Wednesday preview: Admiral, Costain, Sportech, Lookers
6th Mar 2012 17:46
Car insurance group Admiral is due to report its full-year figures on Wednesday, with the market keen to see whether the unusually high frequency and expected cost of new large personal injury claims seen in the third quarter continued into the fourth quarter. Credit Suisse recently upgraded its r
Read moreLondon Close - FTSE flat as investors eye Italy
7th Nov 2011 16:55
UK prices were broadly flat on Monday dropping just 0.3% following steady rises since early September. However, investors are keeping a wary eye on developments in Italy. The human comedy sketch known as Silvio "Il Cavalieri" Berlusconi, appears to be teetering on the edge of losing power. The pre
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks off the bottom
7th Nov 2011 12:20
UK prices are off the bottom, but investors are keeping a wary eye on developments in Italy, where reports suggest that Il Cavalieri, Silvio Berlusconi, could resign the post of Prime Minister within a matter of hours. CHOPPY WATERS AHEAD FOR WEIR Scottish engineering firm Weir, the company which
Read moreCostain on track as order book rises
7th Nov 2011 07:45
Engineering solutions provider Costain said it continues to perform well and trading is in line with the board's expectations. The group's order book has increased to £2.6bn following the strong performance reported in the interim results in August. The figures includes the recently announced award
Read moreCostain acquires Promanex
22nd Aug 2011 07:05
Engineering solutions provider Costain, has acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Promanex, an industrial support services business, for a consideration of £16.4m. The acquisition, which comes with a normalised net debt of £2.4m, will be funded from the company's existing cash resources.
Read moreCostain-Skanska JV wins £150m Crossrail contract
26th Jul 2011 09:50
Engineering groups Costain and Skanska will undertake a joint venture after securing a £150m contract to build the Crossrail Paddington Station in London. It is one of seven new underground stations and is the first station contract to be awarded as part of the £14.8bn Crossrail programme. The sta
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Rexam, Flybe, Cupid
6th May 2011 06:36
Rexam, maker of cans and plastic packaging for anyone from Coca-Cola and Heineken to US consumer products manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, wants to achieve a return on capital employed of between 12% and 15% over the next three years. For 2010, the figure achieved was 12.3%. Rexam shares are
Read moreSmall caps round-up: Costain, James Fisher, GVC
5th May 2011 16:24
Engineering group Costain is trading in line with board expectations in 2011. The order book has expanded to £2.3bn and the group has preferred bidder positions of more than £400m. To date over £850 million of revenue has been secured for 2011, the group said, leaving the board confident of further
Read morePearson's Penguin boss picks up £2.2m
8th Apr 2011 16:24
John Makinson, a director at the publisher Pearson and chairman and chief executive of its book publishing arm Penguin, has pocketed £2.2m from the sale of shares in the company. He sold 200,000 Pearson shares at 1,106p a time leaving him with 402,815 shares. Makinson was finance director of Pears
Read moreCostain acquires Clerx Maxwell
7th Apr 2011 16:20
Engineering group Costain today announced the acquisition of 75% of the share capital of Clerx Maxwell, the Aberdeen-based operations support services provider operating in the upstream oil & gas sector. The company has simultaneously entered into a call option which will provide Costain with the a
Read moreLondon close: Shares stage late rally
29th Mar 2011 16:38
The top share index staged a recovery ahead of the close, helped by Wall Street snapping out of a sluggish start. BP was a laggard. One of the oil giant's major shareholders, Standard Life, has told the oil giant to walk away from its troubled deal with Russian state oil company Rosneft. BP wants
Read moreLondon afternoon: Downward drift continues
29th Mar 2011 14:59
Shares continue to drift lower with BP leading the way down as concerns about its Russian expansion plans rumble on. One of BP's major shareholders, Standard Life, has told the oil giant to walk away from its troubled deal with Russian state oil company Rosneft. BP wants to push ahead with the sh
Read moreLondon midday: Shares seeking direction
29th Mar 2011 12:23
The top share index is struggling to find any sense of direction for the second day in a row. Building supplies group Wolseley's results found favour, but BP is under pressure. BP is also under pressure after major shareholder Standard Life told it to walk away from its troubled deal with Russian s
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips mark time again
29th Mar 2011 08:52
London is marking time this morning with investors keeping a wary eye on events in Japan and Libya. BP is also under pressure after major shareholder Standard Life told it to walk away from its troubled deal with Russian state oil company Rosneft. BP wants to push ahead with the share-swap that w
Read moreCostain confident after profits rise
9th Mar 2011 14:54
Engineering group Costain posted a sharp rise in profits in the year to 31 December and said it is confident for the future given the need for the government to invest in infrastructure even as it seeks to cut the deficit. Pre-tax profits jumped by 54% from the previous year to £27.9m on revenues t
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