Today's other stories in brief
Kenmare posts losses of $3.5m for first half
Foreign exchange losses on euro-denominated debt plus operating costs led Kenmare Resources to post a loss of $3.5 million (€2.75 million) for the first six months compared to a profit of $3.75 million.
The company said its Moma titanium minerals project is more than 90 per cent complete. Capital expenditure on the mine in the six months was $42.2 million.
Despite some slippage in the programme, Kenmare said it expects to be mining with dredges and producing heavy mineral concentrate stockpile during the last quarter of 2006.
Mineral exploration and project development costs of $14.5 million were capitalised in deferred development expenditure, the company said. Capital commitments at June 30th amounted to $80.4 million.
Additional amounts drawn from lenders plus interest capitalised in the period amounted to $51.3 million.
Ardent reports €125,527 loss
Ardent, the holding company of equity release mortgage firm Ship, has reported pretax losses of €125,527 for the first half of 2006. Ardent, which is headed by former Irish Permanent chief executive Billy Kane, acquired Ship in a reverse takeover in April.
The current results reflect only two month's performance since the acquisition of Ship.
Income in the two months was €40,132 but is set to grow strongly in the next six months, the company said.
Overheads totalled €165,659 at the end of June and reflect the level of investment required to support ongoing development, the company said. Ardent had net assets of €13 million at the end of the first six months, up from €1.4 million.
Strong results for African Diamonds
African Diamonds has reported continuing strong results from its diamond discovery in Orapa, Botswana. It has found the largest diamond recovered to date, a 13.5 carat stone. John Teeling, chairman of African Diamonds, said: "Stones such as this can have a very positive impact on the value per carat of a discovery".
Bids push M&As to record $2.7bn
A resurgence of hostile takeover bids around the globe has helped push the volume of mergers and acquisitions to a record $2,672 billion in the first nine months.
There have been 132 unsolicited bids so far this year, more than double the number in the same period last year and the highest since 1999, according to Dealogic, the global data provider.
The increase has been fuelled by more audacious chief executives looking for growth, record levels of liquidity and increased shareholder activism.
"Companies are prepared to materially raise their offers when they have been initially rejected, sometimes finding another 15-40 per cent of value in their pockets," said Gavin MacDonald, European head of M&A at Morgan Stanley. - (Financial Times service)
WTO to examine cotton subsidies
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is to investigate a claim by Brazil that Washington is still illegally subsidising US cotton farmers to the tune of billions of dollars a year.
A landmark WTO ruling in March 2005 condemned several key US programmes that aid US cotton farmers. In response the US reformed its export credit scheme last year and the so-called Step 2 payments compensating US mills and exporters for buying US cotton were scrapped as from August.
But Brazil says these moves do not eliminate the offending subsidies and leave untouched some of the most trade-distorting measures, such as US marketing loan and countercyclical payments. - (Financial Times service)
