Rockhopper stock rises on oil discovery May 6, 2010 ROCKHOPPER told the market yesterday it had struck oil off the Falklands Islands. It is the first oil discovery in the North Falkland basin and sent shares of the Aim-listed British explorer rocketing 150 per cent to 93.5p. The firm said it found oil along intervals across 53 metres, which was 25 metres deep at [...]
PartyGaming gearing up for a return to US May 6, 2010 ONLINE gaming group PartyGaming yesterday said it was gearing up for a possible return to the US if legislation banning the industry is overturned, after reporting a 27 per cent rise in first quarter revenue. PartyGaming, which operates the PartyPoker and PartyCasino sites, said it was encouraged by congressmen Barney Frank and Jim McDermott’s moves [...]
Diageo toasts profits rise in new markets May 6, 2010 DIAGEO has smashed profit forecasts with a sales bounce back led by strong emerging market growth. The producer of Smirnoff vodka and Captain Morgan rum said Latin America, Asia and Africa were performing well while traditional markets like the US had been slow to improve. The world’s biggest spirits maker saw third quarter sales jump [...]
Morrisons’ sales growth slows despite record number of customers in stores May 6, 2010 SUPERMARKET giant Morrisons has seen record numbers of customers in its stores but the new financial year has been hit by a slowdown, it said in a trading statement yesterday. The group has continued to grow market share in the first quarter with sales, excluding fuel, up 5.9 per cent in the 13 weeks to [...]
Volcanic ash costs Restaurant Group £500,000 in lost revenue May 6, 2010 RESTAURANT Group – which owns the Garfunkel’s and Frankie & Benny’s chains – posted a six per cent rise in year-to-date total sales yesterday. The comany said it was confident of reporting profitable progress in the first half. For the 18 weeks to 2 May, the company posted a 0.5 per cent rise in like-for-like [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WILL DIAGEO’S REVIVAL LAST? May 6, 2010 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO “On first glance, the 12 per cent growth in organic net sales during the quarter appears impressive. However the comparatives against the same period last year were fairly easy. The timing of Easter also helped.” SAM HART | CHARLES STANLEY “These are an impressive set of figures. Things are [...]
Vedanta sees profits surge as prices rise May 6, 2010 REBOUNDING metals prices have helped Vedanta post a healthy 187 per cent surge in full-year profits. The Indian mining giant recorded earnings of $2.3bn (£1.5bn), a rise of 42 per cent from the previous year. Zinc, which gained 80 per cent in value during Vedanta’s fiscal year, was a big contributor to Vedanta’s profits. Chairman, [...]
Grainger makes £34.6m bid May 6, 2010 RESIDENTIAL landlord Grainger has made a conditional 202p per share offer to buy Sovereign Reversions to consolidate its position in the lucrative home equity release market. The offer values Sovereign at £34.6m. The boards of both companies announced earlier this week they had reached agreement in principle on the terms of the recommended cash offer [...]
Demand boost helps Tomkins May 6, 2010 BRITISH engineering firm, Tomkins, said yesterday that first quarter profits were up, following a strong sales performance in its industrial and automotive business. The higher volumes, coupled with the benefits from its restructuring initiatives, have resulted in double-digit margins in the first quarter, the firm said. The firm expects the first half to remain strong, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 6, 2010 DTZ The property firm has appointed Jason Winfield as UK national head of investment agency. Winfield has been a director at the firm for seven years and was previously head of its London and South East business space team. He has recently been tasked with developing a stapled debt product initially pioneered for the £600m [...]
