Italy’s Mediaset reports first-half profits down by 48 percent

September 30th, 2009 China says industrial profits fell 10.6 percentBEIJING — Profits at China's oil producers, steel makers and other major industrial companies fell 10.6 percent in the first eight months of 2009 from the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday. Total profits for the biggest Chinese industrial companies — those with annual revenues above 5 million yuan ($732,000) — were 1.67 trillion yuan ($245 billion) from January to August, data showed.

September 16th, 2009 News Corp.'s Sky Italia sues Berlusconi's MediasetNEW YORK — News Corp.'s Sky Italia has sued two units of Italian broadcaster Mediaset, the latest step in an ongoing battle over pay TV between media moguls Rupert Murdoch at News Corp. and Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister.

August 12th, 2009 GENEVA - Nestle, the world's largest food company, reported Wednesday a decline in sales of 1.5 percent, dropping to 52.3 billion Swiss francs ($48.3 billion) in the first half of 2009. Nestle's profits dipped from 5.21 billion francs in the first half of 2008 to 5.1 billion for the same period this year.

August 6th, 2009 American Italian Pasta reports higher 3Q profitKANSAS CITY, Mo. — American Italian Pasta Co.

August 4th, 2009 UniCredit reports 2Q earns down 74 percentMILAN — The Italian bank UniCredit SpA says second-quarter net profit fell 74 percent due to lower fees and commissions. The group said in a statement Friday that net profit dropped to euro490 million ($705 million), compared with euro1.91 billion in the second quarter of 2008.

July 31st, 2009 Enel first half profits up 28 percentROME — Italian utility Enel SpA on Friday reported a 28 percent increase in first half profit as income at its newly acquired Spanish unit Endesa offset a drop in electricity sales in its home Italian market. The Rome-based company said in a statement Friday that first-half net income rose to euro3.52 billion ($4.9 billion), up from euro2.7 billion in the same period a year earlier.

July 30th, 2009 Repsol-YPF reports 2Q profits down 59 percentMADRID — Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF said Thursday its net profits for the second quarter dropped by 59 percent because of lower oil prices and the global economic slowdown. Repsol-YPF reported earnings of euro373 million ($526.08 million), compared with euro905 million for the same period last year.

July 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Budget carrier SpiceJet Tuesday reported net profits of Rs.263.42 million for the first quarter of this fiscal, against a loss of Rs.1.29 billion in the like quarter of 2008-09, despite some trying times for the aviation sector. The company's total income also registered a 10.55 percent increase at Rs.5.34 billion during the quarter, as against Rs.4.83 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal, said a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

July 15th, 2009 Air China forecasts 50 percent profit riseBEIJING — Air China Ltd., one of China's three major state-owned carriers, said Wednesday it expects first-half profits to rise at least 50 percent from a year earlier as it recovers from a huge 2008 loss. The Beijing-based airline said its first-half 2008 profit was 1.3 billion yuan under Chinese accounting standards, which would make its profit from January to June this year at least 1.9 billion yuan ($284 million).

July 1st, 2009 Report: Italian train derailment death toll at 16ROME — News reports say two children have died after suffering severe burns in an explosion that followed a train derailment in northern Italy, raising the death toll to 16. The ANSA news agency and Sky Italia said Wednesday that a 3-year old girl died overnight in a Rome hospital, while a 2-year old boy died in a Florence hospital.

June 30th, 2009 HMV full year profits fall by halfLONDON — Music and books retailer HMV Group PLC said Tuesday that its full-year profit fell by half compared to a year ago, when the bottom line was fattened by the sale of operations in Japan. Net profit for the year ending April 25 was 44.2 million pounds ($73.9 million), compared to 89 million pounds in the previous year.

June 3rd, 2009 Bombardier reports dip in 1Q profits, revenueTORONTO — Bombardier Inc. says general economic weakness and order cancellations in its aerospace division have led to a decline in both profits and revenues during the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

May 1st, 2009 Macquarie Bank profits collapse 52 percentSYDNEY — Australia's Macquarie Bank, once nicknamed the millionaire's factory for the number of executives it made rich, said Friday its profits halved last year, and slashed 2.5 billion Australian dollars ($1.8 billion) from its asset values because of the global financial crisis. Net profit for the 12 months to March 31 was AU$871 million ($635 million), a 52 percent fall from the AU$1.8 billion earned a year earlier, Australia's largest investment bank said.

April 24th, 2009 Italy's Eni says 1Q net profit down 43 percentMILAN — Italy's largest energy company, Eni SpA, says first quarter earnings dropped 43 percent due to the sharp reduction in oil prices and European demand for gas. Eni reported Friday that net profit in the first quarter of the year was euro1.9 billion ($2.48 billion) compared with euro3.32 billion a year ago.

February 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's state-owned oil companies did not meet their target of spending two percent of their profits on corporate social responsibility (CSR), Petroleum Minister Murli Deora admitted Tuesday but said they would be asked to do so in the new fiscal year. 'We will try and spend two percent,' Deora said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha when asked why the oil companies had spent only 0.7-1 percent of their profits on CSR schemes during 2008-09.