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Lufthansa confirms its full-year profit guidance after beating Q2 forecasts
Lufthansa announced better-than expected second-quarter results Thursday, thanks to low oil prices, currency effects and other factors. It also confirmed its full-year forecast. Lufthansa's analyst poll revealed that the German airline group had reported an operating income of 871 millions euros ($995.3) compared to a forecasted 805 million euro. This is a 27% increase compared to the 686 millions euros reported for the same quarter in last year. The company said that the increased earnings were mainly a result of its expanded passenger flight program, positive effects from the investment it made in Italy's ITA Airways, and a doubled operating result in the logistics segment. In a press release, Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive Officer of the company said: "Despite the fact that the second quarter saw a return to geopolitical crisis and economic uncertainty, we confirm today our positive outlook for this year." Lufthansa struggled to cope with the spiraling costs of labour and a slowdown in traffic from Asia. It issued two profit warnings at the end of last year. Spohr stated that Lufthansa’s core brand has made significant improvements in punctuality, operational stability and reliability despite ongoing restructuring efforts. Lufthansa said that demand for flights in the United States was also strong, despite the weakening of the U.S. Dollar. Major European airlines are closely monitoring the possible drop in transatlantic travel, as Europeans have been reluctant to book trips this year. After the announcement of tariffs by President Donald Trump, a number of U.S. carriers, including Delta Airlines, lowered their forecasts for this spring due to a weakening of travel demand. Virgin Atlantic warned earlier this year of a slowdown in transatlantic bookings.
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Safran chooses France to build a major new carbon brakes factory
Safran, a French aerospace company, announced that it will build a new factory for carbon brakes at the Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park near Lyon. This is a major investment in France by the company following a competition between sites in France and the United States. Once completed, the 30,000 sq. ft. facility, owned by a partially state-owned firm, will represent an investment of more than 450 million euro ($514.4m). Safran said the new site would begin operating in 2030, and that it would allow Safran to gradually increase its volume by 25% by 2037. Reports on Wednesday indicated that Safran would choose France to be the location of its fourth plant, following a highly-sensitive contest overshadowed with concerns about energy supply.
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Safran, France's aerospace company, raises its 2025 outlook following higher mid-year profits
Safran, the French aerospace company, raised its forecasts for next year after announcing higher than expected first-half earnings on Thursday. This was due to brisk demand of spare parts for jet engine. Safran, who together with GE Aerospace produce engines for Airbus medium-haul aircraft and Boeing long-haul jets reported higher maintenance profits, and its cabin interiors business, which had been struggling, saw further progress in the black. After certain adjustments, the company's closely-watched recurring operating income increased 27% to 2,51 billion euros ($2,87 billion), while revenues rose 13% to 14,77 billion euros. According to a consensus compiled by the company, analysts expected an average operating profit of 2,39 billion euros for the first half of 2014 on revenues of 14,74 billion euros. Safran has raised its forecast for the full year of the same profit measure from 4.8 to 4.9 billion euros to a range between 5.0 and 5.1 billion euro. This is an increase over a previously stated range. It forecast revenue growth of the low teens instead of 10%. Safran, which was founded 20 years ago by the merger of Snecma, a state-owned engine manufacturer, and Sagem Electronics (now part of Sagem), acquired the Collins Aerospace actuation and control business for $1.8 billion last week. The company also sold a small U.S. operation to comply with the demands of regulators for clearing Collins' acquisition. Safran estimated that the combined transactions will add between 600 and 700 million euro to the group's revenues for the remainder of the year. (1 dollar = 0.8747 euro) (Reporting and editing by Tim Hepher)
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Lufthansa announces Q2 earnings that are higher than expected
Lufthansa reported Thursday better results for the second quarter than expected. Low oil prices and currency effect were key factors. The airline also confirmed its full year guidance. Lufthansa's analyst poll revealed that the German airline reported an operating loss of 871 millions euros, compared to 805 million euro expected. This is a 27% increase compared to the 686 million euro reported for the same quarter in last year. The company said that the increased earnings were primarily due to the expansion of its flight program in the passenger business. It also attributed the improvements in earnings to the positive effects of its investment in Italy’s ITA Airways, and a doubled operating result in the logistics segment. Lufthansa said that demand for flights in the United States was also strong, despite the weakening of the U.S. Dollar. Major European airlines are watching for any possible drop in transatlantic travel, as Europeans have been reluctant to book trips this year. Delta was among the U.S. carriers that pulled their forecasts for this spring due to a weakening of travel demand following tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. European airlines have been more optimistic up to now.
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Avolta, a Swiss travel retailer, has seen its H1 sales rise by 5.7%
Avolta, the Swiss travel and F&B retailer, reported on Thursday a 5.7% increase in its first-half organic turnover. The company attributed this to a resilient performance fueled by increased passenger traffic and higher spending per traveler. The company's core turnover was 6.61 billion Swiss Francs ($8.13billion), up from 6.34 francs the year before. Basel-based firm also confirms its mid-term and full-year targets. In a press release, Chief Executive Xavier Rossinyol said, "We are pleased with the performance over the first half of the year, particularly with the softer background in North America and the challenges in the Middle East." U.S. consumer trust declined in June as a result of rising concerns about job security and economic uncertainties linked to tariffs. It has caused consumers to hesitate when making large purchases. However, vacation plans – especially international travel – remain unaffected. Travel spending is resilient, especially in the U.S., despite tougher comparisons year-over-year and cautious consumer behavior. Vontobel believes that any stabilization of domestic travel trends in the second quarter will likely boost sentiment. Analysts are optimistic about Avolta. Avolta's mid-term goals are still considered achievable thanks to its solid execution thus far. Although consumers are reducing their spending on major purchases, they continue to be willing to spend money on travel and other services. This reflects a nuanced approach marked by caution rather than retreat. Basel-based company reported that performance in North America remained largely the same as the previous year due to a decline in passenger traffic in the United States. ($1 = 0.8131 Swiss francs)
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SK Innovation reports improved refining margins for Q3, Q2 losses worsen
SK Innovation Co Ltd, the owner of South Korea’s largest refiner SK Energy said that it expected third-quarter margins for refining to improve, after losses increased in the second quarter. In a press release, SK Innovation stated that "Sales and Operating Profit fell compared to previous quarters due to difficult external environments such as global economic insecurity, tariff impact and falling oil price." It said that "further improvements are expected in refining profit margins in the third quarter. (And) easing of tariff risks, and increased sales volume in Europe for the battery business in Europe will positively impact earnings improvement." The company reported an operating loss for the period April to June of 418 billion won (about 301.20 millions dollars), compared to a loss of about 45.8 billion won one year ago. The results were lower than the average analyst's forecast of a 140 billion won (US) loss compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate. $1 = 1,387.8000 Won (Reporting and Editing by Himani Sark and Neil Fullick; Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yay)
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Sources: Supertanker delivers oil from sanctioned Nayara Energy refinery to Vadinar
Five sources with knowledge of the situation said that the supertanker Kalliopi is currently discharging Iraqi crude oil for India's Nayara Energy. This is the first delivery of crude oil to the refiner after it was sanctioned. One source reported that more than half the two million barrels Basrah on the vessel were discharged. A second source stated that the unloading was expected to be complete on Thursday. Kpler's ship tracking data revealed that the supertanker was the first vessel to deliver crude oil to Nayara Vadinar Refinery in the last 12 days. Nayara didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. On July 18, the EU announced new sanctions against Russia and its energy industry that targeted Nayara. One source said that Nusa Merdeka has also delayed the discharge of Russian crude oil in Nayara port. The tanker, which was supposed to discharge Urals at Vadinar on July 26, has been hovering around the anchorage since then. The tanker's failure to discharge on time was not immediately apparent. Last week, the oil carrier Omni that was carrying Russian Urals crude from Nayara Energy Vadinar diverted to the port of Mundra (India) in order to discharge its cargo. Nayara has reported that its crude production at the 400,000 barrels per day site, owned in majority by Russian companies, is now between 70 and 80 percent. While product tankers loaded with fuel from Nayara Energy’s Vadinar facility are still afloat, they have not been discharged as traders and shippers avoid the issue. (Reporting and editing by Jan Harvey, Nidhi verma, Mohi narayan)
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Airbus asks Dassault to make a decision after tensions between fighters
Europe's Airbus challenged its partner Dassault Aviation on Wednesday to "decide what it wants to do" after Dassault questioned arrangements for a new fighter, in the latest sign of tensions over the Franco-German-Spanish project. Dassault Airbus, two rivals in the industry who were asked to collaborate after French President Emmanuel Macron launched the Future Combat Air System initiative (SCAF) in 2017, and the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the launch of the initiative. They have been at odds over the management of the project that aims to replace the current warplanes before 2040. Last week, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier demanded a clearer leadership for the project. He accused Airbus, of interfering with the core crewed-fighter part of the Pillar One project, which is being led by Dassault, and causing delays. Dassault is representing France, and Airbus represents Germany and Spain, in this project. It is currently in an early design phase known as Phase 1B. A second phase will be launched next year, aimed at building the demonstrator. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said to reporters on Wednesday at a results mid-year briefing that "there is an agreed governance" for the launch Phase 1B. We are part of this governance. He said, "If there is an industrial partner in one of the pillars who is unhappy with the governance they can decide what to do. I will leave it up to them." "But we will continue to serve Airbus and the countries that have contracted with us for Phase 1B and continue the program." When it comes to Airbus we continue. Dassault was not available for immediate comment. The project is under threat of collapse due to rising tensions. This follows France's decision in the 1980s to abandon the Eurofighter program and develop the Rafale. Trappier responded that the future of the program was at risk when asked last week whether Dassault feared to abandon the current project. The project is known as SCAF in French. He said, "It's not about leaving SCAF. It's about deciding whether it will continue or not." He denied that Dassault wanted 80% of the control. Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain, covers two thirds of the project under the current framework. Each company is also responsible for the day-today management of certain parts of the project. This includes a system of drones that are paired with each fighter. Defense News reported that Germany's Boris Pistorius, after meeting with his French counterpart the previous week, said Germany and France will seek to clarify the current situation by the end the year. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Tim Hepher)
Ukraine's farming unions raise barley exports from China
The UAC, a farming union, said that Ukraine exported 140,000 metric tonnes of barley in July so far and will likely ship between 350,000 and 400,000 tons in the month of August.
"China has contracted 500,000-555,000 tons of barley (for July-August). UAC's weekly report stated that another 350,000 to 400 tons of barley still needs to be shipped by August.
The total volume of barley exported for the months of July and August was 770,000 tonnes.
Barva Invest, a Ukrainian analyst, said that Chinese companies had contracted to purchase up to 700 000 tons of barley from Ukraine in 2025.
Ukraine is one of the largest barley producers and exporters in the world. Beijing has certified it to supply barley for Chinese markets.
According to the Ukrainian grain traders' union UGA, China will be the largest importer of Ukrainian barley for the 2023/24 crop season. The volume of imports is 702,000 tons. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman.)
(source: Reuters)