Lloyd’s insurer Hardy sees loss August 25, 2011 SPECIALIST insurer and reinsurer Hardy said yesterday that catastrophe losses had hit its first half figures hard, as it posted a loss after tax of £17.1m, compared to profits of £2m last year. Losses related to the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and flooding in Australia meant Hardy’s combined operating ratio rose by 17 [...]
£100m drop in Phoenix takings August 25, 2011 CLOSED life fund operator Phoenix saw its profits plunge by more than £100m in the first half of 2011, as a poor performance in its asset management arm Ignis dragged down numbers. Pre-tax profits at the group fell to £94m from £196m in the same period last year, but it maintained it was confident of [...]
Grim reading at Johnston as profits fall August 25, 2011 NEWSPAPER publisher Johnston Press only needs to focus on repaying around a third of its £370m debt pile, according to outgoing chief executive John Fry. The group, which announced a slump in first-half pre-tax profits, said it would continue to cut costs by simplifying processes and consolidating back-office functions as the economic outlook remained grim [...]
Sportech sees its sales double August 25, 2011 Gambling firm Sportech has posted a 28 per cent rise in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit as sales doubled, led by a strong performance of the horseracing business it bought last year, and said it was confident of its prospects. The company, which acquired Scientific Games Racing last year and renamed it as Sportech Racing, said [...]
Aegis confident as revenue rises August 25, 2011 Aegis says it is increasingly confident about its future as a smaller, more focused media buyer, as it posted strong first-half organic revenue growth and confirmed what now appears to be a conservative outlook. The firm, which agreed in July to sell its Synovate market research division to Ipsos for £525m, posted organic revenue growth [...]
STV TO PAY FIRST DIVIDEND IN SIX YEARS August 25, 2011 BROADCASTER STV, which makes programmes including Taggart, will reinstate dividend payments for the first time in six years after it made an pre-tax profit of £6.5m in the first half of 2011. Revenues dipped to £47.2m, compared to £49.7m in the same period last year.
Amec enjoys boost despite North Sea tax August 25, 2011 AMEC, the engineering and support services group, said a surge of activity in the North Sea oil fields and growth in the mining and renewables sectors helped it post higher first-half core earnings and bolstered its order book. Samir Brikho, Amec’s chief executive said the UK government’s North Sea tax raid announced in the March [...]
Costain reports a jump in profits as it targets big ticket contracts August 25, 2011 COSTAIN, the engineering and construction firm, reported a 23 per cent jump in its first-half pre-tax profit as its environment division offset the decline in other units, and said it had raised its interim dividend. Pre-tax profits for the year to June rose to £10.1m from £8.2m last year, while operating profit at its environment [...]
German landesbanks hit by Greece August 25, 2011 German landesbanks WestLB and LBBW said their first-half earnings were weighed down by Greece exposure and restructuring, factors that made it difficult for either public sector lender to give a clear forecast for 2011. WestLB said ongoing restructuring expenses weighed down first-half earnings as the troubled German bank prepares to break itself up. The lender [...]
Earnings fall at discounter Big Lots August 25, 2011 Big Lots, the US discount store chain, said yesterday its second-quarter earnings fell 8.2 per cent. Revenue increased slightly, beating Wall Street expectations on strong demand for the company’s discounted products, which encouraged the retailer to raised the low-end of its full-year earnings guidance. Net income fell to £21.8m from £23.8m at the same time [...]
