Unilever delays Magnum demerger amid US shutdown
Bengaluru — Unilever said on Tuesday the timeline for the planned demerger of The Magnum Ice Cream Company has been delayed due to the US federal government shutdown, with further updates on the revised schedule to be provided as soon as possible.
Unilever, the maker of Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, said the US securities and exchange commission is currently unable to declare effective the registration statement required for shares of The Magnum Ice Cream Company NV to be listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
The listing of the ice cream business in Amsterdam was originally scheduled for November 10. The Magnum Ice Cream Company is also planned to have secondary listings in New York and London. Reuters
Halliburton surpasses third-quarter profit expectations
Bengaluru — Halliburton beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by steady demand for its oilfield equipment and services in North America.
The company reported an adjusted profit of 58 cents per share for the quarter ended September 30, compared with analysts’ estimate of 50 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. Reuters
Kazakhstan output cut after Russian gas processing plant strike
Almaty/Astana — Oil majors, including Chevron and Shell, have reduced oil and gas output at a top Kazakhstan field after a Ukrainian drone strike damaged a gas processing plant in Russia that supports their operations, the companies said on Tuesday.
The strike on the Orenburg gas plant, located about 1,700km east of Ukraine, marks the first known incident in Kyiv’s campaign against Russian energy infrastructure to disrupt the operations of Western oil majors abroad.
Kazakhstan’s energy minister, Erlan Akkenzhenov, said on Tuesday the Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field had reduced daily production by between 8,500 tonnes (66,810 barrels) and 9,000 tonnes following the strike. Reuters
GM boosts profit outlook, lowers expected tariff impact
Detroit — General Motors lifted its financial outlook for the year and slightly lowered its expected hit from tariffs, as the automaker settles into a more stable trade landscape while confronting a dynamic electric vehicle market and new supply-chain snarls. The company now expects its annual adjusted core profit to be between $12.0bn and $13bn, compared with its prior estimate of $10bn to $12.5bn. The Detroit automaker said tariffs would hit its bottom line less than anticipated, lowering its updated impact to a range of $3.5bn to $4.5bn, from a previous $4bn to $5bn.
Shares rose 6% in premarket trading. Reuters
GE Aerospace raises profit forecast on strong demand
Bengaluru — GE Aerospace raised its 2025 profit forecast on Tuesday, projecting a strong finish to the year on robust demand for aftermarket maintenance services due to a shortage of new jets.
The jet-engine maker also lifted its growth forecast for Leap engine deliveries to more than 20% in 2025. Shares of the company were up nearly 3% in premarket trading.
Jet deliveries from Boeing and Airbus have lagged demand from airlines, forcing carriers to spend more on the maintenance of older jets.
That has benefited GE Aerospace, which sells engines at relatively low upfront prices and earns most of its profit from high-margin, long-term contracts for parts and maintenance over an engine’s life cycle.
The company expects annual profit per share in the range of $6.00 to $6.20, compared with its prior expectations of $5.60 to $5.80. Reuters
Philip Morris International lifts profit forecast amid vaping boom
Bengaluru — Philip Morris International raised its annual profit forecast for the third time this year on Tuesday, benefiting from strong demand for its portfolio of smoking alternatives.
The company expects an adjusted annual profit of $7.46 to $7.56 per share, compared with its prior forecast of $7.43 to $7.56. Reuters
Husqvarna misses quarterly earnings forecast
Stockholm — Swedish garden equipment maker Husqvarna reported third-quarter earnings that missed expectations on Tuesday, as uneven demand and tariffs weighed on sales, sending its shares down 10% in early trading.
Husqvarna’s earnings before interest and tax rose to 141-million Swedish krona in the quarter, up from 52-million a year earlier.
CEO Glen Instone said the company’s cost cuts supported the result despite subdued consumer sentiment.
Sales in the quarter fell 5% to 9.2-billion krona. Reuters
Switzerland exports to US bounce back
Zurich - Swiss exports to the US rebounded sharply in September, with pharmaceutical companies ramping up their shipments ahead of the introduction of US tariffs, government data showed on Tuesday.
Total nominal Swiss exports to the US leapt by nearly 43% last month in seasonally adjusted terms compared to the previous month, the figures showed.
Overall, Swiss exports were up 3.4% in September. Reuters
Hungarian oil firm restarts units after fire
Budapest - Hungarian oil and gas company MOL said in a statement on Tuesday that it was gradually restarting units of its main Danube refinery that were not affected by a fire that broke out in a crude distillation unit late on Monday.
The company also said that Hungary’s fuel supply was secured and that in future it will focus on Hungarian supply and consider the need to use strategic reserves. Reuters
Galapagos to close cell therapy business
Amsterdam - Biotechnology firm Galapagos said on Tuesday it would wind down its cell therapy business after attempts to sell it were unsuccessful, affecting 365 jobs in Europe, China and the US.
The Amsterdam-listed company said it had received several non-binding offers since it began mulling options for its cell therapy business in May, but had concluded that none of those were viable proposals.
Galapagos said it now made more sense to gradually end the cell therapy business and use the capital to build a pipeline of new therapies.
Shares in the company were down 14% in early trading after its announcement. Reuters
Shawbrook targets £2bn in London listing
Bengaluru — British lender Shawbrook said on Tuesday it has set the price range for its planned initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange at 350-390 pence per share, with an estimated market capitalisation of between about £1.8bn-£2bn. Reuters
