Swine flu vaccine drives up GlaxoSmithKline’s earnings April 28, 2010 BUMPER sales of swine flu vaccine boosted GlaxoSmithKline’s first-quarter earnings by 17 per cent, more than expected, and the drugmaker reassured investors it could absorb the cost of US healthcare reform. Pre-tax profit was £2.23bn, earnings before major restructuring rose 17 per cent to 30.7p per share, while sales rose nine per cent to £7.36bn, [...]
Home Retail plans £150m share refund April 28, 2010 ARGOS and Homebase owner Home Retail Group yesterday announced plans for a share buyback of up to £150m as new figures showed its annual profit had dropped by 11 per cent. Underlying profits fell to £292.9m for the year to 27 February – down from £327.7m for the year before – the company said. Earnings [...]
Carpetright chief warns over double-dip recession April 28, 2010 THE head of Britain’s biggest floor coverings retailer, Carpetright, warned a “double dip” in the UK economy was likely yesterday as his firm reported its second downbeat trading update in five weeks. Chairman and chief executive Lord Harris, said there was “no question” Carpetright’s own sales had “double dipped”. The firm, which trades from 586 [...]
Asda fights poor sales with best price guarantee April 28, 2010 ASDA yesterday unveiled a money-back price guarantee after poor sales growth. The chain is offering to refund shoppers who find that a basket of comparable goods would have been cheaper at Tesco, Morrisons or Sainsbury’s. Asda increased its sales by only 2.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 28 April, compared with rises of [...]
BAT struggles as cigarette demand falls April 28, 2010 BRITISH American Tobacco reported a four per cent fall in underlying first quarter volumes yesterday as fewer customers bought cigarettes. The London-based group, which makes Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, said its consumers were finding economic conditions difficult and volumes suffered as a result of the decline in some markets. Overall volumes [...]
Greene King bullish for 2010 as food sales give it a boost April 28, 2010 PUB group Greene King said yesterday it was confident of meeting its full-year profit forecasts, boosted by strong sales of food, although it remains cautious on the outlook for consumer spending. The company, which has around 2,500 pubs in England and Scotland, said in a trading update that retail like-for-like sales were up 3.6 per [...]
Admiral on track to hit its targets as turnover rises April 28, 2010 MOTOR insurer Admiral said its performance in the first quarter put it on track to meet analyst expectations for 2010 as turnover was boosted by the firm insuring more cars. Admiral said yesterday that sales for the first three months of the year increased to £345m – 28 per cent higher than the same period in [...]
Honda drives into profit as market picks up April 28, 2010 CARMAKER Honda has reported a profit for the first three months of 2010. The Japanese company said it made a net profit of 72bn yen (£507m) between January and March, with sales rising by 28 per cent. A recovery in the major US and Japanese car markets helped Honda, as well as expansion in developing [...]
Spain’s BBVA confident bad loans are out April 28, 2010 Spain’s second-largest bank BBVA stabilised bad debts in the first quarter and yesterday said it was confident these have peaked ahead of its rivals, adding weight to the recovery for Spain’s property-hit lenders. BBVA also reassured investors it had little exposure to Greece and Portugal, following credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgrade of Greek [...]
Deka seeks Drapers Gardens April 28, 2010 DEKA, the German fund manager, is the frontrunner to buy the iconic Drapers Gardens office building in the City of London, according to advisers working on the deal. Drapers Gardens, which is owned by Canary Wharf and Exemplar Properties, was put on the market in March this year. The other bidders include European fund managers [...]
