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Saturday 25 February 2017 BUSINESS
                                     A24

                 Royal Bank of Scotland has lost money for 9 straight years



            DANICA KIRKA                 quarter net loss of 4.44 bil-  but  given  the  scale  of  the  has  worked  to  refocus  on  have  reported  thousands
            Associated Press             lion  pounds,  compared  legacy  issues  we  worked  the British market, shedding  of  jobs  could  go  in  the
            LONDON  (AP)  —  Royal  with  a  loss  of  2.74  billion  through  in  2016,  it  should  overseas  operations,  cut-  coming  months.  The  bank
            Bank  of  Scotland  has  lost  pounds in the same period  not  come  as  a  surprise,”  ting costs and reducing its  reduced its workforce by 15
            money  for  nine  consecu-   a  year  earlier.  That  means  Chief  Executive  Ross  McE-  portfolio of risky assets.  percent last year to 77,800
            tive years after it set aside  the  bank  has  racked  up  wan  said  in  a  statement.  The bank reported 1 billion  employees,  according  to
            another 4 billion pounds ($5  more than 50 billion pounds  “These costs are a stark re-  pounds of restructuring ex-  figures reported Friday.
            billion) in the fourth quarter  in  losses  since  2008,  when  minder  of  what  happens  penses in the fourth quarter  The report comes after RBS
            of  2016  to  cover  the  costs  the government rescued it  to  a  bank  when  things  go  and said it would spend an  abandoned plans to sell its
            of misconduct during the fi-  from collapse with a 45 bil-  wrong  and  you  lose  focus  additional  2  billion  pounds  Williams & Glyn unit, which
            nancial crisis and targeted  lion pound bailout.          on  the  customer,  as  this  on the effort over the next  includes  branches  in  Eng-
            a return to profits in 2018.  “The  bottom  line  loss  we  bank did before the finan-  three years.                land and Wales, as well as
            Taxpayer-owned  RBS  on  have  reported  today  is,  cial crisis.”                     While  RBS  didn’t  mention  operations  serving  small
            Friday  reported  a  fourth  of  course,  disappointing  Since  its  2008  bailout,  RBS  job  cuts,  Britain’s  media  and mid-size businesses.q
                 J.C. Penney to shut 130-plus stores, offer early retirements



            ANNE D’INNOCENZIO                                                                                                   shrunk,  what’s  encourag-
            AP Retail Writer                                                                                                    ing  is  Penney’s  profit  pic-
            NEW  YORK  (AP)  —  J.C.                                                                                            ture.  Penney  was  able  to
            Penney is joining its depart-                                                                                       pull in a $1 million profit for
            ment store rivals in pruning                                                                                        the  full  fiscal  year,  the  first
            its store numbers in an era                                                                                         time  it  earned  an  annual
            of online shopping.                                                                                                 profit since 2010.
            Penney  said  Friday  that  it                                                                                       The stores it is closing rep-
            will close 130 to 140 stores                                                                                        resent  about  13  percent
            as  well  as  two  distribution                                                                                     to 14 percent of its current
            centers over the next sev-                                                                                          store count of about 1,000,
            eral months as it tries to im-                                                                                      but  less  than  5  percent  of
            prove profitability.                                                                                                total annual sales.
            The  company  said  that  it                                                                                        “With   a   slimmed-down
            would also initiate a volun-                                                                                        store  portfolio,  (J.C.  Pen-
            tary  early  retirement  pro-                                                                                       ney)  will  be  able  to  focus
            gram  for  about  6,000  eli-                                                                                       on  making  its  remaining
            gible employees.                                                                                                    stores  more  of  a  destina-
            The  news  came  as  Pen-                                                                                           tion,”  said  Neil  Saunders,
            ney posted a profit for the                                                                                         managing director of Glo-
            fourth  quarter,  compared                                                                                          balData Retail.
            to a loss a year ago.                                                                                               “This  is  essential,  as  while
            But  total  sales  were  down                                                                                       progress  has  been  made
            slightly, and a key revenue   Customers walk out of a J.C. Penny department store in Dallas. J.C. Penney said Friday, Feb. 24,   on  categories  like  home,
            metric  declined  a  bit  as   2017, that it will be closing anywhere from 130 to 140 stores as well as two distribution centers over   other  departments  still  re-
            well.  The  company  issued   the next several months as it aims to improve profitability in the era of online shopping.  quire attention.”
            a   conservative    annual                                                                  (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)  Penney  managed  to  out-
            forecast,  sending  shares                                                                                          perform  some  of  its  rivals.
            down 9 percent on Friday.    “unhealthy.” It plans to use  to adjust to changing shop-  then, it has focused efforts   Kohl’s  Corp.  reported  a
            CEO  Marvin  Ellison  ac-    a  more  data-driven  ap-    ping  patterns.  But  it  is  also  on  its  home  area,  started   drop  in  fiscal  fourth-quar-
            knowledged  that  Penney     proach to pricing this year  still recovering from a cata-  selling  major  appliances   ter profit as total sales de-
            wasn’t  strategic  with  pro-  after testing the strategy in  strophic  reinvention  plan  again  and  expanded  its   clined.  Revenue  at  stores
            motions,  which  hurt  profit   some categories last year.  under  a  former  CEO  that  number of in-store Sephora   opened  at  least  a  year
            margins,  and  said  that  its   Like   other   department  sent sales and profits freef-  beauty shops.            dropped 2.2 percent. q
            level  of  couponing  was    stores, J.C. Penney is trying  alling starting in 2012. Since  While  its  annual  sales  still

                  VW makes $5.4 billion profit in 2016, limits executive pay




            FRANK JORDANS                with a net loss of almost 1.6  limit  for  the  pollutant  nitro-  corner.             competition,  volatile  cur-
            Associated Press             billion euros in 2015.       gen oxide.                   “While  the  past  fiscal  year  rency  rates  and  “the  con-
            BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen  Volkswagen           acknowl-   The Wolfsburg-based com-     posed  major  challenges  sequences of the diesel is-
            bounced  back  into  the  edged  in  September  2015  pany  paid  a  heavy  price  for us, despite the crisis, the  sue.”
            black  in  2016  after  suffer-  that  it  had  been  installing  for  its  deceit,  agreeing  to  Group’s  operating  busi-  VW  said  its  board  would
            ing a loss the previous year  engine  control  software  in  pay more than $16 billion in  ness gave its best-ever per-  propose  a  dividend  of  2
            due to the diesel emissions  diesel  vehicles  to  detect  buybacks  and  compensa-    formance,”  Mueller  said.  euros  ($2.11)  per  ordinary
            scandal,  according  to  fig-  when cars were being test-  tions to owners of VW cars  VW  group  sales  rose  4  bil-  share this year, up from 0.11
            ures  released  by  the  Ger-  ed.                        in  the  U.S.  alone.  Lawsuits  lion  euros  to  217.3  billion  euros for the previous year.
            man automaker Friday.        The  software  turned  the  and  legal  investigations  in  euros in 2016.             Separately,   Volkswagen
            The  company  reported  a  emission controls off during  several other countries are  The  company  said  it  ex-   announced a clampdown
            net  profit  attributable  to  normal  driving  to  improve  also ongoing.             pects  moderate  growth  in  on  executive  bonuses,  an
            Volkswagen AG sharehold-     performance,  but  also  re-  Chief   executive   Matth-  2017  despite  challenges  issue that has aroused po-
            ers of 5.1 billion euros ($5.4  sulted in releasing emissions  ias  Mueller  suggested  the  from uncertain global eco-  litical  passions  in  Germany
            billion) last year compared  more than 40 times the U.S.  company  had  turned  a  nomic  conditions,  intense  during an election year.q
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