The County Durham offshore engineering group says it is seeing positive signs

Offshore energy group Tekmar says it is encouraged by its latest results, despite seeing a drop in revenues and another year of losses.

The County Durham-based firm, which provides asset protection technology and offshore en­­ergy services, has released results for the year ending September 30 2025.

They show turnover falling slightly to £28.7m, while gross profit fell to £9.8m. After taking into account exceptional items, depreciation and other costs, Tekmar reported an overall loss for the year of £3.9m, though this was less than last year’s losses.

But Tekmar said that £43m of new orders since last July and currently had a record order book. It said its balance sheet had been strengthened, including by the sale of its former Innovation House building for £2.8m.

The company said its Project Aurora plan to scale the business through both organic growth and acquisitions, and to improve its financial strength, was progressing well.

CEO Richard Turner said: “FY25 has been a pivotal and highly productive year for Tekmar as we launched and started to execute on Project Aurora. The group delivered results in line with market expectations, alongside a material improvement in profitability in the second half.

“We are pleased to have been able to maintain our momentum post period end – in the first four months of FY26 we have delivered a record order book, with multi-year visibility and have unlocked further growth potential by significantly strengthening our balance sheet.

“We are encouraged by the strong start to the new financial year and healthy pipeline we see ahead of us and are focused on delivering sustained, profitable growth and enhanced value for shareholders.”

Cardiff-based Amber Energy Solutions had been experiencing cashflow problems

Cardiff-based energy management consultancy Amber Energy Solutions has collapsed into administration resulting in nearly 140 staff being made redundant. The business provided energy consultancy and data services to multi-site property portfolios, landlords and infrastructure operators across the UK.

Amber Energy, which traded strongly in 2024, experienced cash flow challenges and a decline in revenues through 2025.

Matt Whitchurch and Jonathan Dunn of specialist business advisory firm FRP were appointed joint administrators.

Prior to appointment FRP said it undertook an accelerated marketing process to explore options for the business and its assets. While there was initial interest from a number of parties, only limited asset sales were ultimately achievable. A solvent sale was explored, but did not proceed after interested parties withdrew.

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Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators completed the sale of certain assets.

However, the sale did not provide for the transfer of the wider workforce and 138 of the company’s 143 employees have been made redundant. The joint administrators are supporting those affected with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.

Mr Whitchurch, partner at FRP, said: “Amber Energy Solutions had established a well-regarded offering in its sector but was unable to overcome sustained cash flow pressures.

“We explored options to secure a wider going concern solution, however this was not achievable in the circumstances. While sales of certain assets have been completed, the majority of roles have unfortunately been made redundant.

“Our focus now is on supporting employees through the claims process and working to maximise recoveries for creditors.”

Its last published financial accounts with Companies House, for its l 2024 financial year, showed the business experienced a strong rise in revenues on the previous year from £9.51m to £11.43m. It also posted a rise in profit to £1.51m.

The business was set up in 2009 by Nicholas Proctor. It had featured in the Wales Fast Growth 50 initiative, an annual league table of the fastest-growing indigenous firms in Wales based on revenue growth.

Leading exchange NSE has directed its members, including brokers and sub-brokers, to disclose and remit any excess Securities Transaction Tax (STT) collected but not deposited with the government for the financial year 2023-24 and earlier periods.

In a circular issued on March 10, the exchange said the move follows directions from the Income Tax Department, which flagged instances where excess STT collected by some market intermediaries had not been remitted to the government account.

STT is a tax levied on transactions executed on recognised stock exchanges and is collected by brokers at the time of trading before being deposited with the government.

According to the circular, the Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Range 7(1), wrote to the exchange on March 5, advising it to draw attention to the issue and seek details from members who may have retained excess STT.

Following the instruction, NSE has asked all members to furnish details of such excess STT collected and retained with them for FY24 and preceding years. These details must be submitted directly to the exchange.

The exchange has also instructed brokers to remit any excess STT collected along with interest calculated at 1% for every month of delay. The funds must be paid to NSE immediately, after which the exchange will deposit the amount into the government account.
Members have been asked to comply with the directive within seven days from the publication of the circular.Also read | Everyone selling IT stocks after record crash, but this Rs 1.3 lakh crore mutual fund doing the exact opposite

The communication is a continuation of an earlier circular issued on March 19, 2025, which dealt with excess STT retained by members for FY23 and earlier years.

STT forms an important part of the tax framework governing equity and derivatives trading in India. The levy is applied across a range of market transactions including equity delivery trades, intra-day equity trades and derivatives contracts.

While brokers are responsible for collecting the tax from investors at the time of trade execution, they are required to deposit the amount with the government through the exchange system. Any delay or discrepancy in remittance can attract penalties or interest liabilities under tax rules.

NSE said members seeking clarification on the circular can contact its taxation department.

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U.S. President Donald Trump bought more than $1.1 million of Netflix bonds over the last three ​months as the streaming giant unsuccessfully fought Paramount ​Skydance to buy Warner Bros Discovery, according to government disclosures.

Trump bought more than $500,000 of Netflix’s bonds ​in two transactions on December 12 and December 16 and another more than $600,000 across two more trades on January 2 and 20, the disclosures show. The White House disclosed a range, rather than exact amounts, of between just over $1.1 million and $2.25 million.

The purchases came as the Republican president and his regulatory officials ‌talked Netflix down ⁠in the ⁠press, calling into question whether the deal would withstand antitrust scrutiny and pressuring Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice, a onetime aide to Democratic former President Barack ​Obama.
It’s unclear whether he made or lost money on Netflix’s bonds, which paid an interest rate of 5.375% and are due in November 2029, ​since the filing doesn’t disclose if or when he sold the bonds.
Trump, like other U.S. presidents, is exempt from conflict-of-interest laws that prohibit other executive branch officials from investing in companies with business before the government. He is believed to have bought the bonds ​through a trust managed by his kids.

“President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed ⁠by his ‌children,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. “There are no conflicts of interest.”
The deal, which would have left the ​combined company with ​about $85 billion in debt, immediately put pressure on Netflix’s bonds. They were trading at $1.03 and $1.04 on the dollar ⁠when he bought them on December 12 and 16 and at $1.04 and $1.03 on the ​dollar for his second round of purchases on January 2 and 20, according to data ​compiled by LSEG. They were recently trading at $1.04 on the dollar on February 26, the day before Netflix withdrew its bid for Warner Bros, but have since moved back to $1.03 on the dollar as of Friday.

Trump also purchased between $500,002 and $1 million in Warner Bros bonds in two trades on December 12 and December 16 that were trading at 91.75 cents and 92 cents on the dollar when they were purchased and are now worth 95 cents on every dollar. If he held on to those bonds, they would be ‌in the money now.

Trump started calling into question the viability of the merger with Netflix days after it was announced on December 5, telling reporters the concentration of market power “could be a problem.”

Paramount, which is run ​by the son ​of Trump ally and Republican megadonor Larry ⁠Ellison, took its hostile takeover public on December 8, kicking off a bidding war between the two companies. Ellison personally guaranteed more than $40 billion, backed by his shares in Oracle, to help seal the deal.

Netflix bowed out of the bidding after Paramount came ​in with a winning $110 billion offer about two weeks ago. The Paramount transaction will be backed by $39 billion in new debt provided by Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo, according to the companies’ Feb. 27 announcement.

The latest U.S. Office of Government Ethics disclosures, dated February 27, were posted online last week.

Trump, a real estate investor, has reported more than $1 billion in assets on prior forms. He maintains business interests spanning crypto, golf clubs and other licensing deals. Trump’s investments in companies that his administration oversees could raise ethical concerns.