Imperial fired up for growth July 25, 2008 Imperial Tobacco, the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette company, yesterday said group performance had been in line with forecasts and that it was on course for another good year. The British maker of Lambert & Butler cigarettes said the integration of Altadis, the Franco-Spanish rival it acquired for €12.6bn (£9.92bn) in January, was going well. “Our operating [...]
Credit Suisse swings back into the black July 25, 2008 Swiss bank Credit Suisse has returned to profit in its second quarter, thanks largely to its private banking arm. The group outstripped analysts’ predictions, recording profits of Sfr 1.2bn (£560m) in the three months to 30 June, reversing losses made in the first quarter. The figures showed a 62 per cent fall in profits year-on-year, [...]
BG to stick by its £6.7bn bid for Origin July 25, 2008 British Gas explorer BG Group yesterday said it has no plans to boost its £6.7bn bid for Australian power firm Origin Energy, despite the bid target’s management touting the business to the Chinese. A BG spokeswoman said: “We believe our bid is a fair price for the company, and we will formally submit it to [...]
EDF closes in on British Energy deal July 25, 2008 French state-owned energy firm EDF and British Gas owner Centrica are closing in on UK nuclear business British Energy, and could announce a £12bn purchase as early as next week. British Energy, led by chief executive Bill Coley, admitted yesterday “it is in advanced discussions with one party.” A source close to the deal said [...]
Oligarchs in oil grab as BP chief expelled July 25, 2008 Robert Dudley forced to leave Russia after campaign of “harassment” by authorities British oil giant BP was dealt a devastating blow last night after Robert Dudley, boss of its TNK-BP joint venture, was forced to leave Russia. Dudley, a key BP ally in its long-standing battle with its four oligarch partners, lashed out at the [...]
BP’s Russian row may hit production July 24, 2008 The dogfight between BP and its four oligarch partners could hit Russian oil production next year after the quartet demanded a $900m cut in spending at joint venture TNK-BP. The development is the latest in a long-running battle at the 50-50 venture between the British oil giant and its billionaire partners – Mikhail Fridman, Viktor [...]
Sweet start to the year by Tate & Lyle July 24, 2008 Sugar refiner and sweetener maker Tate & Lyle said yesterday it has made a satisfactory start to its financial year and was on track to achieve progress for the year as a whole. The company, which makes sucralose sweetener Splenda, said in a trading update ahead of its annual shareholder meeting that pre-tax profit in [...]
Advertising revenues dip at Daily Mail July 24, 2008 Newspaper publisher Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) yesterday warned of a sharp fall in advertising revenues in the third quarter, with property and recruitment sectors performing particularly badly. But the Daily Mail and Evening Standard owner also said that overall performance had been good, with revenue growing by 5 per cent due to strong [...]
New name for merged InBev July 24, 2008 Anheuser-Busch InBev, the newly formed company from a deal struck between the two of the world’s largest brewers 10 days ago, could be renamed AB InBev. At the start of last week, American brewer Anheuser-Busch agreed to be taken over by Stella Artois maker InBev, a deal worth £26bn and one that will create the [...]
Toyota grabs lead from GM in car market July 24, 2008 Embattled American carmaker General Motors trailed Japanese rival Toyota in global car sales during the second quarter, hurt by a severe decline in the American market, figures out yesterday revealed. The Detroit-based automaker said its car sales fell 3 per cent to 4.54m vehicles in the first half as higher sales in Europe, Asia and [...]