Balfour Beatty doubles profit in the first half of 2021 August 18, 2021 Balfour Beatty, a leading international infrastructure group, has doubled its profit for the first half of the year as it steadily recovers from the covid-19 pandemic. Total profit for the period jumped from £20m last year to £51m in the first half of 2021 while profit from operations surged to £60m from a loss of [...]
Triple-lock: How Boris and Rishi can both have their cake and eat it August 18, 2021 Is the triple-lock on its last legs? That question seems increasingly relevant in Whitehall. Average earnings rose by 8.8 per cent last month, including bonuses, according to figures published by the ONS yesterday. Moreover, earnings figures released next month are expected to set next year’s increase in the State Pension. So why is this relevant? The [...]
Just Eat and Carnival reported to FCA over lack of climate risk reporting August 18, 2021 Takeaway giant Just Eat and cruise liner Carnival have been reported to the UK’s financial watchdog over failing to report climate change risk to their investors. Since the beginning of this year, the UK’s listed commercial firms have had to disclose their climate-related risks to investors, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) legal requirements. [...]
Electra Private Equity to rename as Unbound in hospitality demerger August 17, 2021 Electra Private Equity has reiterated its plans for a spin off of its hospitality brands and will rename the company Unbound Group. Restaurant brands TGI Friday and 63rd+1st will be split away under a new company named Hostmore, with shares given to Electra shareholders. The private-equity investment trust will be left with one remaining business, [...]
Weaker than expected retail sales drags Wall Street down August 17, 2021 US stocks edged down during the open today after official figures showed US retail sales were much weaker than expected in July. The blue-chip S&P 500 dropped 0.55 per cent to 4,455.46 points and the Dow Jones lost 0.83 per cent to fall to 35,328.87 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq extended the traditional benchmark’s losses to [...]
Post-Brexit trade: Irish exports to Britain jump by 70 per cent August 17, 2021 Irish goods exports to Great Britain increased by nearly 70 per cent in the last year, according to new figures published in Ireland today. The figures, released by the Irish Central Statistics Office, also show that goods imports from Great Britain to Ireland dropped by 32 per cent in the first half of 2021 – [...]
Just Eat posts revenue surge of 52 per cent but struggles to turn a profit in fight for market share August 17, 2021 Strong demand for food delivery amid the last of the Covid restrictions persisted in the first half of the year and boosted Just Eat Takeaway’s revenue, but efforts to increase its share of the crowded market impacted profitability. Revenue in the first six months of the year grew to €2.6 bn (£2.2bn) – a 52 [...]
BHP confirms Woodside merger, after shareholders bag $15bn payday August 17, 2021 Energy giant BHP has posted a record final dividend of $2 per share, which has raked in a $15bn payday for its shareholders in the past year. In a set of upbeat financials, BHP pulled in $25.9bn in profit from its operations in the year to 30 June, up from $14.4bn last year. The profit [...]
HSBC to pull together $2bn IPO for China’s biggest AI firm SenseTime August 17, 2021 HSBC is working with China’s largest artificial intelligence group SenseTime to form a Hong Kong listing, according to reports. SoftBank-backed SeneTime’s initial public offering (IPO) could wire in at least $2bn, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. China International Capital is helping HSBC arrange the float for the firm. The company has decided [...]
Fintech firm Plus500 announce strong half-year results as industry swells August 17, 2021 Plus500, a global fintech company, has announced strong half-year results after the acquisitions of rivals Cunningham and CTS. The group has seen its revenue swell from where it was in H2 in 2020. It had fallen from $564.2m to $308.3m over the course of 2020, but has since rebounded to $346.2m. The pattern is much [...]