VODAFONE IRISH PROFITS DOWN DESPITE STEADY REVENUE - The Irish Independent reports on accounts for Vodafone Ireland, which show that a total of 5.6 billion texts were sent and 6.8 billion minutes of talk time used by its subscribers in the last financial period.
The paper says the accounts show that Vodafone Ireland paid a €60m dividend to its parent firm in its last financial year.
Vodafone Ireland's turnover remained reasonably steady at €1.06 billion in the 12 months to the end of last March, a decline of more than 2% on the previous period.
But pre-tax profits at the group fell nearly 19% to €103.7m in the last financial year as it was hit by higher operational expenses. The accounts noted that the average blended monthly revenue per user for Vodafone Ireland customers declined 10.5% in the year to €32.30.
The Indo says Vodafone and other operators including O2, Meteor and 3 have seen the average spend per subscriber drop as customers rein in their spending. That has forced operators to reduce their own margins.
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MARKETSPREADS MUST FILE RETURNS SOON - The Irish Times says Marketspreads, the spread betting company embroiled in a €1.7 million court case with former executives, faces being struck off the register of companies for failing to file accounts on time.
Struck-off companies lose the protection of limited liability, which risks leaving shareholders, and possibly directors, liable for their debts. The sanction is normally applied to businesses that fail to file their annual returns and accounts on time.
The Irish Times says Marketspreads Ltd was listed for strike-off by the Companies' Registration Office earlier this week. This means that it risks being struck off within a matter of weeks if it does not make its returns.
The company subsequently confirmed that its strike-off listing was a result of a delay in making its returns for 2010. The company said the delay was due to issues with finalising historic accounts that date back to before the management buy-out of the company in December 2009. It added it would make the returns within the deadline specified by the Companies' Registration Office.
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SWISS CENTRAL BANK STICKING TO FRANC POSITION - The Financial Times reports on a warning from the Swiss National Bank's acting chairman, who says the central bank's independence risks being compromised due to political pressure following the departure of Philipp Hildebrand as chairman.
Mr Hildebrand resigned last month after it emerged that his wife had conducted controversial foreign exchange trades shortly before the SNB intervened to weaken the franc last September.
The bank has come under domestic political pressure over the potential cost of interventions, Thomas Jordan, the acting chairman, told the Financial Times.
Mr Jordan, who is also the bank's vice-chairman, however insisted that the central bank's policy operations remained stable and it was committed to defend the ceiling it had set for the franc.
"There should be absolutely no doubt whatsoever about the capability of the SNB to maintain the minimum exchange rate," he said. "We are prepared to buy foreign currency in unlimited quantities if necessary."
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UK INSURERS' ANGER OVER FSA FEES RISE - The Independent says UK insurers have warned of a fresh hike in premiums for millions of customers yesterday as the City's watchdog hit the financial services industry with an inflation-busting 15.6% rise in annual fees.
The paper says the Financial Services Authority's latest annual funding requirement has jumped by nearly £78m to £578.4m as the regulator faces the added costs of splitting itself up into two bodies from 2013 and overhauling its IT software.
Including the costs of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the total bill for financial services firms will top £1.2 billion. The Independent says the extra cash demanded by the FSA also includes a £10.3m pot to give the regulator's leading staff pay rises after a two-year salary freeze.
Otto Thoresen, director-general of the Association of British Insurers, lashed out at the FSA's demands for a "massive increase" when the industry faces increased costs.
