Portmeirion to lift sales to new record of £50m January 20, 2011 BRITISH pottery manufacturer Portmeirion yesterday said annual sales will top £50m for the first time after a particularly strong Christmas. More than £13m of the sales come from Spode and Royal Worcester which were bought from the liquidator two years ago. Chairman Dick Steele said much of the growth came from new designs on old [...]
China helps drive Remy sales January 20, 2011 Remy Cointreau, the second biggest distiller in France, yesterday forecast strong full-year revenue and earnings growth, driven by strong Asian demand for cognac. The Chinese New Year is on 3 February this year and orders have been strong the company said. Sales in the nine months to December rose 11 per cent overall. The Cognac [...]
Rose in new role at Woolworths January 20, 2011 Sir Stuart Rose has been given a new role with South African retailer Woolworths. The former Marks & Spencer boss will becomes a non-executive director of the food and clothing chain. He stepped down as M&S chairman earlier this month, and was replaced by Robert Swannell, having handed over the reins as chief executive to [...]
Walmart gets Obama approval January 20, 2011 Michelle Obama is to back plans by the world’s biggest retailer, Walmart, to provide its customers with healthier and more affordable food options as part of a drive to cut US obesity levels. The United States’ First Lady has made promoting healthy eating her key initiative in the White House. She will join Walmart representatives [...]
Old handsets hit profits at Sony Ericsson January 20, 2011 WORLD NUMBER five mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson posted lower than expected fourth-quarter pre-tax profit yesterday, and said it saw only modest growth in the handset market this year. Sony Ericsson posted pre-tax profit of €35m (£29.7m) on sales of €1.53bn. Analysts had forecast a pre-tax profit of €79.7m and sales of €1.82bn. Sony Ericsson [...]
Inter RAO hunts for investors January 20, 2011 INTER RAO could seek a strategic investor for a 25 per cent stake and may also consider share swaps as it continues to grow, the Russian state-controlled group’s head Boris Kovalchuk said yesterday. The electricity generator and power trader is being used by Russia as a home for billions of dollars of assets as the [...]
Iberdrola expects instant profit boost from Elektro January 20, 2011 IBERDROLA, Spain’s biggest power utility, said yesterday that its €1.78bn (£1.51bn) acquisition of Brazilian energy distributor Elektro should boost profit from day one. Iberdrola has long been looking to expand its operations in Latin America where economic growth contrasts with stagnation in its home market. Iberdrola already ranks as one of the largest power producers [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 20, 2011 Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets has promoted Chris Birt to director in its acquisition finance team in London, reporting to Ian Sale. Birt, 33, has eight years of experience at Lloyds Banking Group after joining the corporate banking graduate scheme and has held his current position since 2006. Chris has led and co-led [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 20, 2011 PEARSON UBS rates the publishing group “buy” with an increased target price of £14. The broker believes the firm is poised to deliver earnings growth despite its conservative revenue forecasts, and has raised its earnings per share estimate for the year four per cent to 76.4p. UBS predicts revenues above £5.8bn for the full-year. PZ [...]
Mitsubishi plans cost cuts January 20, 2011 Mitsubishi Motors said it would count on rapid expansion in emerging markets and big cost cuts to double its operating profit in three years, anticipating a resumption of dividends in the year to March 2014. Announcing a new three-year business plan yesterday, Mitsubishi Motors, one of Japan’s smallest automakers, said it would target a 37 [...]
