Spirit sales offset rising costs October 16, 2012 Spirit Pub Company reported full-year results in line with expectations yesterday and said it was working to strengthen its managed-pub estate in the face of rising costs and muted consumer demand. Spirit, which manages more than 800 pubs in Britain, saw sales at pubs open more than a year rise 4.8 per cent in the [...]
Smiths News signals shift in focus October 16, 2012 Smiths News, the UK’s largest newspaper and magazine distributor, yesterday signalled a further shift from its core business, saying it expected half of its profit to come from books and educational supplies by 2016, sending its shares up six per cent. For the year to August, underlying pre-tax profit rose to £47.5m from £38.6m a [...]
Chime snaps up pH Associates October 16, 2012 PR firm Chime Communication yesterday announced it had bought pH Associates, a pharmaceutical data provider, for £6.92m. The deal is comprised of nearly 90 per cent cash with 10 per cent surplus working capital of PHA after it joins Chime. PHA, which reported revenue of £1.7m and operating profit of £584,000 last year, is owned [...]
Profit warning at GKN on poor Euro markets October 16, 2012 ENGINEERING firm GKN yesterday warned that challenging European markets would weigh on its order books, sending its shares down. The FTSE 100-listed engineer reported broadly flat pre-tax profit in the three months to September, as it said a continued market slump would impact the group for the full year. It added that macroeconomic conditions have [...]
US corporate results round-up October 16, 2012 Coca-Cola’s revenue misses Wall Street forecasts COCA-COLA reported quarterly revenue that came in short of Wall Street expectations yesterday, hurt by declines in Europe and Asia where it sold more lower-priced drinks. Third-quarter net income for Coca-Cola was $2.31bn (£1.43bn), up from $2.22bn a year earlier. Revenue rose one per cent to $12.34bn, while analysts [...]
Analyst Views | Is GKN’s profit warning a bad omen for the Company? October 16, 2012 JONATHAN JACKSON KILLIK & CO GKN offers a fairly unique investment opportunity, being exposed to a number of the secular themes that we believe will be drivers of global demand over the medium term. Following these results, we would expect to see earnings downgrades of around five per cent. MIKE VAN DULKEN ACCENDO MARKETS GKN’s [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs October 16, 2012 Saffery Champness Ben Melling has been appointed partner in the accountancy firm’s London office. He joins from Rawlinson & Hunter, where he spent eight years as a partner. Melling also worked for Grant Thornton for 18 years, and was appointed to the partnership in 2000. Deloitte The business advisory firm has announced two senior appointments [...]
Best of the Brokers October 16, 2012 ASOS Morgan Stanley has started covering the online retailer with an “overweight” rating and a target price of 3,000p, cheering the firm’s superior sales offering and entrepreneurial management team. BT The telecoms group is Nomura’s top pick in the sector, with a “buy” rating and a price target of 260p. BT is set to benefit [...]
Strong bank stocks drive FTSE 100 towards top of recent trading range October 16, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index notched up strong gains yesterday, and was on the cusp of breaking out of its recent trading range, as investors welcomed a media report saying Germany could adopt a softer approach towards financial aid to Spain. The index was already firmly in positive territory, helped by solid US corporate results and [...]
Earnings relief helps send US stocks higher October 16, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday, giving the S&P 500 its best two-day advance in a month as strong earnings from Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs and other bellwether companies raised hopes for the rest of the reporting season. Johnson & Johnson increased its full-year profit outlook. Its stock rose 1.4 per cent to $69.55, helping the [...]
