■ENERGY
E.ON to buy US subsidiary
E.ON, the biggest German power company, announced early yesterday the sale of its US subsidiary for about US$7.6 billion to US energy supplier PPL to boost its cash reserves. The group said in a statement it considered the price “very attractive,” adding that the transaction was conditional on approval by the US competition authorities. E.ON US includes two electricity and gas suppliers in Kentucky, Louisville Gas and Electric Co and Kentucky Utilities Co, which employ a total of more than 3,000 people and supply more than 1.2 million clients.
■CHEMICALS
BASF profit nearly triples
German chemical company BASF SE yesterday said it remained profitable for a second straight quarter, nearly tripling its net profit in the first three months of the year. The company, whose interests include plastics, chemicals, oil and gas and agriculture, reported a net profit of 1.03 billion euros (US$1.4 billion) for the January-March period, compared with 375 million euros a year earlier. Revenue rose 26.5 percent to 15.4 billion euros compared with 12.2 billion euros a year ago.
■CONGLOMERATES
Unilever Q1 profit up 33%
Unilever NV yesterday reported a 33 percent rise in first-quarter net profit, crediting good sales volume growth despite lower selling prices and stronger margins because of cost-cutting. The maker of Lipton tea, Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream said net profit reached 973 million euros, versus 731 million euros in the same period a year ago. Sales rose 6.7 percent to 10.1 billion euros. CEO Paul Polman said in a statement that margins were helped by lower commodity costs and lower overhead costs.
■STEEL
ArcelorMittal in the black
ArcelorMittal SA, the world’s largest steelmaker, said yesterday it swung to a profit of US$679 million in the first quarter compared with a loss a year earlier and predicted the recovery would pick up throughout the year. The Luxembourg-based company’s first-quarter sales were US$18.6 billion, up from US$15.1 billion a year earlier, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were US$1.89 billion. It forecast EBITDA of between US$2.8 billion and US$3.2 billion in the second quarter.
■CONGLOMERATES
Siemens net profit up 48%
German conglomerate Siemens AG yesterday reported that net profit for the second quarter increased 48 percent and said it was raising its outlook for the year. The firm that makes everything from trams to turbines said net profit rose to 1.49 billion euros in the January-March period compared with 1.01 billion euros a year earlier, led by its health care, industry and energy sectors. Revenues, however, slipped 4 percent to 18.2 billion euros from 18.9 billion euros a year earlier, a dip Siemens blamed on single digit declines in its energy and industry sectors.
■CHEMICALS
Bayer Q1 profit surged 63%
German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer AG yesterday said that first-quarter net profit rose 63 percent as sales increased more than 5 percent. The company expects 15 percent growth in its earnings per share this year. The firm, famous for its Bayer aspirin, reported a net profit of 693 million euros in the January-March period, compared with 425 million euros a year earlier. Revenue increased 5.3 percent to 8.3 billion euros in the quarter, compared with 7.8 billion euros last year.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary