MOODYS DOWNGRADES EIRCOM AFTER TAKE-OVER - The Irish Times reports that Moody's, the international credit rating agency, has downgraded Eircom's debt following its €2.36 billion take-over by Babcock & Brown and its own employees.
The agency said in a statement that it had downgraded its rating of the company's debt to Ba3 from Ba2.
It also downgraded the debt of Eircom's outgoing owner Valentia, which is chaired by Sir Anthony O'Reilly.
The downgradings follow a review of Eircom after Babcock & Brown and the Eircom employee share ownership trust (ESOT) made a full offer for the company. However, Moody's said the outlook on the ratings was stable.
The paper said this reflected its expectation that the company will execute its current business plan successfully, focusing on the development of its mobile unit Meteor and limiting the decline in its fixed-line revenues.
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ARNOLD BUYS UK BANK BRANCHES FOR £72m - The Irish Independent reports that developer David Arnold's private property investment vehicle, D2 Private, has acquired the freehold of 15 bank branches in the UK for almost £72m.
The paper says that this is significantly ahead of what investors can expect when Bank of Ireland and AIB complete the sale and leaseback of most of their branches at the end of this year.
In a statement, D2 described the yields on its new UK acquisition as "attractive given that both Bank of Ireland and AIB are expected to complete similar deals on much lower yields".
The article states that D2 has spent £700m on UK property since its foundation in 2005.
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STARBUCKS BLAMES SETBACK ON FRAPPUCCINO QUEUES - The Guardian reports that the world's biggest coffee chain, Starbucks, is struggling to cope with long queues of impatient customers seeking iced frappuccinos to provide relief from record heat on both sides of the Atlantic.
In a rare financial setback for the rapidly growing company, Starbucks announced that its like-for-like sales rose only 4% in July - lower than in the preceding nine months and below its trend of a 6% increase over the year.
The shortfall sent Starbucks shares down by 11% on Nasdaq yesterday. Investors are accustomed to rapid expansion in profits from the company which has 11,784 stores worldwide.
Starbucks chief executive, Jim Donald, said the company's iced, blended drinks take longer to make than its traditional espresso-based coffees, causing frustration and prompting some caffeine-seekers to go elsewhere.
In spite of the problem of thirsty customers, Starbucks revenue leapt 25% to $2bn for the three months to July as new stores pushed up sales and profits grew by 16% to $145m.
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EDWARD DILLON REPORT DROP IN PROFITS - The Irish Examiner reports that drinks distributor Edward Dillon & Co has recorded a further fall in annual profits in 2005, the company's latest accounts show.
The company, which is owned by a number of international drinks firms, booked pre-tax profits of €5.2m in the year-to-end September 2005, down from €6.8m in 2004. Sales for the year were down by €16m to €120.7m.
The paper said the company gave no reason for the dip in profits, the second consecutive year of decline. Reflecting the fall in profits, the dividend to its shareholders will be cut from almost €5m to €3.8m.
After the payout, the company had shareholders' funds of €1.9m compared to €1.4m in 2004.
Despite a cut in the company's workforce over the year to 109 people, the wages and salary bill for the year was up by €94,000 to €6.9m.
Dublin-based Edward Dillon is now owned by three shareholders after Diageo sold its 30% stake three years ago.
Luxury goods and drinks conglomerate Moët Hennessy has a 40% stake as does Bacardi. Brown Forman, the maker of Jack Daniels whisky, holds the remaining shares.
