PRADA BOOMS ON ASIAN LUXURY DEMAND March 29, 2012 ITALIAN fashion power house Prada is pushing ahead with its retail expansion plans after a burgeoning army of wealthy Asian buyers helped it beat forecasts with a 72 per cent rise in full-year profit. The Milan-based maker of luxury bags and Miu Miu dresses said yesterday net profit for the year to 31 January was [...]
Bwin Party merger ups earnings March 29, 2012 Bwin.Party’s shares jumped seven per cent yesterday as the group reported an annual revenue surge of 93 per cent. The merger of Bwin and PartyGaming took revenues at the combined company to €691.1m, with underlying earnings up three per cent to €199.3m. But after tax, the company took a €431m hit and, as it is [...]
Three’s UK pre-tax profits drop March 29, 2012 Mobile network operator Three saw strong growth across Europe last year, particularly in Ireland and Sweden, but revenues dropped in Australia. Three’s largest operating area remains the UK, where the Hutchison Whampoa-owned company grew revenues 14 per cent to £1.79bn. But UK profits before taxes and interest dropped 83 per cent to £30m, which the company [...]
Apple to improve worker conditions March 29, 2012 In a landmark development for the way Western companies do business in China, Apple said yesterday it had agreed to work with partner Foxconn – which makes Apple devices – to tackle wage and working condition violations at the factories that produce its popular products. The move comes in response to one of the largest [...]
SAFRA’S JEWELS HEAD FOR THE AUCTION BLOCK March 29, 2012 JEWELS for Hope is the name of a collection of jewels being put up for sale at Christie’s by Lily Safra, the widow of Edmond Safra. Edmond, a Lebanese-born billionaire and banking scion who owned Republic National Bank of New York, died in a mysterious fire in his penthouse flat in Monaco in December 1999. [...]
Mouchel eyes fundraising to tackle debt pile March 29, 2012 INFRASTRUCTURE firm Mouchel said yesterday it is considering an equity fundraising as it looks to tackle debts and restructure the company this year. Still recovering from a 2011 dominated by contract blunders, management resignations, failed takeover bids, tough trading and a banking lifeline, Mouchel said 2012 would be a year of transition and earmarked annual [...]
War of words worsens as Laxey demands Alliance dividend rise March 29, 2012 THE ROW between Alliance Trust and activist investor Laxey Partners deepened yesterday as the hedge fund’s demand for a major hike in the dividend was dismissed as Greek-style economic management. Laxey received a withering response after it wrote to Alliance chairman Lesley Knox saying the fund will be in a position to pay larger dividends [...]
HSBC buys UAE units off Lloyds March 29, 2012 HSBC yesterday agreed to buy Lloyds banking group’s commercial and retail businesses in the United Arab Emirates in a bid to strengthen its presence in the Middle East. The businesses, valued at $769m (£482.6m) last year, hand HSBC an estimated 8,800 customers and a loan book of around $573m in the Middle Eastern region. Lloyds [...]
Total discovers source of leak March 29, 2012 FRENCH oil major Total said yesterday it had identified the source of a gas leak at its Elgin platform in the North Sea. The company said it was coming from a rock formation above the main reservoir, at a depth of 4,000m. A flare is still burning at the platform, 150 miles off the coast [...]
NOKIA BOSS TRIPLES SALARY DESPITE LOSSES March 29, 2012 STEPHEN Elop, the chief executive of Nokia, more than tripled his salary to €1.02m in 2011 – a year which saw Nokia’s pre-tax profits drop from €1.79bn the previous year to a loss of €1.2bn. Elop also pocketed a €473,070 bonus and received €2.09m worth of stock.
