In Short

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Britvic expects impairment charge after Irish review

Britvic, the owner of Ballygowan, is reviewing its Irish business and expects to book a one-time impairment charge on assets, the company said yesterday.

In a trading update, the drinks firm also flagged potential “financial implications” linked to proposals it is making to Irish employees, as it restructures.

“Reflective of a rebased Irish business and market, management has commenced a review of the carrying value of Irish goodwill and other intangible assets and expects this review will result in an impairment charge at the 2010 year-end,” a management statement read.The company’s shares rose in London after it said it would meet forecasts.

Nokia to cut jobs despite profits

Nokia has reported stronger-than-expected profits for the third quarter, boosted by solid demand for its cheap smartphones, but said it would cut up to 1,800 jobs.

Third-quarter underlying earnings per share for the world's largest handset maker dropped to 14 cent from 17 cent a year ago, but beat forecasts.

The results were the first since Canadian Stephen Elop took over at the helm last month from Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who presided over a halving in Nokia's market value during his four years in charge.

In its key phone unit Nokia was able to increase the average sale price to €65 – the first annual price rise in almost a decade – as new, cheap smartphones such as the C5 and the E5 went on sale over the summer.

"It's about selling family cars rather than sports cars – that's where Nokia is making the money," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. – (Reuters)

Tullow update on offshore Ghana well

Exploration firm Tullow Oil has issued an update on its offshore Ghana licence. It said the Onyina-1 exploration well in the Deepwater Tano licence had encountered water-bearing reservoirs. The well intersected 49m of good quality sandstone reservoirs, but these were found to be water-bearing.

Exploration director Angus McCoss said the test allowed for refinement of its exploration strategy off Ghana.

Aldi has operating loss of £21.2m

German-owned discount retailer Aldi has reported an operating loss of £21.2 million (€23.9 million) on its UK and Irish stores for 2009. Aldi Stores (Limited) fell into the red after recording profits of £88.9 million in 2008. It cited competitive pressures as one of the principal risks it faces.

The company invested heavily in the expansion of its business last year. It does not publish turnover or profits for its Irish stores alone.