Serco confident despite drop in first-half profit August 29, 2012 BRITISH outsourcing group Serco said yesterday a raft of recent contract wins would help it to strong full-year revenue growth, after reorganisation costs and continued delays in the award of US federal work pushed first-half profit down 17 per cent. The flow of much-anticipated public sector work in Serco’s core British market, which represents around [...]
Serco profit hit by reshuffle and slow US market August 29, 2012 Outsourcing group Serco said recent contract wins would help it deliver a strong full-year performance, after reorganisation costs and delays in the award of US federal work pushed first half profit down 17 per cent. The British firm, which runs services from London’s light rail to prisons and air traffic control centres around the world, [...]
London report August 27, 2012 MARKET watchers will be looking to tomorrow’s Nationwide house prices report and mortgage approvals on Thursday to gauge whether the UK’s economy is pulling out of its double dip. Recent data put the number of mortgage approvals at a 15-year low and last month house prices had fallen by 0.7 per cent and 2.6 per [...]
BEST of the BROKERS August 8, 2012 SERCO UBS has moved its rating on the firm from “buy” to “neutral” with a target price of £6, after a strong share price performance, remaining upbeat on the UK and Europe but less optimistic on the US business. NATIONAL GRID Liberum Capital has upgraded the utility from “hold” to “buy” with a raised target [...]
Engineering firm Weir tops list of most shorted stocks July 30, 2012 ENGINEERING firm Weir Group remains by far the most shorted stock in the FTSE 100 according to data released today, suggesting investors continue to feel unease over the firm’s exposure to the US gas fracking industry. Figures from Markit, the financial information provider, show Weir’s stock is three times more shorted than outsourcing firm Serco, [...]
Serco offloads German unit to look for growth July 2, 2012 OUTSOURCER Serco yesterday announced that it was disposing of the majority of its German interests in pursuit of growth elsewhere. The FTSE 100 company said the local management team would take over the German business. Serco sees little chance to extend revenues in Germany and is to focus its efforts on other territories. But the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF SERCO’S STRATEGY? July 2, 2012 KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWN With growth at Serco largely emanating from emerging markets such as Africa and Asia, a retreat from more pedestrian regions is understandable. Despite the recent half year trading update, which placed greater investor faith on the second half, consensus opinion remains favourable. TONY SHEPARD CHARLES STANlEY Serco is looking to focus [...]
FTSE led down by scandal-hit Barclays June 28, 2012 The FTSE 100 slipped this morning as miners dipped and Barclays was dented by the Libor scandal while it was confirmed that the UK had lurched back into recession. Britain’s economy shrank by 0.3 pe rcent during the first three months of this year, official data confirmed, leaving the nation in its second recession in [...]
FTSE led down by scandal-hit Barclays June 28, 2012 The FTSE 100 slipped this morning as miners dipped and Barclays was dented by the Libor scandal while it was confirmed that the UK had lurched back into recession. Britain’s economy shrank by 0.3 per cent during the first three months of this year, official data confirmed, leaving the nation in its second recession in [...]
Serco warns that sluggish sales in US will lead to a revenue dip June 26, 2012 OUTSOURCER Serco yesterday gave a downbeat trading update in which it said the US market was sluggish. The company, whose contracts include running prisons and the Docklands light railway, said it expected revenues to dip in the first half before picking up. It said the UK was proving resilient compared with its business across the [...]