Cityam 2015-05-21

cityam.comSPOTIFY PUTS THE SPOTLIGHT ON VIDEO CONTENTTHURSDAY 21 MAY 2015NEWSBritvic increases profit despitechallenging trading conditions15BY NEIL MAIDMENTDRINKS maker Britvic posted an11.4 per cent rise in first-half profit,underpinned by cost savings, andstuck to its full-year guidance,despite expectations for continuedtough trading in its second half.The firm, which makes Tangoand Robinsons squash, reportedpre-tax profit of £51m in the 28weeks to 12 April, compared to£45.3m in the same period of 2014.Hindered by a price war amongUK supermarkets and deflation inthe sector, first-half revenue fell 0.7per cent to £650.3m, with volumesand average prices both down.To help boost sales Britvic hasstepped up marketing andintroduced new products andranges to its key brands such asRobinsons and is also expandingoverseas.The firm operates mainly inBritain, Ireland and France but hasstarted to expand into the US, Spainand India with its children’s FruitShoot brand. Having rolled outsingle serve Fruit Shoot packages itsaid its move into the bigger UStake-home market would come in2016 rather than 2015.Britvic said it expects challengingtrading conditions to continue inthe short-term, but remains ontrack to post a 2015 operating profitof between £164m and £173m, upfrom £158m in 2014.ReutersMusic streaming service Spotify yesterday announced that it has made its first move into videoand signed some major media partners. The firm said it has partnered with the BBC, MTV, ESPN,Comedy Central and Jimmy Kimmel Live (above), as well as some major podcasting networks.Profits up at SSEas it winds downcoal generationBY CAITLÍN MORRISONENERGY company SSE yesterday reporteda 24.1 per cent jump in pre-tax profit inthe 12 months to 31 March, and alsoannounced that its loss-making coalfiredoperations at Ferrybridge will closenext year.The group posted pre-tax profit of£735.2m, up from £592.5m, while operatingprofit stayed flat at £1.88bn. Thedividend was increased by two per centto 88.4 pence per share.According to SSE, slightly higher thanaverage temperatures in the UK duringthe 2015 financial year contributed tolower household consumption of gas.And while rainfall in Scotland was 13per cent above average during the 12months, which contributed to ahighlevel of output from hydro electricschemes, wind speeds in Scotland andNorthern Ireland were slightly lowerthan in the previous year, leading tolower electricity output from windfarms.Meanwhile, the company completed areview of its coal-fire generation assetsand concluded that it should close all ofIN BRIEFTata Steel hit by weak steel pricesn India’s Tata Steel said it expected a rebound insteel demand in its home market and modestgrowth in Europe this year, after reporting a$889m (£572m) quarterly loss inflated by a heftyimpairment on its UK business. The consolidatedfourth quarter loss from Europe’s second-largeststeelmaker compares with a net profit of $162m(£105m) a year earlier. Net sales dropped morethan a fifth, hit by weak steel prices. Thecombination of a slowdown in China and adevaluation of the Russian rouble have led to asurge in cheaper steel products on internationalmarkets over the past two quarters, pressuringsteel prices and squeezing Tata’s margins.the remaining capacity at Ferrybridge inWest Yorkshire, by the end of March nextyear.SSE said that, at almost 50 years old,the plant required “increasing levels” ofcapital expenditure to remain safe andcompetitive, and EU emissions requirementshas also increased running costs.Paul Smith, head of generation at SSE,said the decision to end coal-fired generationat Ferrybridge had not been takenlightly, but added: “While this was a difficultdecision to take, it was the rightone.”Shares in SSE were down by 0.88 percent yesterday.SSE1,6901,6701,650p20 May1,681.0014 May 15 May 18 May 19 May 20 MayBHP pays $25m fine over bribery casen BHP Billiton will pay $25m (£16m) to settlecharges that it violated a US anti-bribery law byfailing to properly monitor a programme underwhich it paid for dozens of foreign governmentofficials to attend the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.The payment resolves US Securities and ExchangeCommission charges that BHP, one of the world’slargest mining companies, violated the ForeignCorrupt Practices Act when it sponsored theattendance of officials who were “directlyinvolved with, or in a position to influence” itsbusiness and regulatory affairs. BHP neitheradmitted nor denied wrongdoing in agreeing tosettle the civil case.