Company news in brief

StanChart profit rises, but misses estimatesStandard Chartered PLC yesterday posted a 5.5% rise in 2018 pre-tax profit, missing market expectations, pulled down by US$900 million in provisions set aside to cover any impact from regulatory investigations in the United States and Britain.StanChart, listed both in London and Hong Kong, last week said the provision related to the potential resolution of US investigations into alleged sanctions violations and foreign exchange trades.The emerging markets-focused bank booked profit of US$2.55 billion, versus US$2.42 billion in 2017. The result compared with the US$3.9 billion average of 16 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv. – Nampa/ReutersPeugeot-maker PSA lifts profit goalFrench carmaker PSA Group raised its medium-term profit guidance yesterday after reporting record full-year sales and earnings, buoyed by the success of its Peugeot 3008 and 5008 SUV models.PSA's recurring operating income jumped 43% to 5.69 billion euros (US$6.46 billion), giving a 7.7% profit margin, helped by its acquisition of Opel-Vauxhall. Sales advanced 19% to 74.03 billion.Strong sales of its latest Peugeot SUVs have helped PSA to build on a steady recovery from near-bankruptcy in 2013-14. The company is applying the same discipline at the Opel division acquired from General Motors in 2017.The Paris-based group said its 4.5% average margin goal for the 2019-2021 period would henceforth include the less profitable Opel-Vauxhall division, effectively raising the benchmark. – Nampa/ReutersBSG Resources to quit Guinea's SimandouBillionaire Beny Steinmetz's BSG Resources (BSGR) will walk away from Guinea's massive Simandou iron ore project as part of a settlement ending a long-running dispute with the West African nation, the company said on Monday.Development of Simandou - one of the world's biggest iron deposits, containing billions of tonnes of high-grade ore – has been hindered by years of legal wrangling as well as the enormous US$23 billion cost of the required infrastructure.The agreement between the government and BSGR, if implemented, would remove a major obstacle to the project moving forward.Guinea had levelled corruption allegations at BSGR and stripped it of its rights to the Simandou blocks and Zogota concession. BSGR has denied any wrongdoing.Under the deal, the two parties will drop outstanding actions related to the dispute, and Steinmetz pledged to seek new investors to develop the smaller Zogota iron ore deposit on an accelerated timetable, a company statement said. – Nampa/ReutersHammerson wins backing on more asset salesBritish shopping centre operator Hammerson Plc said on Monday it won the backing of shareholder Elliot Advisors on its plans to sell more assets to cut debt and expand its board.The company, which sold assets worth 570 million pounds in 2018, said it would look to dispose more than 500 million pounds (US$653.50 million) of assets in 2019, adding that it was in active discussions on deals with a total value of over 900 million pounds.The owner of Birmingham's Bullring and London's Brent Cross reported a 6.2% decline in net rental income to 347.5 million pounds for the year ended December 31, as company failures hit occupancy at its malls.Elliott, which held a 5.3% stake in Hammerson as of July 5, entered an agreement with the company, including a commitment that the US hedge fund would vote in favour of the resolutions recommended by Hammerson at the upcoming general meeting.Hammerson cut its debt by 179 million pounds to 3.4 billion pounds at the end of December 31 and said it targets debt of 3 billion for 2019. – Nampa/ReutersBarrick CEO defends hostile Newmont bidBarrick Gold Corp's chief executive defended the world's largest gold producer's hostile US$18 billion bid for Newmont Mining Corp, saying on Monday the deal is "logical" for an industry battling high costs and depleting resources.Barrick, which recently completed a US$6.1 billion acquisition of Africa-focused Randgold Resources, launched its all-stock bid on Monday, encouraging the US rival to ditch a previously announced US$10 billion takeover of Canada's Goldcorp Inc."This gold industry needs to become more relevant to investors," CEO Mark Bristow said in an interview on the sidelines of the BMO Global Metals & Mining Conference in Hollywood, Florida.Bristow, known for his straight-talking and hands-on approach in running Randgold before the merger, said this deal "drives a further rationalisation in our industry".Barrick's offer for Newmont has pushed the combined value of unsolicited M&A deals globally to US$48.2 billion so far this year, the highest since 2006, according to data from Refinitiv. – Nampa/Reuters

Company news in brief

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Republikein 2025-11-05

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Company news in brief

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