■PHARMACEUTICALS
Sanofi Aventis raises target
French pharmaceutical group Sanofi Aventis said yesterday it was raising its earnings target this year to “around 11 percent” from the previous 10 percent because of expected strong demand for its swine flu vaccine and after a solid third-quarter performance. The firm said July-September sales rose 11 percent from a year earlier to 7.4 billion euros (US$11 billion), with net profit up 6.4 percent to 1.42 billion euros.
■TELECOMS
Bharti net profit rises 13%
India’s biggest mobile phone group Bharti Airtel yesterday reported a 13 percent rise in net profit for its second quarter despite increasingly fierce competition in the country. Net income from the three months to September reached 23.21 billion rupees (US$495 million) on sales that rose 9 percent over 12 months to 98.46 billion rupees. Bharti, which abandoned an ambitious merger plan with South African rival MTN late last month, said it had 113.4 million customers at the end of last month, an increase of 42 percent over 12 months.
■TELECOMS
Alcatel-Lucent loss widens
Alcatel-Lucent SA said yesterday its net loss widened in the third quarter as the telecommunications equipment maker lost sales in Europe, its key carrier market. Alcatel-Lucent made a net loss of 182 million euros (US$269 million) in the period, compared with a 40 million euro loss a year earlier. The company said in a statement yesterday it expected to be close to break even at an adjusted operating level this year, despite having accumulated 327 million euros in losses by that measure through the first three quarters of the year.
■INTERNET
Facebook changing rules
Facebook outlined changes to its privacy policy on Thursday and asked for feedback from the social network’s more than 300 million users. Vice president of communications and public policy Elliot Schrage, in a post on the Facebook blog, said members would have until Nov. 5 to send in their comments about the proposed changes. Some of the changes to Facebook’s privacy policy are the result of pressure from Canada, whose privacy czar conducted an investigation into its handling of personal information.
■STEEL
Baosteel investing in Aquila
China’s largest steelmaker, Baosteel (寶鋼), yesterday won approval to take a A$285.6 million (US$261.5 million) stake in Aquila Resources, the Australian mining company said. Aquila said Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) had approved Baosteel to take up to 19.99 percent of shares in the company, up from the 15 percent initially agreed under the deal. “Subject to receipt of relevant Chinese regulatory approvals which have been sought by Baosteel, the company anticipates completion of the transaction in the latter half of November,” Aquila said in a statement.
■AVIATION
ANA falls into red
Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) said yesterday it incurred a net loss of ¥25.38 billion (US$278 million) in the six months to September owing to weak demand. The loss reversed a profit of ¥22.05 billion in the same period last year. The operating loss reached ¥28.27 billion, against a year-before profit of ¥49.84 billion. Revenue fell 18.8 percent to ¥611.82 billion.
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