Online Business World

Nexans provides a return to net profit in 2010

July 28, 2010

Nexans Account return to profit on its overall performance, with a rebound expected sales in the second half after posting another loss during the first six months of the year.

The group now expects an operating margin of 4.5% over the whole year after reaching its target of 4% in the first half.

The world's leading manufacturer of cables reported Wednesday a first half sales were down 5.3% on an organic, to 2,100 million euros, down more than its target down 4% to 5% announced after the first quarter.

Its operating profit margin of 4% in the first half, as announced at the publication of annual sales in the first quarter.The net loss after minority interests amounted to 17 million euros, compared with a loss of 57 million euros a year earlier.

"After a difficult first quarter, which affected the profitability of the semester, the sales volume has increased over the last three months, particularly in industries characterized as the beginning of the cycle, such as automotive or local data networks" , comments the CEO of Nexans in a statement.

At the end of June 2010, consolidated net debt amounted to 277 million euros, against 141 million at December 31, 2009.

The title Nexans closed Tuesday down 0.2% at 56.01 euros, a market capitalization of around 1.56 billion euros.Since the beginning of the year, the title remained close to balance (0.34%).

FedEx raised its forecast for first quarter and the year

July 26, 2010

FedEx raised its earnings forecast for the current quarter and the full year, citing higher than expected growth in volumes from its two main divisions, Express and Ground.

The U.S. company now expects annual earnings per share from 4.60 to 5.20 dollars, against 4.40 to 5.00 dollars allocated so far.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2011, which ends Aug. 31, FedEx expects earnings per share $ 1.05 $ 1.25 against 85 cents to $ 1.05 previously.

The action FedEx earned more than 5% to $ 83 in early trading on the NYSE while the Dow Jones has risen by 0.1%. In its wake, its major competitor UPS has risen by 1.27% to 64.48 dollars.

Scania beats consensus Q2

July 24, 2010

The truck manufacturer Scania said on Friday quarterly profit before tax greater than expected and provides sustained delivery of vehicles over the next three months.

The group resumed and after a difficult period, marked by falling demand due to global economic recession.

Scania has released its results after its Swedish rival Volvo, which also beat the consensus in the second quarter.

The company said demand in Europe was resumed after hitting an especially low, while adding that it remained limited due to an overcapacity of motor carriers.

The pretax income group, majority owned by Volkswagen, amounted to 3.4 billion kronor (360 million euros), exceed the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters at SEK 2.5 billion.The previous year, the group made a loss of 181 million kronor in the second quarter of 2009.

The title gained 3.99% to 135.60 crowns at 10h00 GMT, outperforming the Swedish index down 0.51%.

"In the third quarter, shipments of vehicles should be almost similar to those of the second quarter of 2010, despite the holiday period in Europe," the company said in a statement.

Orders for trucks and buses rose by 154% in the second quarter versus the same period the previous year.

"Due to strong demand in Brazil, an improvement in Europe, and the recovery in Asia, Scania has come to increase its production over the period," the group.

European shares close an increasing, Paris won 3.05%

July 22, 2010

European shares ended sharply higher, thanks to good corporate results and the publication of U.S. statistics reassuring.

In Paris the CAC 40 index finished up sharply from 3.05% or 106.65 points to 3600.57 points.

Prices were supported by bank stocks, sector index ended with a gain of 3.16%, Standard Chartered, Barclays and Societe Generale ended the session up 4.13% respectively 4.62% and 5 , 08%.

Analysts believe however that this good performance should not emerge as a sustainable trend.

Nokia ended up 2.58% at 7.17 euros after reporting a sharp drop in earnings in the second quarter, increasing a little more pressure on the ailing Chief Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

"The issue of change management is more important for the course of action that results in this moment," said Thomas Langer, an analyst at WestLB.

Accor is accelerating its development in India

July 21, 2010

Accor announced Wednesday the creation of a hotel investment fund in India with InterGlobe to accelerate its development in the country.

The fourth global hotel group has made India and China its main axes of development in Asia.

The French group said in a statement that the agreement for seven hotels under construction that will be managed by the Accor brands, totaling 1,750 rooms valued at 325 million dollars (254 million euros) on completion.

Accor and InterGlobe each hold 32% of the fund balance of 36% returning to Pacifica Partners, an asset manager of the hotel investment company founded by GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, and Host Hotels & Resorts.

InterGlobe, transport specialist based in India, seeks to develop in tourism.

The seven hotels, which is scheduled to open between 2011 and 2013, include a Pullman at the Delhi airport, four and two Novotel Ibis.

Accor announced in September 2009 that it intended to open 44 hotels in India by the end of 2012, bringing its capacity to 10,400 rooms on site.

The Accor share wins 5.05% to 12.355 euros at 1:25 p.m., also after the publication of a turnover up substantially just confirmed the recovery of its business hotels.

Oil prices finish up 0.7% in New York

July 19, 2010

Oil closed up for the first time in four sessions on Monday on the New York market, thanks to gains on Wall Street and tightness in the refining world following the closure of a major Chinese port.

The contract on August U.S. light crude ended on an increase of 53 cents, or 0.7%, to 76.54 dollars a barrel. At the same time, Brent took 23 cents (+0.31%) to 75.60 dollars.

Black gold has also benefited from the good performance of the euro against the dollar, the euro still moving around a two-month high against the greenback.

Outlook uncertain for Citi and Bank of America

July 16, 2010

Bank of America and Citigroup reported earnings above expectations, due to a drop in credit losses, but prospects are uncertain declines in their share price.

As at JPMorgan Chase, which published its accounts on Thursday the results of Citi and BofA in the investment bank emerged down, which does not bode well for the quarterly Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will provide the next week .

The U.S. banking industry is now trying to measure the impact on its results the reform of the functioning of the financial sector hard-won by President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers.

The leaders of BofA and Citi said they did not yet know how their activities could be affected by the text.

"The question is: how will they generate profits outside the resumption of supplies?" asks Keith Davis, a financial analyst at Farr, Miller.

DIVING TO WALL STREET

The action BofA plunged 8.06 dollars to 14.15% at 15.25 GMT while that of Citi fell by 3.85% to 43.10 dollars.

BofA, Citi and JPMorgan, the three largest U.S. banks, have all benefited from lower losses on credit-card business and real estate loans, which allowed them to resume are provisioned in anticipation of higher losses.

At BofA and Citi, loans emerged down from the second quarter of 2009. Analysts have voiced their concerns after hearing about the leaders of the two banks on the fragility of the credit application.

"Everybody shows wait," admitted the chief financial officer of Citi, John Gerspacher, referring to the activities of credit. "I do not anticipate much demand, at least while there is much uncertainty."

BofA, JPMorgan and Citi have all seen their net banking income to decline from last year.

COST OF CREDIT

BofA, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, said its credit costs had declined for the fourth consecutive quarter and that it had reduced its provision for credit losses.Citi has done so.

"Both publications reflect an improvement in credit quality, but they do not reveal much about how they intend to use these elements to advance their net banking," said Marshall Front of Front Barnett Associates.

In recent quarters, banks have relied on their investment banking subsidiaries to perform, while their retail operations suffered from a rise in losses.Now, these losses are no longer a cause for concern while on the contrary, trading activities have been affected by a context become more unfavorable.

Net banking division BFI BofA declined to six billion dollars in the second quarter against 9.8 billion in the first quarter. At Citi, also, revenues from investment activities and trading fell 26% compared to six billion dollars generated in the first quarter.

BofA's net income stood at 3.1 billion dollars, 27 cents per share, against $ 3.2 billion, 33 cents per share, a year earlier.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S had forecast 22 cents.

As for Citi, the bank reported a second consecutive quarter in the green, with a net profit of 2.7 billion, 9 cents per share, against $ 4.3 billion, or 49 cents per share, the same period of 2009. Analysts had expected 5 cents per share.

JPMorgan announced Thursday a profit above expectations at 4.8 billion, up 76% over the same quarter last year.

Novartis shines with its outlook for 2010 raised

July 15, 2010

Novartis AG Thursday unveiled figures slightly better than expected second quarter 2010 but has attracted attention in revising upward its forecasts for the current year.

Thanks to strong sales of vaccines, the group now expects growth at constant exchange rates, its revenues would fall between the middle and upper range of a single-digit rate (excluding Alcon).

In addition, operating margin and operating margin should increase core group "in the wake of the continued expansion and sustained improvement in productivity," said the laboratory in Basel Thursday in a statement.

However, management did not affect the growth forecast for the pharmaceutical division, which remains at a rate to a figure in the middle of the range.

Novartis also said that currency effects are having a negative influence on the second half if rates remain at their current level.

The group adds that these projections do not account for the acquisition of a 77% stake in Alcon, which he hopes to close the transaction by the end of the year.

The Chief Joseph Jimenez said during a teleconference that the price for the minority shareholders would not overcome and that Novartis was always 100% of Alcon.He also expressed confidence can prevail in case of legal battle.

These forecasts a little more spice to the presentation of second quarter figures, generally above expectations.

"SOLID FIGURES"

The net sales grew 11% to 11.7 billion dollars (9.2 billion euros), while analysts polled by Reuters had expected $ 11.5 billion. In the Pharmaceuticals Division, sales have improved to 7.7 billion, while markets were expecting 7.6 billion.

Net income rose 19% to 2.44 billion, slightly better than the 2.43 billion expected by the markets.Operating income increased by one quarter to 2.96 billion, exceeding forecasts of 2.8 billion.

Earnings per share has grown to $ 1.06 for a consensus which saw 1.05.

For the six months, Novartis recorded a turnover of 23.85 billion, up 18%. Net income rose 34% to 5.38 billion and operating 37% to 6.47 billion.

"Again and always reliable figures.Although the upward revision of expectations, although partly anticipated, and the prospect of improved margins will be good news for investors, "explained the team of the bank Wegelin.

"A very good performance when expectations were high," confirms Michael Nawrath at Zurich Cantonal Bank.

Around 7:45 a.m. GMT, Novartis's action is at arm's index for blue chip stocks in Switzerland and climbed 1.3% to 54.45 francs, while the SMI crumbled 0.1%.

Novartis is trading on a multiple of 9.4 times earnings expected in 2011, representing a discount to its rival Roche, but a premium vis-à-vis AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.

BMW raised its profit forecast for 2010

July 14, 2010

The German automaker BMW has raised its profit forecast Tuesday and sales volume for 2010, highlighting the better than expected results from its automotive business.

In exchange, the share gained 7.4% to 41.80 euros at midday, while that of its competitor Daimler clinching 4.6% 0 43.47 euros.

Profit before tax in 2010, says BMW, "to grow more strongly than expected" while the sales volume should increase by about 10% to over 1.4 million vehicles.

The operating margin above 5% in the automotive business base, while the BMW originally thought nearer 1% than 5%.

"BMW has finally raise its forecasts.This shows that what is happening in the automotive sector is not only a rebound short term but a long-term trend, "said BHF Bank analyst Alexsej Wunrau

The Mercedes-Benz branch of Daimler, which has experienced record sales for the month of June, had raised its profit forecast in April and then increase this optimistic view in May

Returning to the UK GDP growth is confirmed

July 12, 2010

UK recession was more severe than feared and the economy would have contracted in the first quarter of 2010 if the government had not spent much, show official figures released Monday.

The National Statistics Office has maintained its estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) rising 0.3% over the first three months of the year versus the fourth quarter 2009 and down 0.2% on one year, as anticipated by economists to Reuters.

The outlook for the second quarter are mixed, especially as the figures of production in services shrank 0.3% in April, the decline was the highest since January.

In the first quarter, government spending, which had not increased much since the last quarter of 2008, contributed 0.4 percentage points to GDP growth. The contribution of gross fixed capital formation (investment) was 0.9 percentage points.

This has offset the negative impact of 0.9 percentage points from net trade.

These figures suggest it will take a considerable rise in British exports to sustain growth at a time when the government of David Cameron plans to cut public spending.

"The depreciation of the pound failed to boost the British economy," said James Knightley, economist at ING."With the reliance has to austerity measures and slower growth in consumer spending, it is enough to feed concerns about the outlook for UK growth."

The pound has exacerbated its decline against the euro and the dollar after the publication of statistics while gilts futures erased their losses, investors felt that the figures of the day accrediting keeping the rent money at a level low for an extended period.

The ONS also confirmed the pace of quarterly growth of 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009.

It has however revised 6.4% contraction of the British economy between the second quarter 2008 and third quarter 2009, against 6.2% previously announced, wiping out two billion pounds extra for the British economy, a total of 22 billion pounds.

The ONS said that growth in early 2008 was lower estimated, which accentuated the decline that followed.

The ONS has finally delivered its estimates of UK current accounts for the first quarter, showing that the trade deficit in Britain with the rest of the world widened to 9.628 billion pounds over the last three months 2009, more than double what was expected, against a surplus of 521 million pounds over the last three months of 2009.