The digital business week


26 Apr 2011

A digest of the top business and technology news stories from the past week.

Apple Q2 revenues hit US$24.6bn – sells 18.6m iPhones, 4.7m iPads

Apple’s Q2 results are in and the tech giant recorded massive revenues of US$24.6bn and profits of US$5.9bn after selling 17m iPhones, 4.7m iPads, 9m iPods and 3.7m Mac computers.

Apple posted record second-quarter revenue of US$24.67bn and record second-quarter net profit of US$5.99bn, or US$6.40 per diluted share.

These results compare to revenue of US$13.50bn and net quarterly profit of US$3.07bn, or US$3.33 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Gross margin was 41.4pc compared to 41.7pc in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59pc of the quarter’s revenue.

Nokia’s revenues down 18pc, faced ‘challenging’ smartphone market

Nokia reported €10.4bn in revenue in the first quarter of 2011, down 18pc from the last quarter.

The mobile company’s gross profits were €3bn, its operating profits were €439m and its diluted earnings-per-share was 9 cents.

Nokia has been facing difficulties in the mobile market, which is reflected in its Devices and Services group revenues. It recent formed a deal with Microsoft to use Windows Phone 7 OS on its mobile devices and it said it expects the full transition to make the OS its primary smartphone platform to take two years. For now, it will continue to leverage its Symbian platform.

Last week, the two companies signed a definitive agreement for their strategic partnership to build a “new global mobile ecosystem that is unlike any other.” They said they are on track to deliver volume shipments in 2012, though acknowledge there is pressure to release a 2011 device.

Nokia’s Devices and Services group experienced €7.1bn in revenue during this quarter, down 17pc from the last quarter and up 6pc from this time last year.

Euromedic Ireland invests €1m in Cork diagnostic clinic

Private healthcare provider Euromedic Ireland is to invest a further €1m in Ireland with the expansion of its diagnostic scanning clinic at the Elysian in Cork City, bringing its total investment in Ireland to date up to €45m.

Euromedic Ireland specialises in the provision of diagnostic imaging on an out-patients basis. It aims to increase efficiencies in diagnostic imaging by providing access to fast and professional diagnostic scans for patients, such as MRI, CT, X-ray, ultrasound and DXA.

The Cork announcement is part of the company’s wider expansion plan to increase access to diagnostic imaging services throughout Ireland in the coming months.

Chip industry’s very good year as sales hit US$283bn

The year 2010 was one of the best years in semiconductor industry history with sales of chips up 24pc as sales hit US$283bn, according to IDC.

Sales of hardware like e-readers, tablets and smartphones to cars, data centre servers and wireless infrastructure contributed to the rude health of the sector.

The industry recovery was strong and broad last year across all market verticals, regions and semiconductor device categories.

IDC tracked more than more than 100 semiconductor companies, most of which experienced strong growth in 2010.

Intel, with total semiconductor revenues of US$41.9bn in 2010, once again was the overall market leader.

Siemens confirms it is in negotiations with SIS workers

Engineering giant Siemens said that contrary to claims by the Communications Workers Union, it is in discussions with the 24 workers who will be affected by Yell’s business moving from Siemens IT Solutions in Cork to Yell’s Reading operations in the UK.

Communications Workers Union has called for Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton TD to intervene in a dispute over the transfer of workers at Siemens IT Solutions in Cork to the UK.

Siemens IT Solutions had informed workers at its Blackrock call centre in Cork that it will no longer provide customer support services under its Yell contract and that these services will be provided by Yell in the UK.

However, the CWU inferred that proper consultation with workers in line with Irish employment law governing collective redundancies had not been adhered to.

A spokesperson for Siemens in Ireland told Siliconrepublic.com that this is not the case and that discussions are being facilitated.

Former Google CEO gets pay rise from $1 to $1.25m

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will get quite the pay rise after stepping down, as his salary will increase from US$1 a year to US$1.25m.

Schmidt, along with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, limited to their salaries to US$1 a year while working in the company. They weren’t exactly strapped for cash though, due to the fact they own large stakes in the multinational corporation.

However, since stepping down from CEO to a company chairman position, Schmidt will receive a huge pay rise in his salary, increasing from a dollar to US$1.25m per year, according to an SEC filing.

He will also be allowed to receive a target bonus of 400pc of his base salary, meaning he could be in with the chance to get US$6m a year.

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