IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 7 May
07-05-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Aepona closes USD10m funding round | Vodafone Ireland names new CEO
The Irish Times reports that a representative of the Communications Workers Union has claimed there is a "real possibility" that Eircom could collapse within six months. On the second day of the union's three-day conference in Wexford, its general secretary Stevie Fitzpatrick said the "perilous" financial situation of the company, allied to the loss of customers, was posing a threat to the future of the company and its 5,500 employees. Responding to the union's claims, Eircom said in a statement it was "confident" that it could resolve its cost issues and continue servicing its debt. The statement added that Eircom had recently eliminated its pension deficit and reduced its operating costs by 17 percent since the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
In a separate story, the paper says that STT, the Singapore-based owner of Eircom, has set up an international advisory body to help manage its investment here. The body, which includes Brendan Tuohy, a former secretary general of the Department of Communications, has not met yet.
The paper also says that a Dublin-based subsidiary of eBay paid the company a dividend of USD112.5 million in 2009. Accounts just filed for PayPal International Ltd, which acts as a holding company for various PayPal subsidiaries, provides details of the transaction, which amounted to an equity dividend of USD1,125 per ordinary share. The Irish-registered entity holds "excess group cash" for which interest income is earned, according to a directors' report.
The paper also says that the Government and public services should be using their purchasing muscle to aid the development of the clean technology sector, according to some of the industry's leading figures. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) published a report on the sector at a seminar for the industry. After the event, SEAI chief operations officer Dr Brian Motherway said one of the issues that the report identified was the need for State support for the industry, which was just beginning to find its feet. Motherway said that did not necessarily mean grants but the adjustment of procurement policies could help clean tech companies sell their technology, goods and services to the State.
The same paper reports that telecoms software firm Aepona has closed a USD10 million funding round which the company will use to increase its sales and marketing efforts in key markets. The investment was led by BlackBerry Partners Fund. Existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Polaris Ventures, Innovacom, Nordic Venture Partners and Sutter Hill Ventures are also participating in the funding round. Michael Crossey, Aepona's vice-president of marketing, said the involvement of BlackBerry Partners Fund would help to improve the Belfast firm's relationships with important players in the mobile market, such as Research In Motion.
The paper also notes that a report from software giant Oracle advises media and telecoms firms to develop new strategies to ensure they survive in the new digital age. The report said current cultural, economic and technological trends were already affecting consumer behaviour, and identified a number of trends such as the rise of "freemium" -- where a service is offered free but add-ons are charged for -- and convergence across TV, mobile and PC platforms. It said companies would have to engage consumers and build relationships with them if they wished to distinguish themselves from rivals.
The Irish Independent reports that Vodafone Ireland has named Dutchman Jeroen Hoencamp as its new chief executive, replacing Charles Butterworth. Butterworth is returning to Vodafone UK after three years in Dublin. Hoencamp joins the Irish business from Vodafone Netherlands, where he has worked for the past 12 years.
The paper also says that a new organisation representing Irish digital publishing companies, the Association of Online Publishers Ireland, intends to promote the value of online content to both consumers and advertisers. Founding members of the group include Independent.ie, Rte.ie, Irishtimes.ie and Entertainment.ie. The association will undertake research, collaborate with online organisations overseas and organise local events to promote its members' work.
The Irish Examiner reports that IT services and training provider PFH has acquired the Irish arm of Siemens Enterprise Communications in a multi-million-euro deal. PFH did not reveal the exact value of the deal. The merger brings the number of people employed by PFH to 200 and the company expects the deal to result in a turnover of more than EUR45 million this year. Managing director of PFH, Paul Hourican, said: "Now we have the ability to offer voice and data offerings from unified communications, switching and networking to our range of procurement, implementation, storage and support services."
According to the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo has posted an annual profit decline for the first time in six years and said it expects profit and sales to fall again this fiscal year. Net profit fell to JPY228.64 billion (USD2.43 billion), compared with JPY279.09 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 22 percent to JPY1.434 trillion, while operating profit dropped 36 percent to JPY356.57 billion. Sales of its flagship Wii games console for the fiscal year came to 20.53 million units worldwide, down 21 percent from the previous year. Nintendo expects Wii sales to decline again this year to 18 million units.
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