©Bloomberg Bouygues is prepared to walk away from talks with Orange over the sale of its telecoms unit unless it receives a stake of at least 10 per cent of the French operator. More On this topic IN Telecoms The Paris-based construction and telecoms conglomerate has been in intense negotiations with the market leader for at least a month over a potential tie-up that would reduce the number of competitors in France from four to three. But Martin Bouygues, chairman and chief executive of the group, said on Wednesday that he only put the chances of a successful outcome at 50 per cent. “If we don’t reach a win-win deal for everyone, we will pursue our standalone strategy,” he said of Bouygues Telecom, France’s third-largest mobile provider by subscribers. Mr Bouygues, who last year rejected a €10bn offer for his unit from Franco-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, said that a resulting tie-up that would leave Bouygues with a 10-15 per cent share in Orange would be “perfectly acceptable”. But he added that the talks, which people close to the situation have described as “extremely complex”, would need to conclude by the end of March so as not disrupt day-to-day business. His comments came as Bouygues predicted rising profits across its business segments this year as the French construction, media and telecoms conglomerate revealed an increase in 2015 operating profit that beat expectations. The group said that operating profit, excluding one-off items, reached €941m compared with €888m in 2014. That came in well ahead of analysts’ expectations of about €880m. Full-year revenue was €32.43bn, 5 per cent lower than the previous year on a comparable basis and slightly below market forecasts. The figure was 2 per cent lower on a reported basis than in 2014. You need JavaScript active on your browser in order to see this video. At Bouygues Telecom, sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased last year thanks to a net increase in mobile and broadband subscriber numbers as well as aggressive cost-cutting. The unit said that it added 360,000 broadband subscribers and 769,000 mobile customers during the year. On Wednesday, it confirmed its target of gaining an additional 1m mobile customers and 1m broadband customers by the end of next year compared with December 2014. The group said that cost-cutting at the telecoms unit would continue this year with a plan to save “at least” €400m compared with the end of 2013. Industry executives and analysts say that a merger with Orange would help stabilise prices and enable greater investment in infrastructure. A price war initiated in January 2012 with the entry of low-cost Free mobile service devastated earnings in the sector, forcing operators to slash operating costs and lower prices to consumers. Bouygues came off particularly badly, and speculation has long suggested that Mr Bouygues would eventually look to sell the unit. Last week, Orange said that the talks to buy Bouygues Telecom for an estimated €10bn in cash and shares continued and were likely to take several more weeks because of the complexity of the negotiations. Bouygues’ construction business, which accounts for the vast bulk of its revenues, reported that it was adjusting to the decline in the French market because of increased international orders. It announced that international business accounted for 59 per cent of its order book compared with 53 per cent a year earlier. It also forecast that a continuation of that international momentum would help improve profitability starting this year. Operating profit last year across its construction activities was €831m compared with €841m in 2014. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

©EPA Vattenfall’s open lignite pit ‘Jaenschwalde’ in Griessen, Brandenburg state, Germany Oil, gas and coal companies face financial disaster if they ignore the implications of the Paris climate change accord and should be required to tell investors how they will avoid such threats, a British economist has warned. Lord Nicholas Stern has told a climate task force set up by the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, that the gap is disturbing between what politicians signed up to in the Paris agreement struck in December and what fossil fuel companies are assuming. More On this topic IN UK Politics & Policy “This gap should alarm policy-makers and central bankers,” he says in a submission to the task force, chaired by Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, and due to report in December. The body is supposed to develop uniform, voluntary disclosure standards that companies can use to show investors, banks and insurers how they are dealing with climate-related financial risks. The world’s economy is still overwhelmingly dependent on oil, coal and gas, the fossil fuels that make up nearly 80 per cent of primary energy use and are a leading source of the greenhouse gases driving global warming. Under the Paris accord, nearly every country has agreed to spell out at regular intervals how it will tackle greenhouse gases so that net annual emissions eventually fall to zero. Lord Stern, author of a 2006 UK study on the economics of climate change, said that, unless this shift is handled carefully, fossil fuel assets could be hit by “mass scrapping and stranding”. “If an oil company does not believe global policy makers will adopt the measures necessary to attain the decarbonisation outlined in the Paris Agreement, then they need to be explicit about this,” he says in the task force submission. It was co-authored by Dimitri Zenghelis, co-head of policy at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics. “From an investor point of view, it is one thing for a business to assume that governments were not serious in Paris, but it is quite another to pin their entire strategy on this being so,” the submission says. Most oil and gas companies publicly acknowledge scientists’ findings about the changing climate. Some in Europe, such as Royal Dutch Shell and BP, have accepted recent shareholder resolutions demanding greater disclosure about climate risks. But many companies still say they expect a steady rise in global demand for fossil fuels for at least the next 20 years. US group ExxonMobil, for example, says a combination of economic growth and about 2bn extra consumers by 2040 mean global energy demand will probably grow by about 25 per cent from 2014 — an increase equal to the total energy used in the Americas today. “Like all credible forecasts, we see fossil fuels continuing to shoulder the bulk of societal needs in the future,” the company says. Lord Stern says businesses should consider both the physical threat of a changing climate as well as the financial risks posed by tougher government rules to stem emissions or climate-linked lawsuits against fossil fuel companies. Even without such action, the pace of technological change could spur so much growth in low-carbon products, such as electric cars, that demand for fossil fuels falls faster than expected, he says. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

Browser does not support script. Contact us A RIBA spokesperson said: “The RIBA welcomes the Government’s recognition that the shortage of housing has reached a crisis point. However, it is becoming clear that the solution to the housing crisis is not going to be found in tinkering around the edges of the planning system. As the Housing Bill passes through Parliament we hope the Government will set out more detail on how they intend to ensure that the quality of new homes is given the same priority as the numbers.” On the proposed changes to housing and planning regulations “We are concerned that the pressure to raise output and speed up the planning system through initiatives like starter homes and zonal planning will do little to change the public debate and challenge knee-jerk opposition to new developments even in areas with acute housing shortages. “The shortage of resources in the planning system and the long delays that this is causing is of major concern to the RIBA. The requirement to have an adopted local plan by 2017 is welcome, however this needs to be done in a way that secures local support and leads to plans that acknowledge the scale of the challenge.” On the extension of right to buy: “The shortage of affordable homes across the country is of particular concern to the RIBA. Housing Associations have played a leading role in helping deliver high-quality new homes and strong communities – including the 2015 Stirling Prize shortlisted Darbishire Place. If the extension of the right to buy leads to fewer new homes being built, it is vital that the Government sets out its plans to replace this output.” ENDS Posted on Thursday 15th October 2015 Source link