Markets dip in face of good corporate results
Dublin
Insulation and building materials group Kingspan shed 2.55 per cent to €72.65. Dealers noted that US rival Carlisle reported flat sales on Wednesday night, prompting investors to swerve the Irish group.
Food and ingredients maker Kerry continued a decline sparked by results earlier in the week. Shares slipped 2.93 per cent on Thursday to €81.15. The fall followed a 6.7 per cent slump the previous day.
Ryanair climbed 1.21 per cent to €25.91 as airlines across Europe gained altitude. Air France-KLM reported a strong quarterly performance earlier on Thursday.
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Dublin's listed housebuilders enjoyed a constructive day. Cairn Homes added 3.81 per cent to €2.18 while Glenveagh Properties rose 1.74 per cent to €1.874.
PTSB edged 0.48 per cent up to €2.08. The bank reported that its pretax profit fell 38 per cent to €51 million in the first half of the year as net interest income declined.
London
Aer Lingus and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) climbed 2.56 per cent to 380.5 pence on a good day for airlines, aided by strong Air France results.
The stock boost came as IAG prepared to publish its own second-quarter figures on Friday.
Budget carrier and Ryanair rival EasyJet also benefited, gaining 2.13 per cent to 493.7p.
Aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce surged 8.5 per cent to 1,072p after the company boosted profit predictions on the back of strong results for the first half of the year.
The company said operations could generate up to £3.2 billion profit this year, £300 million more than it originally forecast.
The news continued a turnaround for the company, which makes engines for Airbus wide-body jets and luxury cars, since Tufan Erginbilgic joined as chief executive in 2023
Oil giant Shell advanced 1.19 per cent to 2,711p after announcing plans for a share buy-back programme.
Fashion chain Next added 0.54 per cent to close at 281.5p after reporting that full-price sales in the 13 weeks to July 26 rose 10.5 per cent versus last year.
Europe
Shares in Ferrari tumbled on Thursday despite the Italian luxury sports car maker reporting that earnings per share for the quarter ended June rose to €2.39 from €2.29 for the same period last year.
Its stock was down more than 12 per cent at one point, its sharpest fall since 2016, according to Reuters. The shares were 11.65 per cent off at €385.30 shortly after 5.30pm Irish time.
Air France-KLM shares were up 4.65 per cent at €11.58 after the company reported that sales rose 6.2 per cent to €8.4 billion in the three months ended June 30th.
France's CAC index closed down more than 1 per cent on Thursday. Germany's DAX was off around 0.8 per cent.
US
Kingspan rival Carlisle Companies shares were down 12 per cent at $361.26 at 6.40pm Irish time. The group reported that revenues for the three months to June 30th were flat at $1.4 billion.
Both Microsoft and Facebook parent Meta, which have large Irish operations, rose on the back of better-than-expected results.
Microsoft was up 6 per cent while Meta had climbed 11.5 per cent.
Microsoft said that annual revenue from its cloud computing service Azure exceeded $75 billion.
Microsoft became the second company in the world (after Nvidia) to reach a $4 trillion market capitalisation after reporting quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.
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Sunday World
3 hours ago
- Sunday World
Firm owned by former CAB target paid over €4m by Irish government to house asylum seekers
Former CAB target Bernard Byrne and his brother John Paul alleged to have made €750k from laundering fuel and cash Jim Manfield Jnr, was jailed for for attempting to pervert the course of justice Bernard Byrne's company has been paid more than €4m by the government Bernard Byrne at his Go service station on the Kylemore Road A firm owned by a suspected fuel smuggler and former target of the Criminal Assets Bureau has been paid more than €4 million by the Irish Government to house asylum seekers. Bernard Byrne is the director and owner of Tenzing Ltd, which is listed as receiving funds from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. In 2005, it emerged that Byrne, along with his brother John Paul Byrne, had holdings worth Stg£750,000 in Northern Ireland which was targeted by the UK's Assets Recovery Agency (ARA). The case was referred to the ARA by HM Revenue and Customs in 2004 after a joint investigation with CAB into fuel smuggling and laundering on both sides of the border. Bernard Byrne speaking to Samuel Mansfield In its case in the High Court in Belfast at the time, the ARA alleged that the assets of both brothers were from fuel laundering and smuggling, together with excise fraud and associated money laundering activity. Accounts An interim receiver was appointed over two filling stations in Co Armagh and Co Down, a house in Newry, an apartment in Belfast, vehicles, farm machinery and bank accounts. Bernard Byrne's Tenzing Ltd was set up in January 2023 and is registered to an office in Lucan, Co Dublin. That year, the company received payments of €876,000, €553,350 and €366,000 for 'accommodation and/or related costs'. In 2024, the payments from the Department totalled €2,382,000 with €186,000 paid out in the first quarter of 2025, bringing the overall total to €4,363,350. According to a Dail question reply, Tenzing Ltd operated an emergency accommodation centre at Redbank Guesthouse in Skerries, Co Dublin in 2023. Responsibility for the €1.2 billion accommodation budget has been moved to the Department of Justice since May this year. Bernard Byrne's company has been paid more than €4m by the government Bernard Byrne is also a director of other firms involved in the retail fuel business and owns the Go filling station on the Kylemore Road in Ballyfermot, Dublin. The land on which the business is located is owned by Arcount Ltd, which is controlled by Vincent Cosgrave, a Dublin-based businessman. Cosgrave's property portfolio includes the Sheldon Park Hotel across the road from Byrne's filling station business. His daughter, Donna, married Jim Mansfield Jr and the couple's son, Samuel Mansfield, was previously photographed by the Sunday World meeting with Bernard Byrne in 2016. There is no suggestion that Samuel Mansfield is involved in any criminal activity. Footage Jim Mansfield Jr was jailed for 18 months in February 2022 for attempting to pervert the course of justice by directing that CCTV footage be destroyed. The Special Criminal Court acquitted Mansfield of conspiring to have a man kidnapped by a criminal gang but convicted him of directing that the footage be destroyed. Jim Manfield Jnr, was jailed for for attempting to pervert the course of justice It was also heard in a CAB case that Jim Mansfield Jr was previously given €4.5 million of Kinahan cartel cash to launder through property investments. As a result of the 2004 CAB investigation into fuel smuggling, Bernard Byrne's father, John Byrne, paid €1.6 million to the Revenue Commissioners. During a search of John Byrne's home in June 2004, authorities discovered €200,000 in cash and cheques concealed throughout the property. Investigators concluded he had operated a significant grain delivery business for several years. He faced charges over failing to file tax returns at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court in 2007. The court heard at the time Byrne Snr had 157 previous convictions across both Northern Ireland and the Republic, including a Stg£1.3 million fraud conviction in Northern Ireland. Judge Pat McCartan had deferred sentencing to allow Byrne Snr to finalise his tax affairs. The judge described Byrne Snr as someone who had lived 'completely outside the good order of things' and imposed a two-year sentence, suspended on condition of good behaviour. The Sunday World recently reported on two other firms which have received payment for providing accommodation. One firm had been owned by John Gill, the father of alleged gangland figure Jonathan Gill. According to figures published by the Government, Astervale Ltd was paid €414,505 from 2022 until April 2024. Another firm which has been awarded emergency accommodation contracts has links to the Drogheda gang feud. Ben O'Brien resigned in May as a director of Secure Accommodation, which has been paid €10.2 million since it was set up in September 2022. O'Brien (31) was among several people named in evidence in the 2022 CAB case against gang bosses Owen and Brendan Maguire. Bernard Byrne at his Go service station on the Kylemore Road News in 90 Seconds - Monday, August 4th
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Jones Engineering targets €1.5bn turnover as overseas business expands
Irish construction firm Jones Engineering says it expects turnover to surpass €1.5 billion this year as it continues to expand overseas. According to recently filed accounts, the contractor, which specialises in large-scale industrial projects for the life sciences sector, saw turnover increase by almost 25 per cent to €1.28 billion last year. The company, which employs 4,500 staff across 19 countries, reported a profit of €75.5 million, up from €70.8 million the previous year. 'Our increased turnover in 2024 reflects the ambitious growth trajectory and long-term vision of Jones Engineering,' chief executive Stephen McCabe said. READ MORE 'We expect this momentum to continue, with turnover projected to surpass €1.5 billion in 2025. While we remain the market leader in our sector in Ireland, our strongest growth has come from our expanding overseas operations. 'Looking ahead, 2025 is set to be another strong year for the company with a robust pipeline of work extending into 2026 and beyond,' he said. Increased levels of business saw the company recruit almost 1,000 additional staff in 2024, including more than 240 hires at graduate, internship and apprenticeship levels and about 494 in engineering, craft and support roles. Jones said its baseline headcount grew by 431 (18 per cent) in 2024, which it described as 'significant growth'. The company recently dropped a legal case taken against trade union Unite and three of its officials arising from a strike two years ago. The builder had claimed it suffered financial damage as a consequence of the industrial dispute. Jones's lawsuit prompted Unite and global trade union federation, Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), to file a complaint against the company and its owner, US-based Cathexis, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Founded in the 1890s, Jones Engineering was acquired by Cathexis Holdings in 2022 for an undisclosed sum. The company said it generates turnover from the supply of mechanical and electrical engineering services and fire protection services. The latest results showed the directors declared and paid a dividend of €63 million during the year, down from €73 million in 2023.
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Irish Times
European shares recover although Swiss stocks take a hit on US tariff news
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