| Tomkins FY pretax 262.6 mln stg, up 7.3 pct; sees challenging year ...
(adds reaction, amends spelling of CEO James Nicol's name) LONDON, Feb. 21, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Engineering group Tomkins reported a 7.3 pct rise in pretax profits of 262.6 mln stg for the year to Dec 29, after new products and a focus on emerging markets helped offset economic weakness in US car and construction markets. Sales from continuing operations were 2.94 bln stg, down from 3.13 bln in 2006, it said, and the adjusted operating margin was 9.0 pct against 9.4 pct the year before. Adjusted operating profits, which exclude disposals, fell 11 pct to 264.7 mln. Net debt was 296.8 mln stg, against 403.0 mln in 2006, and the company said it is considering a share buyback of 5-10 pct. CEO James Nicol said the group, which makes components for cars and air conditioning systems and building products such as baths and windows, delivered a good performance after taking a number of 'self-help' measures to counter headwinds in its US automotive and construction end-markets.
Wheeler Dealers
On a parallel track, philanthropist Peter Goldman, an environmental lawyer and board member of the Bicycle Alliance, had a heart-to-heart about city cycling with Mayor Nickels and Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis. The Mayor's Office phoned Cascade Executive Director Chuck Ayers: Let's meet. "The log jam burst," Hiller says. "There was finally a recognition that the city's bicycling community was large and active, growing and sophisticated, and not asking for anything unreasonable, just equal access to our public rights of way." The mayor announced a $300,000 Bicycle Master Plan to improve bike friendliness on urban streets and better connect the city's often discombobulated bike routes. His nine-year, $365 million transportation proposal, scheduled for the Nov.
Lennox International Renews and Amends Existing Credit Facility
DALLAS, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII) announced it has renewed and amended its revolving credit facility. The $650 million facility, an increase of $250 million from the existing credit facility, has a maturity date of October 12, 2012. LII will use the credit facility for the previously announced share repurchase program and for general corporate purposes. "We are very pleased to extend our revolving credit facility," said Sue Carter, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Lennox International. "The confidence this group of lenders has in our company is affirmation of our business objectives and stability, and we believe the use of additional capacity will enhance the capital structure of LII while improving shareholder returns." The joint lead arrangers for the new facility are Bank of America Securities LLC and JPMorgan Securities, Inc.
PS3: Glass half full or empty?
I don't believe titles like Haze or Metal Gear Solid 4 will shift that many more PS3s. But I do think Blu-ray's impact will begin to bite Microsoft. Few observers believe that HD-DVD will ever be anything more than the second placed finisher in a two horse race. And the growing library of Blu-ray titles, coupled with the PS3's capability to take on new features, makes the console an ever more practical choice as a next-gen disc player. Throw in the console's ability to connect to a PSP remotely - and remember sales forecasts for PSPs are positive - plus the growing media hub functionality, and PS3 may not be the lame duck some thought it was 12 months ago. Sony boss Howard Stringer believes PS3 is now "out of the woods". But let's not forget the R&D costs associated with the PlayStation 3 - Sony are many, many years away from recouping the costs of that development effort into the Cell processor and Blu-ray technology.
Fire victims prepare to rebuild lives
City fire investigators were still searching for the cause of the fire yesterday, and had not ruled out the possibility that it was set, a fire department spokesman said. Investigators also continued to probe the source of another fire that killed two people in South Boston on New Year's Eve. Yesterday, former residents of the Emerson Street condominium complex were allowed back in the towering brick structure for the first time since they fled the smoky blaze with little more than the clothes they were wearing. The two fires left 50 people homeless, 30 in South Boston and 20 in Hyde Park's Logan Square section, and caused a combined estimated $6.5 million in damages, $5 million in South Boston and $1.5 million in Hyde Park, officials said. The Hyde Park fire destroyed or damaged eight businesses in a landmark, three-story building on River Street, across from the Hyde Park municipal building.
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