Company news in brief

Exxaro: Eskom withdraws force majeureSouth African coal company Exxaro Resources said on Friday that Eskom had lifted force majeure on coal supply contracts to the state-owned utility's Medupi and Matimba power stations.Eskom had issued letters calling force majeure on the coal supply agreements with Exxaro's unit for the period starting April 16 until one month after a national lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic had been completely lifted."As Eskom has been taking coal in accordance with the terms of the supply agreements, the impact of the force majeure event has been largely neutralised," Exxaro, which is one of Eskom's main coal suppliers, said in a statement.Force majeure is an event referring to unexpected external circumstances that prevent a party to a contract from meeting their obligations. – Nampa/ReutersSibanye-Stillwater expects H1 profitSouth Africa's Sibanye-Stillwater expects to swing to a profit in the first half of 2020, boosted by higher precious metals prices and a weaker rand currency, the miner said on Friday, sending its shares up sharply.The precious metals producer, said headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to June is expected to be 350 cents compared with a loss per share of 54 cents a year earlier when it was hit by strikes.Sibanye said the inclusion of the Marikana operations, higher metals prices and a weaker rand currency helped partially offset foreign exchange losses and the impact of Covid-19 lockdown regulations on output.South African gold miners have rallied as investors rushed to buy shares in the export-oriented companies which do well when the rand depreciates against the US dollar.The company said production from its South African gold operations during the half-year increased by 17% 403 621 ounces, while platinum group metal (PGM) output from South Africa was 5% higher year-on-year at 657 828 ounces. – Nampa/ReutersVaccine developer CureVac debuts on NasdaqShares of German biotechnology firm CureVac BV nearly tripled in their Nasdaq debut on Friday, marking the first stock market debut of a company developing a potential vaccine to combat the coronavirus.The stock opened at US$44 per share, up from the IPO price of US$16 per share.CureVac, backed by Microsoft Corp founder and billionaire Bill Gates, sold 13.33 million shares at US$16 apiece, the top end of its indicated price range of between US$14 and US$16 per share.The company raised US$213.3 million in the IPO.CureVac is researching how to use messenger RNA to treat a series of diseases, including the coronavirus. It is an experimental approach that has also been adopted by some of its peers, including Moderna Inc and BioNTech SE. – Nampa/ReutersDaimler agrees to US$ 3 bn diesel settlementsDaimler said on Thursday it has reached agreements costing nearly US$3 billion to settle civil investigations by US regulators and lawsuits from vehicle owners stemming from a long-running probe into software to cheat diesel emissions tests.The settlements in principle address civil and environmental claims tied to 250 000 US diesel passenger cars and vans in the United States and include claims from the Environmental Protection Agency, Justice Department, California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Attorney General’s Office.The German carmaker said it expects the costs of the settlements with US authorities will total US$1.5 billion, settling with owners will cost about US$700 million and "further expenses of a mid three-digit-million EUR [euro] amount to fulfill requirements of the settlements."The maker of Mercedes-Benz cars said it expects an impact on its free cash flow over the next three years as a result, with the main impact within the next 12 months. – Nampa/ReutersRosneft back in profit in second quarterRussia's largest oil producer Rosneft made a second-quarter profit of 43 billion roubles after reporting a loss in the previous three months thanks to a rise in oil prices, it said on Friday.Rosneft, headed by Igor Sechin, a long-standing ally of president Vladimir Putin, is the first big Russian oil company to report financial results for the second quarter, when the oil prices started to recover after hitting a 21-year low in April.The oil market, under pressure from overproduction and the fallout from the coronavirus crisis, has been on a recovery path thanks to a global deal between OPEC and other leading oil producers, including Russia, to cut oil production.The company, which accounts for more than 40% of Russia's total oil output, said it produced 4.04 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the second quarter, down 13% from the previous quarter, due to the global output reduction deal.Rosneft gave a dollar figure of US$700 million for its earnings in the first quarter. Rosneft said the conversion was calculated using average monthly Central Bank of Russia exchange rates for the reporting period. – Nampa/Reuters

Company news in brief

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-20

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Company news in brief

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-20

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