Mulberry ups profit forecast with retail sales on track and cost controls April 9, 2015 The figures A more successful second half of the year for Mulberry will help it bring in profit for the full-year ahead of expectations, citing careful cost controls as a factor. Retail revenue for the year is expected to come in one per cent higher on the previous year and overall revenue will be in [...]
Co-operative Group returns to profit amid turnaround plan April 9, 2015 The Co-operative Group has returned to profit – a reversal of fortunes on the previous year's losses of £255m. The figures Full-year profit before member payments – the equivalent of pre-tax profits for a PLC – came in at £124m in 2014. Revenues slipped slightly, down three per cent at £9.4bn for the year to [...]
Helge Lund: The £28m BG Group man who missed his big day out in London April 8, 2015 Oil giant Shell and its takeover target BG Group sent their top executives into the City yesterday to face questions over the proposed £47bn deal, a transaction that would create the largest company on the FTSE. However, one man was notable by his absence – BG’s chief executive Helge Lund, who was deemed so valuable [...]
Generic drugmaker Mylan in $29bn approach for rival Perrigo April 8, 2015 A spate of mega-mergers continued apace yesterday as generic drugmaker Mylan announced that it had offered to buy Perrigo for about $29bn (£19.43bn) in cash and stock. The move would significantly beef up Mylan’s offerings of over-the-counter consumer products. Mylan said it proposed to acquire the Ireland-based company for $205 per share, representing [...]
BG Group boss Andrew Gould eager to quash rival bid speculation April 8, 2015 BG Group chairman Andrew Gould yesterday refused to comment on rival bids that the firm might be considering, after speculation that Exxon could be preparing to make an approach. Gould said the BG board had assessed the Shell offer “very largely on the basis of what we felt was the ultimate potential of BG’s value”, [...]
Mercedes races ahead in March as it ramps up record sales April 8, 2015 Mercedes Benz set a new record in March after seeing sales leap 15 per cent during the month. The German car manufacturer, which is a subsidiary of Daimler, sold 183,467 new vehicles in March. The strong sales rounded off what was also the firm’s best ever first quarter, selling 429,602 cars. The highest rate of [...]
Atom Bank raising £75m before launch April 8, 2015 Atom Bank is raising £75m from investors as it prepares to gain its full licence and launch this year. The Durham-based challenger bank plans to be the first fully digital lender, operating predominantly via mobile apps. The licensing process runs in two stages, allowing banks to gain partial authorisation, helping it to hire more staff [...]
Apple just muscled ahead of Samsung on … EE’s Wi-Fi Calling April 8, 2015 Is this the latest installment in the high-stakes world of smartphone politics? Smartphone rivalry between Apple and Samsung has been simmering for years, spanning different continents, and even a few court cases. And in a further sign it won't be dying down anytime soon Apple has beaten its rival to … being able to say [...]
BG Group chief executive Helge Lund may just have earned millions for two months’ work April 8, 2015 After a brief two months at the helm of BG Group, its chief executive Helge Lund may be about to join – as the FT put it – "the ranks of history's footnote guys" – but it looks like he'll have last laugh. Back in December, two months before Lund was due to leave Norwegian giant [...]
Royal Dutch Shell BG Group mega-merger: Are there more oil deals on the way? April 8, 2015 Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell announced a takeover of gas producer BG Group today, in a deal worth £47bn. So is this the start of an oil mega-merger party? About 15 years ago low oil prices caused something similar. (Source: A.T. Kearney) Between 1998 and 1999, oil prices halved to just $10 per barrel, sparking a wave [...]