Owen-Jones resigns as L’Oreal chair February 10, 2011 L’OREAL, the world’s biggest cosmetics maker, has confirmed the resignation of charismatic chairman Lindsay Owen-Jones and elevated current chief executive Jean-Paul Agon to executive chairman. Owen-Jones, widely regarded as the man who transformed L’Oreal from a French into a global business, will stay on its board and become honorary chairman as of next month. The [...]
Sprint Nextel adds users February 10, 2011 SPRINT Nextel added mobile subscribers for the first quarter in more than three years, sending its shares up five per cent. The Number Three US mobile service added 58,000 subscribers in the quarter, ahead of the average expectation for almost 17,000 customer additions from analysts. While the customer number was tiny compared with growth at [...]
Catlin shakes off cat loss February 10, 2011 LLOYD’S insurer Catlin returned solid full-year results yesterday despite taking a $218m (£136m) hit from catastrophe-related losses. Catlin saw pre-tax profit fall by a third to $406m from $603m last year, but beat analysts’ forecasts of $382m. Underwriting profits grew five per cent to $683m, as it added ten per cent to the net premiums [...]
Dynegy in defence of Icahn bid February 10, 2011 DYNEGY yesterday defended its bid to sell itself for $665m (£413m) to billionaire Carl Icahn, arguing weak market conditions could force the power company into a liquidity crisis unless the deal goes through. The $5.50-a-share deal has come under fire from hedge fund Seneca Capital, which led a similar effort to oppose the company’s previous [...]
Expedia profits slip due to higher taxes February 10, 2011 ONLINE travel agency Expedia said yesterday its quarterly profit slipped 30 per cent due to a higher tax rate and increased interest expense. The largest online travel agency said fourth-quarter net income amounted to $71.3m (£44.3m), or 25 cents per share, compared with $102.2m, or 35 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, [...]
Willis results top forecasts February 10, 2011 WORLD top three insurance broker Willis saw its net profits hit $455m (£283m) or $2.66 a share in 2010, up four per cent from the $436m, or $2.58 a share, made in 2009. Fourth-quarter profits beat expectations, rising 24 per cent to $98m or 57 cents a share, up from $79m or 47 cents a [...]
Boparan to forfeit his dividend February 10, 2011 Ranjit Boparan will forfeit £36m of dividend payments over three years while he overhauls convenience foods maker Northern Foods, according to his takeover documents lodged this week. Boparan has brokered a deal with Northern’s pensions trustees to plug the £142m deficit in the fund, which will involve pouring in £15m a year, funded in part [...]
Geo-Alliance gives up Regal bid February 10, 2011 Energees came closer to taking over AIM-listed explorer Regal Petroleum yesterday, as rival bidders Geo-Alliance and Heamoor walked away from making an improved offer. Energees, whose £85m bid won the support of Regal’s board last Sunday, also received irrevocable undertakings from Ukrainian fund manager Timur Khromaev yesterday, taking total support for the bid up to [...]
Zurich profit slips 13 per cent February 10, 2011 Insurer Zurich Financial Services saw its 2010 profit fall 13 per cent to $4.9bn (£3.04bn) from $5.54bn in 2009, as catastrophe claims rose and it paid one-off costs in Russia and the US. Zurich, which wrote premiums of $33.1bn in 2010, made $3.45bn net profits, in line with market forecasts, and increased its dividend six [...]
Nova Ljubljanska loses €202m February 10, 2011 Nova Ljubljanska Banka, Slovenia’s largest bank, made a net loss of €202m (£170.7m) last year, compared with an €86.8m loss in 2009. “A higher loss was due to high weakenings and provisions,” unlisted NLB said yesterday. NLB, which barely passed the EU stress test in July and plans a capital hike of €250m by the [...]
