Motor insurance group Admiral have recorded record half-year profits and show signs of strong growth in 2010.
The company, with its headquarters in Cardiff, the pre-tax profit was £126.9 million, up 21% on the same period in 2009.
The Employee Share Scheme will see each of the company’s 4,000 staff members receive £1,500 of free shares in the Group.
Henry Engelhardt (pictured above), group chief executive, said: “2010 is shaping up to be a year of great opportunity and I’m extremely proud of how everyone at Admiral has stepped up to the challenge.
“Their hard work has resulted in a decent set of numbers: turnover was up by a third, profits have grown by over 20 per cent and we will soon be paying a record dividend.
“The UK car insurance business continues to be the driving force behind our success and in the first half of 2010 we shifted up yet another gear. W
24 Aug
Posted by Allison Thomas as Corporate Finance
Whereas the government has forecast a shortfall of 65 billion euros, “I see good chances that we will finish under 60 billion euros this year,” Schaeuble told the Rheinische Post regional newspaper.
Last Thursday the Bundesbank, or German central bank, said the combined federal, regional, local and social security deficit would be well below five percent of gross domestic product.
Last year the German economy contracted by 4.7 percent, its worst recession since World War II. But this year could see its strongest expansion since a record 3.4 percent in 2006, the central bank has said.
A FURTHER insight into the mood of the consumer will emerge this week with updates from Diageo, Punch Taverns and bookie William Hill.
Guinness-to-Smirnoff drinks giant Diageo will hope to soothe nerves over the company’s prospects when it presents Thursday’s full-year results, amid doubts over the long-term health of its main markets.
The firm noted “some signs of recovery” after 12% sales growth in the first quarter of 2010, although the performance was flattered by comparison with the worst of the recession and it said consumer trends were “difficult to predict”.
Diageo stuck to its prediction of “low single digit” profits growth for the year at its last update in May.
But shares have wobbled since the end of July and JP Morgan cut its target price on the firm amid worries over the outlook – particularly in uncertain European markets.
Collins Stewart analyst Rob Mann has Diageo on a “sell” rating despite predicting underlying earnings of £3.13bn for the year to June, up from £2.89bn last time. He said: “There seems t
23 Aug
Posted by Allison Thomas as Corporate Finance
You might have found yourself tempted by the endless credit card offers hitting mailboxes with regularity, even during the recession. Low interest rate offers and the chance to shift balances can be hard to resist for some in this economic climate. Before you take advantage of one of those offers, check out these facts to see who ends up benefiting the most.
The Rate Dance
Lots of people take advantage of seemingly hard-to-believe credit card offers. The plan is to refinance their credit card debt before the teaser rate goes up – usually substantially. H
CONFIDENCE in Welsh construction has been dented as a result of concerns over public funding cuts hitting the sector, according to research from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Its latest Construction Market Survey shows that despite some encouraging signs at the beginning of the year, the data for the second quarter shows a decline in confidence in the construction market.
The total construction workload among Welsh surveyors is still declining – albeit at a slower rate – but looking forward, surveyors anticipate a sharper drop in workloads and employment.
In Q2 some 9% more chartered surveyors reported a fall rather than a rise in workload compared to 25% more in Q1.
When questioned about their future outlook, 40% more chartered surveyors expect workload to fall than rise with a further 40% more expecting to employ less in the year ahead – compared to just 14% in the previous quarter.
Anecdotal evidence from surveyors suggests the key issues facing the sector are the continued lack of development finance, public spending cuts, insufficient clarity provided by the new government on existing projects and an overall increase in competition as larger firms are now bidding for smaller contracts.
Significantly, 80% more chartered surveyors expect their profit margins to decrease rather than rise in the next 12 months. This