Finance Director | SilverScorpio.Com

UPDATE 1-Debenhams refinances, sees lower interest costs

July 20, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) – Debenhams (DEB.L), Britain’s No.2 department stores group, has completed a refinancing of its debts, signing a new 650 million pound ($997 million)agreement that will cut its interest bill, it said on Monday.

The group said the deal comprised a 250 million pound term loan and a 400 million pound revolving credit facility expiring in October 2013, with an option to extend to October 2014.

After hedging a proportion of the debt into fixed rates, it expects interest costs net of fees to fall from about 7 percent this financial year to about 4.5 percent during the first full year of the agreement.

“The new facility puts Debenhams on a strong footing for the future, extending the group’s debt maturity horizon beyond three years and, in combination with related hedging, significantly reducing the group’s interest charge for the future,” said finance director Chris Woodhouse.

“Debenhams continues to be a highly cash generative and profitable business and we expect to continue our programme of net debt reduction over the coming years.”

The agreement will start in April 2011 on the expiry of the existing bank facility. Associated refinancing costs of around 10 million pounds will be capitalised and amortised over the life of the new agreement, Debenhams said.

It added that the facility was oversubscribed.

The mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the deal were Barclays Capital (BARC.L), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L). (Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=.6519 Pound)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: arrangers, bank of scotland, banking group, barc, Barclays Capital, debenhams, Debt Maturity, Director Chris, Finance Director, Generative, Interest Bill, Interest Charge, Interest Costs, LLOY, Mark Potter, Profitable Business, Refinances, revolving credit facility, royal bank of scotland, Woodhouse

FACTBOX-Five facts about new AIA head Tucker

July 20, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Former Prudential Plc (PRU.L) chief executive Mark Tucker was on Monday named by bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc (AIG) (AIG.N) as executive chairman and CEO of its Asian life insurance business, American International Assurance (AIA), replacing existing head Mark Wilson. [ID:nTOE66I026]

Following are five facts about Tucker:

* Started adult life as a trainee professional footballer in Britain, making appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Rochdale and Barnet.

* Is a chartered accountant. First joined Prudential group in 1986, working initially in Prudential Portfolio Managers Limited. Was Chief Executive of Prudential Corporation Asia for a decade up until 2003.

* Left Prudential in 2004 to join HBOS Plc as finance director. But returned as Prudential’s CEO in 2005 and stayed in that role until 2009, when he quit the group.

* Had eyed acquisition of AIA when he was CEO, but AIG did not proceed with the sale then.

* Born on Dec. 29, 1957 (Compiled by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Adult life, American International Assurance, American International Group, American International Group Inc, Asian Life, chartered accountant, executive chairman, Finance Director, hbos, Hbos Plc, International Group Inc, Life Insurance Business, Mark Tucker, Mark Wilson, Portfolio Managers, professional footballer, pru, Prudential Corporation, Prudential Plc, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Systemair AB: Systemair acquires Poliplevro in Greece

July 1, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Systemair has acquired the assets in Poliplevro SA, a Greek distributor of ventilation
products. “Poliplevro has suffered heavily from the Greek crisis and sales has dropped
rapidly in the last years. We see an opportunity to develop the sales of Systemairs
products on the Greek market with the Poliplevro business as a platform. We expect sales
of approximately SEK 10 millions the first year” says Gerald Engström, CEO of Systemair.

For further information contact:
Gerald Engström, CEO, + 46 222 44 001, + 46 70 519 00 01
Anders Ulff, Finance Director, + 46 222 44 009, +46 70 577 40 09

Systemair AB, 739 30 Skinnskatteberg, 0222-440 00, www.systemair.com

http://www.systemair.com/

Systemair in brief
Systemair is a leading ventilation company with operations in 38 countries in Europe,
North America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia. The Company had sales of SEK
3.2 billion in financial 2009/10 and currently employs about 2,200 people.
Systemair has reported an operating profit every year since 1974, when the Company was
founded. During the past 15 years, the Company’s growth rate has averaged about 15
percent.

Systemair has well-established operations in growth markets. The Group’s products are
marketed under the Systemair, Frico, VEAB and Fantech brands. Systemair shares have been
quoted on the Mid Cap List of the OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm since October 2007.
The Group comprises about 60 companies

HUG#1427869

Press Release (PDF) http://hugin.info/138279/R/1427869/375450.pdf

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: assets, ceo, countries in europe, Fantech, Finance Director, Further Information Contact, Greece, Greek Market, Growth Markets, Hugin, mid cap, Middle East Asia, nordic, Omx, operating profit, press release, Sek, Stockholm, Systemair, Ventilation Products

UPDATE 1-M&B appoints Interserve’s Tim Jones in FD rejig

June 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) – British pubs and restaurant group Mitchells & Butler (MAB.L) has appointed Interserve’s (IRV.L) Tim Jones as finance director replacing Jeremy Townsend, who is joining Rentokil (RTO.L) as CFO at the end of August.

Meanwhile Interserve said Tim Jones, who has tendered his resignation to take up the role at M&B, will remain at Interserve “for an appropriate period” to ensure a smooth handover.

Interserve added it will be looking at both external and internal candidates.

(Reporting by Lorraine Turner)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: British Pubs, cfo, Fd, Finance Director, handover, Internal Candidates, Interserve, Irv, London, Lorraine Turner, Mab, Rejig, resignation, Restaurant Group, reuters, smooth, Tim Jones

UPDATE 1-Norcros profit falls; CEO to retire in March 2011

June 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

June 22 (Reuters) – British shower and tile maker Norcros Plc (NXR.L) posted a 19 percent fall in full-year underlying pretax profit, hit by a drop in demand in its South African markets, and said the UK outlook for consumer spending in the current year remained uncertain.

The company, which operates primarily in the UK and South Africa, said on Tuesday it named Finance Director Nick Kelsall chief executive-designate, effective July 1. He succeeds current CEO Joe Matthews, who would retire on March 31, 2011.

Norcros, which is a retailer of sanitary wares under the Johnson, Tile Africa and TAL brands, said it expected UK public-sector investment to decline, and private-sector investment to remain muted.

For the year ended March 31, the company said its pretax profit before items fell to 3.4 million pounds ($5.02 million) from 4.2 million pounds last year. Revenue grew 10 percent to 169.6 million pounds.

“Despite these challenging conditions, the group is in good shape with a strong balance sheet, following the recent capital raising, and resilient revenue driven by essential repair and maintenance activity…,” Chairman John Brown said in a statement.

Norcros shares closed at 7.5 pence on Monday on the London Stock Exchange. ($1=.6775 Pound) (Reporting by Tresa Sherin Morera in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Chairman John, consumer spending, Finance Director, Good Shape, Joe Matthews, Kelsall, london stock exchange, Maintenance Activity, Morera, Norcros, Nxr, pence, Pretax Profit, Private Sector Investment, Public Sector Investment, reuters, Sanitary Wares, South African Markets, Tile Maker, Uk Public Sector

2009′s ‘Great Recession’ Slashed Carbon Market in Half Climate

June 15, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The value of the voluntary carbon market shrunk 47 percent to $387 million in 2009 as the recession shrank the amount of offsets purchased for corporate social responsibility purposes.

Transactions for the year equaled 94 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions, a 26 percent decline from 2008, despite growth in emissions reductions bought for pre-compliance purposes, according to the State of the Voluntary Carbon Market Report 2010. The fourth annual report, to be released Monday, was produced by Ecosystem Marketplace and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“The economic recession had a marked impact on the part of the market primarily concerned with buying credits to offset emissions of companies and individuals,” Milo Sjardin, Bloomberg New Energy Finance Director and report co-author, said in a statement. “In contrast, expectations of a possible U.S. carbon trading program lifted the importance of the U.S., which figured as the largest buyer and seller in the market and the most popular transactions were those that could count towards future compliance. However, with the current state of play of U.S. politics this situation is likely to be very different this year.”

The average cost for an emissions reduction was $6.50 per ton of CO2-equivalent. Projects that destroy potent methane proved to be the most popular, comprising 41 percent of all voluntary transactions, followed by forestry at 24 percent, and renewable energy projects, at 17 percent.

About 56 percent of emissions reductions originated in projects in the U.S., followed by Latin America and Asia. The U.S. accounted for 49 percent of voluntary offset demand.

The use of independent, third-party registries to track ownership of emissions reductions nearly doubled, mostly caused by the roll-out of the Voluntary Carbon Standard’s meta-registry, which uses multiple registries across several regions.

The authors warn that figures in the report are likely conservative because of the inherent challenges in trying to inventory and collect data. More than 200 offset suppliers, exchanges and registries voluntary reported the data used in the report.

Image CC licensed by Flickr user nemesisnom.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: bloomberg, carbon dioxide, Carbon Trading, co-author, co2 emissions, Compliance Purposes, Conse, corporate social responsibility, Current State, economic recession, Energy Finance, Finance Director, Forestry, latin america, methane, new energy, offsets, renewable energy projects, state of play, Voluntary Transactions

UPDATE 1-Indonesia’s Jasa Marga plans H2 bond issue

April 9, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

JAKARTA, April 8 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s biggest toll road operator, PT Jasa Marga (JSMR.JK), plans to issue at least 1 trillion rupiah ($110.6 million) in bonds in the second half of 2010, the company’s finance director said on Thursday.

Reynaldi Hermansjah, Jasa Marga’s finance director, said the money raised would be used to refinance maturing debt and fund capital expenditure.

“We have several bonds worth about 650 billion rupiah that are going to mature by the end of year,” said Hermansjah.

“Therefore, we plan to refinance them through issuing a minimum 1 trillion rupiah of new bonds in the second half,” he said.

Some the funds raised would also be used to help finance 3 trillion rupiah of capital expenditure this year, mostly to acquire several new toll roads, he said, adding the firm was also looking at using commercial loans to finance its capital spending.

Jasa Marga, which has a $1.4 billion market capitalisation, said in February that it plans to acquire majority stakes in companies that operate a section of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road and a section of another road in East Java.

(Reporting by Janeman Latul, Editing by Ed Davies)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 6 million, April, Bond Issue, bonds, commercial loans, Company Finance, East Java, Ed Davies, Finance Director, Fund Capital Expenditure, Indonesia, Jakarta, Jasa Marga, jk, market capitalisation, reuters, second half, Toll Road, Toll Roads, trillion

Barack Obama selects campaign adviser as social secretary

March 8, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON: It didn’t take long for the White House to name its next social secretary.

Julianna Smoot, who was chief of staff to US trade representative Ron Kirk, takes over at the White House for Desiree Rogers. Smoot was finance director for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

The White House said on Friday that Rogers, a longtime Chicago friend of the Obamas, was stepping down. That announcement came three months after an uninvited couple crashed the Obama administration’s first state dinner. Rogers was criticized for her role in allowing the embarrassing episode to happen.

The president says Smoot shares the Obamas’ commitment “to creating an inclusive, dynamic and culturally vibrant White House.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Barack Obama, campaign adviser, chief of staff, desiree rogers, Finance Director, Julianna, presidential campaign, Representative Ron, Ron Kirk, Smoot, social secretary, State Dinner, three months, trade representative, White House

GM subsidiary Saab to continue cooperation with US parent

March 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Stockholm – Although US giant General Motors aims to sell its Swedish subsidiary Saab, the two groups have agreed to cooperate in future, financial daily Dagens Industri reported Wednesday.

Saab last month filed for bankruptcy protection while it attempts to reorganize its business. That move came after GM said it planned to shed the brand as part of its restructuring efforts.

“GM will remain a key partner for Saab during at least five to 10 years and where we, with a new owner, can access a lot of the technology we need,” Saab Automobile’s finance director Lars Hagerborg was quoted as telling Dagens Industri.

The agreement with GM would not cost cash-strapped Saab big sums.

“We will exchange their technology for ours and offer some of our safety technology, skills for chassis trimming and engine technology,” he said.

Saab would keep its most advanced turbo technology, car safety technology and cabriolet technology to itself, he added.

Hagerborg said work was ongoing with the reconstruction of Saab. Although the group has historically rarely generated a profit, “lessons have been learned,” he added.

Saab recently said it planned to shed 750 employees from its workforce of about 4,000 in Sweden.

Of the 750 employees, 650 were blue collar workers based at its plant in Trollhattan in the south-west of the country.

The group at present is making cars two days a week over weak demand for cars.

GM’s interest in Saab – one of Europe’s smallest car makers – dates back to the early 1990s. The company took full control in 2000. (dpa)

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Indian, Chinese restaurants closing down in UK amid recession

February 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Feb 24 (ANI): The ongoing credit crunch has put many out of business, and it has now affected one of Britain’s biggest food groups, as more and more Chinese and Indian restaurants are closing down.

As per Associated British Foods (ABF), the sale of rice, noodle and vegetable oil from its Westmill wholesale business has fallen “tens of per cent” in the past six months.

And experts have claimed that at least 25 curry houses are closing every week as customers cut back on going out.

“Sales to Indian and Chinese restaurants are well down,” the Sun quoted AB Foods finance director John Bason as saying.

“They are finding trading very tough. There’s certainly a move away from eating out and it’s creating clear winners and losers,” he added.

The Bangladesh Caterers Association last month warned that 1,000 Indian restaurants would close down shop this year, which is more than ten per cent of the UK total.

It claimed restaurant owners faced changing tastes and many had failed to invest in their businesses.

Westmill is the biggest UK supplier to the ethnic catering trade, and AB Foods highlighted the downturn with a warning that half-year profits would fall across its grocery arm.

Bason said that customers were “down-trading” to cheaper brands, and that the group’s operations in the US and Australia were being most affected.

“AB Foods is not immune to the economic climate but is certainly resilient,” analyst Graham Jones of Panmure Gordon stockbrokers added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: associated british foods, bason, caterers association, catering trade, chinese restaurants, credit crunch, curry houses, director john, downturn, economic climate, Finance Director, food groups, indian restaurants, london feb, panmure gordon, rice noodle, stockbrokers, vegetable oil, wholesale business, winners and losers

BOC India to invest Rs 200-250 crore for ongoing projects

October 26, 2008 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

Industrial gas maker BOC India Limited has informed that it would invest around Rs 200 to Rs 250 crore on several ongoing projects in India by the end of the first quarter of the next financial year.

The company has a cash reserve of around Rs 200 to Rs 250 crore, which is the part of the Rs 600 crore investments committed by parent company Linde Group to India early this year.

Apart from routine investments in ongoing projects, the company was scouting for buyout opportunities in the country.

Recently, the company has appointed its Finance Director, Mr. Srikumar Menon as the Managing Director of the Company for a term of three years with immediate effect.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: BOC India Limited, Finance Director, financial year, India, Industrial gas, Linde Group, Mr. Srikumar Menon, opportunities, projects