Weekly news wrap: BG Group, Soco Intl, TUI Travel, Ferrexpo, Sainsbury's, Aggreko, AngloGold

AngloGold Ashanti (LSE, ASX: AGG; NYSE: AU) has entered into a definitive JV (joint venture) agreement with l'Office des Mines d'Or de Kilo-Moto (OKIMO) over the development of the Ashanti Goldfields Kilo (AGK) project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the transfer of the exploitation permits to AGK.
Temporary power provider Aggreko (LSE: AGK) has signed a contract with the national utility company of Côte d'Ivoire to provide 70 MW (megawatt) of temporary power fuelled by natural gas worth some €35 million, making it its largest gas fuelled project to date.
Silver producer and FTSE 250 constituent Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) reported full-year results which showed a production rise of 8% to 28.2 million attributable silver equivalent ounces, slightly above the group's 28 million target for the period.
FTSE 250 oil and gas producer Soco International (LSE: SIA) said 2009 results have been the strongest to date as pretax profit from continuing operations rose from US$37.4 million to US$93.5 million while revenues more than doubled from US$55.34 million to US$131 million. The group  expects 2010 to be an eventful year with the possibility of the expansion of reserves over the course of this year’s drilling programme.
BG Group (LSE: BG) has signed a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) sales contract with state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), concluding negotiations announced in May 2009, for the supply of 3.6 million tonnes of LNG per annum (mtpa) over a 20-year period. The deal is reported to be worth between US$40-80bn depending on varying oil price assumptions.
Britain’s third largest supermarket chain, Sainsbury's (LSE: SBRY) said its fourth quarter performance has completed a strong year, with total sales up 7.1% and 4.8% higher on a like-for-like basis during the three-month period. Chief executive Justin King said the company has delivered a good performance, in line with its expectations.
In a pre-close trading update ahead of its H1 results, TUI Travel (LSE: TT) said it is seeing a significant recovery in consumer demand, which is resulting in strong trading across all open seasons.
Full year results from mid-tier iron ore producer Ferrexpo (LSE:FXPO) helped lift the company’s share price 4.7% this morning – the third best performance in the FTSE 250.  Shares in the Ukraine focused company have delivered a solid performance in 2010, rising more than 50% as investors begin to price in a recovery in demand for iron ore and speculation of significantly higher contract prices this year.

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