Mitsubishi, Deutsche Börse, SSE: Business news in brief on Wednesday May 18

Vote on Deutsche Börse’s LSE takeover after EU referendum; SSE profits under pressure after drop in energy prices; Burberry aims to cuts cost by ‘at least’ £100m as profits fall

LSE and Deutsche Börse have admitted a Brexit could "affect the volume or nature of the business carried out by the combined group". (Getty)

Vote on Deutsche Börse’s LSE takeover after EU referendum

London Stock Exchange will not hold its shareholder meeting on the proposed £20 billion merger with Deutsche Borse until after the EU referendum, the British firm said on Wednesday.

The two sides said that the deal prospectus would be published in June and the vote by its shareholders will not take place until July. The LSE has warned a vote to leave the EU might put the deal at risk.

SSE profits under pressure after drop in energy prices

Energy firm SSE said falling gas prices and lower household energy led to a fall in annual profits. Pre-tax profits for the year to March fell by 19 per cent to £593 million, compared with £735 million last year as its wholesale gas arm struggled.

The UK’s second largest company lost about 300,00 energy customers in the year. The company said it would invest up to £6 billion over the next four years into the UK’s electricity and gas infrastructure, with some of it going on new transmission lines and wind farms.

Burberry aims to cuts cost by ‘at least’ £100m as profits fall

Burberry plans to cut £100 million in costs by 2019, with £20 million of those savings being delivered by 2017, as its profit declined for a second time.

On an adjusted basis, pre-tax profit fell 8 per cent to £421 million, higher than the 7 per cent drop predicted by analysts earlier this week.

Burberry has warned that the “challenging environment” for luxury retailers is likely to continue in the near term. But the group proposed a 5 per cent increase in its full-year dividend in an effort to appease shareholders.

Mitsubishi Motors president steps down

Mitsubishi Motors has confirmed that President Tetsuro Aikawa will step down in the wake of the company’s test-fixing scandal.

The company has admitted it has used fuel consumption test that broke Japanese rules for the past 25 years last month. Prior to the scandal, Mitsubishi was the sixth biggest carmaker in Japan and ranked 16 worldwide.