Post Office to offer mortgages across its local branch network August 9, 2012 POST Office customers will be able to pick up a mortgage alongside their book of stamps, under a pilot scheme launched yesterday. Trained mortgage advisers are now available in five of the organisation’s outlets – Birmingham, Solihull, Walsall, Luton and Norwich – to offer free consultations as part of the firm’s push to become one [...]
Recruiter hit by downturn August 9, 2012 ADECCO, the world’s largest temporary staffing agency, yesterday said that economic stagnation in the Eurozone and Japan had caused its second-quarter net profit to dip 20 per cent to €113m (£89m). The firm reported a four per cent drop in sales to €5.2bn, with France, Iberia, Italy and Japan posting double-digit falls in revenue. “Europe [...]
Floods take toll as Bumi slips to underlying loss August 9, 2012 BUMI, the Indonesia-focused coal miner co-founded by Nat Rothschild, has slipped to a loss in the first-half of the year, as flooding and rising costs hit production. Though Bumi’s operating profit almost doubled to $128m (£82m), the firm said yesterday that its bottom line was hit by the unpredictable weather, adding up to an underlying [...]
Tata earnings driven by Jaguar Land Rover August 9, 2012 A STRONG performance at Jaguar Land Rover helped car giant Tata Motors post rising quarterly profits and revenues yesterday. Sales at JLR jumped 34.4 per cent in the three months to the end of June compared to a year ago, as the British firm shifted 83,452 units. China was the main driver of growth, with [...]
Rothschild’s venture is turning out to be a rather bumpy ride August 9, 2012 UK BUSINESSES aren’t the only ones hit by the wet summer. Bumi’s production problems certainly put a dampener on this set of figures, but investors will be far more interested in the firm’s long-term plan to turn its fortunes around. For such a young public company Bumi has had more than its fair share of [...]
Food price spike prompts fears of export bans and a new crisis August 9, 2012 GLOBAL food prices jumped six per cent last month, it emerged yesterday, sparking fears that governments could intervene in agricultural trade, stoking a food crisis like that of 2007-08. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said its food price index spiked between July and June, and urged authorities not to react by banning exports. [...]
NESTLE STRONG AS RIVALS SUFFER PRICE HIKES August 9, 2012 NESTLE bucked the industry trend by beating forecasts yesterday, reporting a 6.6 per cent rise in underlying first-half sales as volume growth ticked up. Global food prices are near record highs, but many of Nestlé’s key ingredients, such as coffee, sugar and dairy products, are less affected than cereals. Net profit rose 8.9 per cent [...]
Amec grows profit by 25pc August 9, 2012 ENGINEERING company AMEC said core earnings rose 25 per cent in the first half, boosted by strong revenues from its natural resource business. AMEC expects growth to taper off in the second half, but said yesterday it aims for double-digit revenue expansion over the full year. Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation rose to £152m [...]
Bombardier hit by bad timing of train orders August 9, 2012 CANADIAN train and plane maker Bombardier said yesterday that the timing of major train contracts hurt revenue and profit in the second quarter as big projects in the Asia-Pacific and European markets had been wrapped up, while new orders were in start-up phase. Despite the 12 per cent drop in quarterly revenue, which came in [...]
Another profit alert at FCUK August 9, 2012 ISSUING ITS third profits warning over the past 12 months, French Connection Group told investors that profits will be £7m below last year’s earnings in the first half, putting it on course for a loss. Weak sales could continue through the year,it added. First half sales slumped by seven per cent, while discounting crimped gross [...]
