German media giant Axel Springer said Tuesday its first-quarter business was boosted by major growth in digital media, even if the cost of expansion in the area was a drag on earnings. "Our performance in the first quarter of 2013 was boosted by the significant revenue and earnings growth of our digital media," Axel Springer said in a statement.

EDMONTON - Capital Power Corp. (TSX:CPX) says its funds from operations, cash flow, net income and normalized earnings in the first quarter were all down from a year earlier when the company had especially strong results. The Edmonton-based power producer, which operates across North America, says its normalized earnings were slightly below management's expectations but that Capital Power will be able to achieve its 2013 target. Normalized earnings were 36 cents per share, down from 46 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter and three cents below the consensus estimate.

By Mia Shanley and Simon Johnson STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish telecoms firm Tele2 is on the look-out for acquisitions in Europe and Eurasia after the recent sale of its Russian business for $3.5 billion (2.3 billion pounds), its chief executive said on Thursday. Tele2 has already set ambitious growth targets for its remaining operations, the biggest being in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Kazakhstan, but Mats Granryd said the company's strong balance sheet now gives it the opportunity to buy additional growth.

German chemicals maker Lanxess said Thursday that weak demand would hurt profits both in the first quarter of the current year and the whole of 2013. "Contrary to the usual seasonal trend, the low level of demand that was already apparent in the second half of 2012 has continued into the start of the year in most businesses," Lanxess said in a statement.