Prelude to a Clasico: Madrid the winners as Barcelona & Atletico slip up

COMMENT
By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer

Things may just be looking up for Real Madrid. Coach Carlo Ancelotti called for improvement ahead of tough tests against Juventus and Barcelona this week, and not only did he get it as the Blancos beat Malaga 2-0 on Saturday, but he also saw the team's two title rivals - the Catalans and Atletico - drop points in La Liga later on. For the under-pressure Italian, it was the ideal start to a crucial seven-day spell. 

Malaga made life difficult for Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu as the visitors constantly caught out the home team with a dogged defence and a clever offside trap. And when those two failed, there was the wonderful Willy Caballero in goal to keep out almost all that was aimed at him in a quite brilliant display of shot-stopping. Once, even the woodwork intervened.

But Madrid improved markedly on Saturday following some underwhelming performances in recent weeks and Willy was finally beaten just after half-time, when Angel Di Maria's curling cross beat everyone - including the head of the airbound Cristiano Ronaldo - on its way to the corner of the net.

Ronaldo was thwarted by an inspired Caballero on a number of occasions and was only able to convert a contentious late penalty after substitute Gareth Bale went down in the box. Then, in a curious gesture towards the Madrid fans, the Portuguese said sorry to the Bernabeu and asked not to be acclaimed on an afternoon where he had not quite been at his best. High standards indeed.

'Cristiano has not gone home happy because he had chances,' Ancelotti admitted afterwards. 'But he kept cool to score the penalty.'

Ellsewhere, Alvaro Morata, in for the injured Karim Benzema, was full of passion and running in a pleasing performance in attack, while another canterano, Dani Carvajal, also impressed at right-back. 'I liked the attitude of the team,' Ancelotti added. 'We defended well, we were more aggressive and more compact.'

The Italian later saw Barcelona held in a goalless game at Osasuna, while Atletico lost their own unbeaten record with a 1-0 defeat at Espanyol. That means the Catalans lead La Liga with 25 points out of a possible 27, with Atletico one further back and Madrid (22) now just three behind ahead of next Saturday's Clasico clash at Camp Nou.

It was an insipid display from Barca and the champions rarely looked like scoring, but trips to Pamplona have proven problematic in recent seasons for Spain's top teams. So with Lionel Messi still some way short of full fitness, not featuring until late in the match and eight wins in the bag already for Gerardo Martino's men, it is hardly time to panic for the Catalan club.

'I am happy with the performance,' Martino said after the game. 'I would be worried if I thought the team was going backwards,' he added. 'But that is not the case.

In fact, Barca went clear at the top for the first time this term as Atletico met their match against an excellent Espanyol side at Cornella, where Thibaut Courtois' own-goal divided the two teams. 'It was a game with hardly any space and we attacked with very little clarity,' Atletico coach Diego Simeone said afterwards. 'We found it difficult to get going.'

Madrid, however, do finally seem to have got going, with only Willy's wonder saves stopping a heavy defeat for Malaga on Saturday. There is still room for improvement for Ancelotti's side, but the Blancos are now back in range in the fight for La Liga. So on a night when Barca drew and Atletico lost, the biggest winners wore white. And now just three points separate Spain's two biggest teams - the perfect prelude, perhaps, to next weekend's Clasico clash

Yahoo Closes Cairo Office

By: Salma Tantawi

Yahoo Egypt employees were in for a bad news yesterday as the internet company announced the closing of its office in Cairo by the end of the year.

"This decision is part of Yahoo's global effort to streamline operations, encourage collaboration by bringing more Yahoos together in fewer locations, and build a strong global business that is set up for long-term growth." spokeswoman Sara Gorman told AFP yesterday in an email.

Though Gorman didn’t specify the number of employees being laid off, she confirmed that the Middle East and North Africa remain important markets and that Yahoo will continue to operate from their offices in Amman and Dubai

Corporate results: Attock Refinery profit drops 59% in July-Sept quarter

Net profit was Rs601 million against Rs1.472 billion in the same period of previous year. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) on Tuesday announced a 59% decline in net profit during the July-September quarter of financial year 2013-14 over the same period of previous year as it was hammered by depressed refining margins, rupee depreciation and inventory loss.

Net profit was Rs601 million against Rs1.472 billion in the same period of previous year. The company did not announce any cash or share dividend.

The company would have started the year with a loss had it not been for the high other income, which includes dividend payments from sister companies and interest earnings on bank deposits.

ARL posted a gross loss of Rs166 million compared with last year’s profit of Rs1.959 billion, indicating the widening gap between crude oil cost and prices of petroleum products that the refineries get.

“The up and down movement in product prices will continue but I am expecting the refining margins to improve in coming months,” said Shahid Ali, head of research at Summit Capital.

Finance cost of the company at Rs857 million against last year’s just Rs49.8 million appeared large mainly because of exchange loss of around Rs850 million, he said.

ARL’s bottom line was supported by non-refinery income of Rs1.368 billion. Ali said the company had recorded this income in the second quarter of last fiscal year. “This dividend income from Attock General, National Refinery Limited and Pakistan Oilfields Limited is higher by 30%.”

POL earnings rise

Another Attock Group company, Pakistan Oilfields Limited reported a 41% year-on-year rise in earnings on the back of higher petroleum output, appreciation of the dollar and better international oil prices.

“Arab Light Oil price has consistently hovered above $105 per barrel in the first quarter of 2013-14 averaging at $108, compared to $102 per barrel in the fourth (April-June 2013) quarter of last fiscal year,” said Global Research.

Dividend income from associated companies – NRL and APL – also helped POL earnings. Higher petroleum production from Thal and Adhi blocks added to the company’s strong growth.

Corporate results: Indus Motor earnings up 27% as sales increase

Analysts believe the sales volume had mainly been supported by reduced imports of used Japanese vehicles and fast depleting stocks of five-year-old used cars in the market. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: Indus Motor on Tuesday reported a slightly higher than expected after-tax profit of Rs880 million, up 27% in the first three months of fiscal year 2013-14 against the profit of Rs691 million in the corresponding period of previous year.

According to Global Research, the company was expected to post a profit of Rs757 million or earnings per share of Rs9.63, but the earnings shot up because of higher than anticipated sales for Hilux Vigo – a four-wheel-drive pick-up the company produces. Earnings per share of the company jumped to Rs11.19 from Rs8.79.

The research house reported that the strong earnings of Indus Motor were because of improvement in margins on Corolla as yen weakened, making raw material imports cheaper. Other positives were increase in vehicle prices by up to 3% and lagging impact of rupee depreciation on import costs.

Revenues increased 6% year-on-year to Rs12.83 billion in the first quarter (July-September). Improvement in the topline came on the back of slightly better sales volume, edging up 1% to 8,419 units.

Analysts believe the sales volume had mainly been supported by reduced imports of used Japanese vehicles and fast depleting stocks of five-year-old used cars in the market.

For the quarter, the company’s gross profit margins widened 178 basis points to 10.4% compared to 8.6% last year. However, compared to the previous quarter, profit margins shrank 278 basis points against 13.2%. “We believe this decline in margins was mainly due to lower sales of Fortuner SUVs during first quarter of FY14 to just 120 units,” the research house said.

On a yearly basis, the company’s other operating income fell 23% to Rs232 million in the first quarter against expectations of Rs334 million. The key reason for the decline in the other operating income was lower than anticipated treasury earnings.

Corporate results: PTCL earns Rs11 billion

PTCL’s revenue stood at Rs60.7 billion and showed a significant increase of 31%, with net profit standing at Rs9.3 billion, while gross profit was recorded at Rs20.8 billion. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: 

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the ICT services provider, has announced consolidated revenues of Rs100.5 billion for nine months ended on September 30, 2013.

PTCL group posted a revenue growth of 16% with net profit amounting to Rs11.3 billion for the period under review, while gross profit stood at Rs35.98 billion.

PTCL’s revenue stood at Rs60.7 billion and showed a significant increase of 31%, with net profit standing at Rs9.3 billion, while gross profit was recorded at Rs20.8 billion.

President & CEO PTCL, Walid Irshaid said that the results reflect the strength of the company’s business model and strong commitment. He said that the company’s business decisions were geared towards adding value for its stakeholders while continuously seeking avenues for innovation in terms of the products and service offerings.

Irshad said that the company continues to increase its market share in both wireline and wireless broadband as well as specialised telecom solution segments by introducing state-of-the-art products and unmatched affordable services.

Nokia launch highlights company’s growth

People attend a Nokia launch ceremony in Abu Dhabi October 22, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS

ABU DHABI: Nokia hosted the Nokia World on Tuesday, which is the company’s last such event before the impending takeover by Microsoft.

Most of the announcements were already leaked weeks prior, and held no surprises, however it did illuminate Nokia’s attention to developing markets.

Nokia launched additions to its Lumia series; with the Lumia 1520 and 1320, the new Asha line with Asha 500, Asha 502, and the 3G compatible Asha 503. Fans were excited to see the much rumoured Nokia tablet, finally revealed as the Lumia 2520, along with news of Whatsapp, Vine, Instagram and other long awaited apps finally coming to the Nokia platform.

The founder of Whatsapp, Jan Coop said that the theme was to find the ‘next billion’. Nokia hopes to attract customers from developing markets to choose the Asha series as their first smartphone, priced between$69-$99 to implement to Nokia’s strategy of increasing volumes in the low cost, ‘feature phone’ segment.

The Asha 500 has a 2 megapixel camera, while the 502 and 503 have 5 megapixel cameras, and according to Nokia officials have a standby battery life of up to 30 days.

Head of Mobile Phones at Nokia, Calin Turcanu said that with the 3G auction coming up in Pakistan, there are increasing opportunities for such phones in Pakistan, and the phone is designed to be user friendly.

If compared to cheap alternatives in Pakistan and the rest of the developing economies, the phone pales in comparison to cheaper competitors using the android system.

To convince consumers, especially those with little knowledge of smartphones to choose the small Asha over its competitors will be difficult. However Nokia has chosen to concentrate on durability, and their renowned camera technology, in stark contrast to its competitors.

Nokia SVP Tuula Rytila said that the chosen strategy to beat the competitors was differentiation.

Environment safety: Oil refineries to adopt EU-II global standards

The minister pointed out the collective responsibility to cope with the menace of environmental degradation. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: 

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources Jam Kamal Khan has directed all the oil refineries operating in the country to adopt the EU-II international standards for safer environment.

He directed the officials of the ministry to write letters to the refineries for the strict implementation of the EU-II standards and desired a detailed report from all oil refineries in the country about the implementation of the EU-II standards.

He said that the oil refineries should inform as to what extent EU-II standards have been adopted.

The minister pointed out the collective responsibility to cope with the menace of environmental degradation. He stressed adopting international standards to maintain safe and healthy environment for the future generations.

He said that the government and the ministry would take concrete initiatives to make sure that the grievances regarding this subject are effectively addressed