Lufthansa to cut costs in bid to reduce impact of fuel costs March 15, 2012 GERMAN flagship airline Deutsche Lufthansa vowed to make tough cost cuts and restructure its loss-making Austrian unit as it warned yesterday that economic uncertainty and high fuel prices would cut into its operating profit this year. Lufthansa saw operating profit drop by almost 20 per cent to €820m (£683.1m) in 2011 and said it saw [...]
BAE Systems to buy textbooks for Tanzania in SFO settlement March 15, 2012 DEFENCE giant BAE Systems agreed yesterday to pay almost £30m towards education projects in Tanzania as part of a settlement with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The payment is linked to a fine handed to BAE in late 2010 after the company admitted it had failed to keep adequate accounting records in relation to a [...]
PRIVATE JET COMPANY PROFITS FALL March 15, 2012 PRIVATE charter airline Air Partner said yesterday that its pre-tax profits fell 56 per cent for the six months to 30 January, but said it continued to be profitable in a “challenging market”. The airline made a profit before tax of £1.6m in the period, compared to £2.8m last year.
Premier Farnell hit by sluggish growth March 15, 2012 ELECTRONIC parts distributor Premier Farnell said strong emerging markets demand and increased market share would see it return to growth this year after it posted profit below expectations in a tough global industrial sector. Premier Farnell, which in July issued a profit warning after sales were hit by the global economic slowdown, said adjusted pre-tax [...]
Glaxo sells brands including Nytol to Belgium’s Omega March 15, 2012 PHARMA giant GlaxoSmithKline has sold some of its brands in Europe, including sleeping pill Nytol and hayfever spray Beconase, to Omega Pharma for €470m (£391m), it said yesterday. The firm has been offloading its non-core healthcare consumer brands for about a year, and said yesterday the proceeds from this latest sale will be returned to [...]
HMV CONFIRMS INTEREST IN LIVE ARM March 15, 2012 STRUGGLING music chain HMV has confirmed that “a number of parties” are interested in buying its live music arm. In 2010, HMV bought 13 venues including the Hammersmith Apollo, where Slash (pictured) is due to play in June, but is now offloading assets as it restructures the firm. HMV said its review of the business [...]
Irish oil boosts Providence stock March 15, 2012 Shares in Providence Resources jumped 12.1 per cent yesterday to 482p after the Dublin-based explorer said its Barryroe discovery off the coast of Ireland contains commercial quantities of oil. The firm said the well was producing oil at a rate of 3,500 barrels per day, almost double the rate needed to make it commercially viable. [...]
Virgin restarts Mumbai flights March 15, 2012 Virgin Atlantic is restarting its flights to Mumbai after a three year hiatus. The carrier is launching flights from Heathrow in October, in a move that it said will create 100 jobs in India and the UK. The route will link up with US airports including Washington and New York’s JFK. “India’s phenomenal growth continues [...]
Northgate warns on profits March 15, 2012 Van rental company Northgate warned yesterday its full-year profit would be towards the lower end of current market estimates due to soft demand for vehicle hiring in the UK and Spain, sending its shares lower. Its UK and Spain fleet totalled 92,600 at the end of February, down seven per cent from October 2011.
London 2012 IMAGE OF THE WEEK March 15, 2012 Sent in by our reader, Daniel Musikant, this week’s photo shows the Olympic Stadium at sunset. The top ring of the stadium was constructed using surplus gas pipes and represents the long-term sustainability of the Games. Photo: Daniel Musikant Between now and the start of the Olympics, City A.M. is publishing its Olympic Image of [...]
