Dong Yuhui left Dongfang Selection to acquire and walk with Hui. Apple exited the top five smartphone market in China by shipment. Honda will reduce its gasoline vehicle production capacity in China by nearly one-third. Tesla Motors was shortlisted for the procurement list of local governments and state-owned enterprises. Kering warns of a 30% drop in revenue in the second half of the year. LG Electronics, SK hynix, STMicroelectronics, Hyundai Motor, Nissan Motor, Renault Group, Stellantis, United States, Raytheon Technologies, Hermès, Unilever, FrieslandCampina, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Roche and AbbVie announced results. Oriental Selection announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that Dong Yuhui has decided to no longer serve as an employee of the company and the senior management of one of the company's consolidated affiliated entities, effective July 25, 2024. Yu Minhong has made arrangements for the settlement consideration of Dong Yuhui's acquisition of Hui's peers. According to the announcement, on July 25, Dong Yuhui (the buyer), Beijing New Oriental Xuncheng Network Technology Co., Ltd. (the seller) and Hui Tongtong (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (the target company) entered into a sale agreement, according to which the seller agreed to sell, and the buyer agreed to acquire 100% of the target company's equity at a consideration of RMB 76.5855 million.
Yu Minhong issued a document saying that Dongfang Selection's wholly-owned subsidiary and Hui will be officially independent from Dongfang Selection, and Dong Yuhui will personally hold 100% of its equity. In order to express gratitude to Dong Yuhui, in addition to the full treatment that has been paid, the board of directors and the remuneration committee have been asked to obtain consent to reward all the net profits of the company with Hui to Yuhui. Yu Minhong explained, "Yuhui holds the equity purchase money required to walk with Hui, and I also arrange to pay it in a manner that complies with the rules of the listed company and the articles of association." The meaning of this sentence is that I arranged the money for Yuhui to buy the company, and the company gave it to Yuhui. ”
Baichuan Intelligent confirmed that the company has indeed completed a round of financing recently, with a total financing amount of 5 billion yuan, and will open a B round of financing at a valuation of 20 billion yuan. Series A investors include leading manufacturers and market-oriented investment institutions such as Alibaba, Xiaomi, Tencent, Asia Investment Capital, and CICC, as well as state-owned industrial investment funds such as Beijing Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, and Shenzhen Capital Group. As the only leading large model company focusing on medical care in China, Baichuan Intelligent has made phased progress in AI medical technology and application, and has released 12 large models so far.
United Kingdom's communications regulator fined TikTok nearly £1.88 million for saying the popular video-sharing app shared inaccurate data about a parental control safety feature. United Kingdom's Communications Authority (Ofcom) said TikTok shared inaccurate information with the regulator when Ofcom prepared a child safety transparency report. TikTok pointed out the inaccuracies months after the deadline had passed.
In recent years, Apple has implemented a strategy of "de-risking" and diversifying the supply chain, shifting orders to India, but the actual operation is obviously not smooth. Last year, the India factory assembled the iPhone 15 was returned and forced to cut prices sharply, and Apple CEO Cook himself went to Chinese mainland to reorganize the supply chain. After this lesson, Apple has transferred part of its production capacity back to Chinese mainland foundries this year, and major manufacturers such as BYD and Luxshare Precision have joined the iPhone 16 supply chain and become Apple's latest foundry partner. On July 24, Apple's chief operating officer Jeff · Williams also visited the Shenzhen Applied Research Laboratory, which is about to be put into operation.
According to the latest report released by market research firm Canalys, China's smartphone market will achieve further recovery in the second quarter of 2024, with shipments increasing by 10% year-on-year to return to the level of 70 million units. Vivo shipped 13.1 million units quarterly, a year-on-year increase of 15%, with a market share of 19%. OPPO (including OnePlus) shipped 11.3 million units, down 1% year-on-year, with a share of 16%. Honor shipped 10.7 million units, a year-on-year increase of 4%, with a share of 15%. Huawei shipped 10.6 million units, a year-on-year increase of 41%, with a share of 15%. Xiaomi shipped 10 million units, a year-on-year increase of 17%, with a share of 14%. During the quarter, Apple's phones failed to enter the top five smartphone shipments in China.
Global IT outages can cost the insurance industry billions of dollars, and this incident is likely to be the "most significant" cyber insurance loss since the 2017 NotPetya malware attack. The insurance industry is prepared for losses that could run into billions of dollars. Last week's global IT service disruption exposed the fragility of a global economy that relies on a handful of software platforms to run. Last Friday, more than 8 million devices that rely on Microsoft's Windows software were affected, plunging industries from airlines to retailers into chaos after a poor update from security firm CrowdStrike triggered the largest IT outage ever.
As competition for sales in China intensifies, Japan automakers are at a turning point in their confrontation with Chinese automobiles. Honda will reduce its annual gasoline vehicle production capacity in China from 1.49 million units to 1 million units. With Japanese cars in China clearly in a downturn, Honda's production cut will be the largest among Japan automakers. As a first step, Honda will close or stop production of two of its seven gasoline vehicle plants in China. The plant in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, will be closed in October, and the plant in Wuhan, Hubei Province, will be shut down from November. Another factory in Guangzhou will also be closed or suspended. This is the first time that Honda has downsized production in China, which means that it will change its expansion course.
Tesla Motors was shortlisted for the procurement list of local governments and state-owned enterprises. Tao Lin, Tesla's global vice president, said on Weibo that "let foreign companies not see outsiders" reflects the fairness, openness and inclusiveness of the Chinese market, and also gives Tesla great confidence in development.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on July 23 that investment in the Mexico plant under construction is currently on hold. Because Trump requires automakers to produce cars domestically in the United States. He has said hefty tariffs on cars imported from Mexico into the United States if elected, and 100 percent tariffs on cars made in Mexico by Chinese manufacturers and exported to the United States. Tesla is planning to build a "gigafactory" for electric vehicles (EVs) in Nuevo León, northern Mexico.
Shares of Ford Motor fell by the most in more than 15 years after the company blamed sharply worse than expected results on surging warranty costs for older vehicles. The company's shares plunged 18 percent on Thursday, their biggest drop since November 2008. That erased year-to-date gains, with the stock now down more than 8% year-to-date. Years of recurring quality issues have pushed up Ford's warranty costs, but the $800 million cost spike in the second quarter came as a surprise to investors. This is a one-time cost jump due to quality-related issues with models produced in 2021 and earlier.
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said Thursday that two United States astronauts will remain on the ISS until engineers complete work to fix the Boeing Starliner problem, and no return date has been set. On June 5, the Starliner lifted off with two United States astronauts and docked with the International Space Station on June 6. The Starliner was originally scheduled to separate from the space station and return to Earth on June 14, but the return time was repeatedly delayed due to thruster failures and helium leaks. As of Thursday, the astronauts had been in space for about 50 days. If desired, the spacecraft can dock with the space station until early September.
The head of Rolls-Royce warned that supply chain tensions holding back the aerospace industry could continue for another two years, one of the most pessimistic assessments of the challenges facing manufacturers. The United Kingdom company's engines power some of the world's largest aircraft, including the Airbus A350. Tufan Erginbilgic, the company's chief executive, said the aviation industry was in the throes of "one of the worst supply chain environments ever."
Lockheed Martin raised its full-year sales target as strong demand for its fighter jets and missiles pushed the company's second-quarter results to beat expectations. The United States defense group said it expects revenue of up to $71.5 billion this year, more than $70 billion and beating Wall Street's estimates. The group expects it will take several more quarters to process the backlog of orders after deliveries resume. Lockheed says there is a strong demand for deterrence in both Europe and Asia.
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) said it would seek to acquire stakes in multinational companies operating in China if they exited China. GIC is one of the largest institutional investors in the world. The sovereign wealth fund, which is estimated to have more than $700 billion in assets under management, laid out the strategy in its annual report released on Wednesday as part of its continued investment in China.
The meeting of the board of directors of Baosteel Co., Ltd. agreed to adjust the investment plan for the establishment of Saudi Arabian Heavy Plate Company. The adjusted investment plan is as follows: Baosteel Co., Ltd. will jointly invest in the establishment of Saudi Heavy Plate Company with Saudi Aramco and Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to jointly invest in the construction and operation of Saudi Heavy Plate projects. The total investment of the project is 4.543 billion US dollars. The joint venture has a registered capital of US$2 billion, with 50% of Baosteel's shares, and 25% of Saudi Aramco and PIF. The joint venture plans to invest in the construction of the world's most competitive green and low-carbon thick plate plant in Saudi Arabia, with an annual output of 2.5 million tons of direct reduced iron, 1.667 million tons of steel and 1.5 million tons of thick plate.
Kering, the owner of Gucci and Saint Laurent, warned on Wednesday that its operating income could fall by as much as 30% in the second half of the year, adding to the France luxury company's woes. Kering, one of the biggest names in the luxury industry, lagged behind its peers LVMH and Hermès during the pandemic-era boom, and its performance deteriorated as growth slowed across the industry. The second-quarter results underscore the difficult turnaround journey of the Parisian luxury goods company.
Financial Reporting Information
Korea's LG Electronics released a performance report, preliminarily verifying that the company's operating profit (calculated on a consolidated financial statement) in the second quarter of 2024 increased by 61.2% year-on-year to 1.1962 trillion won. Sales were 21.6944 trillion won, up 8.5% year-on-year. By business segment, the H&A segment had sales of 8.8429 trillion won and an operating profit of 694.4 billion won, the automotive parts (VS) segment had sales of KRW 2.6919 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 81.7 billion, the TV business (HE) segment had sales of KRW 3.6182 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 97 billion, and the Business Solutions (BS) division had sales of KRW 1.4644 trillion with a loss of KRW 5.9 billion.
Korea chip giant SK Hynix released a performance report, preliminarily verifying that the operating profit in the second quarter of 2024 was 5.4685 trillion won, a year-on-year turnaround, and the single-quarter operating profit exceeded 5 trillion won for the first time in six years. In the same period, the company's sales were 16.4233 trillion won, a year-on-year increase of 124.8%, setting a new record for a single quarter. Net profit of 4.12 trillion won also turned into a profit.
Hyundai Motor announced its results, preliminarily verifying that its operating profit for the second quarter of 2024 increased by 0.7% year-on-year to 4.2791 trillion won. Sales increased by 6.6% year-on-year to 45.0206 trillion won. Net profit increased 24.7 percent to 4.1739 trillion won. Operating profit in the first half of the year was 7.8365 trillion won, down slightly year-on-year, while sales exceeded 80.0032 trillion won in the same period last year to a new high of 85.6791 trillion won.
Nissan Motor announced its results for the first fiscal quarter (April-June) ending June 30, 2024. Quarterly revenue was 2,998.4 billion yen, compared to 2,917.7 billion yen in the same period last year. Quarterly operating profit was 1.0 billion yen, compared to 128.6 billion yen in the same period of the previous year, a year-on-year decrease of 99%. Net income attributable to owners of the parent company for the quarter was 28.6 billion yen, compared to 105.5 billion yen in the same period last year. Sharp discounts in the United States market have significantly reduced their profit margins. It was Nissan's worst quarterly performance in more than three years.
Automaker Stellantis Group announces results for the second quarter and first half of 2024. Net revenues in the second quarter were 43.32 billion euros, compared to 51.133 billion euros in the prior-year quarter. Net revenue for the first half of the year was 85.017 billion euros, compared to 98.368 billion euros in the same period of the previous year. Shipments fell 18% in the first half of the year due to unfavorable model lineups and pricing pressures. Operating profit for the first half of the year was 6,639 million euros, compared to 13,541 million euros in the prior-year quarter. Net profit for the first half of the year was 5.647 billion euros, compared to 10.918 billion euros in the same period of the previous year, a year-on-year decrease of 48%.
Renault Group announces its results for the first half of 2024. Group revenue in the second quarter was 15,251 million euros, compared to 15,351 million euros in the prior-year quarter. Group revenues in the first half of the year amounted to 26,958 million euros, compared to 26,849 million euros in the prior-year quarter. Operating profit for the first half of the year was 1,889 million euros, compared to 2,096 million euros in the prior-year quarter. Net profit for Group shareholders in the first half of the year amounted to 1,293 million euros, compared to 2,093 million euros in the prior-year quarter. Among them, the revenue of the automotive business in the first half of the year was 24.372 billion euros, compared with 24.85 billion euros in the same period of the previous year.
Unilever announced its results for the first half of 2024. Group turnover in the second quarter was €16.1 billion, up 2.2 percent year-on-year. Among the five major businesses, Beauty & Health generated a turnover of 3.4 billion euros, Personal Care generated a turnover of 3.5 billion euros, Home Care generated a turnover of 3.1 billion euros, Nutrition generated a turnover of 3.3 billion euros and an ice cream turnover of 2.8 billion euros. Group turnover in the first half of the year was 31.1 billion euros, up 2.3 percent year-on-year. Group operating profit for the first half of the year was 5.9 billion euros, up 7.8 percent year-on-year. Net profit for the first half of the year was 4 billion euros, up 3.5% year-on-year.
Royal FrieslandCampina Netherlands has released its 2024 half-year report. Although revenues fell by 6.7% to €6.4 billion due to lower milk prices and currency translation effects, the difference between bulk dairy prices and guaranteed prices was significantly reduced due to an improved product mix that eliminated the impact of expensive inventories, resulting in a significant increase in profit in the first half of 2024. Operating profit increased to 301 million euros and net income to 183 million euros.
Hermes announces its financial data for the first half of 2024. Revenue for the first half of the year was 7.5 billion euros, up 15% year-on-year. Among them, the revenue in the second quarter was 3.7 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%. Recurring operating profit for the first half of the year was 3.15 billion euros, up 6.8 percent year-on-year. Net profit for the first half of the year was 2.37 billion euros, up 6.4% year-on-year. In the first half of the year, the leather goods and harness business generated revenues of 3,215 million euros, garments and accessories of 2,162 million euros, silk and textiles of 436 million euros, watches of 308 million euros, perfumes and beauty of 259 million euros, and other businesses including jewellery and household goods of 967 million euros. All major markets around the world maintained strong growth.
STMicroelectronics announced results for the second quarter of 2024. Quarterly net revenue was $3,232 million, compared to $4,326 million in the same period last year, a year-over-year decrease of 25.3%. Quarterly net profit was $353 million, compared with $1.001 billion in the same period last year, down 64.8% year-on-year.
AstraZeneca announced its second-quarter 2024 results. Total revenue for the quarter was $12.938 billion, compared to $11.416 billion in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 13%. Quarterly operating profit was $2,746 million, compared to $2,456 million in the year-ago quarter, up 12% year-over-year. Quarterly profit after tax was $1,928 million, compared to $1,820 million in the year-ago quarter, up 6% year-over-year.
Roche announces results for the first half of 2024. Group sales amounted to 29,848 million Switzerland francs, compared to 29,779 million Switzerland francs in the prior-year period. Operating profit for the period was 11,293 million Switzerland francs, compared to 10,911 million Switzerland francs in the prior-year quarter. Net profit for the period was 6,697 million Switzerland francs, compared to 7,563 million Switzerland francs in the prior-year period. Sales in the pharmaceutical business amounted to Switzerland 22,637 million francs, compared to 22,511 million Switzerland francs in the prior-year period. Sales in Diagnostics amounted to 7,211 million Switzerland francs, compared to 7,268 million Switzerland francs in the prior-year quarter.
Sanofi reports results for the second quarter of 2024. Group net sales for the quarter amounted to 10,745 million euros, compared to 9,965 million euros in the prior-year quarter. Group operating profit for the quarter was 2,813 million euros, compared to 2,726 million euros in the prior-year quarter. Group net profit for the quarter was 2,161 million euros, compared to 2,177 million euros in the prior-year quarter. Net sales in the pharmaceutical business amounted to 9.439 billion euros, compared to 8.74 billion euros in the prior-year quarter. Net sales in Consumer Healthcare amounted to 1,306 million euros, compared to 1,225 million euros in the prior-year quarter.
AbbVie reports second-quarter 2024 results. Net revenue for the quarter was $14,462 million, compared to $13,865 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating profit for the quarter was $3,998 million, compared to $4,513 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income attributable to the Company for the quarter was $1.37 billion, compared to $2.024 billion in the year-ago quarter.
United States Airlines Group announced its fiscal second quarter 2024 results. Total revenue for the quarter was $14,334 million, compared to $14,055 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating profit for the quarter was $1,384 million, compared to $2,163 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income for the quarter was $717 million, compared to $1,338 million in the year-ago quarter.
Raytheon Technologies (RTX) reports results for the second quarter of 2024. Quarterly sales were $19,721 million, compared to $18,315 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income for the quarter was $111 million, compared to $1,327 million in the year-ago quarter. The Group's adjusted net profit was US$1,889 million, unchanged from the same period last year.
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