BAE’s pension deficit grows in first half July 30, 2009 DEFENCE giant BAE Systems said yesterday its pension deficit had ballooned by 30 per cent to more than £3bn in the first half due to bond and inflation volatility. The group saw a net loss of £70m for the six months to January, down from a profit of £599m in the same period last year. [...]
Dow falls into red after charges July 30, 2009 US firm Dow Chemical posted a second-quarter loss yesterday, as sales slumped and the company took large charges to revamp its operations. The company reported a net loss of $435m (£264m), or 47 cents per share, compared with a profit of $24m, or 3 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales fell 31 per [...]
BASF sees a drop in profits July 30, 2009 BASF, the German chemicals firm, warned of a significant drop in sales and earnings this year and said its second-quarter net profit plummeted nearly 74 per cent to €343m (£318m). The recession cut into sales and its acquisition of speciality chemicals firm Ciba also hit profits. The world’s largest chemical company by revenues said yesterday [...]
Kodak posts second-quarter loss July 30, 2009 Eastman Kodak posted poor second-quarter results yesterday as weak demand hurt its film and digital photography businesses. Kodak posted a second-quarter loss of $189m (£115m), or 70 cents a share, compared with a profit of $495m, or $1.72, a year earlier. Kodak said sales fell sharply as a global recession limited consumer spending on travel [...]
Rensburg sees assets rise July 30, 2009 Rensburg Sheppards, the wealth manager, said yesterday its funds under management rose 8.4 per cent in the second quarter to £10.85bn, amid improving investor sentiment. The group said in a trading update all of its divisions posted growth in the quarter, with retail funds under management rising by 14.3 per cent to £880m.
AstraZeneca profits rise as imitations fail to dent sales July 30, 2009 DRUGMAKER AstraZeneca reported an 18 per cent jump in second-quarter pre-tax profits yesterday, as competition from imitations of its pharmaceuticals proved less fierce than expected. Pre-tax earnings rose to $2.61bn (£1.58bn), up from $2.47bn in the same quarter of 2008, bringing half-year profits to $5.61bn, 27 per cent ahead of last year’s six-month performance of [...]
Nat Express bidder pleas for rail lines July 30, 2009 THE Spanish-led group bidding for National Express has appealed to the UK government not to strip the troubled transport group of its last two rail franchises. The consortium – made up Spain’s Cosmen family, the largest shareholder in National Express, and private equity group CVC – have made any takeover of the UK transport group [...]
Exxon Mobil profit plunges by 66 per cent July 30, 2009 EXXON Mobil, the US oil giant, posted a steeper-than-expected 66 per cent fall in second-quarter profit as natural gas and crude oil prices slid from a year ago and the global recession hurt demand for fuel. Exxon Mobil, which raked in record profits last year, has seen earnings wither as crude oil prices have fallen [...]
Shell looks to axe more jobs in the slump July 30, 2009 SHELL, the world’s second biggest oil company, followed industry trends yesterday by posting a 70 per cent slump in profits on the back of lower crude prices and tumbling demand. Earnings for the second quarter plummeted from $7.9bn (£4.8bn) in the same period last year to just $2.3bn. New chief executive Peter Voser saw the [...]
Mastercard recovery is priceless as credit card firm reverses loss July 30, 2009 CREDIT card firm Mastercard beat expectations to record second-quarter pre-tax earnings of $536m (£325m) yesterday, a dramatic recovery from last year’s loss of $1.22bn. The company saw net revenue in the three months to 30 June rise by 2.7 per cent to $1.28bn, ahead of the $1.25bn seen in last year’s second-quarter. Excluding currency fluctuations, [...]
