LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Friday.
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COMPANIES
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IGas Energy PLC said it had an agreed deal to buy Dart Energy Ltd for GBP117.1 million in shares, a deal that will create a company with the largest area in the UK licenced for shale gas fracking. The shale industry in the UK is undergoing a major push, with companies such as Total SA, Cuadrilla Resources Ltd, IGas Energy and Egdon Resources developing fracking operations around the country. In a statement, IGas said Dart shareholders will receive 0.08117 IGas shares for each Dart share, equivalent to AUD0.1898 per Dart share, and will hold approximately 30.5% of the enlarged company on a fully diluted basis.
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Oil and gas services company Petrofac Ltd said it has achieved good Engineering, Construction, Operations & Maintenance progress in its first quarter, but it warned that net profit will fall in 2014 due to lower-than-expected earnings from its Integrated Energy Services operations, due partly to delays in development of is major Greater Stella Area project. Petrofac said it now expects its net profit to fall to between USD580 million and USD600 million in 2014 from USD650 million in 2013, which it attributed to low earnings from the Integrated Energy Services division.
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Drax Group PLC warned that it is now expecting earnings to be below current market forecasts as power prices have fallen by more than expected, leading to weaker gas markets, and as renewables obligation certificates prices also have fallen. The UK energy provider also confirmed it is moving ahead with its legal action against the UK government in relation to its contracts-for-difference dispute. Drax said that since publishing its preliminary results on February 18, mild weather across Europe had led to weaker gas markets and a further fall in power prices, while abnormally high wind generation has pushed down the price of its renewables obligation certificates prices. As such, the company said that, unless markets improve, its full year would be below current market forecasts.
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Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC said it had won orders from a variety of international customers for its offshore ship designs and equipment worth more than GBP60 million. In a statement, the aircraft engine and ship propulsion maker said the deals include five Rolls-Royce UT design vessels and propulsion equipment packages for research and seismic survey vessels.
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HSBC Holdings PLC said it has agreed to sell its banking business in Pakistan to Meezan Bank Ltd, as the global banking giant continues to scale back in areas it considers to be non-core to its strategy. The deal, which requires regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected to complete during the second-half of 2014. No financial details were disclosed. The banking business is held by HSBC's indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary, HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd.
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Tullett Prebon PLC said it will take a charge in its accounts in order to cut costs further, as it reported a decline in revenue due to subdued financial markets while also announcing a deal worth up to USD160.0 million to acquire oil-futures broker PVM Oil Associated Ltd. Revenue in the four months to April amounted to GBP248.0 million, 15% lower than the comparable period a year earlier. Blaming difficult market conditions, Tullett said it will take "a number of actions" to further reduce headcount and other fixed costs. However, it estimated the cost of making the cuts will be around the same amount of what will be saved in a year, half of which is expected to be non-cash. The company has been struggling with a number of regulatory changes and low volatility in financial markets.
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Man Group PLC said its funds under management increased over the course of the first-quarter, boosted by net inflows, but Chief Executive Manny Roman said the hedge fund manager remains cautious with regards to the remainder of the year. In a statement, Man Group reported USD2.0 billion in net inflows over the course of the quarter ended March 31, made up of USD6.5 billion in sale and USD4.5 billion in redemptions. Overall, funds under management increased by USD900.0 million to USD55.0 billion in the quarter.
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International Consolidated Airlines Group predicted that its operating profit will rise in 2014, after its operating loss almost halved in the first quarter as the continued restructuring of Iberia drove down losses at the Spanish airline. The parent of British Airways and Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling said it now expects its 2014 operating profit to be at least EUR500 million above the EUR770 million it booked in 2013. It reiterated that it expects revenue to remain relatively flat, but cost cutting will push up its profit margin. Legacy issues that meant Iberia's staff costs were comparatively high in an airline industry that has been seeking to reduce those costs over the last decade.
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Johnston Press PLC unveiled a GBP360 million capital restructuring plan aimed at paying down debt and putting it on a more stable financial footing, and said its revenue decline had slowed in the first 17 weeks of the year as advertising markets continued to stabilise. The publisher of regional newspapers said it plans to raise about GBP2.3 million in a placing of 13.7 million shares at 17.0 pence each with British Sky Broadcasting PLC, about GBP137.7 million in a rights issue, and about GBP220 million by issuing senior secured fixed rate bonds that will mature in 2019. It will also get a new GBP25 million revolving credit facility expected to mature in 2018, and modify funding arrangements and the schedule of contributions to its pension fund. Its net debt was GBP302.0 million at the end of its 2013 financial year
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Friends Life Group Ltd, formerly known as Resolution Ltd, said it won't be able to meet its value of new business growth target in 2014, as a result of changes made to the annuities market in the UK's 2014 government budget. In a statement, the life and pensions company said it will miss the 10% growth it had been targeting for value of new business in 2014. Still, Friends Life said the immediate impact of the announced changes has not been as severe as the 50% to 70% reduction in new individual annuity business that had expected. It said its non-guaranteed annuity option business shows 48% of customers are proceeding with the purchase of an annuity, with 15% cancelling and 37% remaining undecided.
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Builders merchants and DIY company Grafton Group PLC said it is continuing to see recovery in its markets which started in the second half of 2013, with group revenue up 14% in the first four months of 2014. The company, like peers, was hit hard by the economic downturn, but 2013 marked the start of a recovery as the UK housing market picked up and economic conditions improved. It said revenues rose to GBP654 million in the period to April 30, from GBP576 million in the same 2013 period.
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Bank of Georgia Holdings PLC reported an increase in first-quarter pretax profit, as revenue increased at a faster rate than operating expenses. In a statement, Bank of Georgia Holdings said pretax profit increased to GEL63.9 million in the quarter ended March 31, from GEL50.5 million in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Revenue rose by 12% to GEL137.5 million, while operating expenses rose by 10% to GEL59.2 million, mainly due to higher salaries and other employee benefits. The increase in revenue was driven by higher net interest income, which grew by 10% to GEL79.7 million, as well as net healthcare revenue, which doubled to GEL7.8 million.
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MARKETS
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UK stocks trade lower, with investors consolidating positions ahead of a weekend likely to bring further tension in Ukraine as pro-Russian militants in the east of the country push ahead with a referendum on seceding from the country.
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FTSE 100: down 0.3% at 1617.16
FTSE 250: down 0.5% at 15888.61
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.4% at 807.74
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The pound has slipped to a session low against the dollar following some unconvincing UK industrial and manufacturing production numbers.
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6908
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3815
GOLD: down at USD1289.10 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD108.72 a barrel
(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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The UK's visible trade deficit narrowed on higher exports in March, the Office for National Statistics showed. The visible trade gap came in at GBP8.5 billion in March compared to GBP8.7 billion in February. The deficit on trade in goods was expected to widen to GBP9 billion. At the same time, the surplus on trade in services increased to GBP7.2 billion from GBP7 billion in the prior month. As a result, the combined trade balance showed a shortfall of GBP1.3 billion, smaller than February's GBP1.7 billion deficit.
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UK industrial production dropped slightly in March largely due to a fall in oil and gas extraction, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Industrial production fell 0.1% from February, when output rose 0.8%. Production was forecast to decrease 0.2%. Meanwhile, manufacturing output gained 0.5% in March and exceeded the 0.3% rise forecast by economists. Nonetheless, the rate halved from 1% seen in February.
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China's consumer price inflation slowed to 1.8% year-on-year in April, down from 2.4% in March, the government said. The fall was mainly driven by slower growth in food prices, which climbed 2.3% year-on-year last month, compared with 4.1% in March, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. Food prices account for nearly one-third of China's consumer price index. The index rose 2.2% year-on-year in the first four months of this year, the bureau said, well within the government's target of keeping annual inflation to a maximum of 3.5%.
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German exports declined for the second straight month in March, data from Destatis showed. Defying expectations, exports fell 1.8% month-on-month in March, sharper than the 1.3% fall seen in February. Shipments were expected to rise by 1.3%. At the same time, imports declined 0.9%, reversing a 0.4% rise in February. Economists had forecast 0.6% increase for March. As a result, the trade surplus declined to seasonally adjusted EUR 14.8 billion from 15.8 billion in February. The surplus was forecast to rise to EUR 17.4 billion.
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Russia was marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II with a parade featuring military hardware, one day after missile-testing drills showcasing its might raised tensions with Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin, who is overseeing the parade on Red Square, might also visit Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in March.
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Regional Ukrainian officials are now admitting they cannot prevent pro-Russia separatists from holding a referendum on secession on Sunday. The mayor's office in Donetsk, the region's biggest city, said in a statement there were not enough police available to do so. For the sake of public safety there would be no effort to stop the separatists setting up voting stations in sites such as schools.
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Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak says that crisis-stricken Ukraine will have to pay in advance for its gas needs because of billions of dollars in outstanding debt. The minister said in a statement late Thursday that Ukraine has missed its May 7 deadline to repay approximately USD3.5 billion owed, and that the pre-payment regime is set to take effect in June.
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South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar were due to hold their first direct talks since the outbreak of an armed conflict that has led to widespread human rights violations. The talks in Addis Ababa have been brokered by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry. Machar arrived Thursday in the Ethiopian capital, while Kiir was expected on Friday. The sides recently agreed on a month-long ceasefire to allow farmers to plant, but fighting has nevertheless continued.
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At least 30 people were killed when suspected members of Islamist extremist sect Boko Haram bombed a bridge linking Nigeria to Cameroon, newspaper Punch reported. The bomb went off Thursday evening on the outskirts of the village of Gamboru Ngala, where more than 200 people were killed and 11 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram this week.
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Police fired tear gas at anti-government protesters outside government buildings in Bangkok Friday, injuring four people amid a day of protests around the city.
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10 Apr 2015 16:03
