Balfour warns Carillion not to build on its bid BALFOUR Beatty yesterday defended its decision to reject a takeover approach from Carillion, after the rival construction firm sweetened its offer with an additional dividend. Carillion had argued that a merger – which would create a £3bn construction giant – would deliver £175m in annual cost savings. It said it had held meetings with several [...]
SSE calls for one national cost to deliver energy ENERGY giant SSE yesterday called for a shake-up of electricity transportation costs that could result in higher bills for some customers. The FTSE 100-quoted firm said it planned to examine “whether the different regional costs of transporting electricity could be passed on to suppliers as one national charge”. The cost of delivering electricity to different [...]
Centamin announces first ever dividend as earnings decline EGYPT-FOCUSED gold miner Centamin yesterday announced its first dividend of 0.87 cents per share, as it unveiled weaker-than-expected second-quarter results. The FTSE 250 firm said earnings had halved to $32.6m (£19.5m) in the second quarter compared to the same period the previous year, as it mined lower grade ore at its flagship Sukari mine in [...]
Shell pockets £1.26bn for US shale gas fields August 14, 2014 ROYAL Dutch Shell yesterday said it had sold two US shale gas assets in exchange for $2.1bn (£1.26bn) and additional acreage, as the oil and gas major sought to restructure its North American portfolio. FTSE 100-listed Shell has sold its Haynesville asset in Louisiana for $1.2bn to Vine Oil and Gas, a recently formed exploration and [...]
Npower blames government and costs increase for 38pc profit fall August 14, 2014 BIG SIX energy supplier Npower yesterday posted a 38 per cent slump in first-half profit to £176m, which it blamed on increased customer service costs and government levies. The company, which is owned by German power giant RWE, lost more than 62,000 domestic customers during the first half of the year, after various surveys found [...]
Ophir launches £60m buyback to return cash to shareholders August 14, 2014 OPHIR Energy’s share price soared over six per cent yesterday, after the oil explorer unveiled a $100m (£59.9m) share buyback programme to return cash to investors. The FTSE 250-listed firm has seen its market value halve since the start of the year, due to a string of disappointing exploration results. Ophir swung back into profit [...]
G4S shakes off tagging scandal as earnings rise August 13, 2014 OUTSOURCING firm G4S yesterday showed that its turnaround was gathering momentum, as it posted a 13.2 per cent rise in first-half earnings on the back of £1.2bn worth of new contracts. The FTSE 100 company, which has undergone a corporate overhaul to shrug off the prisoner tagging scandal, saw earnings rise to £86m, while revenue [...]
Look out Serco, G4S is leaner and meaner – Bottom Line August 13, 2014 Serco should sit up and take notice of G4S’ progress. While both firms were in the mire last year due to a prisoner tagging scandal, G4S swiftly set about overhauling its management and streamlining the business. And it’s working. Admittedly, most of G4S’ growth is coming from emerging markets rather than the UK, but a [...]
E.On UK supply profits dive due to mild weather August 13, 2014 German energy giant E.On’s UK subsidiary yesterday posted a 31 per cent drop in first-half profit for its supply arm – but its generation earnings rose by the same percentage. The warmer weather lowered demand for energy, causing revenue from the supply part of the business to fall 9.7 per cent to £3.95bn over the [...]
Global banks lend £255m to Russia’s Evraz despite Ukraine tensions August 13, 2014 Russian steelmaker Evraz yesterday said it had signed a $425m (£255m) loan from international banks, showing that western institutions were still comfortable doing business there despite increasing tensions over Ukraine. FTSE 250-listed Evraz, which counts oligarch and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich as its largest shareholder, said it had secured the five-year loan with [...]
