Heineken plans more savings as profits recover after weather hit summer sales February 15, 2012 HEINEKEN, the world’s third-largest brewer, has beaten expectations with a nine per cent profit increase in 2011 after recovering from a damp European summer that kept a lid on drinking, and launched a new drive to cut costs. Heineken, which had forecast flat net profit, said yesterday its earlier caution was driven by a poor [...]
Dr Pepper’s results fizz as income beats forecasts February 15, 2012 DR PEPPER Snapple Group has reported higher-than-expected quarterly results, helped by higher selling prices of its drinks, and the company forecast a 2012 profit largely above market expectations. The maker of Dr Pepper and 7UP sodas said fourth-quarter net income was $166m (£105.7m) or 77 cents a share, compared with $112m, or 49 cents a [...]
ABERCROMBIE SEES MARGINS RISING February 15, 2012 ABERCROMBIE & Fitch said yesterday it expects its gross margins to recover “significantly” this fiscal year, helped by easing cotton costs and rising sales overseas. The clothing retailer, which caters primarily to teens and young adults, said the need to slash prices during the competitive holiday season coupled with higher cotton costs took a heavy [...]
Hogg Robinson expects profits February 15, 2012 Business travel group Hogg Robinson said yesterday that its performance for the year to 31 March was in line with its forecasts, and that it expected to deliver profits before tax for the year to meet expectations. “We are confident that our compelling customer proposition, strong foundations and proven ability to tightly manage costs will [...]
Oil and gas output boosts Devon February 15, 2012 Devon Energy posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on rising oil and gas output yesterday, even as it boosted reserves to record levels, and predicted six per cent production growth this year. Devon, which signed a $2.2bn shale deal with China’s Sinopec last month, reported a dip in fourth-quarter net profit to $507m, from $562m a [...]
SSE raises $700m in placing February 15, 2012 Utility group Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) yesterday completed a $700m (£446m) fundraising drive, selling senior notes to 22 American investors in a private placing. The FTSE 100 firm said the funding deal as an all-in cost of around 4.25 per cent, when converted to sterling, and has a weighted average maturity of 10.3 years. [...]
Telenor claws back Vimpelcom February 15, 2012 Norway’s Telenor yesterday wrestled back partial control of telecom firm Vimpelcom from Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group, in a move that gives it more say over strategy and could prolong a long-running corporate battle. The company said it has bought 234m shares in Vimpelcom that will boost its voting share to 36.36 per cent.
Airbus chief orders probe into failings February 15, 2012 THE CHIEF executive of Airbus yesterday revealed that he had launched an internal inquiry into the failings which had allowed wing cracks to develop in its flagship A380 jet. Tom Enders moved to allay fears that the planes were unsafe while pledging to tighten up procedures in the future. The world’s largest planemaker, owned by [...]
Strikes batter Qantas earnings February 15, 2012 AUSTRALIA’S top airline Qantas Airways this morning posted a 51.5 per cent fall in first-half underlying profit after a bitter industrial dispute and high fuel bills took their toll and said it planned job cuts to offset challenging conditions. Qantas, which suspended all flights for two days last year to bring a battle with unions [...]
Coryton given lifeline by KKR and Morgan Stanley February 15, 2012 CORYTON refinery will continue to operate for at least three more months after Marcel Van Poecke, a co-founder of insolvent owner Petroplus, teamed up with Morgan Stanley and investor KKR to provide fresh crude supplies. Coryton, in Essex, is the most coveted asset of the five refineries owned by Petroplus around Europe, traders and analysts [...]
