BAT strikes it lucky as new chair sought July 30, 2009 BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) reported first-half pre-tax profits of £2.12bn, up 16 per cent from £1.84bn in the same period last year, as acquisitions boosted revenue. The maker of cigarette brands such as Lucky Strike and Dunhill enjoyed a 24 per cent surge in revenues from £5.5bn to £6.8bn, thanks in part to the purchases [...]
Microsoft takes on BBC iPlayer July 30, 2009 Microsoft yesterday announced a free service that will stream full-length television shows online, in a bid to cash in on the huge success of the BBC’s iPlayer. The MSN Video Player will be available from next week and will start streaming 300 hours of shows, although the technology giant hopes to secure more content as [...]
Commerzbank to sell Swiss arm July 30, 2009 Germany’s Commerzbank has announced the sale of its Swiss private banking subsidiary to Vontobel for an undisclosed price. The sale of Zurich-based Commerzbank (Switzerland), which had assets under management of Sfr4.5bn (£2.53bn) as of the end of last year, follows its sale of the Swiss private banking arm of Dresdner Bank to Liechteinstein’s LGT. The [...]
Bad loans dent Erste Bank profit July 30, 2009 Austrian lender Erste Bank saw second-quarter pre-tax profit fall by 12 per cent, down from ¤447m (£381m) in the same period last year to ¤391.7m. The bank was hit by rising rates of bad loans in Eastern Europe but predicted that it would remain in the black. “We don’t expect that, for us, the crisis [...]
CUTTING THE CLOTH July 30, 2009 GERMAN luxury fashion brand Hugo Boss saw sales for the first half of the year plunge five per cent to €788m due to consumers trading down to less expensive goods in the recession, though it expects to offset these effects this year with a strict cost-cutting drive. “The group can and will hold its ground [...]
Japanese tech giants hit by Korean competition July 30, 2009 SONY and Sharp’s third straight quarters of losses underscore the challenges they face in flat-panel TV market as they struggle to compete with Samsung Electronics and other South Korean rivals benefiting from a weaker won. And Nintendo reported a sharp fall in quarterly profit as sales of its Wii game console lost some steam and [...]
Arcandor’s banks push for the sale of stake in UK travel group Thomas Cook July 30, 2009 THE leading banks of insolvent German retailer Arcandor are pushing for a sale of the group’s stake in travel operator Thomas Cook, of which they hold 43.9 per cent as collateral. Arcandor filed for insolvency in June after its request for state help failed. Chief executive Karl-Gerhard Eick has been keen to find ways to [...]
Antofagasta posts fall in first-half copper output July 30, 2009 CHILEAN copper miner Antofagasta yesterday posted a 6.6 per cent fall in first-half copper output, slightly better than its own expectations, and said costs remained sharply higher than last year. The London-listed firm said group cash costs in the second quarter stayed at the same level as the first quarter, up 35 per cent from [...]
Brit misses profit expectations July 30, 2009 LLOYD’S of London insurer Brit said yesterday its pre-tax profits came in below analyst expectations at £64.9m in the first half of the year, excluding currency fluctuations. The figure was a 24.1 per cent rise on the £52.3m pre-tax profit booked in the first half of 2008, but fell short of analyst expectations of £70m. [...]
Centrica sees profits slump in downturn July 30, 2009 CENTRICA said yesterday its first-half profits had dropped 5.6 per cent but that a good performance at British Gas had offset weak commodity prices. Operating profits at British Gas jumped 56 per cent to £476m on the back of low commodity prices and a cold snap in January and February. Centrica said its British Gas [...]
