Keystone Law CEO: ‘There’s always been a culture of presenteeism in law firms – but that makes less sense now’ April 29, 2021 AIM-listed Keystone Law has enjoyed a good financial year, with profits and revenue at the firm up, something it attributes to being accidentally pandemic-ready thanks to its flexible approach to work. Revenue for the year jumped nearly 11 per cent to £55m, while profit before tax rose to £5.4m, some £200,000 more than the previous [...]
Weir inks £36m Ferrexpo deal as profit stays on track April 29, 2021 Engineering firm Weir Group this morning said it had won a £36m contract to provide energy saving solutions to iron ore firm Ferrexpo. The contract win came as the FTSE 100 firm said that it was on track to deliver profit in line with market expectations this year. The deal with Swiss firm Ferrexpo will [...]
Funds under management swell to a record £135bn at St James’s Place April 29, 2021 Funds under management at St James’s Place have reached a record high and strong inflows in the first quarter it said this morning, as government spending and Covvid-19 vaccination drives positive investor sentiment. Funds under management jumped to £135bn at the end of March, surpassing the previous record of £129bn it touched in 2020. Net [...]
Paddy Power owner Flutter sees 32 per cent rise in revenues to £1.5bn April 29, 2021 Gambling giant Flutter Entertainment saw its total revenue leap by 32 per cent to £1.5bn in the first three months of the year, the company said this morning. The Dublin-based owner of Paddy Power and Betfair said that sports betting revenues shot up 43 per cent to £896m. Meanwhile, its gaming market grew 18 per [...]
Unilever beats sales expectations and announces €3bn share buyback April 29, 2021 Unilever beat sales expectations in the first quarter and announced it will launch a share buyback of €3bn (£2.61bn) later this year. The consumer goods giant said this morning that it secured underlying sales growth of 5.7 per cent in the first three months of the year, beating analysts’ average forecast of 3.9 per cent. [...]
Aviation woes keep Meggitt pinned down in first quarter April 29, 2021 Aerospace engineer Meggitt said that the ongoing aviation crisis due to the pandemic had continued to hold it back in the first quarter. The FTSE 250 firm said that revenue was down 29 per cent for the period, with its civil aerospace division down 46 per cent so far this year. However, it said that [...]
We need new models of public procurement April 29, 2021 Public procurement has been in the headlines recently, and not for wholly good reasons. During the pandemic, governments around the world have rushed to buy essential kit – including face masks, gloves, medical equipment and vaccines – from suppliers. This scramble has come at a price, with the balance of power moving from the buyer [...]
Standard Chartered profit soars to $1.4bn as Covid19 provisions to cover bad loans go unused April 29, 2021 Standard Chartered this morning posted a higher- than-expected 18 per cent jump in quarterly pre-tax profit, as the Asia-focused bank began recovering from the economic hit caused by the Covid19 pandemic. Pre-tax profit for the three months to 31 March was $1.4bn, up from $1.2bn a year earlier, and well ahead of the $1.08bn analysts had [...]
NatWest beats forecasts as bank returns to profit in the first quarter April 29, 2021 NatWest returned to profit in the first quarter of the year after releasing cash it had set aside to cover bad loans due to the pandemic. The bank reported a pre-tax profit of £946m for the first three months of the year, beating an average analyst forecast of £536m. It exceeds the £519m pre-tax profit [...]
WH Smith launches £325m bond offering as retailer swings to first-half loss April 29, 2021 WH Smith warned it could breach its covenant tests next year as it revealed it swung to a first-half loss and launched a £325m bond offering. The newsagent chain announced yesterday evening that it was possible that “the group would not meet the conditions of the August 2022 covenant tests”. It posted a loss of [...]
