Hornby issues profit warning January 27, 2012 Toy maker Hornby, renowned for its train sets, has issued a profits warning after disappointing Christmas sales. The company said “fragile consumer confidence” had taken its toll. Sales growth for the financial year has been lower than hoped and, as a result, full-year profits are now likely to miss expectations. But Hornby said its new [...]
LSE hits revenue forecasts thanks to Italian banks January 27, 2012 The London Stock Exchange comfortably beat quarterly revenue forecasts with a 17 per cent rise, boosted by interest on short-term loans to Italian banks. The British exchange reported income of £196m in the three months to December, its third quarter, compared with a forecast for £181m. Treasury income from its Italian clearing house of £33.5m [...]
Nokia profits dive January 26, 2012 Nokia Oyj reported a 73 per cent fall in fourth-quarter earnings as sales of its new Windows Phones failed to dent the dominance of Apple’s iPhone or compensate for diving sales of its own old smartphones. The world’s largest cellphone maker by volume last February unveiled a major strategy shift to Microsoft Corp software for [...]
AT&T posts huge loss January 26, 2012 AT&T Inc posted a massive quarterly loss due to a break-up fee for its failed T-Mobile USA merger and a pension-related charge on top of costly subsidies for smartphones such as Apple’s popular iPhone. As a result, the telephone company posted a loss of $6.68 billion (£4.25bn) or $1.12 per share, compared with a profit [...]
Retail sales in biggest drop for three years January 26, 2012 Retail sales suffered their biggest annual fall in nearly three years in January, as shoppers reined in spending after picking up pre-Christmas bargains, an industry survey showed on Thursday. The Confederation of British Industry distributive trades survey’s balance for reported sales volumes plunged to -22 in January from +9 in December, its lowest level since [...]
NEC to axe 10,000 jobs January 26, 2012 NEC Corp said it will slash 10,000 jobs, almost one in 10 of its workers, in a bid to cut costs as competition from foreign rivals including Apple Inc pushes it deep into the red. NEC blamed its poor performance on weak demand for its smartphones amid the popularity of Apple’s iPhone in Japan, as [...]
Miners fuel FTSE gains as Fed eyes growth January 26, 2012 The FTSE was boosted by the US Federal Reserve’s promise to keep interest rates – and therefore bond yields – ultra-low for the next couple of years while positive results from miners also contributed to gains. Fed chief Ben Bernanke said that it may consider further monetary easing and would keep rates near zero until [...]
Nintendo reports 61pc fall in profit January 26, 2012 Nintendo posted a 61 per cent drop in quarterly operating profit on Thursday and forecast a 45bn yen (£369m) operating loss for the year to March, far worse than market expectations, hit by weak sales and the strong yen. The full-year operating loss will be the first since the company started announcing earnings in their [...]
Easyjet sees lift in passenger numbers and revenue January 26, 2012 Easyjet revenues rose by 16.7 per cent in the final three months of 2011 while passenger numbers lifted 8.1 per cent. The company, however, said that the heavy snowfall last year flattered the figures this time round.. The low cost airline said that it carried 12.9m passengers over the period. Keith Bowman, Equity Analyst at [...]
Mitchells & Butlers sales better than forecast January 26, 2012 Restaurants and pubs group Mitchells & Butlers reported a better than expected first quarter sales rise, benefiting from milder weather over the Christmas and New Year period and strong demand for casual dining. The company, whose chains include Harvester, Toby Carvery and All Bar One, said it was confident of further growth in the year [...]
