Tobacco giant’s volumes down as Europe quits October 23, 2013 BRITISH American Tobacco yesterday reported revenues increased only 0.7 per cent in the nine months to 30 September, as trading was hit by adverse exchange rate movements and lower volumes in key European and Brazilian markets. The world’s second largest private sector tobacco company said that worldwide volumes of cigarettes fell 3.2 per cent compared [...]
Architects Foster and Gehry to design part of Battersea Station October 23, 2013 THE OWNERS of Battersea Power Station have commissioned world renowned architects Frank Gehry and Norman Foster to co-design part of the iconic £8bn scheme. Their practices Gehry Partners and Foster + Partners will design a new high street linking the development and the new northern line extension as well as 1,200 surrounding homes. It will [...]
UK TV box firm Pace pays £191m for Aurora in US October 23, 2013 SET-TOP box maker Pace yesterday saw its share price skyrocket more than ten per cent to value the company at over £1bn, after the company announced it would buy US network firm Aurora Networks for $310m (£191.7m). Pace expects the purchase will significantly boost the company’s earnings in 2014, with cost savings from synergies worth [...]
New smartphones and gaming consoles boost Laird’s revenues October 23, 2013 ELECTRONIC parts manufacturer Laird rose to the top of the FTSE 250 yesterday, after growth in the gaming console and smartphone markets boosted its third-quarter revenues. Total revenue in the third quarter increased by six per cent year-on-year to £141m and by 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter, the firm said yesterday. Revenue in the performance materials [...]
Orange revenue hit as Iliad price war takes a toll October 23, 2013 ORANGE, the largest mobile operator in France, reported a four per cent drop in revenues during its third quarter to 30 September yesterday, as sales in its key home market slid amid a price war with low-cost mobile rival Iliad. The operator – which partially owns UK network EE along with Deutsche Telekom – reported [...]
HTC scales back production as smartphone sales start to slow October 23, 2013 TAIWANESE smartphone maker HTC has halted at least one of its four main manufacturing lines, accounting for at least a fifth of total capacity, and is outsourcing production as a sales slump puts pressure on its cash flow, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation. A Reuters reporter who visited an HTC factory [...]
Herts IT firm posts growth October 23, 2013 COMPUTACENTER finished the third quarter with strong revenue growth, up 11 per cent on the same quarter last year. The Hatfield-based IT firm reached £730m in revenue, up from £657m between July and September 2012. The company’s UK arm saw a particularly strong performance, with earnings up from £265m 12 months ago to £299m in [...]
Homeserve’s British boss steps down after 13 years at the firm October 23, 2013 THE BOSS of Homeserve’s British business is stepping down after 13 years at the embattled boiler repair and insurance firm. Jonathan King is quitting to pursue a non-executive career, the firm announced yesterday. He has steered the firm through several investigations into its selling practices, which saw the firm fined £750,000 by Ofcom last year. [...]
Boeing soars on rising demand for Dreamliner October 23, 2013 BOEING shares took off yesterday after the plane manufacturer lifted its profit forecasts for 2013 and pledged to build more Dreamliners in the coming years. The American firm said its consumer plane division, which makes up more than half of its revenues, posted a 15 per cent rise in turnover in the three months to [...]
Caterpillar slows to a crawl as group awaits mining recovery October 23, 2013 CATERPILLAR posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday and cut its full-year forecast yet again as weak demand from mining customers continued to bedevil the heavy equipment maker. The firm, which makes a range of distinctive yellow machinery, also said it expects flat results next year. Caterpillar said it had axed 3,000 more jobs in the [...]