TNT Express makes a loss after write-offs in southern Europe July 29, 2013 TNT EXPRESS said yesterday that tough trading conditions in southern Europe contributed to a €350m (£302m) write-off that pushed the Dutch delivery group to a second-quarter loss. The company is restructuring to bounce back from the collapse of a €5.2bn takeover by rival United Parcel Service, which was blocked by European regulators in January on [...]
Croda snaps up Chinese firm July 29, 2013 Chemicals business Croda is buying a 65 per cent stake in China’s Sichuan Sipo Chemical Co, a specialty firm based in the Sichuan province. The deal, worth £38.2m, will give Croda a foothold in the country’s lucrative car lubricants market. Croda’s European performance technologies division has been hit by a slowdown in the European car [...]
Intertek ups dividend as sales rise July 29, 2013 Product testing group Intertek upped revenues by 9.5 per cent in the first half of the year, while operating profit rose 4.5 per cent. Growth across all of its business divisions helped boost revenues to £1.084bn in the six months to 30 June, up from £991m in the same period last year. Operating profit rose [...]
Polymetal expects writedowns July 29, 2013 Russian precious metals miner Polymetal said yesterday it expects to record a non-cash impairment charge in its first-half financial results due to lower commodity prices. The firm said weak gold and silver prices could lead to charges of up to $340m (£221m). Polymetal also said it was expecting to deliver on annual production targets, as [...]
Gem Diamonds trims forecasts July 29, 2013 Gem Diamonds said yesterday it recovered 26 per cent fewer carats in the first half compared with the second half of last year and cut its 2013 production forecast for its key Letseng mine in Lesotho. Gem Diamonds said it expected to recover between 95,000 and 105,000 carats from Letseng in 2013. Carats recovered during [...]
National Grid sticks to outlook July 29, 2013 Energy network operator National Grid stuck to its outlook for 2013-14 yesterday, as it said it expects to invest between £3.6bn and £3.9bn in 2013-14 and to grow its regulated assets by around six per cent per annum over the next few years. In the firm’s UK transmission and distribution businesses, capital investment for 2013-14 [...]
City Moves for 30 July 2013 | Who’s switching jobs July 29, 2013 Jones Lang LaSalle The real estate services company has announced the appointment of Mark Radford as an associate director in its West End office agency team. He joins from Montagu Evans, where he worked for nine years. Davenport Lyons Paul Washbourne has joined the law firm as a partner in its property team. Washbourne is [...]
Best of the Brokers for 30 July 2013 July 29, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com GREGGS Oriel has a “sell” rating and target of 340p in anticipation of disappointing first-half results for the high street baking chain on 6 August. The analysts believe that weak demand in a troubled half has led to falling trade, and have pencilled [...]
London Report: FTSE edges up despite drop in Barclays stock July 29, 2013 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 edged higher yesterday, with healthcare and media sectors bolstered by transatlantic merger activity, helping outweigh a steep sell off in Barclays. Drugmaker Shire – long viewed as a takeover target – added 2.4 per cent after US generic rival Perrigo agreed to buy Ireland’s Elan for $8.6bn (£5.6bn). A proposed merger between [...]
New York Report: US shares fall as Fed decision due tomorrow July 29, 2013 US STOCKS fell yesterday, pulling back before this week’s Federal Reserve meeting that could signal when the Fed is going to begin reducing its bond purchases aimed at helping the economic recovery. Losses were led by the energy and financial sectors, with both the S&P energy index and S&P financial index down 0.8 per cent. [...]
