New smartphones and gaming consoles boost Laird’s revenues October 23, 2013 ELECTRONIC parts manufacturer Laird rose to the top of the FTSE 250 yesterday, after growth in the gaming console and smartphone markets boosted its third-quarter revenues. Total revenue in the third quarter increased by six per cent year-on-year to £141m and by 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter, the firm said yesterday. Revenue in the performance materials [...]
Orange revenue hit as Iliad price war takes a toll October 23, 2013 ORANGE, the largest mobile operator in France, reported a four per cent drop in revenues during its third quarter to 30 September yesterday, as sales in its key home market slid amid a price war with low-cost mobile rival Iliad. The operator – which partially owns UK network EE along with Deutsche Telekom – reported [...]
HTC scales back production as smartphone sales start to slow October 23, 2013 TAIWANESE smartphone maker HTC has halted at least one of its four main manufacturing lines, accounting for at least a fifth of total capacity, and is outsourcing production as a sales slump puts pressure on its cash flow, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation. A Reuters reporter who visited an HTC factory [...]
Herts IT firm posts growth October 23, 2013 COMPUTACENTER finished the third quarter with strong revenue growth, up 11 per cent on the same quarter last year. The Hatfield-based IT firm reached £730m in revenue, up from £657m between July and September 2012. The company’s UK arm saw a particularly strong performance, with earnings up from £265m 12 months ago to £299m in [...]
Homeserve’s British boss steps down after 13 years at the firm October 23, 2013 THE BOSS of Homeserve’s British business is stepping down after 13 years at the embattled boiler repair and insurance firm. Jonathan King is quitting to pursue a non-executive career, the firm announced yesterday. He has steered the firm through several investigations into its selling practices, which saw the firm fined £750,000 by Ofcom last year. [...]
Boeing soars on rising demand for Dreamliner October 23, 2013 BOEING shares took off yesterday after the plane manufacturer lifted its profit forecasts for 2013 and pledged to build more Dreamliners in the coming years. The American firm said its consumer plane division, which makes up more than half of its revenues, posted a 15 per cent rise in turnover in the three months to [...]
Caterpillar slows to a crawl as group awaits mining recovery October 23, 2013 CATERPILLAR posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday and cut its full-year forecast yet again as weak demand from mining customers continued to bedevil the heavy equipment maker. The firm, which makes a range of distinctive yellow machinery, also said it expects flat results next year. Caterpillar said it had axed 3,000 more jobs in the [...]
Peugeot steps back from tie-up with GM as car sales slide further October 23, 2013 PSA PEUGEOT Citroen and General Motors are scaling back their alliance as the French car firm pursues an investment by China’s Dongfeng and the US group seeks greater control of its destiny in Europe. Peugeot, whose exposure to recession-hit European markets led to a €5bn (£4.26bn) loss last year, said yesterday a small car programme [...]
Europe growth is small beer for Heineken as other regions slump October 23, 2013 HEINEKEN the world’s third largest brewer by volume, yesterday lowered its guidance for full-year profit after beer sales in eastern European dropped sharply and slipped in Brazil and in its large African markets. The group, which makes Europe’s best-selling Heineken lager, Sol, Tiger and Strongbow cider, said it now expected net profit before one-offs to [...]
Tupperware finding new markets October 23, 2013 Tupperware sales are booming in Turkey, Brazil and Malaysia, though the plastic storage boxes are losing popularity in Europe, the firm revealed yesterday. Florida-based Tupperware posted a one per cent rise in global sales to $603m (£372m) for the third quarter, with much of this growth driven by emerging markets. Sales in Germany fell by [...]
