Reckitt earnings boosted by Suboxone drug July 25, 2011 Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser posted a 10 per cent rise in second-quarter earnings on Monday helped by last year’s SSL acquisition and the success of the film version of its Suboxone drug. The British group said it was well positioned to achieve its 2011 targets of a 12 per cent rise in net revenue [...]
Reckitt earnings boosted by Suboxone drug July 25, 2011 Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser posted a 10 per cent rise in second-quarter earnings on Monday helped by last year’s SSL acquisition and the success of the film version of its Suboxone drug. The British group said it was well positioned to achieve its 2011 targets of a 12 per cent rise in net revenue [...]
Focus DIY to close after failing to find buyer as 3,000 jobs face axe May 25, 2011 HOME improvement retailer Focus DIY is to close with the possible loss of up to 3,000 jobs, after the administrator was unable to find buyers for the bulk of its stores, it was announced yesterday. Administrators at Ernst & Young said they had appointed retail consultants Gordon Brothers to advise on the sale of all [...]
Living the life of a laird in a private Scottish stronghold August 7, 2011 ACKERGILL Tower is the sort of place that ought to have a permanent backdrop of lighting forks and thunderclaps. An asymmetrical block of granite turrets and chimneys, it’s a brooding, lonely obelisk that pierces the flat coastal landscape at Scotland’s most northerly tip. John O’Groats is just up the road, the next headland over is [...]
Living the life of a laird in a private Scottish stronghold August 7, 2011 ACKERGILL Tower is the sort of place that ought to have a permanent backdrop of lighting forks and thunderclaps. An asymmetrical block of granite turrets and chimneys, it’s a brooding, lonely obelisk that pierces the flat coastal landscape at Scotland’s most northerly tip. John O’Groats is just up the road, the next headland over is [...]
Travis Perkins’ market share up as sales rise May 9, 2011 DIY retailer Wickes, owned by Travis Perkins, yesterday said its sales and market share were on the rise. Wickes’ like-for-like sales were up 1.9 per cent over the four months to 30 April, while gross margins improved. The company has weathered the market better than Focus DIY, which went into administration last Thursday. Travis Perkins, [...]
The ultimate summer drive July 26, 2011 Big, brash and brutal: BMW’s 6 Series convertible has always been a fabulous grand tourer for executive wind-in-the-hair motoring. But this third generation 6 is longer, lower and wider than ever. It’s also bigger inside and more luxurious too. But the real treat is that, unlike its predecessor, it’s elegant as well. In fact, this [...]
Reckitt beats forecasts despite chief’s shock exit April 20, 2011 Reckitt Benckiser beat first-quarter earnings forecasts – boosted by its SSL recent acquisition after last week’s surprise news that chief executive Bart Becht was to retire sent its shares tumbling. The British maker of Cillit Bang cleaners and Nurofen painkillers which took over Durex condoms and Scholl sandals maker SSL late last year, said it [...]
Reckitt profit rises despite Becht’s exit April 20, 2011 RECKITT Benckiser beat first-quarter earnings forecasts – boosted by its recent SSL acquisition – after last week’s shock news that chief executive Bart Becht was to retire sent its shares tumbling. The British maker of Cillit Bang cleaners and Nurofen painkillers, which took over Durex condoms and Scholl sandals maker SSL late last year, said [...]
Go off to see the Wizard March 3, 2011 THE Wizard of Oz is a surprisingly polarising story. For some, the merest hint of “somewhere over the rainbow” brings tears to their eyes. And Judy Garland as Dorothy – well, enough said. Others, though, find it a deeply sinister plot, shot through with unforgiveable cloying cliché. One critic recently commented that on his first [...]