Rentokil’s growth impresses despite disposal charge August 14, 2013 RENTOKIL boss Alan Brown impressed investors with his final set of results yesterday, which sent shares in the pest-killer up more than six per cent. The FTSE 250 firm said half-year revenues rose 3.7 per cent at constant currency to £1.17bn, while adjusted pre-tax profit was up 1.8 per cent at £87.66m. A [...]
Prudential hits record high due to expansion August 12, 2013 PRUDENTIAL boss Tidjane Thiam was yesterday vindicated after his decision to bet the company on overseas expansion pushed the insurer’s share price to record highs. Just three years ago Thiam’s job was on the line following a bungled £20bn bid for Asian rival AIA that left the company with a near-£400m bill. But now [...]
Prudential climbs higher as operating profits rise and Asia soars August 12, 2013 British insurer Prudential was the highest climber on the FTSE this morning after reporting a better-than-expected 22 per cent boost in first half operating profits to £1.42bn. Basic earnings per share also increased 22 per cent, rising to 42.2p from 34.6p in the same period the year before. The share price this morning increased by [...]
Jitters over Google competition dent Moneysupermarket shares July 31, 2013 PRICE comparison firm Moneysupermarket.com saw its share price plummet over 14 per cent yesterday, after potential competition from Google spooked investors. Seeking a slice of the lucrative UK price comparison market, the search engine giant has changed its search functions, lowering Moneysupermarket’s placement in favour of Google’s comparison site. In its half-year results, Moneysupermarket blamed [...]
London Mining soars on £70m royalty deal with BlackRock July 30, 2012 SHARES in Aim-listed London Mining soared yesterday after the firms said BlackRock World Mining Trust would pay it $110m (£70m) for a two per cent royalty on iron ore sales from its Marampa project in Sierra Leone. “Although the company is already funded to achieve 5m tons per annum (Mtpa) of capacity next year, the [...]
EU revokes Ciba and Elementis price-fix fines July 4, 2011 EU regulators have ditched antitrust fines levied two years ago against German chemicals company BASF’s Swiss unit Ciba, and British peer Elementis, citing a court ruling. “A judgment of the Court of Justice of 29 March in an unrelated case clarified the legal rules as to limitation periods for the imposition of fines by the [...]
BT is right to take a risk on faster broadband network July 16, 2008 BT’s announcement that it will spend £1.5bn upgrading Britain’s broadband network has unnerved investors, especially as it is funding the investment by suspending its shareholder buyback programme. But it’s important to remember that, in the long term, delaying this decision would have been worse for the company. Falling Behind The firm is falling behind its [...]
BT gambles on need for speed July 16, 2008 Telecoms firm BT yesterday announced it was suspending its shareholder buyback scheme to invest £1.5bn in faster broadband for 10m homes by 2012. The programme will be Britain’s largest ever investment in fibre optic cabling, which can deliver potential speeds up to 100Mbps, compared to the UK average of 4Mbps. But some analysts questioned whether [...]
Wolseley to slash more jobs July 14, 2008 Wolseley, the heating and plumbing supplier, plans to cut hundreds of jobs due to the downturn in its core American and European markets. The move is yet further evidence of the looming recession facing the UK economy in general and housing related industries in particular. The firm, which employs around 14,000 people in Britain, already [...]
Crispin Davis set to retire as Reed CEO July 14, 2008 Publishing giant Reed Elsevier has begun searching for a successor to replace chief executive Sir Crispin Davis –one of the longest serving FTSE 100 bosses– when he steps down next year. Headhunter Anna Mann has been recruited to find a replacement from a mix of both internal and external candidates. Davis, who turns 60 this [...]