Company news in brief
Apple firmly on course for US$1 trillion
Apple Inc's shares rose to a record high on Friday as more analysts set a trillion-dollar valuation on the company, following a blowout fourth quarter and an upbeat forecast that quashed investor concerns around the iPhone X.
The stock rose as much as 3.7% to US$174.26, briefly breaching US$900 billion in market value, amid declines in the broader market. The gains added nearly US$32 billion to the company's market capitalisation.
Apple said on Thursday it expects first quarter revenue of US$84 billion to US$87 billion. – Nampa/Reuters
Lonmin shares lose a quarter of value
Lonmin shares fell around 25% on Friday after the platinum miner delayed its annual financial results because it could not yet give a specific figure for the impact of an ongoing business review.
The London and Johannesburg listed miner announced a review of its business in August to address uncertainties about its ability to continue as a going concern. The review includes the sale of some of its assets, cutting jobs and renegotiating loan agreements.
Despite reporting higher production over the last few months, Lonmin is still battling persistently low platinum prices which have cut into profits. – Nampa/Reuters
SA not considering IMF bailout for now
South Africa is not considering an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout at this stage, a senior Treasury official said on Friday, as the country struggles with weak growth, low tax receipts and rising debt.
“Financial markets can behave in very unpredictable ways so all options are on the table but . . . we are not considering any IMF bailout at this point, it's not necessary,” Michael Sachs, deputy director general at Treasury's budget office told reporters.
He earlier told Parliament that the Treasury had met an IMF delegation that is currently in the country. – Nampa/Reuters
Air France-KLM profit jumps
Air France-KLM said improving price trends helped it report better than expected third quarter profits, joining major European peers in benefiting from strong summer demand.
The Franco-Dutch company reported third quarter operating profit up 38.7% to 1.022 billion euros (US$1.2 billion), against the average analyst expectation of 953 million in a Reuters poll.
Unit revenues - a closely-watched measure of how much income is generates per unit of capacity - increased 4.1% in the quarter and Air France-KLM said it expected an increase in the fourth quarter as well, driven by long-haul bookings.
Lufthansa last week said unit revenues rose 4.5% in the third quarter, outpacing British Airways-parent IAG, which saw a 2.2% rise as it added capacity from Aer Lingus and low cost unit Level to transatlantic routes. – Nampa/Reuters
SocGen increases provisions for legal disputes
French bank Société Générale said on Friday that resolving two legal disputes with US authorities was a matter of the coming weeks and months, as it tacked on 300 million euros (US$350 million) to its litigation reserves.
SocGen also reported a 15% fall in third quarter net income to 932 million euros, that came below analysts' estimates of 1.00 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll.
“Société Générale is currently in discussions with the US authorities over two litigations, LIA (Libya Investment Authority) and IBOR in order to reach an agreement to resolve these matters, and has decided, as a precautionary measure, to increase the provision for disputes,” the bank said in a statement, adding that the overall amount of its litigation provisions reached 2.2 billion euros. – Nampa/Reuters
Apple Inc's shares rose to a record high on Friday as more analysts set a trillion-dollar valuation on the company, following a blowout fourth quarter and an upbeat forecast that quashed investor concerns around the iPhone X.
The stock rose as much as 3.7% to US$174.26, briefly breaching US$900 billion in market value, amid declines in the broader market. The gains added nearly US$32 billion to the company's market capitalisation.
Apple said on Thursday it expects first quarter revenue of US$84 billion to US$87 billion. – Nampa/Reuters
Lonmin shares lose a quarter of value
Lonmin shares fell around 25% on Friday after the platinum miner delayed its annual financial results because it could not yet give a specific figure for the impact of an ongoing business review.
The London and Johannesburg listed miner announced a review of its business in August to address uncertainties about its ability to continue as a going concern. The review includes the sale of some of its assets, cutting jobs and renegotiating loan agreements.
Despite reporting higher production over the last few months, Lonmin is still battling persistently low platinum prices which have cut into profits. – Nampa/Reuters
SA not considering IMF bailout for now
South Africa is not considering an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout at this stage, a senior Treasury official said on Friday, as the country struggles with weak growth, low tax receipts and rising debt.
“Financial markets can behave in very unpredictable ways so all options are on the table but . . . we are not considering any IMF bailout at this point, it's not necessary,” Michael Sachs, deputy director general at Treasury's budget office told reporters.
He earlier told Parliament that the Treasury had met an IMF delegation that is currently in the country. – Nampa/Reuters
Air France-KLM profit jumps
Air France-KLM said improving price trends helped it report better than expected third quarter profits, joining major European peers in benefiting from strong summer demand.
The Franco-Dutch company reported third quarter operating profit up 38.7% to 1.022 billion euros (US$1.2 billion), against the average analyst expectation of 953 million in a Reuters poll.
Unit revenues - a closely-watched measure of how much income is generates per unit of capacity - increased 4.1% in the quarter and Air France-KLM said it expected an increase in the fourth quarter as well, driven by long-haul bookings.
Lufthansa last week said unit revenues rose 4.5% in the third quarter, outpacing British Airways-parent IAG, which saw a 2.2% rise as it added capacity from Aer Lingus and low cost unit Level to transatlantic routes. – Nampa/Reuters
SocGen increases provisions for legal disputes
French bank Société Générale said on Friday that resolving two legal disputes with US authorities was a matter of the coming weeks and months, as it tacked on 300 million euros (US$350 million) to its litigation reserves.
SocGen also reported a 15% fall in third quarter net income to 932 million euros, that came below analysts' estimates of 1.00 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll.
“Société Générale is currently in discussions with the US authorities over two litigations, LIA (Libya Investment Authority) and IBOR in order to reach an agreement to resolve these matters, and has decided, as a precautionary measure, to increase the provision for disputes,” the bank said in a statement, adding that the overall amount of its litigation provisions reached 2.2 billion euros. – Nampa/Reuters
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