Latest News
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India's Adani Enterprises reports a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by the depreciation on some assets
India's Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of Gautam Adani, a billionaire who leads the conglomerate, announced a?fourth-quarter loss? on Thursday. The depreciation in some of its newly commissioned assets was the main cause. The company reported a net loss of $23.27 million in the quarter ended March 31. This compares to a profit last year of 38.45 billion rupees. The company stated in its filing that the fourth-quarter results had been impacted by depreciation of recently commissioned assets at the copper and 'Navi Mumbai' plant. Adani Enterprises fourth-quarter EBITDA (a measure of operating profit) rose by?3% year-on-year, to 43.46 trillion rupees. Revenue from operations increased by?20.3%, to 324.39 trillion rupees. The firm's earnings were boosted by a one-time influx of 39.46 billion rupees in the previous quarter? from the sale of a stake it held in a consumer goods venture with Singapore's Wilmar.
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Low industry activity in India has led to a fall in truck rentals
The Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training said that truck rentals in India fell by 4% to 5% in April, after a 9% - 10% decline in March due to the Iran war and a lack of supplies in the main manufacturing hub. * The IFTRT reported a drop of between?15 to 20% of the cargoes that are sent from manufacturing hubs. This is especially true for?small and mid-sized enterprises, which?accounts for?70% or more of intra and interstate cargoes It said that increased arrivals of summer fruits, vegetables, and pulses boosted the agri-logistics market by 20 % - 25 %, leading to capacity shifting to wholesale markets to offset industrial freight losses. * IFTRT stated that although local diesel prices?have not been raised, truck?tyres have increased by 4%-5%?in the past 4 to 6 weeks?,?increasing the operational expenses of fleet owners? (Reporting and Editing by Louise Heavens, Nidhi verma)
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Bangladesh to switch from Airbus to Boeing for jets
Bangladesh is set to sign an agreement?on Thursday?to buy 14 'aircraft?from U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing, according to officials. This marks a departure from Europe's Airbus due to trade pressure from Washington. Officials have not disclosed the value of the agreement, which will provide Biman Bangladesh Airlines with a mixture of narrow-body and large-body aircraft as it looks to expand its capacity and modernise their fleet to meet the rising demand. An official of the aviation ministry, and a representative from Biman have confirmed that an agreement will be signed in Dhaka on Thursday night. The officials spoke under condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media. The aircraft will be delivered in phases. However, more technical and financial details have not been disclosed. Boeing did not respond immediately to a comment request outside of its normal business hours. The agreement brings to an end a long-running contest between Boeing's and Airbus's bids for Biman’s next big order. Both manufacturers were vying for greater presence on the growing South Asian aviation market. Bangladesh approved plans under the former government of Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina to purchase 10 aircraft from Airbus, even though no agreement was signed. After the fall of her government during the mass uprising in 2024, the interim administration changed its course to favour?Boeing. Officials stated that the decision was based on both fleet needs and larger trade considerations. Bangladesh is trying to reduce the pressure of a $6 billion trade deficit with the United States, and avoid tariff increases which could hurt its export-driven economy. The expansion of the fleet coincides with broader upgrades in Bangladesh's aviation industry, including a brand new terminal at Dhaka Airport, to handle the increasing passenger traffic, driven by a growing middle-class and a large number of overseas workers. Biman, a 54-year old company, has more than 20 aircraft in its fleet, mostly Boeings. More than half are wide-body planes. The company also owns a number Dash-8 turboprops.
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Adani Ports in India sees its quarterly profit increase as cargo volumes rise
Adani Ports & SEZ, India's largest private operator by volume, posted a 10.5% increase in profit for the March quarter on Thursday. This was boosted largely by a rise in cargo volumes. The company reported a net profit for the third quarter of?33.29billion rupees ($350.03m), up from 30.14billion rupees one year earlier. Analysts say that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz caused shippers to reroute their cargo. This has led to an increase in container volumes, transshipments, and'stopovers' at Adani Ports. The firm's ports business, which is its largest, saw a 30.5% increase in revenue, while its logistics division grew by 2%. This was mainly due to higher volumes of containerized and bulk cargo. The quarter saw a 13% increase in cargo volumes to 133.4 million metric tons, and a 26.5% increase in overall revenue.
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Weir, a UK engineering company, has a quarterly decline in order intake
Weir Group announced a drop in 'first-quarter orders' on Thursday. This sent shares tumbling as much as 10% even as the engineering firm reaffirmed its annual guidance and promoted their head of the biggest business to CEO. Andrew Neilson, the president of the company's minerals division, will succeed Chief Executive Jon Stanton, who is heavily focused on the mining industry. The unit accounts for more than 71% of the total group revenue. This update is timely as the global demand for rare earth minerals, such as nickel, continues to increase. Other factors driving this are electric vehicles, grid expansion, renewable energy, and the growth of data centres linked to artificial intelligent. For the first quarter ending March 31, Weir reported that its total order intake had declined by 3%, following similar declines in its minerals unit. This sent shares down 7% to 2,560 pence at 0820 GMT. The company stated that phasing orders and some mine interruptions in Asia-Pacific?and Africa have affected the business. However, it is confident that?orders will?develop'very positively' throughout the year despite the potential impact of uncertainty related to the Iran War. The company stated that the rise in commodity prices, driven by the war, has boosted demand for expansions as well as underlying activity. The company continues to expect a mid-single digit organic revenue growth in 2026 and a 50 basis-point increase in operating margin. (Reporting from Neeshita Behra in Bengaluru, Writing by Pushkala Aripka; Editing by Sumana Dhaniwala and Mrigank Nandy)
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DCC rejects a $6.66 billion offer to buy DCC, shares fall
Irish energy 'distributor DCC rejected a 4,95 billion-pound takeover offer from a consortium consisting of U.S. Investment firms KKR & Energy Capital Partners on?Thursday, claiming it undervalued its company. DCC shares, listed on the London Stock Exchange, fell 5% early in trading. Cash offer of 5,800 pence each share represents an 8% premium to DCC's closing price on Wednesday before the offer became public. KKR and?Energy?Capital partners did not respond immediately to requests for comments. According to British takeover regulations, the consortium has until June 10th to submit a firm offer or walk away. This is the latest attempt by private equity to acquire a UK listed company. Bidders are attracted by British or Irish companies' lower valuations. Beazley and Schroders?and Intertek are among the FTSE 100 companies that have received takeover bids in recent months. DCC distributes liquid gases, biofuels and renewable energy for businesses and households. It has simplified its operations in order to focus on the core energy business after divesting non-core assets such as healthcare and technology. RBC Capital Markets analysts stated in a note that they believe there is a high probability of a deal happening, but were unsure if it would be more than 10% above the current price. DCC shares fell?5.4% to 5,565 pence as of?0713 GMT. This valued the company at 4,75 billion pounds.
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Air France-KLM's jet fuel bill to rise by $2.4 billion by 2026
Air France-KLM said that it expects to see its fuel bill increase by 2.4 billion US dollars in this year due to the disruption of the energy markets caused by the Iran War. It also downgraded the outlook for its capacity. Jet fuel accounts for more than one-third of airline costs. EasyJet, TUI and other European airlines have revised their forecasts since the Middle Eastern conflict began at the end February. Jet fuel hedges that they have taken out to protect themselves from price increases are no longer able to keep them safe, given the size of the spikes. CEO SAYS WORST IMPACT ?HAS YET TO BE FELT Air France-KLM's Chief Executive Ben Smith stated in a statement that while fuel price increases have not yet been reflected in today's results, they will?have a significant impact on the next quarters. The company stated that its total fuel was expected to be $9.3 billion dollars in the coming year, and 1.1 billion dollars of this would be in the second quarter. The company's first-quarter losses were smaller than expected due to strong bookings made before the Iran War and the preference of passengers for European airlines. It has lowered its expectations of group capacity from 2025 to an increase in this year between 2% and 4%. It had previously anticipated an increase between 3% and 5%. Analysts say that the reduction in capacity was smaller than anticipated. Bernstein analyst Alex Irving stated in a report that it was a reflection of "a strong earnings environment?and high demand?for travel". Air France-KLM has reported a 27-million-euro operating loss for the first quarter, compared to a projected loss of 389-million-euro by LSEG's analysts. This represents a 301-million-euro improvement over the?last year. Fuel price increases have not yet affected first quarter results. The airline said that it saw an initial increase in demand after the war with Iran, as more passengers chose European airlines for flights to Asia. As the conflict continues, the airline said that it would increase its capacity for long-haul flights, but at a smaller rate, as many people are delaying bookings due to concerns about the financial risks of such trips.
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Rolls-Royce UK confident about outlook despite Middle East disruption
Rolls-Royce, a British 'engineering' company, said that it would abide by its guidance to increase profits at least 16% in this year and be able to mitigate the disruptions caused by the Middle East war. Rolls-Royce is the engine manufacturer for the Airbus A350 widebody jets and Boeing 787 widebody planes. This means that its airline customers were affected by the disruptions to air travel in the first weeks of the Iran War, which began in late February. The air travel industry has recovered somewhat since the conflict, but airlines that pay 'Rolls' for the hours of flight they use its engines continue to face higher fuel costs as a result. Rolls reported in its trading update of Thursday that Middle?Eastern carriers had recovered in terms of engine flying hours, with many engines returning to pre-conflict levels. Other regions also saw growth as carriers reallocated capacity. Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive of the company, said in a statement that they hoped to 'fully mitigate' the financial impact. Rolls-Royce's power systems, which also run data centers, and its nuclear?power? and defence units are aiming for an operating profit of between 4 billion pound and 4.2 billion pound ($5.39-5.66 million) by 2026. $1 = 0.7427 pound (Reporting and editing by Paul Sandle).
Cabin crew strike disrupts Lufthansa flights
The strike by the UFO union of cabin crew disrupted Lufthansa's flights on Friday. This was the third stoppage for the airline in just two months.
The strike, which lasted from 12:01 am to 10 pm local time (2201 GMT on Thursday to 2000 GMT on Friday) affected all Lufthansa flights departing from major hubs. Cityline cabin crews also took part in the strike at nine German airports. According to airport operator Fraport, tens of thousands of passengers are expected to be affected by delays and cancellations.
UFO said the industrial action was a result of unresolved discussions over the working conditions for 19,000 cabin staff and the redundancy policies for about 800 employees at Cityline, a Lufthansa feeder airline that is closing down.
Harry Jaeger who heads UFO's negotiations said, "This escalation was a long-awaited event." "We would like to have avoided it."
Fraport, operator of Frankfurt Airport reported that 580 flights had been cancelled. This affected 72,000 passengers, out of the 1,350 scheduled flights, and the 155,000 passengers expected for the day. Fraport said that the figures cover all airlines at the airport and not just Lufthansa. They may change as the day goes on.
Jens Ritter, brand 'chief at Lufthansa Airlines, criticized the strike for being "completely disproportionate." He said, "Regulations of the past won't carry us forward into the future, we have to speak to the union about this." The airline also offers some of the best working conditions in the industry, according to him.
In February and March, strikes by?Lufthansa pilots and cabin crew resulted in cancellations of many flights due to ongoing disputes between the German flagship carrier and its employees. (Reporting and writing by Timm Richert, Klaus Lauer. Editing by Elaine Hardcastle.)
(source: Reuters)