Sepura share price rises as radio maker fine tunes revenue growth October 23, 2014 Sepura, the mobile radio maker, said it expected to report €54m (£42.6m) in revenues for the first half of the year, 18 per cent higher year-on-year. The company has also agreed a five-year finance facility of €35m with Barclays, replacing an existing £18m due to mature in 2016, and on better terms. “Trading in the [...]
Huawei doubles its premium smartphone shipments globally October 23, 2014 HUAWEI said third-quarter smartphone shipments jumped 26 per cent year-on-year, doubling the number of devices it shipped in the high-margin premium market dominated by Samsung and Apple. The Shenzhen-based firm, which is also the world’s second-largest telecoms equipment maker – and the third largest smartphone maker – shipped 16.8m units globally in the quarter ending [...]
GlaxoSmithKline considers £17bn HIV wonder drugs split with Viiv Healthcare IPO October 22, 2014 Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is considering floating its HIV drugs business in a move that would see Viiv Healthcare among the top 40 companies in the FTSE 100 with a market valuation of up to £17bn. Chief executive Andrew Witty told reporters yesterday: “In line with our commitment to identifying ways to realise shareholder value, [...]
Supermarket backing sends Fitbug shares running riot October 22, 2014 FITBUG, a little-known Aim-listed firm that makes wearable fitness trackers, saw its shares rocket more than 350 per cent yesterday, after revealing that Sainsbury’s and a leading US retail chain would begin stocking its products next month. The Fitbug Orb (pictured), which retails for £49.95 and connects to a smartphone app to track daily routines [...]
Spirit delivers growth despite tough summer October 22, 2014 PUB CHAIN Spirit Pubs, currently the £723.3m takeover target of rival Greene King, yesterday reported its full-year profit grew 11 per cent due to strong growth in its managed pub division. Revenues from the 1,227 managed and leased pubs that Spirit controls, including Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill, rose 5.6 per [...]
EE boss Olaf Swantee aims for 7m 4G customers October 22, 2014 Britain’s biggest mobile operator, EE, saw its 4G customer base grow by 1.4m during the third quarter to 5.6m total subscribers. The growth puts EE on track to beat its 2014 goal of signing up 6m customers to its superfast offering, the largest 4G network in Europe. “We’re going to exceed that number, and it’s [...]
Samsung picks British startup Bango for billing October 22, 2014 CAMBRIDGE-based carrier billings startup Bango has signed a deal with Samsung to preload its software on the South Korean tech giant’s smartphones, letting consumers charge games, music and videos directly from their mobile phone bills. Shares in the Aim-listed company jumped 5.76 per cent on the news to 101p in London, valuing Bango at over [...]
Japan’s e-commerce giant drives global rollout with launch of Rakuten.co.uk to replace Play.com October 22, 2014 Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce giant and owner of messaging app Viber and Play.com, has launched an own-brand UK online marketplace similar to Ebay, which it says will subsume Play.com early next year. The site brings together goods sold directly by Rakuten as well as third-party retailers and digital media. “What consumers want from retailers is [...]
Events group UBM buoyed by overseas shows October 22, 2014 MARKETING and events group UBM said it is on track to hit targets on an underlying basis after performing well in its third quarter to 30 September. “While reported results will continue to be affected by currency movements, underlying performance remains on track for the full year with all three business segments expected to deliver [...]
Arm Holdings’ Simon Segars: Britain’s chief chipmaker is moving from smartphones to the Internet of Things October 21, 2014 Simon Segars, the boss of Britain’s biggest tech firm, believes his Chinese customers will begin adopting Arm’s latest chip designs in low-end smartphones next year, a move that would dramatically boost royalties. In its third quarter results yesterday, Arm Holdings, which makes processors for most of the world’s smartphones and tablets, revealed a two [...]
