MINING
Glencore returns to profit
Mining and commodities giant Glencore PLC yesterday said that it had bounced back into profit in the first half of this year and the long-term outlook was good as the widespread adoption of electric vehicles would boost demand for raw materials. Net profit at the Switzerland-based company came in at US$2.4 billion, compared with a loss of US$369 million in the first half of last year, on the back of a rebound in commodity prices and efforts by the firm to clean up its balance sheet.
STEELMAKERS
ThyssenKrupp affirms goals
German manufacturer and steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG yesterday confirmed its objectives for its full financial year, saying it was confident after a solid third quarter with continued growth in orders. Net profit at the group reached 120 million euros (US$140.8 million) between April and June, about 8 percent less than the same period in 2015 and last year. However, revenue grew 11 percent to reach 10.9 billion euros, while operating, or underlying, profits grew 41 percent to reach 620 million euros on an adjusted basis, the firm said.
TOURISM
TUI optimistic on full year
German travel group TUI Group yesterday confirmed a bright outlook for its full financial year as summer bookings lifted the mood following a net loss in the first half. TUI, whose business year runs from October to September, reported net profit of 47.7 million euros between April and June, a fall of about 45 percent compared with the same period last year. Operating profit grew 37.2 percent to 221.6 million euros on an adjusted basis, on the back of revenue rising 12.6 percent to almost 4.8 billion euros, the firm said.
NEW ZEALAND
Base rate kept at record low
Reserve Bank of New Zealand yesterday kept its base rate at a record-low 1.75 percent with no sign of a change in the near future. Governor Graeme Wheeler, who retires next month, said economic growth was expected to improve in the coming months supported by strong population growth and government spending detailed in a May budget. However, he said headline inflation was likely to decline in coming quarters as the effects of higher fuel and food prices dissipate.
VENEZUELA
Economy to contract: group
The nation’s asphyxiating economy is this year expected to contract between 7 percent and 10 percent, the head of main business chamber Fedecamaras said on Wednesday at the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit in Caracas. Fedecamaras’ president said that leftist President Nicolas Maduro’s new, globally condemned legislative superbody would only deepen a severe economic crisis, in which millions are suffering food and medicine shortages.
TOYMAKERS
Lego appoints new CEO
Danish toy company Lego said it has appointed Niels Christiansen, who headed thermostat maker Danfoss A/S for nine years, as its chief executive. Lego chairman Joergen Vig Knudstorp yesterday said that Christiansen replaced Bali Padda, who took over as interim CEO in January. Vig Knudstorp said Christiansen, 51, is to start on Oct. 1. In March, Lego said revenue last year grew 6 percent to 37.9 billion Danish kroner (US$6 billion), the highest figure in the company’s 85-year history. The privately held group’s net profit rose to 9.4 billion kroner.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that revenue would rise moderately in the second half of this year, driven primarily by robust demand for advanced wafers used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “The first quarter is the lowest point of this cycle. The second half will be better than the first for the whole semiconductor industry and for GlobalWafers,” chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said during an online investors’ conference. “HBM would definitely be the key growth driver in the second half,” Hsu said. “That is our big hope
The consumer price index (CPI) last month eased to 1.95 percent, below the central bank’s 2 percent target, as food and entertainment cost increases decelerated, helped by stable egg prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The slowdown bucked predictions by policymakers and academics that inflationary pressures would build up following double-digit electricity rate hikes on April 1. “The latest CPI data came after the cost of eating out and rent grew moderately amid mixed international raw material prices,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) told a news conference in Taipei. The central bank in March raised interest rates by