Telegraaf Media Groep reported weak full-year 2012 results due to continued weakness in the firm’s core newspaper business. Print media deteriorated faster than expectations, so management suspended its unrealistic 2016 financial targets (which projected EUR 800 million- EUR 900 million of revenue, and EUR 120 million-EUR 135 million of EBITDA by 2016). Telegraaf’s old media operations continued to lose share against increasingly popular cheap online alternatives, and weak economic conditions in Europe have served to accelerate existing structural headwinds. Organic revenue fell 6% to EUR 577 million (flat on a reported basis), as print and radio advertising sales fell 11%…
Author: Erik Witlen
Deutsche Post DHL’s fourth-quarter revenue expanded 2% year over year on an organic basis (excluding foreign exchange), roughly in line with our forecast. The modest top-line increase reflects impressive volume growth at Express and ongoing healthy expansion of the German parcel delivery business. Softer results in the traditional mail business and sluggish international freight-forwarding conditions only partly offset these factors. Express posted 7% organic revenue growth, supported by a solid 11% increase in core time-definite international shipments. Volume gains came in above third-quarter trends (9%), suggesting that the firm is still taking market share. We suspect yields (revenue per kilo)…
Rolls-Royce finished 2012 on a strong note with revenue and operating margins higher analysts anticipated. The strength of the quarter was largely driven by 15.5% revenue growth versus 2011 within the civil aerospace segment as aircraft deliveries continue to pick up. Coinciding with the revenue growth, operating margins grew to 11.3% versus 2013. The company continues to experience weakness in the energy business as demand for new power generation capacity has waned in favor of transmission and distribution repairs. Defense aerospace margins held relatively stable during 2012 in spite of customer budget pressures. While some investors are impressed by the…
Deutsche Bank’s reported EUR 2.2 billion loss for the fourth quarter included EUR 1.9 billion of impairments on goodwill and other intangibles and EUR 1.0 billion of litigation provisions, as well as EUR 0.7 billion of losses from the company’s new noncore operations unit. While the quarterly loss was larger than expected, investors were pleased to see many signs that Deutsche Bank’s business remains on track. Notably, revenues of EUR 7.9 billion for the quarter and EUR 33.7 billion for the full year were up 14% and 2%, respectively, and the 6% year-over-year drop in provision for loan losses (to…
Carl Icahn filed a 13-D late Friday, indicating that he had acquired ownership of around 5.6% of Transocean’s RIG stock, up from 1.7% ownership earlier in January. Icahn strongly believes that Transocean should issue a dividend of at least $4 per share, or around $1.4 billion using the current diluted share count of 359 million shares. The manager plans to propose a dividend at the company’s annual meeting, and under Swiss law, if the majority of Transocean’s shareholders support the proposal, the company must pay the dividend whether the board supports such a decision. Icahn also plans to have additional…