IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 31 January
31-01-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
High Court judge to make Payzone decision on Friday | Lenovo triples quarterly earnings
The Irish Times reports that German software giant SAP had revenues of EUR10.25 billion last year, as noted by ENN on Wednesday.
The paper also says that a High Court judge will give her decision on Friday on an application by two Payzone executives restraining the company from treating them as being dismissed. Justice Maureen Clark said she would give her decision on Friday and her considered judgment later on the application by John Nagle and John Williamson, who claim company chairman Bob Thian had acted without authority and breached the company's own rules in announcing their dismissal.
The Financial Times reports that Sony posted a surprisingly small rise in quarterly operating profit and cut its annual forecast by 9 percent. Operating profit for October-to-December came to JPY189.36 billion, up 5.9 percent from JPY178.91 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Sony enjoyed robust holiday demand for its Cyber-shot digital cameras, Handycam camcorders and Vaio PCs, and managed to return its game division back to profitability by cutting PlayStation 3 production costs and boosting sales of its portable game machine, the PSP. But it lowered its forecast for operating profit in the year to March to JPY410 billion from JPY450 billion, citing the rising yen and the declining stock market.
The paper also says that Lenovo tripled its quarterly earnings, beating market expectations, as it rode strong Asian demand. Lenovo posted October-to-December net profit of USD171.75 million, versus USD57.7 million a year ago. However, the world's No.4 computer maker faces a tough 2008 as a US slowdown threatens to curb spending. Lenovo, which commands a third of the booming Chinese market and leads Asia in computer sales, is making in-roads into a fiercely fought, unfamiliar American consumer arena even as worries mount of a sharp deceleration in IT spending there. "That's the risk. But if emerging markets continue to be robust, hopefully that should offset any weakness," said Bear Stearns analyst Jack Tse.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Dell is to close its 140 kiosks in the US as the PC maker changes its retail strategy to sales in partnering stores. The company launched the Dell Direct Store model in 2002, setting up kiosks in shopping malls and airports, in addition to its direct-selling method by phone and internet. But the company has been moving to expand sales of PCs in stores, inking a number of deals in recent months to sell its products at US retailers including Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Staples. Kiosks outside the US will not be affected by the move.
The paper also says that Google's top three executives agreed in 2004 to work together at the internet search giant for at least 20 years, a company spokesman has confirmed. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and CEO Eric Schmidt, made their informal pact one month prior to the company's August 2004 initial public offering. The spokesman said the agreement conveys the importance the executives place on managing the company for the long term.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 