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HP raises 2013 outlook as Whitman's plan takes hold

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:52:53 -0400 -

By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co raised its 2013 earnings outlook after quarterly results beat low expectations, as CEO Meg Whitman's turnaround plan helped offset shrinking personal computer sales with enterprise computing services. While fiscal second-quarter profit plummeted 32 percent, Wall Street had braced for worse. HP shares gained 14 percent after the company projected full-year earnings per share of $3.50 to $3.60, raising the lower end by 10 cents, and fiscal third-quarter profit that topped analyst estimates. ...

UK regulator says satisfied with Lloyds, RBS capital plans

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:19:12 -0400 -

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator said it had finalized capital requirements for Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group and was comfortable with their plans. The Prudential Regulation Authority said it would release more information when it had concluded discussions with all banks, including, where necessary, if banks need to take steps to meet any shortfalls. Lloyds and RBS each said on Wednesday they did not need to issue more equity, and would meet extra capital needs by selling assets and through retained earnings and restructuring plans that are underway. ...

S.Africa stocks open at record high on weaker rand

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:28:01 -0400 -

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's stocks opened at a fresh lifetime high on Wednesday as a weaker rand currency helped boost some exporters such as resource group Assore. Exporters benefit from a depreciating rand, which lifts their profits when overseas earnings are brought home. At 0710 GMT, the Top-40 index of blue-chip stocks was up 0.28 percent at 37,408.16, while the All-Share index was up 0.26 percent at 41,925.84.

Stocks gain on reassurance from a top Fed official

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:09:48 -0400 -

NEW YORK (AP) — Reassuring comments from a Federal Reserve official and better earnings from two big retailers helped push the stock market higher Tuesday.

S.Africa stocks hit record high on weaker rand

Tue, 21 May 2013 04:00:06 -0400 -

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's JSE Top-40 blue-chip index hit a lifetime high on Tuesday as a weaker rand currency at helped boost some exporters such as Anglo American and Kumba Iron Ore. Exporters benefit from a depreciating rand, which lifts their profits when overseas earnings are brought home. The index rose 1.37 percent to 37,044.09.

Kenya's CFC Stanbic's pretax profit soars in first quarter

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:49:43 -0400 -

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's CFC Stanbic Bank posted a 79.5 percent jump in pretax profit for the first quarter from a year ago to 1.46 billion shillings. Banks in east Africa's biggest economy have reported higher earnings for the first three months of this year, buoyed by the growth of lending on the back of a robust economy in the region. CFC Stanbic, which is controlled by South Africa's Standard Group, said on Tuesday its net interest income increased to 1.75 billion shillings as interest paid on deposits tumbled after policymakers cut lending rates. Earnings per share rose to 5. ...

Apple to argue for tax reform, defend tax practices on Tuesday

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:05:24 -0400 -

By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc will argue for a comprehensive corporate tax reform that will levy a "reasonable tax" on foreign earnings and is not dependent on a company's revenue when it goes before a Senate panel on Tuesday to explain its offshore tax practices. In prepared testimony released by the company and submitted ahead of Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook's hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Apple denied it employed "tax gimmicks" like using Cayman Islands bank accounts or shifting intellectual property abroad. ...

GE Capital plans to pay $6.5 billion in dividends to GE

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:48:06 -0400 - (Reuters) - General Electric Co said its financial unit GE Capital Corp would pay $6.5 billion in dividends to the parent in 2013 as part of a plan to reduce the unit's size. "This announcement is consistent with our goal to reduce the overall size of GE Capital and for it to return significant cash to GE," GE CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement on Monday. The dividend payment includes a special dividend of $4.5 billion, the company said. The dividend payments are planned at 30 percent of GE Capital's total 2013 earnings, GE said. ...

Algeria energy earnings fall 9 pct Jan-April vs same 2012 period

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:50:23 -0400 -

ALGIERS (Reuters) - The value of Algeria's oil and gas exports, which account for about 97 of total sales abroad, fell by 9 percent in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2012 due to lower global crude prices, official figures showed on Monday. That pushed the OPEC member north African country's trade surplus down 39 percent to $7.16 billion in the January-April period of 2013, according to data released by the customs department and reported by the official APS news agency. Earnings from energy exports dropped to $24.1 billion from $26. ...

Mauritius tourism revenue drops 12.4 pct yr/yr in Q1

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:01:50 -0400 -

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius's earnings from tourism dropped 12.4 percent from a year earlier to 12.06 billion rupees in the first three months of this year as the weak economic environment in Europe hurt visitors' spending. Statistics Mauritius cut its forecast for visitor arrivals this year to 990,000 from a previous estimate of 1 million, but said it expected tourism revenue to increase to 46.1 billion rupees, from 44.3 billion in 2012. Visitor numbers grew 1. ...

S.Africa's Vodacom FY earnings up 23 pct on Africa units

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:53:46 -0400 -

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Vodacom Group reported a 23 percent rise in full-year profit on Monday underpinned by a strong performance by its African subsidiaries and growth in data usage. The unit of Britain's Vodafone Group said diluted headline earnings per share, which is the benchmark measure of profit in South Africa, totalled 870.2 cents in the year to end- March, from 706 cents a year earlier. The company had previously said headline earnings would rise by 25 percent higher. ...

S.Africa's Barloworld boosts H1 profit, Russia unit robust

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:53:10 -0400 - JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African industrial group Barloworld Ltd boosted first-half profit by a third on Monday, as a solid result in its Russian mining equipment business offset slack demand at home. Barloworld, which also sells cars and forklifts, said headline earnings per share totalled 321 cents in the six months to end-March compared with 245 cents a year earlier. Headline EPS, the primary measure of profit in South Africa, strips out certain one-off items. ...

S.Africa's Netcare H1 profit up 25 pct, local unit robust

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:52:35 -0400 -

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Netcare Ltd, Africa's third-biggest private hospital group, posted a 25 percent rise in half-year profit on Monday, helped by a strong performance in South Africa and favourable currency swings. Netcare, which also runs hospitals in Britain, said diluted headline earnings per share totalled 65.8 cents in the six months to end-March compared with 52.7 cents a year earlier. ...

S.Africa's African Bank H1 profit slides as bad debts bite

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:52:06 -0400 - JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African mass market lender African Bank Investments posted a 26 percent drop in first-half earnings on Monday, hit by rising bad debts from its heavily leveraged customers. The company also warned its retail furniture business would likely fall to a loss for the year, as demand from cash-strapped consumers wanes. African Bank, known as Abil, said headline earnings for the six months to March totalled 125.7 cents, compared with 170.4 cents a year earlier. The bank targets millions of low-income South Africans through loans and furniture, which it sells on credit. ...

Swiss propose corporate tax reforms after EU pressure

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:28:30 -0400 -

By Caroline Copley BERNE (Reuters) - Switzerland outlined plans on Friday to reform the way it taxes companies as it seeks to counter criticism from Brussels while trying to remain attractive to the many multinationals based in the country. The Swiss have lured thousands of foreign companies including online retailer eBay and trading giant Glencore by taxing foreign profits at a lower rate than domestic earnings, a practice known as "ring fencing". ...

Stocks edge higher in early trading on Wall Street

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:47:51 -0400 -

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slightly higher in early trading on Wall Street, even as several big retailers slumped after reporting disappointing earnings.

Nigeria's Fidelity Bank says Q1 pretax profit up 40 pct

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:22:41 -0400 - LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's Fidelity Bank said on Friday its first-quarter pretax profit rose 40.42 percent year-on-year to 5.94 billion naira, up from 4.23 billion naira a year ago, the bank said. Gross earnings at the mid-tier lender rose to 31.43 billion naira during the three months as against 22.43 billion naira in the same period last year.

Nigeria earns 621 bln naira in revenues in April

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:29:31 -0400 -

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's government received 621 billion naira in revenues in April, up from 595.7 billion the previous month owing to improved earnings from domestic crude and a petroleum profit tax, the accountant general said on Thursday Accountant General Jonah Otunla said Nigeria had distributed 721.5 billion naira to its three tiers of government -- federal, state and local -- including funds from a repayment by the state oil firm and savings from lower fuel subsidy costs.

Dell's 1Q earnings fall 79 pct as PC sales sag

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:02:47 -0400 - ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) — Dell's earnings plunged 79 percent in the latest quarter as the shift to smartphones and tablets reduced demand for the company's personal computers.

Wal-Mart U.S. sales weak; outlook below analysts' forecast

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:48:26 -0400 -

By Jessica Wohl (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday due to poor U.S. sales and said its profit for this quarter might also miss Wall Street's forecast. Everything from pressure on shoppers to a cool start to spring led to an unexpected 1.4 percent drop in sales at Walmart U.S. stores open at least a year. (Graphic on Wal-Mart earnings http://link.reuters.com/qan28t) Consumers with lower incomes have been especially squeezed by higher payroll taxes, consistently elevated gas prices and a shaky employment recovery. ...

Stocks flip between gains and losses; Cisco climbs

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:22:51 -0400 -

NEW YORK (AP) — Cisco Systems led the Dow Jones industrial average slightly higher Thursday after the technology company reported higher sales. Mixed corporate earnings and economic reports kept the major stock indexes flipping between slight gains and losses.

S.Africa's Tongaat expects yearly earnings to rise

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:19:11 -0400 -

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Tongaat Hulett said on Thursday it expected headlines earnings per share for the year to rise more than 14 percent, lifted in part by increased sugar production. The agri-processing company said in a trading statement sugar production rose by 9 percent to 1.25 million tons with major increases in Zimbabwe - the latest sign of an agricultural recovery in the country.

Kenya's Diamond Trust Bank Q1 profit up 28 pct

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:48:10 -0400 - NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan lender Diamond Trust Bank posted a 28 percent year-on-year jump in first-quarter profit, helped by growth in net interest income. Pretax profit for the three months to March 31 rose to 1.73 billion shillings after the bank's net interest income climbed 22 percent to 2.48 billion shillings. Kenyan banks expect an improvement on last year's results in 2013 after a peaceful election in March boosted business confidence in east Africa's biggest economy. Diamond Trust Bank's first-quarter earnings per share increased to 5.22 shillings, against 4. ...

SABMiller Zimbabwe unit year earnings up 36 percent

Thu, 16 May 2013 02:13:08 -0400 -

HARARE (Reuters) - SABMiller's Zimbabwe unit reported a 36 percent rise in full-year earnings on Wednesday, driven by strong sales of premium lager and non-alcoholic beverages. Delta Corporation, 38 percent owned by global brewing giant SABMiller, said earnings per share rose to 8.49 cents in the year ending March, up from 6.22 cents previously. After-tax profit rose to $104 million, compared to $72 million in 2012. Zimbabwe's economy, which had grown by nearly double digit figures from 2009 to 2011, was expected to grow 5 percent this year after a sharp slowdown in 2012. ...

State Bank of Mauritius nine-month pretax profit up 18.3 pct

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:12:57 -0400 - PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - State Bank of Mauritius (SBM) said on Wednesday it expected demand for credit to suffer from a weak investment climate after posting an 18.3 percent rise in nine-month pretax profit. SBM, the Indian Ocean island's second-largest bank by market share, said pretax profit rose to 2.93 billion rupees in the first three quarters, driven mostly by an increase in net interest income. Earnings per share rose to 9.37 rupees from 7.70 rupees. SBM said in a statement it would continue to focus on geographical diversification and on using improved technology to increase efficiency.