Company news in brief

Dis-Chem half-year profits fallSouth African drugstore chain Dis-Chem Pharmacies Ltd reported a 39% drop in interim profit yesterday, hurt by strike-related costs and lower demand from suppliers.Dis-Chem, which competes with Clicks Group, said headline earnings per share (HEPS) fell to 31 cents per share in the six months ended Aug. 31, from 50.7 cents per share, which was the restated figure a year ago.The company had been hit by a prolonged strike from November last year to March over workers' wage demands, which led it to miss earnings expectations for its full fiscal year that ended in February.Revenue for the interim period also rose to R11.8 billion from 10.5 billion rand a year ago, boosted by positive volume growth despite a difficult trading environment.The company declared an interim dividend of 12.8 cents during the six month period, compared with 20.7 cents during the interim period a year ago. – Nampa/ReutersToyota posts 14% rise in Q2 operating profitToyota Motor Corp posted a 14% rise in second-quarter profit yesterday, boosted by a rise in global vehicle sales and an improvement in its North American business.Japan's biggest automaker posted an operating profit of 662.3 billion yen (US$6.09 billion) in the July-September quarter, up from 579.1 billion yen a year ago. It was Toyota's strongest second-quarter profit since the September 2015 quarter.The profit beat an average forecast of 592.3 billion yen, based on estimates from nine analysts, Refinitiv data showed.Toyota maintained its forecast for annual operating profit of 2.4 trillion yen, down slightly from 2.47 trillion yen last year, although it now expects the yen to trade at 107 yen to the US dollar, versus a previous forecast of 106 yen.The automaker sold 2.75 million vehicles globally during the July-September period, up from 2.18 million units a year ago. Sales in North America, Toyota's biggest market, rose 5.6%, while sales in Asia, including China, climbed 3.4%. – Nampa/ReutersChina wants to invest big in AramcoChina's state-owned entities are in talks about investing US$5 billion to US$10 billion in Saudi oil giant Aramco's planned initial public offering, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.Beijing-based Silk Road Fund, state-owned oil producer Sinopec Corp and sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp are among parties that have been in discussions to buy stock in the offering, according to the report. Commitments have not been locked down, and the lineup of investors and the size of the investments will ultimately depend on the Chinese government, the report added.Aramco kicked off its IPO on Sunday, announcing its intention to float on its domestic bourse in what could be the world's biggest listing as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy away from oil.Aramco, Silk Road Fund, Sinopec, China Investment Corp did not immediately respond to requests for comment. – Nampa/ReutersTotal to sell stake in Nigerian blockTotal is seeking to sell its 12.5% stake in a major deepwater oilfield off the coast of Nigeria, industry and banking sources said, in an effort to adjust the energy company's Africa portfolio amid a broad expansion.The stake in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118, which is located some 120 kilometres off the Niger Delta, is valued at up to US$750 million, according to two of the sources.Investment bank Rothschild is running the sale process for Total, the sources said.OML 118 is operated by Royal Dutch Shell, which holds a 55% interest. Exxon Mobil holds a 20% stake in the block, while Italy's Eni and Total each hold 12.5%.The sale process is part of Total's plan to sell US$5 billion of assets around the world by 2020, the sources said. – Nampa/ReutersRolls-Royce takes £1.4bn hitRolls-Royce yesterday said that problems with its Trent 1000 plane engines will hit the British group's 2019 profits by about £1.4 billion (US$1.8 billion).Used to power Boeing's 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the engines have seen some parts wear quicker than expected, forcing Rolls to carry out costly repairs.Rolls yesterday said the exceptional charge to full-year operating profit "represents the additional near term costs of customer disruption and remediation shop visits ... and provisions against future losses on a small number of contracts".Chief executive Warren East added that "in spite of improved trading since the half-year", the company expects full-year operating profit and free cash flow to be "towards the lower end" of its guidance."My top priority is improving customer confidence in the Trent 1000," he said in the trading update. – Nampa/AFP

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