The Business Matrix: Friday 25 May 2012

Vatican Bank chief ousted

Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the Italian president of the Vatican bank, has been ousted by the bank's board of directors after a no-confidence vote. The Holy See said the vote was taken because of Gotti Tedeschi's failure to fulfil the "primary functions of his office," adding that the board was concerned about the governance of the bank.

Fall in Caribbean tourism hits CWC

Cable & Wireless Communications, the British-based overseas phone group with operations ranging from Macau to Jamaica, is to halve its dividend next year to reflect tougher trading. The group has suffered because a fall in tourist numbers has hit local economies. It also said the use of mobile data in the West Indies lags behind the rest of the world.

Would you Adam & Eve it?

The 70-strong staff of Adam & Eve, the independent agency behind hit advertising for the John Lewis stores chain, left, yesterday landed an estimated £60m windfall as it was sold to the US giant Omnicom. The four co-founders, who will stay with the firm, will collect the lion's share, but all staff at the London agency will receive a payment.

BT chief in for bumper pay deal

BT's chief executive Ian Livingston had a bumper pay package last year, with £3.85m in pay, cash, share bonuses and perks. He has to stay at the telecoms group for three years to get half his bonus – or £1.34m of free shares. He also collected £4.8m of free shares last year from the plan for 2009, the year BT issued a massive profits warning.

Young's predicts bumper summer

Young's, the London-focused brewery and pub company, is poised for a bumper summer, hoping its 14 pubs along the banks of the river Thames will prove popular during the Queen's Jubilee and the Olympics. Sales last year soared 25 per cent to £179m and profits jumped 17 per cent to £21m.

Georgian Railway pulls shares sale

Georgian Railway shelved its London shares sale yesterday blaming market conditions. The float was meant to raise up to $250m and value the company at $1bn. It is a setback for the London Stock Exchange, which has seen little initial public offering activity over the past year as stock markets struggle.

US election delays contracts

Qinetiq, which used to be the Government's military gadget-maker, has warned contracts are being delayed in the US until after November's presidential elections. The technology firm posted a 3 per cent rise in annual profits to £118m, helped by its UK unit which carries out training.

Falling profits at Daily Mail

The Daily Mail and General Trust blamed the tough UK economy for falling profits at its newspaper division yesterday, but said the number of mobile users viewing its MailOnline site is booming. It half-yearly profits dropped to £46m against £73m a year ago.

Customer figures rise at Booker

Booker, which has 172 cash-and-carry outlets and a delivery network including the Ritter-Courivaud and Classic Drinks businesses, said annual profits rose 27 per cent to £90.8m after customer numbers increased by 22,000 to 481,000.

Premium lager leads the way

SABMiller's said its UK arm Miller Brands delivered annual lager volume growth of 8 per cent, despite a declining market. Much of the improvement came from its premium portfolio, with Peroni, Pilsner Urquell and Kozel growing by double digits.