COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

SA's Denel reports US$130 mln loss

South African state-owned defence company Denel made a 1.96 billion-rand (US$130 million) loss in the year to the end of March 2020, it said on Monday, releasing delayed financial results.

The Johannesburg bourse had threatened to suspend the listing of Denel's bonds if the arms manufacturer did not publish its results by the end of January.

The latest loss compares to a revised loss of 1.47 billion rand in the 2018/19 financial year, underlining its continued fragility.

Interim CEO Talib Sadik attributed the larger loss in 2019/20 to "a delay in sales, an inefficient cost structure and poor programme execution”. Denel makes military equipment including missiles, ammunition and armoured vehicles for South Africa's armed forces and export customers.

The pandemic has caused a liquidity crisis for the firm, which has struggled to pay salaries. It said on Monday that it had an order book of 15 billion rand. A number of offers from potential strategic equity partners are being explored, it said. - Nampa/Reuters

BP sells 20% stake in Oman gas development

Oil major BP Plc agreed on Monday to sell a 20% stake in Oman's Block 61 to Thailand's state-owned energy firm PTT Exploration and Production for US$2.6 billion.

The London-listed firm said it would continue as an operator of the block, which contains a large tight-gas development in the Middle East, with a 40% interest. The deal is another step towards BP's goal to sell US$25 billion of assets by 2025 in order to reduce debt and prepare for its shift towards renewables.

"We are committed to BP's business in Oman as this agreement allows us to remain at the heart of this world-class development while also making important progress in our global divestment programme," said BP's Chief Executive Bernard Looney.

PTTEP said the purchase fits with its strategy to focus on prolific areas in the Middle East and to partner with large oil and gas companies.

"This investment will fit well with our strategy to increase gas portfolio, in order to minimize the impact from oil price fluctuation and to venture into LNG value chain strategy," PTTEP said in a statement. - Nampa/REuters

Exxon unveils carbon-removal tech venture

Exxon Mobil Corp has created a division to commercialize its technology that helps reduce carbon emissions, as the US oil major looks to step up efforts against climate change amid rising pressure from investors and activists.

The move comes as Exxon looks to burnish its environmental credentials as it engages in a proxy fight with hedge fund Engine No. 1, which is attempting to appoint candidates on the oil company's board and push toward a more renewables-focused future.

The oil major said it would invest US$3 billion on lower-emission solutions through 2025, by which time it plans to reduce the intensity of its oilfield greenhouse gas emissions by 15%-20% from 2016 levels.

"We have the expertise that can help bring technologies to market and make a meaningful difference," said Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods.

Exxon said its Low Carbon Solutions would initially focus on carbon capture, adding that it was looking at storing carbon dioxide in underground caverns along the US Gulf Coast and in depleted North Sea offshore gas fields among other options. -Nampa/Reuters

Novavax submits vaccine for authorization

Novavax Inc has submitted its Covid-19 vaccine candidate to the Canadian health regulator for emergency-use authorization after the pharmaceutical company said last week its vaccine was 89% effective in a UK trial.

The vaccine candidate will be reviewed in real-time once the Canadian government accepts the application, which was submitted by the company on Friday, according to a notice on Health Canada's website.

Real-time reviews could speed up the process of approving a successful vaccine by allowing researchers to submit findings in real-time, even before the final trial data is ready.

Novavax has an agreement with the Government of Canada to supply up to 76 million doses of its vaccine. A large late-stage trial in the United States and Mexico that began in December is also underway.

Last week, Novavax said its vaccine was 89.3% effective in preventing Covid-19 in a trial conducted in the United Kingdom, and was nearly as effective in protecting against the more highly contagious variant first discovered in the island nation. - Nampa/Reuters

Japan Airlines forecasts record loss

Japan Airlines (JAL) on Monday cut its full-year forecast to a record operating loss of 420 billion yen (US$4 billion) as a fresh surge in coronavirus infections dampened expectations for a recovery in domestic travel.

The new forecast compares with a loss of between 330 billion yen and 380 billion yen it predicted three months ago. That was worse than an average 338.8-billion-yen loss forecast based on estimates from eight analysts, Refinitiv data shows.

Like bigger local rival ANA Holdings, JAL saw a demand recovery on domestic routes towards the end of last year helped by government subsidies for air tickets and hotels. A resurgence in coronavirus cases, however, forced authorities to halt that tourism campaign and reinstate lockdowns in major cities.

Passenger numbers on domestic flights recovered to around half of the previous year's level in the second half of 2020.

On Monday, however, the carrier said it expects demand on domestic flights to drop this month to around 20% of levels seen a year ago, or less than a third of what it had predicted before the latest wave of coronavirus infections. - Nampa/Reuters