Spirits maker Diageo seeking turnaround CEO
Bengaluru — Diageo is planning to replace CEO Debra Crew and is searching for a replacement to lead a turnaround of the spirits maker, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shares of the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Guinness beer rose about 3% after the report.
Diageo declined to immediately comment to Reuters, while Crew, who took over as boss in June 2023, could not be immediately reached.
The company had in May unveiled a plan to cut $500m in costs and make substantial asset disposals by 2028, as it looks to turn around its performance and reduce debt.
The FT report said that CFO Nik Jhangiani, who was appointed to the role last September, is a potential candidate to step in as interim CEO. Reuters
Swedish group Sandvik mitigates impact of tariffs
Stockholm — Swedish metal-cutting and mining equipment engineering group Sandvik reported a bigger-than-expected drop in second-quarter core profit on Wednesday but said it had fully mitigated the effect of tariffs in the period.
Operating profit before amortisation and items affecting comparability fell 8% from a year earlier to 5.63bn kronor ($577m), against a mean forecast of 5.86bn in an LSEG poll of analysts.
“We will continue to take mitigating actions to limit the effect of new trade policies if and when they become reality,” CEO Stefan Widing said in a statement.
The company has said it would be able to increase production capacity in its US facilities. It had more than 14% of group revenue in the US last year. Reuters
Finnair blames labour disputes for reduced profit
Helsinki — Finnish airline Finnair reported on Wednesday a fall in second-quarter comparable operating profit citing labour disputes with pilots and other staff.
Comparable operating profit was €10.3m ($11.97m) against a year-earlier 43.6m. Reuters
J&J lifts annual sales estimate on high quarterly profit
New York — Johnson & Johnson raised its full-year sales forecast on Wednesday after beating estimates for second quarter profit on strong demand for its cancer drug, Darzalex, and strength in its medical device business.
The company also reduced its expectations for tariff-related costs to $200m from $400m for the year, citing the Trump administration’s pause on levies on China and other retaliatory tariff measures.
"We were able to absorb that and still raise our EPS (earnings per share) guidance by 25c on the year," CFO Joseph Wolk said.
On an adjusted basis, the drug and medical device maker earned $2.77 per share for the quarter, above analysts’ expectations of $2.68 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Sales in the quarter were $23.74bn, above analysts’ expectations of $22.84bn. Reuters
SEB reports smaller-than-expected drop in Q2 profit
Stockholm — Swedish bank SEB reported a smaller-than-expected drop in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as continued growth in lending and deposit volumes partially offset the effect of lower interest rates.
Net profit fell to 8.25bn kronor ($849.5m) from 9.42bn kronor seen last year, against a mean forecast of 7.64bn kronor in an LSEG poll of analysts.
Net interest income, which includes revenue from mortgages, fell to 10.3bn kronor from 11.7bn, against 10.2bn kronor projected by analysts. Reuters
TotalEnergies’ earnings hit by low oil and gas prices
Gdansk — Lower prices for oil and liquefied natural gas will weigh on French oil major TotalEnergies’ second-quarter earnings, even as its hydrocarbon production rose slightly, it said in a trading update on Wednesday.
Total’s hydrocarbon production in the second quarter of 2025 will show an increase of around 2.5% year-on-year, it said.
But a 20% drop in the Brent crude price — from $85 per barrel a year ago to $67.9 per barrel in the second quarter of 2025 — means earnings for upstream will be lower.
Last week BP flagged lower oil and gas sales, while Shell warned of lower gas trading earnings and a hit to its downstream chemicals business. Reuters
Oil output falls in Kurdistan after three-day attack
Baghdad — Drone attacks for a third day on oilfields in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have slashed crude output by 140,000 to 150,000 barrels per day, two energy officials said on Wednesday, as infrastructure damage forced multiple shutdowns.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, and no group has accepted responsibility.
The region’s total production was about 285,000 barrels per day (bpd), Iraqi Kurdistan energy officials said.
Several oilfields halted operations due to significant infrastructure damage, the Kurdistan region’s ministry of natural resources said, adding that the attacks also aimed to threaten the safety of civilian workers in the energy sector.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum said it shut production at Shaikan field, one of the largest oil discoveries in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, due to attacks in its vicinity. Reuters
EU’s sustainable aviation fuel mandate under fire
Singapore — The International Air Transport Association on Wednesday stepped up criticism of the EU’s sustainable aviation fuel mandate as a costly initiative that is not helping the environment as regional supplies there remain low.
“The idea that you’re buying sustainable fuel and then transporting it to use in Europe isn’t the right way to do it, because you’re clearly increasing the carbon footprint of that fuel as a result of the transportation costs,” IATA’s director-general Willie Walsh said at a media round-table in Singapore.
IATA estimated in June that production of SAF, which is considered a low-carbon replacement for traditional jet fuel, is expected to reach 2-million metric tons, or 0.7% of airlines’ fuel consumption, in 2025.
“Mandating the use of a product that isn’t available doesn’t lead to any environmental benefit,” Walsh said, adding that fuel companies that have an obligation to produce SAF are also increasing the cost of traditional jet fuel. Reuters
Hybrid work models affecting Workspace
Bengaluru — London-focused flexible office-space provider Workspace reported on Wednesday a drop in quarterly occupancy, as larger customers vacated its properties, and warned that another major customer’s exit will lead to further decline in the second quarter.
Workspace has seen property valuations decline since the pandemic, as businesses ditched larger office spaces and opted for hybrid work models.
The company leased a monthly average of 93 new office spaces in the quarter, compared to 102 spaces in the prior year.
The company, which leases space to small businesses ranging from fintech firms to podcasters and people using AI to write music, said like-for-like occupancy dipped 0.3% to 82.2% in the first quarter. Reuters
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