AUTOMAKERS
Toyota supplier issues alert
The supplier behind Toyota Motor Corp’s shutdown of all its Japanese assembly plants for at least one week withdrew its earnings forecasts, as another one of the carmaker’s group of companies warned of a bigger disruption than the nation’s 2011 earthquake. Aichi Steel Corp said the Jan. 8 blast at its Chita plant, which supplies specialty steel for engine, transmission and chassis components, might reduce pre-tax profit by about ￥8 billion (US$67 million) this fiscal year. Toyota earlier this week said it was halting all assembly lines from Monday next week through Feb. 13.
WATCHMAKERS
Swatch earnings decline
Swatch Group Ltd, the maker of Tissot and Omega timepieces, reported earnings declines last year because sales fell for the first time in six years, hurt by slumping demand in Hong Kong and the strength of the Swiss franc. Operating profit declined 17 percent to SF1.45 billion (US$1.43 billion), the Biel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement yesterday. The outlook for the Swiss watch industry has soured after Chinese economic growth slowed to the weakest pace in more than two decades and as stock markets and oil prices tumbled. Swatch forecast a sales increase of “well over” 5 percent in local currencies this year, supported by a rebound of demand in China and growth last month.
HOTELS
Minor forecasts record profit
Minor International PLC, which just completed the purchase of a Portuguese hotel chain, expects a record first-quarter profit, bolstered by a strong flow of visitors to countries where it has a presence, chief operating officer Dillip Rajakarier said. The Bangkok-based company plans to add new hotels to its existing 145 properties spread across 22 countries through organic growth and acquisitions, according to Rajakarier. On Tuesday, it finalized the acquisition of Tivoli Hotels & Resorts’ 14 hotels in Portugal and Brazil for 294 million euros (US$321 million).
BANKING
Barclays cutting staff: source
Barclays PLC is to dismiss an extra 150 staff in Dubai as it restructures its Middle East corporate banking business, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The bank is to close its offices at Emaar Square and relocate bankers and support staff to its office at Dubai International Financial Centre, the person said, asking not to be identified as the dismissals are not public. Barclays is to keep its corporate branch in Abu Dhabi and wholesale banking license with UAE Central Bank, the person said. Barclays plans to eliminate 1,200 jobs worldwide and shut securities operations across Asia.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Novo Nordisk sees sales fall
Novo Nordisk AS, the world’s largest maker of insulin, reported poor fourth-quarter earnings as sales of its key diabetes drug Victoza rose less than expected. Profit rose to 8.26 billion kroner (US$1.21 billion), the Bagsvaerd, Denmark-based company said in a statement. A slowdown in the US, where a new generation of drugs that can be swallowed rather than injected is delaying the need for insulin, and a challenge for the six-year-old injection Victoza damped earnings. Victoza, injected daily to mimic the activity of a hormone called GLP-1 that stimulates insulin production, showed the first signs of suffering from the introduction of a rival product called Trulicity by Eli Lilly & Co that only requires a weekly injection.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
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