WPP profits tumble 51 per cent as advertising giant shifts focus to AI plans August 4, 2023 The world’s biggest advertising firm WPP reported a “resilient” performance in the first half of the year despite plunging profits as they start to build out AI plans. WPP reported profit before tax for the first half of 2023 dropped 51 per cent to £204m, compared to £419m compared to the first half of 2022. [...]
Ranking Barbie movie merch from awful to making our skin crawl August 3, 2023 We’ve ranked Barbie movie merch so you don’t have to… I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world, life in plastic, it’s full of Barbie Ketchup, Barbie Crocs, Barbie Airbnbs, Barbie burgers and Barbie pasta. Is it fantastic? At City A.M., we’ve ranked the most ridiculous Barbie movie merch we could find to let you [...]
Nintendo: Super Mario movie success helps drive 50 per cent sales surge August 3, 2023 Nintendo has smashed forecasts for its first quarter results as the ever-popular virtual icons Mario and Zelda continue to attract gamers. The Japanese gaming company reported net sales of 461.34bn yen (£2.5bn) for the three months ended 30 June – a 50 per cent increase from the same period of 2022 and ahead of Refinitiv [...]
Sports medicine boosts Smith & Nephew results as chief financial officer steps down August 3, 2023 Medical device manufacturer Smith & Nephew has reported revenue and profit increases due to higher demand for sports medicines as the chief financial officer steps down. Strong performance in sports medicine, advanced wound management, and orthopaedics, which together make up 60 per cent of their business, has led to a 7.3 per cent rise in [...]
Do viewers prefer the news or Netflix? Ofcom’s latest report reveals state of the nation August 3, 2023 Traditional news channels have beaten Netflix to secure the top spots on the nation’s television appetite as audiences increasingly drift to different media outlets, according to Ofcom’s latest annual Media Nations report. BBC One emerged as the viewers’ first port of call when switching on the TV last year, capturing 20 per cent of the [...]
What is the Wrexham effect and how is it impacting sports betting? August 3, 2023 Wrexham AFC’s meteoric rise to fame, thanks to the docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ has caused sports betting to skyrocket in a phenomenon that has been dubbed the ‘Wrexham Effect’. Gambling giant Entain’s UK sportsbook reported a nearly 60 per cent surge in bets during the National League’s 2021-22 season compared to 2017-18 – the 2019-20 [...]
Exclusive: UK government partners with Kindeva in £33m inhaler technology revolution post-pandemic August 3, 2023 The UK government has joined forces with inhaler manufacturers Kindeva Drug Delivery, in a £33m injection to revolutionise inhaler technology post-pandemic. The joint investment aims to produce “eco-friendly” inhalers and create over 250 “high-skilled” jobs in the UK after the Covid-19 exposed a window of opportunity. In the March 2020 dawn of the pandemic, demand [...]
‘Fanciful’ – EE’s legal claim against Virgin Mobile given brutal rebuff by High Court August 2, 2023 The High Court has dismissed EE’s legal claim against Virgin Mobile, describing it as “fanciful” with “no real prospect of succeeding”. British telecoms company EE attempted to sue Virgin Mobile for a reported £24.6m over a contract dispute back in August 2022. In a decision ruling in favour of the applicant, the court proclaimed EE’s [...]
Arm aims for £55bn IPO valuation as potential anchor investors line up August 2, 2023 British chip innovator Arm has set its sights on a valuation target of $60bn (£47bn) to $70bn (£55bn) when it goes public, which could be as soon as this September. Arm is gearing up to float on New York’s Nasdaq in the first week of September with pricing for the IPO to arrive in the [...]
Haleon: Chinese re-opening powers GSK spin-off to ‘consistent’ growth August 2, 2023 Strong sales of toothpaste and painkillers contributed to healthy results for Haleon, the newly-formed consumer healthcare firm spun out of GSK last year. In the first half of 2023, the Surrey-headquartered company’s revenue increased to £5.7bn, up 10.6 per cent compared to the same period last year. This was driven by Haleon’s ‘power brands’, such [...]
