■PHARMACEUTICALS
Pfizer to cut research
Pfizer on Monday announced cuts in its research activities and staff after acquiring pharmaceutical rival Wyeth. Research and development activities will now be conducted at five main sites and nine specialized units around the world, compared with 20 R&D sites on completion of the Wyeth deal in the middle of last month, a company statement said. “As a result of these changes, Pfizer will reduce its global R&D square footage by 35 percent,” it said. No numbers were given in terms of staff cuts.
■TELECOMS
Vodafone posts rising profit
Telecommunications company Vodafone Group PLC yesterday reported a 15 percent increase in first-half net profit, boosted by favorable currency movements, acquisitions and a lower tax rate. For the six months ending Sept. 30, Vodafone made a net profit of £4.58 billion (US$7.6 billion), up from £3.99 billion a year earlier. Group revenue from continuing operations, however, was down 3 percent, the company said, while reported revenue — which accounts for acquisitions and divestments — rose 9 percent to £21.8 billion.
■AUTOMAKERS
Renault plans low-cost car
Renault chief Carlos Ghosn said yesterday the French automaker would launch a low-cost car in the Indian market in 2012 in a tie-up with India’s Bajaj Auto. The vehicle is aimed at taking on the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, which hit Indian streets earlier this year, as well as building Renault’s presence in the fast-growing Indian auto market. Ghosn announced a deal had been struck with Bajaj Auto for the car, which would be designed and made by the Indian group and marketed by Renault.
■INTERNET
Yahoo promises turnaround
Yahoo Inc chief executive Carol Bartz yesterday promised to turn around the struggling company after this year’s “terrible” performance. Bartz reiterated her goal to boost operating profit margin to between 15 percent and 20 percent within the next two or three years by spurring revenue and cutting costs. That would be a sharp improvement over this year’s margins of 6 percent — a result she described as “terrible, terrible,” Bartz said at a luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.
■AVIATION
Korean Air posts Q3 profit
Korean Air, South Korea’s biggest airline, said yesterday it posted a third-quarter net profit compared with a big loss the year before thanks to cheaper fuel costs and a stronger local currency. Korean Air Lines Co earned 264 billion won (US$227.6 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, the company said in a regulatory filing. Korean Air posted a net loss of 684.1 billion won a year earlier. Revenue, however, fell 10 percent to 2.48 trillion won from 2.76 trillion won the year before. It was Korean Air’s second straight profit after six straight quarterly losses.
■ENERGY
Reliance strikes oil
India’s energy giant Reliance Industries said yesterday it had struck oil in the Cambay basin, but it did not reveal the estimated size of the field. Reliance has 100 percent interest in an on-land exploration block that covers 635km² in the Cambay basin in India’s Gujarat state. The discovery has been named “Dhirubhai 43” after the founder of the Reliance empire, Dhirubhai Ambani, and because it is the 43rd oil discovery by the firm across India.
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