after-the-maker

RIM Slumps On BlackBerry Revenue Miss

by AP on March 24, 2011

Huffington Post…

NEW YORK — Research in Motion Ltd.’s stock took a hit Thursday after the maker of the BlackBerry reported revenue from its latest quarter that fell short of expectations and warned that sales in the current three-month period are shifting to cheaper models. RIM’s shares were down $6.59, or more than 10 percent, at $57.50 in extended trading after the Waterloo, Ontario, company reported results from the three months that ended Feb. 26. It posted net income of $934 million, or $1.78 per share, for its fiscal fourth quarter. That was up 31 percent from $710 million, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $1.75 per share, on average. Revenue rose 36 percent to $5.6 billion, shy of the $5.65 billion expected by analysts. For the current quarter, ending in May, RIM said it expects earnings of $1.47 to $1.55 per share, below the average analyst forecast at $1.65. It said that was because cheaper phones would make up more of its sales in the quarter, and it’s spending more on research, development, sales and marketing, especially on its new tablet, the PlayBook. “These are investments in the future,” RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie told investors on a conference call. The decline in earnings isn’t a trend, he said. The PlayBook and new “superphones” that use the same underlying software as the tablet will keep growth going, he said. “I have many corporate clients that have approached us about, you know, each wanting tens of thousands, several tens of thousands of PlayBooks,” Balsillie said. The PlayBook goes on a sale in the U.S. on April 19. It’s half the size of Apple Inc.’s iPad, and it’s designed to work both as a standalone tablet and as an accessory for a BlackBerry phone. RIM said Thursday that the PlayBook will be able to run applications written for Google Inc.’s Android software. RIM expects earnings for the entire fiscal year of $7.50 per share, well above the analyst forecast at $6.82. The growth of BlackBerry sales has slowed in North America due to competition from the iPhone and phones running Android. But overseas, sales are taking off, as corporations are only starting to put BlackBerrys in the hands of employees. Sales outside the old core markets of U.S., Britain and Canada are now 52 percent of the total, the company said. Cheaper models make up more of the overseas sales, analysts say. Balsillie also said the company is selling more of its cheaper phones because more BlackBerrys are sold without contracts. Such phones aren’t subsidized as much by the wireless carriers, so they’re usually cheaper, entry-level models.

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RIM Slumps On BlackBerry Revenue Miss

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Video: Marcel Smits Says Sara Lee Split `Good’ for Shareholders

by on January 28, 2011

Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) — Sara Lee Corp. Chief Executive Officer Marcel Smits talks about splitting the company in two after the maker of Ball Park hot dogs failed to agree to takeover offers from other suitors. Smits talks with Jon Erlichman on Bloomberg Television’s “Bottom Line.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Marcel Smits Says Sara Lee Split `Good’ for Shareholders

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BASF Said to Prepare 3 Billion-Euro Bid for Germany’s Cognis

April 9, 2010

By Angela Cullen, Aaron Kirchfeld and Richard Weiss April 9 (Bloomberg) — BASF SE is preparing a bid for Cognis GmbH that may value the privately held chemical maker at about 3 billion euros ($4 billion), according to two people with knowledge of the situation. BASF, the world’s biggest chemical producer, may make an offer as early as next week, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are private. A U.S. bidder is also interested in buying Cognis, which is owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Permira Advisers Ltd., one of the people said. BASF spokeswoman Jennifer Moore-Braun declined to comment. Cognis would help Chief Executive Officer Juergen Hambrecht reduce BASF’s reliance on plastics and chemicals that Middle East competitors produce more cheaply. The former Henkel AG unit , sold to the buyout firms in 2001, is attracting bidders with its range of ingredients for body lotions, cleaning products and shampoos, products that are more resistant to economic cycles than those directly derived from oil and gas. “Cognis is strong in home and personal care chemicals based on natural raw materials,” said Andreas Heine , an analyst at UniCredit SpA. “Whoever owns Cognis, owns the global market leader. It would be the right addition for BASF. We believe Cognis will be sold this year.” Reviewing Options The owners of Cognis are reviewing their options and will decide in coming weeks whether to sell the company or pursue an initial public offering, another person said. Venture capital company SV Life Sciences also owns a stake in Cognis. Cognis’s equity value compared with peers including British competitor Croda International Plc limits the amount it may generate in an IPO, making a sale to a strategic investor more likely, according to credit analyst Jochen Schlachter of UniCredit SpA in Munich. A purchase would be BASF’s biggest since its takeover of Ciba Holding AG for $5 billion last year. Hambrecht said in February he would avoid any big acquisitions until the integration of Ciba was completed. He said in January that BASF has made more progress toward a savings goal from the merger. Hambrecht is streamlining the company to move out of lower- margin businesses, and the company is looking for a buyer for its styrene operations. Dow Chemical Co. agreed last month to sell its Styron unit, the world’s biggest producer of polystyrene plastic, to Bain Capital Partners for about $1.63 billion to pay down debt and focus on higher-value materials. Cutting Jobs Dusseldorf-based Cognis, which employs about 5,600 people, has reduced its number of workers by 39 percent since the end of 2001. It was sold by Henkel for 2.5 billion euros after the maker of Loctite glues and Persil detergent chose to focus on consumer and industrial products. Cognis is in the process of creating a prospectus for a share sale should its owners decide to list the company, Chief Executive Officer Antonio Trius said on March 24. He forecast rising sales and operating profit this year. The German company posted 2009 profit of 25 million euros, following a loss of 49 million euros in 2008. Net debt stood at 1.87 billion euros as of Dec. 31. Sales fell 14 percent to 2.58 billion euros as earnings before interest and taxes rose 3 percent to 195 million euros. To contact the reporters on this story: Angela Cullen in Frankfurt at acullen8@bloomberg.net ; Aaron Kirchfeld in Frankfurt at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net ; Richard Weiss in Frankfurt at rweiss5@bloomberg.net

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BASF Said to Be Preparing $4 Billion Bid for German Chemical Maker Cognis

April 9, 2010

By Angela Cullen, Aaron Kirchfeld and Richard Weiss April 9 (Bloomberg) — BASF SE is preparing a bid for Cognis GmbH that may value the privately held chemical maker at about 3 billion euros ($4 billion), according to two people with knowledge of the situation. BASF, the world’s biggest chemical producer, may make an offer as early as next week, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are private. A U.S. bidder is also interested in buying Cognis, which is owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Permira Advisers Ltd., one of the people said. BASF spokeswoman Jennifer Moore-Braun declined to comment. Cognis would help Chief Executive Officer Juergen Hambrecht reduce BASF’s reliance on plastics and chemicals that Middle East competitors produce more cheaply. The former Henkel AG unit , sold to the buyout firms in 2001, is attracting bidders with its range of ingredients for body lotions, cleaning products and shampoos, products that are more resistant to economic cycles than those directly derived from oil and gas. “Cognis is strong in home and personal care chemicals based on natural raw materials,” said Andreas Heine , an analyst at UniCredit SpA. “Whoever owns Cognis, owns the global market leader. It would be the right addition for BASF. We believe Cognis will be sold this year.” Reviewing Options The owners of Cognis are reviewing their options and will decide in coming weeks whether to sell the company or pursue an initial public offering, another person said. Venture capital company SV Life Sciences also owns a stake in Cognis. Cognis’s equity value compared with peers including British competitor Croda International Plc limits the amount it may generate in an IPO, making a sale to a strategic investor more likely, according to credit analyst Jochen Schlachter of UniCredit SpA in Munich. A purchase would be BASF’s biggest since its takeover of Ciba Holding AG for $5 billion last year. Hambrecht said in February he would avoid any big acquisitions until the integration of Ciba was completed. He said in January that BASF has made more progress toward a savings goal from the merger. Hambrecht is streamlining the company to move out of lower- margin businesses, and the company is looking for a buyer for its styrene operations. Dow Chemical Co. agreed last month to sell its Styron unit, the world’s biggest producer of polystyrene plastic, to Bain Capital Partners for about $1.63 billion to pay down debt and focus on higher-value materials. Cutting Jobs Dusseldorf-based Cognis, which employs about 5,600 people, has reduced its number of workers by 39 percent since the end of 2001. It was sold by Henkel for 2.5 billion euros after the maker of Loctite glues and Persil detergent chose to focus on consumer and industrial products. Cognis is in the process of creating a prospectus for a share sale should its owners decide to list the company, Chief Executive Officer Antonio Trius said on March 24. He forecast rising sales and operating profit this year. The German company posted 2009 profit of 25 million euros, following a loss of 49 million euros in 2008. Net debt stood at 1.87 billion euros as of Dec. 31. Sales fell 14 percent to 2.58 billion euros as earnings before interest and taxes rose 3 percent to 195 million euros. To contact the reporters on this story: Angela Cullen in Frankfurt at acullen8@bloomberg.net ; Aaron Kirchfeld in Frankfurt at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net ; Richard Weiss in Frankfurt at rweiss5@bloomberg.net

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Asian Stocks Rise, Extending U.S. Rally; Asahi Glass, James Hardie Advance

November 5, 2009

By Jonathan Burgos Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) — Asian stocks rose, extending a surge in the U.S., after unemployment claims and worker productivity beat estimates and companies from Asahi Glass Co. to Toyota Motor Corp. boosted forecasts for this year. Asahi Glass, Asia’s largest glassmaker, climbed 5.5 percent in Tokyo, and Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, added as much as 1.7 percent after they narrowed their forecast annual losses. James Hardie Industries NV , the top seller of home siding in the U.S., advanced 2.1 percent in Sydney. Pioneer Corp. surged 8 percent after the maker of car-navigation systems said it needs less funds than previously expected as earnings improve. “Investors are likely to buy into exporter shares with the improvements in the U.S. economic data,” said Juichi Wako , a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.50 percent to 115.26 as of 9:50 a.m. in Tokyo, trimming its loss this week to 1 percent. The gauge has slumped 4.8 percent from a 13-month high on Oct. 20 amid concerns the withdrawal of stimulus measures will cause the global recovery to falter. The index is still up 64 percent from a five-year low on March 9. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1 percent to 9,814.95. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 1.5 percent in Sydney. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 0.5 percent in Wellington. To contact the reporter for this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net .

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