A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Losses at Carluccio’s restaurant up by 775,000 despite rent deal
Carluccio’s restaurant in Dublin, which secured a rent reduction last year after a stand-off with its landlord, saw its accumulated losses mount by almost €775,000 in the year ended September 30th, 2009.
The latest accounts filed for its operator, Carluccio’s Ireland Limited, show its accumulated losses rose from €1.5 million to €2.28 million in 2009. Its fixed assets fell in value from €1.84 million to €1.76 million, while its short-term creditors rose from €880,907 to almost €1.16 million.
In a note to the abridged accounts, the directors said the company’s continued efforts to manage its cost base gave them some hope that it could trade successfully in the future despite the continued economic challenges.
US jobless rate hits 18-month low
The US economy created far fewer jobs than expected in December but the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest in more than one and a half years.
Non-farm payrolls were up 103,000, private hiring rose 113,000 while government employment fell 10,000.
However, overall employment for October and November was revised to show 70,000 more job gains than previously reported. The unemployment rate fell to 9.4 per cent, the lowest since May 2009, from 9.8 per cent in November.
Employment gains in December were led by the private services and retail sectors. – (Reuters)
IS Pharma acquires Dublin-based firm
British company IS Pharma has acquired Dublin-based HBT for €4.4 million as part of an alliance with Swiss pharmaceutical company Helsinn. HBT, which employs 20 people in Dublin, is a subsidiary of Helsinn, a privately-held pharmaceutical company. It makes hospital and generic products, and owns the rights to market Aloxi in Ireland. IS Pharma management met staff in Dublin yesterday.
The acquisition will give IS Pharma, which is listed on the London Aim exchange, a direct sales presence in Ireland which will be used to market IS Pharma's existing portfolio of products.
