Dreamworks buys studio owner of Casper and Lassie for $155m July 23, 2012 MOVIE studio DreamWorks Animation has agreed to buy Classic Media, the film company behind characters including Casper and Lassie, the company announced yesterday. The $155m (£100m) deal will create a new DreamWorks Classics unit, with control of Classic Media’s roster of over 450 films and 6,100 episodes of TV shows, including Postman Pat, Noddy and [...]
African Barrick tanks as output falls and expenses dent takings July 23, 2012 MINER African Barrick Gold said yesterday it was on track to meet its 2012 production targets despite posting an 11 per cent drop in quarterly production. Shares in the company dived 16 per cent, however, as the firm admitted that first-half profits almost halved to $65m, as higher costs battered its bottom line. The Tanzania-focused [...]
Aquarius drops as strike action and falling prices hit production July 23, 2012 SHARES in Aquarius Platinum fell by eight per cent during trading yesterday to touch a 12-year low, after the world’s fourth-largest platinum producer reported a 14 per cent drop in quarterly production. Revenue for the fourth-quarter also declined 20 per cent, hurt by lower platinum prices, which fell about 12 per cent during the period. [...]
Dialight gets lift as profit grows July 23, 2012 Shares in lighting products maker Dialight soared yesterday after it reported a 21 per cent increase in operating profit for the first half, and forecast full-year results at the higher end of market expectations. Group revenue climbed 18.2 per cent to £61.1m while pre-tax profits rose to £8.3m from £6.2m. Shares closed up 5.22 per [...]
Amplats cuts production target July 23, 2012 Anglo American Platinum, the world’s top platinum producer, said yesterday it was reducing its full-year production and project spending targets, hit by chronic weakness in prices and demand for the precious metal. The miner also reported an expected 78 per cent drop in interim profit. The miner further cut its refined production target for 2012 [...]
Senior gets boost from airlines July 23, 2012 Aero engineer Senior reported a 20 per cent increase in first-half profit yesterday as customers such as Boeing and Airbus ramped up build rates to meet hefty order backlogs. The company raised its interim dividend 20 per cent to 1.38p per share. The company’s adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £45.5m for January-June from £38m a [...]
US corporate results round-up July 23, 2012 Slowing economy hurts McDonald’s FAST-FOOD chain McDonald’s reported lower than expected quarterly profit yesterday, hurt by a slowing global economy and the impact of a stronger dollar. The company said that net income fell 4.5 per cent to $1.35bn (£870m), and the impact of the stronger dollar ate into earnings in the latest quarter, while [...]
Protest vote for Quintain non-exec July 23, 2012 Shareholders at Quintain yesterday approved a new joint venture with Hong Kong investor Henry Cheng Kar-Shun to develop its Greenwich Peninsula site. The developer saw all its motions almost unanimously approved at its annual general meeting, the only exception being a 17.5 per cent vote against the re-election of its long standing non-executive director Martin [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 23, 2012 Taylor Wessing Alix Prentice has been appointed partner in the law firm’s financial services regulatory team. She joins from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where she was special counsel in its financial services group. Prentice has also worked for the Financial Services Authority. Allianz Global Investors Corinne Crawford has been appointed director in the European consultant relations [...]
BEST of the BROKERS July 23, 2012 HOME RETAIL Numis has moved the owner of Argos and Homebase from “sell” to “add” citing an improvement in the electricals market following the digital switchover and latest iPad launch. STAGECOACH Jefferies has upgraded the transport firm from “hold” to “buy” and upped its price target to 335p, calling the stock “the default choice in [...]
