IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Profit slips

Full-year net profit at Swiss flavours and fragrances maker Givaudan AG fell to 94 million Swiss francs ($85.22 million) from 412 million due to its acquisition of Quest International, missing forecasts.

Givaudan, which makes ingredients for soaps, confectionery, soft drinks and designer perfumes, said yesterday it is confident to grow sales in 2008, in line with the market.

Tycoon bets on Ladbrokes

Joe Lewis (above), a UK billionaire, has built a 7 percent stake in UK bookmaker Ladbrokes Plc, the London-based Times reported.

Lewis acquired the shares over several months, considers them to be undervalued and might increase his stake, the Times said, without saying where it obtained the information. Lewis' holding is worth about 300 million pounds, according to the newspaper.

Compensation sought

The world's top plane leasing firm International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) will seek compensation from Boeing for delays in the delivery of the 787 Dreamliner, and is in talks to buy over 100 planes each from both Airbus and Boeing, its chief executive said.

Steven Udvar-Hazy, chief executive of ILFC, the biggest buyer of Boeing's 787 with 74 of the fuel-efficient jets on order, said its first delivery of the Dreamliner is expected to be pushed back by between 9-12 months to late 2010 or early 2011.

AXA dips

AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd, a unit of French insurer AXA SA, reported a 29 percent fall in its second-half profit due to lower investment returns but its shares rallied as investors focused on underlying profit growth.

AXA shares were hammered in the run-up to its earnings, along with rivals AMP Ltd and Perpetual Ltd, but analysts said AXA's diversified earnings and geographical spread across Asia made it less susceptible to a market downturn.

Tender rivalry

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd, the world's top shipbuilder, and its rival Daewoo Shipbuilding said on Tuesday they are separately planning to tender for a 500-million-pound ship order from the UK Royal Navy.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co Ltd, the world's No 3 shipbuilder, has formed a consortium with the UK's BAE Systems to tender for an order of six multipurpose supply vessels, a Daewoo spokesman said. Hyundai said it also plans to tender for the order, but declined to name its partners.

Airline plans

Air France-KLM Group is ready to inject 3 billion euros into Alitalia SpA over as much as six years if it buys the Italian airline, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an interview with Vice-Chairman Leo van Wijk.

The Paris-based company would like to buy the entire carrier, van Wijk said, adding that an agreement depends on a new Italian government and whether it will support a plan to cut daily flights from Milan's Malpensa airport.

VAT delay

Gulf countries may delay a plan to introduce value added tax due to record inflation in the oil-rich states, Emirates Business 24/7 reported, citing a United Arab Emirates Federal Customs Authority official.

It is "uncertain" how the proposed five percent value added tax would affect Gulf Arab economies that include Saudi Arabia and Kuwait when prices are rising, the Dubai-based newspaper reported, citing Said bin Khalifa Al Mirri.

Agencies

(China Daily 02/20/2008 page16)