City news in brief: Virgin Blue and Cadbury
A round-up of the shorter City news stories from the Evening Standard, including Helical, Delta, Johnson Matthey, Virgin Blue and Cadbury.
Read about the latest developments at Cadbury below
Helical warns of more pain
Helical Bar chief executive Michael Slade today warned that the down turn in the property market was far from over.
The industry veteran, who earned £9.7m last year, making him one of the best-paid agents in London, said values will continue to fall well into next year.
'We are going right to the end of 2009 on this one,' he said. 'Anyone who thinks otherwise should go back to school.'
Slade, who set up the business in 1967, said the market was entering 'a double-dip' with this spring's fall in values repeated in the autumn.
It came as Helical took an 11% hit to its investment portfolio, with values falling from £305m to £270m in the 12 months to the end of March.
The decline left Slade with losses of £24.3m against a £60.1m profits a year ago.
Delta engineers a pensions transfer
Steel and engineering group Delta today agreed the transfer of much of its pension fund to Edmund Truell's Pension Corporation, making the £451m transaction the second-largest of its type. Delta will pay the fund manager £49.7m to remove most of the pension liabilities from its balance sheet. The pension fund has 18,000 members, of whom more than 10,000 are retired.
Precious metals lift for Johnson Matthey
Strong precious metals markets helped boost revenues at speciality chemicals company Johnson Matthey by 22% to £7.5bn in the year to 31 March. Net profits rose 16% to £265.4m. Matthey's environmental technologies and emission controls arms also performed strongly. Chief executive Neil Carson expects the firm to avoid fallout from global economic uncertainty.
US fund reconsiders tobacco stock ban
One of the largest US pension funds may remove its eight-year ban on tobacco stocks. The board of the California State Teachers' Retirement System, or Calstrs, divested itself of tobacco company shares in 2000 because of lawsuits against the industry and looming government regulation. However, it now says its $10bn (£5.11bn) portfolio may have missed out on some $1bn in returns because of the decision.
Indian retailer blocks Cadbury's chocs
India's biggest listed retailer is refusing to sell Cadbury's chocolate, claiming it has given preferential prices and treatment to rivals. Pantaloon Retail is withdrawing Cadbury products from its 200 stores. Kishore Biyani, chief executive of Pantaloon owner Future Group, said: 'It is giving better prices to other operators.' Cadbury said negotiations are continuing.
Virgin Blue 'must lift fares to survive'
Virgin Blue, Australia's second-biggest airline which is 25%-owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, needs to raise air fares at least 10% to survive, JPMorgan Chase has told clients. 'If jet fuel stays at current levels for several years and Virgin Blue cannot significantly increase fares, it would not survive. Equity injections would be futile as prices would not cover costs,' it says.
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