26th Oct 2010 18:23
The Office of Fair trading says that it is considering Travis Perkins' offer to sell stores in order to gain approval for its bid for plumbing supplies firm BSS Group. The OFT does not believe that the merger will cause competition problems at a national level because it still has a number of riva
Read more12th Oct 2010 06:39
Wood Group, the oil and gas services company, would have looked pretty good even without yesterday's confirmation of a $152m (£95.4m) contract with GWF Energy to build and commission the conversion of a gas turbine plant in California to combined cycle. There is still headroom with the shares trad
Read more11th Oct 2010 16:38
Footsie closed just a few points higher Monday after a sluggish day's trading that saw the leading share index fluctuating in a narrow range just above the zero mark. Oil services group Petrofac firmed on the back of a lucrative contract win. The government of Sharjah has appointed the company t
Read more11th Oct 2010 14:34
The blue-chip index trod water over the lunchtime session with the majority of leading stocks consolidating the morning's gains. Oil services group Petrofac is firmer on the back of a lucrative contract win. The government of Sharjah has appointed the company to take over operational responsibilit
Read more11th Oct 2010 13:35
Travis Perkins' announcement this morning that the builders' merchant and Wickes' owner is on track as sales improved again in the third quarter has been given a cool reception. EasyJet got off to a good start after the budget airline said it had agreed a settlement to its acrimonious dispute with
Read more11th Oct 2010 12:06
Footsie traded in a narrow range throughout the morning session and started the afternoon in marginally in positive territory, boosted by expectations of a moderately firm opening on Wall Street. Oil services group Petrofac is leading the market's far from vigorous advance. The government of Sharja
Read more11th Oct 2010 08:46
Early gains for Footsie have quickly fizzled out and the index is almost back where it started. Builders merchant and Wickes' owner Travis Perkins is on track as sales improved again in the third quarter. Turnover for the nine months to end of September rose 6%, driven by the merchants businesses a
Read more11th Oct 2010 07:36
Friday's rally above 11,000 on Wall Street looks enough to convince City traders to start buying this morning. The futures market points to a 20-point gain for the FTSE 100 Monday following gains in the US on hopes of additional stimulus government stimulus after weak monthly jobs numbers. In comp
Read more11th Oct 2010 07:01
Builders merchant and Wickes' owner Travis Perkins is on track as sales improved again in the third quarter. Group turnover for the nine months to end of September rose 6.0%, driven by the merchants businesses and a modest improvement at Wickes. Both divisions increased market share. Wickes' total
Read more30th Jul 2010 06:55
Rolls-Royce is among the FTSE 100's band of defensives. The shares trade on a multiple of 15.5 times forecast earnings for 2010, putting the stock at the top of end of its historic range. While that may worry some, it's just a reflection of the market's preference for what is a relatively safe and
Read more29th Jul 2010 13:23
Plumbing supplies firm BSS Group, in the process of being taken over by Wickes owner Travis Perkins for £558m, has had a strong start to the new financial year. Total revenue for the 17 weeks to 28 July was up 11.5% on a year ago at £435.3m and 7% better on a like for like (LFL) basis compared with
Read more29th Jul 2010 12:51
Travis Perkins beat expectations as underlying first half profits jumped by a quarter, but the Wickes owner says trading patterns still remain hard to predict. In July, for instance like-for-like sales are 10% ahead in merchanting but Wickes core like-for-like sales are down 1.5% and K&B ordered sa
Read more29th Jul 2010 09:01
By Anita Likus Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. builders' merchant and home improvement retailer Travis Perkins PLC (TPK.LN) expects a slowdown in growth in the second half of the year due to increased consumer caution, Finance Director Paul Hampden Smith said Thursday. "L
Read more29th Jul 2010 07:47
0647 GMT [Dow Jones] Travis Perkins (TPK.LN) reports very strong 1H numbers and overall performance, says Liberum Capital analyst but adds that outlook might "unnerve" the market. Says that Travis Perkins results are ahead of expectations and "ought to be taken in quite well" as the figures present
Read more29th Jul 2010 07:47
LONDON (Dow Jones)--BSS Group PLC (BTSM.LN), a distributor to specialist trades, said Thursday that total revenue for first 17 weeks ended July 28 rose 12%, or 7% on a like-for-like basis, to GBP435.3 million. MAIN FACTS: -New branches contributed 1.2% and acquisitions a further 3.3% of Grou
Read more