WestLB sale due to start this month September 8, 2010 THE starting gun for the sale of German landesbank WestLB’s has to sound by the end of this month, the new finance minister of its home state of Northern Rhine-Westphalia said yesterday. The new state government is hoping to find a buyer among rival landesbanks, finance minister Norbert Walter-Borjans said. The bank has to be [...]
Court ruling ends badly for Vodafone September 8, 2010 India’s tax department has jurisdiction over tax bills in cross-border mergers, a court ruled yesterday, dismissing a petition by Vodafone and setting a precedent for foreign firms looking to buy into Indian companies. The Bombay High Court ruling came as foreign firms show renewed interest in acquiring Indian companies, lured by growth prospects in the [...]
Richemont in lift as watch sales thrive September 8, 2010 SWISS luxury goods group Richemont’s five-month sales jumped 37 per cent, beating forecasts and confirming a rebound in the sector as wealthy Asians splash out again on luxury watches and jewellery. Richemont, normally cautious in its outlook, said yesterday net profit for its first half to September should be significantly higher than last year. However, [...]
Lego pieces together a strong half year’s results September 8, 2010 TOY manufacturer Lego, famed for its colorful building blocks, yesterday reported a 34 per cent jump in sales to 5.86bn Danish krona (£646.7m) in the first half of the year. The company said Hollywood-branded tie-ins on films like Toy Story and Prince of Persia and a new range of board games had helped to produce [...]
Prezzo revenue rises as its new outlets pay off September 8, 2010 PIZZA restaurant chain Prezzo yesterday reported a 21 per cent rise in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit, helped by new restaurant launches and improved margins, and said it was confident for the rest of the year. The company, which opened seven new restaurants during the first half, said current trading was in line with expectations. January [...]
Thorntons is hit by a fresh drop in profit September 8, 2010 CHOCOLATE retailer Thorntons yesterday posted a 2.4 per cent fall in half-year profit as it prepared to name a replacement for outgoing chief executive Mike Davies. Chairman John von Spreckelsen said talks with a prospective new chief were well advanced but he reamained tight-lipped about who the candidate is. Acting chief executive Mark Robson will [...]
DSG revertsto Dixons in name swap September 8, 2010 DSG International will revert to being called Dixons Retail after shareholders yesterday approved the plans at the electrical group’s AGM. The rebranding to DSG was aimed at being more appealing to an international market but the move has fallen flat. The company, which owns Curry’s and PC World, has been forced to restructure its overseas [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 8, 2010 Jefferies The investment banking group has poached Dominic Lester from rival UBS to head up its European technology and telecoms investment banking team. Lester has been at UBS for almost 20 years, latterly as head of technology investment banking for the EMEA region. He is joined at Jefferies by new senior vice president Daniel Aharoni [...]
Barratt beats forecasts but warns of dip September 8, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments said concerns about the economy and the lack of mortgage finance meant the market for new housing was still challenging as it reported better-than-expected full-year profits. “It’s early days in the autumn-selling season but so far private reservation rates are in line with expectations and prices are holding up,” chief executive Mark [...]
Barratt September 8, 2010 WHETHER you deem Barratt a good buy depends on whether you are a bull or a bear on the housing market next year. For the bulls, there are plenty of positives: net debt has fallen £910m to £367m since last year, forward sales are up 22 per cent to £847m and crucially operating margin has [...]