The latest survey of construction employers in Scotland suggests a return of business confidence within the industry north of the border. However, industry confidence is only marginally positive with the 2016 third quarter Scottish Construction Monitor giving it a score of +2, rebounding from a three year low of minus
©Bloomberg ExxonMobil and Chevron reported sharp deteriorations in first-quarter earnings, hit by lower oil and gas prices and a squeeze on refining margins, but their results reflected differing degrees of strain. Exxon earnings were down 63 per cent but exceeded analysts’ expectations, while Chevron reported a loss that was larger
New research shows volume of FTBs helped by equity release According to new research, equity release products are helping over 30 first-time-buyers a week climb onto the property ladder. The figures from Retirement Advantage have revealed the extent to which older family members are using equity release to gift to
North Sea oil platforms will be hit with the first significant strike in a generation, as hundreds of workers protest against cost-cutting in response to lower oil prices. A 24-hour stoppage is planned for Tuesday by employees of Wood Group, an oilfield services company, across eight platforms operated by Royal
The latest survey of construction employers in Scotland suggests a return of business confidence within the industry north of the border. However, industry confidence is only marginally positive with the 2016 third quarter Scottish Construction Monitor giving it a score of +2, rebounding from a three year low of minus 19 last quarter. In the first quarter of 2016 it was +3. The percentage of respondents who are more confident about their prospects for the next 12 months compared to the past year has fallen from 31% in Q2 to 24% in Q3. At the same time, the percentage of respondents less confident about their firm’s future prospects has fallen from 48% in Q2 to 18% in Q3. Thus although optimism has waned, pessimism has declined more substantially. The Scottish Construction Monitor is a quarterly survey of the membership of the Scottish Building Federation (SBF). For Q3, 47 member firms completed the survey between 1st and 12th October 2016. As well as asked to rate their confidence about business prospects, SBF members were also quizzed on their experience of supply costs. A majority of respondents said they thought the Brexit vote had been driving up industry supply costs. Bricks, timber and joinery, metal products such as doors and windows and insulating materials were the categories of building supplies where respondents reported the most noticeable rise in costs since June this year. 90% of respondents expect building supply costs to rise over the next 12 months. Many also expressed concern that suppliers might be using the general economic uncertainty created by the Brexit vote to increase costs artificially. SBF managing director Vaughan Hart said: “At the moment, the construction industry is experiencing the same uncertainties as those facing the wider economy. In that context, I’m encouraged that our members’ confidence seems quite resilient, having rebounded back into positive territory this quarter following last quarter’s negative reading. “In the current climate, it’s important that we don’t inadvertently talk ourselves into an economic downturn by over-analysing the economic indicators out there or jumping to conclusions about how the economy is performing when these aren’t borne out by experience on the ground.” He added: “We need to remain vigilant against suppliers exploiting the current economic uncertainty to increase costs artificially. I would encourage building employers to bring any such practices to our attention so that we can raise these with government and make sure industry competitiveness isn’t adversely affected as a result.” Further Images This article was published on 17 Oct 2016 (last updated on 17 Oct 2016). Source link
©Bloomberg ExxonMobil and Chevron reported sharp deteriorations in first-quarter earnings, hit by lower oil and gas prices and a squeeze on refining margins, but their results reflected differing degrees of strain. Exxon earnings were down 63 per cent but exceeded analysts’ expectations, while Chevron reported a loss that was larger than expected. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas The two largest US oil groups made losses on oil and gas production in the US, but for Exxon that was offset by profits in the rest of the world, whereas Chevron made a loss on international operations. Both companies also suffered falling profits from downstream refining and marketing operations as margins fell from last year’s high levels, but for Exxon that was offset by a strong rise in profits from its chemicals operations. Chevron reported lower profits from its 50 per cent stake in CP Chem, its joint venture with Phillips 66. Exxon’s net income after tax was $1.81bn compared with $4.94bn in the equivalent period of 2015. The first quarter of this year marked the recent trough in oil prices, with internationally traded Brent crude dropping to about $27 a barrel. It has since rebounded to more than $48. Rex Tillerson, chief executive, said Exxon “continues to respond effectively to challenging industry conditions”, improving its performance and raising margins in some areas in spite of low prices. On Tuesday Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency, stripped Exxon of the triple A grade that it and its predecessor companies had held since 1930, citing “large dividend payments” as one of the reasons. The following day the company announced a further 3 per cent increase in its quarterly dividend. Jeffrey Woodbury, Exxon’s vice-president for investor relations, said on a call with analysts that “nothing has changed” with respect to the company’s “prudent management of the balance sheet.” He added: “Our ability to access financial markets on attractive terms remains strong.” He said Exxon was open “very alert” to possible acquisitions, but added: “We’ve got to be patient … We need to make sure it is value accretive to the business.” Chevron reported a $725m after-tax loss for the first quarter, almost double the average of analysts’ forecasts. It said the strength of the US dollar against the currencies of countries where it operates, including the Canadian dollar and the Venezuelan bolivar, had cut earnings by $319m. Oil and gas production lost $1.46bn in the quarter, outweighing the $735m profit from refining. The company has stepped up its planned job cuts for 2015-16 to 8,000 — 1,000 more than it had said previously. John Watson, chief executive, said the company’s efforts were focused on “improving free cash flow”. “We are controlling our spend and getting key projects under construction online, which will boost revenues,” he added. During the quarter, Chevron announced the first shipment from its $54bn Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in Australia. The first cargo from the new Angola LNG plant is expected in May. Mr Watson repeated his plan to shift Chevron’s focus away from huge investment such as Gorgon towards “high-return, shorter-cycle projects”, such as drilling in the Permian Basin shale region of west Texas, where the company is ramping up production. Joe Geagea, executive vice-president for technology and projects, told analysts on a call that Chevron had cut its costs in the Permian by 40 per cent, and now had about 4,000 sites for possible wells that would give a respectable 10 per cent return with US crude at $50 per barrel. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link
New research shows volume of FTBs helped by equity release According to new research, equity release products are helping over 30 first-time-buyers a week climb onto the property ladder. The figures from Retirement Advantage have revealed the extent to which older family members are using equity release to gift to younger relatives in this way. The data found that in the first half of 2016, 7% of their customers said they were purchasing an equity release product so that they could help a first time buyer. Over the same period, statistics from the Equity Release Council show that there were 11,846 new equity release customers nationwide. By applying their experiences across the UK, Retirement Advantage estimates this equates to 32 people week securing a first-time home thanks to equity release. Alice Watson, Product and Communications Manager at Retirement Advantage Equity Release, commented: “In recent months and years the reasons for buying equity release have diversified with real fervour. Perhaps the most striking development we’ve seen so far this year is the proportion of customers telling us they want to unlock some of the wealth in their property to help a family member get onto the housing ladder. If you apply this trend across the country, it’s no exaggeration to say that equity release is making a significant impact on the ability of first-time buyers to own a property. It’s yet more concrete evidence that property wealth is now seen as a viable and flexible resource in retirement, alongside pensions and other pots of savings. The customers we deal with want to do something special like go on the holiday of a lifetime, help a grandchild buy a home, or simply have a bit more cash available to live more comfortably in retirement. They recognise that equity release can be the ideal vehicle to help them achieve this.” Source link
North Sea oil platforms will be hit with the first significant strike in a generation, as hundreds of workers protest against cost-cutting in response to lower oil prices. A 24-hour stoppage is planned for Tuesday by employees of Wood Group, an oilfield services company, across eight platforms operated by Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch energy group. The dispute is being closely watched as a test of companies’ ability to force through further cuts in labour costs in the face of union resistance as part of their broader struggle to keep North Sea oil and gas competitive. Union leaders say workers have already made heavy sacrifices since oil prices collapsed from over $100 a barrel in 2014 to a 12-year low of $28 in January. Prices have since bounced back to around $47 a barrel but that has not been enough to lift the gloom hanging over one of the world’s oldest and highest-cost offshore oil-producing basins. “Strike action by our members is not a decision they take lightly but they have been pushed to the limit,” said John Boland, regional officer of Unite, which called the strike together with the RMT union. By the end of this year, the number of oil and gas jobs in the UK is forecast to have fallen by 8,000 from a peak of 41,700 in 2014, according to the industry group Oil & Gas UK. When support jobs are included the number is expected to have fallen from 453,800 to 330,400 — a loss of over 120,000. The brunt of the losses has been felt in Aberdeen, capital of the UK oil industry, where the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has more than doubled since the end of 2014. People still in work have also faced sacrifices. Figures from oilandgaspeople.com, a recruitment site, show that average pay for an offshore worker has fallen from about £80,000 a year in 2014 to £62,000 now. Kevin Forbes, managing director of the site, said: “The industry has been adapting to a ‘lower for longer’ oil price with wage cuts seen by many companies as the quickest way to reduce costs.” £62,000 Average annual pay for an offshore worker today, down from around £80,000 in 2014 As well as lower pay, workers have been forced to accept new shift patterns involving longer stretches away from home. Before the price slump, most companies gave workers three weeks off after a two-week stretch offshore. That has now shifted to a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off pattern. “The hardest thing is trying to manage things at home, especially for those of us with kids,” said one offshore worker who did not wish to be named. “When it was two weeks offshore, your wife could just about manage. But now it is a long time for her to be looking after the children on her own — especially if something goes wrong during that time.” The Wood Group dispute shows how the pressure from low prices is being passed down from producers to suppliers to workers. The Aberdeen-based company announced in May that it had won a three-year extension to its contract to provide maintenance services for Shell, which is itself in the midst of a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting programme. Terms were not disclosed but the average 3 per cent cut in pay being imposed on about 400 Wood Group employees working for Shell hints at the squeeze being felt all along the supply chain. 30% Cut in pay for some workers when changes to benefits and allowances are included, according to unions Unions say the cuts amount to as much as 30 per cent for some workers when changes to benefits and allowances are included. More than 98 per cent of those voting in the Unite and RMT ballots backed strike action, with a turnout well over 50 per cent. Dave Stewart, chief executive of Wood Group’s eastern region, said unions had been offered multiple concessions, adding that his priority was “safeguarding long-term employment” for the workforce. Shell said it hoped that discussions between Wood Group and its employees would continue in search of a resolution before Tuesday’s strike and a series of shorter planned stoppages in weeks ahead. No immediate disruption is expected to Shell’s operations but analysts said delays to essential maintenance could cause problems if the dispute drags on. Source link
