Vodafone shares lose momentum: Analysts reflect on Indian and UK concerns February 2, 2017 Pricing pressure in both Europe and India continued to weigh on Vodafone, after the telecoms giant revealed its third quarter trading today. Organic group service revenue grew by 1.7 per cent during the third quarter to December, a touch ahead of market consensus expectations of 1.6 per cent. Shares initially fell nearly three per cent [...]
Boardroom merry-go-round: Dunstone takes on exec role at TalkTalk and hands over Dixons Carphone reins to Livingston February 1, 2017 Lord Livingston will take over as chairman of Dixons Carphone from Sir Charles Dunstone, who today unveiled plans to concentrate his attentions on a new exec chairman role at telecoms firm TalkTalk. The move means a return to Dixons Carphone for the former minister for trade and investment, who was previously the finance chief at Dixons for six years. Read more: [...]
BT Openreach separation plans to “rebuild trust and credibility” aren’t enough for Ofcom February 1, 2017 BT plans to make Openreach more independent by bolstering its board were today rebuffed by regulators as falling short of their requirements. Openreach held its first board full meeting yesterday and today announced the appointment of Sir Brendan Barber, the former general secretary of the Trade Union Congress, Edward Astle, a former board member of the National Grid, as independent [...]
TalkTalk chief executive Dido Harding hands over the reigns the firm’s largest shareholder February 1, 2017 Dido Harding has announced she is stepping down as TalkTalk chief executive after seven years in the role. She led the company through a massive cyber attack in 2014, which hammered the group's share price and prompted calls for her resignation. Harding has also been a vocal opponent of BT's continued ownership of the Openreach broadband network, [...]
TalkTalk insists it’s holding onto customers February 1, 2017 TalkTalk revenues have slipped over five per cent – but the firm claimed it had stemmed the number of customers leaving for rival operators. The figures Revenues for the third quarter to December fell to £435m compared with £459m over the same period last year. Profits were also down at £332m from £351m. Some 516,000 customers decided [...]
Slow and steady? Pension deficits need not be closed as report reveals trustees need to refocus January 31, 2017 Spiralling pension deficits are distracting those empowered to manage schemes away from making sure members receive the correct payouts. Almost all pension trustees do not see paying members as a key strategic driver, with many getting bogged down in the detail and failing to see the bigger picture, according to a report by actuarial specialists [...]
Walter Presents and chill? Channel 4’s foreign language, Netflix-style service to launch in US January 31, 2017 A Channel 4-backed online streaming service for foreign-language dramas is to launch in the United States. Walter Presents, a subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) service, launched in the UK last year. It was founded by Global Series Network’s Walter Iuzzolino and is majority-owned by Channel 4. For $6.99 (£5.60) a month, US customers will have access to 34 series [...]
BT to review overseas operations in wake of Italian scandal January 29, 2017 BT is considering the future of its overseas operations in the wake of a £530m accounting black hole in its Italian arm that wiped billions off the value of the telecoms company. Chief executive Gavin Patterson told City A.M. that as a result of the scandal, he would be reviewing Global Services, the international arm [...]
Telefonica is working through a strategic plan that will pave the way for O2 float January 29, 2017 O2's owner has set the ball rolling on a strategic plan to clear legacy issues before either floating or selling the British mobile phone operator, according to reports. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, is working with private equity fund CVC to buy a controlling share in Telefonica's infrastructure division in a deal worth €1.5bn (£1.3bn), the [...]
“Frankly I’m very angry,” says BT boss Gavin Patterson at the end of a tumultuous week January 27, 2017 The accounting scandal plaguing BT’s Italian arm has not spread to other countries, BT’s boss said today, although the firm is considering the future of its overseas operations. BT has had a tumultuous week that kicked off on Tuesday with revelations of a £530m accounting black hole in Italy and a group profit downgrade. Read [...]