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British Telecom and MCI Communications Sunday formally announced their agreement for the British company to acquire the rest of MCI in a deal worth more than $20 billion that will create a worldwide telecommunications powerhouse.
The merged company, to be called Concert Plc, creates the world's second-largest telecommu... | 35 |
There are no signs of slackening demand for new telephone lines or services like caller ID at the regional Bells and GTE Corp, and earnings growth will remain robust in the third quarter.
"We are still seeing very strong demand for new services across the board," said Bette Massick of brokers Bear Stearns.
While region... | 35 |
AT&T Corp chairman and chief executive Robert Allen will step down early as the price of attracting a talented enough successor to take over, sources close to the company said on Friday.
The sources said that whoever is chosen to succeed Alex Mandl, who quit in August as president and chief operating officer, would... | 35 |
AT&T Corp. surprised almost everybody Wednesday by picking John Walter, chairman of printing company R.R. Donnelley and Sons, as its new president and heir apparent to Chairman Robert Allen.
The giant communications company, ending weeks of speculation, said that Walter, 49, was unanimously elected Tuesday night to... | 35 |
Fast growing telephone reseller Excel Communications Inc said on Wednesday that it expects record earnings and sales growth for the third quarter and the year, and has plans to expand into new services.
"We should have another record quarter and another record year," Jack McLaine, Excel chief financial officer, told Re... | 35 |
With AT&T Corp losing market share and floundering in new markets, Wall Street had been expecting a well-known industry leader to take over from Chairman Robert Allen and turn the company around.
Instead, AT&T has recruited a relative unknown, John Walter, chairman and chief executive of R.R. Donnelley & So... | 35 |
GTE Corp. Wednesday said earnings rose 9 percent in the third quarter, boosted by strong demand for new phone lines from people setting up businesses or hooking up computers at home.
The results were in line with expectations, but GTE's stock jumped as investors cheered the report from the nation's largest local teleph... | 35 |
The long-heralded wireless revolution is arriving in dozens of cities across the United States this week, with new tiny digital mobile phones offering clear connections, better battery life and few dropped calls.
For consumers it means lower prices, greater choice, and new add-on features like voice mail and paging bui... | 35 |
AT&T Corp. surprised almost everybody Wednesday by picking John Walter, chairman of printing company R.R. Donnelley and Sons, as its new president and heir apparent to Chairman Robert Allen.
The giant communications company, ending weeks of speculation, said that Walter, 49, was unanimously elected Tuesday night to... | 35 |
AT&T Corp., ending weeks of speculation, said Wednesday that its board elected John Walter, chairman of printing company R.R. Donnelley and Sons, as its new president, chief operating officer and heir apparent to Chairman Robert Allen.
The giant communications company said that Walter, 49, was unanimously elected T... | 35 |
Satellite television company DirecTV will on Monday slash the price of its entry-level receiver dish to $199 to grab customers before digital cable TV competitors get going, sources close to the company said.
"The new entry level price will be about $199," a source said, declining to be identified. DirecTV declined to ... | 35 |
Lucent Technologies Inc is beginning to reap the rewards of severing its umbilical to AT&T Corp as regional Bells customers flock back.
Lucent's final fiscal 1996 quarter showed a surge in Bell orders as ageing networks were upgraded for demanding data and multimedia services. Lucent network system sales jumped 42.... | 35 |
Rivals the world over will shudder if British Telecommunications Plc and MCI Communications Corp merge, marrying MCI's aggressive marketing and quick reactions with the deep pockets and reach of BT.
Already first with a one-stop telecommunications shop for multinational corporations, a unified BT/MCI would pose an even... | 35 |
Worries about regulatory hurdles and a lengthy 12 months to completion took the edge off market euphoria over MCI Communications Corp's merger with British Telecommunications Corp, analysts said on Monday.
MCI shares were trading on Monday morning just 1/4 firmer at 30-1/2, well adrift of a theoretical value that oscil... | 35 |
The $20 billion merger of MCI Communications Corp. and British Telecommunications Plc will create a supercarrier posing a potent threat to rivals in the U.S. market place, industry analysts said Monday.
"In one company you have the resources of an AT&T and the marketing savvy of an MCI," said consultant Jeffrey Kag... | 35 |
Soaring Internet usage is bringing the United States phone system perilously close to gridlock by tying up millions of local phone lines every evening, say industry experts and analysts.
"It is like gridlock on a highway: If you are close to capacity, traffic still moves slowly, but just add a few more vehicles and you... | 35 |
British Telecom and MCI Communications on Sunday announced a $20 billion merger, using the largest cross-border takeover deal in history to spawn a global telecommunications powerhouse.
The merged company, to be called Concert Plc, creates the world's second-largest telecommunications group, based on market capitalisat... | 35 |
WorldCom Inc. said Monday it will acquire MFS Communications Co. Inc. in a stock swap worth about $14 billion, creating a giant international business communications company.
The combined company, to be called MFS WorldCom, will provide "a single source for a full range of local, long distance, Internet and internation... | 35 |
MCI Communications Corp said on Sunday its $20 billion merger with British Telecommunications Plc will give the combined company great strength in international calling, consulting and in U.S. local calling.
"Collectively we have the size and strength to compete with any telecommunications company in the world," MCI Ch... | 35 |
A $22 billion merger between British Telecommunications Plc and MCI Communications Corp looks as good as agreed, crystallising the largest ever international business combination in record time.
Analysts and consultants said on Saturday that news of a London news conference at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) on Sunday means the ... | 35 |
AT&T Corp. Chairman Robert Allen is likely step down early to help attract a talented enough successor to take the helm of the nation's largest long-distance company, sources close to AT&T said Friday.
They said the person chosen to succeed Alex Mandl, who resigned as AT&T president and chief operating offi... | 35 |
British Telecom and MCI Communications on Sunday announced a $20 billion merger, using the largest cross-border takeover deal in history to spawn a global telecommunications powerhouse.
The merged company, to be called Concert Plc, creates the world's second-largest telecommunications group, based on market capitalizat... | 35 |
John Walter believes that making strategies work within the machinery of AT&T Corp will be the core both of his job as chief operating officer and when he steps up to become chief executive (CEO) in 1998.
"You can have the greatest strategy in the world, but if you dont execute, it doesnt matter," Walter told Reute... | 35 |
The merger of MCI Communications Corp and British Telecommunications Plc will spur still more mega-mergers among U.S. carriers, seeking safety in size as markets coalesce.
"It's already going pretty fast. We have had four deals of over $10 billion since April. But we are going to get more," said analyst Guy Woodlief of... | 35 |
MCI Communications Corp., embracing merger partner British Telecommunications Plc in a $20 billion match, is growing increasingly distant toward media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and their joint offspring.
At the same time, BT and MCI are seeking Asian telecom partners for Concert, their new global company.
MCI said on Sund... | 35 |
Long distance and local telephone company Frontier Corp. said on Monday it is investing up to $500 million in a $2 billion fiber optic network being built across the United States.
Frontier said it will be the largest fiber optic network built in the United States as a single project, and will put it ahead of AT&T ... | 35 |
MCI Communications Corp said on Sunday its $20 billion merger with British Telecommunications Plc will give the combined company great strength in international calling, consulting and in U.S. local calling.
"Collectively we have the size and strength to compete with any telecommunications company in the world," MCI Ch... | 35 |
With most of their third quarter results in, regional Bells are fulfilling their promise to build out more telephone lines, to put more new services on each line and to make more money doing it.
Share analysts say the Bells and GTE Corp show no signs of slackening demand and are preparing themselves well for the challe... | 35 |
MCI Communications Corp is ducking the trench warfare in the consumer long distance telephone market by quietly using data warehousing to target key customers who are unlikely to flee to the enemy.
MCI Chief Financial Officer Doug Maine said these customers are looking for advanced services, preferably in a package, b... | 35 |
MCI Communications Corp., the No. 2 long distance phone company, said Friday it was in talks to be acquired by British Telecommunications Plc in what would be one of the biggest mergers ever.
Industry analysts said that if a deal emerges, it would send shudders throughout the worldwide telecommunications industry, and ... | 35 |
Like an ageing prizefighter, AT&T Corp is destined to slug it out with vigorous rivals both big and small in the $75 billion long distance telephone arena, with no lift in earnings performance in sight.
Though AT&T has just started to improve its marketing punch, share analysts say by the time it shows up in ea... | 35 |
PrimeCo, the mobile telephone venture owned by AirTouch Communications Inc and three regional Bells, expects a tougher fight with Sprint Corp in the wireless market than with AT&T Corp .
PrimeCo on Tuesday launched Personal Communications Services (PCS) in 16 cities, offering tiny phones with more features, longer ... | 35 |
WorldCom Inc's audacious $14 billion takeover of MFS Communications Co Inc on Monday has both thrilled and unnerved share analysts.
They are thrilled by the strategy of one combined company beating industry giants to offer end-to-end business services, but some are worried by the MFS price tag and the danger of dilutin... | 35 |
AT&T Corp's proposed successor to Robert Allen as chairman and chief executive will be a surprise, not one of those whose names have been mentioned in the press, sources close to the company said on Wednesday.
Neither Michael Armstrong, President of Hughes Electronics Corp nor William Esrey, chief executive of Spri... | 35 |
Third quarter results at both MCI Communications Corp and Sprint Corp will be restrained by the cost of new ventures, and in Sprint's case the issue of new shares will lower per share earnings.
But analysts say both have so far escaped the problems which have hit AT&T Corp in the consumer long distance market, and ... | 35 |
Whoever takes over from Robert Allen as chairman and chief executive of AT&T Corp has a major task on hand to wake the sleeping giant, reverse its loss of market share and move strongly into new market opportunities.
"You need to do something to increase the growth rate at the margin, to throw out this rearguard me... | 35 |
British Telecommunications Plc stock and cash share offer is worth between $36 and $39.60 per MCI share at Friday's closing BT share price, MCI chief financial officer Doug Maine told Reuters.
The deal is an offer of 0.54 new American Depositary Shares (ADS) in the new combined group, named Concert, for every MCI share... | 35 |
Hordes of aggressive telephone resellers banging at the gates of AT&T Corp, Sprint Corp and MCI Communications Corp have already grabbed $12 billion of the $80 billion long distance market.
But Monday's merger between MFS Communications Co Inc and WorldCom Inc allows tiny resellers to swarm into a rich citadel indu... | 35 |
The keys to WorldCom Inc's $14 billion takeover of MFS Communications Co Inc are savings on duplicated costs and a chance to be the first with end-to-end service in U.S. businesses telecommunications.
WorldCom chief executive Bernard Ebbers acknowledged that there was a substantial premium in the stock terms offered fo... | 35 |
AT&T Corp.'s proposed successor to Robert Allen as chairman and chief executive will be a surprise, not one of those whose names have been mentioned in the press, sources close to the company said Wednesday.
Neither Michael Armstrong, president of Hughes Electronics Corp., nor William Esrey, chief executive of Spri... | 35 |
A $22 billion merger between British Telecommunications Plc and MCI Communications Corp looks as good as agreed, crystallising the largest ever international business combination in record time.
Analysts and consultants said on Saturday that news of a London news conference at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) on Sunday means the ... | 35 |
Ameritech Corp. and Sprint Corp., the two biggest telecommunications companies in the Midwest, Tuesday reported double-digit profit increases in the third quarter of 1996 and said they expect more to come.
Sprint, a long-distance and local carrier based in Kansas City, Mo., said net income rose 16 percent to $312.4 mil... | 35 |
Sprint Corp showed a dynamic performance in all businesses in the third quarter of 1996, and better than MCI Communications Corp or AT&T Corp will manage in long-distance telephone, analysts said.
But uncertainty surrounding the success of expensive new ventures, and continuing dilution of earnings from funding the... | 35 |
MCI Communications Corp., the No. 2 long distance phone company, said Friday it was in talks to be acquired by British Telecommunications Plc in what would be one of the biggest mergers ever.
Industry analysts said that if a deal emerges, it would send shudders throughout the worldwide telecommunications industry, and ... | 35 |
AT&T Corp said that the decision to wait 14 months before newly appointed President John Walter takes over as chief executive from Robert Allen made sense while he learned about a different business.
"It was something that Bob Allen felt made sense and something that made sense to John (Walter)," Hal Burlingame AT&... | 35 |
GTE Corp said on Wednesday that it expects to continue increasing earnings per share by at least 10 percent for the forseeable future, on revenues seen rising six to eight percent per year.
"At this point there is nothing on the horizon to suggest we should be backing off from that (earlier forecast)," chief financial ... | 35 |
Sprint Corp said on Tuesday it put its local telephone ventures with cable television companies on a back burner because there are more immediate opportunities in reselling existing local telephone service.
"For a lot of reasons the wireline ventures with the cable TV companies moved ... to a back burner," Arthur Krau... | 35 |
MCI Communications Corp., the nation's second-largest long distance provider, said Friday it was in talks with British Telecommunications Plc on a possible merger of the two companies.
British Telecom already holds a 20 percent stake in MCI.
An MCI spokesman told Reuters the company expected the talks to be concluded t... | 35 |
CIDCO Inc said its sales so far in the second half were similar to those in the first six months of the year -- as the company predicted in July -- though sales of caller ID equipment in California were even worse than expected.
"We were right on in July. If anything it is worse than we had ever thought (in California)... | 35 |
WorldCom Inc. said Monday it agreed to acquire MFS Communications Co. Inc. in a stock swap worth about $14 billion, creating a giant international business communications company.
The combined company, to be called MFS WorldCom, will provide businesses with local and long-distance telephone, data communications and Int... | 35 |
Britain on Monday referred brewer to leisure group Bass Plc's acquisition of Carlsberg-Tetley (C-T) to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for investigation but analysts said they believed the deal would go through once certain conditions had been met.
"Mr Lang (British Trade & Industry Minister) considers that t... | 47 |
Ice cream had a sad time in Europe this summer, adding fresh impetus for the big makers to try to persuade us to eat it in the winter.
"We think for Unilever its meant 125 million pounds ($198.4 million) in lost sales and lost profits of 50 million in the summer months across europe," said David Lang, analyst at Hender... | 47 |
British sugar and starch producer Tate and Lyle reported an 11 percent fall in full year profits to 276 million pounds ($463 million) on Wednesday after an earnings drop of more than 50 percent at its U.S. subsidiary Staley.
But the company's shares rose 9-1/2 pence to 479-1/2 after touching 482 as company executives m... | 47 |
British cider group Matthew Clark said on Tuesday fashionable "alcopop" drinks had helped to wipe a third off the sales of its premium brands -- Diamond White, K and Babycham -- in the first five months of the financial year.
Matthew Clark has been hit the hardest by a surge in popularity for so-called alcopops -- alco... | 47 |
British consumers are feeling better, they are spending more on leisure, and the upward trend is set to roll for at least another two years, said Whitbread chief executive Peter Jarvis.
"The markets in which we operate are better than they have been for many years. People are feeling better. House prices are rising aga... | 47 |
Brian Stewart, chief executive of brewer to leisure group Scottish and Newcastle Plc, said on Monday he expected an improved performance from its Center Parcs holiday resorts in the second half.
"We would expect Center Parcs to be much more on the front foot in the second half and we would quite clearly spell out that ... | 47 |
Family controlled food and retailing group Associated British Foods reported a 15 percent incrase in its full year profits on Monday, but chairman Garry Weston sounded a wary note when asked about the year ahead.
"I never play hostage to fortune. I've always been cautious," said Weston in an interview. "It's a very bad... | 47 |
Spirits, pubs and Dunkin' Donuts group Allied Domecq is likely to post a big drop in full-year profits on Tuesday, hit by a 320 million stg loss on the sale of its 50 percent stake in brewer Carlsberg-Tetley (C-T).
Before this exceptional charge, analysts' forecasts for pretax profits range from 560 to 581 million stg,... | 47 |
Britain's leading discount food retailer Kwik Save Group Plc on Thursday said it was closing 107 shops as part a radical shake-up of its struggling discount chain, which unions said could mean 1,000 job losses.
The group, squeezed between mainstream food superstores and limited range discounters, also reported a 28 per... | 47 |
Sir Ian Prosser, chairman of brewer-to-leisure group Bass Plc, said the company's proposed acquisition of brewer Carlsberg-Tetley would make Britain's beer market more competitive.
"Obviously it would make the market more competitive. We would be looking to lower our cost base which would give us more money to invest i... | 47 |
Family-controlled British food and retailing group Associated British Foods should report a sharp rise in full year profits on Monday, as its retail and textile business benefit from a pickup in high street spending.
"The two parts of the business really driving the increase are the retail and clothing side which is be... | 47 |
British food and drinks giant Grand Metropolitan Plc posted a six percent rise in annual profits before tax on Thursday to 965 million pounds ($1.6 billion).
Chairman George Bull said trading in the current year had started "satisfactorily" as the company outlined a strategy of steady organic growth.
Profits grew 30 pe... | 47 |
Anglo-Dutch food-to-detergent group Unilever Plc , reporting third quarter results next Friday, is likely to have suffered from restructuring costs for its North American industrial cleaning business Diversey and from weak ice cream sales in a drab European summer, analysts said.
Diversey, acquired in January from Mols... | 47 |
British brewer-to-leisure group Bass Plc, said on Wednesday the company planned to spend 670 million pounds ($1.1 billion) on the business next year, creating some 7,000 jobs.
The company plans a 300 million pound ($500 million) investment programme next year on its Bass Taverns, converting many pubs to branded concept... | 47 |
Food to drinks group Grand Metropolitan Plc has embarked on a period of steady growth driven by profits from its American foods business Pillsbury and spirits arm IDV, said group finance director Gerald Corbett.
"We would love to clap our hands and wonderful things to happen. But life is not like that. Life is about st... | 47 |
British brewer to leisure group Whitbread Plc posted a 14 percent increase in its half year profits on Tuesday to 177.5 million pounds ($290 million) and chairman Sir Michael Angus said he expects recent levels of growth in its markets to continue.
In an interview chief executive Peter Jarvis, in ebullient mood, said B... | 47 |
Shares in Anglo-Dutch consumer group Unilever Plc rose sharply on Friday after the group posted a better-than-expected five percent rise in third quarter profits.
"I gritted myself for something rather unpleasant and its turned out very well," said David Lang, an analyst at Henderson Crosthwaite.
The shares jumped 42-1... | 47 |
British tobacco and insurance conglomerate B.A.T Industries can expect more tough questions about U.S. litigation when it reports third quarter results on Wednesday as scientific evidence continues to mount that smoking and lung cancer are linked.
"It should be another set of solid results but they are nowadays rather ... | 47 |
British pub to hotels group Greenalls Plc should report a near 20 percent rise in its full year profits on Thursday as its acquisition of Boddington Group feeds through into its managed pub estate, analysts said.
Analysts' forecasts for pretax profits in the year to September 27 range from 145 to 150 million stg exclud... | 47 |
British tobacco and insurance company B.A.T Industries reported a nine percent rise in nine-month profits on Wednesday but conceded U.S. tobacco litigation was the dominant issue affecting its share price.
Profits in the nine months rose to 2.04 billion pounds ($3.3 billion) from 1.87 billion last time. Profits in the ... | 47 |
Luxury goods maker Vendome on Wednesday blamed poor tourist spending in the Far East for a 4.6 percent drop in first half profits, but hoped this would recover when the yen recovers its strength.
The group, whose exclusive brands include Cartier, Dunhill and Karl Lagerfeld, saw pretax profits fall to 113 million pounds... | 47 |
Britain's independent brewers on Thursday pressed for a cut in the excise duty on beer ahead of Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke's budget statement on November 26.
The brewers are lobbying hard this time round, after Clarke's previous budget cut the duty on Scotch whisky for the first time since 1895, while l... | 47 |
John McGrath, chief executive of food and drinks giant Grand Metropolitan Plc said the company will continue to unshackle itself from production in its mission to bear down on costs.
"In many cases we don't need to produce what we sell," McGrath told Reuters. "Whether you own the processing is often academic as long as... | 47 |
Brewer to leisure group Bass Plc is expected to report a strong improvement in full-year earnings on Wednesday, driven by growth at Holiday Inns and its chain of Harvester restaurants.
"The company will benefit from a full year on its acquisition of Harvester, a full year of sales in Caffrey's and Hoopers Hooch and a f... | 47 |
A planned merger between British brewer Bass and Carlsberg-Tetley will create such a dominant force in the industry that it is almost certain to fall foul of Britain's competition authorities, regional brewers said on Tuesday.
"I think it will be referred but what will happen then is anybody's guess. They must think th... | 47 |
British dairy and distribution company Unigate Plc posted better than expected profits at the half year stage on Tuesday and said it was seeking to expand its presence as a distributor in mainland Europe.
"We have now refocused the group into food and distribution. And a lot of pan-European customers of ours are lookin... | 47 |
British sugar and sweeteners group Tate and Lyle Plc is likely to see a sharp drop in its full year profits on Wednesday, as its U.S. sugar unit Staley suffers a near 50 percent decline in earnings.
"The main swing factor will be Staley which has been squeezed between high raw material costs and poor high-fructrose cor... | 47 |
Anglo-Dutch food-to-detergent group Unilever Plc, reporting third quarter results next Friday, is likely to have suffered from restructuring costs for its North American industrial cleaning business Diversey and from weak ice cream sales in a drab European summer, analysts said.
Diversey, acquired in January from Molso... | 47 |
Britain's Lloyds Chemists said on Friday it was unable to advise shareholders what action to take on a renewed bid offer from UniChem until it had heard from rival suitor Gehe AG.
"What we will now need to do is to see if we can ascertain Gehe's intentions," finance director Johnathan Fellows said in an interview.
Both... | 47 |
Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, demerged from Hanson Plc in October, said on Thursday it's future was bright although British market growth was tough due to escalating taxes on cigarettes.
"In Britain it is difficult to see the market growing given the punitive taxes. We are likely to see continued strong growth, though, i... | 47 |
Britain's Northern Foods sees world dairy commodity prices as unlikely to improve in the second half but the impact of this on earnings should be partly offset by improved margins on prepared foods, said Jo Stewart, managing director of the company's prepared food division.
"There is no immediate prospect of commodity ... | 47 |
Shares in Anglo-Dutch consumer group Unilever Plc jumped on Friday after the group posted a better-than-expected five percent rise in third-quarter profits.
The company announced that profits rose to 826 million pounds ($1.4 billion) for the quarter, boosting the share price by 75p to 1,350 by the official close of the... | 47 |
British dairy and distribution company Unigate Plc is keen to acquire food and distribution companies in Europe, said finance director John Worby.
"We are actively seeking acquisitions. We continue to look at acquisitions of all sizes in both the food and distribution area in Western Europe," Worby told Reuters in an i... | 47 |
B.A.T Industries, reporting a nine percent rise in nine-month profits, on Wednesday ruled out a demerger of its tobacco business despite conceding that U.S. tobacco litigation was the main issue affecting its share price.
Chief executive Martin Broughton said the company did not see value in demerging the group into se... | 47 |
Lord Douro, deputy chairman of Vendome Luxury Goods, whose products are especially popular with Japanese consumers, said he thinks the yen has stabilised against the dollar and may improve.
"Chinese demand continues to increase strongly and the Japanese currency will stabilise if not improve from here and we will benef... | 47 |
An ambitious bid by brewer-to-leisure group Bass to create Britain's largest brewer by merging with Carlsberg-Tetley may get snagged by a UK government sensitive about bad publicity ahead of a general election, said analysts on Monday.
Ian Lang, president of the Board of Trade, will be reluctant to wave through a merg... | 47 |
Gareth Davies, chief executive of British cigarette maker Imperial Tobacco, which de-merged from conglomerate Hanson in October, said on Thursday it was difficult to see growth in Britain, although it hoped to make this up by expansion in the Asia- Pacific region.
"In Britian it is difficult to see the market growing g... | 47 |
Brewer to leisure group Whitbread Plc should report a 10 percent rise in first half earnings on Tuesday, kicking off the reporting season for drinks companies with a rosy picture of consumer spending on the high street this summer.
Analysts estimate pretax profits for the six months to the end of August in a range of 1... | 47 |
Family controlled food and retailing group Associated British Foods reported a 15 percent increase in its full year profits on Monday, but chairman Garry Weston sounded a wary note when asked about the year ahead.
"I never play hostage to fortune. I've always been cautious," said Weston in an interview. "It's a very ba... | 47 |
Peter Jarvis, chief executive of brewer to leisure group Whitbread Plc, said the company is seeing fairly strong growth in consumer spending on leisure.
Jarvis said although consumer spending has been positive for the last 12 months, it was masked somewhat by expenditure on the National Lottery which took out 5.0 billi... | 47 |
British clothing retailer Burton on Thursday showed off a 54 percent full year profit rise, breaking all stockmarket forecasts, and said shoppers were happier now than at any time since the early 1990's.
Pretax profits rose to 151.6 million pounds ($249 million) in the year to August 31 from 98.6 million on sales up 7.... | 47 |
British food producer Northern Foods Plc posted virtually flat profits on Wednesday, held back by the collapse of world prices for its dairy products.
"The dairy business continues to be affected by the decline of commodity markets compared with a period of exceptionally high prices last year," said chairman Sir Christ... | 47 |
Regional brewer Marston, Thompson & Evershad Plc on Tuesday reported an 8.5 percent decline in sales of its key brand ale Marston Pedigree in the first half of the year due to the rising popularity of so-called nitrokegs.
But the ale increased its market share by one percent as its competitors real ales suffered ev... | 47 |
Britain's largest brewer Scottish and Newcastle Plc announced a 26 percent increase in half-year profits to 195.1 million pounds ($328 million) on Monday and said the second half of the year had started positively.
The company's acquisition of Courage from Australian brewer Fosters last year helped give a 67 percent pu... | 47 |
John McGrath, chief executive of drinks and food company Grand Metropolitan, said the company should be able to return cash to shareholders in 1998 when its debt will be at least one billion pound lighter.
"By early next year our debt should be down in the low to middle two billion (stg) area and interest cover will be... | 47 |
Derek Pretty, finance director of troubled U.K. discount supermarket chain Kwik Save, said on Thursday a radical shake-up of the group, including the closure of 107 stores at a cost of 87.5 million stg, was the best way to ensure its future.
"We researched opportunities in other areas and we reviewed, among other optio... | 47 |
Drinks, food and retail group Grand Metropolitan Plc will post a strong rise in its underlying business performance in its full-year results on Thursday driven by its North American foods business Pillsbury, but it also stands to take a huge 522 million stg loss on disposals.
"The growth will really come through from P... | 47 |
Larry Pillard, chief executive of British sugar and starch producer Tate and Lyle, said on Wednesday the company's beleagured North American unit Staley should benefit from improved market conditions this year.
"Conditions have reversed this year so that corn milling companies can divert some of their excess capacity i... | 47 |
Britain's largest brewer Scottish & Newcastle Plc will see more benefit from its Courage brands in its half year results due on Monday, but its holiday village business Center Parcs will hold it back, analysts said.
"The company will see an improvement from a full contribution at Courage, but what is really holding... | 47 |
Scotch whisky maker Highland Distilleries posted a 14 percent fall in its full year profits on Monday, saying sales of its brand leader The Famous Grouse blend fell in Britain and the home market remained tough.
"The UK continues to be a very competitive market. However there are indications that prices are moving up w... | 47 |
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