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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