COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Gold Fields earnings surge on higher pricesSouth African miner Gold Fields Ltd said Wednesday it expected earnings to more than triple as higher gold prices offset disruptions wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.The price of gold, considered a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, briefly hit record highs above US$2000 an ounce last year, with investors amassing the precious metal in case stocks took a tumble.Earnings per share for the full year ending 31 December 2020 are expected to range between US$0.80 and US$0.84, an increase of between 300 to 320 percent from their level in 2019, Gold Fields said in a trading update.Production increased marginally during the period under review, reaching 2.236 million ounces a two percent rise from 2.195 million ounces in 2019.The earnings increase was driven by slightly higher production and higher prices "despite the hedges that were in place during 2020," the Johannesburg-based producer said.The miner has recently seen its South Deep operation which sits on one of the world's largest known reserves of gold-bearing ore return to profitability after years of losses. - Nampa/AFPCoca-Cola expects sales growthCoca-Cola Co on Wednesday forecast a return to organic revenue growth this year after a torrid 2020, betting vaccine rollouts across the world will encourage consumers to return to cinemas and sporting events that drive a chunk of its sales.The company depends on non-retail channels for over a third of its sales, but the health crisis limited restaurant operations, forced cancellation of events and kept consumers largely indoors, causing a 9% drop in organic sales last year."It is still early days in the vaccination process, and we'd expect to see further improvements in our business as vaccinations become more widely available over the coming months," Chief Executive Officer James Quincey told analysts.The company expects 2021 adjusted earnings to grow in the high-single digits to low-double digits and organic revenue to rise in the high-single digits.Meanwhile, Coca-Cola also warned it expects a potential liability of about US$12 billion in a dispute with the US Internal Revenue Service on how much it charged foreign affiliates for the rights to make and sell Coke products abroad. - Nampa/ReutersUber reduces losses on food delivery Uber Technologies Inc on Wednesday posted a narrower loss as its ride-hail and delivery businesses rebounded slightly from pandemic lows, and the company said it was well on track to reach its goal of achieving an adjusted profit by year-end.Nearly complete recoveries in markets including Brazil and Australia point to leisure travel to restaurants and cultural events bouncing back quickly once the pandemic ends, with business travel returning more slowly, as many employees continue to work from home.Shares fell 3% in after-hours trading after gaining around 6% during the day. Shares had risen after smaller ride-hail rival Lyft Inc said on Tuesday it might become profitable during the third quarter, three months ahead of a previous goal, thanks to a rebound and cost cuts.Uber reported a loss on an adjusted basis before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of US$454 million, significantly less than analysts' average expectations for a US$514 million loss, according to Refinitiv data.Uber cut costs throughout 2020, including reducing staff by nearly 30% from the beginning of the year. - Nampa/ReutersMastercard to support some cryptocurrenciesMastercard Inc said on Wednesday it was planning to offer support for some cryptocurrencies on its network this year, joining a string of big-ticket firms that have pledged similar support.The credit-card giant's announcement comes days after Elon Musk's Tesla Inc revealed it had purchased US$1.5 billion of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment.Asset manager BlackRock Inc and payments companies Square and PayPal have also recently backed cryptocurrencies.Mastercard already offers customers cards that allow people to transact using their cryptocurrencies, although without going through its network."Doing this work will create a lot more possibilities for shoppers and merchants, allowing them to transact in an entirely new form of payment. This change may open merchants up to new customers who are already flocking to digital assets," Mastercard said. - Nampa/ReutersToyota to unveil two new EVs for US market Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday it will unveil two new electric vehicles that will go on sale next year in the United States amid a growing push by the Biden administration to cut vehicle emissions, sending the Japanese automaker's shares soaring.The company also said it expects that 40% of its US sales by 2025 will be hybrid vehicles or electric vehicles, rising to 70% by 2030.One of the new EVs next year will be a sport-utility vehicle and Toyota will also unveil a new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Toyota said in 2017 it would market more than 10 electric vehicles globally in the early 2020s.The new vehicles for the US market are "the first of many," Bob Carter, executive vice president of sales for Toyota Motor North America."Electrification is the future of this industry. There is no doubt about that," Carter said. "The only debate we have is that rate of change."Toyota forecasts by 2025 that industry sales will be 7% electric vehicles rising to around 15% to 18% in 2030.- Nampa/Reuters

COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-27

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COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-27

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