ENTERTAINMENT
Disney’s revenue jumps 7%
Walt Disney Co reported a better-than-expected 7 percent jump in quarterly revenue, helped by strong advertising that boosted the company’s cable networks. Shares of the media, entertainment and consumer giant gained 3 percent in after-hours trading to US$35.75, from a regular-session close of US$34.70. The operator of the ESPN and ABC networks, a movie studio and theme parks, reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of US$10.68 billion, a 7 percent gain from a year earlier. It posted net income of US$1.48 billion, or US$0.77 per share, versus US$1.33 billion, or US$0.67, a year earlier.
FOOD AND DRINK
Franc bites Nestle’s profit
Swiss food and drink giant Nestle SA posted a drop in half-year earnings yesterday, blaming volatile markets, rising commodity prices and particularly the strength of the Swiss franc for dragging down profits. The Vevey-based company said it earned 4.7 billion Swiss francs (US$6.48 billion) during the first six months of the year. Illustrating the impact of the franc’s surge, the results represented a 24 percent drop when measured in francs, but a rise of almost 30 percent in US dollar terms. The company maintained it would end the year with organic growth at the top end of its target of 5 to 6 percent.
BANKING
Commerzbank net profit falls
Germany’s Commerzbank AG reported yesterday that net profit fell sharply in the second quarter, as the bank wrote down 760 million euros (US$1.1 billion) in bonds issued by financially troubled Greece. The bank otherwise showed improved results from trading securities and from its business financing medium-sized companies in a growing German economy. Net profit fell to 53 million euros from 361 million euros in the same quarter a year ago.
ENERGY
EON posts first quarterly loss
Germany’s biggest energy group, EON, reported yesterday its first ever quarterly loss, as government plans to abandon nuclear energy forced a restructuring plan and the loss of up to 11,000 jobs. EON said it had a net loss of 1.49 billion euros in the three months to June. The loss attributable to shareholders, a slightly wider definition of earnings, came in at 1.58 billion euros, compared with a profit of 1.63 billion euros in the second quarter of last year. EON also cut its full-year forecast and expected dividend as earnings were suffered from weaker sales of electricity and gas.
AIRLINES
Cathay profit tumbles
Cathay Pacific yesterday said net profit tumbled in the first six months of the year, but added it would push on with its expansion plans by ordering 12 aircraft from Boeing worth more than US$3 billion. The Hong Kong-based carrier said it earned HK$2.8 billion (US$359 million) in January-June, 59 percent below the HK$6.84 billion a year earlier, due to soaring fuel prices as well as impact of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March. Revenue rose 13.2 percent to HK$46.79 billion.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Adecco’s Q2 profit soars
The world’s biggest temporary staffing group, Adecco, said yesterday its second quarter net profit soared 45 percent to 141 million euros, thanks to strong demand in the industrial segment. Revenues were up 11 percent at 5.166 billion euros for the three months ending June and the Swiss-based group forecast that the third would also be a strong quarter.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective