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Friday newspaper round-up: Water companies, Ferrari, Superdry

(Sharecast News) - An oil and gas company owned by a major Tory donor, which has been fined for illegal flaring, has been awarded a licence to drill for fossil fuels by the government. This week, the government granted the right to drill for fossil fuels in 24 new licence areas across the North Sea. One of the licences was given to EnQuest Heather, a subsidiary of EnQuest. - Guardian Water companies have been urged to invest their profits in cutting bills to "rebuild" trust in the tarnished industry, as suppliers in England and Wales announced costs would jump from April. Water UK, the industry trade body, said bills would increase by 6% or £2 a month on average next financial year - far more than the current 4% inflation rate. - Guardian

Ferrari has posted profits of more than €1bn (£850m) for the first time as wealthy drivers splash out on luxury SUVs. The Italian car manufacturer reported a record net profit of almost €1.3bn in 2023, marking an increase of more than a third on the previous year. Ferrari said sales had been driven by strong demand for its Purosangue SUV, which was in the "ramp up" phase in the second half of the year, meaning production is yet to hit full capacity. - Telegraph

Takeover talk surrounding Superdry has grown even louder after a new investor began stakebuilding in the embattled fashion brand in the belief that it could become a target. A Norwegian-based alternative investment fund has bought a 5.3 per cent stake in the Cheltenham-based retailer, according to regulatory filings. It is understood that First Seagull considers Superdry to be ripe for a bid after a series of profit warnings over the past year drove down its share price. Sycamore Partners, an American private equity company, and Authentic Brands Group, which owns Ted Baker and Forever 21, are said to have Superdry on their radars. - The Times

The owner of Facebook and Instagram has announced its first dividend after better-than-expected fourth-quarter ­results, sending its shares sharply higher. Meta Platforms, which also owns WhatsApp and Threads, a rival to Twitter/X, reported that revenues rose 25 per cent to $40.1 billion for the three months to the end of December. ­Analysts were expecting revenues of $39.2 billion. - The Times

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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Johnson & Johnson, BoE
(Sharecast News) - Thames Water may need as much as £10bn in debt and equity investment to repair its finances, according to a representative of creditors hoping to lend the struggling utility another £3bn. London's high court heard evidence on Tuesday that suggested the UK's largest water company may need significantly more resources than the roughly £6.3bn it has previously indicated. - Guardian
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(Sharecast News) - Hundreds of thousands of British workers are on zero-hours contracts despite being with the same employer for years, according to analysis from the TUC. The majority of zero-hours contract workers have been with their employer for more than 12 months, while one in eight have not been granted regular employment rights after more than a decade working in the same place, the organisation said. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Apple, Daily Mail, OpenAI, Homebase
(Sharecast News) - Apple slightly beat analysts' expectations in its first-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2025 on Thursday. The iPhone-maker's revenue rose by 4%, coming in at $124.30bn, barely above estimates of $124.12bn. Earnings per share were $2.40, just ahead of analysts' expectations of $2.35. Shares rose more than 8% in extended trading after CEO Tim Cook indicated in an earnings call on Thursday that Apple is on the trajectory for revenue growth next quarter. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: Car production, UK retailers, water bills, KPMG
(Sharecast News) - The architect of a ban on newspaper takeovers by foreign states has demanded that an Abu Dhabi fund be forced to sell The Telegraph by Easter. Baroness Stowell, the Conservative chairman of the Lords communications and digital committee, said the Government should impose an ultimatum on RedBird IMI. It should be backed by the threat of regulatory action, she said, to strip the fund of control of what has been dubbed "the newspaper auction from hell". - Telegraph

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