A round-up of other business stories
Hickey's expands in Munster
Pharmacy group Hickey's has opened its first pharmacy outside Leinster and said it expects a record turnover of more than €50 million for 2005.
The outlet at the Ballincollig Shopping Centre, Cork, is the 27th of the group's outlets.
The group said it plans to invest heavily in Munster in the next three years. The number of staff is set to rise from 300 to more than 400 over the next 18 months, the group said.
Calyx buys QCL Technologies
AIM-listed Irish company Calyx has bought Cork based QCL Technologies, for €1.28 million in cash and shares.
The initial consideration involves €933,000 in cash and shares worth €200,000. A further consideration of €150,000 in cash is dependent on performance criteria.
QCL's managing director Jack Casey is to join Calyx in a senior management role and all staff at QCL are expected to continue working with Calyx.
Karelian reports Finnish progress
AIM-listed Karelian Diamond Resources has said it has made encouraging progress in its Finnish diamond operations. Chairman Richard Conroy said in the company's annual report that the area being explored in Finland is under-explored in comparison with other diamond producing regions in the world. The company holds 58 diamond claims in Finland.
McDonald's has 6% earnings drop
McDonald's reported a 6 per cent drop in quarterly earnings after tax-benefit- boosted year-ago results, but sales and operating profits were lifted by stronger markets like Germany, France and Australia.
Third-quarter net income fell to $735.4 million (€612 million), or 58 cents per share, compared with $778.4 million, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier. - (Reuters)
Brokers calling for name change
The Professional Insurance Brokers Association (Piba) is meeting with the financial regulator's consumer director, Mary O'Dea, today to lobby for the removal of the terms "authorised adviser" and "multi-agency intermediary", which it says cause confusion among consumers.
Piba chief executive Diarmuid Kelly said the association would be asking the financial regulator to return to the terms "insurance broker", "agent" and "tied agent".
Coke beats Wall Street estimates
Coca-Cola yesterday reported a 37 percent jump in third-quarter profit on healthy sales growth in China, Mexico and other international markets, beating Wall Street forecasts.
In the third quarter, earnings rose to $1.28 billion, or 54 cents per share, from $935 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. When the impact of a write-down in the Philippines and a tax gain were excluded, Coke earned 57 cents a share. Revenue rose to $6.04 billion from $5.6 billion, exceeding Wall Street estimates of $5.95 billion.-(Reuters)
Google posts sharp rise in profit
Web search leader Google yesterday posted a sharp rise in quarterly profit that topped Wall Street profit and revenue expectations.
Google reported third-quarter net income rose to $381.2 million, or $1.32 per diluted share, more than six times higher than $52.0 million, or 19 cents a share, a year ago. The prior quarter included a non-cash charge of $201.0 million to settle a patent dispute with rival Yahoo Inc.
Shares of Google jumped 7.5 per cent to $326.08 in after-hours trading.
Property not only choice: Friends First
Property is still the number one investment choice for high earners, according to a survey of high net worth people conducted by life assurance and investment company Friends First.
A third of the 300 people surveyed said they intended making a property investment in the next 18 months. Property's grip on the pockets of Irish investors is fuelled by the perception that it yields high returns, according to Friends First, which warned of a lack of knowledge of the benefits of diversification.
"We would be concerned that the limited knowledge of investment options available among investors and an over-reliance on property investment could create a damaging effect on ultimate returns," said Adrian Hegarty, chief executive of Friends First.
Mr Hegarty said Ireland's economy would benefit greatly if the proceeds of Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) stayed in the country to fund pensions and other investments rather than leave for high-risk property acquisitions abroad.
Pensions Board will target youth
Cinema-goers can now enjoy a dose of pensions with their popcorn following the Pensions Board's decision to target young consumers through cinema advertising for the first time.
Just half of people aged 25 to 34 have private pension provision.
The cinema campaign, which started this week, is shot in the style of the Blair Witch Project, featuring a person attempting to flee the reality of life without a pension, a scenario that will eventually catch up with them, the Pensions Board says.
A poster campaign will include washrooms in pubs and nightclubs and Dublin Bus poster sites.
Mary Hutch, head of information and training at the Pensions Board, said the intention of its winter campaign was for the issue of pensions to turn up where people least expect it.
Underinsurance a growing trend
Many individuals and companies are now underinsured and could find that their policies are worthless in the event of a claim, according to the president of the Irish Brokers' Association (IBA).
Donagh McSharry blamed an underinsuring trend on insurance companies' increasing use of direct channels focused on providing the most basic levels of cover at the lowest cost, instead of clients going through brokers. "There is growing evidence that this is dissuading people from ensuring through proper advice that they have the right cover " he said.
