A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Industrial production up on first quarter
Industrial production rose by 8.2 per cent in the three months to July, compared to the preceding three months, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office.
On an annual basis, production in July was 3.4 per cent lower than the previous July. The decline was even greater in the "modern sector", comprising high technology and chemical companies, which was down 6 per cent. The "traditional" sector rose by 1.6 per cent.
B of I fundraises in Canadian market
Bank of Ireland has tapped into the Canadian investment market with its latest round of fundraising. The bank said yesterday that it had raised 400 million Canadian dollars (€274 million) by issuing a benchmark lower Tier 2 note. The fundraising comes at the end of a Canadian roadshow that has brought Bank of Ireland to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. About 24 Canadian institutional investors bought into the product, which will be part of Bank of Ireland's normal funding structure.
IL&P executives exercise options
Irish Life & Permanent group chief executive David Went has acquired 25,000 shares in the group following the exercise of options. Mr Went paid €9.20 a share for the stock, which was last night valued at €14.98. His holding now totals 225,869 and he retains options over 245,313 units.
Dennis Casey, who heads the Permanent TSB operation, paid €59,268 to exercise options over 9,090 shares at €6.5201. He then sold 7,500 of the shares into the market at €15.10, making a profit of close to €54,000 on the deal. He holds 17,606 shares in the group and retains options over almost 160,000 shares.
Three bids for fourth 3G licence
The Commission for Communications Regulation has confirmed that three companies have bid for the fourth 3G mobile phone licence. The commission said yesterday that Eircom, Meteor Mobile Communications and Smart Mobile had all made applications. The 20-year licence requires the operator to offer services in the five major cities.
FBD directors use share options
Two directors of FBD Holdings have exercised options over group shares. Company secretary David Flynn exercised options over 40,000 shares at €4.60 for a total investment of €184,000, bringing his stake in the financial services group to 87,000 shares.
Enda O'Brien paid €138,000 to exercise options over 30,000 shares at the same price. He holds no other shares in the group. The company's shares were last night trading at €32.80.
Gulf Air to fly to Bahrain, not Dubai
Gulf Air will begin direct flights between Dublin and Bahrain in early December and not Dublin and Dubai as stated in Thursday's editions.
Rentokil investor backs Robinson
Rentokil Initial plc's largest investor yesterday backed plans by businessman Gerry Robinson to take over as chief executive of the services conglomerate, saying he was the right man to revive the company.
Raphoe Management, Robinson's takeover vehicle, has said it would install Robinson at the helm of the company and return up to 35 pence a share, or £640 million pounds (€948.5 million), to investors if it won control of Rentokil.- (Reuters)
