The euro is sliding against global currencies after Greek voters overwhelmingly rejected reform measures put forward by the country’s creditors; a result seen as increasing the chances Greece will exit the single currency.
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Gas-to-liquids specialist Velocys (VLS) has suspended chief executive Roy Lipski. The company said that Mr Lipski would stand aside from his duties "pending an investigation into allegations of serious misconduct". Chief financial officer, Susan Robertson, will stand in for Mr Lipski while he is suspended.
Ophir Energy (OPHR) has confirmed that production volumes for the full year are on track to meet expectations. In a trading update, ahead of reporting interim results in August, the oil and gas company said output averaged 14,600 barrels oil equivalent per day in the first half of the year.
Bovis Homes (BVS) has set a new record of legal completions of 1,525 new homes for the six months to June 30, a 3 per cent year-on-year increase. The average sales price on those properties increased by 6 per cent to £222,000. The builder now intends to increase its interim dividend for 2015 by 14 per cent to 13.7 p per share
Gulf Marine Services (GMS) has revealed that one of its large-class vessels has secured a decommissioning contract, the first such deal won by the rig provider. The vessel had been contracted to provide well service and maintenance work in the southern part of the North Sea through to the first quarter of 2016, but the client has now agreed with Gulf Marine that the vessel will shift to provide decommissioning support this summer.
Revolution Bars Group (RBG), which trades under the Revolution and Revolución de Cuba brands, has hailed its "significant progress" after enjoying a sales rise to more than £110m.
RM Group (RM.) said its pretax profit in the first half of its 2015 financial year rose, as its cost of sales and operating expenses were cut sufficiently to offset a fall in revenue. Profits for the six months to the end of May were £9.2m, up from £6.7m a year earlier.
Low-costs airline EasyJet (EZJ) revealed a 7.6 per cent increase in passenger numbers in the six months to June. The load factor increased 70 basis points during the period.
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Rolls-Royce (RR.) has issued its third profit warning in just over a year, blaming lower oil prices and faltering aviation demand for some of its aircraft engines. Rolls last issued a profit warning in February, claiming the sharp fall in oil prices would reduce its 2015 profit toe between £1.4bn and £1.5bn. But the UK engineering firm lowered its profit outlook again, this time to between £1.325bn and £12.475bn.
Wellhead technology group Plexus Holdings (POS) has signed a licensing agreement with Chinese oilfield services giant Jereh that will see a further roll-out of the Aberdeen-based firm’s technology across Asia, Brazil, India and the Middle East. The Aim-quoted firm said the tie-up with Jereh was a “transformational milestone”.
In a trading update, satellite company Avanti Communications (AVN) said its revenue was up by around a half, assuming constant currency. The company which provides services to telecom providers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa said its revenue for the 12 months ended 30 June exceeded $80m. Period end cash was over $120m.
Building products group Marshalls (MSLH) revealed that revenues increased by 11 per cent to £199m in the first half of the year as the recovery continues in the construction sector. Marshalls said sales to the public sector and commercial end market, which now represent around 64 per cent of total revenues, were up 15 per cent compared with 2014.
Traffic at Aer Lingus (AERL) rose last month, with transatlantic traffic up 15.6 per cent compared to the same period last year. Total traffic for the month, including Aer Lingus Regional flights, rose two per cent to 1,148,000, compared to 1,125,000 passengers in June 2014.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Business-to-business media group, Tarsus Group (TRS), announced that it has acquired 50 per cent of the AMB Group via a joint venture vehicle AMB Tarsus Exhibitions Sdn. Bhd. from Andrew Siow and Richard Yew.
Uber is poised to invest $50m to set up its largest international office in the Indian IT hub of Hyderabad.
Lone Star, the Dallas-based private equity group, will bring together 89 UK hotels to form a £1bn company, Amaris, which it hopes to be able to float on the stock market in the medium term.
