PRESS DIGEST - British business - Aug 6

The Times

COBHAM TO BE REVAMPED BUT ITS SHARES RUN OUT OF FUEL

Defence and aerospace firm Cobham (COB.L) warned of fragile prospects ahead, as it posted a two percent rise in underlying profits to 145 million pounds for the first half of 2010. Cobham, which said it would focus on restructuring operations after it delivered only a one percent rise in revenues to 962 million pounds, forecast improved performance in the second half. The restructuring is expected to produce savings of 70 million pounds a year, while costing 150 million pounds to instigate. Analysts from investment bank UBS said although Cobham has a new strategic plan in place which will result in cost savings, "the trading background remains uncertain".

TIME WARNER PAYS SHED LOADS TO TAKE SUPERNANNY TO TINSEL TOWN

Television production company Shed Media SHDP.L has agreed to a 100 million pound takeover deal by Time Warner, in a move designed to give the U.S. entertainment conglomerate "immediate scale" in British production. Warner Bros, a division of Time Warner, will hold a 55.75 percent stake in the new firm set up to buy Shed, while 16 Shed managers will maintain a 21.37 percent holding in the company. The deal will generate millions for four senior directors of Shed, which delivered 9.8 million pounds in pre-tax profits in 2009 and 100 hours of programming for the U.S. market. Consolidation in the sector has also seen NBC Universal snap up production firm Carnival.

TEMPUS

Rio Tinto (RIO.L) (If investors keep faith, they will be rewarded)

Schroders (SDR.L) (Hold)

Spirent (SPT.L) (Hold)

The Daily Telegraph

LONDON LOOKS FOR TAX-SAVING STATUS

London & Stamford (LSP.L), the property company, is set to become a real estate investment trust in a bid to capitalise on tax savings. Shareholders have to approve the move from the AIM to the London Stock Exchange's main market, which would enable London & Stamford to attain Reit status, becoming "largely exempt" from corporation tax on rental profits and capital gains tax on sales in the process. In becoming a Reit, the company would be required to pass 90 percent of rental profits on to its shareholders.

MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE PROFITS JUMP

Millennium & Copthorne (MLC.L) (MLC.L), the hotel operator, has reported a 64.6 percent increase in pre-tax profits to 50.2 million pounds in the first half to the end of June, while revenue increased by 11.1 percent to 350.5 million pounds. However, Millennium's chairman Kwek Leng Beng warned of uncertainty over the next 12 to 18 months. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the group overall was up 11.2 percent to 57.66 pounds. The biggest gains were in Singapore where RevPAR increased 33.3 percent in the first half of the year. RevPAR in London increased 1.7 percent over the same period. The board recommended an interim dividend of 2.08 pence, to be paid on October 8.

MALL OWNER CSC RETURNS TO PROFIT

Mall owner Capital Shopping Centres (CSCG.L) returned to profit in the first half of 2010 thanks to a recovery in the value of its property portfolio, which now has a market value of 4.92 billion pounds. Net asset value per share rose nine percent to 368 pence. Pre-tax profit for the period was 220 million pounds, against a loss of 251 million pounds over the same period last year. Chairman Patrick Burgess said the firm was "looking to drive growth in net rental income from lettings, lease expiries and rent reviews". Shares in CSC rose 1.2 pence to 339.9 pence.

RSA PROFITS FLAT AS QUAKE AND WEATHER CLAIMS TAKE TOLL

Claims linked to extreme weather and the Chilean earthquake in February kept profits at insurer RSA (RSA.L) flat during the first half of 2010, the company has announced. RSA revealed a pre-tax profit of 302 million pounds for the six months to June 30, up slightly from 301 million pounds during last year's first half. Claims relating to the earthquake in Chile cost RSA 30 million pounds, while the firm lost 57 million pounds because of adverse European winter weather. Shares in RSA closed at 133.5 pence, an increase of five pence.

VAUXHALL WARRANTY TO ATTRACT CAR BUYERS

Vauxhall has taken the unprecedented step of offering a lifetime warranty on all new car sales, in a bid to increase its market share. Along with others in General Motors' [GM.UL] European division, the British marque will make the offer available to prospective customers in the peak sales month of August. Increasing sales and market share is viewed as being critical to the turnaround plan of head of GM Europe, Nick O'Reilly.

INMARSAT TO SPEND ONE BILLION DOLLARS ON THREE BOEING SATELLITES

Inmarsat (ISA.L), which provides satellite telecommunications for ships, planes and disaster zones, is to announce its biggest investment in a decade with a one billion dollar purchase of three Boeing satellites. The Ka-Band satellites will ensure that broadband services can be delivered 20 times faster than at present by late-2014. A source described the investment as allowing the provision of very high mobile broadband speeds on a global basis to the needs of high-end customers who have very high data requirements. Chief executive Andrew Sukawaty is hoping to expand the broadband capacity as voice revenue continues to decline. Sukawaty will also use the satellites to offer high-speed Internet services to airline passengers.

QUESTOR

Unilever (ULVR.L) (Buy)

HSBC Infrastructure Fund (Buy)

The Independent

BT STAFF ACCEPT PAY OFFER

Staff at BT (BT.L) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new three year pay-deal. The agreement puts an end to months of tough negotiations between the telecoms firm and its workers that had threatened to result in industrial action. Members of the Communication Workers Union voted almost nine to one in favour of the 9.3 percent deal, which will be backdated to January. CWU deputy general secretary Andy Kerr said the deal provided stability for "both staff and the company".

INVESTMENT COLUMN

Randgold Resources (RRS.L)L (Buy)

BBA Aviation (BBA.L) (Hold)

Ladbrokes (LAD.L) (Hold)

The Guardian

AVIVA WARNS OF SOARING CAR AND HOME INSURANCE PREMIUMS

Aviva (AV.L) (AV.L), Britain's biggest insurer, revealed it has had to introduce "double-digit" increases in motor premiums over the past six months, before adding further increase are likely in the foreseeable future. David McMillan, head of Aviva UK general insurance, said: "There is no sign of a let-up in this inflation, so I expect this market phenomenon to continue." Aviva raised its half-year dividend by six percent to 9.5 pence a share and reported a 21 percent increase in operating profits to 1.27 billion pounds, due to sales of long-term savings products rising four percent to more than 20 billion pounds. Shares in Aviva rose more than seven percent to 394.3 pence.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants