The news comes after the firm reported a net loss of 2.8bn Australian dollars ($2.6bn; £1.6bn) for the 12 months to June - its biggest ever annual loss. Shares of the Sydney-listed airline rose more than 3% before midday. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce made the announcement in Sydney at the company's annual general meeting.
Updated 5 Years ago

The software giant made $4.5bn (£2.8bn) in the three months to September, 13% lower than the same time last year. "Integrations and restructuring expenses" cost $1.1bn, Microsoft said. But the new Nokia business also boosted revenues. They climbed 25% to $23.2bn, beating expectations and sending shares higher in after-hours trading.
Updated 5 Years ago

Typically, an average Nigerian home seeker would want to have it in the conventional brick and mortar, which is not only more expensive but also takes longer time to deliver. This is frequently cited as a reason for the housing deficit in the country estimated at 17 million units. As part of efforts at bridging this deficit, Nigerite Limited, a complete building components solution company, has entered the market with dry construction method. The company’s managing director, FRANK LE-BRIS, in this interview with CHUKA UROKO, speaks on Nigeria’s housing market, dry construction as an alternative building method, among other issues. Excerpts:
Updated 5 Years ago

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Heritage Bank on Wednesday in Cairo, Egypt, signed an agreement formalising Afreximbank’s $272 million facility in support of Heritage Bank’s acquisition of Enterprise Bank from the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). According to Obi Emekekwue of Afreximbank’s external communication, the pan-African trade bank served as the sole lead arranger for the $272 million, representing 80 percent of Heritage Bank’s $344 million winning bid for Enterprise Bank.
Updated 5 Years ago

A new chapter in the systematic nurturing of new age business leaders opened last week with the debut of the Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership Series. The series is fully dedicated to facilitating the emergence of a new crop of business leaders beholden to excellence, innovation and integrity and capable of optimising the growth in the economy to deliver impeccable value to Nigeria. Speaking at the event, headlined by the duo of e-commerce innovator and founder of leading online retail chain, Konga, Sim Shagaya and South African motivational speaker, Vusi Thembekwayo, Yinka Sanni, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank, says Nigeria has entered a critical phase in her economic evolution. This phase, he says, is one that makes innovative leadership increasingly critical, if Nigeria is to fully optimise the gains of the growth it continues to record year-on-year.
Updated 5 Years ago

Mr. Chef, one of Nigeria’s most preferred food seasonings, has launched a market changing 10-in-1 packs of seasoning cubes in response to customer demands. The introduction of the money-saving initiative was part of Mr. Chef’s two instant big win incentives announced to distributors and wholesalers at a launch event held in Abuja recently.
Updated 5 Years ago

InterSwitch Transnational, a pan-African integrated payment company, has launched Retailpay, a mobile business management platform. Retailpay provides growing businesses with the technology to remotely manage and monitor their operations via mobile devices, irrespective of location. Retailpay is an application that allows retailers have access to their business records from any smart device.
Updated 5 Years ago

In what could be perceived as a spectacular success, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance first quarter (Q1) 2014 net income surged 215.26 percent, a result that means shareholders of the company should await increased returns on their investment. For the first three months through March 2014, the Nigeria insurer’s profit after tax (PAT) increased by 215.26 percent to N364 million from N115.45 million the same period of the corresponding year (Q1) 2013.
Updated 5 Years ago

Governors of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) Wednesday declared that they would not impose any presidential aspirant of the party on its leadership during the forthcoming presidential primary of the party. The governors, who met under the aegis of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, also demanded a separate meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan over the dwindling federal revenue allocations to the 36 states of the federation, saying they do not believe that Nigeria is broke.
Updated 5 Years ago

A bomb exploded at a bus station in northern Nigeria's Bauchi state late on Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding 12, police said. The blast, which struck the town of Azare, is likely to be blamed on Islamist Boko Haram militants, casting further doubt on government reports that it had reached a temporary ceasefire with the rebels in order to secure the release of more than 200 schoolgirls they are holding hostage
Updated 5 Years ago