Thu, Feb 07, 2019 page6

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  TELECOMS

  Fund boosts Softbank profit

  Japan’s Softbank Group Corp said yesterday its net profit jumped more than 50 percent for the nine months to December thanks to strong returns from its high-tech investment fund. Net profit rose 51.6 percent from a year earlier to ￥1.5 trillion (US$13.7 billion), the mobile giant and IT investor said. Softbank Corp, the mobile carrier arm of the technology conglomerate, said on Tuesday its net profit jumped nearly 19 percent for the nine months to December, buoyed by a gain in subscribers.

  BANKING

  Commonwealth profit slumps

  The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has recorded a drop in statutory net profit in its latest half-year to A$4.6 billion (US$3.3 billion) as the nation’s biggest lender was hit by costs for misconduct, lower profit margins and a downturn in the housing market. The profit for the six months ending Dec. 31 reported yesterday was 6 percent below the A$4.9 billion earned a year earlier, but cash profit rose 1.7 percent to A$4.68 billion. Cash profit, which excludes one-off gains and losses, are the banks’ preferred measure.

  CONGLOMERATES

  Disney exceeds forecasts

  The Walt Disney Co’s first-quarter net income beat expectations as higher revenue from its media networks and theme parks helped offset a weaker movie slate during the quarter. The entertainment company’s net income fell 37 percent to US$2.79 billion, or US$1.86 per share. The drop was due mainly to a hefty benefit from tax changes in the prior-year quarter. Excluding one-time items, net income totaled US$1.84 per share. The California-based company’s revenue slipped less than 1 percent to US$15.3 billion from US$15.35 billion last year.

  AUTOMAKERS

  Daimler shrugs off bad year

  Daimler AG expects earnings to bounce back this year after profit slumped last year, when the maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars struggled through a US-China trade spat, production bottlenecks in Europe and surging expenses to develop electric vehicles. Group earnings before interest and tax will “rise slightly” this year, the company said at its annual earnings press conference yesterday. Earnings declined in all divisions except heavy trucks. Profitability in the key Mercedes-Benz Cars unit narrowed to 7.8 percent from 9.4 percent a year ago.

  AUTOMAKERS

  Nissan books Ghosn-axing

  Nissan Motor Co said on Tuesday it will hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on April 8 to formally discharge its ex-chairman Carlos Ghosn following his arrest on financial misconduct charges. The meeting also aims to approve Renault SA chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as a director, it said. Ghosn has been charged with failing to disclose more than US$80 million in additional Nissan compensation for 2010-2018 that he had arranged to be paid later.

  MUSIC

  Sunrise to buy most of HMV

  Sunrise Records, a Canadian chain of record stores, agreed to buy most of HMV Group PLC in an auction overseen by the embattled music retailer’s administrators, fending off a rival bid by retail magnate Mike Ashley. Douglas Putnam, who runs Sunrise and bought HMV’s Canadian unit in 2017, will gain control of 100 stores across the UK, KPMG LLP said on Tuesday. The remaining 27 shops are to be shut down, putting 455 employees out of work.

  GERMANY

  Deutsche expects contraction

  Deutsche Bank expects the German economy to contract this quarter after recent business surveys pointed to souring moods at companies and their worsening expectations for new orders. “The development of several key cyclical indicators is telling us that the German economy is drifting towards recession right now,” Deutsche Bank economists including Sebastian Becker wrote in a report. Yesterday, federal statistics authority Destatis said industrial orders fell 1.6 percent month-on-month in December.

  RETAIL

  US growth set to slow

  Retail sales growth in the US is expected to slow down this year amid cooling economic conditions, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), an industry trade group. Americans will boost retail spending by 3.8 percent to 4.4 percent this year, the NRF said. For comparison, preliminary estimates show that sales rose 4.6 percent last year, according to the group. The NRF used a combination of government data and its own estimates.

  EUROZONE

  IHS Markit index falls to 51

  A closely watched survey shows that economic growth across the 19-country eurozone dipped further at the start of this year to its lowest level in five-and-a-half years. Financial information company IHS Markit said on Tuesday that its composite purchasing managers index — a gauge of business activity across the manufacturing and services sector — fell to 51.0 points last month from 51.1 the previous month. Anything below 50 indicates a contraction in activity, but the survey suggests the eurozone is growing at a tepid 0.1 percent quarterly tick at the start of the year.

  AUTOMAKERS

  Diesel weighs on UK sales

  British new car registrations dropped 1.6 percent last month as a double-digit drop in demand for diesel vehicles continued to weigh down sales, according to data from a car industry body. Sales fell to 161,013 cars, the fifth consecutive month of declines, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). “To restore momentum, we need supportive policies, not least on vehicle taxation, to encourage buyers to invest in new, cleaner vehicles that best suit their driving needs,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said.

  SOUTH AFRICA

  Ramaphosa touts mining

  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country’s mining sector will be crucial to reversing sluggish economic growth and high unemployment. Ramaphosa spoke on Tuesday at South Africa’s Mining Indaba, an annual industry event. Mining accounted for about 8 percent of 2017 GDP . The industry has lost tens of thousands of jobs in recent years, and the Economic Freedom Fighters, a small but influential opposition party, says it would nationalize mines by 2023 if the party is voted into power this year.

  AUTOMAKERS

  Model 3 price cut further

  Tesla Inc is cutting the price of its Model 3 sedan for the second time this year, this time citing the end of a customer-referral program that was a more costly incentive than the company realized. All versions of the Model 3 will cost US$1,100 less, lowering the starting price of the car to US$42,900. The move follows a US$2,000 price cut on all Teslas announced early last month to partly offset the reduction in the US federal tax credit its vehicles were eligible for.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Napoli’s title hopes shaken by late Genoa equalizer

  • 2

    Privately owned city in Kenya taking on corrupt officials

  • 3

    MOE to encourage foreigners to work in Taiwan

  • 4

    Kane tastes first title as Bayern bid farewell to Mueller

  • 5

    Taiwan celebrates V-E Day for first time