By MarketWatch ICBC 1st-half profit up 27% to $12.44 billion
(5:04 AM ET) HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:1398 (HK:1398 5.58, -0.01, -0.18%) /quotes/comstock/28c!e:601398 (CN:601398 4.12, +0.04, +0.98%) on Thursday reported a first-half net income of 84.60 billion yuan ($12.44 billion), up 27% from the 66.42 billion yuan a year earlier. The result beat expectations for net income of 81.83 billion yuan, according to a poll by Dow Jones Newswires. The bank, the world's biggest by market capitalization, said its net interest margin for the period totaled 143.31 billion yuan, widening from 116.04 billion yuan a year earlier. ICBC said in a statement its net interest margin increased 11 basis points from a year earlier because of "the rebound in yield on loans, stabilization of return on bond investments and continuous decline in deposit interest rate[s] in the first half." ICBC said its yuan-denominated loan book totaled 534.07 billion yuan, representing a rise of 9.9% during the six-month period.
Premier Oil swings to 1st-half net; output up 17%
(3:02 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Premier Oil PLC, /quotes/comstock/23s!e:pmo (UK:PMO 1,464, -16.00, -1.08%) the London oil producer, swung to first-half profit from a year-earlier loss on 71% higher revenue. Earnings were $62 million, or 51 cents a share, against a loss of $27.3 million, or 27 cents, in the year-earlier period. Revenue reached $366.8 million from $213.9 million. Average production in the first half was 46,600 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up 17% from a year earlier. In a Thursday statement, the company affirmed its expectation that it will produce an average 44,000 barrels during 2010. And in the first six months, Premier made "good progress" toward its plan to produce 75,000 barrels a day during 2012, Chief Executive Simon Lockett said.
Amec upbeat on outlook as profit rises 36%
(2:49 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. engineering and services group Amec /quotes/comstock/23s!a:amec (UK:AMEC 867.00, +18.50, +2.18%) on Thursday reported a 36% jump in net profit to 88.5 million pounds ($136.5 million) and said it is confident of beating its margin target for the year after recording first-half improvements in all of its divisions. The firm said revenue grew 13% to 1.43 billion pounds and was up 6% excluding the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and acquisitions. "We expect this momentum to continue, building on our strong customer relationships. New contract wins and improvements in the order book signal a further strengthening in our strategic position across core sectors," the company said as it lifted its interim dividend by 20%.
Accor posts first-half loss; revenue up 6%
(2:49 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- French hotel group Accor SA /quotes/comstock/24s!e:ac (FR:AC 24.63, +1.13, +4.81%) said Thursday it posted a first-half net loss of 64 million euros ($81 million) compared to a loss of 236 million euros in the same period a year ago. The loss was mainly due to non-recurring demerger costs, the firm said. Revenue rose 6% to 2.85 billion euros. Earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) more than doubled to 154 million euros from 69 million euros, buoyed by the business's strong recovery and cost cuts. "In most countries and particularly in Europe, first-half good performances reflected an upturn in business and a favorable basis of comparison," Accor said. "Second-half visibility remains limited, due to the still uncertain economic environment." Accor said it has set its target for full-year Ebit at between 370 million euros and 390 million euros, up from 236 million euros in 2009.
Kazakhmys 1st-half net up 11%, revenue up 36%
(2:41 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Kazakhmys PLC /quotes/comstock/23s!e:kaz (UK:KAZ 1,107, +34.00, +3.17%) , the London copper miner, reported first-half net income rose 11% on 36% higher revenue. Earnings reached $574 million, or $1.07 a share, from $516 million, or 96 cents, in the year-earlier period. Underlying profit per share more than doubled to $1.30 from 50 cents. Profit from continuing operations fell 7% to $503 million. Revenue moved up to $1.52 billion from $1.12 billion. The first half was "solid ... with good production and cost control ... assisted by" stronger pricing, Chief Executive Oleg Novachuk said in a Thursday statement. The company declared an interim dividend of 6 cents a share.
William Hill profit up 9.9% as online arm grows
(2:34 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. bookmaker William Hill /quotes/comstock/23s!a:wmh (UK:WMH 166.20, -0.70, -0.42%) said Thursday that its first-half net profit rose 9.9% to 64.5 million pounds ($99.5 million) as revenue grew 2.8% to 529.9 million pounds. The firm said growth from its online sportsbook and other Web-based gambling more than offset a slight dip in revenue from its stores, where its gross-win margin slipped from a year earlier. "We are on track to deliver against the board's expectations for the full year but we remain cautious moving into 2011 given the ongoing consumer uncertainty," said CEO Ralph Topping.
G4S expects further growth as profit rises 11%
(2:26 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Security firm G4S /quotes/comstock/23s!e:gfs (UK:GFS 249.00, +1.90, +0.77%) said Thursday that its first-half net profit rose 11% to 94.2 million pounds ($145.3 million) as revenue grew 4.4% to 3.63 billion pounds. The firm, which is the largest employer quoted on the London Stock Exchange, said the market continues to be challenging as a result of the slow pace of the global economic recovery, but added that it still expects organic growth to improve in the second half of the year.
Diageo lifts dividend as profit rises 1.5%
(2:20 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Drinks giant Diageo /quotes/comstock/23s!a:dge (UK:DGE 1,055, -11.00, -1.03%) said Thursday that that its net profit for the fiscal year ended June 30 rose 1.5% to 1.63 billion pounds as a stronger second half helped the group modestly beat the previous year's performance. Sales excluding excise duties rose 5% to 9.78 billion pounds. Diageo said its cost cutting program helped offset a 14% organic increase in marketing spending in the second half of the year as its board also recommended a 6% increase in the final dividend to 23.5 pence a share. "Our performance in the developing markets drove overall growth while markets in North America and Europe remained weak," said CEO Paul Walsh.
Credit Agricole SA net up, cost of risk down
(2:11 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Credit Agricole /quotes/comstock/11i!crary (CRARY 6.25, -0.03, -0.48%) /quotes/comstock/24s!e:aca (FR:ACA 10.26, +0.36, +3.64%) , the Paris banking and financial-services provider, reported that second-quarter group net income rose 35% from the year-earlier period to 897 million euros ($1.13 billion). At Credit Agricole S.A. specifically, profit rose 89% to 379 million euros. Net banking income rose 20% to 5.47 billion euros from 4.56 billion euros. And Credit Agricole S.A. cut its cost of risk in the quarter by 13% to 980 million euros. The bank's tier 1 capital ratio widened to 9.7% from 9.2% a year earlier; core tier 1 capital amounted to 9.1% versus 8.6%.
Ahold net up 3.1% on 11% higher sales
(1:48 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Royal Ahold /quotes/comstock/11i!ahony (AHONY 12.18, -0.11, -0.90%) /quotes/comstock/24s!e:ah (NL:AH 9.63, -0.04, -0.43%) , the Amsterdam supermarket operator, reported second-quarter net income rose 3.1% on 11% higher sales. Earnings reached 202 million euros ($256.4 million) from 196 million in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to 7.13 billion euros from 6.43 billion. A survey of analysts by Dow Jones Newswires produced consensus estimates of 219 million euros of profit on 7.02 billion euros of sales. At constant foreign-exchange rates, sales climbed 4.4%. Operating-profit margin widened to 5.3% from 4.8%; on an underlying basis, the margin was 5.2% versus 4.9%. "Market conditions remained challenging, with high levels of competitive promotional activity," Chief Executive John Rishton said in a Thursday statement.
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