Company news in brief
Company news in brief

Company news in brief

Jo-Mare Duddy Booysen
Angola forms consortium with Eni, Chevron

Angola has formed a consortium with five international oil companies including Eni and Chevron to develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its Soyo plant, the newly formed national oil, gas and biofuels agency ANGP said.

The consortium's project will have an initial cost of US$2 billion, with an aim to start production by 2022, an ANGP spokesman said on the sidelines of the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town.

Italy's Eni will operate the project, and the members will share costs according to participation.

Chevron will take a 31% stake, Eni 25.6%, Sonangol P&P 19.8%, Total 11.8% and BP 11.8%.

The Soyo LNG plant is designed to process 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day and has the capacity to produce 5.2 million tons of LNG per year, as well as natural gas, propane, butane and condensate.

Total plans expansion in Mozambique LNG

French energy major Total aims to expand its Mozambique liquefied natural gas (LNG) project with two additional trains, or plants, where the gas is supper-chilled for easier transport, a company executive said on Tuesday.

"We're starting to look at studies for train 3 and train 4, because the resources are clearly there to develop," Mike Sangster, head of Total Exploration and Production for Nigeria, told an oil conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

Total concluded the acquisition of Anadarko's 26.5% interest in the Mozambique LNG project for $ 3.9 billion in September as part of its takeover of Anadarko's Africa assets that included projects in Ghana and Algeria.

Sangster added that the company expected to close its acquisition of Anadarko assets in Ghana and Algeria early next year once regulatory approvals were cleared.

The firm said in September the Mozambique project included the construction of a two-train liquefaction plant with a capacity of 12.9 million tonnes per year. – Nampa/Reuters

Xerox considers HP takeover offer

Xerox Holdings Corp is considering making a cash-and-stock offer for personal computer maker HP Inc at a premium to its market value of about US$27 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The U.S. printer maker's board discussed the possibility on Tuesday, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

There is no guarantee that Xerox will follow through with an offer or that one would succeed, it added.

Xerox has also received an informal funding commitment from a major bank, known as a "highly confident letter", WSJ said.

On Monday, Xerox had said it will sell its 25% stake in Fuji Xerox, its joint venture with Fujifilm Holdings, for US$2.3 billion, after investor activism scuppered a deal involving the two companies.

HP has been struggling with its printer business segment recently. The company's segment revenue was down 5% on-year when it reported its third-quarter results in August. – Nampa/Reuters

Adidas sales pick up pace

German sportswear company Adidas said it expects a significant acceleration of sales in the fourth quarter after it reported stronger-than-expected sales and operating profit for the third quarter as it returned to growth in Europe.

Sales rose a currency-adjusted 6% to 6.41 billion euro (US$7.10 billion), beating average analyst forecasts for 6.32 billion euro, while operating profit was flat at 897 million euro, also above analyst consensus for 882 million euro.

Adidas has eroded Nike's dominance of the US market in recent years, but Nike has been growing faster in China and Europe, a trend that continued in the latest results.

Nike reported sales rose a currency-neutral 10% for the quarter ended Aug. 31, helped by a push to sell to consumers through its own stores and online. Sales in China jumped 27%, but rose by a slower-than-expected 4% in North America.

Adidas sales rose 11% in China in the July-September quarter and 10% in North America, while it returned to growth in Europe, expanding 3%, as it moved to cut its reliance on its Originals fashion line and boost sales of sports performance gear. – Nampa/Reuters

SoftBank Group profit plunges

Japanese giant SoftBank Group said yesterday it suffered an operating loss of US$6.4 billion in the second quarter, the worst in its history, as it took a hit from investments in start-ups including WeWork and Uber.

The eye-watering results follow a turbulent period for the firm and led CEO Masayoshi Son to admit regret over errors as he faces criticism over his commitment to start-ups some say are overvalued and lack clear profit models.

In the three-month period ending September 30, operating losses hit a whopping 704.4 billion yen (US$6.4 billion), worse than many analysts had expected.

Speaking shortly after the earnings were released, Son said: "This is the biggest quarterly loss we have seen since our founding. "My investment decisions were in many ways poor. I regret them deeply."

But he defended his overall strategy, including continuing to plough funds into troubled office-sharing start-up WeWork, and insisted shareholder value continues to increase. – Nampa/AFP

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