COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Anglo American's production up 3%Mining group Anglo American's first-quarter production rose 3% year on year despite some operations running at 95% capacity because of Covid-19 disruptions.Copper production climbed 9% to 160 000 tonnes in the quarter from 147 000 tonnes in the same period last year, but down from 168 000 tonnes in the previous three months. Diamond output slipped 7% year-on-year, partly due to excessive rainfall in southern Africa and a Covid-19-related shutdown in Canada.Iron ore production was up 1% at 16.2 million tonnes in the first quarter, while production of platinum group metals rose to 1.02 million ounces from 955 000 in the same period a year ago.Anglo expects copper output to reach between 640 000 tonnes and 680 000 tonnes this year. It also kept its output targets unchanged for other resources, including iron ore and platinum group metals.But it cut its guidance for metallurgical coal to between 14 and 16 million tonnes from 18-20 million earlier, as the Moranbah operation in Australia remains suspended. - Nampa/ReutersTotal declared force majeure on LNG projectFrench energy group Total on Monday declared force majeure on its US$20 billion Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Mozambique and withdrew all personnel from the site because of the precarious security situation in the area.Dozens of civilians were killed in a March 24 attack by insurgents on the coastal Mozambique town of Palma, near natural gas projects that are worth US$60 billion and meant to transform Mozambique's economy."Considering the evolution of the security situation in the north of the Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique, Total confirms the withdrawal of all Mozambique LNG project personnel from the Afungi site. This situation leads Total, as operator of Mozambique LNG project, to declare force majeure," the company said. Total suspended work on the project, which is due to produce its first cargo in 2024, on March 27 after the militant attack.The force majeure implies a weightier suspension and allows Total to cancel contractors. Force majeure was "the only way to best protect the project interest until work can resume," a Total spokeswoman added. -Nampa/ReutersTelecom Italia's Olivetti buys 7.5 mln shares Italy's SECO said on Monday Telecom Italia unit Olivetti bought 7.5 million shares in its initial public offering (IPO), equal to 7% of the high-tech company's final capital, which could lead to an industrial partnership.Tuscany-based SECO, which develops embedded microcomputers and 'internet of things' solutions, is selling up to 37.8 million shares, in an offer which will run until April 30.SECO is expected to start trading on the Milan Stock Exchange on May 5, the IPO bookrunners said in a term sheet to investors.SECO had set the price range for its IPO in Milan at between 3.30-4.15 euros per share, aiming for a market capitalisation of up to 445 million euros (US$538.36 million)."SECO has decided to allocate the order in order to start a dialogue with Olivetti, with the aim of building an industrial partnership," SECO said in a statement.The collaboration will be focused on the development of hardware and software technologies and proprietary internet of things solutions, the company added. - Nampa/ReutersTesla beats revenue expectations Tesla Inc beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit on Monday boosted by record deliveries, robust demand from China and environmental credit sales.Tesla said it expects this year's volume growth to exceed 50%, while saying that it is on track to start production and deliveries at its planned factories in Texas and Berlin this year.The company had said it delivered a record 184,800 vehicles globally in the January to March quarter, beating market expectations on strong demand from China.The company said it was able to navigate through global chip supply shortage issues in part by pivoting extremely quickly to new microcontrollers.However, its vehicle average selling price fell by 13% as Model S and Model X deliveries reduced ahead of updates and they generated more sales from China.- Nampa/ReutersApple to establish North Carolina campusApple Inc on Monday said it will establish a new campus in North Carolina that will house up to 3 000 employees, expand its operations in several other US states and increase its spending targets with US suppliers.Apple said it plans to spend US$1 billion as it builds a new campus and engineering hub in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, with most of the jobs expected to focus on machine learning, artificial intelligence, software engineering and other technology fields. It joins a US$1 billion Austin, Texas campus announced in 2019.The iPhone maker said it would also establish a US$100 million fund to support schools in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina and throughout the state, as well as contribute US$110 million to help build infrastructure such as broadband internet, roads, bridges and public schools in 80 North Carolina counties.Apple also said it expanded hiring targets at other US locations to hit a goal 20 000 additional jobs by 2026, setting new goals for facilities in Colorado, Massachusetts and Washington state.In Apple's home state of California, the company said it will aim to hire 5 000 people in San Diego and 3 000 people in Culver City in the Los Angeles area. - Nampa/Reuters

COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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