3i Group Share News (III)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Thursday.
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COMPANIES
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ITV reiterated expectations for further strong growth across the business for 2015, and guided for a 5% rise in net advertising revenue for its first half, as it posted a rise in revenue for its first quarter.
ITV Family net advertising revenue rose 12% in the first quarter to end-March, ahead of the 11% that company had previously guided at the time of its full-year results. ITV Family net advertising revenue was up 5% in April, but is forecast to be down 5% in May and by between 5% and 7% in June, as in the previous year results were boosted by the World Cup. As a result, ITV is guiding for 5% growth for its first half.
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Hikma Pharmaceuticals reiterated its guidance for 2015, saying it had made a good start to the year, and expressed confidence for growth over the longer-term. The company continues to expect revenue growth of around 6% at constant currency for the full year, although it also continues to expect the strong dollar to hit revenue and therefore at actual exchange rates expects growth of 2%.
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Merlin Entertainments reported growth in revenue in the 18 weeks to May 2, boosted by new site openings and features and good weather, as it continues its strategic expansion plans. The attractions and theme park operator, which runs LEGOLAND parks, Madame Tussauds wax museums, SEA LIFE aquariums and the London Eye, said total group revenue grew 7.2% in the 18 weeks, while like-for-like sales grew 3.3%.
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3i Group issued a note of caution on the high valuations seen across "many financial markets" and currency volatility, as the FTSE 100 company reported a double-digit total return in its last financial year. 3i, which has private equity, infrastructure and debt management arms, said its total return of GBP659 million, equivalent to a profit on opening shareholders' funds of 19.9%, in the year ended March 31, compared with GBP478 million or 16.3% in the prior year.
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Aggreko retained its 2015 guidance as it cautioned that it can't predict the impact of the lower oil prices on its markets, even though revenue rose 8% in the first quarter of the year as it got a boost from the stronger dollar and as growth in the Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa offset a decline in Asia Pacific and Australia. The temporary power provider said it still expects its 2015 trading profit excluding currency movements and pass-through fuel to be broadly in line with 2014, even though its revenue on the same basis rose 4% in the first quarter of the year and total revenue rose 8%.
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Old Mutual reported a net client cash inflow, higher sales and growth in funds under management in the first quarter of 2015. In a statement, the Anglo-South African financial services group said gross sales amounted to GBP7.35 billion in the three months ended March 31, compared with GBP6.25 billion in the corresponding period of the prior year, driven by its emerging markets and wealth operations.
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British Land said its net asset value and profit rose in its last financial year, buoyed by portfolio valuation gains, a result it said supported its decision to reposition its property portfolio towards the buoyant property market in London and the South East if England. The property developer reported a pretax profit of GBP1.79 billion for the year to March 31, up from GBP1.11 billion a year earlier, while its pretax profit excluding non-controlling interest rose to GBP313 million from GBP297 million. Its EPRA net asset value per share rose to 899 pence, from 688p a year earlier.
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Glencore and Barrick Gold are understood to be looking to sell a joint nickel development project in Tanzania, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The pair own half apiece of the Kabanga nickel project in north west Tanzania and have been sounding out potential buyers for several months, the sources said, adding that neither has yet hired a bank to sell the property.
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Standard Chartered is looking to sell its Hong Kong pension business, Reuters reported. The report, which cited people with knowledge of the matter, said the business, valued at about USD350 million, could attract the likes of Prudential, Principal Financial Group, Metlife and Manulife Financial in an auction.
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The Restaurant Group reported growth in sales for the 19 weeks to May 10, as it continues to expand its property portfolio, and said it is on track for continued good performance throughout the remainder of the year. The company said sales were up 8.5% in the 19 weeks, with like-for-like sales up 2% on the same period a year earlier.
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TalkTalk Telecom Group upgraded its compound annual revenue growth target through the financial year 2017, and expects to grow revenue by at least 5% per year beyond 2017, as it posted a rise in pretax profit for its recently ended financial year. For the year to end-March, TalkTalk posted a pretax profit of GBP32 million, up from GBP31 million a year before, as a rise in revenue to GBP1.80 billion from GBP1.72 billion offset exceptional costs of GBP63 million.
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Keller Group said profit and revenue fell in the first four months of 2015 due to the completion of a project in Australia, delays on major projects and the impact of adverse weather conditions in North America. FTSE 250-listed Keller said profit and revenue in the first four months has fallen as expected, due to the end of the Wheatstone project in Australia, delays on major projects and the heavy snowfall in North America at the end of February and in early March.
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MARKETS
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Shares prices are mixed in London mid-morning as a turbulent bond market continues to unnerve investors, while a flurry of individual UK stock news sees 3i Group lead the blue-chip gainers.
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FTSE 100: down 0.1% at 6,942.87
FTSE 250: up 0.1% at 17,886.02
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 760.29
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The euro hit a three-month high against the dollar of USD1.1435. The pound also reached a near six-month high against the greenback of USD1.5811.
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GBP: up at USD1.5783
EUR: up at USD1.1410

GOLD: up at USD1216.32 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD67.43 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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An index measuring the average asking price for a house in the UK surged 33% in April, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 22%, which would have been unchanged from the rate in March. A dwindling number of houses on the market fuelled the spike in prices, the group said, as demand remains consistent.
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Ireland April CPI -0.7% on year, versus -0.6% in March; April HICP -0.4% on year, versus -0.3% in March.
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Senate negotiators scrambled to salvage a trade measure that is key to promoting two of US President Barack Obama's top economic priorities - trade deals with the Pacific Rim and with Europe. In a compromise deal, the Senate will again take up fast-track trade authority at 2 pm local time Thursday after it was surprisingly blocked on Tuesday by Obama's own Democrats. But that will only happen after Democrats get their way with consideration of two separate trade measures - one on cracking down on currency manipulation by trading partners, and a second that would extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
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Amtrak train 188 was travelling 170 kilometres per hour when it derailed outside of Philadelphia, more than twice the 80 kilometres per hour authorized for the curve on that stretch of rail. Robert Sumwalt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said that section of track lacked an automatic braking system, called positive train control, designed to slow down a speeding train.
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Islamic State has made territorial gains in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, the military and activists said, as the Iraqi government said a senior commander in the extremist militia had been killed. Jihadists have pushed deeper in the past few days into areas near their stronghold in Falluja, one of the main cities in Iraq's western province of Anbar, an Iraqi army officer said. The Iraqi Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that Abu Alaa al-Afri, seen as the deputy leader of Islamic State, had been killed in an airstrike carried out by a US-led coalition.
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A former Burundian intelligence chief announced he had seized power while President Pierre Nkurunziza was away at an East African summit. Major-General Godefroid Niyombare, who is also a former army chief of staff, announced the coup on local radio station Radio Isanganiro. But the presidency replied via Twitter that "the situation is under control, there is no coup in Burundi." It said later on its website that the "far-fetched" coup attempt had been foiled and that security forces were looking for those behind it so they could be put on trial.
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