Intelsat bonds gain after buyers demand higher yields

Bermuda-based Intelsat Ltd.'s $2.55 billion of junk bonds have surged since they were issued earlier this week, a sign the company may not have had to raise yields to sell the debt after its second satellite failed in three months.

The satellite operator sold eight- and ten-year notes on January 24 at higher yields above where rival PanAmSat Corp. was trading. The issues rose 2.5 cents to three cents on the dollar by the next day, traders said. Yields fell about half a percentage point, and approached the same levels initially offered before a satellite covering the South Pacific was lost on January 16.

W.P. Stewart's Q4 profit doubles on fees

Bermuda-based W.P. Stewart & Co., a money manager that oversees more than $9.3 billion in assets, said fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled, helped by the performance fee of a fund that's traded in the Netherlands.

Net income increased to $21.8 million, or 48 cents a share, from $10.2 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier, W.P. Stewart said in a statement. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 34 cents a share.

The company, founded in 1975 by William P. Stewart, said revenue jumped 65 percent to $48.4 million. A $13.5 million fee related to W.P. Stewart Holdings NV, the company's mutual fund listed on Euronext Amsterdam, boosted revenue. The fund is "by far the bulk of our performance-related business," Deputy chairman John Russell said on a conference call.

Assets under management increased 9.4 percent during the quarter as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 8.7 percent. Investors pulled about $346 million from funds.

New Skies to pay $93.5m to Blackstone

Blackstone Group LP, the manager of the world's biggest buyout fund, will receive a $93.5 million dividend following the $350 million initial public offering of New Skies Satellites Holdings Ltd.

New Skies Satellite, based in Bermuda, said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today that it will use the rest of the proceeds from the IPO to pay fees and debt. The company didn't say how many shares it intends to sell or at what price range. New Skies was created in 1998 and operates five satellites. It has a loss of $14 million in the period from November 2 to December 31 last year on revenue of $35.3 million.

Aquarius Platinum rises on output

Bermuda-based Aquarius Platinum Ltd. shares rose the most in eight months after the company said quarterly output jumped six percent, boosted by record production at the Kroondal mine in South Africa.

Platinum-group metals production was 74,973 ounces in the fourth quarter, with 35,761 ounces, or 48 percent, coming from Aquarius's share of Kroondal, the company said.