BANKING & INSURANCEThoresen plays down 81% fall as Aegon looks to long termLIFE and pensions group Aegon UK yesterday reported an 81 per cent fall in first-quarter underlying earnings to £6.6 million as volatilit
y in bond and equity markets took its toll (
Scotsman). The fall in earnings was revealed as the UK operation's Netherlands-based parent, Aegon NV, disclosed a net loss of 173m (£155m) – better than expected by the market – while its 2.7 billion capital "buffer" won praise from analysts. The group's UK performance compared well with Aegon's US division, which booked a comparable 68m loss in earnings. Last year the insurance giant benefited from a 3bn lifeline from the Dutch government and posted losses of 1.2bn, but yesterday's figures appeared to show the company was riding out the economic downturn.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIES
BT cuts final dividend by almost 90% amid writedown and major jobs cullBT chief executive Ian Livingston yesterday apologised to shareholders after the company cut its final dividend payout by almost 90% to tackle spiralling pension costs, high debt and problems at a key division.
Livingston, who is also a director of Celtic Football Club, yesterday confirmed BT is seeking to shed another 15,000 roles, after having axed the same number of permanent and agency workers last year as profits plummeted.
The company posted a £1.3bn loss for the first three months of 2009, taking it to a £134m loss for its financial year to the end of March (
Herald). Its shares closed down 6p or 6.4% for the day at 88.4p The company swallowed £1.3bn of charges after a review of the value of contracts taking on by BT Global Services, which supplies information technology services to multi-national companies, and took another £280m charge in restructuring, largely redundancy, costs. It warned that the division would face further restructuring charges of £420m in the next two years.
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BPI closes carrier bag factory amid shift to transport and agricultureBritish Polythene Industries yesterday revealed that it had shut the doors on its carrier bag factory in Cowdenbeath, Fife, with the loss of 34 jobs (
Herald). The Greenock-based company, which is Europe's largest plastic film and sack maker, said it would take a £2m hit to cover the cost of the manoeuvre, which also includes the "continuing phased closure at Stockton and other restructuring costs". BPI last year laid off around 45 staff at an unprofitable plant in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, and transferred the work to Cowdenbeath and Flint in Wales - but it merely postponed the fate of the Fife plant. Cameron McLatchie, BPI's chairman, yesterday told The Herald: "It's a shame for the 34 employees, but Cowdenbeath had been loss-making for quite some time.
Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comRETAILNike cuts 5% of global workforce Nike has said it will cut about 1,750 jobs in the largest headcount reduction in its history as it strives to clamp down on costs (
BBC). The cuts amount to about 5% of Nike's 35,000 global workforce. About 500 of the jobs lost will be at Nike's headquarters in Oregon. No other details were given about the location of the cuts. The sportswear firm has seen recent sales decline in the economic downturn, particularly in Europe. Nike said it hoped to complete the reductions in the coming weeks. It first warned that it would have to reduce its headcount in February, and in March it said it planned to halt production at three shoe factories in China and one in Vietnam.
Read all today's retail news from scotsman.comTECHNOLOGYCancer drugs a tonic for ProStrakanSTRONG early sales of two key cancer treatments saw ProStrakan yesterday report a 40 per cent rise in sales in the first four months of the year (
Scotsman). The Borders pharmaceutical company is in a strong growth phase after launching its first drug in the United States in November and putting a cancer pain treatment into two major new European territories. ProStrakan is now selling around 850 Sancuso patches a week in America. The patches help to prevent nausea in chemotherapy patients. While the early sales are in line with expectations, the growth has led to a boost in ProStrakan's US sales force, with seven sales representatives recruited in recent weeks, taking its headcount to 82. Chief executive Wilson Totten said yesterday that the additional staff had been taken on in smaller US centres after its partner company Novaquest, which is funding its sales force in return for a share of revenue, decided sales to additional countries would be profitable.
Read all today's technology news from scotsman.comTRANSPORTMenzies wields jobs axe as outbreak hits baggage workSWINE flu in Mexico has hit trading at Menzies, the Edinburgh-based newspaper distribution and baggage handling group, forcing the firm into an "aggressive" cost-cutting programme (
Scotsman). In an interim management statement yesterday, Menzies said flight cancellations made in response to the illness had affected the firm, which provides ground handling services for airlines that fly into Mexico. Menzies stated: "The outbreak of swine flu is adversely impacting volumes in our operations in Mexico but our experienced management team is aggressively reducing costs." Although the situation was "quite serious", Menzies claimed the brunt of the fall-off in flights came after the high season. The group yesterday reported its passenger bag-handling business was up 8 per cent overall as it continued to win new business.
Read all today's transport news from scotsman.comScotsman Business ClubGet to the heart of the issues affecting Scottish business at
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