AUTOMAKERS
Daimler’s profits double
German automaker Daimler AG said that net profit doubled in the first three months of the year, as sales were boosted by the new version of its Mercedes-Benz E-class sedan and its SUV lineup. The company raised its profit outlook for the year, with CEO Dieter Zetsche saying in a statement yesterday that earnings and sales would “significantly increase.” Net profit rose to 2.8 billion euros (US$3 billion) from 1.4 billion euros in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 11 percent to 38.77 billion euros. The company credits strong sales of the E-Class, which can come loaded with advanced driver-assistance features, and SUVs, which bring high per-vehicle profits. Earnings also increased by a one-time plus of 183 million euros after new investors joined the company’s HERE mapping venture with other automakers and by currency exchange-rate shifts.
RESTAURANTS
Pizza Hut going to Ethiopia
Pizza Hut is set to open three outlets in Ethiopia this year, becoming one of the first international restaurant chains to enter Africa’s second-most populous country. The shops are scheduled to begin serving in the capital, Addis Ababa, by November, franchisee Aschalew Belay said in an interview on Monday. Aschalew’s company, Belayab Foods and Franchise, will run the local outlets of the Yum! Brands Inc pizzeria and will have invested US$5.5 million in the operations by next year, said his partner, Michael Ghebru. Ethiopia is an attractive destination because of its cheap labor and electricity, said Ghebru, who will run the franchise and initially hold a 15 percent stake. There are “no major” food franchises in Addis Ababa, making competition “non-existent,” he said.
AUTOMAKERS
Hyundai profit falls 21%
Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest automake, posted a 21 percent drop in first-quarter profits, hammered by the fallout from a diplomatic spat between Seoul and Beijing over a US missile defense system. Hyundai said in a statement yesterday that it posted 1.46 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) in net profits during the January-to-March period, its 13th consecutive quarter of profit downturn. “Partial suspensions at factories increased cost burdens, while bigger marketing fees were spent to overcome the global economic slowdown,” the company said. Hyundai recorded strong sales in emerging markets like Russia and Brazil, but “weak demand” by Chinese consumers resulted in a drop in overseas sales. Sales in China plunged 44 percent last month.
BANKING
Santander profit up 14.3%
Spanish banking giant Santander yesterday said that its profits jumped in the first quarter, as a strong performance in Brazil offset weakness in Britain caused by the slump in the pound. Santander said that net profit rose 14.3 percent to 1.87 billion euros in the period from January to March. The lender said that its net profit in Brazil jumped 77 percent to 634 million euros on the back of the rise in the value of the real and improved business in the region. Brazil, which accounts for just over a quarter of Santander’s total earnings, is this year expected to emerge from a recession. In Britain, where the bank generates about one-fifth of its earnings, net profit fell 8 percent to 416 million euros as a result of the fall in the pound since the country voted to leave the EU. Profit from its banking activity in Spain rose 17.9 percent, buoyed by higher fees and lower loan-loss provisions.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last