FINANCE
Societe misses estimates
Societe Generale SA (SG), France’s second-largest bank by market value, posted fourth-quarter profits that missed analysts’ estimates as earnings at the investment bank fell and it set aside provisions for potential legal costs. Net income rose to 656 million euros (US$741 million) from 549 million euros a year earlier, the Paris-based company said yesterday. Earnings fell short of the 944 million euro average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, as a 400 million euro litigation charge offset gains from the sale of a stake in assets manager Amundi SA.
MINING
Rio Tinto suffers losses
Melbourne-headquartered Rio Tinto yesterday posted an annual net loss of US$866 million in what the mining giant said was a “highly challenging environment,” as commodity prices plunged and the Chinese slowdown hit hard. The dire results compared with a US$6.53 billion net profit in the previous reporting year. Underlying profit in the 12 months to Dec. 31 last year, a measure the world’s second-largest miner prefers, slumped 51 percent to US$4.54 billion, from US$9.31 billion previously. In a reflection of the tough times, Rio Tinto joined other large players, including Swiss giant Glencore and Brazil’s Vale, in adjusting dividend payouts to shareholders. It announced full-year return of US$2.15 last year, the same as the previous year, but said it would fall to no less than US$1.10 this year.
APPAREL
Adidas raises outlook
German sportswear maker Adidas AG raised its outlook for this year amid growth at its Reebok brand and a stronger order book. Operating profit and revenue are to rise at double-digit growth rates and the margin should at least be stable, the company said in a statement yesterday. Net income from continuing operations rose 12 percent to 720 million euros last year, the company also said. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected 711 million euros on average. Adidas has picked Kasper Rorsted as chief executive officer to succeed Herbert Hainer, charging the head of Dial soap maker Henkel AG & Co with catching up with rival Nike Inc.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Mylan to purchase Meda
Mylan NV said it is to buy Meda AB in a cash and stock deal worth about US$7.2 billion, adding the Swedish company’s specialty drug products and European operations. Including Meda’s debt, the deal is valued at US$9.9 billion. Mylan is to pay 165 Swedish kronor (US$19.62) per share, a 92 percent premium over Meda’s closing price of 86.05 kronor on Wednesday and more than Meda’s all-time high of 150.80 kronor. It is one of the highest premiums ever paid in a pharmaceutical industry deal worth US$5 billion or more, though it is in the middle of the pack as a multiple of earnings.
FINANCE
Mediobanca profits fall
Mediobanca SpA, Italy’s biggest publicly traded investment bank, said that fiscal second-quarter profit fell 24 percent after sharing the costs of winding down four of the country’s lenders. Net income declined to 76.8 million euros in the three months through December last year from 100.6 million euros a year earlier, the Milan-based company said in a stock exchange statement yesterday. That compares with an average estimate of 82 million euros of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
FOODS
Whole Foods sales dip
Whole Foods Market Inc said that sales at established locations slipped in its fiscal first quarter and forecast the figure would be flat to down 2 percent for the year. The Austin, Texas company has been under pressure as organic foods and products marketed as natural have become increasingly mainstream. Sales at established locations fell 1.8 percent for the three months ending Jan. 17 , the company said. Whole Foods, which has more than 430 locations in the US, Canada and the UK, said it still sees potential for 1,200 locations in just the US. Total revenue was US$4.83 billion in the period, above the US$4.81 billion analysts expected.
INSURANCE
Zurich posts Q4 losses
Zurich Insurance Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest insurer, reported a fourth-quarter loss after damage claims ranging from the Tianjin disaster in China to storms in the UK and Ireland. The net loss was US$424 million, compared with a profit of US$860 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement yesterday. That compares with an expected loss of US$261 million, the average of seven analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The proposed dividend is unchanged at 17 Swiss francs.
ENTERTAINMENT
HBO adds subscribers
HBO’s stand-alone video streaming service has attracted about 800,000 paying subscribers since it started in April last year, the premium cable network said on Wednesday, the first time it has disclosed numbers for the service. The US$15-a-month service called HBO Now does not require a traditional television subscription and is available across a range of streaming devices. The service was a “significant contributor” to the 2.7 million total subscribers the premium cable network added in the US last year, HBO parent company Time Warner, said on Wednesday during a conference call. HBO has about 50 million subscribers in the US and 130 million subscribers worldwide.
METALS
Gold hits two-year high
Gold demand reached a two-year high in the fourth quarter as investors bought more bars, while central banks sought a haven from oil’s slump and concerns about a stumbling economy. Global consumption rose 4 percent from a year earlier to 1,117.7 tonnes in the three months through December, the World Gold Council said in a report yesterday. Central bank demand increased 25 percent in the quarter, while prices near a five-year low led to the biggest jewelry purchases for a second-half period in more than a decade. Central banks added metal to reserves for a 20th consecutive quarter, buying 167.2 tonnes to take the full-year total to 588.4 tonnes, the report said. Holdings in exchange-traded products, which fell by 68.6 tonnes last quarter, have rebounded about 100 tonnes so far this year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
BANKING
Indian bank profit shrinks
State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender by assets, posted a smaller profit than analysts estimated as bad loans surged. Net income fell 62 percent to 11.2 billion rupees (US$164 million), or 1.43 rupees a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, from 29.1 billion rupees, or 3.9 rupees, a year earlier, the Mumbai-based lender said yesterday in an exchange filing. That missed the 33 billion rupee mean of 29 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The bank’s gross bad-loan ratio widened to 5.1 percent from 4.15 percent in the previous quarter.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
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