AUTOMAKERS
Renault profits plunge
Renault profits fell sharply last year, the French automaker said yesterday in its first annual results since the shock arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn. Net profits last year plunged 37 percent from a record 5.1 billion euros (US$5.75 billion at the current exchange rate) in 2017, hit by a lower contribution from Japanese partner Nissan and changes in exchange rates in some emerging countries. “This decline came mainly from Nissan’s contribution, down 1.282 billion euros, which notably benefited in 2017 from a one-off gain of 1.021 billion,” Renault said in a statement. Nissan on Tuesday slashed its full-year forecast as nine-month net profit dropped 45 percent. The results came as Renault, Nissan and its partner Mitsubishi Motors are seeking to turn the page on Ghosn’s arrest in Tokyo in November last year.
ELECTRONICS
Nintendo unveils 18 games
Nintendo Co has unveiled 18 previously unannounced games as the company doubles down on software titles to revive slumping sales of the Switch console. Among the most promising new games are Super Mario Maker 2, which is to go on sale in June, and Zelda: Link’s Awakening, slated for some time this year. The release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses was delayed from spring to July 26. The company made the announcement in a regularly scheduled Nintendo Direct Web cast. The event, which typically lasts about 15 minutes, ran more than double the usual time due to the number of new releases. Nintendo last month cut its forecast for Switch shipments to 17 million units, from 20 million units for the fiscal year through next month. The Kyoto-based company desperately needs hit games that appeal to more consumers beyond its most loyal customers, after its shares fell 29 percent last year.
EUROPEAN UNION
Tax crackdown halted
The General Court of the European Court of Justice yesterday dealt a possible blow to an EU crackdown against tax avoidance by global multinationals by annulling an order by the European Commission against a Belgian tax break scheme for about 35 large companies. The anti-avoidance drive led by European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has included orders to Ireland to recover about 13 billion euros from Apple Inc and to Luxembourg to claw back up to 30 million euros from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, 250 million euros from Amazon.com Inc and about 120 million euros from France’s Engie SA. The Netherlands has been told to recover between 20 and 30 million euros from Starbucks Corp. It is not yet clear what the effects of the decision by the court, the lower branch of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, might have on other cases.
FOOD
Nestle sees profit surge
Swiss food giant Nestle SA yesterday said that profits surged last year, boosted by income from the disposal of businesses, and it would consider selling its Herta charcuterie business. Net profit leapt 41.6 percent to 10.1 billion Swiss francs (US$10.02 billion) last year, Nestle said in a statement. Sales grew by 2.1 percent to SF91.4 billion, helped by net acquisitions of 0.7 percent, but hit by changes in exchange rates in several emerging markets that reduced sales by 1.6 percent. On the back of the strong results, the company said it would boost its dividend by SF0.10 to SF2.45 per share for last year.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure