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Profit payout
Millet, managing director of Cherbourg port. “But for us, it’s boom time. Traffic with Ireland is through the roof,” he told the Guardian, declaring that the land bridge via Britain had been broken.
“There’s a real dynamic with Ireland, and authorities at both ends are working hard to foster it. Ireland’s passenger numbers have overtaken the UK, and freight has trebled,” he said.
“Brexit gave us an opportunity,” explained Glenn
No small change
AN exceptionally rare £500 (€563.5) banknote dated 1936 fetched £24,000 (€27,000) in London.
Expected to sell between £18,000 (€20,286) and £22,000 (€24,790), it was acquired by a major collector.
Mayfairbased auction house Noonans, which sold the banknote signed by the Bank of England’s then governor, Kenneth Peppiatt, agreed that the note issued in Leeds was “fantastic.”
“£500 notes are very rare, and in fact were only available from three Bank of England branches in London, Liverpool and Leeds,” said Andrew Pattison, who heads Noonans’ banknotes department. “Although some were issued in Birmingham and Manchester, none have ever come to light.”
The Leeds branch’s £500 notes were the rarest and the recentlyauctioned specimen, which had belonged to a longterm collector, was only the second to reach the open market, he added.
Freight between Rosslare and Europe climbed from 36,000 units in 2019 to 125,000 in 2021, and 137,000 in 2022. This has offset the fall in freight between the port and Britain, which slumped from 104,000 units in 2019 to 65,000 in 2021 and 63,500 in 2022.
The surge in continental traffic has created more than 200 new jobs around Rosslare port and boosted the entire region.
Going greener
OIL and gas company Cepsa has sold exploration and production assets in the United Arab Emirates.
Accounting for approximately half of Cepsa’s business in the sector, these have been sold to TotalEnergies.
The French company acquires a 20 per cent interest in the Satah Al Razboot (SARB) and Umm Lulu offshore oilfields, plus a 12.88 per cent interest in the Mubarraz concession held by Abu Dhabi Oil Company Ltd (ADOC).
Cepsa has not revealed how much money has changed hands, although experts place this at least €1 billion, most of which will now be invested in renewables and green hydrogen.
BANCO SANTANDER’S leadership team presented the bank’s plan for growth between 20232025 during its Investor Day on March 1. Executive chair, Ana Botin, who was accompanied by Hector Grisi (CEO) and Jose Garcia Cantera (CFO), outlined the group’s strategy, as well as key financial and commercial goals. These included increasing Santander’s shareholder payout policy the proportion of profits distributed to shareholders from 40 to 50 per cent during this period via cash dividends and share buybacks. The bank also expects a return of between 15 and 17 per cent on tangible equity in 20232025 and an efficiency ratio of 42 by 2025, Botin said.
Wage claims
SPAIN’S principal trade unions have reached agreement on wage demands to employers. Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and Union General de Trabajo (UGT) proposed a minimum 13.25 per cent increase between 2022 and 2024.
They are asking for 5 per cent for last year, 4.5 per cent for 2023 and 3.75 per cent for 2024 while also proposing that review clauses should depend on companies’ economic situation.
“This ought to be measured by the evolution of profit margins,” the unions announced in a joint statement on March 1.
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