Indonesia says preparing to evacuate citizens from Wuhan as virus spreads

JAKARTA(Reuters) – Indonesia is preparing to evacuate its citizens from the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan and will quarantine them for at least 14 days on arrival to avoid contagion, its foreign minister said on Thursday.

Retno Marsudi said the government is working with Beijing authorities on the evacuation. He said that there were at least 243 Indonesians in areas declared to be in lockdowns, the majority of whom were in Wuhan.

Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province, has become the epicenter of a virus outbreak which has killed 170 and infected more than 7,700 others.

St. James’s Place Plc Q4 Gross Inflows Up 1% – Quick Facts

St. James’s Place plc (STJ.L) reported gross inflows for the fourth quarter of 3.98 billion pounds, a growth of 1% from last year. Net inflows was 2.44 billion pounds compared to 2.60 billion pounds.

Gross inflows for the year was 15.10 billion pounds, 4% lower than prior year. Net inflows for the twelve months was 8.99 billion pounds. Closing funds under management was at 117.0 billion pounds, up 22% since the beginning of the year.

Andrew Croft, Chief Executive, said: “Although uncertainties remain for the UK, the Parliamentary majority following the General Election in December provides for longer-term political stability.”

Fujitsu swung back to profit, raises guidance

Fujitsu Ltd. (6702.TO) said Thursday it swung back to a net profit in the third quarter, thanks to stronger technology service and personal computer businesses.

Net profit for the quarter ended December was 36.25 billion yen ($332.5 million) compared with a net loss of Y29.67 billion a year earlier, the Japanese electronics and technology company said. That beat an estimate of Y20.43 billion net profit in a FactSet poll of analysts.

Operating profit more than doubled for its technology solution business thanks to domestic sales, and its personal computer and mobile phone business turning profitable, the company said.

Third-quarter revenue decreased 5.5% to Y923.27 billion from Y977.32 billion a year earlier, slightly exceeding the FactSet estimate of Y922.39 billion.

Fujitsu raised its revenue and net-profit forecasts for the full year ending March 2020. It expects revenue to decrease 2.6%, slower than the previous forecast of a 3.9% fall, while it expects net profit to rise 53%, more sharply than the previous view of a 20% increase.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at [email protected]

Swatch 2019 sales and net profit fall

Swatch Group AG said Thursday that sales in 2019 declined amid political uncertainties as well as the weakening of the U.S. dollar and euro against the Swiss franc.

The Swiss watchmakerUHR, -0.20%  said 2019 sales fell to 8.24 billion Swiss francs ($8.46 billion) from CHF8.47 billion the previous year, with net profit also down to CHF730 million from CHF845 million for the same period.

Swatch said it expects healthy growth in 2020 across all markets in local currency except Hong Kong, and that the currency situation will remain challenging for the group.

The company said the board of directors would propose an unchanged dividend of CHF8 per bearer share and CHF1.60 per registered share at the annual general meeting on May 14.

H&M Group Q4 Profit Rises; Says Current 2-Month Trading Higher

Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB or H&M Group (HNNMY.PK,HMRZF.PK,HEN.L) reported Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit after tax rose to 4.21 billion Swedish kronor from 3.54 billion kronor last year. Earnings per share increased to 2.54 kronor from 2.14 kronor a year ago.

Gross profit increased 9 percent to 33.29 billion kronor from 30.59 billion last year. Gross margin edged down to 54.0 percent from 54.2 percent last year.

The group’s net sales for the quarter increased 9 percent to 61.69 billion kronor from 56.41 billion kronor a year ago. In local currencies, net sales increased 5 percent.

Further, the board of directors proposed an unchanged dividend of 9.75 kronor per share for the 2018/2019 financial year, to be paid out on two occasions in 2020.

Regarding the current trading, the company said its net sales in the period from December 1, 2019 to January 28, 2020 increased by 5 percent in local currencies compared to the previous year.

In 2020, H&M Group plans to open around 200 new stores, mainly in growth markets, while at the same time consolidation will continue with around 175 planned store closures, mainly in established markets. The company expects the net addition of new stores for full-year 2020 to be around 25.

Volvo Group Q4 Profit Climbs Despite Weak Sales – Quick Facts

Swedish auto maker Volvo Group (VOLVY.PK) reported Thursday that its fourth-quarter income climbed to 6.83 billion Swedish kronor from last year’s 2.66 billion kronor.

Earnings per share amounted to 3.27 kronor, up from 1.26 kronor a year ago.

Operating income surged to 9.38 billion kronor from last year’s 3.60 billion kronor. Adjusted operating income was 9.22 billion kronor, down from 10.60 billion kronor last year. Adjusted operating margin fell to 8.8 percent from 10 percent last year.

Net sales for the quarter declined to 105.36 billion kronor from last year’s 105.79 billion kronor. Adjusted for currency movements, net sales decreased 5 percent.

Net order intake, number of trucks fell to 53,315 units from 59,535 units last year. Truck deliveries also declined.

Net order intake and deliveries of construction equipment increased in the quarter.

Shell Q4 CCS Earnings Plunge, Revenues Down – Quick Facts

Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS-B,RDSB.L,RDSA.L,RDS-A) reported Thursday that its fourth-quarter CCS earnings attributable to shareholders plunged 88 percent to $871 million from last year’s $7.33 billion. Basic CCS earnings per share were $0.11, down from last year’s $0.76.

Adjusted attributable CCS earnings were $2.93 billion, down from $5.69 billion a year ago. Adjusted CCS earnings per share were $0.37, compared to last year’s $0.69.

For the quarter, attributable income was $965 million, down 83 percent from $5.59 billion last year. Basic earnings per share dropped 82 percent to $0.12 from $0.68 a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter plunged to $84.01 billion from last year’s $102.23 billion.

Looking ahead for the first quarter, the company projects integrated Gas production to be 950 – 980 thousand boe/d and LNG liquefaction volumes to be 9.0 – 9.5 million tonnes.

Upstream production is expected to be 2,625 – 2,775 thousand boe/d.