Company news in brief

Angola's Dos Santos to sell Eurobic stake

Portugal's small unlisted bank Eurobic said yesterday that its main shareholder, Angolan billionaire former first daughter Isabel dos Santos, decided to withdraw from the bank's shareholding structure and sell her stake.

In a statement sent to Reuters, Eurobic said the selling process of the 42.5% stake had already started, adding that Dos Santos' decision is "final" and her exit will take place "as soon as possible".

Portuguese news agency Lusa earlier quoted Angola's public prosecutor as saying Dos Santos had been named a formal suspect over alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of funds during her time as chairwoman of state oil company Sonangol. – Nampa/Reuters

African unicorn Jumia looks to halt slide

E-commerce unicorn Jumia Technologies, which last year became Africa's first tech firm to list in New York, will focus on proving it can turn a profit after a bruising 2019, one of its co-founders told Reuters.

Jeremy Hodara said the company aims to capitalise on its payment platform and infrastructure network and to boost revenue from services for third-party sellers on its online marketplace.

Jumia, which hit a peak value of close to US$4 billion, has seen its shares fall by nearly 70% since its IPO last April.

They tumbled after short-seller Citron Research cast doubt on its sales figures, which dealt a major blow to investor confidence.

Late last year, it shut its e-commerce service in Cameroon and Tanzania and halted food delivery in Rwanda. Hodara declined to say whether more markets could face the axe.

Its third-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss widened to 45 million euro, up nearly 27% from a year earlier, and as it burned through cash, analysts warned that raising more could be a challenge. – Nampa/Reuters

Boeing's new CEO orders rethink on project

Boeing Co's new chief executive has sent the aerospace giant back to the drawing board on proposals for a new mid-market aircraft, effectively shelving in their current form plans worth US$15 billion-US$20 billion that had been overtaken by the 737 MAX crisis.

A decision on whether to launch a New Midsize Airplane (NMA) seating 220-270 passengers, which seemed imminent barely a year ago, had already been postponed as Boeing gave all its attention to the grounding of the smaller 737 MAX after two fatal crashes.

But days after taking the helm with a mandate to lift Boeing out of its 10-month-old reputational crisis, chief executive Dave Calhoun said the competitive playing field had changed.

A Boeing spokesman said Calhoun had ordered up a new study on what kind of aircraft was needed. New aircraft typically take 6-7 years or more to bring to market once a decision is made, though Boeing aims to shorten that in part through digital technology and new business models designed around the NMA.

Calhoun "has asked the team to do an assessment of the future market and what kind of airplane is needed to meet the future market," spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. – Nampa/Reuters

Ford expects massive pre-tax hit

Ford Motor Co said yesterday its fourth quarter results will be hit by a pre-tax loss of about US$2.2 billion due to higher contributions to its employees’ pension plans.

The charge is largely related to a drop in discount rates, the company said, as that leads to an increase in the amount of money to be contributed for future pension benefits.

The US automaker said it will record a US$2 billion loss related to pension plans outside the United States and a US$600 million loss associated with other post-retirement employee benefits plans globally.

However, the overall loss was offset by a US$400 million gain associated with pension plans in the United States.

On an after-tax basis, the loss is expected to reduce Ford's net income by about US$1.7 billion in the fourth quarter. The loss will not impact the adjusted earnings per share as it is a special item, the company said. – Nampa/Reuters

Toyota recalls 361 000 vehicles

Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday it is recalling 361 000 older vehicles worldwide for potentially defective air bag inflators.

The defect involves a different type of Takata inflator than those that have prompted the largest-ever auto safety recalls worldwide covering more than 42 million US vehicles by 19 automakers with Takata air bag inflators.

Honda Motor Co said on Tuesday it will recall 2.7 million older US vehicles in North America for the same type of Takata inflator that Toyota is also recalling. Takata issued a new defect notice in November for inflators from four automakers, including Honda and Toyota.

Toyota's new recall covers some 1998-2000 Toyota RAV4, 1998-1999 RAV4 EV, 1998-1999 Celica and 1997-1998 Model Year Supra vehicles with a non-azide front driver airbag inflator, including 139 000 in the United States. – Nampa/Reuters