Upbeat trading at G4S despite Olympic fiasco November 6, 2012 SECURITY group G4S yesterday said trading was upbeat as its core UK market showed an improved performance, in spite of the bungled Olympics contract that cost the firm £50m. Revenue grew 6.3 per cent over the nine months to September, while growth in developing markets hit nine per cent over the first nine months of [...]
What are your initial thoughts to G4S’s trading statement? November 6, 2012 JULIAN CATER | CANACCORD GENUITY As management guided at the interims, third quarter organic sales growth has accelerated. Notwithstanding the challenging economic backdrop, which is having a negative impact on developed markets, we forecast organic sales growth of six per cent between 2012 and 2014. STEVE WOOLF | NUMIS An in-line trading statement that highlights [...]
Adecco predicts little relief for EU jobseekers November 6, 2012 ADECCO, the world’s biggest staffing group, said yesterday it expects no improvement in Europe’s job markets until late next year because businesses are reluctant to hire due to uncertainty about the Eurozone debt crisis. “It is going to be very slow in Europe into the beginning of next year and if something improves it is [...]
Babcock boost from austerity as profit jumps November 6, 2012 PROFIT at defence services equipment maker Babcock jumped 13 per cent in the six months to September, as it benefited from governments outsourcing work to private firms. Pre-tax profit for the entire group came in at £142.7m over the six months, up from £126.3m over the same period last year. The FTSE 100 company’s revenue [...]
Forget past performances – it’s new contracts that matter now November 6, 2012 YESTERDAY, shares in support services firms G4S and Babcock went on two rather different journeys. G4S rose almost four per cent after shaking off Olympic embarrassments and growing revenues excluding acquisitions by 5.5 per cent, while Babcock slumped by the same amount despite a 13 per cent rise in profits. But look a little closer [...]
Costain on track for targets November 6, 2012 Engineering solutions firm Costain yesterday said it was on track to meet its full-year targets, despite challenging economic conditions. Around 28 per cent of 2012 revenues are from support services, and this is expected to grow. The forward order book currently stands at £2.4bn for the group, with around £1.6bn in revenues secured for 2014 [...]
Terry Price to retire from Tesco November 6, 2012 Tesco is set to lose yet another to another of its senior executives, as it confirmed yesterday that its head of non-food Terry Price, is leaving after 18 months in the role. The supermarket group said Price, who returned to the UK from Tesco’s China division to take up the role, is due to retire [...]
Hodge calls for better use of data November 6, 2012 Labour MP Margaret Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said yesterday that the state remains too secretive when it comes to official data. Speaking at a roundtable organised by IT firm EMC, she told City A.M. that while she was “extremely cynical” about large government IT projects, she was certain that “proper use of [...]
Hannover Re unconcerned by Sandy payouts November 6, 2012 GERMAN reinsurer Hannover Re said yesterday that it expects to post a substantial rise in profits this year, despite the possibility of payouts following Hurricane Sandy. The company, which offers secondary cover for some of the world’s biggest insurers, predicted that net profit for 2012 will pass €800m (£641m). This represents increase of a third [...]
Hedge funds forced to reveal most shorted stocks by FSA November 6, 2012 HEDGE funds have had their short selling activities made public for the first time, as regulations enacted this week expose some of the massive bets made by firms involved in the secretive industry. The Financial Services Authority will now force all funds to declare any short position that represents more than 0.5 per cent of [...]
