Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Wednesday.
----------
COMPANIES
----------
Songbird Estates reluctantly recommended the takeover offer from Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield Property Partners after conceding the bid, which it consistently has said undervalues the company, is understood to have secured support from its major shareholders. Songbird shares rose after it said its shareholders should accept the 350 pence per share bid from QIA and Brookfield should the offer become unconditional. The offer values Songbird at GBP2.6 billion. Songbird said it continues to believe the bid undervalues the company, though it said it has been unable to attract a higher offer following talks with suitors which have taken place since early December. The owner of the Canary Wharf financial district in London said it understands that its major shareholders all intend to accept the offer, which would mean the bidders would have received irrevocable undertakings and letters of intent to accept the bid representing 85.6% of its issued share capital.
----------
Anglo American reported a 10% increase in iron ore production from its Kumba project in the fourth quarter ended December 31 to 12.4 million tonnes from 11.3 million tonnes in the third quarter. Production increased due to the implementation of a production recovery plan, it said. Anglo American's copper production fell 18% in the fourth quarter to 174,800 tonnes from 214,300 tonnes in the third quarter, which was caused by grade declines at Los Bronces and Collahuasi, it said. Nickel production fell 34% quarter on quarter to 6,700 tonnes, whilst equivalent refined platinum production dropped by 14% to 593,900 ounces. Diamond production fell by 8% to 8.4 million carats, mainly caused by lower grades.
----------
Fresnillo reported increased production figures for the fourth quarter, with gold production up 77% year on year to 173,471 ounces. The company produced 12.3 million ounces of silver in the quarter, up 15.5% from the fourth quarter in 2013. During 2015, Fresnillo is expecting gold and silver production to increase. The company has set production guidance of 45 million to 47 million ounces of silver and between 670,000 to 685,000 ounces of gold.
----------
Antofagasta increased gold and copper production in the fourth quarter, but full-year production decreased, and it warned that gold production will decrease further in 2015. Copper production totalled 187,500 tonnes, up 10.8% quarter on quarter, with all copper mines increasing production during the period. Gold production significantly increased in the fourth quarter to 82,300 ounces, up 28% from the third quarter. Molybdenum production for the full year also fell to 7,900 tonnes in 2014 from 9,000 tonnes in 2013, also caused by lower grades. Antofagasta is aiming to produce 710,000 tonnes of copper, 250,000 ounces of gold and 8,000 tonnes of molybdenum during 2015.
----------
Johnson Matthey stuck with its full-year guidance, after reporting a 1% increase in its pretax profit before exceptional items in the third quarter of its financial year, buoyed by strong sales from its emission control technologies business. In a statement, the emissions and process technology company said pretax profit excluding impairments, restructuring charges, tax changes and any profits or losses on disposals was GBP96.5 million in the three months to end-December, up from GBP96.0 million. The growth was capped after it lost about GBP10 million in commission income from Anglo American Platinum. Excluding this, its underlying pretax profit grew at a double-digit rate.
----------
Experian said it will buy USD600 million worth of shares over the next 14 months, pledging to return surplus capital to shareholders from time to time, as the information services company outlined its strategy to analysts and investors in London. As part of the presentation, Experian, which provides data and analytics to clients, said its "aspiration" is to deliver annual average growth in organic revenue in the mid-single digit range. "With the application of our cash flows into organic investment opportunities, acquisitions and returns of excess capital to shareholders, we have the potential for strong growth in earnings per share," Experian said.
----------
Financial Times owner Pearson's Chairman Glen Moreno is preparing to leave the company later this year, Sky News reported. Pearson's nominations committee had enlisted a head-hunting firm, JCA Group, to oversee the process of recruiting a successor, the FT quoted its sources as saying. Moreno has held the position since late 2005.
----------
The Sage Group said it remains on track to achieve its targeted 6% organic revenue growth and 28% operating margin in its current financial year, with revenue growth weighted towards its second half, after its revenue rose 5.3% in its first quarter on the year before. In the three months to end-December the company said organic recurring revenue increased by 7.0% year-on-year, and organic software and software-related services revenue rose 1.0%.
----------
Severn Trent launched a GBP100 million buyback programme and joined peers in linking its dividend growth in coming years to retail price index inflation, after it accepted the UK water regulator's final determination on the pricing regime for the next five years. In a statement, the company said it had reviewed its financing and dividend plan in light of the capital it needs to deliver on its operational plan for the next five years, and taking into account the lower cost of capital allowed by regulator Ofwat. It said that it will now manage its existing debt portfolio as well as any future debt issuance by increasing the proportion which is held at floating rates. It will also move towards a net debt to regulatory capital value ratio of about 62.5%, and as part of this move it is launching a GBP100 million share buyback programme.
----------
The unit that manages Legal & General Group main investments has partnered with Dutch pension fund manager PGGM to launch a London office joint venture with about GBP375 million to invest initially, according to a statement. The joint venture has completed its first investment, buying 72 Broadwick Street in Soho for GBP67 million, representing a net initial yield of 4.7%. Legal & General Capital is the unit that formed the partnership.
----------
Capita said it has won the race to buy Constructionline from the UK government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in a GBP35 million, cash-free and debt-free basis. Constructionline, a procurement and supply chain management services business, was created by BIS initially to work on public sector contracts. Capita won the original tender to run the business in 1998 and successfully retained the contract in subsequent tenders, it said. Capita said it intends to invest in the business with an initial focus on the construction market, but with a view to expanding is services into other sectors. It will invest in a new IT system for the business as part of these plans.
----------
Brewin Dolphin Holdings said first-quarter income growth was constrained by a 23% decline in commission income, largely due to fewer transactions amid market volatility. In a statement, Brewin Dolphin said income grew by 1% year-on-year to GBP70.2 million in the last three months of 2014, which is Brewin's financial first quarter. Fee income rose by 14% to GBP47.4 million, while commission income amounted to GBP17.0 million. Funds under management increased to GBP37.9 billion from GBP36.8 billion on September 28, 2014. Discretionary funds rose to GBP24.8 billion at the end of 2014, up from GBP24.0 billion on September 28.
----------
Soft drinks company AG Barr said it expects its performance to outpace the wider sector for the fourth quarter of its financial year. The FTSE 250-listed company said it expects sales growth of more than 5% for the fourth quarter to January 25, with sales momentum recovering following a slow third quarter. The group said it expects its revenue for the full year to January 25 to be up around 2% at GBP259 million. It said year-on-year sales growth for the year, stripping out lost Orangina revenue, would be around 3%.
----------
MARKETS
----------
London stocks are mixed, with early morning gains being erased as investors look again to take their cues from US earnings and focus on the outcome of the Federal Reserve's first monetary policy meeting of 2015.
----------
FTSE 100: down 0.3% at 6,793.25
FTSE 250: up 0.03% at 16,359.07
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.04% at 689.31
----------
GBP-USD: up at USD1.5206
EUR-USD: down at USD1.135

GOLD: down at USD1287.11 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD49.07 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
The EU is considering new sanctions against Russia because of the worsening situation in Ukraine, while Russian President Vladimir Putin complained that the conflict manifests geopolitical double standards. The 28 EU leaders asked the bloc's foreign ministers to consider further restrictive measures, given Russia's "continued and growing support" of the separatists. The ministers are to hold an extraordinary meeting Thursday.
----------
The EU denied it ignored Greek objections when it issued a statement raising the prospects of new sanctions against Russia. The row is the first of several clashes expected between Brussels and Greece's new prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who was elected Sunday on promises to renegotiate the bailout granted to Greece by its European neighbours and the International Monetary Fund.
Tsipras has in the past also spoken out against sanctions on Russia, rejecting the use of "Cold War language".
----------
The US government proposed opening for the first time the Atlantic coast to oil and gas drilling as President Barack Obama moved to protect some of the seas off the northern state of Alaska from exploration. The draft proposal, which will be opened to public hearings, would offer 14 potential leases: one off the Mid-to-South Atlantic coast; 10 in the Gulf of Mexico; and three off the coast of Alaska. The government had previously approved drilling off of Virginia's coast, but withdrew it after the disastrous 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
----------
States on the north-eastern tip of the US were hit hard by a blizzard that continued moving through the region Tuesday, delivering up to 90 centimetres of snow by the end of the day. Blizzard warnings remained in place in the coastal areas of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island - states where heavy snow and strong winds continued from the storm that began Monday afternoon. Boston, which recorded more than 50 centimetres of snow by Tuesday morning, was set to be pummeled with another 30 centimetres during the afternoon. Meanwhile, life was returning to normal in New York and New Jersey, where the storm proved to be less severe than expected.
----------
A key US senator who had been pushing for fresh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme said Tuesday he would no longer seek the measures while negotiations with Tehran remain under way. Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who has led the charge for new sanctions along with opposition Republicans, said at a congressional hearing that he would not support passage of a sanctions bill until after a deadline to reach a deal with Iran has passed.
----------
China's consumer sentiment decreased marginally in January, results of a survey by MNI and Westpac showed. The Westpac-MNI consumer sentiment index edged down to 112.1 in January from 112.5 in December. In November, the index was at 111.
----------
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.