Sales are strong at Asda but high fuel costs keeping shoppers away November 15, 2011 SUPERMARKET group Asda yesterday reported a pick up in third-quarter sales growth, helped by revamped own-brand food ranges and a pledge to be cheaper than rivals. Sales at stores open more than a year rose 1.3 per cent, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, in the three months to September, Britain’s second-biggest supermarket group said [...]
Wal-mart’s plan to absorb food prices hits gains November 15, 2011 WAL-MART’S decision to absorb rising food costs for its stressed US shoppers has weighed on profitability, the firm admitted yesterday, even as key US sales rose for the first time in more than two years. Wal-mart, the US grocery giant that owns Asda, said sales at stores open more than a year rose a higher-than-expected [...]
First dividend for EasyJet as profits rise November 15, 2011 BUDGET airline EasyJet confirmed its first ever dividend payout yesterday, as it revealed a 31.5 per cent surge in annual pre-tax profits to £248m on the back of a rising number of lucrative business passengers on its flights. EasyJet, whose biggest shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has long pushed for a dividend, will dole out £195m [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN EASYJET MAINTAIN ITS UPWARD MOMENTUM? November 15, 2011 GERT ZONNEVELD | PANMURE GORDON Forward bookings indicate a mid-single digit increase in seat revenue, but we are doubtful whether revenue increases can fully offset anticipated cost increases in the current year. But based on earnings forecasts we retain our “buy” recommendation and 450p target price. PETER HYDE | LIBERUM CAPITAL The Stelios situation should [...]
Losses double at Kingfisher November 15, 2011 KINGFISHER Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya yesterday sought to ease concerns about the future of his airline, but offered few measures for reviving the Indian carrier’s finances after its quarterly loss doubled. Mallya, who owns a liquor business and the Force India Formula One team, said Kingfisher had not asked banks to “take a haircut” but [...]
Qatar inks £4bn Airbus contract November 15, 2011 QATAR Airways placed a $6.5bn (£4.1bn) order for Airbus jets yesterday, just hours after saying at the Dubai Air Show it had walked away from the deal. The carrier has penned a deal for 50 of the new Airbus A320neo planes, with a further 30 on option, and up to eight more A380s. But Qatar [...]
MADE IN CHELSEA DIAMOND HEIR DIGS DEEP FOR HIS NEXT VENTURE November 15, 2011 HIS FAMILY made their fortune digging for diamonds in the Congo and Sierra Leone, but Made in Chelsea stalwart Francis Boulle is interested in mines of a different kind. Fundmine, to be precise, an online investment platform that allows entrepreneurs to sell their company visions to private investors that has to date attracted £8.7m of [...]
Evraz warns on the cost of world turmoil November 15, 2011 ROMAN Abramovich’s steelmaking group Evraz surprised markets with a cautious update yesterday that said pressure on prices would lower profits in the last months of the year. Evraz said revenues hit $12.5bn (£7.8bn) in the first nine months of the year, up 28.9 per cent from the same period in 2010, including $4.2bn of sales [...]
BG Group says three execs to fight it out for the top job November 15, 2011 BG GROUP yesterday fired the starting gun on the race to succeed chief executive Sir Frank Chapman, naming the three executives who the firm is considering for the top job. Chapman, who has helped build BG from a UK-focused player into a $74bn (£46.6bn) international oil and gas giant, will step down before the end [...]
Premier shifts focus to North Sea November 15, 2011 British oil firm Premier Oil said its focus for activity was shifting back to the North Sea as it reiterated its production target after a strong performance from its Asian gas and oil fields. Premier, which also owns assets in Pakistan and Kenya, said it was on track to exit the year with production of [...]
