Kesa bears burgeoning Comet losses January 19, 2012 WORSE-than-expected sales at Comet this Christmas will cost its owner Kesa £15m in writedowns as the electronics group nears completion of a deal to sell the troubled UK chain. Europe’s second largest electricals retailer will complete the sale of Comet next month to private equity buyers OpCapita for a nominal £2 together with a cash [...]
SABMiller beer volumes rise January 19, 2012 SABMiller has reported a three per cent rise in beer volumes in the last three months of 2011, as growth in African and Latin American markets helped offset falls in North America and Europe. The world’s second-largest brewer and maker of Miller Lite, Peroni and Grolsch said beer price rises helped the group to push [...]
Peacocks axes 249 jobs as Pumpkin Patch folds January 19, 2012 THE crisis-hit fashion retailer Peacocks is set to cut 249 staff at its headquarters in Cardiff, administrator KPMG announced yesterday. The administration of Peacocks, which owns 611 UK stores and employs over 9,000 staff, is one of the biggest retail failures since Woolworths collapsed in 2008. Chris Laverty, from KPMG, said the stores will continue [...]
Deal for Endemol as lenders approve €2.8bn debt-for-equity restructuring January 19, 2012 THE TV production company behind Big Brother and Deal or No Deal yesterday announced “an important milestone” as its lenders agreed to overlook millions of euros of debt in exchange for equity. Endemol received more than the required two thirds support from its creditors – including Barclays, RBS, Apollo and Centrebridge – who will hold [...]
Low sales lead to dismal quarter at Sony Ericsson January 19, 2012 MOBILE phone maker Sony Ericsson suffered a staggering pre-tax loss of €154m (£128.7m) in the final three months of 2011, down from a €39m income in the same quarter last year. Around €93m of the loss was due to restructuring plans approved in December, but the quarter was also dragged down by a 16 per [...]
Vodafone verdict in India today January 19, 2012 India’s Supreme Court will today announce a long-awaited judgement on Vodafone’s appeal against a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) tax bill arising from the telecoms group’s $11.2bn purchase of a majority stake in Hutchison Essar, India’s second largest mobile phone operator. If Vodafone’s appeal is unsuccessful, it could see its charge double to $5bn due to a penalty [...]
Pearson points to high profits January 19, 2012 Pearson, the British publisher behind Penguin Books and the Financial Times, yesterday raised its 2011 profit expectations for the third time in as many months due to a boom in digital services and emerging markets, which should bring in revenues of £2bn and £600m respectively. Earnings per share are likely to be over 85p, up [...]
William Hill beats the odds January 19, 2012 High street bookmaker William Hill yesterday reported an expected six per cent growth in revenues for 2011, despite a two per cent fall in gross win margin due to a few unexpected football results, and said its operating profits were likely to be around £274m. The gambling company saw a 28 per cent boost in [...]
UK economic gloom hitting oil explorers January 19, 2012 OIL and gas firms drilled 34 per cent fewer wells in the UK-controlled parts of the Continental Shelf last year as the grim state of the economy took its toll, according to a report by Deloitte. Operators drilled just 49 wells in UK waters compared with 74 wells in 2010, on a par with activity [...]
Ruspetro shares start lower January 19, 2012 SHARES in Ruspetro, the first company to brave a main market listing in London this year, opened at a small discount to their issue price in conditional dealings yesterday. The oil and gas exploration group with assets in western Siberia priced its shares at the bottom of the range at 134p earlier in the week, [...]
