Scottish Business Briefing - Tuesday 30 June, 2009

Published on Tuesday 30 June 2009 09:27

WELCOME to scotsman.com's Scottish Business Briefing. Every morning we bring you a comprehensive round-up of all news affecting business in Scotland today.

INDUSTRY

Fears for 500 jobs as MoD seeks cuts to curb aircraft carrier costs

HUNDREDS of jobs at the Clyde shipyards were put at risk last night after it emerged the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers are running 1 billion over budget (Scotsman). Leaked memos from the consortium building the two carriers warned they faced a "very real fight" for survival. The Ministry of Defence admitted it was currently re-costing the carrier programme, work on which was due to get under way on the Clyde next week. The memorandum by the board of the carrier consortium – which includes BAE Systems and the VT Group – warns of "substantial redundancies" of between 400 and 500 jobs to cut costs.

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ENERGY & UTILITIES

ScottishPower sees revenue soar

High energy prices in the UK helped ScottishPower record a big increase in revenues last year paving the way for the firm to pay 400m dividends to a company owned by the group's Spanish owner (Herald). However, bad debts increased as some customers struggled to pay their energy bills amid the recession. Accounts for ScottishPower UK plc filed at Companies House show the company recorded revenue from sales of energy to external customers of 4.8bn in the year to December, compared with 2.8bn in the previous accounting period. That covered the nine months following the 11.6bn acquisition of ScottishPower by Iberdrola in April 2007. On an annualised basis energy sales revenues increased by 29%.

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RETAIL

Rising sales lift profits at HMV

Music, games and books retailer HMV has reported an 18% rise in annual profits, helped by rising sales at its High Street stores and cost savings. For the year to 25 April, HMV reported a pre-tax profit of 61.3m, up from 52m the year before (BBC). Sales its its HMV shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland rose 1.9% on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the impact of new store openings. However, same-store sales were down 3.8% at its Waterstone's book shops.

Carpetright sees slump in profits

Carpetright has reported a 72% slump in annual profits, saying it has been hit by both the weakness in the housing market and the wider recession (BBC). The carpet and floor coverings retailer made a pre-tax profit of 16.7m in the 12 months to 2 May, down from 59.5m for the same period a year earlier. Annual revenues at the firm declined 7.4% from a year ago to 482.8m. Carpetright said it did not expect to see trading conditions improve for at least another 12 months.

Read all today's retail news from scotsman.com

TECHNOLOGY

1m investment fires Pyreos towards commercial role

PYREOS, the infrared technology company, has secured 1 million from investors, allowing it to move towards commercialisation. The Edinburgh-based firm has developed an infrared sensor aimed at the security and petrochemical sectors, claiming its product will facilitate improved gas and flame detection (Scotsman). Yesterday, the company said the fund raising would allow it to move into operational supply after announcing long-term supply contracts and 8m in initial orders in May. Founder Jeff Wright, who previously set up microscreen maker MicroEmissive Displays, welcomed the faith shown by investors.

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TRANSPORT

First bid for National Express is on track despite debt fears

FIRSTGROUP last night promised to press ahead with its audacious bid for rival National Express despite warnings that the deal could increase the Aberdeen company's debt and force it to ask shareholders for cash (Scotsman). National Express yesterday rebuffed First's surprise move, describing it in a statement to the Stock Exchange as a "highly preliminary approach" and saying that it did not consider negotiations on a deal "appropriate".

Read all today's transport news from scotsman.com

Scotsman Business Club

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