IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 21 October
21-10-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
ICT part of Project Maths scaled back | Firstsource to create Northern jobs
The Irish Independent reports that the newly merged operations of Chorus and NTL lost more than EUR65 million in their first trading year, according to company accounts just filed for UPC Ireland. The merged entity began trading in October 2007; the new figures cover the 2008 calendar year, when the company's turnover topped EUR240 million. The company returned operating losses of EUR23.7 million and pretax losses of more than EUR65 million as a EUR42 million group interest bill and EUR99 million worth of amortisation and depreciation charges chipped into the bottom line. In a brief note, UPC Ireland's directors said the period's results were "in line with management expectations".
The Irish Examiner says that Gardai have seized more than 2,000 DVDs from premises in a Cork town. Valued at an estimated EUR50,000, it is one of the single largest such seizures in the region for several years. The DVDs -- including some yet-to-be-released movie titles and over 100 pornographic titles -- were seized in two separate raids on premises in Macroom on Monday.
The Irish Times reports that a U2 concert is to be streamed live on video-sharing website YouTube. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also says that the new Project Maths syllabus for Leaving and Junior Cert classes has had to be scaled back because of a lack of computer support in schools. The decision to abandon the ICT elements of the new course is a serious embarrassment for the Department of Education. A report from the National Council on Curriculum and Assessment says uneven provision and support of ICT in schools means some elements of the course have had to be "recast''. Teachers have been forced to abandon teaching key areas such as geometry and statistics with computer support.
The paper also reports that Indian outsourcing company Firstsource is to create an additional 100 jobs at its call centre in Derry. The centre currently employs nearly 1,000 people. The group, which lists Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies among its clients, provides support to the banking, financial services, telecoms, media and healthcare sectors. Firstsource has more than 25,000 employees globally.
The same paper says that Irish-based Azotel has announced two separate agreements that will see it expand its services in Canada. The company, which has its headquarters in Cork, has entered into an agreement with Seaside Communications in Canada to develop, install and support a subscriber management system for its cable networks. The company also announced the sale of its SIMPLer platform to Red Hot Internet, which operates Wi-Fi networks in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The paper also reports that the main Irish subsidiary of internet giant Yahoo posted a 19 percent drop in pre-tax profits from EUR76 million to EUR61 million last year after restructuring its business here. According to accounts filed with the Companies' Office by Overture Search Services (Ireland) Ltd, turnover fell by 44 percent from EUR807 million to EUR449 million in the year to the end of December 2008. The Irish subsidiary paid a EUR150 million dividend to its Yahoo parent last year.
In other news of Yahoo's results, the Wall Street Journal says that the group profit in the third quarter surged, helped by cost-cutting and an investment gain. Revenue fell 12 percent to USD1.58 billion from a year ago, but executives indicated that spending on internet ads was stabilising, particularly from large marketers. Yahoo's profit more than tripled to USD186.1 million, or USD0.13 a share, up from USD54.3 million, or USD0.04 a share, a year ago. The results included a USD98 million gain on the sale of Yahoo's investment in Chinese internet company Alibaba.com.
The paper also says that Sun Microsystems plans to lay off about 3,000 employees, or about 10 percent of its workforce, because of delays in the closing of its purchase by Oracle. The hardware and software maker has been reducing its staff numbers over the years because of declining revenues, and additional job cuts are widely expected to happen after Oracle buys the company. That deal, announced in April, was originally expected to close over the summer, but a review by European regulators has been holding up the transaction.
The Financial Times reports that European chip giant STMicroelectronics saw its sales grow 14 percent sequentially to USD2.27 billion in the third quarter. Net loss for the quarter narrowed to USD201 million, compared with USD289 million in the year-ago quarter. The loss per share was USD0.23, compared with a loss of USD0.32 in the same period last year. "All market segments contributed to the sequential revenue growth, with the computer and automotive markets growing the fastest," said Carlo Bozotti, chief executive.
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