Business

FRANKFURT — German chemicals giant Bayer said on Wednesday it would cut management jobs and was examining splitting off one of its divisions after reporting a massive third-quarter loss.

The maker of Aspirin has long been under pressure from activist investors as its problems mounted, and earlier this year brought in a new CEO to help steer the company in a new direction.

It reported a net loss nearly 4.6 billion euros ($4.9 billion) from July to September, compared to a profit of nearly 550 million euros in the same period last year, dragged down by massive writedowns at its agrochemicals division.

This was linked to losses related to higher interest rates, and also reflects ongoing problems in the division due to falling sales and prices of its key glyphosate-based herbicides.

"We're not happy with this year's performance," new Chief Executive Bill Anderson said in a statement.

The company said it plans "remove multiple layers of management and coordination" by the end of the year, which will include "a significant reduction in the workforce".

Bayer did not say how many jobs might be affected.

"95 per cent of the decision-making in the organisation will shift from managers to the people doing the work," said Anderson.

The diversified group — whose products include medicines, seeds and crop chemicals — said it was looking at splitting off either its consumer health or crop science division. 

Splitting the company into three businesses had been examined, but ruled out, it said.

Further details will be disclosed in March, it said. Splitting the company into at least two parts — the agricultural and pharmaceutical businesses — to contain problems has been a key demand of investors. 

Bayer has faced problems since its 2018 takeover of US firm Monsanto.

The German conglomerate inherited Monsanto's legal woes around its Roundup glyphosate-based weedkiller, and has since faced a wave of lawsuits in the United States over claims it causes cancer. 

Bayer denies this.

RIYADH — Energy giant Saudi Aramco on Tuesday posted a 23 per cent year-on-year drop in profits for the third quarter, the result of lower oil prices and production cuts. 

The drop from $42.43 billion last year to $32.58 billion "principally reflects the impact of lower crude oil prices and volumes sold", the firm said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange.

It follows a drop in net profit for Aramco, one of the world's richest companies, of 19.25 per cent in the first quarter and 38 per cent in the second quarter compared to 2022. 

Aramco is the jewel of the Saudi economy and main source of revenue for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's sweeping economic and social reform programme known as Vision 2030, which aims to shift the Gulf kingdom away from fossil fuels. 

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, owns 90 per cent of Aramco's shares.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted oil prices to skyrocket, peaking at more than $130 per barrel.

Aramco reported what it described as record profits for last year totalling $161.1 billion, giving the kingdom its first annual budget surplus in nearly a decade. 

Prices this year are estimated to be around $85 per barrel, Riyadh-based firm Jadwa Investment said in a report in late October.

Analysts say the kingdom needs oil to be priced at around $80 per barrel to balance its budget, though that could be thrown off by production cuts and ramped-up spending. 

Saudi Arabia in April announced it was slashing production by 500,000 barrels per day, part of a coordinated move with other oil powers to curb supply by more than one million bpd in a bid to prop up prices. 

In June, the Saudi energy ministry announced a further voluntary cut of one million bpd which took effect in July. 

That cut will last through December, the ministry confirmed on Sunday.

The kingdom's daily production is now approximately nine million bpd, far below its reported daily capacity of 12 million bpd.

War worries 

Oil prices have ticked up in response to the war that erupted after Hamas fighters staged the surprise attack on October 7, according to Israeli officials. 

The Israeli response marked by relentless aerial bombardment has killed more than 10,000 people in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry announced on Monday.

"Traders are concerned that the violence could intensify and spread, possibly pulling in state actors and threatening oil supply," Jadwa Investment said in its October report. 

"We think these fears are overdone, but appreciate that miscalculation or over-reach by one or more of the parties involved could see containment unravel very quickly." 

It remains "a major question" how the war might affect Saudi production, said Herman Wang, associate director for oil news at S&P Global Commodity Insights. 

"Absent the Israel-Hamas war, all the signals coming out of Riyadh on oil policy were about remaining cautious and disciplined with production cuts, to keep that floor under prices with the outlook on Q1 demand looking less rosy," Wang said. 

"That obviously would continue to constrain Aramco's production and limit its exports — and we've seen the impact that has had on its most recent GDP figures, which showed a contraction year-on-year."

The national statistics authority announced last week that GDP was off 4.5 per cent for the third quarter compared to last year, with oil activities down 17.3 per cent and non-oil activities growing by 3.6 per cent.

BEIJING — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday raised its 2023 economic growth forecast for China, citing stronger consumption and recent policy measures announced by Beijing.

After a tough year for the world's number-two economy, there have been flickers of life in recent weeks, with third-quarter expansion coming in more than expected.

The Fund said it saw gross domestic product expanding 5.4 per cent this year, compared with a previous estimate of 5 per cent, while it lifted its outlook 2024 to 4.6 per cent from 4.2 per cent.

Gita Gopinath, first deputy managing director of the IMF, told a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday that the upgrade reflected "a strong post-reopening rebound in domestic demand, particularly consumption".

The economy grew 4.9 per cent in July-September, slower than the previous quarter but a lot better than expected and a little shy of the government's goal of "around 5 per cent" for the year — one of its lowest targets in years.

China's economy expanded just 3 per cent last year — well below the official target of 5.5 per cent — as it was choked by draconian COVID-19 measures.

A string of below-par economic data in the first half — which came despite the lifting of zero-COVID curbs at the end of 2022 — led the government to unveil a number of targeted stimulus measures aimed at supporting key sectors, particularly the troubled property industry.

And in October Beijing said it would issue one trillion yuan ($137 billion) of sovereign bonds to boost infrastructure spending.

Gopinath said the new forecast were made "reflecting stronger than expected growth in the third quarter and the new policy support that was recently announced".

But she warned that the Fund expected "weakness in the property sector to continue, and external demand to remain subdued".

The country's key real estate sector generally accounts for around a quarter of GDP, but the industry has lurched from one crisis to another in recent years, with major firms crippled by mountains of debt.

LONDON — Irish no-frills airline Ryanair on Monday announced the start of regular dividends to shareholders after net profit surged 72 per cent in its first half on higher fares and record traffic.

Profit after tax came in at 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in the six months to the end of September year-on-year, Ryanair said in a statement.

The Dublin-headquartered airline said it would begin regular dividend payments for the first time in its history.

It comes as the aviation sector is enjoying a strong recovery after suffering heavy losses at the start of the decade when the COVID pandemic grounded flights worldwide.

"We want to thank those shareholders for their support during a very difficult COVID period," Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said.

The carrier announced "a maiden ordinary dividend of 400 million euros" spread across two equal payments in February and September next year.

In the years ahead, Ryanair said it expects to pay about 25 per cent of net profits in dividends. 

The dividend announcements, along with expectations of record-high annual profits despite a number of headwinds, helped send Ryanair's share price rallying six per cent to 16.12 euros in Dublin.

Ryanair has previously paid out a total of 6.74 billion euros in share buybacks and ad hoc dividends in the 12 years to 2020, the company confirmed to AFP.

Clouded outlook 

O'Leary added that the carrier's full-year outlook "remains highly dependent on the absence of any unforeseen adverse events — for example such as Ukraine or Gaza — between now and the end of March".

Ryanair profits ballooned in the first half "thanks to a strong Easter in the first quarter, record summer traffic and higher fares which offset significantly higher fuel costs", the company statement said.

Traffic grew 11 per cent to 105 million passengers and average fares jumped by almost one quarter.

O'Leary said the company expects record full-year net profit of between 1.85 billion euros and 2.05 billion euros — a forecast that assumes "modest losses" over the winter.

He added that the outlook was clouded by uncertainty over the delivery of new Boeing planes, "a significantly higher full-year fuel bill, very limited fourth-quarter visibility and the risk of weaker consumer spending over coming months". 

US planemaker Boeing last month reported another hefty loss as it trimmed its full-year forecast for deliveries of the 737 to address a manufacturing problem on the aircraft.

MELBOURNE — Jeering Qantas shareholders voted down a pay package for the company's top brass recently, as the outgoing chairman apologised for a public "loss of trust" in Australia's much-loved carrier.

At a fractious annual meeting in Melbourne, 83 per cent of shareholders voted against a package that would have gifted key executives millions of dollars in bonuses.

The 102-year-old airline enjoyed a record profit last year.

But it also enraged once-loyal Australians through astronomical ticket prices and allegedly selling seats for 8,000 already cancelled flights.

This came after taking a multibillion-dollar taxpayer bailout during the pandemic.

Chairman Richard Goyder, who is slated to retire next year, said the board had heard the "strong" message sent by shareholders.

"There are things we got wrong, things we should have handled better" Goyder admitted, "things we should have fixed faster, and for that we apologise". 

Qantas was long seen as the "spirit of Australia" — the island nation's link to the rest of the world.

Although not state-run, it is seen as an integral part of the economy and vital to cohesion in a country where major cities are hundreds of kilometres apart.

So far, Qantas' attempts to salvage its reputation have fallen flat.

It has defended selling seats on cancelled flights, arguing that rather than buying tickets for specific flights, customers buy a "bundle of rights" and a promise that the airline will "do its best to get consumers where they want to be on time".

In September Australia's high court ruled Qantas illegally sacked 1,700 ground staff during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Despite vowing to "restore confidence" Goyder faced angry heckles from shareholders as he tried to shut down complaints from one angry investor.

The Qantas chairman asked for the man's microphone to be cut off, prompting boos, jeers and cries of "shame on you" from other shareholders in the room.

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple recently reported that sales fell for the fourth consecutive quarter when compared to the prior year, but profit rose on the back iPhones and services.

The tech giant said it made a profit of $23 billion on revenue of $89.5 billion, which was down slightly from the same period last year.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook said iPhone sales set a new record for its September quarter while money taken in from services hit an all-time high.

The company brought in $43.8 billion from iPhone sales while its services unit selling products such as Apple Music and iCloud brought in $22.3 billion, up 16 per cent from a year ago.

"We now have our strongest lineup of products ever heading into the holiday season, including the iPhone 15 lineup," Cook said in an earnings release.

The iPhone performance came as sales of smartphones continued to shrink globally in the recently-ended quarter as consumers watched spending, according to market tracker Counterpoint.

Smartphone sales fell 8 per cent, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of decline in year-over-year comparisons, according to research by Counterpoint's Market Pulse service.

Apple's strong September sales along with buzz around the new iPhone 15 line-up were signs the current quarter may break the losing trend, according to the market tracker.

The company said that the supply of premium versions of the iPhone 15 would be constrained until the end of the year, putting a brake on sales

"We're working very hard to get the product in the hands of all the customers that have ordered it," said Apple CFO Luca Maestri.

Cook said that Apple continued to face "an uneven macro-economic environment" in the quarter, including pressure from currency exchange rates.

"We've adapted continuously to circumstances beyond our control, while being thoughtful and deliberate on spending."

Sales of computers, tablets and connected accessories all fell year-on-year. 

Apple's Macs suffered in particular with sales plummeting by half, to $7.6 billion for the quarter, though this was partly due to a post-COVID sales burst a year ago.

"We have great confidence in our Mac lineup and are excited about the recently announced iMac and MacBook Pro, powered by our M3 chips," Maestri said.

The number of Mac users is at an all-time high, and half of the people buying models during the recently ended quarter were new to Apple's line of computers, according to Maestri.

Apple unveiled its latest iPhone lineup in September, with its Lightning charger ports replaced on the newest models by a universal charger after a tussle with the European Union.

China factor 

The firm said sales in China slipped, but Cook added this was due to foreign exchange factors.

"Underneath that if you look at the different the categories, iPhone actually set a September quarter record in mainland China," he said.

Since the US tech giant first established a presence in China in 1993, Apple has grown into a major provider of smartphones, laptops and consumer electronics in the country.

During an earlier visit in March to Beijing, Cook said his company enjoyed a "symbiotic" relationship with China.

The country remains the company's main manufacturing hub, despite diplomatic turbulence between Washington and Beijing as well as talk of pivoting more production to India.

Apple shares fell more than 3 per cent to $171 in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings figures.

AMMAN — Mazen Wathaifi, chief executive officer of Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), said that 97 per cent out of 168 listed companies have provided the ASE with their reviewed quarterly financial statements for the period ended September 30 during the specified period, through the e- disclosure System XBRL. 

This high percentage reflects the compliance of listed companies with the laws and regulations, and the compliance of such companies with the principles of transparency and disclosure, according to the website of ASE. 

Wathaifi added that all listed companies on the ASE should provide their reviewed interim financial statements within the specified period, according to the directives for listing securities on the ASE. He also confirmed that the ASE posts these financial statements on the ASE website www.exchange.jo under circulars and disclosures/quarterly reports window.

Wathaifi stated that profits after tax attributable to the company's shareholders for the three quarters of 2023 for the public shareholding companies listed on the ASE that provided their financial statements decreased to reach JD1641.2 million, compared with JD1991.8 million for the same period of 2022, a decrease of 17.6 per cent. 

Profits before tax for these companies also decreased, reaching JD2311.4 million for the three quarters of 2023, compared with JD2705.5 million for the same period of 2022, a decrease of 14.6 per cent.

In terms of sectors, profits after tax attributable to the company's shareholders for the financial sector of companies that provided the ASE with their financial statement increased by 32.9 per cent, the services sector decreased by 24.2 per cent and the industrial sector decreased by 47.3 per cent, the website stated.

He added that the decline in these percentages is relative since the comparison is made with many listed companies achieving record and unprecedented profits in 2022. The profits achieved for this period in 2023 are high compared with previous years, considering the financial and monetary stability and the improvement in many national economic performance indicators. 

He also pointed out that the number of profitable companies for the first three quarters of this year has increased to 112 companies compared with 106 companies in 2022. The number of companies that incurred losses has decreased to 51 companies compared with 57 companies in 2022. 

Additionally, a number of subsectors have seen increases, with the engineering and construction industries, the hotel and tourism, the real estate, the diversified financial services, the electrical industries, the insurance, the bank sector, and the chemical industries sector recording increases of 410.7 per cent, 392 per cent, 179.3 per cent, 159 per cent, 83.4 per cent, 48.5 per cent, 30.8 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.