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Showing posts with label shares. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shares. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

3M shares fall as earnings drop

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
25 October 2011 Last updated at 20:29 GMT Continue reading the main story Shares at the Post-it note and sticky-tape maker 3M dropped after the company reported worse-than-expected profits.

The company's earnings in the third quarter were $1.09bn (£688,000; 785,000 euros), only just below the $1.1bn made in the same period last year.

Sales grew by 10%, but the market had been expecting strong growth.

3M, which also supplies parts for electronics, said its performance had been partly prompted by the eurozone crisis, which had hit consumer demand.

A halving of a previous sales growth forecast to between 3-4% next year added to the pressure and the shares ended down 6.3%.

The company said, as a supplier, it saw the impact of a slowdown faster than some companies.

It said its customers were expecting consumer demand to slow, and had been destocking in anticipation of that, and therefore needed fewer parts to meet future orders.

3M's chief executive, George Buckley, said its electronics unit had been particularly affected by a drop in demand for LCD televisions.

Sales in its display and graphics business fell 12% in the quarter, due largely to weakness in the LCD television market.

Mr Buckley said. "As is typical, we are seeing the impact of these changes earlier than most as our customers decrease production in order to lower their inventories. Conversely, we should benefit more quickly when those markets recover."

Despite weakness in certain parts of its business, 3M saw continued growth in other business areas, including security, transportation and healthcare products.



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Sunday, October 9, 2011

Trading in Dexia shares suspended

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
6 October 2011 Last updated at 17:01 GMT Dexia logo on office building Dexia is reported to be selling its Luxembourg business to Qatar for 900m euros Trading of shares in Dexia has been halted by the Euronext stock exchange.

The stop was requested by the Belgian regulator until the troubled Franco-Belgian bank could provide details of a planned sale of its Luxembourg unit.

Its shares had fallen 17.3% during the day up until trading was suspended.

Meanwhile, the French and Belgian governments are negotiating a break-up of the bank - and how to share the cost of rescuing it between them - with a decision expected before the weekend.

Qataris

Dexia has confirmed it is in "exclusive negotiations" with a group of international investors to dispose of Dexia Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL).

The subsidiary employs about 5,500 staff worldwide, 3,700 of whom are based in Luxembourg.

It runs a 40-branch retail network in the country, as well as offering private banking and asset management services.

Continue reading the main story The key buyer is reported to be the Qatari Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund.

Reports say it may pay 900m euros ($1.2bn, £785m) for control of the Dexia unit.

It follows an announcement in August that the Qataris were to become a major shareholder in the merger of two Greek lenders, Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank.

The government of Luxembourg is also in talks to buy a minority stake. The country's finance minister, Luc Frieden, said he expects discussions to be completed by the end of the month.

Break-up

Dexia is facing its second rescue in three years because of the eurozone debt crisis.

The firm has 3.4bn euros ($4.5bn, £2.9bn) of exposure to Greek government bonds, and about four times that amount to Italian sovereign debt.

Ratings agency Moody's put the lender on review for a credit score downgrade on Monday. It said the bank was finding it harder to borrow from the markets.

The news led to a sell-off of Dexia's shares, prompting France and Belgium to announce they would prevent its collapse.

The governments are expected to pool its most risky assets into a "bad bank" and force it to sell off units that provide vital services, including a French division that specialises in lending to local authorities.

Belgium's Prime Minister said the burden must be divided fairly.

Yves Leterme told RTL radio: "This is a very sensitive and crucial part of the negotiations, an equitable split of the costs."

The two countries are expected to finalise the plan before the weekend.

Dexia's board says it intends to meet in Paris on Saturday to vote on the break-up.



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