Swiss Re posts 16 percent rise in half-year profit
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Re-insurance group Swiss Re reported a 16 percent rise in first-half profit to 1.6 billion Swiss francs (1.0 billion euros, 1.3 billion dollars).
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Westpac Banking Corp., Australia&#39;s fourth-largest bank, has posted a 16 percent rise in full-year net profit on stronger housing and business lending, and forecast 2005 earnings growth near the top of the sector.
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Kroger, the largest supermarket company in the United States, said yesterday that its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 16 percent as discounts spurred sales.
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Switzerland's struggling national airline reported a second-quarter profit of 45 million Swiss francs ($35.6 million) Tuesday, although its figures were boosted by a legal settlement in France.
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Defence firm BAE Systems posts a 15% rise in half-year profits after seeing a strong increase in sales.
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BERN, Switzerland -- Swisscom posted a 0.7% increase in revenue to CHF 7.53 billion for the first three quarters of 2004. Operating income before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased year-on-year by 3.5% to CHF 3.4 billion.
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WPP Group, the world&#39;s second-largest advertising company, says its first-half profit climbed nearly 16 percent as growth in Asia and the United States counterbalanced sluggish European markets.
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Credit Suisse shares rose on Tuesday amid hopes Switzerland&#39;s second-largest financial group will step up the pace of restructuring, prompted by a report that it
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The Swiss National Bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point and raised its economic growth forecast for the year. Switzerlandâs central bank said it decided at its quarterly policy-setting meeting to raise rates to 2.50 percent from the previous 2.25 percent. The increase, expected by analysts, was the ninth successive increase in recent years and puts the rate at its highest level since 2001. The move mirrors a decision last week by the European Central Bank, which raised its key interest rate from 3.75 percent to 4 percent. The Swiss central bank also raised its expectations for growth in gross domestic product this year to 2.5 percent from 2 percent.
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The Swiss Reinsurance Company, the worldâs largest reinsurer, said profit nearly doubled last year because of fewer claims from natural disasters and gains from investments and acquisitions. The company earned 4.56 billion Swiss francs ($3.74 billion) for the year, up from a restated figure of 2.3 billion francs for 2005. Swiss Re also announced a 36 percent increase in its dividend, to 3.40 francs ($2.79) a share, and said it would buy back shares worth up to 6 billion francs ($4.9 billion) over the next three years. Swiss Re said it would buy half of a stake held by General Electric as part of the buyback. G.E. is selling a Swiss Re stake valued at 3.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.9 billion), half to Swiss Re and the other half on the open market. G.E. acquired the stake last year when it sold its reinsurance units to Swiss Re.
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Swiss insurance giant Zurich Financial Services has reported a first-half net profit of $US1.5 billion ($A2.1 billion), up 93 per cent from $US752 million ($A1.05 billion) in the same period last year, and roughly in line with analysts&#39; expectations.
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Credit Suisse will seek to launch a  share buyback plan worth up to 6 billion Swiss francs ($5  billion), it said on Thursday, after reporting a better than  expected 22 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profits.
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Swiss Reinsurance Co., the world&#39;s second largest reinsurance company, on Thursday posted a net profit of 1.4 billion Swiss francs ($1.
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No-frills airline Ryanair has beat forecasts with an 18-percent jump in half-year profit after a strong summer and it has cheered investors with a surprisingly upbeat take on the full year.
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Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche has said its first-half net profit had increased by 37 percent to 4.54 billion Swiss francs (2.9 billion euros, 3.62 billion dollars).
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Automaker BMW AG said Wednesday that its second-quarter net profit climbed by more than 17 percent as new models powered a healthy rise in sales.
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The company said third-quarter profit rose 16 percent despite a drop in production, but warned that performance of its refining operations was weaker than it appeared.