IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Springer slumps

Axel Springer AG, Europe's biggest newspaper publisher, had a loss last year after writing down the value of its Pin Group mail business.

The net loss was 288 million euros, compared with a profit of 291 million euros, Berlin-based Axel Springer said yesterday. Axel Springer said it plans to lift the dividend to 4 euros a share from 3.50 euros a year earlier.

TomTom drops

TomTom NV, the world's largest maker of car navigation equipment, fell after European regulators expressed competition concerns about its 2.9-billion euro bid for Tele Atlas NV.

The European Commission, the EU's antitrust regulator, sent TomTom and Tele Atlas a so-called statement of objections on Feb 29, saying that the deal may lead to higher prices for Tele Atlas maps, according to two people with knowledge of the case.

Possible revaluation

United Arab Emirates policymakers are studying the impact of the dirham's peg to the dollar, said Eirvin Knox, chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, raising the possibility of a currency revaluation.

"Policymakers are looking at it," Knox told reporters in Abu Dhabi yesterday when asked if he would push for an end to the dirham's 30-year peg to the dollar. ADCB is the second-largest bank in Abu Dhabi by market value.

Manufacturing dips

South African manufacturing in February fell for the first time in two years, the Investec Purchasing Managers Index showed, as power outages and a drop in consumer spending crimped output.

The seasonally adjusted index declined to 46.4 in February from 52.1 in the previous month, Cape Town-based Investec Asset Management said yesterday. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in output.

Firm feels impact

Ruukki Group Oyj, a Finnish investor in the forestry industry, plummeted the most in more than four years in Helsinki trading after the company canceled a Russian sawmill and pulp mill project.

Ruukki fell as much as 27 percent to 1.96 euros, and was trading at 2 euros as of 12:28 pm in Helsinki. The company decided to stop the project after the regional government in Kostroma refused to back priority investor status that would have let Ruukki harvest wood more cheaply, it said.

Alitalia down

Alitalia SpA, the Italian airline that Air France-KLM Group is trying to buy, dropped to a record in Milan trading after the carrier said its cash-on-hand and short-term financial credits declined in January.

Alitalia's stock slipped as much as 4 cents, or 6.4 percent, to 58.5 cents, a record. It was trading at 59.8 cents as of 12:42 pm in Milan, leaving the company with a market value of 828 million euros yesterday.

Reuters' results

Reuters Group Plc, the financial-data company being acquired by Thomson Corp, said profit for 2007 will be better than initially predicted.

Operating profit from continuing operations and before some items will be no less than 380 million pounds, the London-based company said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/04/2008 page17)