Ford Motor Co posted its best October sales and market share in a dozen years in its main 19 European markets on Wednesday, but warned that
European countries and the EU needed to take further action to bolster auto demand in the region next year. Ford said sales rose 12.8 per cent in October for its main 19 European markets, outstripping a 6.8 per cent gain for the industry overall that has been supported by programs that provide incentives to trade older vehicles for newer cars. The so-called scrappage programs across several European countries are similar to the US government's "cash for clunkers" program that boosted US sales in July and August and are winding down. Automakers are watching closely to see the impact on sales after the programs conclude because of the potential for a steep drop-off in demand. Ford has forecast 2010 industry sales in its main 19 European markets of 13 million to 14.5 million vehicles, or down about 2 million from this year. The automaker's full 2009 sales forecast for the region is 15.7 million vehicles. The automaker, which posted a third-quarter profit of nearly $1 billion that surprised Wall Street analysts last week, said sales rose 12.8 per cent to 121,000 vehicles in October for its main 19 nation European region. Ford's share of the region rose 0.5 percentage points to 8.8 per cent. Ford shares were up 9 cents at $8.33 at midday on the New York Stock Exchange.The ongoing tariff war amongst mobile operators in India over the past three months, which has had a major impact on both the profits and
revenues of the telecoms sector, has resulted in Bharti Airtel being replaced by Indonesia’s Telkomsel as the largest contributor to Singapore Telecommunications’ (SingTel) profits for the first time in atleast eight quarters. These figures were released on Wednesday, a day before SingTel is due to invest Rs 240 crore as part of a Rs 3000 crore three-instalment investment which will see its holding in the Indian company rise by 1.52% over the next 18 months. SingTel is Bharti Airtlel’s single largest shareholder which directly and through holding company Bharti Telecom, holds about 30.5% stake in the company. It was involved in Bharti’s bid to forge a partnership with South African telco MTN and was slated to part fund the deal by investing $3-4 billion in the company, though there is no official confirmation of these figures. Analysts believe Bharti Airtel will remain a top player that contributes to SingTel’s bottomlines. “India is extremely important to SingTel and the proof is that it is increasing its stake in Bharti,” said Jigar Shah, who heads research for the Indian operations of Singapore-based KIM ENG Securities. “The fact the Bharti’s profits may be under pressure for a quarter or two, does not dilute its importance in the SingTel portfolio,” Mr Shah added. The Singapore-based communications major holds significant stake in six telecom companies -- Bharti Airtel, Telkomsel, Thailand's Advanced Info Service, Pakistan's Warid Telecom, the Philippines' Globe Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom. So far, the Indian operator was the largest contributor to SingTel’s kitty. In addition to being edged out by Telkomsel, Bharti’s contribution to SingTel’s profits has also come down on a sequential basis. For the quarter ended September 09, Bharti’s contribution to the Singtel’s bottom line was S$236 million when compared to S$272 million in the corresponding quarter (June 09). In the same period, Telkomsel’s contribution increased to S$252 in September 09 as against S$245 in June 09. Ironically, Bharti’s share towards SingTel’s profits have come down despite the Indian telco adding twice the number of customers, as that of Telkomsel during the last quarter. At the same time, a fourth of SingTel’s profits for the period-ended September 09 have come from India. Again, on a year-on-year basis, Bharti’s contribution to SingTel’s profits was up by a little over 26%. ‘The fact that Telkomsel has contributed more this quarter has to be seen in context. In the long run, India offers far more growth potential, its market size is far greater than Indonesia and margins here may be much higher. When you look at the relevance of the Indian market, a single quarter’s figures are irrelevant." added Mr Shah.
European countries and the EU needed to take further action to bolster auto demand in the region next year. Ford said sales rose 12.8 per cent in October for its main 19 European markets, outstripping a 6.8 per cent gain for the industry overall that has been supported by programs that provide incentives to trade older vehicles for newer cars. The so-called scrappage programs across several European countries are similar to the US government's "cash for clunkers" program that boosted US sales in July and August and are winding down. Automakers are watching closely to see the impact on sales after the programs conclude because of the potential for a steep drop-off in demand. Ford has forecast 2010 industry sales in its main 19 European markets of 13 million to 14.5 million vehicles, or down about 2 million from this year. The automaker's full 2009 sales forecast for the region is 15.7 million vehicles. The automaker, which posted a third-quarter profit of nearly $1 billion that surprised Wall Street analysts last week, said sales rose 12.8 per cent to 121,000 vehicles in October for its main 19 nation European region. Ford's share of the region rose 0.5 percentage points to 8.8 per cent. Ford shares were up 9 cents at $8.33 at midday on the New York Stock Exchange.The ongoing tariff war amongst mobile operators in India over the past three months, which has had a major impact on both the profits and
revenues of the telecoms sector, has resulted in Bharti Airtel being replaced by Indonesia’s Telkomsel as the largest contributor to Singapore Telecommunications’ (SingTel) profits for the first time in atleast eight quarters. These figures were released on Wednesday, a day before SingTel is due to invest Rs 240 crore as part of a Rs 3000 crore three-instalment investment which will see its holding in the Indian company rise by 1.52% over the next 18 months. SingTel is Bharti Airtlel’s single largest shareholder which directly and through holding company Bharti Telecom, holds about 30.5% stake in the company. It was involved in Bharti’s bid to forge a partnership with South African telco MTN and was slated to part fund the deal by investing $3-4 billion in the company, though there is no official confirmation of these figures. Analysts believe Bharti Airtel will remain a top player that contributes to SingTel’s bottomlines. “India is extremely important to SingTel and the proof is that it is increasing its stake in Bharti,” said Jigar Shah, who heads research for the Indian operations of Singapore-based KIM ENG Securities. “The fact the Bharti’s profits may be under pressure for a quarter or two, does not dilute its importance in the SingTel portfolio,” Mr Shah added. The Singapore-based communications major holds significant stake in six telecom companies -- Bharti Airtel, Telkomsel, Thailand's Advanced Info Service, Pakistan's Warid Telecom, the Philippines' Globe Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom. So far, the Indian operator was the largest contributor to SingTel’s kitty. In addition to being edged out by Telkomsel, Bharti’s contribution to SingTel’s profits has also come down on a sequential basis. For the quarter ended September 09, Bharti’s contribution to the Singtel’s bottom line was S$236 million when compared to S$272 million in the corresponding quarter (June 09). In the same period, Telkomsel’s contribution increased to S$252 in September 09 as against S$245 in June 09. Ironically, Bharti’s share towards SingTel’s profits have come down despite the Indian telco adding twice the number of customers, as that of Telkomsel during the last quarter. At the same time, a fourth of SingTel’s profits for the period-ended September 09 have come from India. Again, on a year-on-year basis, Bharti’s contribution to SingTel’s profits was up by a little over 26%. ‘The fact that Telkomsel has contributed more this quarter has to be seen in context. In the long run, India offers far more growth potential, its market size is far greater than Indonesia and margins here may be much higher. When you look at the relevance of the Indian market, a single quarter’s figures are irrelevant." added Mr Shah.
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