AkzoNobel vows action to boost flagging profit July 21, 2011 DUTCH chemicals group AkzoNobel promised new, unspecified measures to improve its earnings as it reported a 10 per cent drop in second-quarter core profit, hurt by rising costs and weak demand. The world’s biggest paints company was hit by faster-than-expected increases in prices of raw materials such as pigments and oil-related resins and solvents. It [...]
FOREIGN EXCHANGE AS MOSCOW MOVES TO BECOME WORLD-CLASS July 21, 2011 CAN MOSCOW ever become a world-class financial centre? BP may have had its fingers burned over the ill-fated Rosneft deal, but Anglo-Russian relations are being improved behind the scenes following a Moscow-London foreign exchange to set up the Moscow International Finance Centre (MIFC). First, Lord Mayor Michael Bear – the co-chairman of the MIFC Liaison [...]
Astra rises on drug approval July 21, 2011 ASTRAZENECA shares jumped two per cent on yesterday, buoyed by US approval for its new heart drug Brilinta as a rival to Plavix, the world’s second-biggest selling medicine. But industry analysts warned the London-based drugmaker still had a battle on its hands to sell the product in the world’s top market, given its interaction with [...]
Upbeat outlook from Capita fails to address growth fears July 21, 2011 POSITIVE first-half results and outlook from British outsourcing group Capita yesterday were overshadowed by uncertainty over when the company will return to organic growth. Capita, which runs the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, TV licensing for the BBC and the Criminal Records Bureau, said underlying pre-tax profit rose seven per cent to £174m for the six months [...]
Roche predicts higher earnings due to cost cuts July 21, 2011 SWISS drugmaker Roche raised its full-year earnings target for 2011 yesterday as cost-cutting protected its first-half profitability from the impact of the strong Swiss franc. The Basel-based group is now aiming to grow core earnings per share around 10 per cent in local currencies this year, after previously guiding for high single-digit growth. But it [...]
PRINCE ANDREW QUITS TRADE ROLE July 21, 2011 PRINCE Andrew is to step down from his role as Britain’s trade ambassador, just four months after his links to a sex offender prompted calls for him to quit the unpaid position. The prince, 51, will be leaving his job as the government’s special representative for international trade and investment, which he has held since [...]
Trimming the fat is not enough July 21, 2011 CAPITA yesterday said the conditions for outsourcing were proving “increasingly buoyant”. Such confidence should have had investors piling into the stock, especially as earnings per share were up 12 per cent and contract wins were double the same period last year at £1.1bn. The companies it signed major deals with in the first six months [...]
Torrid trading drags Nokia to £324m loss July 21, 2011 NOKIA yesterday crashed to an expected second quarter loss, compounding a miserable year for the former smartphone market-leader. Even factoring in a one-off payment of €430m from Apple over a long-running patent dispute, Nokia slumped to a loss of €368m (£324m). It was dragged down by a 20 per cent slide in revenues in its [...]
Shrinking margins hit Publicis July 21, 2011 SHRINKING margins and a warning of a final quarter slowdown took the shine off forecast-beating first-half results at Publicis. A surprise pick-up in European ad spending pushed the French firm to better than expected revenues. The world’s third-biggest ad group also reiterated its previous annual targets as revenue grew across all regions in the first [...]
888 revenues storm past forecasts July 21, 2011 ONLINE gaming firm 888 yesterday reported an 18 per cent rise in first-half revenue, driven by a strong performance in its casino and poker businesses. It now forecasts full-year results will be marginally ahead of the current market view. Analysts on average expect the company to post a full-year pre-tax profit of $21m on a [...]
