Adams leaves Huntsworth January 31, 2012 Huntsworth, the marketing and communications group that owns Citigate and Grayling, said yesterday its finance director Colin Adams will leave at the end of April. Adams joined the firm in April last year from publisher Bloomsbury. The group said yesterday it would take a £3m hit on restructuring costs, but still expected to meet 2011 [...]
Toshiba and Honda slash outlooks January 31, 2012 Toshiba and Honda both slashed their profit outlook yesterday after a strong yen and global economic woes hammered their bottom lines. Chip-maker Toshiba said its quarterly operating profit fell by 72 per cent, as it cut its annual operating profit forecast by a third to $2.62bn (£1.66bn). Honda cut its outlook by a quarter to [...]
EasyJet hits back in row with Stelios January 31, 2012 SIR MICHAEL Rake, the chairman of the airline easyJet, has hit back at the “increasingly personal” attacks on the company by its founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, denying its directors are riding the “gravy train”. In a further souring of relations between easyJet and its 38 per cent shareholder, Stelios responded last night: “I will never [...]
Insurers demand state support for flood cover January 31, 2012 THE ASSOCIATION of British Insurers (ABI) has warned that up to 200,000 households in England and Wales will struggle to obtain flood insurance when a voluntary agreement ends next summer. The organisation is urging the government to act fast and develop an insurance solution for homes that are considered to be at “high risk” of [...]
Fund manager launches fight against fees January 31, 2012 ONE of the City’s best-known fund managers has launched a campaign against fees in the investment industry, arguing that customers have been “ripped off” for too long. Alan Miller, who recently founded low-cost fund manager SCM, said investors faced a “minefield of charges” and were being left “seriously out of pocket” when it came to [...]
Exxon profits rise as crude prices climb January 31, 2012 EXXON Mobil’s fourth-quarter profit narrowly beat Wall Street’s expectations yesterday as rising crude oil prices offset falling margins for chemicals, engine lubricants and fuel. But production of natural gas and crude oil slipped during the period. The company posted net income of $9bn (£5.6bn), or $1.97 per share, compared with $9.2bn, or $1.85 per share, [...]
Pfizer slides as patent runs out on its star drug Lipitor January 31, 2012 PFIZER yesterday reported sharply lower quarterly earnings, hurt by generic forms of its Lipitor cholesterol drug, and the firm trimmed its 2012 forecasts because of negative effects of the stronger dollar. The world’s biggest drugmaker said yesterday it had earned $1.4bn (£888m), or 19 cents per share, in the fourth quarter. That compared with $2.8bn, [...]
UPS takes hit from pensions January 31, 2012 UNITED Parcel Service posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday and forecast nine to 15 per cent growth this year, as solid US demand and growing e-commerce offset an uneven global economy. UPS said its fourth-quarter profit was down 29 per cent to $725m (£460m) as the result of a change in how the delivery company [...]
Zyprexa expiry hurts Eli Lilly January 31, 2012 ELI LILLY’S quarterly profit has dropped 27 per cent to $858.2m (£545m) after its top-selling Zyprexa schizophrenia treatment lost US patent protection and saw competition from generic rivals. The drugmaker said its revenues will drop around $3bn this year as a result of the Zyprexa loss. But it said an independent safety committee recommended continuing two [...]
Babcock says its order book is doing well January 31, 2012 BRITISH defence services firm Babcock International yesterday said it had traded strongly in its third quarter, with sales fuelled by governments outsourcing more work in a bid to save money. The company said it expected to win significant contracts in 2012 as military and engineering clients continue outsourcing work. FTSE 250-listed Babcock, which maintains Royal [...]
