CITY WHISPERS: Tactless Drax burned by his ill-timed International Day of Forests report
Timing, as they say, is everything. So you might wonder whether Drax made the right decision by releasing his annual report on International Day of Forests.
In it, the energy producer, which burns wood (known as ‘biomass’) at its Yorkshire factory, says it has sourced 8 million tonnes of wood from around the world and will burn 6 million by 2023.
Although the burning of cut trees from already felled trees is supported by the government, there are many who are calling for it to stop.
Up in smoke: Drax said it had sourced 8 million tonnes of wood from around the world and burned 6 million by 2023
In the long term, Drax’s ability to be ‘carbon neutral’ depends on capturing emissions as they are created to squirrel underground.
Too bad for boss Will Gardiner that the slow progress on this project caused him to miss out on part of his annual bonus.
His total package fell from £5.54m in 2022, when he received a long-term bonus, to £2.86m last year.
That must burn.
Lord Lucan in cash at Angus Energy
Speaking of pay, Lord Lucan managed to receive the largest package among Angus Energy executives despite stepping down as executive chairman in August.
The British gas producer – long led by George Bingham, the eighth Earl of Lucan, whose father disappeared in the 1970s on suspicion of murder – operates the Saltfleetby gas field in Lincolnshire.
Lucan received £331,000, while CEO Richard Herbert, who joined during the year, earned £219,000.
Short sellers await Kingfisher’s results
B&Q owner Kingfisher will announce its annual results on Monday, but some investors will hope for gloomy figures.
The company has the dubious distinction of being the most shorted stock in the FTSE 100, with 6.7 percent of its shares held by those betting its share price will fall.
It is the second most shorted stock on the entire London Stock Exchange, beaten only by oilfield engineer Petrofac at 11.1 percent.
Short sellers may have good reason to rub their hands as market forecasts suggest Kingfisher’s annual profits have fallen to £556 million from £611 million last year, which is likely to weigh on the share price.
Kerching!
‘Riski Soonak’ seeks support
As the prime minister faces dismal polls and mutinous MPs, he appears to have gained a new base of support among an unlikely crowd: cryptocurrency fans.
Last week, an image emerged online showing masked enthusiasts in front of the Houses of Parliament promoting ‘Riski Soonak’, a so-called ‘memecoin’ with a caricature of the Prime Minister’s face in front of a Union Jack as its logo.
Despite their efforts, we doubt Sunak is willing to tap this source of support.
According to crypto data website Dex Screener, one Riski Soonak coin is worth just 0.0021p – not quite the £50,000 for one bitcoin.
Contributor: Francesca Washtell