Sony to focus on mobile, games and imaging as it slashes jobs April 12, 2012 SONY’S new chief executive Kazuo Hirai set out his stall for a wide-ranging overhaul at the struggling tech firm yesterday. The group, which employs hundreds of staff in the UK, said its headcount will fall by 10,000, or six per cent, this year, which includes roles that are moving to other companies as a result [...]
ANALYST VIEWS IS THERE HOPE FOR MOTHERCARE REVIVING ITS UK BUSINESS? April 12, 2012 JOHN STEVENSON PEEL HUNT Mothercare left no surprises, with full year profit expectations unchanged. On strategy, Mothercare announces incremental cost savings and store closures. Mothercare UK is not loss making solely due to its store base; we believe the problems centre on product and price, which are not mentioned today. ANDREW WADE NUMIS The update [...]
CITY VIEWS WILL SONY MAKE A RECOVERY? April 12, 2012 DOMINIC CAMILERI STRUCTURE TONE I think it has a hard task ahead. There is immense pressure from Apple and Samsung. There is a desire for it to come back, but there is very strong competition whose products are cheaper. JAMES FLETCHER FRIENDS LIFE It is too big not to recover. It would take a long [...]
JD Sports sees profits dented by Blacks deal April 12, 2012 JD SPORTS Fashion yesterday said full-year pre-tax profits were ahead of expectations despite suffering a loss of £2.2m from its newly acquired Blacks business. The retailer — which sells sporting goods from top brands like Nike and Adidas — said pre-tax profits fell 14 per cent to £67.4m from £78.6m a year earlier, largely as [...]
Former Blair adviser sells his PR agency April 12, 2012 TIM Allan, the former spin doctor for BSkyB who started his professional career as a press adviser to Tony Blair, has agreed to sell a majority stake in his public relations firm Portland to the global marketing group Omnicom. The deal values Portland at around £20m (depending on the group’s performance over the next three [...]
In conversation with Ken Costa April 12, 2012 THOSE who fear they might have a little difficulty finding their moral compass might want to attend a discussion on Tuesday night at the Institute of Directors (IoD). IoD director general Simon Walker will be in conversation with Ken Costa, the former UBS and Lazards investment banker, more commonly known these days as “The Ethical [...]
MUNCH’S SCREAM COMES TO LONDON April 12, 2012 EDWARD Munch’s iconic picture, known as The Scream, was on show yesterday at Sotheby’s in London ahead of a sale in New York on 2 May. Also on sale that evening will be Andy Warhol’s 1963 Double Elvis and a Pablo Picasso portrait. The Scream is expected to fetch around $80m.
Hays boosted by Germany but UK banking market still weak April 12, 2012 SHARES in recruitment firm Hays climbed as much as 11 per cent yesterday after it posted steady growth in global net fee income, despite a drop in profits at its UK business. CEO Alistair Cox said the UK had been hit by weakness in banking and the private sector, leading to a decline in domestic [...]
Ryanair blames airport fees for Edinburgh cuts April 12, 2012 RYANAIR yesterday cut 60 weekly flights from Edinburgh Airport in a bid to force operator BAA to lower its fees. The low-cost carrier warned that its move to axe eight routes from its winter schedule could cost up to 500 jobs at the airport. Ryanair blamed BAA’s “uncompetitive” fees, and said its annual passenger traffic [...]
Melrose execs sell on shares after windfall April 12, 2012 DIRECTORS at manufacturing buyout firm Melrose sold shares worth nearly £69m yesterday in order to raise cash to pay tax on their long-term incentive awards. Stock amounting to four per cent of the firm’s total share capital was placed with institutional investors through an accelerated bookbuild managed by Investec. Directors were given stock worth £126m [...]
