City File: Sterling faith
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Investors in P&O have put a great deal of faith in the assurance from Lord Sterling, the chairman, that they will not have to wait too much longer until the property division comes good. It is proving a long haul.
Tuesday's results, expected to show a pre-tax rise of pounds 20m to pounds 220m, will be accompanied by a write-down of about pounds 30m on the land bank and about pounds 80m on investment properties.
But future big write-downs are unlikely, and profits and values of both housebuilding and property should begin to pick up this year. The benefits of sterling's devaluation are beginning to feed through and other parts of the empire, such as the ferry business, are holding up well. So there seems little reason not to expect P&O to maintain its dividend at 30.5p.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments