Eurozone order books start to grow for first time since January 2012 July 24, 2013 Eurozone composite purchasing manager's index (PMI) has risen above 50, implying that order books are now finally starting to grow. PMI was last this high in Janaury 2012. Analysts had forecast a rise from 48.7 to just 49.3. Manufacturing was up from 48.8 to 50.1 (49.2 expected) and services rose from 48.3 to 49.6 (48.5 [...]
Petrofac president and executive director steps down after 22 years July 24, 2013 The president and executive director of FTSE 100 oilfield service company Petrofac Maroun Semaan has announced he will be retiring at the end of this year after more than 22 years with the company. Group chief executive Ayman Asfari said much of the growth the company has experienced is “directly attributable to Maroun” and thanked [...]
Tate & Lyle expect another year of profitable growth after a slow start in US July 24, 2013 British agribusiness Tate & Lyle says its outlook for 2013 has remained unchanged as adjusted operating profit in the period 1 April to 30 June 2013 was reported in line with expectations (release). As expected, a cold spring and slow start to summer in the US impacted negatively on sales volumes in its beverage sector, [...]
German manufacturing and services sectors their strongest since February July 24, 2013 Following some strong figures from France, purchasing manager's index (PMI) data for Germany has come in strong, at a composite five month high for manufacturing and service sectors. Analysts had forecast a manufacturing PMI rise from 48.6 to just 49.4 – which under 50 would still imply contraction – but a strong 50.3 means that [...]
Spell of hot weather jumpstarts B&Q owner’s ailing sales July 24, 2013 Kingfisher, Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer and owner of B&Q and Screwfix, has reported like-for-like sales at its UK and Ireland stores open more than a year were up 2.5 per cent in the ten weeks to 13 July, thanks to the spell of hot weather (release). Total group like-for-like sales were also up 2.5 [...]
EasyJet shares are flying high as pre-tax profits are set to rise by over 40 per cent July 24, 2013 Airline easyJet has announced that it expects pre-tax profits of £450-480m this year, a rise from £317m in the last period, "assuming no further significant disruption" (release). Total revenue for the third quarter grew by 10.5% to £1,142 million, driven by a 3.6% increase in capacity and improvement in revenue per seat. … With 73% [...]
French manufacturing and services order books more promising in July July 24, 2013 In the first of a string of diffusion index releases scheduled for today, French manufacturing and service sectors both look more promising than analysts had hoped for. The Markit purchasing manager's index (PMI) for manufacturing rose from 48.4 to 49.8 (48.8 expected) and services improved from 47.2 to 48.3 (47.7 expected). As both PMIs are [...]
Before the open – 24/07 July 24, 2013 We're expecting a muted start to European markets after China saw some grim manufacturing data overnight. HSBC's manufacturing PMI saw 11-month lows, at just 47.7, implying that the contraction in the sector is accelerating. $FTSE flat on open despite weaker Chinese Manufacturing Data. UK – ARM 2Q rev sales in line. $BLND IMS, $KGF lfl [...]
Chipmaker ARM sees revenues up by over a quarter July 24, 2013 Cambridge-based processor designer ARM holdings has seen profit before tax fall to £15m in the second quarter ended 30 June (release). That's a fall from £54.8m in the same period last year. Revenue was up 26 per cent to £171.2m from the second quarter of 2012, as the firm's dominance in the smartphone market saw [...]
Wetherspoons expects better outcome for the year as sales rise in second quarter July 24, 2013 Pub chain Wetherspoons has seen total sales rise by 6.2 per cent in the 11 weeks to 14 July, with like-for-like sales up 3.5 per cent (release). The firm has opened 29 firms since the start of the financial year, and sold three, with plans to open around 30 in the next financial year. The [...]