SoftBank Group Q3 op profit falls 99%; misses analyst estimates

TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday its third-quarter operating profit fell 99%, well short of analyst estimates, pulled down by losses at the $100 billion Vision Fund.

Profit reached 2.6 billion yen ($24 million) for October-December versus 438 billion yen in the same period a year prior, the technology investor said in a stock exchange filing.

The result compared with the 345 billion yen average of three analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv. ($1 = 109.8500 yen)

ABN Amro reports flat profit and a fall in operating income

ABN Amro Bank said Wednesday that fourth-quarter net profit was unchanged after being hit by low interest rates and high loan impairments in specific sectors at Corporate and Institutional Banking.

The Dutch lender ABN, +1.23% made a net profit for the quarter of 316 million euros ($408.7 million), compared with EUR316 million for the same period a year earlier.

Operating income declined to EUR2.10 billion from EUR2.16 billion, ABN Amro said.

The lender’s fully-loaded CET1 ratio–a measure of a bank’s financial strength–stood at 18.1% compared with 18.4% year before, it said.

The board declared a dividend of EUR0.68, down from EUR0.80 for the year-earlier period.

“We will continue to focus on costs in the next few years and will reap the benefits from the IT transformation,” Chief Executive Officer Kees van Dijkhuizen said.

Thyssenkrupp names European Steel unit chairman

Thyssenkrupp said Tuesday that Bernhard Osburg has been appointed new chairman of the board of its steel division in Europe.

Mr. Osburg–chief commercial officer at Thyssenkrupp steel Europe since 2019–succeeds Premal Desai who will step down on Feb. 29.

"Due to differing views on the direction of the steel business a mutual agreement on the separation was reached," the German industrial company said about the departure of Mr. Desai.

Write to Olivia Bugault at [email protected]

Dunelm H1 Pre-tax Profit Up; Sees FY Profit Slightly Ahead Of View

Dunelm Group plc (DNLM.L), a homewares retailer, reported Wednesday that its first-half profit before tax increased 19.4 percent to 83.6 million pounds from 70.0 million pounds last year. Earnings per share grew 20.7 percent to 33.2 pence from 27.5 pence in the prior-year period.

Revenue for the half year grew 6.0 percent to 585.0 million pounds from 551.8 million pounds in the year-ago period.

The company recorded like for like revenue growth of 5.6 percent, with 2.2 percent growth in LFL stores and 33.2 percent growth in LFL online.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2020, Dunelm said it expects profit before tax to be slightly ahead of the top of the latest range of analyst expectations, as the third quarter started well, with a successful Winter Sale across the total retail system.

Dunelm added that to date, it has not assumed any material disruption to its supply chain or any financial impact in the year from the coronavirus outbreak.

Akzo Nobel posts fall in net income and revenue

Akzo Nobel NV said Wednesday that fourth-quarter earnings fell compared with the same time in the prior year, but expects raw-material costs in the first half of 2020 to have a positive effect.

Net income for the Dutch paints company AKZA, -0.61% in the quarter ended Dec. 31 was 81 million euros ($88.4 million) compared with EUR5.85 billion in the previous year’s quarter, which included the sale its specialty-chemicals business.

Adjusted operating income–the company’s preferred metric which excludes exceptional costs–was EUR223 million, compared with EUR181 million. The company said it benefited from margin management and cost-savings programs.

Quarterly revenue fell to EUR2.24 billion, down from EUR2.31 billion.

The board declared a final dividend of EUR1.49 per share, up from last year’s EUR1.43.

The company, which houses the Dulux, Polycell and Cuprinol brands, said that raw-material costs are expected to have a slightly favorable impact for the first half of 2020. It said that it also expects to continue margin management and cost-savings programs to address current challenges, and that it continues with its transformation, incurring one-off costs, to deliver the previously announced EUR200 million in cost savings.

Exxon tightens belt on employee travel

2020 will be an ‘extremely difficult’ year for oil industry: Schork

The Schork Report publisher Stephen Schork discusses the projected glut on crude oil predicted for 2020.

Exxon Mobil is watching its pennies following the worst quarterly profit in almost four years.

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The oil giant is scrutinizing employee-travel budgets, according to Bloomberg.

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Travel requests involving industry conferences are especially being eyed closely.

An Exxon spokesman didn’t respond to Bloomberg for a comment.

GAS PRICES CONTINUE DOWNWARD TREND

The company is closely watching oil demand, especially the impact the outbreak of coronavirus may have on the industry.

The company has so far protected its dividend, raising it steadily despite a cash flow not keeping pace.

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Exxon shares have lost $17 billion in market value since reporting disappointing results on Jan. 31, warning that conditions in its chemical business will remain “challenging” for the rest of this year.