RETAIL
Debenhams cuts forecast
British department-store owner Debenhams PLC yesterday cut its full-year profit forecast as sales worsened last month and this month amid discounting from competitors in a tough UK retail climate. The company now expects pretax profit of £35 million to £40 million (US$46.11 million to US$52.7 million), compared with a market consensus of £50.3 million, Debenhams said in a statement. The move follows a series of retail insolvencies and store-closings on the UK’s shopping streets. “It is well-documented that these are exceptionally difficult times in UK retail, and our trading performance in this quarter reflects that,” chief executive officer Sergio Bucher said. “We don’t see these conditions changing in the near future.” To strengthen its balance sheet, the company said it plans a material reduction in capital expenditure in the next fiscal year.
FOOD MAKERS
Kraft Heinz mulls brand sale
Kraft Heinz Co is considering a sale of children’s milk drink brand Complan in India, which could fetch about US$1 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Kraft Heinz is working with an adviser to gauge interest in the business, said the people, who asked not to be identified. The brand could attract local companies and private equity firms, the people said. Consumer acquisitions in India have more than doubled this year to US$7.7 billion, up from US$3.4 billion during the same period last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Kraft Heinz is bringing Complan to market as UK pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline PLC weighs selling its stake in its Indian consumer health subsidiary, which owns malted milk drinks brand Horlicks. Foreign companies selling health drinks are facing more intense competition as new local rivals enter the market, said Arun Kejriwal, founder of Kejriwal Research & Investment Services Pvt in Mumbai.
UTILITIES
Moody’s glum on US utilities
Moody’s Investors Service has cut its outlook for US utilities to negative, saying that the sector’s debt levels have reached their highest since the financial crisis and might remain there for months. The sector’s consolidated debt-to-equity ratio has hit the highest level since 2008 as companies finance mergers, acquisitions and other investments in renewable energy and pipelines, Moody’s analysts led by Ryan Wobbrock said on Monday. The federal tax overhaul signed by US President Donald Trump stands to make matters worse, since utilities that depend on regulated returns are collecting less cash from customers to cover their tax expenses, the ratings firm said. The downgrade underscores how a massive buying spree and rising dividends have affected the industry’s debt levels. Power companies have been turning to mergers and acquisitions to fuel growth as demand for electricity weakens, and the costs of maintaining their infrastructure rise.
COMMUNICATION
EchoStar might sweeten bid
EchoStar Corp is considering raising its offer for rival Inmarsat PLC after its initial approach for the British satellite company was rejected as being too low, people familiar with the matter said. EchoStar, founded by billionaire Charlie Ergen, is discussing financing for an improved offer in the coming days, said the people. Inmarsat has a market value of about US$3.3 billion, while EchoStar is worth about US$4.4 billion.
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
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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