WH Smith ups its dividend as profits rise October 15, 2009 WH SMITH, the stationers and bookshop, increased its dividend yesterday after reporting an eight per cent rise in its annual profits. Pre-tax profit for the 217-year-old group hit £81m for the year to 31 August, up from £76m last year, despite sales dropping to £1.34bn from £1.35bn year-on-year. WH Smith will pay a final dividend [...]
FIGHTER CONTRACT October 15, 2009 DEFENCE giant BAE Systems has won a £400m contract to provide support for radars and defensive aids on the Typhoon fighter jet. The contract will run for five-and-half years. The Typhoon, whose development employs 100,000 staff worldwide, has been selected by the air forces of Austria, Italy, Germany, Spain, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
ECB slams scrap plan as sales jump October 15, 2009 THE car scrappage scheme that allows drivers to trade in bangers in exchange for a discount on a newer model was slammed by the ECB yesterday. Europe’s central bank said the benefits from the scheme had been limited and that its withdrawal could hurt the economy next year. But its comments came as the European [...]
Gray Report says Ministry of Defence procurement plans are unaffordable October 15, 2009 BRITAIN wastes up to £2.2bn a year because of over-ambitious defence projects getting out of control, a report commissioned by the government said yesterday. The report, by former Ministry of Defence adviser Bernard Gray, said average defence equipment programmes take five years longer and costs 40 per cent more than planned. “This programme is unaffordable [...]
GKN keeps profits steady but sees revenues fall October 15, 2009 GKN, the automotive and aerospace parts maker, posted a pre-tax profit of £36m in the third quarter and said considerable uncertainty remains in a number of its markets. “In Automotive, the full impact on vehicle production of the phasing out of a number of incentive schemes in Europe and North America will not become evident [...]
Ashmore lifted by debt products October 15, 2009 Emerging markets fund specialist Ashmore said yesterday its assets under management rose 25 per cent in the first quarter, boosted by net inflows to external debt products. The firm said its managed assets rising to $31.1bn (£19.1bn) in its first quarter to end-September, beating analysts’ forecasts.
SABMiller sees sales sink lower October 15, 2009 World number two brewer SABMiller saw beer sales dip slightly in the six months to September as the global slowdown hit demand, with declines in Europe offset by double-digit growth in China. The London-based maker of Miller Lite, Peroni and Grolsch said half-year underlying sales volumes fell 1 per cent, with a 12 per cent [...]
Restructurings to double in 2010 October 15, 2009 Two thirds of US and European business recovery professionals expect the number of restructurings to double next year as the downturn continues to bite, according to a new survey by Alix Partners. Sixty per cent of those polled said improved access to credit and loans would be vital to getting the European economy back on [...]
NOKIA MAKES A SHOCK WRITEDOWN October 15, 2009 HANDSET maker Nokia shocked investors yesterday by taking a major writedown at its struggling networks unit and revealing a fall in smartphone sales, sending its shares down 11 per cent. President Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said the company booked a €908m (£835m) hit from its Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) joint venture.
Barclays heads to Italy in its hunt for cut-price branches October 15, 2009 BARCLAYS is in talks to buy 135 Italian branches from Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS), as it looks to bolster its presence in Western Europe. The bank is due to meet top BMPS bosses in Siena, accompanied by advisers from Morgan Stanley, in the next few days. BMPSis being forced to offload the [...]