Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
(EBITDA) were $529 million versus a mean forecast of $538
million in a Reuters poll.The Latin America and Africa-focused operator repeated it
saw 2011’s EBITDA margin at over 45 percent, but raised its
forecast for operating free cash flow.
The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it would delay
until later this year a ruling on whether China is manipulating
its yuan currency, which Democratic Party lawmakers have sought
to target in a bill that would punish Beijing for foreign
exchange controls.Beijing has repeatedly decried the U.S. legislation, which
would let Washington slap countervailing duties on goods from
nations deemed to subsidise exports by undervaluing their
currencies, including China’s yuan, which many lawmakers say is
held drastically low against the dollar.There was no announcement about the phone conversation on
the U.S. Treasury Department’s website.Geithner said last month that China is holding to a
decades-old strategy to steal American intellectual property, in
a pointed statement reflecting U.S. officials’ growing
impatience with Beijing.
It can appeal against the ruling by Thursday.Market talk has swirled recently that Hana may be trying to cut the agreed purchase price as KEB shares have tumbled sharply since the transaction was agreed on due to the global financial market turmoil.Hana chairman Kim Seung-yu told Reuters on the sidelines of a local forum that it was open to renegotiating the deal should Lone Star not appeal against the court ruling.A Seoul court official said on Tuesday that Paul Yoo, the former head of Lone Star’s Korean operations who was also found guilty of stock price manipulation, had appealed against the ruling.Lawyers for Lone Star were not immediately available for comment on whether they planned to appeal.Shares in Hana rose 1.4 percent and KEB was down 1.19 percent versus a 2.01 percent gain in the wider market .KS11 as of 0437 GMT.