AUTOMAKERS
Renault profits plunge
Renault profits fell sharply last year, the French automaker said yesterday in its first annual results since the shock arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn. Net profits last year plunged 37 percent from a record 5.1 billion euros (US$5.75 billion at the current exchange rate) in 2017, hit by a lower contribution from Japanese partner Nissan and changes in exchange rates in some emerging countries. “This decline came mainly from Nissan’s contribution, down 1.282 billion euros, which notably benefited in 2017 from a one-off gain of 1.021 billion,” Renault said in a statement. Nissan on Tuesday slashed its full-year forecast as nine-month net profit dropped 45 percent. The results came as Renault, Nissan and its partner Mitsubishi Motors are seeking to turn the page on Ghosn’s arrest in Tokyo in November last year.
ELECTRONICS
Nintendo unveils 18 games
Nintendo Co has unveiled 18 previously unannounced games as the company doubles down on software titles to revive slumping sales of the Switch console. Among the most promising new games are Super Mario Maker 2, which is to go on sale in June, and Zelda: Link’s Awakening, slated for some time this year. The release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses was delayed from spring to July 26. The company made the announcement in a regularly scheduled Nintendo Direct Web cast. The event, which typically lasts about 15 minutes, ran more than double the usual time due to the number of new releases. Nintendo last month cut its forecast for Switch shipments to 17 million units, from 20 million units for the fiscal year through next month. The Kyoto-based company desperately needs hit games that appeal to more consumers beyond its most loyal customers, after its shares fell 29 percent last year.
EUROPEAN UNION
Tax crackdown halted
The General Court of the European Court of Justice yesterday dealt a possible blow to an EU crackdown against tax avoidance by global multinationals by annulling an order by the European Commission against a Belgian tax break scheme for about 35 large companies. The anti-avoidance drive led by European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has included orders to Ireland to recover about 13 billion euros from Apple Inc and to Luxembourg to claw back up to 30 million euros from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, 250 million euros from Amazon.com Inc and about 120 million euros from France’s Engie SA. The Netherlands has been told to recover between 20 and 30 million euros from Starbucks Corp. It is not yet clear what the effects of the decision by the court, the lower branch of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, might have on other cases.
FOOD
Nestle sees profit surge
Swiss food giant Nestle SA yesterday said that profits surged last year, boosted by income from the disposal of businesses, and it would consider selling its Herta charcuterie business. Net profit leapt 41.6 percent to 10.1 billion Swiss francs (US$10.02 billion) last year, Nestle said in a statement. Sales grew by 2.1 percent to SF91.4 billion, helped by net acquisitions of 0.7 percent, but hit by changes in exchange rates in several emerging markets that reduced sales by 1.6 percent. On the back of the strong results, the company said it would boost its dividend by SF0.10 to SF2.45 per share for last year.
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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