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Outsourcing group Serco was hit by tough markets and reorganising costs in the first half but said it expected a strong showing in the second. Revenue was up 4.3% to £2.3bn, with adjusted pre-tax profit down 17.4% to £102.1m. Organic revenue, which strips out acquisitions and currency effects, dropped by 2.1% Ignoring reorganisation costs, profits were down 4.7% to £117.8m, with the company citing challenging US market conditions. However, the firm pushed its dividend up 6% to 2.65p, in line with underlying earnings. Conditions remained very difficult and uncertain for US federal outsourcing market, it said. But further excellent revenue growth in AMEAA - where revenues were up 22% -and areas of improvement in the UK provided balance, it added. Serco said it expected to deliver a year of good organic revenue growth for the group overall in 2012, with first half decline of 2% set to improve off the back of strong second half growth driven by previously announced contract wins. In the first half of 2012 the firm signed contracts valued at £3.7bn and was appointed preferred bidder for a further £0.5bn. The total £4.2bn of awards compares with £2.5bn in the equivalent period in 2011.

The development of the Antucoya project continues with all of the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts having now been executed. "ANTO is a stock to hold for the long term with a high quality asset base, strong balance sheet and cash generation and longer term growth options," said analysts at Credit Suisse on Tuesday. "We expect the mid-size Antucoya project to take group volumes from c.700 kt in 2012 to c.800 kt by 2015 and longer term projects could take volumes beyond 1 mtpa by the end of the decade. Antofagasta raised its interim dividend by 6.3% from 8.0 cents to 8.5 cents. Chief Executive Officer Diego Hernandez, who joined the board on August 1st, said: "I am delighted to have taken on the role of Chief Executive Officer of Antofagasta Minerals S.A. [...]. I am looking forward to helping the group to realise the great potential from its current operations and strong pipeline of growth projects."

Chile-based copper miner Antofagasta saw earnings per share (EPS) come in a smidgen ahead of expectations in the first half as a decrease in copper prices was offset by higher levels of production. EPS for this six months to June 30th were 65.5 US cents, 7.2% under the 70.6 cents reported the year before but slightly ahead of consensus forecasts of 65.0 cents. Credit Suisse had estimated EPS of 63 cents. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 5.4% from $1,946.7m to $1,841.4m. Nevertheless, cash costs (as already guided to) - a concern for most mining heavyweights in the industry as of late - actually decreased by 6.3% from 105.6 to 98.9 cents per pound (net of by-product credits). Revenue rose by 3.5% from $,3054.3m to $3,160.8m, with rising volumes outweighing a 13.8% fall in the average copper price (from 426.3 to 367.3 cents per pound). As already announced earlier this month, copper production rose by 16.5% year-on-year to 336,000 tonnes, mainly due to increased production from Esperanza which had started operation at the start of 2011. Gold production meanwhile almost doubled to 136,100 ounces, again due to the improvement at Esperanza. The group has maintained its full-year production forecast of around 700,000 tonnes of copper, as well as 280,000 ounces of gold and 11,000 tonnes of molybdenum.

A November interim dividend of 1.8p per share has been recommended, up 13% from the same time last year. Hambro added: "We have further cash resources and are seeing increasing opportunities in all of our core markets. Identifying and acquiring the truly outstanding opportunities is a difficult and frustrating task; however, we have recently concluded purchases on excellent terms and have a pipeline of further such opportunities, some of which are likely to be converted over the next 6 months."

UK and Continental property investment firm Hansteen reported a sharp rise in half year profit, despite adverse currency movement and, on a like-for-like basis, occupancy, values and rent all improved. Pre-tax profit jumped to £23.7m in the six months ended 30 June 2012 from £16.9m the same time a year earlier. Revenue increased to £40.1m during the period from £31.3m the year earlier. Property valuations increased in both Europe and the UK with overall valuation up 0.8%. The group posted annualised rent roll, excluding HPUT, of £65.7m. Like-for-like occupancy, including HPUT, increased by 1,124 sq m. James Hambro, Chairman, commented: "In the continuing difficult economic environment across Europe, Hansteen's results for the first six months of 2012 were good. Profit and dividends have both increased despite adverse currency movement and, on a like-for-like basis, occupancy, values and rent have all improved."

Pizza delivery outfit Domino's Pizza is to acquire the master franchise and 12 outlets of the Domino's brand in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. The British outfit, which already owns seven international franchises, says it is looking to cash in on the affluent Swiss market's high internet penetration, a growing channel for orders. The company will purchase Domino's Switzerland for around 7m Swiss francs (£4.67m) in cash, plus a further amount for the stock, cash in tills, cash and rent deposits, which is not expected to be more than 0.7m francs (£0.47m). Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Domino's Pizza, said: "Switzerland represents a good opportunity to continue our expansion into Europe by acquiring an existing business with a basic infrastructure and some existing stores with good potential in a very affluent consumer market. The encouraging progress we have seen in our first 16 months in Germany has convinced us this opportunity is one not to be missed." Domino's also revea

Mezzanine finance specialist Intermediate Capital Group is testing the water over a possible fund raising in the bond markets. The company has appointed broker Canaccord Genuity to arrange meetings with retail stockbrokers and wealth managers to discuss a possible sterling denominated retail bond issue. An offer of bonds may follow, subject to market conditions, the company revealed. The group said in its July interim management statement that it had untapped bank lines of £449m as at 30th June 2012. If any bonds are offered, they will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933 and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered, sold or delivered within the United States.

The market was impressed with the group's first set of results since the IPO in April. At 8:16 the stock was up 4.4%, although since launch, NMC shares have still fallen 12.8%.

NMC Health, the integrated healthcare provider focused on the United Arab Emirates, says revenues grew in the first half of 2012, during which it achieved a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange. Total revenues from the hospitals, pharmacies and veterinary services it provides were $238m, an 8.4% rise on the same period of 2011. Profits before tax were $27.5m versus the $22.8m seen in the prior year. Occupancy at its four hospitals rose from 51.6% to 60.3%. NMC is also investing heavily, with a $70m maternity hospital set to open in Abu Dhabi in December. Total capital expenditure in the first half was $37.1m. NMC's Chief Executive, Dr B R Shetty, said: "Our expansion plans are progressing well and we are excited about our new facilities, in particular the opening of our new maternity hospital expected in the second half of this year.

Dialight, a producer of LED lighting technology, has established Dialight Asia, a joint venture (JV) with Lumina Holdings Systems based in Singapore. This new business will be responsible for the promotion and sale of Dialight industrial white lighting products in South East Asia. A number of staff will be transferred from Lumina and further employees will be recruited through the JV to enable to business to take full advantage of new opportunities within key oil and gas markets in the region as they arise. The venture will be largely supplied from Dialight's new facility in Penang, Malaysia, where much of the business will be addressed.

Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Patrick Kennedy said: "Revenue growth in our existing businesses has accelerated with a 29% increase and each of the divisions achieving double digit growth." The group has launched into the Italian online market and three further new revenue streams set to contribute in the second half of the year, he added. "With our Online and Retail divisions both continuing to deliver substantial growth and our expansion plans progressing, we are confident in the Group's prospects for the rest of the year and beyond."

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power revealed an impressive increase in half year profit and revenue following strong online growth and a robust performance in Australia following its investment last year. Pre-tax profit rose to €68.7m for the six months ended 30 June 2012 from €56.8m the same time a year before. Operating profit advanced 7 per cent at €48.5m. Diluted EPS rose 25 per cent to 121.5 cent, despite some adverse sports results since its May trading update, the group explained. Net revenue grew 29% in constant currency with double-digit growth in every division. Gross profit increased to €264.9m from €200m the previous year. Paddy Power incurred start-up losses of €6.3m in the period after four new online ventures. It has net cash of €186m. The group said the second half of the year has started well as it continues to invest at an increased rate for expansion. Its new mobile and tablet-led casino product Roller, BetDash and a product called Cayetano are expected to contribute to revenue in the second half of 2012.

Engineering buy-out firm Melrose said it had failed to persuade all the shareholders in German takeover target Elster Group to hand over their stock and would now force them to sell. However, it said the "squeeze-out" process would delay the takeover by a number of months due to regulatory issues in Germany. Melrose said it had secured 99.62% of the total share capital of Elster, which included 17.4m ordinary shares and 42.8m American depository shares (ADS) of the firm. Under the previously announced agreed offer, Elster shareholders will receive $82 per ordinary share and ADS holders will receive $20.50 for every ADS. This was a premium of 48.6% to the price of an Elster ADS on June 11th, the last business day prior to press speculation that Rembrandt Holdings, Elster's majority shareholder, was considering a sale of its Elster holding. "As previously announced by Melrose at the end of the initial offering period, having acquired over 95% of the total share capital of Elster in the initial tender offer, Melrose intends to implement a 'squeeze-out' of the remaining Elster shareholders," the company said. "Such squeeze-out process will be subject to German law and is expected to take a number of months to complete once initiated," it added.

"The second half of the year will see increased investment in Spain, where we will attempt to build on our impressive market share, and also in the United States, where we are preparing for regulatory changes. We will also continue to invest in our technological platform, the cornerstone of our offer, and make improvements to our mobile channel." 888 shares were up 2.7% at 9:31. In the last year the value of the stock has nearly tripled.

The online gaming firm, 888, has produced record revenues for the first half of the year as customers have flocked to its pixelated poker and casino offerings. Total revenue between January and June was $186.4m, up 21% on the prior year. Among the business-to-consumer (B2C) units, poker put in the strongest performance, rising 72% to $41.3m. Casino revenues gained 20% and are still comfortably the largest contributor to overall turnover at $83.1m. Bingo struggled, with revenues falling 2% to $26.9m while the business-to-business (B2B) line, which provides services to other online gaming firms, also dropped, down 1% to $22.2m. There's no doubt though that 888 is doing well, as the firm turned around a loss of $15.5m in the first half of last year to post pre-tax profits of $30.3m in 2012. Things have improved so much the group has decided to restart paying a dividend of 2.5 cents per ordinary share. The Chief Executive, Brian Mattingly said of the results: "This has been an excellent first half of the year. The tremendous increase in customer numbers caused by the improvements in our product offering has led to these record results, with the highest revenues in the history of 888. On the back of this performance, the Board has decided to reinstate the interim dividend, while we retain the cash necessary to continue growing the company.

Investment holding company Guinness Peat Group posted a first half loss after one of its companies suffered a heavy fine from the European Commission. In June, Coats Holdings, the world's biggest maker of industrial threads, lost a court fight against €110m in antitrust fines for fixing the price of fasteners such as zippers and rivets. This resulted in an exceptional charge of £76m in Guinness' results, leading to an overall loss of £36m. This compared with a profit of £13m in the same period in 2011. Coats was also a drag after trading in the first half was lower than expected. This poor trading, together with adverse movements in exchange rates, resulted in sales at Coats dropping by $43m to around $819m. Guinness also announced details of a share buyback scheme as it seeks to return surplus cash to shareholders. "I can confirm the intention to commence this process with the purchase of shares up to a value of £10m as a first stage," said Chairman Rob Campbell. "A specific announcement with the details of the buyback will be made shortly, subject to the Board confirming that the prevailing market conditions are appropriate."

LED lighting technology producer Dialight has secured orders worth one million pounds for almost 2,000 LED lighting fixtures to be supplied for a new underground conveyor system at an Indonesian copper and gold mine. Dialight said the unnamed customer selected its lights for their "longevity and reliability in harsh environments". The FTSE 250 firm will begin to deliver product in September with shipments continuing through the end of the year.

Private equity investor SVG Capital is set to benefit after Permira, in which it has both direct and indirect holdings, agreed to sell 53 per cent of its remaining holding in Galaxy Entertainment Group, a Hong Kong-listed casino and hotel operator, at HKD21 per share. As a result of the sale, SVG will receive net cash proceeds of £70m, leaving its remaining holding valued at £86m. The actual value of the partial realisation for SVG is £92m, which, together with the value of the remaining holding in Galaxy represents a £17m (6p per share) uplift to the June 2012 valuation of Galaxy of £161m. Following the sale, Permira now holds 6.0% of Galaxy's issued share capital.

FTSE 250 real estate investment trust London and Stamford Property has refinanced the 149 apartments at Moore House, London. The assets were acquired by the firm's Central London residential joint venture in July for £147m (excluding costs). London and Stamford's share in the joint venture is 40%. The refinancing, which was completed with The Royal Bank of Scotland, has a value of £65m.

Budget airline Ryanair has announced plans to re-bid for Irish rival Aer Lingus following the lapse of its current takeover bid, which abruptly came to an end when the European Commission (EC) referred it to Phase II. The referral meant that in accordance with the takeover rules, the hostile bid ended with immediate effect. Aer Lingus said: "Ryanair's first attempt to take over Aer Lingus was prohibited in 2007 on competition grounds. Aer Lingus is a much stronger airline today than it was at the time of the previous Ryanair offers and is Ryanair's only significant competitor on the vast majority of Irish air routes. The number of routes into and out of Ireland on which Aer Lingus and Ryanair compete has sharply increased since 2007. The reasons for prohibition are therefore even stronger than before. "In addition to the European Commission's in-depth investigation, the UK Competition Commission also continues to investigate the harmful effects of Ryanair's minority shareholding in Aer Lingus, which is contrary to the interests of consumers and the majority of our shareholders." In a statement Ryanair told investors that any further offer will require the consent of the takeover panel to reverse the rules on making another bid within 12 months from August 29th, the day the offer lapsed. The offer, which was Ryanair's third tilt at Aer Lingus in six years, "fundamentally undervalues" the company, Aer Lingus told its investors last week. Ryanair, which is Aer Lingus's largest shareholder, launched the bid which valued the company at €694m back in June.