Company news

Lindt to keep growing 5-7% after Europe, new stores boost 2019

Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli wants to keep growing 5-7% per year in the mid-term after strong growth in Europe and the opening of new Lindt stores boosted organic sales by 6.1% in 2019.

Chocolate makers are grappling with sluggish demand as many consumers prefer healthier snacks, but Lindt has so far bucked the trend thanks to upmarket products like Lindor chocolate balls or pink grapefruit-flavoured dark chocolate that people buy as a special treat.

Organic sales, which strip out currency swings and acquisitions, were up 6.2% in its biggest market, Europe, thanks notably to Germany, Austria and the United Kingdom despite Brexit worries.

Growth in North America was 5.4%, a slowdown versus the first half of the year, with Lindt pointing to substantial price pressures in a changing retail landscape. – Nampa/Reuters

Renault, Nissan say alliance not headed for break-up

French carmaker Renault and Japanese partner Nissan Motor said their alliance was in no danger of being dissolved, denying a media report of a potential break-up that sent their shares skidding to multiyear lows.

The alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp, is "solid, robust, everything but dead," the chairman of Renault, Jean-Philippe Senard, told Belgian

newspaper L'Echo.

Nissan, in response to "speculative international media reports," said it was "in no way considering dissolving the alliance."

Renault shares hit six-year lows on Monday as investors worried the French group's 20-year cost-sharing alliance with Nissan was headed for a break-up without Carlos Ghosn to hold it together.

Nissan shares tumbled to their lowest in 8-1/2 years on Tuesday in Tokyo. – Nampa/Reuters

Visa to pay US$5.3 billion to buy fintech startup Plaid

Visa Inc said on Monday it agreed to buy privately held software startup Plaid Inc in a US$5.3 billion deal that will boost the payments giant's access to the booming financial technology space.

The transaction highlights how traditional financial firms are willing to pay top dollar to acquire businesses which have established strong positions servicing the digital and cashless economy.

Plaid's technology lets people link their bank accounts to mobile apps such as Venmo, Acorns and Chime, with the San Francisco-based firm saying its systems have been used by one in four people with a U.S. bank account.

The US$5.3 billion price given in Monday's statement is double what Plaid was reportedly valued at during its last fundraising, when it took a US$250 million Series C round that was announced in December 2018. – Nampa/Reuters

Apple pushes recycling of iPhone with "Daisy" robot

Apple Inc is trying to change the way electronics are recycled with a robot that disassembles its iPhone so that minerals can be recovered and reused, while acknowledging rising global demand for electronics means new mines will still be needed.

The Cupertino, California-based company says the robot is part of its plan to become a "closed-loop" manufacturer that does not rely on the mining industry, an aggressive goal that some industry analysts have said is impossible.

Many mining executives note that with the rising popularity of electric vehicles, newly mined minerals will be needed on an even larger scale, a reality that Apple acknowledges.

Inside a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, Apple's Daisy robot breaks apart iPhones so that 14 minerals, including lithium, can be extracted and recycled. – Nampa/Reuters

PageGroup reports drop in gross profit

British recruiter PageGroup Plc reported a small drop in gross profit in the fourth quarter as it grappled with economic and political uncertainty in China, the UK and France, while a weaker pound also dented earnings.

Gross profit in the quarter fell 0.4% to 205.6 million pounds ($266.70 million) on a constant currency basis. The company said swings in foreign exchange rates hit its gross profit by 4.6 million pounds. – Nampa/Reuters