COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Johann Rupert-chaired Richemont's sales riseRichemont reported higher first-quarter sales as a rebound in China outweighed a decline in the Americas.Sales rose 19% on a constant-currency basis to €5.3 billion (R107 billion), the Cartier owner said Monday, in line with analyst expectations. The luxury-goods industry is depending on a bounceback from China to counter a slowdown in the US, which chairman Johann Rupert said in May is at risk of a downturn. Last week, Burberry Group Plc reported a drop in revenue from the Americas as the low end of the luxury market in the US weakened.Richemont’s report highlighted some weakness in US demand and for luxury watches even as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry remains strong. The Swiss company said its jewelery sales increased 24%, meeting analyst expectations, while its specialist watchmaker division reported sales growth of 10% at constant currencies, slightly below analyst consensus forecasts. Richemont said an 11% sales increase in Europe was driven mainly by resilient domestic spending as well as tourism from the US, the Mideast and China.-Fin24Citigroup profit drops 36%Citigroup's profit tumbled 36% in the second quarter as weakness in the Wall Street bank's trading business blunted gains from its personal banking and wealth management unit.Wall Street traders have hit a rough patch, joining investment bankers whose businesses have been weighed down for months by a slump in dealmaking.Citi's markets revenue fell 13% to US$4.6 billion on more subdued activity in fixed income and equities, while its investment banking fees plunged 24% to US$612 million.While its Wall Street operations dragged, the lender's consumer business helped partly offset some of the weakness.Revenue from its personal banking and wealth management division climbed 6% to US$6.4 billion, including an 8% gain for branded cards to US$2.4 billion.Net income sank to US$2.92 billion, or US$1.33 per share, in the three months to 30 June 2023, the bank reported on Friday. That compares with US$4.55 billion, or US$2.19 per share, a year earlier.-Fin24JPMorgan Chase Q2 profits surgeJPMorgan Chase reported a jump in second-quarter profits on surging income tied to higher interest rates as executives described the US economy as "resilient" but facing risks.Profits were US$14.5 billion, up 67% from the year-ago period, while revenues were up 34% to US$41.3 billion. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said consumers are still spending, but "slowly using up their cash buffers".The results were the first to include JPMorgan's acquisition of First Republic Bank under a government-orchestrated spring auction after the smaller lender suffered a fatal run on deposits.JPMorgan's earnings included a US$2.7 billion one-time "bargain purchase gain" on First Republic.But the acquisition also added to JPMorgan's credit costs in the quarter. The bank added reserves of US$1.5 billion in case of bad loans. But excluding First Republic, this figure would have been US$326 million, JPMorgan said in its press release.Dimon expressed cautious optimism about the US economy.-Fin24Absa expects bad debts to increaseMore Absa customers are struggling because of higher interest rates, with the bank publishing a trading update on Friday showing that its credit impairments for the first half are expected to increase "substantially".The bank estimated that this would push up its credit loss ratio – which measures estimated bad debts – to between 1.25% and 1.30%, substantially above Absa's through-the-cycle credit loss ratio target of between 0.75% and 1%."South African consumers [are] under pressure due to significantly higher interest rates," wrote the bank in the trading update.The bank entered 2023 with an already elevated credit loss ratio after its impairment charge rose 61% in 2022.Although most banks that recently published trading updates also flagged a deterioration in their credit loss ratios, Absa's appears significantly outside its target range compared to others.-Fin24Nissan recalls 699 000 vehiclesAutomaker Nissan announced the recall of 699 000 vehicles in Japan to address a range of defects that also affect more than 700 000 units overseas.The Japanese car manufacturer said the problems found in five models had not caused any accidents in Japan.A total of 699 000 units were affected in the country, with many having more than one fault, a spokeswoman for Nissan in Japan told AFP.The Japan recall includes 484 025 units of the Note, Serena and Kicks models over a defective engine hose cover which can lead to the hose cracking and preventing the vehicle from starting, the company said in a statement.It said 478 199 vehicles, including the Note, Note Aura, Serena, Leaf and Kicks, were being recalled for a faulty vehicle control programme that in certain circumstances can cause acceleration after the cruise control is stopped.And 126 000 Serena units were being recalled for a wiring problem, while 6 434 units of the same model were being called back over a problem with the right headlight.-Fin24NinetyOne sees R100bn fall in assetsSouth Africa's largest asset manager, Ninety One, said assets under management continued to fall by £4.5 billion (about R106 billion) in its first quarter to end-March, down more than 3% from the previous quarter.The group said in a brief update on Friday that assets under management stood at £124.8 billion (about R2.9 trillion) at the end of June, down more than 7% year-on-year.The London- and JSE-listed firm suffered record outflows of £10.6 billion to end March, when its dividend and adjusted operating profit fell by more than a tenth.The group, valued at about R37.5 billion on the JSE, said investors had fled to safe havens during its 2023 year, with investors ditching more liquid assets, such as listed equities, to meet their immediate liabilities amid a sharp rise in global interest rates. An uncertain global economic outlook also unnerved many. CEO Hendrik du Toit told News24 after the group's results that April and May had already been "much more stable", but "the good times" weren't back yet.-Fin24

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