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Next now expects a full-year pretax profit of £775-815m

Next raises profit guidance for second time

Next has raised its guidance for annual sales and profit for the second time in three months after a strong second quarter performance, helped by favourable weather and new store openings.

Business • 29 Jul 14

Ryanair's figures were boosted by the timing of Easter this year

Ryanair reports €197m profit in first quarter

Ryanair has raised its full-year profits guidance after more than doubling first- quarter earnings and setting out aggressive plans for expansion in Europe.

Business • 28 Jul 14

An improvement in the British economy has helped bolster the bank's bottom line

RBS made £2.6bn profit in first half of 2014

Royal Bank of Scotland nearly doubled pre-tax profits to £2.65bn in the first half of the year, despite taking an extra £250m hit for mis-selling financial products.

Business • 25 Jul 14

EasyJet's low-cost model has helped it to grow despite difficulties in the aviation industry

EasyJet expects annual profit growth of 14%

Low-cost airline easyJet said it would grow annual profit by at least 14% assuming no further significant disruption over the next two months, putting it on track to meet analyst expectations.

Business • 24 Jul 14

McDonald's said it would continue to focus on customer service, marketing and its 'core menu' in an attempt to reverse falling sales

Profits slip at McDonald's on weaker US, EU sales

Fast-food giant McDonald's has said profit slipped in the second quarter amid fairly flat global sales and continued weakness in its domestic US performance.

Business • 22 Jul 14

Netflix is beginning to earn more per customer following a subscription price increase

Netflix sees quarterly profit more than double

Netflix said its quarterly profit more than doubled, boosted by strong growth in US and international subscribers as a price increase for its most popular US video streaming plan did not deter new users.

Business • 22 Jul 14

Philips reported a net profit of €243m in its second quarter

Philips expects profit to rise after cost-cutting

Philips said it expects its core profit to rise in the second half of the year after cost-cutting measures, but said 2014 would still be a challenging.

Business • 21 Jul 14

Mothercare - which also owns the Early Learning Centre - has 21 stores in Ireland

Mothercare beats forecasts with £9.5m profit

British baby goods retailer Mothercare beat full-year profit forecasts and said improved trading had continued into its new financial year, raising hopes a turnaround drive is taking hold.

Business • 22 May 14

DCC CEO Tommy Breen said it had seen particularly strong growth in its technology and healthcare divisions

DCC sees pre-tax profit rise by 13.7%

DCC made a pre-tax profit of £151m in the past year, according to full year results from the Irish conglomerate, up 13.7% on last year’s figures.

Business • 21 May 14

C&C Group said it had seen strong growth in the Irish and Scottish markets

C&C Group sees 6% rise in full year profit

C&C Group has seen its operating profit jump by almost 6%, with the drinks group earning €116.2m in the year to 28 February.

Business • 20 May 14

Marks & Spencer's profits have fallen below rival Next for the first time

Profits fall again at Marks & Spencer

British retailer Marks & Spencer has posted a 3.9% fall in annual profit, a third straight decline, with three years of heavy investment yet to revive its underperforming non-food business.

Business • 20 May 14

BP said last year's figures were boosted by the sale of its stake in a joint venture

BP's profits plunge in first quarter

Profits at British energy giant BP plunged in the first quarter compared with one year earlier when the group sold its stake in a Russian joint venture, according to the company.

Business • 29 Apr 14

Samsung is hoping the soccer World Cup will boost sales of its high-end televisions

Samsung posts second fall in quarterly profit

Samsung has posted its second straight fall in quarterly profit, but said it expected stronger earnings in the second quarter as a pickup in sales of high-end televisions and smartphones spurs growth.

Business • 29 Apr 14

Panasonic - along with rivals Sharp and Sony - has struggled with big losses in the TV market

Panasonic books first annual profit in three years

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic booked a net profit of $1.17 billion for the year to March, its first annual profit in three years and reversing a huge loss in the previous 12 months as it presses on with a sweeping restructuring.

Business • 28 Apr 14

The fall in profit was in line with guidance given by the company late last year

Debenhams posts 24.5% drop in first half profit

Debenhams, Britain's second largest department store group, said it was confident improvements it was making to its business would deliver some cheer for investors, as it posted a 24.5% fall in first half profit.

Business • 15 Apr 14

Many multinationals have operations in Ireland, despite the country being a small market for sales

OECD proposal 'could hit Irish tax revenue'

Ireland could suffer a significant loss in tax revenue from multinationals if new proposals from the OECD are agreed, according to the lobby group Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Business • 25 Mar 14

Etihad carried nearly 12 million passengers last year

Etihad posts 48% jump in 2013 profit

Etihad Airways has posted a 48% leap in 2013 profit and predicted more growth this year, as the fast-expanding Abu Dhabi airline aims to develop its alliance network with a potential investment in Alitalia.

Business • 03 Mar 14

Dragon Oil has its main production site off the coast of Turkmenistan

Dragon Oil sees 13% fall in operating profit

Exploration company Dragon Oil has reported an operating profit of $687.7 million for 2013; down 13% on the previous year.

Business • 18 Feb 14

Lloyds Banking Group needed a £20bn bailout during the financial crisis

Lloyds Banking Group returns to profit

Lloyds Banking Group paid £395 million pounds in bonuses last year, up 8% on the year before as it returned to profit for the first time since it was rescued by British taxpayers six years ago.

Business • 13 Feb 14

Royal Dutch Shell's full year earnings are set to be around 23% lower than expected

Royal Dutch Shell issues profit warning

Royal Dutch Shell has issued a shock profit warning, with the company's new boss Ben van Beurden admitting that the oil giant's performance was "not what I expect" from the group in 2013.

Business • 17 Jan 14

Next has 29 shops in Ireland and around 700 worldwide

Next raises annual profit forecast

Next, Britain's second largest clothing retailer, raised its annual profit forecast after fourth quarter sales came in significantly ahead of its previous guidance.

Business • 03 Jan 14

The IATA forecasts are higher than it had anticipated in September

Global airline profits of $12.9bn in 2013 - IATA

Global airline profits will total $12.9 billion in 2013 and a record $19.7 billion next year due to lower jet fuel costs and improved efficiency, the International Air Transport Association has said.

Business • 12 Dec 13

Three of RSA Ireland's senior executives were suspended last month

RSA Ireland sees pre-tax profit jump to €44.5m

RSA Insurance Ireland made a pre-tax profit of almost €44.5 million in 2012, more than six times the figure recorded in the previous year.

Business • 22 Nov 13

Ryanair's full-year profit is now expected to be €510m; €90m lower than previously expected

Ryanair shares slump on second profit warning

Shares in Ryanair closed more than 12.5% lower in Dublin trade today after it warned that its full year profit is likely to be significantly below expectations.

News • 04 Nov 13

Sony's profit forecast has been dragged down by the poor performance of its TV division

Sony shares tumble after cut in profit forecast

Sony’s shares tumbled as much as 10% to a five-month low of 1,690 yen (€12.72) after it slashed its full-year profit forecast by 26% as its struggling TV operation fell back into red.

Business • 01 Nov 13