07 March 2013
Carrefour pledged to boost capital spending this year as new boss Georges Plassat aims to revive Europe's largest retailer following a string of asset sales last year to reduce debt. The world's second-biggest retailer behind Wal-Mart, Carrefour said 2012 core profits fell less than analysts had feared as a robust Latin American business helped cushion falling demand in austerity-hit Spain and Italy.
Carrefour is battling to reverse years of underperformance in Europe, where its hypermarkets have been hit by competition from specialist stores and trends toward local and online shopping.
The French retailer said this year it would invest €2.2bn to €2.3bn, up from €1.547bn in 2012 and above analysts' expectations of €1.955bn.
It reported operating profit fell to €2.140bn, still topping analysts' expectations for €2.061bn in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll.
Finance Chief Pierre-Jean Sivignon told a conference call that Carrefour was still bracing for a difficult economic climate in 2013 but did not provide detailed guidance.
The shares are up 70% since bottoming out last July and up 14% this year, welcome news for top stakeholder Blue Capital, controlled by LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault and US investment fund Colony Capital.
"The results and outlook are reassuring, with France above expectations, especially the underlying operating profit ...We see Carrefour continuing to sell mature assets to extract cash every year," one trader said. Carrefour raised its dividend to €0.58 per share from €0.52, equivalent to a payout ratio of 45% of net income.
Merck
Germany's Merck is predicting strong growth in earnings this year and next as cost cuts and Chinese demand for liquid crystals used in televisions outweigh recent setbacks in its drugs business.
Merck, which is also looking to rebuild a drugs pipeline weakened by setbacks, said it made fourth-quarter net income of €272mn ($354mn), beating analysts' average forecast of €208mn in a Reuters poll.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 16% to €790mn, also topping a forecast for €785mn.
Merck predicted a significant increase in net income in 2013 and 2014 as it continues to benefit from job cuts, but it cautioned there would be no major technology launches at its chemicals business over the next two years.
Analysts expect net income to jump to €1.77bn in 2013 and €1.88bn in 2014, up from 567mn in 2012, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.
Aviva
British insurer Aviva yesterday said it tumbled into a net loss of £3.0bn ($4.5bn, €3.5bn) last year and slashed its shareholder dividend, sparking a slump in the group's share price.
The loss after tax, owing mainly to a massive writedown following the sale of its US business, contrasted with a net profit of £60mn in 2011, Aviva said in a results statement.
The company meanwhile reported underlying operating profit--an indicator of its day-to-day business--of £1.78bn.
However, shares plunged in value after Aviva cut its full-year shareholder dividend by 27% to 19 pence a share, as it sought to cut debt and improve performance.
Chief executive Mark Wilson insisted in the earnings release that the group had achieved major progress in its turnaround programme.
Aviva--Britain's second-biggest insurer after Prudential--said last July that it would withdraw from 16 non-core business areas following a major strategic review of the group.
Petronas
Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said yesterday its net profit fell 45% year-on-year in the last quarter of 2012 due to lower demand for crude oil.
The country's only Fortune 500 company, which contributes nearly half of Malaysia's budget revenues, said earnings for the quarter ending December 31 fell to 8.7bn ringgit ($2.8bn) from 15.9bn a year earlier.
Petronas had earlier cited sagging prices for a 30% and 21.6% fall in net profit for the second and third quarter of 2012. For the full year, its net profit fell 14% to 59.1bn.
"Revenue for the quarter declined primarily due to lower crude oil trading volume on the back of limited trading opportunities and the strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar," the company said in its latest financial report.
It added that higher ope
rating costs and impairment losses on assets resulted in lower margins for 2012. Revenue for the year was 288.5bn, just shy of 2011's 291bn.
Petronas expects to face "geopolitical uncertainties, macroeconomic challenges and rising operating costs" as well as a shortage of talent this year.
Continental
Continental, the German maker of automotive parts and tyres, said it achieved record results in 2012 and expects its success to continue this year.
"In 2012, Continental set new records in a market environment that was difficult in part," the group said in a statement.
"In 2012, we increased profits to just short of €1.9bn ($2.5bn), topping the previous year's level by more than 50%," boasted chief executive Elmar Degenhart.
"At €9.42, we have very nearly double-digit earnings per share. What is more, we cut our net indebtedness by close to €1.5bn, bringing it down to a reasonable level" of 5.3bn euros, Degenhart said.
In 2012, net profit zoomed ahead by 51.6% to €1.884bn and underlying or operating profit was up 18.3% at €3.073bn on a 7.3% increase in sales to €32.736bn.
Continental said it would propose an increased dividend of €2.25 per share for 2012, up from €1.50 per share a year earlier.
JCDecaux
Outdoor advertising specialist JCDecaux predicted a small fall in first-quarter underlying revenue due to weak European markets, after posting full-year operating profit slightly ahead of expectations.
The family-owned company, which competes with Clear Channel Outdoor and CBS Outdoor, sounded cautious on sales for January and February, echoing what ad agency Publicis said would be a "choppy" year with a weak European economy injecting uncertainty into companies' marketing budgets.
JCDecaux posted core operating profit up 3.5% to €602.2mn ($783mn) last year boosted by growth in its transport unit, which puts ads in train stations and airports.
Net income before impairment charges fell 2.4% to €207.3mn because of weakness at JCDecaux's largest business of making street furniture such as lamp posts and bus stops for cities and towns in exchange for ad space.
Including an impairment charge from a lower valuation of its European billboard business, net profit fell 23% to €162.8mn.
Analysts were expecting operating profits of €573.8mn and net income of 215.6mn euros, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Adidas
German sportswear and equipment maker Adidas said yesterday that one-off writedowns hit its bottom line in 2012, but underlying profits increased due to higher sales.
Adidas said in a statement that its year-end net profit declined by 14.2% to €526mn ($683mn) last year.
But the group said the figure included goodwill writedowns of €265mn largely related to "adjusted growth assumptions for the Reebok brand, especially in North America, Latin America and Brazil."
The group also noted that it had had to restate its 2011 results following the discovery of financial irregularities at Reebok India and that the figure for its 2011 net profit had been reduced by €58mn. The goodwill writedowns actually pushed Adidas into the red in the fourth quarter alone, when it turned in a net loss of €272mn compared with a profit of 3.0mn euros.
Excluding the writedowns, the fourth-quarter loss amounted to just €7.0mn and full-year 2012 net profit actually grew by 29% to €791mn, Adidas calculated.
Taking 2012 as a whole, operating profit slipped by 3.4% to €920mn while sales jumped 11.7% to €14.883bn.
Looking ahead to the current year, Adidas said it expected sales to "increase at a mid-single-digit rate on a currency-neutral basis in 2013." And net profit would rise to €890mn-€920mn, it predicted.
Lukoil
Russia's second-largest crude producer Lukoil said yesterday its 2012 net income rose 6% to a record high of $11bn on the back of higher oil prices and sales, beating analysts' forecasts.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected Lukoil's full-year net income to be $10.87bn.
The profit rise came despite Lukoil's oil production declining by 1% to 90mn tonnes (1.8mn bpd) in 2012, mainly due to a steep output fall in the Timan-Pechora region in northern Russia.
Lukoil, once Russia's top crude producer, has been trying to stabilise its oil production by expanding overseas as it is unable to tap into Russia's vast Arctic offshore reaches, which is off-limits to non-state companies.
Lukoil also said that revenues increased 4% to $139.2bn, compared to expectations of $137.85bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 1.7% to $18.92bn against $18.77bn seen in the poll.
Carrefour pledged to boost capital spending this year as new boss Georges Plassat aims to revive Europe's largest retailer following a string of asset sales last year to reduce debt. The world's second-biggest retailer behind Wal-Mart, Carrefour said 2012 core profits fell less than analysts had feared as a robust Latin American business helped cushion falling demand in austerity-hit Spain and Italy.
Carrefour is battling to reverse years of underperformance in Europe, where its hypermarkets have been hit by competition from specialist stores and trends toward local and online shopping.
The French retailer said this year it would invest €2.2bn to €2.3bn, up from €1.547bn in 2012 and above analysts' expectations of €1.955bn.
It reported operating profit fell to €2.140bn, still topping analysts' expectations for €2.061bn in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll.
Finance Chief Pierre-Jean Sivignon told a conference call that Carrefour was still bracing for a difficult economic climate in 2013 but did not provide detailed guidance.
The shares are up 70% since bottoming out last July and up 14% this year, welcome news for top stakeholder Blue Capital, controlled by LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault and US investment fund Colony Capital.
"The results and outlook are reassuring, with France above expectations, especially the underlying operating profit ...We see Carrefour continuing to sell mature assets to extract cash every year," one trader said. Carrefour raised its dividend to €0.58 per share from €0.52, equivalent to a payout ratio of 45% of net income.
Merck
Germany's Merck is predicting strong growth in earnings this year and next as cost cuts and Chinese demand for liquid crystals used in televisions outweigh recent setbacks in its drugs business.
Merck, which is also looking to rebuild a drugs pipeline weakened by setbacks, said it made fourth-quarter net income of €272mn ($354mn), beating analysts' average forecast of €208mn in a Reuters poll.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 16% to €790mn, also topping a forecast for €785mn.
Merck predicted a significant increase in net income in 2013 and 2014 as it continues to benefit from job cuts, but it cautioned there would be no major technology launches at its chemicals business over the next two years.
Analysts expect net income to jump to €1.77bn in 2013 and €1.88bn in 2014, up from 567mn in 2012, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.
Aviva
British insurer Aviva yesterday said it tumbled into a net loss of £3.0bn ($4.5bn, €3.5bn) last year and slashed its shareholder dividend, sparking a slump in the group's share price.
The loss after tax, owing mainly to a massive writedown following the sale of its US business, contrasted with a net profit of £60mn in 2011, Aviva said in a results statement.
The company meanwhile reported underlying operating profit--an indicator of its day-to-day business--of £1.78bn.
However, shares plunged in value after Aviva cut its full-year shareholder dividend by 27% to 19 pence a share, as it sought to cut debt and improve performance.
Chief executive Mark Wilson insisted in the earnings release that the group had achieved major progress in its turnaround programme.
Aviva--Britain's second-biggest insurer after Prudential--said last July that it would withdraw from 16 non-core business areas following a major strategic review of the group.
Petronas
Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said yesterday its net profit fell 45% year-on-year in the last quarter of 2012 due to lower demand for crude oil.
The country's only Fortune 500 company, which contributes nearly half of Malaysia's budget revenues, said earnings for the quarter ending December 31 fell to 8.7bn ringgit ($2.8bn) from 15.9bn a year earlier.
Petronas had earlier cited sagging prices for a 30% and 21.6% fall in net profit for the second and third quarter of 2012. For the full year, its net profit fell 14% to 59.1bn.
"Revenue for the quarter declined primarily due to lower crude oil trading volume on the back of limited trading opportunities and the strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar," the company said in its latest financial report.
It added that higher ope
rating costs and impairment losses on assets resulted in lower margins for 2012. Revenue for the year was 288.5bn, just shy of 2011's 291bn.
Petronas expects to face "geopolitical uncertainties, macroeconomic challenges and rising operating costs" as well as a shortage of talent this year.
Continental
Continental, the German maker of automotive parts and tyres, said it achieved record results in 2012 and expects its success to continue this year.
"In 2012, Continental set new records in a market environment that was difficult in part," the group said in a statement.
"In 2012, we increased profits to just short of €1.9bn ($2.5bn), topping the previous year's level by more than 50%," boasted chief executive Elmar Degenhart.
"At €9.42, we have very nearly double-digit earnings per share. What is more, we cut our net indebtedness by close to €1.5bn, bringing it down to a reasonable level" of 5.3bn euros, Degenhart said.
In 2012, net profit zoomed ahead by 51.6% to €1.884bn and underlying or operating profit was up 18.3% at €3.073bn on a 7.3% increase in sales to €32.736bn.
Continental said it would propose an increased dividend of €2.25 per share for 2012, up from €1.50 per share a year earlier.
JCDecaux
Outdoor advertising specialist JCDecaux predicted a small fall in first-quarter underlying revenue due to weak European markets, after posting full-year operating profit slightly ahead of expectations.
The family-owned company, which competes with Clear Channel Outdoor and CBS Outdoor, sounded cautious on sales for January and February, echoing what ad agency Publicis said would be a "choppy" year with a weak European economy injecting uncertainty into companies' marketing budgets.
JCDecaux posted core operating profit up 3.5% to €602.2mn ($783mn) last year boosted by growth in its transport unit, which puts ads in train stations and airports.
Net income before impairment charges fell 2.4% to €207.3mn because of weakness at JCDecaux's largest business of making street furniture such as lamp posts and bus stops for cities and towns in exchange for ad space.
Including an impairment charge from a lower valuation of its European billboard business, net profit fell 23% to €162.8mn.
Analysts were expecting operating profits of €573.8mn and net income of 215.6mn euros, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Adidas
German sportswear and equipment maker Adidas said yesterday that one-off writedowns hit its bottom line in 2012, but underlying profits increased due to higher sales.
Adidas said in a statement that its year-end net profit declined by 14.2% to €526mn ($683mn) last year.
But the group said the figure included goodwill writedowns of €265mn largely related to "adjusted growth assumptions for the Reebok brand, especially in North America, Latin America and Brazil."
The group also noted that it had had to restate its 2011 results following the discovery of financial irregularities at Reebok India and that the figure for its 2011 net profit had been reduced by €58mn. The goodwill writedowns actually pushed Adidas into the red in the fourth quarter alone, when it turned in a net loss of €272mn compared with a profit of 3.0mn euros.
Excluding the writedowns, the fourth-quarter loss amounted to just €7.0mn and full-year 2012 net profit actually grew by 29% to €791mn, Adidas calculated.
Taking 2012 as a whole, operating profit slipped by 3.4% to €920mn while sales jumped 11.7% to €14.883bn.
Looking ahead to the current year, Adidas said it expected sales to "increase at a mid-single-digit rate on a currency-neutral basis in 2013." And net profit would rise to €890mn-€920mn, it predicted.
Lukoil
Russia's second-largest crude producer Lukoil said yesterday its 2012 net income rose 6% to a record high of $11bn on the back of higher oil prices and sales, beating analysts' forecasts.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected Lukoil's full-year net income to be $10.87bn.
The profit rise came despite Lukoil's oil production declining by 1% to 90mn tonnes (1.8mn bpd) in 2012, mainly due to a steep output fall in the Timan-Pechora region in northern Russia.
Lukoil, once Russia's top crude producer, has been trying to stabilise its oil production by expanding overseas as it is unable to tap into Russia's vast Arctic offshore reaches, which is off-limits to non-state companies.
Lukoil also said that revenues increased 4% to $139.2bn, compared to expectations of $137.85bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 1.7% to $18.92bn against $18.77bn seen in the poll.
© Gulf Times 2013
