All is well at Spire Healthcare as shares rise on thriving revenues August 28, 2014 Spire Healthcare saw its shares jump up 7.7 per cent yesterday, as it reported a solid rise in revenues in the first half of the year, in its first results since floating last month. Revenue at Spire, which runs 39 private hospitals and 13 clinics in the UK, rose 10.5 per cent in the first [...]
Ryanair’s revamp as it aims for business suits August 27, 2014 Budget airline Ryanair is looking to entice companies focused on their bottom line to choose its newly launched business class service, as it aims to become the default option for short-haul corporate travel. Ryanair, Europe’s largest no-frills airline, has attracted controversy in the past with mooted ideas of standing- only flights and charging to use [...]
Balfour Beatty portfolio zooms to above £1bn August 27, 2014 The value of Balfour Beatty’s public-private partnership portfolio has soared by nearly 50 per cent to over £1bn the major construction company revealed yesterday. It was Balfour’s first major announcement since it chose to go it alone after rebuffing repeated merger proposals from rival Carillion. The results from the directors’ valuation of the portfolio showed [...]
India supreme court coal licence ruling hits billionaires’ wallets August 27, 2014 A group of Indian billionaires have seen their worth take a significant hit after the nation’s Supreme Court ruled this week that all coal mining licences in the country from 1993 were illegal. The ruling came after a regulatory report in 2012 that found sales to firms had been underpriced by as much as $33bn [...]
Shell nears sale of Nigeria oil assets for $5bn August 27, 2014 Shell is believed to be poised to announce a multi-billion-dollar deal to sell four of its oilfields and a pipeline in Nigeria, as it looks to cut costs and sell off a range of its global assets. The sale of the selection of Nigerian assets is expected to raise around $5bn (£3bn) for Shell, according [...]
John Laing Infrastrucure Fund boosted as value and profits rise August 27, 2014 THE VALUE of FTSE 250-listed John Laing Infrastructure Fund’s (JLIF) portfolio rose by nearly five per cent in the first half of 2014, as pre-tax profits also rose and the company signalled it would continue its policy of making careful targeted acquisitions ahead. JLIF saw underlying growth of 4.95 per cent in the value of [...]
Bunzl is hit by strong pound August 26, 2014 STRONG revenue growth was eliminated at international distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl in the first half of the year due to the strength of sterling, as it also continued its acquisition drive. The impact of the pound meant revenue growth was down one per cent, instead of being up seven per cent on a constant [...]
Copper decline crushes profits at Antofagasta August 26, 2014 MINING giant Antofagasta saw its shares slump yesterday, after it revealed its profits had taken a big hit in the first half, with the lower price of copper and higher costs damaging its bottom line. Pre-tax profits during the six months to 30 June were $850.7m (£512.8m), down 13.3 per cent on $981 over the [...]
Petrofac profit plunge but order record may offer rebound ahead August 26, 2014 NET PROFIT at oil services provider Petrofac fell by a huge 44 per cent during the first half of 2014, though the company said it expected a much stronger second half would keep it on course to meet full-year profit targets, as it also revealed record order levels. During the first half of the year [...]
First British Ebola patient William Pooley flies back from Africa to be treated August 25, 2014 The first British aid worker to be infected with the Ebola virus arrived back in the UK over the weekend, and is currently receiving treatment at a London hospital. Experts say treatment options are limited after an experimental drug treatment being used against the deadly virus ran out recently. William Pooley, a 29-year-old nurse from [...]
