IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Iranian exploration

Edison SpA, Italy's second biggest power generator, wins concession to explore for oil and gas in Iran, holder of the world's second-largest gas reserves.

National Iranian Oil Co and Edison signed a contract to explore in the Dayyer area, the Iranian oil ministry press agency Shana reported.

AWAS order

Airbus SAS, a unit of the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co, signed an agreement to sell as many as 100 jets, worth about $6.9 billion, to leasing company AWAS (Ireland) Ltd, the Wall Street Journal reported.

AWAS, which owns or manages 320 aircraft, ordered 75 single-aisle Airbus jets, with an option for 25 more, the newspaper said.

Growth forecast

StatoilHydro ASA, Norway's largest oil company, forecast higher production growth and cost savings from its merger with Norsk Hydro ASA's petroleum unit than previously estimated.

StatoilHydro expects equity oil and gas production to rise to 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2012 from 1.9 million barrels a day in 2008, the Stavanger, Norway-based company said yesterday.

'Upper end' profit

DuPont Co, the third-biggest US chemical maker, said 2007 profit was at the "upper end" of a previously announced forecast range and raised its prediction for this year.

Earnings in 2007 will be $3.15 to $3.20 a share, Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont said yesterday.

Rights issue

Eurotunnel, which operates the sub-sea rail tunnel between Britain and France, has asked bankers to prepare the groundwork for a 1 billion euros rights issue, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported yesterday.

Eurotunnel has hired Goldman Sachs and Lazard, the paper said.

No direct competition

US software group Microsoft will not launch a product that competes directly with Apple Inc's iPhone, Chairman Bill Gates said in an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"No, we won't do that. In the so-called smart phone business we will concentrate solely on software with our Windows Mobile programme," Gates was quoted as saying in the interview published yesterday.

BP slides

Shares in oil major BP Plc fell yesterday on market rumors, denied by the company, it was guiding analysts to reduce their earnings forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2007.

A BP spokesman confirmed the company had asked analysts who cover the company for their earnings forecasts, and that BP's investor relations staff pointed the analysts to a previously released trading statement which he said showed weakness in the refining division.

Lower earnings

Danish up-market stereo and television maker Bang & Olufsen posted lower than expected fiscal first-half pretax profit yesterday and cut its full year outlook, pushing its shares down by as much as 11 percent.

The company reported pretax profit of 150 million Danish crowns ($29.60 million) for the six months ended November 30, down from 238 million crowns in the same period last year and compared to 246 million crowns in a Reuters survey of analysts.

More users

India's top mobile operator, Bharti Airtel Ltd, added 2.2 million users in December, taking the total to 55.2 million, an industry body said yesterday.

Vodafone Essar, controlled by Britain's Vodafone, signed up 1.3 million new users in December to have 39.9 million mobile subscribers, the Cellular Operators' Association of India said in a statement.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/10/2008 page17)