HomeServe insurance income dips February 8, 2012 BRITISH home insurance firm HomeServe said a prolonged marketing delay – prompted by concerns it may be mis-selling products – would hit customer numbers and renewal revenues harder than expected. The group said yesterday total customer numbers could fall eight per cent in 2012, worse than its previous estimate of a five per cent decrease. [...]
Nokia slashes 4,000 jobs as it shifts all assembly lines to Asia to cut costs February 8, 2012 STRUGGLING Finnish phone maker Nokia plans to cut 4,000 more jobs at its plants in Finland, Hungary and Mexico as it seeks to cut costs by moving phone assembly work to Asia. The cuts of eight per cent of the workforce bring total planned job cuts at the group since Stephen Elop took over as [...]
SAS braces for annual loss amid tough competition February 8, 2012 SCANDINAVIAN airline SAS has reported a fourth consecutive annual loss in 2011 and said it would accelerate a 5bn Swedish crown (£473.3m) plan to cut costs and boost revenue. The group, half-owned by Sweden, Norway and Denmark, has faced competitive pressure in its home Nordic markets from Norwegian Air Shuttle and Ryanair. A buoyant Norwegian [...]
TAKINGS TUMBLE AT STAGECOACH ARTS February 8, 2012 PERFORMING arts school company Stagecoach said yesterday its profits before tax in 2011 were £650,000, a 10.5 per cent fall from the previous year’s figure of £727,000. The group – which runs 684 schools worldwide – said the drop in profitability was expected, after a significant investment in marketing and advertising. Network fees over the [...]
Rio Tinto to pump $3.4bn into iron ore February 8, 2012 MINING giant Rio Tinto yesterday helped to give a boost to the mining sector as it announced a $3.4bn (£2.1bn) expansion in its iron ore operations in Australia. The FTSE 100 company’s move is aimed at stepping up production by more than 50 per cent in anticipation of growing demand from China. Rio, the world’s [...]
Polymetal buys out Ashanti February 8, 2012 RUSSIAN gold and silver miner Polymetal yesterday bought out AngloGold Ashanti from a joint venture in Siberia for $20m (£12.6m). FTSE 100-listed Polymetal acquired the 50 per cent it did not already own of the Veduga deposit in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region. The companies worked on the project together from 2008 but Polymetal has found new [...]
European Goldfields gets nod for Eldorado merger February 8, 2012 EUROPEAN Goldfield’s merger with Eldorado Gold was given the green light by companies representing institutional investors yesterday. Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co recommended the deal ahead of a shareholders’ vote on 21 February. Eldorado in December announced a friendly takeover bid for European Goldfields valued at the time at $2.5bn (£1.6bn). European [...]
Statoil profits up thanks to increases in oil prices February 8, 2012 NORWAY’S Statoil yesterday reported a 34 per cent jump in net profit in the fourth quarter. The country’s largest oil and gas company saw net profit reach NKr14.5bn (£1.5bn), triggered by higher oil prices. “Statoil delivered record financial results, further improved safety and made important strategic progress in 2011,” said Helge Lund, Statoil’s chief executive. [...]
Nissan driving towards victory against Toyota and Honda in race for earnings February 8, 2012 NISSAN is on track to be the most profitable of Japan’s three big carmakers this year, after record car sales last year and improved market share in every major region pushed up quarterly operating profit. Nissan kept its net profit forecast at ¥290bn (£2.37bn) for the year to end of March, ahead of Honda’s forecast [...]
Airbus to check all plane wings February 8, 2012 European air safety officials extended checks for Airbus A380 wing cracks to the entire superjumbo fleet yesterday and said the widespread defects could pose a safety risk if left unremedied. The move to inspect all 68 A380s in service came as Qantas Airways grounded one of its planes for up to a week following the [...]
