LUXURY GOODS
Burberry’s sales fall short
Luxury retailer Burberry Group PLC’s quarterly sales missed analysts’ estimates as a decline in the Americas countered gains in China. Retail revenue in the fourth quarter of last year rose 2 percent on a comparable basis, the London-based company said yesterday, less than the 5 percent increase predicted in a Bloomberg survey. Sales in the Americas showed a mid single-digit percentage decline in the second half of last year. “The relative strength of the US dollar drove a strong increase in sales from US customers abroad, while demand at home reduced,” Burberry said of its performance in the Americas.
MATERIALS TESTING
Exova announces its sale
UK-based materials testing company Exova Group yesterday said Dutch firm Element Materials Technology is to buy it in a deal valued at ￡620.3 million (US$795.84 million). Element said it would pay Exova shareholders ￡2.40 per share in cash, representing a 10.7 percent premium to the stock’s closing price on March 24 before Exova entered talks with potential buyers. Exova, whose laboratories test the safety and performance of products used in industries ranging from aerospace to pharmaceuticals, last month said that it had received proposals for a possible cash offer from Element Materials Technology.
CHIPMAKERS
ASML’s Q1 profits surge
Dutch computer chipmaker and global high-tech bellwether ASML yesterday said that sales and profits soared in the first quarter amid “strong demand” across the sector. Net sales in the first quarter were stronger than expected, jumping 46 percent to 1.94 billion euros (US$2.08 billion). Net income also more than doubled, leaping to 452 million euros from 198 million in the first quarter of last year. “A positive industry environment provided a strong start to 2017 and healthy demand is expected to continue throughout the rest of the year,” ASML president Peter Wennink said in a statement.
JAPAN
Ten-year yield falls to 0%
The nation’s benchmark 10-year yield yesterday fell to 0 percent for the first time since November last year as US Treasury yields plunged on weak economic data, while lingering tensions over North Korea and uncertainty over the French presidential election keep haven demand intact. The 10-year Treasury yield fell eight basis points on Tuesday to a five-month low of 2.17 percent. The Bank of Japan aims to keep 10-year yield about 0 percent under its yield curve control policy to bolster momentum for economic recovery.
DISTILLER
Remy’s Q4 sales disappoint
French distiller Remy Cointreau SA reported fourth quarter last year sales that disappointed analysts as sales of liqueurs and spirits declined after the company phases out lower-price offerings. Organic sales growth was 0.9 percent, while the company-compiled consensus was for a 1.7 percent increase. The stock fell as much as 6.1 percent in early Paris trading yesterday. Revenue ebbed after two quarters of faster growth. Sales of liqueurs and spirits declined 7.7 percent, more than double the decline analysts expected. The business weakened as Remy Cointreau decided to focus on higher-end spirits and reduce volumes of Mount Gay rum and St-Remy brandy.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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