Company news in brief
SA court blocks Zambian plan to sell Vedanta
South Africa's High Court on Tuesday has ordered the Zambian government to halt the sale of Vedanta Resources's majority-owned Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) until a final decision is made through arbitration.
Vedanta has been locked in a dispute with the Zambian government since May when Lusaka appointed a liquidator to run KCM, which is 20% owned by Zambia's state mining company ZCCM and the rest by Vedanta. Zambia accused KCM of breaching the terms of its licence.
Mumbai-listed Vedanta denies that KCM has broken the terms of its licence and says it will defend its assets in the southern African country.
South African High Court Judge Leicester Adams said on Tuesday in a ruling seen as a big win for Vedanta that wind-up proceedings must be immediately withdrawn until a final decision is made following arbitration.
Zambia's mines minister Richard Musukwa said the government had advised its attorneys in South Africa to appeal the judgment and that foreign judgments were not enforceable in Zambia until they were registered in local courts. – Nampa/Reuters
Visa earnings beat on higher customer spending
Visa Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly earnings on Tuesday, as a robust economy encouraged customers to spend more and boosted fees for the world's largest payment processor.
Total payments volume rose 8.7% to US$2.23 trillion, on a constant dollar basis, with the United States - its largest market - accounting for about 8.8% of the total.
Payments volume represents the dollar amount of purchases made with cards carrying Visa's branding. The number of transactions processed rose 11.7% to US$35.43 billion.
Net income rose to US$3.10 billion, or US$1.37 per Class A share, in the quarter ended June 30 from US$2.33 billion, or US$1 per Class A share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Visa earned US$1.37 per share, while analysts expected a profit of US$1.32 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Net revenue rose 11.5% to US$5.84 billion, while analysts had expected US$5.70 billion. – Nampa/Reuters
ArcelorMittal's Ukraine mill says it will lose US$1 mlm
ArcelorMittal's Ukrainian steel mill will lose $1 million this month after a key piece of steelmaking equipment was seized following a security service investigation, the plant's acting head Oleksandr Ivanov said on Tuesday.
The probe into Ukraine's largest private foreign investor is seen as an early test for the presidency of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has promised to make the country more business friendly.
The Ukrainian security service said earlier it had discovered a source of radiation exceeding safe levels in a new piece of equipment at the plant during a search last week, and had banned the company from using it.
Ivanov said radiation at the facility was within permitted levels but that the equipment had been seized by the authorities. The company said it may sue officials over the investigation.
"Discouraging news from Ukraine's top investor that has invested over US$9 billion in Ukraine. Investors will be concerned about selective justice," said Andy Hunder, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce (ACC) in Ukraine, on Sunday. – Nampa/Reuters
Coca-Cola's coffee and zero sugar soda mix lifts 2019 goals
Coca-Cola Co beat second-quarter earnings expectations and raised its organic revenue forecast for the full year thanks to higher sales of its zero-sugar sodas, soft drinks with new flavours and ready-to-drink coffees.
Shares in the Atlanta-based company rose nearly 6% in Tuesday morning trading to hit US$54.10, a record high.
In the second quarter, a 4% volume growth in traditional Coca-Cola and its zero-sugar version helped net revenue rise 6.1% to US$10 billion, a touch above analysts' estimates.
Organic revenue, a keenly watched metric that gives sales growth excluding acquisitions and currency fluctuations, rose 6%.
Excluding one-time items, Coca Cola earned 63 US cents per share, 2 US cents above Wall Street's estimates, according IBES data from Refinitiv.
Nicholas Hyett, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said the combination of global reach and a willingness to back new products were the key to the company's success. – Nampa/Reuters
Harley-Davidson cuts 2019 shipments forecast
Harley-Davidson Inc on Tuesday trimmed the forecast for shipments of its motorcycles in 2019 after worldwide sales in the second quarter slumped, hurt by higher tariff costs as well as weak demand in the United States.
Operating margin in the motorcycles segment, or how much profit the company makes per dollar of sales after accounting for production costs, was also revised down.
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company now expects to ship about 212 000 to 217 000 bikes in 2019. This compares with the company's original estimate of 217 000 to 222 000 bikes for the year.
Operating margin as a percent of motorcycle revenue is projected to be about 6% to 7% this year, lower than the 8.0% to 9.0% estimated earlier.
Harley's challenges in the United States, which accounts for more than half of the company's sales, are well documented - core customers are growing older and outreach efforts to attract new and young riders have yet to show results. – Nampa/Reuters
South Africa's High Court on Tuesday has ordered the Zambian government to halt the sale of Vedanta Resources's majority-owned Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) until a final decision is made through arbitration.
Vedanta has been locked in a dispute with the Zambian government since May when Lusaka appointed a liquidator to run KCM, which is 20% owned by Zambia's state mining company ZCCM and the rest by Vedanta. Zambia accused KCM of breaching the terms of its licence.
Mumbai-listed Vedanta denies that KCM has broken the terms of its licence and says it will defend its assets in the southern African country.
South African High Court Judge Leicester Adams said on Tuesday in a ruling seen as a big win for Vedanta that wind-up proceedings must be immediately withdrawn until a final decision is made following arbitration.
Zambia's mines minister Richard Musukwa said the government had advised its attorneys in South Africa to appeal the judgment and that foreign judgments were not enforceable in Zambia until they were registered in local courts. – Nampa/Reuters
Visa earnings beat on higher customer spending
Visa Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly earnings on Tuesday, as a robust economy encouraged customers to spend more and boosted fees for the world's largest payment processor.
Total payments volume rose 8.7% to US$2.23 trillion, on a constant dollar basis, with the United States - its largest market - accounting for about 8.8% of the total.
Payments volume represents the dollar amount of purchases made with cards carrying Visa's branding. The number of transactions processed rose 11.7% to US$35.43 billion.
Net income rose to US$3.10 billion, or US$1.37 per Class A share, in the quarter ended June 30 from US$2.33 billion, or US$1 per Class A share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Visa earned US$1.37 per share, while analysts expected a profit of US$1.32 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Net revenue rose 11.5% to US$5.84 billion, while analysts had expected US$5.70 billion. – Nampa/Reuters
ArcelorMittal's Ukraine mill says it will lose US$1 mlm
ArcelorMittal's Ukrainian steel mill will lose $1 million this month after a key piece of steelmaking equipment was seized following a security service investigation, the plant's acting head Oleksandr Ivanov said on Tuesday.
The probe into Ukraine's largest private foreign investor is seen as an early test for the presidency of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has promised to make the country more business friendly.
The Ukrainian security service said earlier it had discovered a source of radiation exceeding safe levels in a new piece of equipment at the plant during a search last week, and had banned the company from using it.
Ivanov said radiation at the facility was within permitted levels but that the equipment had been seized by the authorities. The company said it may sue officials over the investigation.
"Discouraging news from Ukraine's top investor that has invested over US$9 billion in Ukraine. Investors will be concerned about selective justice," said Andy Hunder, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce (ACC) in Ukraine, on Sunday. – Nampa/Reuters
Coca-Cola's coffee and zero sugar soda mix lifts 2019 goals
Coca-Cola Co beat second-quarter earnings expectations and raised its organic revenue forecast for the full year thanks to higher sales of its zero-sugar sodas, soft drinks with new flavours and ready-to-drink coffees.
Shares in the Atlanta-based company rose nearly 6% in Tuesday morning trading to hit US$54.10, a record high.
In the second quarter, a 4% volume growth in traditional Coca-Cola and its zero-sugar version helped net revenue rise 6.1% to US$10 billion, a touch above analysts' estimates.
Organic revenue, a keenly watched metric that gives sales growth excluding acquisitions and currency fluctuations, rose 6%.
Excluding one-time items, Coca Cola earned 63 US cents per share, 2 US cents above Wall Street's estimates, according IBES data from Refinitiv.
Nicholas Hyett, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said the combination of global reach and a willingness to back new products were the key to the company's success. – Nampa/Reuters
Harley-Davidson cuts 2019 shipments forecast
Harley-Davidson Inc on Tuesday trimmed the forecast for shipments of its motorcycles in 2019 after worldwide sales in the second quarter slumped, hurt by higher tariff costs as well as weak demand in the United States.
Operating margin in the motorcycles segment, or how much profit the company makes per dollar of sales after accounting for production costs, was also revised down.
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company now expects to ship about 212 000 to 217 000 bikes in 2019. This compares with the company's original estimate of 217 000 to 222 000 bikes for the year.
Operating margin as a percent of motorcycle revenue is projected to be about 6% to 7% this year, lower than the 8.0% to 9.0% estimated earlier.
Harley's challenges in the United States, which accounts for more than half of the company's sales, are well documented - core customers are growing older and outreach efforts to attract new and young riders have yet to show results. – Nampa/Reuters
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