NESTLE STRONG AS RIVALS SUFFER PRICE HIKES August 9, 2012 NESTLE bucked the industry trend by beating forecasts yesterday, reporting a 6.6 per cent rise in underlying first-half sales as volume growth ticked up. Global food prices are near record highs, but many of Nestlé’s key ingredients, such as coffee, sugar and dairy products, are less affected than cereals. Net profit rose 8.9 per cent [...]
Amec grows profit by 25pc August 9, 2012 ENGINEERING company AMEC said core earnings rose 25 per cent in the first half, boosted by strong revenues from its natural resource business. AMEC expects growth to taper off in the second half, but said yesterday it aims for double-digit revenue expansion over the full year. Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation rose to £152m [...]
Bombardier hit by bad timing of train orders August 9, 2012 CANADIAN train and plane maker Bombardier said yesterday that the timing of major train contracts hurt revenue and profit in the second quarter as big projects in the Asia-Pacific and European markets had been wrapped up, while new orders were in start-up phase. Despite the 12 per cent drop in quarterly revenue, which came in [...]
Another profit alert at FCUK August 9, 2012 ISSUING ITS third profits warning over the past 12 months, French Connection Group told investors that profits will be £7m below last year’s earnings in the first half, putting it on course for a loss. Weak sales could continue through the year,it added. First half sales slumped by seven per cent, while discounting crimped gross [...]
BT staff receive £160m payout August 9, 2012 THOUSANDS of staff at BT pocketed thousands of pounds in payouts yesterday as the telecoms operator’s three-year share scheme matured, leaving workers with an average of £8,000 each. Twenty thousand employees – a third of total staff – enrolled in the scheme when BT’s share price was half as high as yesterday’s £2.16. They took [...]
Stephenson Clarke in liquidation August 9, 2012 Britain’s oldest shipping firm, Stephenson Clarke Shipping, has gone into liquidation after nearly 300 years of trading, a casualty of the worsening global downturn. Liquidator Tait Walker was appointed on 3 August, the company said in a statement. “Whilst previous economic downturns have been weathered, the current market is one of the worst experienced for [...]
Payday lender fined and banned August 9, 2012 Payday lender MCO Capital was yesterday fined £544,404 and had its licence revoked by the Office of Fair Trading, after fraudsters impersonated customers seeking loans. The OFT said that MCO had failed to carry out adequate checks on applicants, allowing fraudsters to apply for millions of pounds worth of loans. The firm has had its [...]
Enterprise Inns toasts the Queen August 9, 2012 The Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012 helped Enterprise Inns pull back from a sales slump, the firm said yesterday. However, the damp weather meant the group’s pubs did not recover as well as hoped. Enterprise posted a 1.2 per cent drop in like-for-like income in the 44 weeks to 4 August, compared to a slide [...]
HMV pins hope on returning to profit next year August 9, 2012 HMV yesterday said it was confident its focus on technology and the support of its suppliers and banks would help it return to profit this year despite posting steep losses for 2012. The embattled music entertainment chain confirmed a loss before tax and exceptional items of £16.2m, compared with the same amount of profit last [...]
Prospective first time buyers hit by the escalating cost of renting August 9, 2012 HOPEFUL first time home buyers are trapped in an increasingly expensive rental market, according to a series of separate studies released yesterday and today. The cost of renting a home shot up by 4.3 per cent in the year to May-July, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) explaining that “many would-be buyers continue [...]
