(BFW) Study Shows EU177 Bln Lost in ‘VAT Gap’ in 2012, EU Says

Study Shows EU177 Bln Lost in ‘VAT Gap’ in 2012, EU Says
2014-10-23 10:56:00.359 GMT


By Jones Hayden
Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- An estimated EU177 billion in VAT
revenue was lost due to non-compliance or non-collection in
2012, according to VAT Gap study published by the European
Commission.
* “This equates to 16% of total expected VAT revenue of 26
member states,” EU says in statement
* EU statement: http://goo.gl/wX8qSI
* VAT Gap report: http://goo.gl/vVVWXL


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To contact the editor responsible for this story:
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>>> Alexion Pharma beats by $0.11, beats on revs; raises guidance for FY14, abov

Alexion Pharma beats by $0.11, beats on revs; raises guidance for FY14, above consensus

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.27 per share, $0.11 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.16; revenues rose 38.6% year/year to $555.1 mln vs the $544.25 mln consensus. Revenue performance for the quarter reflected steady additions of new patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) commencing Soliris treatment.
  • Co raises guidance for FY14, sees EPS of $5.15-5.20 vs. $5.02 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from $4.95-5.05 prior guidance;
    • Sees FY14 revs of $2.220-2.225 bln vs. $2.2 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from $2.18-2.20 bln prior guidance.

>>> Eli Lilly misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY14 EPS guidance

Eli Lilly misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY14 EPS guidance, lowers high end of FY14 revs guidance

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.66 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.67; revenues fell 15.5% year/year to $4.88 bln vs the $4.84 bln consensus.
  • The revenue decline was comprised of 16 percent due to lower volume; the impact of changes in price and foreign exchange rates on worldwide revenue was negligible. The 16 percent decrease in worldwide volume was primarily driven by the loss of U.S. patent exclusivity for Cymbalta, and to a lesser extent Evista, partially offset by volume gains for most other products. Total revenue in the U.S. decreased 33 percent to $2.218 billion, driven primarily by lower demand for Cymbalta and Evista following their patent expirations. Total revenue outside the U.S. increased 8 percent to $2.658 billion, driven by higher volume.
Co issues guidance for FY14, reaffirms EPS of $2.72-2.80, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.76 Capital IQ Consensus; lowers FY14 revs to $19.4-19.8 bln from $19.4-20.0 bln vs. $19.88 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Patent expirations have led to a rapid and severe decline in U.S. Cymbalta and U.S. Evista sales. These revenue declines are expected to be partially offset by growth from a portfolio of other products including Humalog, Humulin, Trajenta®, Cialis, Forteo and Alimta, as well as the animal health business and new product launches. In addition, strong revenue growth is expected in China, while a weaker Japanese yen will dampen revenue growth in Japan.
  • The co now anticipates gross margin as a percent of revenue will be ~74.5 percent in 2014 driven by recent strengthening of the U.S. Dollar versus the Euro. Gross margin in 2014 is now also expected to benefit from a decision to delay until 2015 the shutdown at one of the company's bulk insulin plants to implement production changes. T

FT Lex : Tesco: bargain hunters beware

Tesco: bargain hunters beware

Even after halving, the shares do not look cheap

So how bad are things at Tesco? Take your pick of Thursday’s awful figures. The table on page 11 of the first-half results, showing that like for like sales have been falling everywhere for the past 18 months, would be one place to start. The pre-tax profit of £112m on sales of £34bn would be another. The £527m of one-off items, only part of which are related to the accounting problems, are a third. The whole ugly story is summarised in the share price: it has halved versus a year ago. This is no start-up, remember. Tesco is a supposedly defensive food retailer.

At 174p, the shares are pricing in continued awfulness. Over the past five years, Tesco shares have traded at an average price to forward earnings of 11, according to S&P Capital IQ. Apply that to the current share price, and implied earnings per share are 15.8p. Last year the company made underlying EPS of 32p. With 7.7p reported for the first half of this year and like for like sales still falling, there is no reason to think that the 15.8p is unreasonably low. The shares, then, are not cheap, whatever the price chart might suggest.

Making that price look like a good entry point will require some heroic action on the part of newly arrived chief executive Dave Lewis. Rivals can sense weakness and are ready to take advantage – Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Morrison and Sainsbury were all advertising heavily on Thursday. The last thing Mr Lewis needed was to spend the first seven weeks of his tenure clearing up the accounting mess.
The broad outline of what he needs to do is clear. First he needs to overhaul pricing and product ranges. With the UK trading margin already having more than halved to 2.34 per cent, that will be painful. Which leads to point two – cut costs. That applies to both operating costs and capital spending (so no more new hypermarkets). And he will also have to repair the balance sheet. New equity would help, as would the sale of some of the more peripheral UK and overseas businesses. That will all take time. No need to rush in yet.

>>> Autoliv misses by $0.17, misses on revs; lowers organic sales growth guidanc

Autoliv misses by $0.17, misses on revs; lowers organic sales growth guidance 50 bps to ~5.5%; reaffirms operating margin (93.40)
Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.25 per share, $0.17 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.42; revenues rose 4.2% year/year to $2.21 bln vs the $2.25 bln consensus.
  • Quarterly organic sales grew by close to 5%. The adjusted operating margin was 8.5%.
    • The expectation at the beginning of the quarter was for an organic sales growth of "around 6%" and an adjusted operating margin of "around 8.5%".
    • The lower than expected organic sales growth was primarily due to unfavorable vehicle mix in China, but also due to lower overall production in the Chinese market. We had record operating cash flow for a third quarter of $212 million.
  • For the fourth quarter of 2014 we expect organic sales to increase by around 2%, and an adjusted operating margin of around 9.5%. The expectation for the full year is now for organic sales growth of around 5.5%, and an adjusted operating margin of around 9%.

>>> Lazard beats by $0.03, beats on revs

Lazard beats by $0.03, beats on revs (48.71)
Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.67 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.64; revenues rose 19.2% year/year to $583 mln vs the $561.15 mln consensus.
  • Third-quarter Financial Advisory operating revenue of $291 million, up 24% from third-quarter 2013;
  • Third-quarter M&A and Other Advisory operating revenue of $241 million, up 37% from third-quarter 2013;
  • Record third-quarter Asset Management operating revenue of $288 million, up 16% from third-quarter 2013;
    • Assets under management of $198 billion as of September 30, 2014, up 12% from September 30, 2013, and down 3% from June 30, 2014.
    • Net inflows of $2.6 billion for third-quarter 2014

>>>Diamond Offshore beats by $0.17, reports revs in-line

Diamond Offshore beats by $0.17, reports revs in-line

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.96 per share, excluding non-recurring items (see below), $0.17 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.79; revenues rose 4.5% year/year to $737.68 mln vs the $739.76 mln consensus.
  • Co reported third quarter 2014 net income of $53 million, or $0.38 per share, compared to net income of $95 million, or $0.68 per share, in the third quarter of 2013. The Company today announced plans to retire and scrap six of its mid-water semisubmersible rigs, resulting in a non-cash impairment charge in the third quarter of $109 million before tax, or $0.84 per share after tax.
  • Results for the quarter include favorable settlements of tax audits in Brazil and Malaysia and expiration of the statute of limitations in various jurisdictions for which tax expense had previously been recognized. As a result of these items, tax expense was reduced by $0.23 per share, and a related decrease in interest expense benefited results by $0.03 per share.