIM-listed software and consulting service provider First Derivatives yesterday announced a pre-tax profit increase of 15.1 per cent to £6.5m this year with a 44.2 per cent rise in revenues. Chairman David Anderson said product launches would be followed by sustained marketing as the company capitalises on recent investments.
G4S expands east to secure 2012 growth May 25, 2011 SECURITY giant G4S outlined the extent of its emerging markets opportunity yesterday as it eyes a return to pre-recession growth levels by the end of next year. G4S, which protects assets such as oil and gas plants and runs government facilities such as prisons, expects the global security market to grow at eight to nine [...]
BTG revenues up 13 per cent May 25, 2011 BRITISH pharmaceutical firm BTG yesterday posted a 13 per cent rise in full-year revenue, helped by a £6m contribution from its Biocompatibles acquisition in the final two months of the year. The company bought oncology products supplier Biocompatibles in November 2010, extending the portfolio of products it can sell to hospital-based specialists. Chief executive Louise [...]
Economic stability key to demand, says Buckles May 25, 2011 AS CHIEF executive of G4S since 2005, Nick Buckles has weathered the financial crisis and is now focused on returning the company to its former high growth. While G4S, as a security firm, is associated with flak jackets and war zones, Buckles says it is global industry, not instability, that will help it regain pre-crisis [...]
Adviser hire sparks sales talk for Martha Stewart May 25, 2011 MARTHA Stewart Living Omnimedia has hired an investment bank to advise it on its options, a signal that the company founded by the cooking star may seek a partnership or a sale. The move to hire the Blackstone Group, which sent shares of the company up more than 20 per cent yesterday, comes after several [...]
Aveva demand boosts profit May 25, 2011 Software firm Aveva yesterday posted an eight per cent rise in full-year profit after strong demand from customers in the oil, gas and power sectors. Aveva, which makes software used to design nuclear power stations, ships and oil facilities, said adjusted pre-tax profit for the year was £54.7m compared with £50.7m for 2010. The company [...]
Telecom Plus sees profits surge May 25, 2011 Utility services group Telecom Plus said yesterday its full-year profit rose 51 per cent on higher demand for gas during the winter and an increase in energy prices. The company, which supplies gas, electricity, telephony and broadband under the Utility Warehouse name, forecast higher financial results for the current year, in line with market expectations. [...]
Twitter to warn privacy users May 25, 2011 Twitter will seek to notify its users so they can defend themselves before it hands over user information to the authorities, a senior manager said yesterday when asked about the ongoing privacy dispute. Lawyers for Ryan Giggs, have asked Twitter for details of the users who published his name in tweets despite an injunction being [...]
ONS confirms 0.5pc growth May 25, 2011 THE UK economy grew by half a per cent in the first quarter of the year, according to official data released yesterday. The second estimate of 2011’s GDP growth matched the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) preliminary calculations, yet a prominent group of economists continue to cast doubt on the figures. “We still think that [...]
Banks’ mortgage lending falls May 25, 2011 MORTGAGE approvals dropped by six per cent in April, according to figures from Britain’s leading high street banks. Approvals fell to 29,355, down from 31,205 in March, while gross mortgage lending was five per cent lower than the same time last year, the British Banking Association (BBA) said. The average price of houses purchased with [...]
