RDSA.L Share News (RDSA)

BAE Systems has revealed that uncertainty surrounding a contract to supply Typhoon jets to the Saudis will soon be resolved. The company said the resolution would be worth 3.0p on earnings per share in the current financial year. In 2007 the company agreed to supply 72 Typhoons and 28 have been delivered but the two sides have been locked in negotiations over cost overruns caused by inflation and currency changes. Much hangs on this deal and any failure to reach an agreement with the Saudis by the end of the year would be taken askance by the market, The Times' Tempus column notes, adding: "At the top of their run, the shares look fairly valued, if no more than that".UBM used to look like a ragbag of unconnected media businesses centred on a collection of trade exhibitions and other events, Tempus said. The media and B2B communications, marketing service and data provider now owns the world's biggest trade fair for jewellery and gems along with a series of other events. And its sale this year of Delta, a variety of data services offerings, brought the rest of the group into sharper focus. It now contains PR Newswire, a disseminator of news and other content, those exhibitions and a marketing side that is being reshuffled to concentrate on assets that complement those exhibitions. While the first quarter saw a decline in operating profits, there is potential from future acquisitions. Royal Dutch Shell reported a noisy set of second-quarter results on Thursday, according to the Financial Times' Lex column. A combination of asset writedowns, operational setbacks and foreign exchange losses knocked the oil group's earnings by 20%. Ben van Beurden will have a full in-tray when he takes over as Chief Executive from Peter Voser. One pressing issue is Shell's US shale oil and gas business, which continues to be lossmaking. "Shell is, frankly, over-invested in shale in the US, with $24bn of capital employed; a $2.0bn writedown of the value of those assets may be just the start given that Shell's drilling results are clearly weaker than expected," Lex said. Shell needs to decide quickly which parts of the business to keep and which to sell. There is also the issue of theft in Nigeria with up to 100,000 barrels of output stolen every year. A strategic review is under way but Shell's presence in Nigeria is starting to cost the company more than it earns.RD