The other financial news stories of the day...

Fitzwilton profits fall 7%

Pretax profits at Fitzwilton, the engineering and financial services company owned by the O'Reilly and Goulandris families, fell 1.3 per cent to €3.49 million last year.

According to accounts filed at the Companies Office, operating profits at Fitzwilton fell 7 per cent from €4.43 million in 2007 to €4.11 million last year. Turnover increased slightly to €61.1 million, the accounts show.

The company made a writedown of €91,000 on its investments during the year.

The directors of Fitzwilton include Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris, who are also the two company shareholders.

New extension for INM on debt respite

Independent News & Media (INM) has secured a new extension on a moratorium on more than €1.3 billion of debt.

The "standstill" on the debt was due to expire yesterday, but has now been extended until December 23rd.

The media group said the extension of the standstill period would allow for implementation of financial restructuring at the group. INM said it had sufficient funding in place to meet its working capital needs during the period.

Shareholders will vote on the restructuring plan at an EGM in Dublin on Tuesday.

IFG ponders Singapore move

IFG Group may buy a trustee company in Singapore, moving it further away from the Irish property market, chief executive Mark Bourke said yesterday.

The Dublin financial services company has bought trustee and fund administration companies in Cyprus, Switzerland and the Isle of Man since 2007.

"For us the next big move is further east," said Mr Bourke. "The choices for us are Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore, and Singapore is the most attractive." Mr Bourke said he's sticking with the company's guidance of full-year adjusted earnings of 18 cent to 20 cent a share.