Venezuela will use Russian military equipment at drills on July 24: RIA

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Venezuela will use Russian military equipment during exercises on July 24, RIA news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday.

“The arms and military equipment in Venezuela held by the Bolivarian armed forces are mainly Russian manufactured equipment. So it (the drills) simply can’t be carried out any other way,” he was quoted as saying.

Norwegian Air profit hit by 737 MAX grounding

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (NAS.OS) said Thursday that second-quarter net profit fell and that it expected to book costs related to the grounding of Boeing Co.’s BA, -0.22% 737 MAX aircraft.

Net profit was 73.2 million Norwegian kroner ($8.5 million), down from NOK295.9 million the previous-year period, as the company booked a NOK426.1 million charge related to the change to the IFRS 16 accounting standard.

Passenger revenue rose 19% to NOK9.90 billion, it said.

The carrier said that it expected to book NOK700 million in 737 MAX-related costs. The model has been out of service since March, after two crashes.

Growth in production, or available seat kilometers, was up 6%, compared with the 46% growth recorded in the second quarter of last year. The slowdown was proceeding according to plan as the airline pivots to a focus on profitability, Norwegian Air said.

Total operating expenses excluding depreciation and aircraft lease rose by 16% to NOK9.97 billion, an increase it attributed to production expansion and currency headwinds.

The company revised its production growth guidance downward to between 0%-5% in 2019. Previously it guided for 5%-10% growth. Norwegian Air Shuttle said it expects to report earnings before interest, tax, aircraft lease, depreciation and amortization of NOK6 billion to NOK7 billion for the year.

DP World markets new dollar sukuk, taps existing bond

DUBAI, July 11 (Reuters) – Port operator DP World started marketing 10-year U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk, or Islamic bonds, with an initial price guidance of around 230 basis points over mid-swaps, a document issued by one of the banks leading the deal showed.

The company, majority owned by the Dubai government, is also reopening an existing conventional bond, due in 2048.

The initial yield guidance for the bond reopening, or “tap”, ranges between 5% and 5.1%, a separate bank document showed. (Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Mark Potter)

Gerresheimer’s net income more than doubles

Gerresheimer AG (GXI.XE) said Thursday that net income in the second quarter more than doubled and backed its revenue guidance for the year.

The German company, which has a portfolio including pharmaceutical packaging products, said net profit for the period ending May 31 was 47.1 million euros ($52.9 million), compared with EUR19.3 million the year previous.

Adjusted net income after noncontrolling interests rose to EUR58.7 million from EUR26 million.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at constant exchange rates rose just over 38% to EUR99.4 million, the company said.

Gerresheimer said revenues for the quarter were EUR356.5 million, up 7.2%.

"All divisions contributed to the good revenue growth. I am confident that we will meet all of our targets for 2019," said Gerresheimer Chief Executive Dietmar Siemssen.

The company backed its revenue guidance for the year of around EUR1.4 billion to EUR1.45 billion but gave more details on its adjusted Ebitda outlook.

The company expects adjusted Ebitda of around EUR295 million, plus or minus EUR5 million, and this doesn’t include the EUR118.5 million already accounted for in the first half due to the "derecognition of contingent purchase price components from the Sensile Medical acquisition."

Gerresheimer Q2 Profit Increases

German drug delivery devices maker Gerresheimer AG (GRRMF.PK) reported that its net income for the second quarter of 2019 significantly increased to 47.1 million euros from 19.3 million euros in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted net income after non-controlling interests amounted to 58.7 million euros, compared to 26.0 million euros in the prior year. Adjusted earnings per share were 1.87 euros, compared to 0.83 euros in the prior year. The latest-quarter result was influenced by the positive effect from the derecognition of contingent purchase price components.

Quarterly revenues increased 7.2% to 356.5 million euros from 332.6 million euros in the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead for the financial year 2019, the company still expects revenues to be in the range of about 1.4 billion euros to 1.45 billion euros.

The company now expects annual adjusted EBITDA of about 295 million plus or minus 5 million euros. The company said in April that it expected annual adjusted EBITDA of about 387 million euros, plus or minus 5 million euros.

The medium-term indications remain unchanged.

Armed Iranian boats tried to capture British oil tanker: report

A British oil tanker was threatened by armed Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, CNN reported, citing U.S. officials. The Heritage tanker was crossing into the Strait of Hormuz when it five armed Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats tried to force it into Iranian waters. The Iran boats backed away after a warning by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose, which had been escorting the tanker. "We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region," said the U.K. Defense Department in a statement, according to CNN. Oil CLU19, +0.51% shot to the highest level since May on Wednesday amid fears of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and signs of lower U.S. inventories. Crude was holding just above those highs on Thursday.