IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 25 April
25-04-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Nintendo, Samsung profits jump | Yahoo plans social networking features
The Irish Times reports that Wii maker Nintendo saw profit in the fourth quarter jump 60 percent, but it forecast modest annual growth of 9 percent as it expects sales of its DS handheld games console to slow. Operating profit for the January-to-March quarter surged to JPY93.2 billion (USD913 million), beating expectations. But Nintendo expects profit to climb to JPY530 billion this business year, 6 percent below the average analyst estimate of JPY566.5 billion.
The paper also says that proposed rules for the retention of internet data could damage Ireland's efforts to attract foreign direct investment and hinder efforts to encourage indigenous internet-based businesses. Consumers and businesses will pay more for internet services as internet service providers (ISPs) pass on costs for managing and storing internet data under the Government's proposed data retention legislation. Industry observers fear the vagueness of the new rules could make multinationals jittery about privacy concerns and the prospective costs of storing data, and dampen inward investment in sectors such as technology and web services.
The paper also notes that software entrepreneur Raomal Perera is raising EUR1.5 million in business expansion scheme (BES) funding for his latest venture, a provider of human resources software called Empower. Empower has been funded to date by its directors. Perera said the new funding was earmarked for research and development and international expansion.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung Electronics' first-quarter profit leaped 37 percent despite little contribution from its semiconductor division. Samsung's mobile phone and flat-panel divisions each produced about USD1 billion in operating profit. And the chip division, slumping like all makers of memory chips through a cyclical downturn, surpassed analysts' expectations by remaining in the black. Samsung said it earned SKW2.19 trillion, or USD2.2 billion, in the quarter, compared with SKW1.6 trillion in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was SKW17.11 trillion, up 19 percent from SKW14.39 trillion a year earlier.
The paper also says that Yahoo plans to open its site to web services from other developers and create other features familiar to users of social-networking services. The moves, which will begin affecting what consumers can do on Yahoo later this year, follow in the wake of similar "open platform" efforts by Facebook and other rivals. One feature Yahoo is planning will provide a single profile page where users can manage information about themselves and who they are friends with.
According to the Financial Times, telecoms equipment manufacturer Ericsson has revealed that its profits for the first three months of the year were halved. The Swedish group posted first quarter net profit of SEK2.6 billion, down 55 percent compared to SEK5.8 billion the previous year. The company's operating profit margin also contracted sharply year-on-year from 19.3 percent to 9.7 percent. It also warned of a flat year ahead for its core network infrastructure business and said the weakening US dollar would undermine the value of some of its sales.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 