Utopian Unilever is making waves: Boss Paul Polman is pushing an ethical agenda, but is it working? July 23, 2015 The website still exists but looks dated. SaveBenandJerrys.com, a grassroots campaign website with comic sans font, tried to stop ethical ice cream brand Ben and Jerry’s being scooped up by corporate giant Unilever in 2000. Yet 15 years after the consumer giant’s $326m takeover, the howls of protest appear a strange anachronism after moves [...]
Alliance Trust slumps once again July 23, 2015 Fund manager Alliance Trust yesterday promised a raft of changes this autumn to help reverse a long-running slump in fortunes. The company said net asset values rose by just 1.4 per cent for the six months ending June, with shareholders receiving a 2.7 per cent increase, well behind similar peers. The company, which was forced [...]
Aberdeen weighs on FTSE after report of £9bn net outflow – London Report July 23, 2015 UK shares yesterday started brightly but fell for a third day in a row, as Aberdeen Asset Management weighed on the FTSE 100. The blue chip index fell 0.2 per cent, 12.33 points, to 6,655.01 at the close, after earlier climbing as much as 0.6 per cent. Aberdeen Asset Management tumbled 7.6 per cent, touching [...]
Visa sales leap despite currency headwinds July 23, 2015 The figures In its quarterly report, Visa posted $3.5bn in revenue, outdoing analysts' expectations of $3.36bn. Earnings per share meanwhile, came in at $0.69 against a forecast $0.59. The company's share price was relatively flat ahead of the earnings report. Why it's interesting Visa outperformed forecasts both in sales and profits, despite facing global political [...]
Tripadvisor revenue leaps 25pc despite intensifying competition July 23, 2015 The figures Tripadvisor was slated for growth, and still managed to beat expectations with its revenue leaping 25 per cent to $405m, against $323m for the same period last year. Earnings per share came in at $0.40, against $0.47 last year. Why it's interesting The company’s sales have been growing over the last few quarters, [...]
Pandora share price spikes as advertising money gives revenue 30pc jump July 23, 2015 The figures Pandora saw both sales and earnings soar past estimates, with its revenue growing by 30 per cent year-on-year to $285.6m. The Internet radio service announced earnings per share that were over double analysts’ expectations at $0.05 against the forecast $0.02. Shares in the company lept after the report, trading over 6 per cent [...]
Starbucks share price up as coffee sales jump 13pc July 23, 2015 The figures Starbucks posted buoyant quarterly results, showing revenues jumping by 13 per cent to $4.9bn, far beyond analysts’ expectations. Profits were also up, with earnings per share reaching $0.41 against $0.34 in the same period last year. The coffee company’s share price has risen 38 per cent over the year, and it hit an [...]
Amazon share price soars 15pc as sales and earnings smash expectations July 23, 2015 The figures Amazon smashed analysts' expectations, with a $23.18bn revenue over the quarter. Analysts had high hopes for Amazon’s sales, with forecasts of a 16 per cent jump in sales, and even so, the company managed to out-do them. Earnings per share came in at $0.19, against expectations of a $0.13 loss. The company’s share [...]
Europe markets close lower after disappointing earnings July 23, 2015 European markets closed lower this afternoon after disappointing earnings from companies such as Aberdeen Asset Management and energy supplier SSE. The German Dax ended the day down 0.1 per cent to 11,507.37 points, Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.2 per cent to 6667.34 points and the French Cac flat at 5,082.04 points. Fund manager Aberdeeen Asset Management shares closed down 7.6 [...]
The Co-operative Group gets upgrade from S&P: The Co-op is moving up in the (credit ratings) world July 23, 2015 Good news (at last) for the troubled Co-op Group. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has upgraded its credit one notch to BB, saying the outlook for the business “is stable”. This pat on the back comes after the business returned to profit in April, turning around the situation a year earlier when it made [...]