BT blames coronavirus as profit and revenue shrink July 31, 2020 Coronavirus blunted profit and revenue at BT in the three months of lockdown to the end of June, the UK telco said today. The figures Revenue shrank seven per cent to £5.24bn, primarily due to the economic fallout of coronavirus. And profit before tax fell 13 per cent year on year to hit £561m as [...]
British American Tobacco beats half-year profit forecasts July 31, 2020 British American Tobacco (BAT) smashed half-year profit expectations for as premium cigarette sales soared and it enjoyed strong demand for vaping products in the US, it said today. The figures The Lucky Strike brand owner posted an 18.8 per cent jump in pre-tax profit to £4.59bn for the six months to the end of June. [...]
Credit Suisse posts 24 per cent profit jump and merges investment arms July 30, 2020 Credit Suisse hailed a huge 24 per cent rise in net profit today as it revealed its plan to combine its global markets and investment banking divisions. The Swiss banking giant also began a cost-cutting exercise to save around 400m Swiss francs per year. “The measures we outline today are the right ones to further [...]
Matt Hancock: Quarantine could return as second wave hits Europe July 30, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock today warned the government could re-introduce quarantine to protect the UK as a second wave of infections begins to roll across Europe. “I am worried about a second wave,” Hancock told Sky News. “You can see a second wave starting to roll across Europe, and we’ve got to do everything we [...]
BAE Systems posts weaker half-year profit as it predicts stronger end to 2020 July 30, 2020 BAE Systems posted weaker profit for its coronavirus-struck first half of the year today, despite an increase in revenue. The figures Profit before tax fell 11 per cent to £689m in the six months to 30 June compared to the same period in 2019. Meanwhile revenue inched up five per cent to £9.18bn year on [...]
Coronavirus pushes Santander to €11bn loss July 29, 2020 Santander suffered a record loss of €11bn (£10bn) in its latest half-year, it revealed today, as coronavirus provisions tanked its bottom line. The figures A massive €12.6bn impairment relating to coronavirus meant Santander swung to a €10.8bn loss for the first half of 2020. Underlying profit before tax halved to €3.8bn year on year. And [...]
Barclays braces for pandemic blow with extra £1.6bn cushion July 29, 2020 Barclays has set aside £1.6bn to insulate itself against further loan losses in the coronavirus-hit second quarter of 2020, it revealed today, a higher sum than analysts expected. Bank forecasts had pointed to a £1.42bn total but the £1.6bn figure for April to June brings Barclays’ total provisions to £3.7bn. That sum could reach £5.79bn [...]
Card Factory online sales soar 120 per cent over lockdown July 28, 2020 Card Factory has avoided its worst case scenario of a staggering drop in store sales since the end of lockdown, it said today, as digital sales soared 120 per cent during the quarantine period. The greetings card retailer said today that store sales have plunged 21.6 per cent year on year since mid-June, better than [...]
Surging Dettol demand amid pandemic pushes Reckitt Benckiser’s profit higher July 28, 2020 A surge in Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser’s hygiene product sales helped the company post a sharp 14 per cent rise in operating profit for the pandemic-struck first half of 2020 today. The figures Operating profit rose 14 per cent year on year to £1.59bn, while profit before tax increased 13.9 per cent to £1.44bn. Revenue [...]
FTSE airline stocks slump over UK’s Spain travel quarantine July 27, 2020 Airline stocks slumped on the FTSE 100 today in the aftermath of Britain’s move to reimpose a travel quarantine on Spain. The government scrapped a travel corridor between the UK and Spain over the weekend, after the country recorded 900 new Covid-19 cases for two days running last week. Airlines blasted the government’s decision, which [...]
