Illicit cigarettes stunt Imperial Tobacco growth January 30, 2013 THE RISING black market for cigarettes in Europe has hit profits at Imperial Tobacco, the FTSE 100 giant said yesterday. Imperial said that sales of cigarettes in the EU are currently around five per cent lower than last year, as rising prices and squeezed budgets meant more people buying illegal cigarettes. “Given our ongoing investment [...]
Analyst Views | What do you think of F&C’s results? January 30, 2013 STUART DUNCAN PEEL HUNT F&C has made progress in improving flows, albeit that the headline number continues to reflect the larger strategic partner outflows. We continue to expect that earnings growth will be driven by the delivery of planned cost savings, and this is likely to drive our 2013 forecasts higher. ARUN MELMANE CANACCORD GENUITY [...]
F&C funds lose £5bn after key contract pulled January 30, 2013 F&C ASSET Management yesterday posted a £4.9bn fall in the amount of money it manages after losing a contract with insurer Friends Life. The money manager, which is in the midst of a radical turnover led by activist owner Ed Bramson, saw £2.4bn of fixed income cash pulled out by the insurer, which will now [...]
Taxing times for tobacco as smokers count the change January 30, 2013 THERE were more bleak economic figures out of Spain yesterday, with its output in the last quarter of 2012 down 1.8 per cent year-on-year. That won’t have been much of a surprise for Imperial Tobacco, which produced an interim management statement for the last quarter of 2012 that announced its six month adjusted operating profit [...]
Tax change pushes Safestore to loss January 30, 2013 Self storage firm Safestore swung into a loss in 2012, as the government extended VAT to the industry. The UK’s largest self storage operator lost £19.5m before tax in the year ending 31st October 2012, compared to the £8.5m before tax profit it enjoyed in the same period a year before. The firm also announced [...]
Salmond’s Scottish question rejected January 30, 2013 The question proposed for Scotland’s vote on independence has been rejected by the Electoral Commission. The commission said that asking voters whether they “agree” that Scotland should be an independent country was biased, in a setback for SNP leader Alex Salmond’s campaign. The vote is due to take place in 2014.
Apple loses attempt to triple Samsung’s $1bn patent charge January 30, 2013 APPLE has seen its request to increase its rival Samsung’s $1.05bn (£665m) copyright fine rejected in US courts. The Korean company was ordered to pay Apple the sum in August after it was found to have used patented iPhone designs in its Galaxy handsets. Apple had attempted to up the fine, claiming Samsung purposefully infringed [...]
Asian tech firms bring life to smartphone race January 30, 2013 THREE Asian companies injected fresh competition into the smartphone industry yesterday, boosting British chip firms Imagination Technologies and ARM Holdings. LG, ZTE and Lenovo all outlined a focus on competing with the likes of Apple and Samsung, and said they anticipate better sales of high-end devices this year. China’s Lenovo, which is likely to become [...]
Nintendo cuts forecasts for sales of Wii U January 30, 2013 NINTENDO surprised the video gaming world yesterday by cutting sales forecasts for its Wii U and 3DS consoles. The Japanese giant said it expects Wii U shipments to have hit 4m from its November launch to the end of March, down from the 5.5m originally anticipated. Nintendo also trimmed annual forecasts for the handheld 3DS [...]
Phoenix rises again after £250m share issue January 30, 2013 LIFE insurer Phoenix yesterday unveiled plans to raise £250m in a share issue, enabling it to pay down some of its £2.4bn debt pile and raising the prospect of a return to the acquisition market. Chief executive Clive Bannister said the deal – first disclosed in yesterday’s City A.M. – transforms Phoenix by removing the [...]
