COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Palantir to go public

Palantir Technologies filed to go public through a direct listing, as the data analytics company known for working with the Central Intelligence Agency and other government groups prepares for one of the biggest market debuts of the year.

The company, which was founded in 2003 by a group including Donald Trump backer Peter Thiel, unveiled losses that are set to test the appetite of capital market investors who have in recent years shown an increasing wariness of backing loss-making start-ups, most notably WeWork, which botched its IPO last year.

The move to lift the lid on its business for the first time marked a major moment for Palantir, which is widely seen as one of the most reclusive companies in Silicon Valley.

The company reported a net loss of about US$580 million in 2019, about the same as its loss in 2018. Revenue came in at US$742 million last year, compared to US$595 million in 2018.

For the first six months of 2020, the company posted revenue of US$481 million, up 49% from the year-earlier period. In June, Reuters reported, citing sources, the company expects revenue in 2020 to grow to US$1 billion. – Nampa/Reuters

Salesforce raises forecast

Salesforce.com Inc o raised its annual revenue forecast and beat estimates for quarterly results on coronavirus-spurred demand for its online business software that supports remote work, sending its shares up nearly 15%.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which has hastened the shift to remote work, is benefiting software providers as many companies have extended employees the option to work from home till the end of next year.

Salesforce, slated to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average index from Aug. 31, offers a range of digital products that help companies manage customer relationships, order management, e-commerce and marketing.

The products have positioned the company to thrive in the current environment and will continue to help Salesforce in adding large enterprise customers, Nucleus Research analyst Daniel Elman said.

Salesforce now expects revenue between US$20.7 billion and US$20.8 billion in the fiscal year 2021, up from its previous forecast of US$20 billion. – Nampa/Reuters

Cruises cancels trips

Carnival Corp's Princess Cruises said it would cancel early 2021 cruises on two ships, citing travel, border and port restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cruise lines, hammered by a crisis that has seen some ships turn into infection hotspots, had earlier said they were expecting solid 2021 bookings, mainly as repeat cruisers were eager to book their trips.

The two ships, Island Princess and Pacific Princess, were set to sail from North America and Australia, respectively. Guests that had booked trips on these ships would receive a refundable credit for future trips for the fare they paid.

Earlier in the day, Carnival's Cunard also paused operations from November to up to May 16, 2021. Guests whose trips have been cancelled would receive enhanced future credits.

At least three Princess Cruises ships turned into hotbeds for coronavirus infections. One of them, the Ruby Princess, became part of a homicide investigation in Australia, being the source of the country's deadliest virus infection. – Nampa/Reuters

GM, Ford projects

General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co said they are close to completing production of ventilators ordered by the Trump Administration this spring in response to the surge in coronavirus cases, and are ramping down or exiting the operations.

Many of the ventilators assembled by the automakers and other manufacturers have gone into a U.S. government stockpile as doctors shifted away from using invasive ventilators with Covid-19 patients.

The government currently has 108 000 ventilators in its medical equipment stockpile, and 12 000 deployed at US hospitals, the US Health and Human Services department said Tuesday.

GM and medical equipment maker Ventec Life Systems are in the "home stretch" toward completing a contract to deliver 30,000 critical care ventilators by the end of August under a US$489 million contract with the federal government, the automaker said.

GM and Ventec have already delivered more than 20 000 machines, GM spokesman Jim Cain said. Ford has assembled about 47 000 of the 50 000 ventilators it agreed to supply to partner General Electric Co, Ford spokeswoman Rachel McCleery said. GE has a US$336 million contract with the government. – Nampa/Reuters

Honda to pay US$85 mln

Units of Honda Motor Co have agreed to pay US$85 million to settle an investigation by most US states into its use of defective Takata airbag inflators in its vehicles, according to a consent order made public on Tuesday.

The state probes are connected with the ongoing recalls of tens of millions of vehicles equipped with potentially defective Takata inflators that were sold by Honda and other major auto manufacturers over the past 20 years.

To date, more than 40 million US vehicles equipped with 60 million defective Takata air bags have been recalled because the inflators can explode when deployed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At least 25 deaths around the world and nearly 300 injuries have been linked to faulty Takata inflators.

Worldwide, the Takata recalls cover about 100 million inflators among 19 major automakers, including Honda.

In January, Honda said it would recall an additional 2.7 million older U.S. vehicles in North America for potentially defective Takata inflators. That recall covers Honda and Acura. – Nampa/Reuters