Business in brief: Vodafone | M&S Online | Compass | Tate & Lyle

MOBILE phone operator Vodafone expects to run up bill of around £500 million by March 2016 on the integration of Cable & Wireless Worldwide.

Vodafone to spend £500m on CWW

BUT the mobile phone group said that the £1.3 billion takeover, which completed in July, will deliver cashflow benefits of £150m to £200m a year by 2016.

Analysts at Espirito Santo said the cashflow target was ahead of their estimates, but added: “The disappointment will be the length of time that it takes for Vodafone to achieve these cash flow benefits – March 2016 is more than three and a half years after the deal completed.”

M&S online depot to deliver 1,000 jobs

MARKS & Spencer is to create 1,000 jobs over the next year, under plans to boost its online operations.

The posts will be at a

900,000 sq ft distribution centre in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, from where M&S expects to distribute two million clothing and home products a week. About 100 people are already working at the site ahead of the centre’s opening early next year.

The retailer has launched a scheme to hire more people with disabilities and health conditions as part of its recruitment drive there.

Compass serves up restructuring plan

CATERING giant Compass is to streamline its southern European division in response to worsening conditions in the region, where it generates around 4 per cent of revenues.

However, the group said its overall prospects remain strong, as its North American and emerging markets units continued to perform well, and it expects its results to meet City expectations this year and next.

Chief executive Richard Cousins said: “We are taking decisive action to protect profitability in the immediate future and improve operational efficiency.”

Tate & Lyle profits level, not heaped

SWEETENERS firm Tate & Lyle expects its first-half profits to be level with last year, as weaker trading in Europe offsets growth in emerging markets and the United States.

The company, which posted an adjusted operating profit of £194 million at the half-way stage last year, said the challenging conditions look set to continue across Europe, but it was confident of delivering a “solid” increase in sales for the year as a whole.

Broker Cannacord Genuity said the shares, which rose 2.4 per cent to 670p following the update, “offer excellent value”.