The iPhone was the product that made the difference: Apple surprised investors Tuesday 20 April by announcing sales of $13.5 billion for the three months that ended 27 March, a 49 percent increase over the same period a year earlier. Profits rose 90 percent to $3.07 billion. Computer sales were strong, but it was the iPhone’s 124 percent increase in revenue, thanks to new carriers, that was responsible for the steep climb.
CFF points to major challenges in near future
Growing customer demand adds pressure to replace older trains in Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The present looks rosy, but the future less so, Switzerland’s CFF rail company indicated Friday oring 16 April in its annual report. Traffic rose in 2009, more passengers arrived on time, and profits were up, but the company says heavy investments are necessary to guarantee the current level of service.
Inter-Europe air traffic remains weak
Worldwide improvement is concentrated in Asia, Latin America
Brands, not flags, must guide the industry to profitability, says Iata head
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The airline industry is expected to have an overall loss of $9.4 billion for 2009, according to Iata, the Geneva-based air transport industry organization, which released new figures Thursday 11 March. The loss is lower than Iata’s December projected figure of $11b. “More significantly, we now forecast smaller losses in 2010 of $2.8b, compared to our previous forecast of $5.6b.”
The improvement is due to year-end growth in traffic that carried on into January, but it was much led by Asia and Latin America, with the US and Europe far more sluggish.
Growth in passenger demand, world airlines 2006-2009 (Iata)
Click on image to view larger
“We can be optimistic but with due caution,” Giovanni Bisignani, CEO and director-general says. “Important risks remain. Oil is a wild-card, over-capacity is still a danger, and costs must be kept under control – throughout the value chain and with labour.”
Asian and Latin American carriers posted international passenger demand gains of 6.5 percent and 11.0 percent respectively in January. North America and Europe lagged, with international passenger demand gains of 2.1 and 3.1 percent.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Income at the BCV (Banque Cantonale Vaudoise) rose by 5 percent during 2009 to CHF976 million, with operating profit up 11 percent to CHF470m, the bank reported Thursday 25 February. The bank attributes the strong performance to a combination of strict cost controls and a healthy increase in customer volumes: mortgage volumes were up 9 percent, CHF1.5b, for a total of CHF18.8b.
Trading portfolio assets and other assets fell by CHF 874m, “in line with the decision to reduce proprietary trading activities. By end-2009 BCV had completely implemented the previously announced withdrawal from equity-derivative trading.”
Detailed press release, BCV
Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Food multinational Nestlé says its profits fell by more than 40 percent in 2009 compared to the previous year largely because of a hefty profit in 2008 from the sale of Alcon eye-care company. Net profit in 2009 was CHF10.4 billion, down from CHF18b in 2008.
Sales slipped from CHF109.9b to CHF107.6b but the company says that new markets, particularly in Africa and Asia, are growing well. CEO Paul Bulcke, Nestlé chief executive struck a positive note: “With organic growth of 4.1 percent achieved in last year’s challenging environment, we were able to grow substantially faster than our industry.”
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Fourth quarter profits for 2009 were CHF1.205 million, says Swiss bank UBS, offering investors a brighter face after months of gloomy news about its financial results and legal problems. The figure was three times that projected by analysts contacted by Swiss news agency AWP. It leaves the bank with a loss for the year 2009 of CHF2.74 million, from a loss of CHF21.30m in 2008. The company published the figures Tuesday morning 9 February.
All business divisions reported a pre-tax profit. The improved performance, after four straight quarters of losses, was due to cost-cutting and efficiency, with fixed costs reduced to CHF20.2 billion, “broadly in line with the CHF20b target set for 2010″ the financial report indicates.
Roche head office, Basel
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Pharmaceutical multinational Roche says its turnover fell by 22 percent in 2009 compared to 2008 due to charges linked to its purchase of US company Genentech. Operating profits rose by 14 percent before the exceptional charges, however, and the company had record sales, up 10 percent to CHF49.1 billion.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss National Bank expects to see a “large profit” of CHF10 billion for 2009, thanks to the rapid rise in the price of gold and currency fluctuations during the year. The valuation of the gold holdings of the central bank rose by CHF7.3 billion during the year, with the price of gold moving between about $800 and $1,200 an ounce (chart).
The bank’s foreign currency positions brought in another CHF2b.
The profits are shared in part with the federal and cantonal governments, some CHF2.5b.
EasyJet remained profitable, but with a 50 percent fall to £54.7m. Revenues were up 13 per cent to £2.67 billion for the year ending 30 September 2009. The low-cost company was hit hard by its hedges on fuel prices, which it bought when fuel was higher. The Financial Times notes that “Although the price of oil has fallen from a high of $147.27 in July 2008 to about $80 a barrel this month, EasyJet’s locked-in hedges caused an “adverse variance to market rates” of about £330m for the full year.”
Links to other sites: EasyJet, Financial Times, Guardian, UK
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Bank UBS says it needs three to five years to move back into profitability and show a CHF15 billion profit before taxes. The figure was provided as part of several medium-term goals the bank announced Tuesday morning 17 November before the bank began a day-long information session with investors. The bank noted, as well, that outside observers have overstated the impact of European tax amnesties: “CHF435 billion of total European invested assets, approximately one-quarter, represents cross-border private client assets in countries neighboring Switzerland and in the UK.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss bank UBS holds a regular Investors Day Tuesday 17 November in Zurich and speculation is running high among media and analysts about what it will say to them. The plan to move the bank back to profitability is undoubtedly high on the list, with Bloomberg suggesting that Oswald Gruebel, chairman, “will probably list hiring in fixed-income as a key element in his turnaround plan,” because the bank is likely to count on its investment bank’s trading of debt securities to pull it out of debt. The Wall Street Journal says investors will be watching Robert McCann, new head of the US wealth management unit, for signs of what the bank plans to do there, and whether Gruebel intends to sell off the unit at some point.
Swisscom sold 79,000 of the Apple iPhone 3GS model between its 19 June launch and the end of September 2009, according to industry media reports
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swisscom, Switzerland’s dominant telecommunications company, posted revenues of CHF8.92 billion Wednesday 11 November, a figure 1.8 percent below that for the same period a year earlier. Net income rose, however, by 16.6 percent to CHF1.31b, “on a par with the previous year”, says the company. The results were published just days after the company was fined CHF219 million, accused by Switzerland’s competition watchdog of earlier (2007) having a broadband pricing policy that hampered competition. The company, which once had a monopoly of the Swiss industry, has denied the charges. In today’s press release on the company’s results for the first nine months of the year it says that the weak Swiss market was responsible for the lower revenues.
Links to other sites: Swisscom, Trading Markets
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – ABB has announced a $1 billion profit in the third quarter, confirming the news it anticipated 10 days ago. Profits are up 12 percent over last year thanks to unforseen improvements that allowed it to release $380 million in provisions. But the outlook is uncertain, the company says. The need for energy-efficient power infrastructure world-wide remains, but the current economic climate means many customers – governments, mainly – are deferring infrastructure investments.
Credit Suisse headquarters in Zurich's Paradeplatz, Copyright © 1997 - 2009 CREDIT SUISSE GROUP AG
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Credit Suisse group has released figures that show that it earned CHF2.35 billion in the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 61 percent over the second quarter. The bank says its “low-risk” business model is vindicated by the surprisingly strong numbers. This is reflected in part by the net inflows of private client assets, which reached CHF13.1b, a growth of 5.4 percent on an annual basis. Revenues from Private Banking at CHF 723m were lower than in the second quarter, due in part to lower interest income.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – ABB, Switzerland’s largest engineering group, says that positive developments will allow it to post a $1 billion profit when its official figures are announced 29 October. The more upbeat business environment has allowed the company to reduce its provisions against charges in the third quarter, boosting its profits. At the end of 2008, ABB announced that compliance, tax and restructuring costs would require it to reduce its forecast profits.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Profits at Switzerland’s largest media group, Tamedia AG plunged to only CHF800,000, a drop of almost 99 percent in the first half of 2009, the company announced 3 September. The results were even worse than analysts had predicted, and were blamed by the company on the “severe recession and also a collapse in advertising spending“. Sales revenues dropped 15.9 percent in the period versus only a 1.7 percent decline in corresponding costs, despite making savings of CHF47.8 million in the first half of the year.
Profits went thataway
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Post office profits were down 16 percent to CHF358 million in the first six months of the year, the company said. The post office’s traditional business has suffered most. An increase in personnel costs because of salary increases and a higher headcount contributed to the drop in profits. The post office delivered 4.8 percent fewer letters in the period than last year, the result of the economic crisis and competition from electronic alternatives. The average annual rate of decrease of letters delivered had been 1.5 percent. Both PostFinance, the company’s bank, and CarPostal, the familiar yellow buses, posted profits. Post office rates came down starting 1 July, and the company does not foresee a very rosy second half of the year.
Photo ©2009 PHOTOPRESS/Gaetan Bally)
Update 15 August 08:10 Bienne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swatch group, the world’s largest maker of watches, posted profits of CHF301 million for the first half of 2009, 28 percent down compared to the same period last year, which was a record year. By late Friday 14 August when the market closed in Zurich the company’s shares had risen 13 percent, the most in 10 months according to Bloomberg, which says the company led a surge in luxury goods share prices.
The watchmaker’s results confirm that the Swiss watch industry is suffering the effects of the global downturn, but the company says it sees signs of recovery and that sales in the second half of the year are expected to beat last year’s sales for the same period.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Adecco, the world’s largest human resources company, possibly best known for supplying businesses with temporary workers, said revenues declined by 32 percent for the second quarter of 2009, compared to a year earlier. The group posted an operating loss for the period of €173 million.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Bank Julius Baer has announced a fall of 37 percent in consolidated net profit to CHF 324 million in the first six months of 2009, compared to the same period a year earlier.
Update 10:30 Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Multinational Lonza, chemical and biotech active ingredients supplier to the pharmaceutical industry, saw its sales fall by 9.2 percent to CHF1.3 billion in the first half of 2009 but it remained on target with forecasts. The company notes that “the nature of Lonza’s custom manufacturing business model, along with a slowdown in parts of Life Science Ingredients, led to a weaker performance.” Net profit “on a comparable basis” fell by 32.9 percent to CHF118 million from January to June. The profit figures do not include the company’s 2008 profits on the sale of its remaining share of Polynt S.p.A.
Related, Reuters
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Pharmaceutical giant Novartis saw net sales grow 8 percent in local currencies, but slip 2 percent in US dollars in the first six months of 2009. Exchange rates had significant impact on profits, which fell by 12 percent to CHF4.32 billion, compared to the same period in 2008. Company CEO Daniel Vasella notes in the company’s press release on results that the company expects to “continue record underlying results in constant currencies.”
Lottery tickets are sold in many kiosks in Switzerland
Lausanne, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – The Loterie Romande‘s profits rose 5.1 percent in 2008 to CHF185 million, of which CHF183m goes to support some 2,500 organizations and foundations involved in cultural events, sports, and charity work.
The other 0.5% goes to fight gambling addition. The group’s income rose 3.5 percent to CHF366 million.
TSR notes that the state lottery is a major employer: it directly employs 291 persons but the 2,000 sales points generate the equivalent of 1,200-1,400 jobs.
Geneva,Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Cointrin International Airport in Geneva shows no signs of suffering from the global economic downturn, with 2008 results showing a record year in terms of profits. The airport’s newly released figures show profits up 17 percent to CHF61 million, with turnover up 7 percent to CH300 million. The airport’s income was nearly evenly divided between flight-related services such as passenger income and other sources such as parking fees, 49.2 and 50.3 respectively.
Swiss Life profits fall ®SwissLife
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Life, one of Europe’s top 10 insurance companies, says its profits fell 75% last year but that its capital base improved at the end of 2008.
2009: stormy days for airlines
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Airlines around the world are expected to lose $5 billion in 2008, of which European airlines will lose $1b, a 10-fold drop. Overall, revenues will fall to $501b with losses rather than profits the story in every region except North America, where profits will be less than 1% of revenue.
The Financial Times writes that a wave of profit warnings from European companies is expected in coming weeks, with “earnings are expected to fall by about 40 per cent by the end of 2009.”
