EU Company News

Latest European company news from EUbusiness.com, with business commentary and analysis on companies in Europe.

Lufthansa seeks EUR 1.5bn profit boost — 07 February 2012, 15:03 CET

German airline Lufthansa said Tuesday it planned to boost earnings sustainably by at least 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) by 2014.

Euro Disney reports that sales edge up — 07 February 2012, 13:30 CET

Euro Disney, which operates a giant Disney resort near the French capital, said on Tuesday its first-quarter sales rose 1.1 per cent despite difficult conditions as it attracted more visitors.

Lagardere unveils EUR 900m write-down — 07 February 2012, 12:22 CET

French media group Lagardere said on Tuesday it would cut the value of its assets by about 900 million euros ($1.18 billion) to account for the poor performance of sports and pay TV operations.

Dutch plant 'for 1 euro' if jobs kept: Mitsubishi — 07 February 2012, 12:23 CET

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors is willing to sell its Netherlands factory "for one euro" if the buyer is prepared to keep employing the 1,500 workers there, the company president has said.

Russia's Gazprom says unable to pump extra gas to Europe — 04 February 2012, 22:42 CET

Gazprom said on Saturday it could not pump additional gas to Western Europe amid a cold snap, after EU officials and energy firms said the Russian giant's deliveries had dropped in several states.

EU says gas supplies are down despite Gazprom claims — 03 February 2012, 18:38 CET

The European Commission said Friday that Russian gas deliveries have fallen in nine countries, with Gazprom invoking flexibility clauses as it also braves a cold snap.

Hungarian airline Malev grounded after 66 years — 03 February 2012, 16:43 CET

Hungary's national airline Malev, which has been making losses for years, was grounded Friday almost a month after the European Union said the carrier had to pay back state aid.

EU opens antitrust probe against Samsung — 31 January 2012, 23:03 CET

European regulators have opened an antitrust probe against Samsung Electronics to determine whether the South Korean group has distorted competition in European mobile device markets.

Delta, Air France, Alitalia face EU anti-trust probe — 29 January 2012, 14:10 CET

European regulators opened Friday an anti-trust probe into a cooperation deal between Delta, Air France-KLM and Alitalia on flights between the United States and Europe.

Deutsche Post to appeal EU state aid ruling — 25 January 2012, 14:32 CET

Deutsche Post, Europe's largest mail carrier, said Wednesday it would appeal against an EU order to repay up to 1.0 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in state aid because it broke anti-trust rules.

Court rules illegal to mix Viagra with Polish drink Viaguara — 25 January 2012, 14:30 CET

A Polish drinks company was given a giant let-down Wednesday when top European judges ruled they were cheating in trying to trademark a drink named Viaguara" -- too close for their taste to the sex drug Viagra.

Google hit by new anti- trust complaint in Europe — 24 January 2012, 17:15 CET

The French online shopping website Twenga has filed a complaint against Google at the Commission, accusing the search giant of abusing its dominant position to eliminate competition.

GM reclaims world's biggest carmaker title as Toyota skids — 20 January 2012, 10:12 CET

General Motors reclaimed its title as the world's biggest automaker Thursday, successfully emerging from its 2009 bankruptcy woes to overtake German giant Volkswagen and Japanese Toyota in the race to the top.

Weak euro will hurt drivers at the pump: Total CEO — 19 January 2012, 17:01 CET

A weakening euro will increase prices for drivers at the fuel pump, Total's chief executive said in a newspaper interview Thursday while defending the French oil giant's rising profits.

French court orders Total to pay 300,000 euro fine over leak — 17 January 2012, 18:36 CET

A French court ordered energy giant Total to pay a 300,000 euro ($382,000) fine Tuesday for pollution caused by an oil leak in the Loire river at its Donges refinery in western France.

Billion-euro Austrian telecoms deal eyed: report — 14 January 2012, 23:44 CET

France Telecom and its partner Mid Europa are selling their Austrian mobile unit Orange to Hong Kong-based Hutchison in a one-billion-euro ($1.3-billion) deal, a press report said Saturday.

EU, US meet as fresh Airbus sanctions loom — 14 January 2012, 00:10 CET

US and European officials held crunch talks in Geneva on Friday, in an effort to stop a long-running aerospace trade war from escalating via fresh multi-billion dollar US sanctions against Europe.

Air France-KLM announces EUR 1bn cost-cutting plan — 12 January 2012, 22:12 CET

Air France-KLM said Thursday it would implement a three-year cost-cutting plan, including wage freezes and investment reductions, aimed at saving at least one billion euros ($1.3 billion) and reducing its debt.

Europe auto must cut capacity by 10-20%: Fiat chief — 12 January 2012, 11:04 CET

The European car industry needs to cut its capacity by 10 to 20 per cent in response to slack consumer demand that will likely continue through 2014, Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne said.

Renault plans EUR 420m investment in French factory — 11 January 2012, 15:59 CET

Auto giant Renault said Wednesday it plans to invest 420 million euros (530 million dollars) at its factory in Douai in northern France to develop its activity in the upper end of the car market.

Hyundai, Kia muscle into Europe, US markets — 11 January 2012, 11:56 CET

Still little known in Europe and surging in the United States, Korean automaker Hyundai and sister Kia are muscling their way into markets dominated by national players and the Japanese.

Spain's Santander says meets 9% EU capital requirement — 09 January 2012, 13:52 CET

Santander, Spain's biggest bank and the eurozone's largest by capitalisation, said it has brought its core reserves up to 9.0 percent, meeting stricter funding requirements set by the European Banking Authority.

EU orders Hungary to recover aid from Malev airline — 09 January 2012, 14:03 CET

The European Commission ordered Hungary on Monday to recover aid granted to national airline Malev, saying the tens of millions of euros in financing were illegal.

Austria's Raiffeisen aims for EUR 600m capital increase — 28 December 2011, 22:16 CET

Austria's Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB) said Wednesday it was seeking to raise 600 million euros ($778 million) via participation capital to relieve its subsidiaries involved in eastern Europe.

Airbus aid dispute: EU, US talks in January — 22 December 2011, 17:02 CET

The United States and the European Union will hold talks in January after Washington accused EU governments of failing to eliminate illegal subsidies to Airbus, trade officials said Thursday.