Weir Group’s shares tumble as it struggles to pump up profit in a tough oil market February 22, 2017 Shares in engineering giant Weir Group fell today as the weak North American oil and natural gas market caused a substantial drop in the company's full-year pre-tax profit. The figures For the year to the end of December, the firm reported a 22 per cent drop in pre-tax profit to £170m, which was impacted by "severe oil and gas market downturn". Revenue fell two per [...]
BHP Billiton swings back to profit on strong commodity prices and boosts its interim dividend February 21, 2017 Global mining giant BHP Billiton today revealed a boost to its interim dividend after posting a swing back to profit due to higher iron ore prices. The figures For the six months to 31 December 2016, BHP Billiton said it made an attributable profit of $3.2bn (£2.6bn), up from a loss of $5.7bn the previous year. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and [...]
Kraft Heinz’s withdrawn Unilever bid ranks as the world’s third largest collapsed M&A deal February 20, 2017 Kraft Heinz’s scrapped $140bn (£113bn) bid for Unilever marks the third biggest M&A collapse in history, according to Thomson Reuters figures. US food giant Kraft shocked the financial world on Sunday night, withdrawing the bid just two days after details of the deal leaked. Read more: Unilever share price plunges after deal talks with Kraft [...]
Brazil’s Vale reveals record-breaking iron ore production for 2016 February 16, 2017 Brazilian miner Vale produced a record 349m tonnes of iron ore in 2016, beating its own guidance. The world's top iron ore producer expected output to be at the lower end of a range of 340m to 350m tonnes, but strong performance at mines in northern Brazil and the successful start of its mammoth S11D mine [...]
A surge in copper prices is boosting shares in London’s FTSE 100 miners February 13, 2017 Top London-listed miners' shares were given a boost this morning on the back of stronger metal prices. Mining stocks increased 1.6 per cent as London Metal Exchange three-month copper prices this morning increased about one per cent to the metal's highest price in 20 months . Shares in Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta climbed between 1.7 per cent [...]
Copper prices soar to a new high on talks of a force majeure at BHP Billiton’s Escondida mine February 10, 2017 After substantial gains yesterday, London Metal Exchange copper prices have today jumped to their highest level since June 2015. Benchmark copper has risen 4.5 per cent to a session high of $6,083 a tonne. The surge came as news emerged that BHP Billiton is declaring a force majeure on shipments from its Escondida mine in Chile, which is [...]
Rio Tinto might walk away from the world’s second biggest copper mine February 9, 2017 Rio Tinto is weighing whether to walk away from its interest in the world's second biggest copper mine. Chief executive Jean-Sebastian Jacques has told analysts the massive Grasberg site faces stoppages in its copper concentrate exports and permit issues with the Indonesian government, Reuters reported. The mine's operator Freeport McMoRan warned this could lead to cuts to production and the local workforce. [...]
BHP Billiton greenlights a $2.2bn investment into BP’s Mad Dog oilfield February 9, 2017 BHP Billiton today announced it has approved a $2.2bn (£1.75bn) investment into the second phase of BP's deepwater Mad Dog oilfield. The project, located in the Gulf of Mexico, includes a new floating production facility with the capacity to produce up to 140,000 gross barrels of crude oil per day from up to 14 production wells. Production is set [...]
London is set for its largest oil company listing on the Alternative Investment Market in two years January 31, 2017 London is set for its biggest oil and gas listing since 2014 as Diversified Gas & Oil gears up for a float on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) Friday. Diversified, a US-based firm that operates around 7,500 gas and oil producing wells in the Appalachian Basin, raised $50m (£39.7m) in capital. It produces 4,700 barrels of oil equivalent [...]
Industrials firms are expected to make a comeback on Aim in 2017 January 26, 2017 Miners and oil and gas companies are expected to make a comeback on the junior flotation market in 2017, but realistic pricing and high quality prospects will be critical to their success, new research suggests. A much improved initial public offering (IPO) market is expected for industrials firms as commodity prices continue to rise, Alternative Investment Market [...]