Company news in brief

Steinhoff must amend 2016 accountsA Dutch court has ordered Steinhoff International to amend its 2016 accounts, handing victory to a former business partner in a dispute over the ownership of discount furniture store chain POCO, the crisis-hit retailer said yesterday.The Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals ruled that Steinhoff must change its accounts to show it held a 50% controlling interest in POCO, not 100%, to reflect the part-ownership of Andreas Seifert.The case brought by Seifert, the owner of German furniture chain XXXLutz, predates Steinhoff's admission in December that it had found "accounting irregularities" – a revelation that helped to wipe out about 85% of the South African retail group's market value.Seifert claims half-ownership of POCO, while Steinhoff says he had to be bought out due to unspecified actions by his company, Seifert Enterprises. Steinhoff said it would pay Seifert for his half of POCO as soon as a separate ongoing legal case in Germany over the ownership of POCO was settled.The Amsterdam court also ordered Steinhoff to revise the contingent liabilities in its 2016 accounts to remove a reference to the payable liability to Seifert for the holding in POCO. – Nampa/ReutersBHP boosts dividend, profit jumpsGlobal miner BHP Billiton reported a 25% rise in underlying half-year profit yesterday, helped by robust metals prices, and handed an extra US$800 million to shareholders as it forecast rising cash flows in the second half.The payout echoes a similar move by rival Rio Tinto earlier this month as big miners recovering from the commodity crash two years ago look to cut debt and reward investors rather than spend.Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said the miner expected to boost free cash flow to around US$7 billion in the second half, up from US$5 billion in the first half if spot prices for its commodities stay at current levels.Underlying profit for the half year ended Dec. 31 rose to US$4.05 billion from US$3.24 billion a year ago. The interim dividend of US$0.55 per share, equivalent to a 72% payout ratio, was well up on US$0.40 a share a year ago.BHP, facing calls from activist investor Elliott Advisors to make changes to its business, said the sale of its onshore US shale assets, which it has on its books at US$14 billion, was on track with initial bids expected in the June quarter. – Nampa/ReutersImperial sees H1 profit spikeSouth Africa's Imperial Holdings Ltd reported record half-year revenue and a 16% jump in earnings yesterday, buoyed by acquisitions, increased vehicle sales and a strong performance from its Imperial Logistics unit.Imperial, which is also involved in transportation, warehousing and distribution management, has undergone an aggressive disposal and acquisition programme since 2014.As of last June it had disposed of 42 businesses and 52 properties while investing billions of rand to acquire more than 15 companies.Imperial, which also has operations in Europe, reported basic headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the half-year to December 31 of 717 cents, up from 618 cents a year earlier.Operating profit rose 5% to R3.1 billion on group revenue up 11% to a record R66.5 billion. – Nampa/ReutersHSBC annual profit disappointsHSBC Holdings reported a jump in annual pre-tax profit that missed expectations and unveiled a plan to raise up to $7 billion over the next four months to bolster its capital base, as the bank prepares for growth under a new leadership.HSBC yesterday reported a profit before tax of US$17.2 billion for 2017, compared with US$7.1 billion the year before but below the US$19.7 billion average estimate of 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.Those estimates did not all take into account a US$1.3 billion writedown for 2017 that HSBC took, triggered by cuts in the US corporate tax rate which meant banks had to book losses on deferred tax assets they built up during loss-making times.Its year-ago profit figure reflected a US$3.2 billion impairment of goodwill in the global private banking business in Europe and the impact of its sale of operations in Brazil.The lender said it was planning additional tier 1 capital issuance of between US$5 billion and US$7 billion during the first half of 2018, and that it would undertake share buybacks "as and when appropriate". – Nampa/ReutersDeutsche Bank slashes banking jobsGermany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank is letting hundreds of investment bankers go, Bloomberg News reported Monday, the latest round of deep cuts in a years-long battle for profitability."At least 250" and perhaps as many as 500 "senior and mid-level" bankers in London and the US have been shown the door in the past two weeks, Bloomberg said citing people familiar with the decisions.Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the report when contacted by AFP.In early February, executives acknowledged that 2017 had been on of the investment bank's worst years yet, with revenues sapped by low volatility on financial markets and limited client activity.Revenues at the division fell 16% to 14.2 billion euro (US$17.6 billion) last year, leaving Deutsche lagging behind competitors in the US and Europe like Santander or BNP Paribas. – Nampa/Reuters

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