London needs a champion to revive new issue market April 23, 2012 THERE’S been a drama playing out over the past few days in London that in recent times we haven’t seen enough of. A maker of luxury cashmere sweaters worn by Prince William and James Bond met fund managers to gauge interest in a share flotation. The fund management groups in attendance, who included Citadel Group, [...]
Russian oligarch warns London of complacency April 22, 2012 IT is an unusual perspective, albeit one that Oleg Deripaska clearly passionately believes in. A major philanthropist himself, the Russian tycoon, speaking exclusively to City A.M., describes oligarchs as the drivers of progress in Russia through their hefty donations to education, culture and public health. To UK ears, this is a fresh and fascinating take: [...]
RusPetro trebles revenues April 19, 2012 RusPetro, an independent Russian oil company that raised $240m (£149m) when it floated in London in January, more than trebled revenue and cut core losses in 2011 as it expanded its reserves base and boosted output. Its loss before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation narrowed to $5.5m from $6.3m the previous year, on revenue up [...]
Russia’s O1 Properties to float April 18, 2012 RUSSIAN real estate group O1 Properties has said it plans to float in London, in a public offering that could raise at least $400m. The firm, which has a portfolio of properties across Moscow worth more than $2bn, said it will use the funds to buy two new buildings in the city and repay some [...]
ADVISERS April 18, 2012 For any Russian firm hopeful of raising funds in London, VTB Capital seems to be the go-to bookrunner. The Kremlin-backed bank has been involved in a big share of Russian firms’ capital-raising efforts in the City in recent years, from property firm Etalon, mining group Polymetal and even the Russian government’s recent $7bn bond sale. [...]
Danone keeps full-year goals as sales rise April 17, 2012 FRENCH food group Danone has kept its full year goals intact despite a worsening economic climate in austerity-hit southern Europe, saying it banked on strong demand from emerging markets to underpin its growth. The world’s largest yoghurt maker, with brands including Actimel and Activia, also said first-quarter sales beat expectations after its lagging dairy division [...]
Rosneft and Exxon sign deal brokered by Putin April 16, 2012 RUSSIAN state oil firm Rosneft and US Exxon Mobil Corp signed a wide-ranging strategic partnership broker by Russian leader Vladimir Putin yesterday. The landmark deal will grant Rosneft access to projects in North America, where Exxon is developing hard-to-recover reserves in West Texas, the Canadian province of Alberta and in the Gulf of Mexico. The [...]
Polymetal buoyed as revenues jump 64pc April 16, 2012 RUSSIAN precious metals miner Polymetal yesterday reported a 64 per cent year-on-year rise in first quarter revenue to $377m (£238m) thanks to rising gold and silver production. First quarter gold equivalent production – a measurement of gold and other metals expressed in units of gold – grew 41 per cent year-on-year to 203,000 troy ounces, [...]
Output falls at Russian steel producer Evraz April 16, 2012 EVRAZ, Russia’s largest steel producer, said yesterday its steel production in the first quarter of 2012 fell 1.4 per cent year-on-year to 4.33m tonnes. Production of crude steel increased five per cent compared to the fourth quarter on the back of growth in Russia and in the US, while operations in Ukraine and Europe decreased. [...]
Surging exports outstrip rising imports to boost euro growth April 16, 2012 THE EUROZONE’S trade with the rest of the world showed surprising strength in February, driven by French and German exports of cars and machinery, official figures showed yesterday. However, imports remained relatively weak as European households struggled through the bloc’s economic slump. Exports from the 17 countries surged 11 per cent to give a trade [...]