News

Reuters Saga Plc, an over-50s travel and insurance company, reported a small rise in full-year pretax profit after its tour operations were hit by the collapse of Monarch Airlines, but said its travel business had “excellent” visibility this year. Saga, which offers ocean and river cruises, singles holidays and escorted tours, said underlying pretax profit rose to 190.1 million pounds ...

Reuters French food services and facilities management group Sodexo reported a well-flagged fall in first-half core operating profit and kept its recently reduced targets for sales growth and margins for the 2017/18 full year. Sodexo, which is the world’s second-biggest catering company after Compass Group, struck a cautious tone over its medium-term goals although Chief Executive Denis Machuel said he ...

London / Reuters GlaxoSmithKline is divesting its rare disease gene therapy drugs to private biotech company Orchard Therapeutics as Chief Executive Emma Walmsley makes good on her promise to prune the drugmaker’s pharmaceuticals portfolio. Financially, the transaction will not move the dial for Britain’s biggest drugmaker, but it offers a sign that Walmsley is making progress in reshaping the company ...

DUBAI / WAM The Dubai Land Department (DLD) revealed that real estate transactions in Dubai for the first three months of 2018 totalled AED58 billion through 13,759 sales. Commenting on the announcement, Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director-General of DLD, said, “The Dubai real estate market continues to show continuous growth, driven by general optimism and confidence in the real estate ...

DUBAI / WAM Deyaar on Saturday announced its preliminary unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2018, ending on March 31, 2018. Deyaar reported a year-on-year increase in revenues by nearly 25 percent to over AED176 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared to AED142 million last year. Deyaar reported a healthy rise in net profit by more ...

SHARJAH / WAM Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has been awarded the ISO 27001 Certification, and is among few in the region to have been given this accolade. ISO 27001 is a globally recognised standard for “Information Security Management System” and provides the accreditation on SIB’s security practices to customers, regulators, partners and other stakeholders and ensures that SIB is aligned ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the 8th edition of FAHR International Conference begins this Monday, at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai. The FAHR International Conference & Exhibition is the Middle East’s largest government HR event held by the Federal Authority for ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) is taking part in the Alimentaria 2018 Exhibition, the international business event geared towards professionals in the food, drinks and gastronomy industry, being held from April 16-19 at the Gran Via Venue – Barcelona. DAFZA will be showcasing its wide range of services and offerings in the Halal sector, and ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE Cabinet last week adopted the technical regulations for the emergency communication system in vehicles ‘ECall’, (UAE.S 5019: 2018) issued by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA), which aims to reduce the response time for vehicles involved in traffic accidents by up to 40 percent. Commenting on the announcement, Abdullah Al Maeeni, Director-General ...

Dubai / Emirates Business As part of its community service commitments, DP World, UAE region is partnering with Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital’s volunteer programme, becoming the first UAE based organisation to do so. Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital is the first dedicated children’s hospital set up in the UAE, created under the directive of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid ...