Revenue down at Stock Spirits but earnings rebound to €49m March 12, 2015 CENTRAL and eastern European alcohol producer Stock Spirits yesterday reported revenue for 2014 fell to €292.7m (£208.1m), down 14 per cent on 2013. Stock Spirits cites a harsh excise duty in Poland as the leading cause of falling revenue. The company’s Zoladkowa Czysta is Poland’s best-selling clear vodka. “We expect trading conditions in Poland to [...]
Ukraine expects $5bn IMF aid during the year March 12, 2015 UKRAINIAN Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko yesterday said that Kiev expected an additional tranche of a new four-year International Monetary Fund programme of more than $5bn (£3.36bn) this year. Yaresko told a press conference that the IMF will review the programme between May and June. “I cannot say for now when the second tranche will happen,” [...]
Pedal to the metal at BMW as earnings rise 14pc to £6.5bn March 12, 2015 German car maker BMW yesterday announced that last year’s profit accelerated 14 per cent as its X5 SUV and 2-series Active Tourer compact minivan propelled record sales. Earnings rose to €9.12bn (£6.5bn) from €7.98bn. This beat the €8.89bn average of 25 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit widened to 9.6 per cent of revenue from 9.4 [...]
Soco slumps as oil price plunges at the pumps March 12, 2015 OIL PRODUCER Soco International yesterday reported a 54 per cent decline in annual profit after it was hit by the slump in crude prices. Disappointing drilling results at an offshore Vietnamese well forced Soco to shift some of its “probable” reserves estimates into the “possible”category, the change reducing its forecast oil reserves. Soco, which came [...]
Irish growth tops Eurozone March 12, 2015 IRELAND’S economy expanded by 4.8 per cent in 2014, making it the fastest growing economy in the Eurozone, according to official figures released yesterday. It is the country’s best year for economic growth since 2007, when expansion in the Celtic Tiger was 4.9 per cent. However, growth slowed in the final three months of the [...]
Samsung to get it in yuan March 12, 2015 SOUTH Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics will begin trading the Chinese renminbi, also called the yuan, in the Seoul Market starting 16 March, the company announced yesterday. Samsung suffered during this past year, reporting a profit before tax of 27.88 trillion Korean won (£16.66bn), a 27 per cent drop from 2013. South Korea’s business relationship [...]
Antibiotics not finger-licking good for KFC as McDonald’s and Costco vow to end sale of drug-raised chickens March 12, 2015 KFC is likely to come under pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald’s said it would no longer sell chicken raised with human antibiotics. McDonald’s announced last week it will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics for human health over two years to allay concern that use [...]
London leads national house price growth March 12, 2015 London and the south east are leading national house price growth despite slowing substantially, new figures show today. Average UK house prices were 6.8 per cent higher in February than they were in the same month last year, according to figures released by property services firm LSL today. If London and the south east are [...]
Axa Real Estate adds logistics unit as online retailing expands expansion March 12, 2015 AXA REAL Estate Investment Managers yesterday launched a €100m (£70m) European logistics and industrial platform as it seeks to tap into the rise of online retailing. The French firm said Baytree Logistics Properties will operate alongside its existing €1.8bn (£1.3bn) European logistics platform targeting speculative logistics buildings in prime locations across Europe. The new platform [...]
Euro devaluation and low interest rates to fuel property investment in 2015 March 12, 2015 Investment in Europe’s property market is expected to jump by as much as 10 per cent this year thanks to low interest rates and the expected ongoing euro devaluation. Research published yesterday by Savills showed investment volumes could top €210bn (£150m) by the end of 2015, up five to 10 per cent on the €199.3bn [...]
