Barclays profit up as investment bank bounces back April 26, 2012 Barclays posted a 22 percent rise in first-quarter profit, ahead of market forecasts, as a strong rebound in revenue from its investment banking arm and a drop in bad debt countered increased compensation for insurance mis-selling. The bank reported an adjusted pretax profit of £2.45bn in the three months to end-March, up from 2 billion [...]
Unilever buoyed by price hikes April 26, 2012 Consumer goods giant Unilever warned of a tough economic environment and higher inputs costs as its price hikes and emerging market growth helped first-quarter sales beat forecasts with a 8.4 per cent rise. The Anglo-Dutch maker of brands like Dove and Knorr is facing slower growth in developed nations while competition from key rivals is [...]
AstraZeneca chief quits as earnings fall April 26, 2012 AstraZeneca chief executive David Brennan is to step down on 1 June in an abrupt exit that follows rising investor discontent at the company’s performance. Underlying earnings fell 19 per cent in the first quarter, underscoring the drug company’s need to find new sources of growth as key products lose patent protection. Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker [...]
Deutsche Bank misses profit forecast April 26, 2012 Deutsche Bank missed market expectations for profits in the first quarter as Germany’s biggest bank was hit by one-off charges and weak markets which hurt earnings from trading and asset management. Group pretax profit of 1.9bn euros, came in below the 3 billion euros in the year-earlier period and the 2.4bn euro forecast in a [...]
Shell earnings rise fuelled by higher oil prices April 26, 2012 Royal Dutch Shell beat forecasts with an 11 per cent rise in fourth-quarter profit, as higher oil prices outweighed the impact of lower U.S. gas prices. Europe’s largest oil company by market capitalization said its current cost of supply (CCS) net income was $7.7bn (£4.7bn). Excluding one-offs, the result was $7.27bn, compared with a forecast [...]
HSBC to cut 2,000 UK jobs April 25, 2012 HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, is set to cut about 2,000 jobs in Britain as part of its drive to slash costs and boost profitability in the face of a changing banking landscape, a source told Reuters. The cuts are part of chief executive Stuart Gulliver’s global revamp to cut 30,000 jobs by the end of [...]
FTSE rise aided by banks April 25, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot this morning as the tech sector was given a boost by stellar sales from Apple in the US while banks also nudged up. But UK GDP figures showing that the country had plunged back into recession cast a shadow.The UK economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in [...]
UK in double dip recession April 25, 2012 The UK economy is back in recession the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. It shrank by 0.2 per cent in the first three months of 2012 following a 0.3 per cent dip in the last three months of 2011. The two consecutive drop spell recession but today’s figure is subject to revisions.
Premier Foods sales rise April 25, 2012 Premier Foods, Britain’s biggest food manufacturer, said first-quarter sales rose slightly and its cost cut and restructuring programme was on track. The maker of Bisto gravy and Hovis bread, which has been working to turn its business around, said the consumer environment would be less challenging than 2011, and it would continue to divest some [...]
BAA profit rise triggered by Heathrow growth April 25, 2012 Airport operator BAA posted a 15 per cent rise in first-quarter profit as it squeezed more growth from its capacity-constrained London Heathrow hub. BAA, which is part owned by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £231.2m in the three months to the end of March on sales 11.5 [...]