Page 1046 - Business Finance
Bank of England slashes UK growth outlook over 'fog of Brexit'
The Bank of England on Thursday slashed its forecast for UK growth this year to 1.2 per cent from 1.7 per cent, blaming the downgrade on a global economic slowdown and "the fog of Brexit". "UK economic growth slowed in late 2018 and appears to have weakened further in early 2019," the BoE said after keeping its main interest rate at 0.75 per cent. "This slowdown mainly reflects softer activity abroad and the greater effects from Brexit uncertainties at home," it added. Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned that Britain was "not prepared" for a no-deal Brexit. "Although many companies are stepping up their contingency planning, the economy as a whole is still not yet prepared for a no-deal no-transition exit," Carney told a press conference to elaborate on the BoE's latest forecasts. "The fog of Brexit is causing short term volatility in the economic data and more fundamentally it is creating a series of tensions in the economy. Tensions for business," he added. The European ...
Kellogg posts fourth-quarter loss, hit by higher costs, strong dollar
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Kellogg Co reported a fourth-quarter loss on Thursday as it suffered the effects of a strong dollar and the costs of an ongoing restructuring and preparations for Brexit.
Bidders in insolvency process can go for ECB option: RBI
In a move to aid the non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, resolution process under the Bankruptcy Code, the RBI on Thursday proposed to allow bidders to raise funds through External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) to enable them to repay their existing lenders.
Mamata woos investment, promises new Indian industrial policy post-poll
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here on Thursday a new industrial policy would be formulated to boost industries and the country's economy, if there was a change in the government after the general elections.
SAIL third-quarter profit surges 14-fold on record production
(Reuters) - Steel Authority of India posted on Thursday a more than 14-fold surge in third-quarter net profit, topping estimates, as the company clocked in record production of saleable steel and crude steel.
Britannia Industries Q3 up 14 pc at Rs 300 cr
FMCG major Britannia Industries Thursday reported 13.81 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 300.07 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, driven by sales growth and cost efficiency. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 263.65 crore in the October-December period a year ago, Britannia Industries said in a BSE filing. Its total income from operations during the period under review was at Rs 2,902.44 crore, up 11.48 per cent compared to Rs 2,603.42 crore in the corresponding quarter previous fiscal. Commenting on the results, Britannia Industries MD Varun Berry said: "The building blocks of the business continued to be expanding distribution reach in urban & rural markets, increasing presence and share in weak territories, accelerating innovation journey and doubling down on cost through our Cost efficiency programs". Total expenses stood at Rs 2,436.04 crore as against Rs 2,204.54 crore, up 10.5 per cent. Shares of Britannia Industries Thursday settled at Rs .
Tata Motors reports biggest quarterly loss of Rs 26,961 cr in Q3 on JLR woes
Auto major Tata Motors Thursday reported its biggest ever quarterly net loss of Rs 26,960.8 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, hit by one-time asset impairment in its struggling British arm Jaguar Land Rover. This is the third consecutive quarterly loss reported by the company, which had registered a net profit of Rs 1,214.6 crore in the October-December quarter of 2017-18. Total revenue from operations, however, rose 4.36 per cent to Rs 77,582.71 crore as compared to Rs 74,337.7 crore in the year-ago period, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing. On a standalone basis, the company posted PAT (profit after tax) of Rs 617.62 crore as against Rs 211.59 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Total standalone income rose to Rs 16,477.07 crore as against Rs 16,186.15 crore in the same period previous fiscal. JLR's revenue, however, declined 1 per cent to 6.2 billion pounds. The auto major said its profit was impacted by an exceptional item of asset impairment in JLR of Rs ...
Gillette India net profit declines 9.15% to Rs 53.39 cr
Gillette India on Thursday reported a 9.15 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 53.39 crore for the quarter ended on December 2018 impacted by cost inflation, expiry of tax benefits and higher marketing spend. The company, which follows July-June financial year, had reported a net profit of Rs 58.77 crore for the October-December period a year ago, according to a BSE filing. Its total income rose by 17.13 per cent to Rs 479.71 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 409.52 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. "We have delivered strong double-digit growth for the second consecutive quarter this year driven by robust volume growth, category development and execution excellence," said Gillette India Managing Director Madhusudan Gopalan. Gillette India's total expenses in October-December quarter were at Rs 391.03 crore as against Rs 320.94 crore, up 21.83 per cent. Revenue from grooming was at Rs 373.22 crore, up 12.36 per cent, Rs 332.15 crore, while ..
Catamaran's Cloudtail back on Amazon India
Global software major Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy's Catamaran-owned Cloudtail, a leading seller on the Indian arm of e-tailer giant Amazon, returned to the platform on Thursday after a week.
Raymond calls report on promoter-entity deals 'misleading'
(Reuters) - Textile and branded apparel company Raymond Ltd on Thursday said a media report alleging "curious transactions" by the Indian firm was "misleading", shortly after their shares dived the most in two years.
Thomas Cook might sell airline to raise cash, shares climb
LONDON (Reuters) - Thomas Cook said it was willing to sell its profitable airline business to raise cash to fund its fight back from losses racked up in 2018 and to cope with a tough year ahead, sending the travel group's shares 12 percent higher.
Suzlon Energy loss widens to Rs 40.07 cr in Q3
Suzlon Energy's consolidated net loss widened to Rs 40.07 crore in the December 2018 quarter compared to the year-ago period, mainly due to lower revenues, higher forex loss and finance costs. Its consolidated net loss was Rs 32.68 crore in the quarter ended December 2017, the company said in a statement. The company's total income in the quarter came down to Rs 1,112.34 crore from Rs 2,220.25 crore a year ago. During the April-December 2018 period, the loss was Rs 1,242.55 crore, while the company earned a consolidated net profit of Rs 85.84 crore in the year-ago period. Its total income in the nine-month period also dipped to Rs 3,624.17 crore, compared with Rs 6,006.19 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. It reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 384.01 crore in 2017-18. The company said it incurred losses during the period, due to lower volumes, foreign exchange losses and finance costs which has resulted in negative net worth. It said the net current liabilities ...
India to be a 'significant' market for air purifiers in coming year: Dyson
British tech firm Dyson on Thursday said it expects India to be a 'significant' market in coming years for its range of airpurifiers, said a company official. The company is looking at Indian market in long terms and expects it to be as other developed Asian markets such as China, which has almost similar air pollution level. Dyson, as part of expansion of its product range in the air purifier, introduced Pure Hot+Cool, which delivers room heating in winter, cooling in summers making it suitable for all seasons. "India is a long term market and we are really happy to be here and I look forward to that kind of education process, which other countries like China and Japan have, to make them a significant market (for air purifier)," said Dyson Global Category Director, Environmental Control Sam Bernard. People in India are now getting understanding about the air pollution and this would make product as airpurifier a significant one, he claimed. "We have a great sales in country like ...
US banks BB&T and SunTrust announce USD66 bn merger
BB&T and SunTrust announced Thursday they are to merge in a USD66 billion deal that will create the sixth largest bank in the United States. The companies said in a statement that both boards had approved the all-stock tie-up, which gives the new organisation USD442 billion in assets, USD301 billion in loans, and USD324 billion in deposits serving more than 10 million households in the United States. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019 subject to "customary regulatory approvals" as well as endorsement by the shareholders of each company. The merger comes with Democrats newly in control of the powerful House of Representatives committee overseeing banking. Financial services committee chairwoman Maxine Waters has warned that the days of lax oversight are over. President Donald Trump's administration has sought to cut regulations in a variety of sectors. Congress has eased scrutiny of smaller banks, but those with more than USD250 billion in assets still face
Despite free rides to promote luxury trains, no rise in revenue: Parliament panel
Complimentary travel on luxury trains is a wastage of public money, a parliamentary panel has said, recommending that the ministry conduct a survey to analyse if railways was any way benefitting from the exercise. The standing committee on railways headed by Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, in its report last year, had recommended that the tradition of such complimentary tickets be discontinued. The railways in its reply has said complimentary tickets are permitted for senior officials for inspection purpose while others are provided the same for promotion purposes as a marketing tool. "The committee fails to understand that despite using complimentary travel as a marketing tool for promotion of luxury trains since 2012-2013, no significant rise/improvement has been observed either in occupancy or in revenue generation of these trains. "The cost of complimentary travel has been borne by railways which further adds to the losses of railways and is a gross wastage of public ...
Publicis plunges after shock fall in revenue
PARIS (Reuters) - Publicis shares plunged as much as 15 percent on Thursday after weaker than expected fourth quarter revenues cast doubt over the company's ability to offset a decline in its traditional advertising business with new consultancy work.
Tata Motors cuts profit margin outlook over JLR's Brexit, China woes
BENGALURU/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian automaker Tata Motors Ltd lowered its profit margin guidance for the current fiscal year after it posted its biggest quarterly loss on Thursday, hurt by an impairment charge for its British luxury car business Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
World's largest wealth fund to press firms for climate data at AGMs
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's $1 trillion wealth fund will push the 9,000 firms it invests in to disclose more data on greenhouse gases they emit and how they adapt to climate change during the coming annual general meeting season, a top fund official said.
Oil slips as investors weigh up supply factors
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell on Thursday after data showing a rise in U.S. inventories weighed on sentiment already rattled by the global economy, though prices were buoyed by the prospect that supply could fall short of global demand.
Societe Generale trims targets as market downturn takes toll
PARIS (Reuters) - Societe Generale has cut its profitability target after the French bank was hit by a fourth-quarter market downturn, joining other European banks battling a tough environment.