Upgrade delay and regulation hit O2 revenue November 7, 2012 BRITAIN’S second-largest mobile network O2 saw revenue fall more than five per cent in the third quarter as customers held off on renewing contracts ahead of the launch of the iPhone 5, it said yesterday. Regulation on roaming charges and mobile termination rates – the amount networks can charge for calls to other operators – [...]
Betfair pulls out of Germany as tax on sports bets is introduced November 7, 2012 ONLINE betting exchange operator Betfair yesterday announced it had pulled the plug on the majority of its German business after a tax hike made the operation unworkable. Due to the way Betfair’s model works, with users staking money against each other rather than against the bookie, Germany’s recently-introduced five per cent tax on sports betting [...]
Playtech hits the jackpot in third quarter due to casino gambling November 7, 2012 PLAYTECH, the company that provides gambling software to the likes of bet365 and PaddyPower, yesterday said gross income was up 32 per cent on last year in the third quarter, thanks to a strong showing in its casino gaming products and its stake in William Hill. Shares in the London-listed company, which bases itself in [...]
Profits up 30 per cent at Fenner as it raises dividend by a third November 7, 2012 INDUSTRIAL conveyor belt maker Fenner yesterday posted a spike in full-year profit, as it bucked the trend of a spate of bad news from the engineering sector. Underlying pre-tax profit rose 30 per cent to £103.9m over the year to August, boosted by demand in its core engineered conveyor solutions division. The industrial division – [...]
Carlsberg’s bottom line hit by weather but Russia improves November 7, 2012 THE WORLD’S fourth-largest brewer Carlsberg reported a slight drop in profits yesterday, but said it stood by its full-year outlook after gaining in Russia. The company said it was particularly pleased that efforts to drive its international brands were improving its market share in key growth regions. “Our performance was in line with our expectation [...]
Hargreaves Services mothballs Maltby coal mine in Yorkshire November 7, 2012 FUEL logistics supplier Hargreaves Services is to mothball the Maltby mine in Yorkshire, it said yesterday. In August Hargreaves warned that Maltby, which supplies Drax Group’s power station in North Yorkshire – Europe’s largest coal-fired plant – was at risk of being mothballed because of worsening geological problems. A report subsequently commissioned by Hargreaves said [...]
Ericsson cuts 1,550 Swedish jobs November 7, 2012 Ericsson yesterday announced a plan to cut 1,550 jobs at its head office in Sweden – around nine per cent of the 17,700 people employed there – following a third quarter profit fall of 43 per cent to 2.18bn kronor (£203m). Tomas Qvist, head of human resources at the Swedish telecoms giant, called the redundancies [...]
Cognizant profits up a fifth November 7, 2012 IT outsourcing firm Cognizant yesterday reported a 22 per cent rise in profits in the third quarter of the year. The US-based company, which provides technology consultancy services to many blue chip companies, said growth was driven by more business from financial services firms. Cognizant, which employs most of its staff in India, saw revenue [...]
Veolia profits drop 25 per cent November 7, 2012 French utility firm Veolia Environnement yesterday reported a 25 per cent drop in nine-month profit, as it sought to reassure investors that plans to reduce debt remained on track. The waste, water and energy firm said it could cut debt by up to €3bn (£2.4bn) in the fourth quarter by divesting several small assets, and [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 7, 2012 Deloitte Michael Lee has been appointed director of Deloitte’s analytics practice. He joins from Detica NetReveal, and is a specialist in using analytics to detect and prevent fraud and financial crime. HSBC Andy Clark has been appointed chief executive at HSBC’s UK asset management branch. He has worked for the bank since 2005, most recently [...]
