margin

Spirits giant Diageo seeks to sell beer portfolio on margin concerns- Axios

Reuters0

(Reuters) -Diageo is seeking to divest its beer portfolio on margin concerns, except flagship brand Guinness, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the world’s largest spirits maker. The company is looking to sell beer brands including Smithwick’s, Kilkenny and Harp Lager, based in Ireland, and Tusker in Kenya, among others, Axios reported, adding that its beer brands were a margin drag on the rest of the business. Diageo declined to comment on the report. Beer sales of 3.36 billion pounds ($4.23 billion) accounted for just over 14% of total sales at Diageo for the year ended June 30,

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BA-owner IAG projects medium-term operating margin of 12%-15%

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LONDON (Reuters) – British Airways-owner IAG on Tuesday said it would see a medium-term operating margin of 12% to 15%, while its outlook for the 2023 financial year remained unchanged after strong results in its third quarter as it opened its capital markets day. European airlines have reported strong earnings in their third quarters on the back of robust summer demand, but soaring jet fuel prices and political instability weighed on their outlooks and share prices. IAG added that it projected a medium-term return on invested capital at 13% to 16%. (Reporting by Joanna Plucinska, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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Germany’s Volkswagen shares tumble after margin downgrade

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(Reuters) – Volkswagen shares fell to their lowest since April 2020 on Monday after the German carmaker cut its profit margin outlook for the current year, disappointing some investors. Blaming negative effects from raw materials hedges, Europe’s largest automotive group on Friday indicated a return on sales of 7.0-7.3%, down from 7.5-8.5% forecast previously. Volkswagen kept its outlook for deliveries and sales. Volkswagen shares fell 2.9% in Frankfurt by 0732 GMT, leading fallers across the European auto sector, which was down 0.5%. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, editing by Alun John)

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GM still struggling to build EVs, sees margin growth ahead for Cruise-CFO

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(Reuters) – General Motors is still struggling to ramp up production of electric vehicles, a top executive said on Wednesday. Speaking at a J.P. Morgan investor conference, GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the automaker’s electric vehicles, from Cadillac Lyriq SUVs to BrightDrop vans, had been affected by an issue with assembling battery modules – a stumbling block first noted last week by Chief Executive Mary Barra. Jacobson said GM had built more than 1,000 Lyriqs in July — still well below the company’s initial expectations. GM in early 2022 said it expected to build 25,000 Lyriqs at the

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Will cost cuts help FedEx close margin gap with UPS?

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By Priyamvada C (Reuters) – FedEx may see a profit boost from cost cuts undertaken last year, although its investors will be keen on knowing whether those actions have helped it catch up with rival United Parcel Service on the margin front. The global shipping downturn has been a drag on margins for most operators in the sector as the boom during the pandemic deflates, while high inflation and worries of a recession threaten consumer spending. To avoid a hit to its margins from an industry-wide slowdown, FedEx embarked on a cost-cutting drive in September by shuttering offices, cutting jobs,

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Volkswagen aims for ‘margin parity’ on some EVs by 2025

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By Victoria Waldersee and Joseph White MUNICH (Reuters) -Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said on Wednesday rising battery material costs mean it will be 2025 before the automaker can build some electric vehicles at the same profit margins as combustion models. “A lot of the margin parity depends on raw materials,” Antlitz told the Reuters Automotive Europe conference. When Volkswagen launched its new electrification strategy in July 2021, it said it expected to reach margin parity between combustion engine and electric vehicles “within the next two to three years”. Now, Antlitz said, rising materials costs mean the profitability goal

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TotalEnergies’ variable cost margin for European refineries jumps in the first quarter

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(Reuters) – French energy company TotalEnergies’ variable cost margin for European refineries jumped to $87.8 dollar per tonne in the first quarter, the company said in a preliminary release of main indicators on Tuesday. This indicator, which represents the average margin on variable costs realized by the group’s European refining business, compares with 46.3 dollars per tonne in the same period of 2022. TotalEnergies also said its hydrocarbon production is expected to exceed 2.5 thousand barrels of oil equivalents per day (Mboe/d), benefiting from the start-up of gas production on Block 10 in Oman and the acquisition of an interest

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U.S. banks fallout will intensify margin headwinds for Aussie lenders, UBS says

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(Reuters) – Australian banks are well-positioned to deal with the pressures emanating from the recent bank runs in the United States, but their margins could be squeezed by the fierce competition for deposits, increased cost of funding and higher bad debts, brokerage UBS said. The brokerage prefers diversely funded banks, specifically with a larger share of retail lending amid tighter banking regulations and rising deposit costs, it said in a note to clients on Tuesday. Australian banks are “well regulated” and carry strong liquidity coverage ratios, UBS said. However, it slashed the net interest margin forecasts for the major lenders

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DeSantis Leads Trump By A Large Margin In California As Primary Race Kicks Off: POLL

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DeSantis Leads Trump By A Large Margin In California As Primary Race Kicks Off: POLL Bronson Winslow on February 24, 2023 Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a majority lead over former President Donald Trump among California Republicans, according to a recent poll. Out of 11 candidate choices, 37% of respondents support Desantis and 29% support Trump, resulting in a 8% spread between the politicians, according to the UC Berkeley and Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) poll released Friday. The results show a change from August poll results, where Trump led DeSantis 38% to 27%. “With Republicans in control of the

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Nike sales may soar as discounts draw shoppers; margin squeeze looms

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By Deborah Mary Sophia (Reuters) – Nike Inc is expected to report a big bump in second-quarter sales, as it offered deep discounts on its shoes and sportswear to keep the interest of recession-wary shoppers in its brand and clear excess inventory. Analysts are projecting a near 11% jump in quarterly sales as a bounce in its U.S. business may help overcome weakness in the China market. “While retailers were initially worried about the amount of Nike inventory being shipped, the consumer is showing up and buying the Nike brand,” Credit Suisse analyst Michael Binetti wrote in a note on

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Musk’s bankers mull new Tesla margin loans to slash Twitter debt – Bloomberg News

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(Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk’s bankers are considering providing the Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer with new margin loans backed by the U.S. automaker’s stock to replace some of the high interest debt on his Twitter deal, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. The margin loans are one of the options that the Morgan Stanley-led bank group and Musk’s advisers have discussed to ease the $13 billion debt Twitter took on as part of Musk’s $44 billion deal, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The discussions have so far centered around replacing the $3 billion of unsecured

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Ternium Q3 profit drops 84%, sees lower steel margin ahead

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By Gabriel Araujo and Kylie Madry SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Steelmaker Ternium reported an 84% drop in its third-quarter net income to $220 million on Thursday, hurt by lower realized steel prices and higher raw material and energy costs. The “temporary mismatch” between a decline in steel prices and high costs, the firm said in a statement, should also affect its steel margin in the fourth quarter, leading to a lower adjusted EBITDA when compared to the previous three months. “Ternium anticipates this dynamic to mostly reverse during the first quarter of 2023,” it added. The company, which operates mainly

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China’s smaller banks cut deposit rates to ease margin pressure

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A string of small and mid-sized Chinese banks are following their larger peers and cutting deposit interest rates in the first broad-based move since 2015 to ease pressure on margins after successive lending rate cuts. The cutting of rates on deposits, a key source of funding for Chinese banks, underscores the limitations of lower benchmark borrowing rates in reviving loan demand and growth in the world’s second-largest economy, which is struggling for traction, analysts and bankers said. Several Chinese city commercial banks and rural commercial lenders have cut their rates on a range of deposits this week,

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Irn-bru maker warns of margin pressure as inflation soars

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By Sinchita Mitra (Reuters) -The British maker of the orange fizzy drink Irn Bru on Tuesday flagged a hit to its second-half margins as it grapples with rising costs and consumers curbing their spending. A.G. Barr imports raw materials such as mangoes and aluminium, but CEO Roger White shrugged off any direct or short term impact from a weaker pound that has roiled British markets. “We will just see how (the) sterling performs, we are hedged in the short, immediate term, but we replace those hedges on an ongoing basis. We will just have to turn with the market,” White

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Chile Rejects Leftist Constitution In National Vote By Wide Margin

The Daily Caller0

Chile Rejects Leftist Constitution In National Vote By Wide Margin Arjun Singh on September 5, 2022 Chile rejected a proposed constitution in a national plebiscite on Sunday, one written primarily by left-wing parties that would have dramatically reformed institutions in a progressive direction. The proposal was drafted by the country’s Constitutional Convention after mass protests across the country in 2019 over inequality and the cost of living, which left 30 people dead. The 388-article draft constitution had attracted criticism for being perceived as left-wing and radical, according to the BBC. The measure would have created constitutional rights to free public

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GOP Rep Who Voted To Impeach Trump Ousted By Massive Margin

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GOP Rep Who Voted To Impeach Trump Ousted By Massive Margin Sebastian Hughes on June 14, 2022 South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry beat incumbent Republican South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice handily in the state’s 7th Congressional District GOP primary Tuesday, according to multiple election forecasters. Fry earned just over the 50% margin of votes needed to win the primary outright and become the GOP nominee without going through a runoff election, while Rice, on the other hand, only managed around 25% of the vote. Rice drew former President Donald Trump’s wrath after voting to impeach him in response to

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MicroStrategy says it has not received a margin call against loan

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SINGAPORE – Software firm MicroStrategy said it has not received a margin call against its bitcoin-backed borrowing on Wednesday, and it has plenty of extra collateral to pledge if necessary. MicroStrategy borrowed $205 million from crypto bank Silvergate Capital in March, mostly secured against bitcoin. On Tuesday bitcoin’s price briefly dropped below a level company officers had said could trigger extra capital requirements. “MicroStrategy has not received a ‘margin call’ against our Silvergate loan even as bitcoin prices have fluctuated recently,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We can always contribute additional bitcoins to maintain the required loan-to-value ratio

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Beijing’s drive for looser lending raises fears of bank margin squeeze

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SHANGHAI – Beijing’s mandate to aid virus-hit sectors has left China’s banking sector lagging behind a broader market rally as the economy reopens, with investors fearful a cash splash by lenders will increase bad loans and squeeze already wafer-thin margins. China’s easing of monetary conditions – at odds with the policy direction in most countries – is designed to revive growth and has triggered a robust rebound in stocks. Over the last month, as COVID-19 rules were relaxed in Shanghai and Beijing, blue chip index CSI300 rose nearly 8%, while the tech-focused STAR 50 Index jumped more than 18%. However,

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Musk looks to scrap Tesla margin loan with new Twitter funding – Bloomberg Law

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(Reuters) – Elon Musk is in talks to raise enough equity and preferred financing for his proposed buyout of Twitter Inc to negate the need for a $6.25 billion margin loan linked to his Tesla Inc shares, Bloomberg Law reported on Thursday. The billionaire’s advisers, led by Morgan Stanley, have begun soliciting interest from potential investors for as much as $6 billion in preferred equity financing, the report https://news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/musk-seeks-to-scrap-tesla-margin-loan-with-new-twitter-funding?context=search&index=0 said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Twitter declined to comment on the report, while Musk could not be reached for comment. Musk originally took out a $12.5 billion margin

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POST-LEAK POLL: Enthusiastic Voters Support Overturning Roe By Huge Margin

The Daily Caller0

The poll, taken after the leak of a Supreme Court draft decision that indicates the court could overturn the case, showed that 38% of those “happy” Roe could be overturned are “extremely enthusiastic” about voting, while only 20% of those “angry” said they had the same level of enthusiasm, CNN reported. Approximately 56% of Republicans and 43% of Democrats were extremely or very enthusiastic about voting, up 9 and 7 points, respectively, compared to a poll conducted before the leak, CNN reported. Overall, the number of people “angry” at the potential development was 36%, while the number of people “happy”

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Australian banks’ margin woes linger but rate hikes may lift view

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By Shashwat Awasthi (Reuters) – Australia’s “Big Four” banks are set to report a further squeeze on interest margins in their upcoming results dented by growing competition, though the prospect of a recovery aided by central banks’ rate hikes is expected to bolster their outlook. The banks have tussled with increased competition in home lending amid record low rates and borrowers changing to fixed-rate loans, while costs ramp up due to investment in digital capabilities and broader inflation. These pressures will likely be evident in quarterly results of Commonwealth Bank, and first-half reports from National Australia Bank, Westpac, and Australia

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Tesla’s lush profit margin raises sustainability doubts in Wall Street

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By Akash Sriram (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s eye-popping profit margin has raised doubts among Wall Street analysts if the company would be able to keep at it amid rising commodity costs and higher expenses to increase production. The world’s most valuable automaker pocketed a hefty 32.9% margin, more than double that of legacy firms including General Motors, Ford Motor Co and Stellantis, who too have been spending heavily for a share of the lucrative electric vehicle market. Tesla’s record margin that came on the back of higher prices is powering a nearly 9% rise in Tesla’s stock price on Thursday

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Nestle CEO says growth target conservative, margin more challenging

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ZURICH – Nestle’s organic growth target of around 5% this year is “conservative” while the margin target has become more challenging due to inflationary pressures, the food group’s chief executive said on Thursday. “Our start into the year was stronger than expected, and we believe that our organic sales growth guidance is conservative at this point,” Mark Schneider said in a call on the group’s first-quarter sales. “At the same time, inflationary pressures have increased a lot since then and in ways that were not foreseeable at that time. As a result of this change in context, our guidance range

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Shell blames oil, gas margin calls for billions in cash outflows

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LONDON – Shell said on Thursday it diverted $7 billion of its cash flows partly to cover hefty oil and gas margin calls, becoming the first company to publicly acknowledge the pressure commodities traders have faced in 2022 from extreme price rises and volatility. Shell, together with other majors, utility companies, trading houses and banks, signed a letter in March urging governments and financial institutions such as central banks to set up an emergency liquidity mechanism to help energy markets cope with the extreme volatility caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.   “Price increases impacting inventory have led to a

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Trafigura seeks funding as commodity surge triggers margin calls – Bloomberg News

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– Global commodities trader Trafigura Group has been holding talks with private equity groups to secure additional financing as soaring prices trigger margin calls across the commodities industry, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. Trafigura faced margin calls in the billions of dollars last week, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The increased margin calls – essentially requests to deposit extra funds with brokers – come amid supercharged volatility in raw materials prices after the invasion of Ukraine by commodities-export giant Russia sparked sanctions from the United States and it allies. Trafigura had held talks with Blackstone Inc

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