IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Mazda down

Mazda Motor Corp, a third owned by Ford Motor Co, fell the most in more than two months on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the company reported the slowest growth in operating profit in more than two years.

Mazda fell as much as 38 yen, or 5.5 percent, to 648 yen, and traded at 653 yen as of the 11 am trading break in Tokyo.

Costly delay

European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co said it will book expenses of as much as 1.4 billion euros because of delays to the delivery schedule for its A400M military transport plane.

EADS has withdrawn its forecast for full-year earnings before interest and tax and will give a new outlook on Thursday, it said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

Phone firm rises

Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Southeast Asia's second-biggest phone company, rose the most in a month in Kuala Lumpur trading after a newspaper said Vodafone Group Plc may buy 25 percent of its mobile unit for $3 billion.

Telekom shares climbed as much as 5 percent, the biggest gain since October 1. Vodafone is the frontrunner among foreign operators and private-equity firms to buy the stake, the United Kingdom's Sunday Times reported.

Vodka maker's value

OAO Synergy, Russia's second-largest closely held vodka producer, will be valued at as much as $1.03 billion when it sells stock in an initial public offering to raise money for acquisitions.

Moscow-based Synergy will get as much as $196 million selling as many as 2.72 million shares for between $61 and $72 apiece, the company said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

US order

Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world's biggest wind-turbine maker, won an order to deliver 67 units with a total capacity of 201 megawatts in the United States.

The V90-3 megawatt wind turbines were ordered by Horizon Wind Energy and will be installed at a wind farm in north-central Kansas, Vestas said yesterday.

Purchase agreed

Getinge AB, the world's largest maker of surgical workstations, agreed to buy two Boston Scientific Corp units for $750 million to expand its tools for heart operations. The shares rose to their highest level in 14 years.

Getinge will gain products to fix ballooning blood vessels, called an aneurysm, before they burst as well as equipment used in bypass surgery and to stabilize and position the beating hearts during treatment.

Stock plunges

Wavin NV, Europe's biggest maker of plastic pipes for sewers, had a record drop in Amsterdam trading after the company lowered its annual sales forecast.

The shares fell as much as 11 percent, the biggest percentage decline since their initial public offering more than one year ago. The company yesterday said sales will rise as much as 8.5 percent this year.

Nuke firm up

Entergy Corp, the second-largest US operator of nuclear reactors, said third-quarter profit rose 19 percent after the acquisition in April of a plant in Michigan.

Net income climbed to $461.2 million, or $2.30 a share, from $388.9 million, or $1.83, a year earlier, New Orleans-based Entergy said yesterday in a statement on PR Newswire.

Possible bid

London City Airport may bid for rival terminals including BAA Plc's Gatwick as passenger growth exceeds forecasts.

London City will probably attract 2.85 million people this year, 6 percent more than it projected, as travelers switch from BAA's Heathrow airport 20 miles away, Chief Executive Officer Richard Gooding said in an interview.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 11/06/2007 page16)