EasyJet lands EMI Music executive January 28, 2010 EasyJet has appointed EMI Music executive Chris Kennedy as its new finance director. Kennedy, chief investment officer and president of EMI Music’s corporate development unit, will replace interim chief financial officer Mark Adams. The budget airline has been trying to fill the role for nine months after the airline’s previous chief financial officer, Jeff Carr, [...]
Marston’s boosted by food sales January 28, 2010 PUB group Marston’s saw sales grow after a festive food boost – but the cold snap hit takings. Sales at managed pubs open more than a year were up 1.5 per cent in the 16 weeks to 3 January. That included a 2.9 per cent increase in the five weeks to 2 January – with [...]
Toshiba on the comeback trail January 28, 2010 JAPAN’S largest chip maker Toshiba has said it made a smaller-than-expected loss in the final three months of last year due to a recovery in its electronic components business. The company made a net loss of 10.6bn yen (£72.7m) compared with 121.1bn yen a year earlier. Toshiba’s chip business was hit last year but is [...]
Crozier named as new ITV chief January 28, 2010 ROYAL Mail boss Adam Crozier is to become ITV’s new chief executive. He will replace Michael Grade who announced last April that he wished to give up the role. Crozier is also a former boss of the Football Association. He returned the Royal Mail to profitability but the service has been hit by strike action. [...]
Ford goes into profit for first time in four years January 27, 2010 FORD has posted an annual profit for the first time in four years. The carmaker made $2.7bn (£1.7bn) in 2009 – compared with a loss of nearly $15bn in 2008. Ford said its return to profitability was in part due to cutting costs and reducing debt levels. The company’s workforce has been slashed from 89,000 [...]
HD boosts BSkyB profits January 27, 2010 BSkyB has announced it made an operating profit of £401m in the six months to December – up 3 per cent compared to 12 months earlier. The company added 172,000 new subscribers in the second quarter, growing its customer base to 9.7m – but short of its 10m target. The group posted first-half revenues of [...]
Pinsent joins JJB board as sales plunge January 27, 2010 OLYMPIC gold winning rower Matthew Pinsent has joined the board of JJB – as the troubled retailer announced a 28 per cent decline in sales. Pinsent has been appointed as a non-executive director in a bid to breathe new life into the business. Total group revenue for same store sales for the financial year plunged [...]
Big freeze and VAT hike hit January sales January 27, 2010 RETAILERS suffered in Britain’s big freeze as shoppers deserted the high street at the start of the year. Figures from the CBI laid bare the grim news for shops with poor weather and the end of the VAT reduction taking their toll in January. The monthly survey found that 36 per cent of retailers saw [...]
WH Smith sales dive January 26, 2010 WH Smith have reported a 4 per cent drop in like-for-like sales as customers bought fewer books. The figures for the 21 weeks to last weekend showed that the retailer’s High street stores saw a fall of 5 per cent while its travel-based outlets dipped by two per cent. WH Smith has been concentrating on [...]
Pets at Home sold in £995m deal January 26, 2010 PRIVATE equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) is buying British retailer Pets at Home in a deal worth £955m. KKR, whose retail investments include health and beauty group Alliance Boots and toys chain Toys’R’Us, saw off rival bids from Apax, Bain and TPG. Earlier this month Pets at Home posted a 6.7 per cent rise [...]
