Bullish VT still after Mouchel January 28, 2010 SUPPORT services supplier VT Group repeated its interest in taking over rival Mouchel yesterday as it reported a good second half performance and said it was trading in line with hopes. VT, which has approached utilities, transport and local government contractor Mouchel twice, said it believed a tie-up between the pair would be ”strategically compelling”. [...]
Bad debts to peak in the third quarter says Spain’s Sabadell January 28, 2010 Spanish retail bank Sabadell’s losses on bad loans will peak in the third quarter and total provisioning this year should be down from 2009, the bank’s chairman said yesterday. “We think 2010 will still be a year of high provisions because of the expected trend in bad debts, but 2008 and 2009 have been the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 28, 2010 PUNCH Merrill Lynch selects Punch as one of its top pub picks for 2010. It notes that peer Enterprise, its other top pick, recently posted a much improved trading update, and expects Punch to follow suit in early March. Reiterates its “buy” rating, adding that valuations across the sector look “attractive”. HSBC UBS reiterates its [...]
Nokia beats expectations as its smartphone sends profits soaring January 28, 2010 TOP mobile phone maker Nokia’s fourth-quarter sales and profits, reported yesterday, beat expectations as it regained market share in smartphones, sending its stock price 14 per cent higher. The strong results cap an otherwise tough year for Nokia and the cellphone industry, which have been hammered as consumers cut spending in the recession. Nokia’s underlying [...]
Marston’s boosted by food sales January 28, 2010 PUB group Marston’s saw sales grow after a festive food boost – but the cold snap hit takings. Sales at managed pubs open more than a year were up 1.5 per cent in the 16 weeks to 3 January. That included a 2.9 per cent increase in the five weeks to 2 January – with [...]
Toshiba on the comeback trail January 28, 2010 JAPAN’S largest chip maker Toshiba has said it made a smaller-than-expected loss in the final three months of last year due to a recovery in its electronic components business. The company made a net loss of 10.6bn yen (£72.7m) compared with 121.1bn yen a year earlier. Toshiba’s chip business was hit last year but is [...]
Crozier named as new ITV chief January 28, 2010 ROYAL Mail boss Adam Crozier is to become ITV’s new chief executive. He will replace Michael Grade who announced last April that he wished to give up the role. Crozier is also a former boss of the Football Association. He returned the Royal Mail to profitability but the service has been hit by strike action. [...]
Ford goes into profit for first time in four years January 27, 2010 FORD has posted an annual profit for the first time in four years. The carmaker made $2.7bn (£1.7bn) in 2009 – compared with a loss of nearly $15bn in 2008. Ford said its return to profitability was in part due to cutting costs and reducing debt levels. The company’s workforce has been slashed from 89,000 [...]
HD boosts BSkyB profits January 27, 2010 BSkyB has announced it made an operating profit of £401m in the six months to December – up 3 per cent compared to 12 months earlier. The company added 172,000 new subscribers in the second quarter, growing its customer base to 9.7m – but short of its 10m target. The group posted first-half revenues of [...]
Pinsent joins JJB board as sales plunge January 27, 2010 OLYMPIC gold winning rower Matthew Pinsent has joined the board of JJB – as the troubled retailer announced a 28 per cent decline in sales. Pinsent has been appointed as a non-executive director in a bid to breathe new life into the business. Total group revenue for same store sales for the financial year plunged [...]