Amazon Publishing house has snapped up rights to major bestseller – Timothy Ferriss’s new book The 4-Hour Chef.
Oonagh Reidy
iiNet Profits Soar 17% (Cheers BoB)
iiNet are on the up – announcing a 17% rise in profits in a hectic six months for the telco.
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Pre-tax earnings also grew 36% to $56.4m, with net profit (after tax) up an impressive 17% to $14.4m for H1 FY12.
Not bad for the company that started in a garage.
The Perth based telco now is No.2 in DSL broadband and has 860,000 customers using 1.7m of its services – “a record” figure, CEO Michael Malone revealed today, announcing the results for the six months ended 31 December.
This has pushed iiNet share of broadband DSL to 16% and comes in the wake of recent expansion in both Darwin and regional QLD.
The Company continued to grow across all key financials and enjoyed growing dividends, Malone added.
iiNet balance sheet is also in good shape with gearing “comfortable” at 73%, net debt to equity and revenues up 11% to $365m.
There was also a record low level of churn among customers.
“The last six months have been a period of considerable expansion, with iiNet continuing to grow scale and cementing its position as the clear number two in DSL broadband,” Malone said.
“We have laid the foundations for an exciting future. iiNet’s excellent financial performance over the past six months and attractive growth outlook clearly shows we are successfully executing the right strategy in light of the changing industry dynamics.”
The recent acquisitions of TransACT and Internode have been key in building further scale and to expanding iiNet’s national footprint and penetrate lucrative SME, corporate and government sectors, now a key strategic focus.
“In addition to having leading residential broadband market share in the ACT, TransACT provided a unique opportunity for iiNet to acquire significant network infrastructure assets in a key market,” he added.
“iiNet is NBN ready. We have the scale, network capabilities, hardware capabilities, attractive pricing, and a brand centered on service and product delivery, that will allow us to thrive in an NBN world.”
And he said recent changes to the regulatory environment with the ACCC declaring new wholesale ADSL prices will provide a more level playing field in the transition to the NBN.
These changes will allow iiNet to be more competitive and grow its market share.
And iiNet is also looking to flog more products like phone, broadband and BoB packages, as well as IPTV service FetchTV to customers:
“Our goal is to increase the average number of products per customer from two to three by the end of the 2014 financial year. With 860,000 customers that use 1.7 million services, there is a substantial opportunity to further grow our business from its existing base.
Interim dividend up 20% to 6 cents per share fully franked.
Zombie Robots To Make iPad 2, iPhone 5
Welcome to the Zombie nation: Apple third party supplier Foxconn is to hire more than 1 million robots to make iPad 2 and iPhone 5.
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That’s according to Foxconn owner, Terry Guo, China Business News reported yesterday.
Currently, the controversial electronics manufacturing giant uses more than 10,000 robots along with employing the services of 1.2 million workers to make Apple cult products like iPad and iPhone.
And it’s not just Apple Foxconn contracts to – several other well known names employ its services also.
The robots will be used to do simple and routine work such as spraying, welding and assembling which are now mainly conducted by workers, Foxconn Chief says.
The contract manufacturer has, in the past, been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism over its work practices following a spate of worker suicides, injuries and workplace accidents at its plants located mostly in the south of the China.
Three workers were killed and more than 15 injured as recently as May following an explosion in a plant located in Chengdu region.
But Guo’s factories have now set up a robotics division and plan to have 300,000 of them up and running by next year, meaning they will almost certainly be making the iPhone 5, due out later this year and iPad 3. It is thought the move to robotics will slash rising Chinese labour costs and boost plant efficiency.
Up to half of all manufacturing could be carried out by the robots in future, replacing humans, experts say. However, Gou has said he wants to move 1 million employees “higher up the value chain.”
What, making or cleaning the robots maybe?
Well, apparently Gou envisions his slave driven workforce (think 24 hour work days, no holidays, no talking at work) to perform task like “research and development, innovation and other areas that are equally important to the success of our operations”.
Lets hope he treats the robots better than he has his workers.
7″ Tab… $33?
First announced in July last one could have been forgiven for thinking it was a hoax.
But apparently not.
The 7 inch touch tab, nicknamed ‘Sakshat’ for a mere US $35 (AU $33 at current exchange rates) is to be unleashed by the end of the month in India, according to media reports there.
Created by HCL Technologies Sakshat will be powered by LinuxOS and will support Open Office and SciLab. It will come with inbuilt keyboard, Wi-Fi, USB port, 32GB hard drive and 2GB RAM.
The Indian government has decided that 10,000 Sakshat tablets will be delivered to Indian Institute Technology, Rajasthan in late June, reports Times of India.
The news comes after intital doubts about whether the ‘$35 tab’ plan (1,500 rupees) announced by the Indian government last year would come to fruition.
A further 90,000 tablet units will be sold for Rs 2,200 (around AU$46) mainly to students although this could be subject to further subsidies from the government, slashing the price down even further.
However, it is not yet known if the miracle tab will go mass market.
Given the current recession being experienced globally perhaps this is a sign of the times.
A 3D TV for $100 anyone?
Troubled HP To Axe 30,000 Jobs?
PC giant is to slash its workforce as it struggles in mobile computing era.
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The cuts which could mean anything between 25,000-30,000 jobs lost, tipped by Wall Street Journal citing sources, who suggest the Palo Alto giant may cut up to 8% of its workforce.
Desktop giant Hewlett Packard employs almost 350,000 people globally.
HP has not made any official comment on the rumour yet but according to the ‘source’, the company will make a formal announcement at its quarterly earnings call, scheduled next week.
And in a way, it’s no surprise the biggest PC maker in the world is looking to cut costs after its major upheaval in the past year, which started off with (now) ex-CEO Leo Apotheker announcing HP may spin off its profitable PC business and WebOS platform and go gung-ho on software, like IBM did.
Apotheker later got the boot and was replaced with former eBay boss, Meg Whitman, who was hired to put HP’s troubled house back in order.
Whitman later announced the giant’s enormous PC facility was here to stay.
In March, however, HP merged its PC and Printer divisions, now called ‘Printing and Personal Systems Group.’
In Q4 HP PC shipments fell a worrying 16.2% with analysts Gartner blaming “the noise around this issue,” of its Hardware v Software conundrum.
Lower demand for traditional desktops is also hitting the giant hard.
Recently, HP has released a bundle of new PCs to Australia including Sleekbooks, Ultrabooks and business tablets, meaning it is looking to re-establish itself as a serious player in a PC market, increasingly dominated by mobile devices including Macbook, iPads and Ultrabooks.
Read: New HP Sleekbooks Look Remarkably Like MacBook Air
TPG Pick Up AAPT
Telco buyout AAPT for a cool $450mTelecom Corp. of New Zealand (TEL.NZ) has entered a binding agreement to sell Australian telecommunications company AAPT to TPG Telecom for A$450 million, it announced today.
AAPT provides Internet, data, voice and cloud services to businesses and wholesale customers.
The sale is consistent “with our desire to focus principally on our New Zealand operations and on the needs of New Zealand customers,” said Telecom Chief Executive Simon Moutter.
“AAPT is performing well. David Yuile and his management team have done an impressive job during the last three years to simplify, stabilise and reshape the company.”
AAPT CEO Yuile says it is now well positioned in the Australian market as a business and wholesales telecommunications company after several years of “tough decisions”.
Telecom said it expects to use the sale proceeds to repay debt and will provide further guidance at its first-half profit announcement on Feb. 21.
The sale is expected to be completed on February 28.
AAPT main assets are its fibre optic networks that will complement TPG’s existing network, as well as the data centre and mid band Ethernet capability.
Facebook…For Kids?
Forget tweens, U13 may be the newest addition to The Social Network.
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Facebook are said to be developing technology which would allow children to access The Social Network with parental supervision, reports WSJ.
This could be achieved by connecting the child’s Facebook account to their parents, so they would have control over their offspring’s online activities on the network.
This technology, if it comes to pass, would allow Facebook to get around the current child protection legislation in the US.
However, many under 13s already have Facebook accounts anyway by giving false information, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Co are making a major effort make minors more secure when socialising with millions online.
‘Zucks’ has already made his belief minors should be given access to the social network and letting U13s become legit members of the 900 million + community could be a very lucrative move, and increase revenue streams for gaming, entertainment and other kid friendly in-app purchases.
There are said to be 7.5 million under 13 members on FB last year, one survey has indicated.
The Social Network finds it hard to police underage Facebooking and said “recent reports have highlighted just how difficult it is to enforce age restrictions on the Internet, especially when parents want their children to access online content and services.”
“We are in continuous dialogue with stakeholders, regulators and other policy makers about how best to help parents keep their kids safe in an evolving online environment.”
However, the Social Network has come under fire from US law makers who believe giving kids access to Internet social networking is not a responsible way for the (now listed) network to make money, and could have a “harmful impact” on minors, reports San Francisco Gate.
Co-chairmen of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, Congressmen Edward Markey and Joe Barton sent a letter to Facebook boss Zuckerberg this week outlining their concerns.
“While Facebook provides important communication and entertainment opportunities, we strongly believe that children and their personal information should not be viewed as a source of revenue” the letter stated.
“We are deeply concerned that the changes discussed by Facebook could potentially have a harmful impact on our children.”
If under 13s were allowed in, Facebook would have to adhere with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires websites to get consent and notify parents before collecting personal data from minors.
#HMV: “We’re All Being Fired. Exciting!!”
Cheeky HMV staff tweet on the job
@hmvtweets: A HMV UK staffer irked at the decision to fire 190 employees, took to the social network to articulate their anger at the “mass execution”.
The music store went into administration last month.
“We’re tweeting live from HR. We’re all being fired! Exciting!!” one HMV staffer wrote on @hmvtweets, the official company Twitter account yesterday.
“There are over 60 of us being fired at once! Mass execution of loyal employees who love the brand.”
‘Just overheard our Marketing Director (he’s staying, folks) ask “How do I shut down Twitter” the HMV staffer tweeted later on.
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However, the cheeky tweets mysteriously disappeared from the official HMV Twitter account and is currently nowhere to be seen.
@ hmvtweets wrote the following in a bid to cover up the embarrassing PR gaffe.
“One of our departing colleagues was understandably upset. We’re still here thou, thx for supporting hmv thro these challenging times”
Can HP Tab Save Retail?
HP Australia seem to think so. The giant have unleashed point of sale solutions to struggling Oz retailers – hoping technology will lure customers back in.
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The new solutions include mobile point of sale solution based on HP Slate 2 tablet as well as 47″ Micro Bezel video wall displays.
HP POS solution based on the 8.9″ HP Slate 2 tablet runs Windows combines a barcode scanner and magnetic stripe reader and is an inventory device, sales assistant, manager’s assistant all in one.
The mobile solution facilitates store applications such as sales and clienteling – better serving customers based on their past purchases and allows retailers respond to queries more quickly helping to “closi the sale with a customer “anywhere on the floor,” says HP.
HP’s LD4730 and LD4730G are 47″ Micro Bezel Video Wall Display’s are touch-enabled and feature HP DreamColor and the latter model comes with sturdy Corning Gorilla Glass and are ideal for retail environments.
The wall displays start at for $6,599 including GST.
The displays use an HP video input – simplified Video over Ethernet (VOE) – to manage network-attached digital signage.
HP has also released Presentation Barcode Scanner is a high-performance on-counter scanner that can read most common 1-D and 2-D barcodes The linear model starts at $229.
“Many retailers are working toward creating a much more interesting environment for shoppers with the goal of improving and differentiating the entire shopping experience,” said Chee-Mei Gan, Personal Systems Group, HP Australia.
“HP is becoming the provider of choice for retailers that want to implement this seamless customer experience with affordable, leading-edge technology backed by best-in-class software partners.”
Dick Smith Sold To Equity Group $20M
Dick Smith finally sold to equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners for a cut price.
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Woolworths has sold the troubled electronics retailer to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners $20m, it announced today.
The sale announcement was made today as Woolies confirmed it has signed a share sale agreement with the Sydney based firm, with the transaction expected to be completed late 2012 following the satisfaction of conditions, a statement to the ASX confirmed.
Woolies first announced it would divest the company in November last year after a strategic review.
Under the sale agreement, Anchorage will purchase 100 per cent of the Dick Smith business in Australia and New Zealand, its 325 stores and 4,500 staff.
The equity group has appointed ex-Myer exec Nick Abboud as new CEO of Dick Smith, effective upon completion of the deal.
Woolies had been hoping for a far higher price but has been looking for a suitable buyer for several months now.
By comparison, Harvey Norman paid $55m for Clive Peeters chain with 32 stores in 2010, although the purchase has since proved to be less than a success.
Dick Smith recently announced FY12 earnings of $24.6bn – up 12% – and sales improved by 2.3% to $1.5bn.
The $20m will be paid to Woolworths during the FY13 and the retail giant may also benefit from any upside if the equity group choose to sell the retailer in the future.
Woolworths CEO Grant O’Brien said: “We announced the Company’s strategic priorities in November 2011 which included a review of our portfolio of assets, particularly our participation in the consumer electronics category, with a view to maximising shareholder value.”
“These businesses were a small part of Woolworths and this divestment will allow us to be fully focused on the core parts of our business.”
Phillip Cave, Chairman of Anchorage said the group was “impressed with the underlying quality of the business and sees Dick Smith as an ideal fit for our investment mandate of acquiring established businesses with strongbrands that can benefit from Anchorage’s proprietary approach to operational performance improvement.”
Cave also said Ancorage are “extremely pleased” with the agreement and are “confident in the long term success of the business.”
Abboud said he was “delighted” with his new role, adding “Anchorage and I see great potential in the Dick Smith business and I look forward to working with the team to fully realise these opportunities.”
The Dick Smith Board will now comprise of: Mr Cave as Chairman and Michael Briggs, a Partner at Anchorage, together with Abboud and Bill Wavish.
Woolies’ shares fell 0.92% to $29.01 after the announcement was made.
The retail giant also announced today the sale of Woolworths Wholesale, India, to Infiniti Retail (owned by Tata Sons) for A$35 million.