SHOULD AVIVA BE CONCERNED BY FALLING SALES OR CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON INCREASING PROFIT MARGINS? November 4, 2009 DUNCAN HALL FINNCAP“Pursuing profit margins over growth in volume is the right strategy at this moment when it’s all about good management and tight cost control. In the current environment there probably isn’t that much volume out there, so why try to chase it?” BARRIE CORNES PANMURE GORDON“Although new business sales were shy of expectations, [...]
Adidas looks to 2010 for a sales upturn November 4, 2009 SEX and the City. Why is it that the phrase slips so easily off the tongue? Long before Candace Bushnell wrote her tales of single women in New York, the words were a regular feature in newspapers, frequently entwined like so many bonking bankers. As Aviva boss Andrew Moss tries hard to shift the focus [...]
Aviva talks up outlook as sales slide in third quarter November 4, 2009 AVIVA became the second insurer in as many days to talk up the profit outlook despite revealing a sharp slide in sales in the third quarter, led by a 25 per cent dive in UK life and pensions. The slump in the UK, where sales fell to £6.66bn from £8.84bn in the third quarter, weighed [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 4, 2009 LONDON’S leading shares ended 1.4 per cent higher yesterday, boosted by a rebound from miners and banks, with retailers Next and Marks & Spencer also higher after posting forecast-beating figures. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 70.68 points at 5,107.89, recouping all of Tuesday’s losses when the index fell 1.3 per cent to [...]
Delta Lloyd offering falls flat as market retreats but Aviva trousers 990m November 3, 2009 DUTCH insurer Delta Lloyd’s initial public offering (IPO), western Europe’s largest this year, fell flat yesterday amid a retreat in the insurance sector and competing calls on investors’ cash. The shares, which had been priced at €16 (£14.30) each, at the low end of a forecast range of €15.5 to €19, were trading at €15.48, [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 1, 2009 GrosvenorThe property group’s Britain and Ireland business has appointed Heather Rabbatts as a non-executive director.Rabbatts is also currently a non-executive at Crossrail, Shed Media and Millwall Holdings, where she was also previously chief executive. She has previously held positions as a non-executive at the Bank of England, a trustee of the British Council and governor [...]
FOOTBALL-CRAZY PWC GETS STUCK IN ON ENGLAND’S WORLD CUP BID October 28, 2009 GOOD news for the multitude of football fans in the City: the team behind England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup have secured themselves a powerful ally. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accountancy giant, today announces it is the first sponsor to officially back the bid, responsible for working on crucial aspects of the proposal such [...]
US and Asia retail sales buoy the Pru October 28, 2009 INSURANCE giant Prudential yesterday reported a 10 per cent year-on-year rise in third-quarter retail sales, reflecting its focus on its profitable US and Asian operations. Chief executive Tidjane Thiam, in his first statement as head of the group, said that total retail sales grew to £699m in the period. Retail sales for the first nine [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 25, 2009 AvivaThe insurer has appointed Patrick Regan as its new chief financial officer, effective from February next year. Regan is currently group chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Willis Group Holdings, the insurance broker. He has also previously held positions within the industry as group financial controller at RSA and as finance and claims [...]
Aviva unveils shake-up of European arm October 22, 2009 INSURANCE giant Aviva has unveiled plans for a “quantum leap” restructuring of its mainland European operations. The group, led by chairman Lord Sharman, has said it will integrate 12 separate businesses across Europe, and adopt a single distribution model across the region. It will simplify its product range as part of the move, designed to [...]