CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 25, 2011 Cable & Wireless The telecoms company has appointed Ian Gibson as chief financial officer and executive director, with effect from 21 July. Gibson joined the group in 1995 and has held a number of senior management positions, most recently deputy chief financial officer. In 2009 he was appointed as acting chief financial officer and played [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO THE RESULTS MEAN FOR INVESTORS? May 24, 2011 MORTEN SINGLETON | INVESTEC Results headlines look absolutely fine. The headlines all came in at or above consensus expectations. The full-year dividend has been held at 4.5p despite some anticipation in the market of a possible cut. There are no major catalysts here, but no disasters either. KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Overall there wasn’t [...]
Mitie profit climbs as order book fills May 23, 2011 CONSTRUCTION and outsourcing firm Mitie said increased demand for bundled services had helped boost its full-year profit and that significant outsourcing and energy opportunities would help sustain growth. Mitie, which provides services from cleaning to engineering, said revenue for the year to 31 March was up 10 per cent to £1.89bn, with profit before tax [...]
Investec sees upgrades as profits grow May 19, 2011 ANALYSTS upgraded South African lender Investec after its full-year results for the year to March yesterday, despite the bank taking an unexpected hit from a rise in impairments in its private bank, which posted a loss of £91.4m. The bank’s managing director Bernard Kantor told City A.M.: “The problem was Ireland. We wrote off £97m [...]
Focus on wealth management pays off May 19, 2011 AT first glance, Investec has missed forecasts with full-year operating profit of £434m: analysts had been hoping for something nearer the £450m mark. But the South African bank and wealth manager still gained the most in two-months during trading yesterday. A candidate for demotion from the FTSE100, thanks to the entry of mining giant Glencore, [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF TALKTALK’S FIGURES? May 19, 2011 MORTEN SINGLETON | INVESTEC Full-year results were a bit of a mixed bag, but on balance perhaps slightly more positive than negative. Revenue and subscriber numbers continue to disappoint but cost and profit progression and dividend upgrades provide the counter balance. ‘Hold’ retained. MIKE JEREMY | DANIEL STEWART These figures are very close to outlook [...]
Energy shares drive FTSE May 19, 2011 ENERGY and banking stocks propelled Britain’s FTSE 100 higher yesterday as commodities trading giant Glencore made its London Stock Exchange debut. As the London market closed, Glencore’s shares on the grey market were trading around the widely expected launch price of 530p. Glencore will be added to the FTSE 100 index as from the start [...]
A horse fit for a Queen May 19, 2011 THE Investec Derby is just over two weeks away and the world’s greatest flat race, held at Epsom for over 200 years, may be about to have its most famous winner. Carlton House, bred by Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stud operation and the red-hot 7/4 favourite with William Hill to land the mile and a half [...]
FTSE buoyed by Glencore as IMF chief quits May 19, 2011 The FTSE 100 climbed this morning as commodities giant Glencore made its debut, helping to buoy European markets. But an announcement that IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was standing down over assault charges in the US was the talk of the markets as the hunt for a successor starts. The re-building of the eurozone’s finances was [...]
CITY BIRDS SWOOP ON GULLS’ EGGS LUNCHEON May 17, 2011 THE City’s summer season is officially underway, marked by yesterday’s Macmillan Gulls’ Eggs City Luncheon at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall. The quirky institution serves guests green speckled gulls’ eggs – which are only in season for four weeks of the year – as they get stuck into some serious networking. “It is like Linked In [...]