The hotly anticipated deal between UK mobile phone giants Orange and T-Mobile seems to have quickened pace after the EU ruled that the merger between the companies can go ahead.
The merger of the two companies would make the biggest mobile phone company in the UK eclipsing O2 and Vodaphone who currently share about one quarter each of the UK market. The deal between Orange and T-Mobile would give them a 33% share.
The Office of Fair Trading had been concerned about the merger and had asked the European Commission to investigate the matter. But, after further analysis and a clause that states that the companies should amend an existing agreement with ‘3’, the UKs smallest mobile provider, an agreement was reached.
Service Lifts are always appearing in the news whether they are a major feature in a new building or a major floor in a new building i.e. breaking down or in need of servicing. There are obviously lots of different types of lift like, good lifts, platform lifts, trolley lifts but you never hear of these type needing servicing in the news.
Most service lifts are found in Hotels, restaurants, hospitals and retail stores but you will find the odd one in industrial complexes or building sites.
The main players in the service lift industry are the usual suspects like stannah and Pickering’s but its well worth shopping around if your looking for a bargain as with the current recession lots of companies are doing special deals for the always required lifts for buildings.
Most service lifts are hydraulic and require a machine room which requires maintenance on a quarterly basis, these regular sessions normally come automatically from the company you buy the lift from.
Make sure you ask about thi when buying it.
Electrical parts supplier, Electrocomponents, has posted 5% fall in its annual sales and scrapped special dividend apprehending profits to touch lower end of expectations.
The oxford-based company which supplies electrical items including semiconductors, cables and tools to businesses, is fighting the global slowdown and proposes to axe 470 jobs as one of the measures to cut costs.
Electrocomponents is expecting to save £18 million in 2009-2010, through job redundancies and other initiatives.
For the year ending March 31, the company is expecting pre-tax profit of £85 to £88 million, which is far below profits of £96.4 million made last year. Group sales were down by 5%, with decline of 7% in the UK and 5% in its international business.
Last month, rival Premier Farnell suffered 36% fall in 4th quarter pre-tax profits and announced cutting of jobs and closure of sites in the UK.
Electrocomponents’ group chief executive, Ian Mason, claimed that its gross margins were stable, cash generation was robust and the group was able to reduce costs significantly.
Under the prevailing trading environment, company feels inappropriate to pay special dividend, however it remains committed to pay total dividend of 11p. Special dividend of 7.4p a share was announced in May 2008.
Despite all the negative press and doom-mongering, there is a bit of news of companies actually aiming to improve during 2009.
LG Electronics Inc has set itself some quite high targets for 2009. The company stated they want to improve sales of air conditioning units by an extra 10 percent this year, compared to last year.
Currently Carrier Corp is the United States biggest air conditioner seller and Daikin is the top air con seller in Japan. However, LG, which is currently the number one global provider of residential air conditioning devices, hopes to topple Carrier Corp. and Daikin from their respective top spots.
LG Electronics Inc. are successful in many areas of electronics, including audio/visual equipment, domestic appliances and computing. They hope to continually expand their portfolio of being a top brand in all reas of their business.
LG have set themselves a target date of 2012, by which time they hope to have beaten out their rivals Daikin and Carrier Corp. More present targets include a target revenue of $5.5 billion for 2009, up from $5 billion in 2008.
Hopefully, LG Electronics Inc. have allowed themselves some leighway in regards to the continuing economic downturn that is currently affecting much of the global market.
British retailers were being hit hard by the consumer slowdown and credit crunch was once again underlined by another retailer DSG, which reported sharp falls in computer and TV sales.
The operator of PC World and Currys, pushed back by online and high street rivals has been forced to cut its investment plans by £30 million.
PC World outlets of DSG Group in Britain and Ireland, selling computers and computer equipment, reported 11% fall in like-for-like sales over 24 weeks. Curry.digital and Currys sales were down by 7%.
The group’s operations in Europe also suffered from declining sales. The better performing Nordic region witnessed 6% fall, while sales in southern Europe, including DSG’s bad performer UniEuro chain, were down by 10%. The group is seeking offers from Spain and Italy for its businesses.
According to DSG chief executive, John Browett, whose services were hired for business turn around; there was significant deterioration in consumer confidence across Europe. Sales of laptops were slow while those of flat-screen TV were negative in terms of value. He reported deterioration in profit margins.
Browett said that he was taking decisive actions including lowering of stocks and slashing of capital expenditure. He announced “renewal and transformation plan” for revival of Group’s fortunes.
Sony has been made to call back hundreds of thousands of Vaio machines amid media reports that some caught fire, injuring their users. The recall of 438,000 PCs worldwide is a major setback for the electronics giant.
The recall is also an embarrassment for Sony. It was forced to recall almost 10m lithium ion batteries in 2006, at a cost of £272m, amid worries that they could overheat. Sony stated it would provide free repairs for customers in the 48 countries, including the UK and the US, in which the potentially defective model is on sale.
A Sony source, who did not want to be named, admitted to The Guardian newspaper that the company had known about the issue since last August.
“We fully recognise the fact there were problems with the (slow) speed of our response, but we are trying our best to address it and make sure it does not happen again,” the source added.
Sony insisted that the issue would have a minor effect on earnings, but analysts stated it could harm the company’s brand.
“If these things pile up and reveal that the firm is structurally weak, its brand value will definitely be hurt,” stated analyst Mitushige Akino of Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
Sony and Sharp have forged an alliance to help them meet the growing demand for liquid crystal display televisions.
Sony is to take a one-third stake in Sharp’s $3.5bn (£1.8bn) LCD panel factory, which is due to be completed in March 2010. Sony does not currently make the LCD panels for its flat-screen televisions, relying instead on a joint venture with South Korea’s Samsung.
Sony and Samsung branded televisions are competing for the number one spot in LCD sales, with Sharp trailing behind them. Global sales of LCD televisions are expected to double to 155 million units by 2012, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Association.
In the meanwhile, Sony has cut its profit forecast by about 9% - saying falling stock markets have dented its investments while the strong yen is hitting overseas sales. It also warned the US economic slowdown could hit its sales in that market. The Japanese firm said it expected to make about 410bn yen (£305m; $608bn) in the year to March, down from its earlier prediction of 450bn yen. But in more upbeat news, Sony added that Playstation 3 sales had helped its video games arm to reach profitability.
But Sony’s games division made its first profit in two years after it cut costs and boosted demand by lowering prices. Sony said there had also been strong demand for its digital cameras and Vaio personal computers during the Christmas period. “The game division turning into the black is a positive,” said Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset Management senior fund manager, Takeshi Osawa.