Diageo bullish as profits rise August 29, 2008 With two world wars and a few revolutions under its belt, alcoholic drinks giant Diageo is well placed to weather the economic downturn, its chief executive Paul Walsh said yesterday when announcing the group’s results – despite warning of slowing growth ahead. The maker of Guinness and Smirnoff posted a 2 per cent increase in [...]
Summer is the time to drink yourself cool August 14, 2008 Never mind the weather, you can get a bit of sunshine in your glass with fresh and seasonal cocktails, says Zoe Strimpel The past week may have been dodgy weather-wise, but we’ve still got a month till summer’s officially over. Rain or shine, there’s no better way to grasp that summer feeling than a good [...]
RUM at the top August 8, 2008 The Caribbean spirit is entering the ranks of the premium tipples, writes Timothy Barber What do you think about when you think about rum? For lots of folk, the answer is one of two things: a glass of Bacardi and coke, or pirates. Okay, so a few people know that it forms the basis for [...]
The buck stops here: the pressure is on for the US coffee shop giant August 6, 2008 With Starbucks posting its first ever losses, is our love affair with Americanos finally over? Starbuck is weird. It comes from Seattle, which means it is only the third thing ever to come out of that city that anybody has heard of, after Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. It also takes [...]
Cadbury sales get a credit crunch boost July 31, 2008 Credit crunch-induced comfort eating saw Cadbury beat forecasts with a 46 per cent rise in first-half profits and give an upbeat outlook, shrugging off fears of a consumer downturn. However, the Dairy Milk chocolate maker warned of possible further cost cuts and job losses as it faces an uncertain economic outlook and further rises in [...]
Unilever sells off US detergents business July 29, 2008 Shares in Unilever climbed after the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant announced it had finally sold its North American detergents business – after almost a year of struggling to find a buyer. Private equity firm Vestar Capital Partners snapped up the business, which includes brands such as Snuggle, Wisk and Surf, for $1.45bn (£727m). Unilever has [...]
Northern Foods passes on fuel costs July 29, 2008 Northern Foods, the maker of chilled ready meals sold at Marks & Spencer, said yesterday it planned to pass on £32m of rising commodity and fuel costs to consumers. Chief executive Stefan Barden said: “We would be expecting to fully recover all the input cost inflation. We have to date and we would intend to [...]
Sweet start to the year by Tate & Lyle July 24, 2008 Sugar refiner and sweetener maker Tate & Lyle said yesterday it has made a satisfactory start to its financial year and was on track to achieve progress for the year as a whole. The company, which makes sucralose sweetener Splenda, said in a trading update ahead of its annual shareholder meeting that pre-tax profit in [...]
Beans means trouble in HP Foods sale October 27, 2005 Fears that the price of traditional British foods including baked beans, tomato ketchup and HP Sauce could rise has forced the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to refer the sale of HP Foods to the Competition Commission. Director of competition enforcement at the OFT Vincent Smith said the sale of the Danone-owned sauce business to [...]
Nestle sales hit £29.6bn October 21, 2005 Nestle, the world’s largest food manufacturer, has romped to better than expected sales this year. The company, which produces Nescafe and Kit Kat, said yesterday its sales were 5.8 per cent higher for the first nine months. Switzerland-based Nestle also reaffirmed its targets of 5-6 per cent organic growth for the full year as the [...]