ROUNDUP 2: Munich Re exceeds profit target - dividend increases significantly

MUNICH - Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, has exceeded its raised profit target for 2023. Thanks in part to lower taxes, the DAX-listed group earned around 4.6 billion euros on the bottom line, around 100 million euros more than targeted since the fall. In the current year, further rising prices for reinsurance cover are expected to drive the profit up to around 5 billion euros as planned, as Munich Re announced in Munich on Tuesday. Shareholders can look forward to a surprisingly high dividend - and a share buyback worth billions.

ROUNDUP 2: Puma wants to boost growth with brand campaign

HERZOGENAURACH - The sporting goods manufacturer Puma wants to launch a global brand campaign for the first time in ten years in the big sports year of 2024 with the Olympic Games and European Football Championships. The aim is to gain additional market share - especially in the important markets of China and North America. "In 2024, we will once again prove that Puma is the challenger in the market," said CEO Arne Freundt at the annual press conference in Herzogenaurach on Tuesday. However, the "emotional bond" between consumer and brand still needs to be strengthened. However, the proportion of marketing expenditure of around ten percent of total costs is not to be increased - instead, Puma wants to concentrate more on key parts of its product range.

ROUNDUP: Dürr's profit depressed by job cuts - sales outlook somewhat more cautious

BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN - The mechanical engineering company Dürr is likely to grow less strongly this year than previously forecast. The management is forecasting sales growth of two to eight percent for 2024 instead of the previous forecast of five to ten percent, as the company announced on Tuesday in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Baden-Württemberg. The average analyst estimate is at the upper end of the forecast range.

ROUNDUP: PVA Tepla beats expectations - plans acquisitions for further growth

WETTENBERG - After a surprisingly good year in 2023, the technology company PVA Tepla intends to grow strongly in the longer term. For 2024 and 2025, the management expects only "moderate growth", as the specialist for semiconductor and vacuum technologies announced on Tuesday in Wettenberg, Hesse. By the end of 2028, however, turnover will have almost doubled to around 500 million euros. Company acquisitions are also expected to drive this. The share price rose after the news was published.

US telecom equipment supplier Adtran Holdings makes a loss

HUNTSVILLE - Continued weak business is weighing on the balance sheet of US telecom equipment supplier Adtran Holdings. In the fourth quarter, earnings shrank by 37 percent year-on-year to 225.5 million US dollars (208 million euros), as the parent company of Adtran Networks announced on Tuesday in Huntsville (US state of Alabama) when it published preliminary figures. The operating margin - the ratio of the operating result adjusted for special effects to sales - amounted to minus 1.4 percent. The company had expected between minus seven and zero percent. Adtran Holdings excludes costs for acquisitions and Group restructuring, for example.

Adtran Networks slips into the red - weak demand in the final quarter

MUNICH - Telecom equipment supplier Adtran Networks (formerly Adva Optical) felt the effects of weak demand in the final quarter of 2023. Sales fell by almost 40 percent year-on-year to 118.5 million euros from October to December, as the SDax-listed company announced in Munich on Tuesday. Adjusted for special effects, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell by just over 60 percent to just under 9.3 million euros. The development is not unexpected, as CEO Tom Stanton had already announced weak business in the second half of the year in the summer and had also sharply lowered the turnover and profit forecast at the time.

ROUNDUP: US aviation authority sees weaknesses in Boeing's quality management

WASHINGTON - Following a month-long investigation, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has denounced shortcomings in Boeing's quality assurance. In the commercial airplane division, for example, an FAA commission found no uniform and clear way for employees to report quality deficiencies. "Employees did not understand how to use the various reporting systems - and which system to use when," it said in a report published on Monday. Employees also preferred to avoid the formal procedures and report problems to their managers.

Zoom grows beyond expectations

SAN JOSE - The video conferencing service Zoom continues to grow even after the end of the corona boom in its business. Sales increased by 2.6 percent year-on-year to around 1.15 billion dollars (1.06 billion euros) in the past quarter, Zoom announced on Monday after the US stock market closed. Analysts had expected an average of 1.13 billion. The bottom line was a profit of 299 million dollars after a loss of 104 million dollars a year ago. Zoom grew explosively during the coronavirus pandemic with working and learning from home. In the meantime, however, many companies have at least partially returned to office-based operations. In this situation, Zoom is trying to cover the broader communication needs of its customers, including voice telephony.

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Further news

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-Robot vacuum cleaner company iRobot with declining sales and red figures

-Circles: Roche examines sale of lung drug Esbriet

-Thyssenkrupp Steel chief executive considers reorganization necessary

-Operators of radio transmitters merge

-Sixt docks onto VW's Elli charging network

-Less cargo handling in the port of Hamburg

-ROUNDUP 3: Start for applications for KfW heating claim

-ROUNDUP: Tough Winterkorn questioning on diesel affair - Plaintiffs' lawyers dissatisfied

-Insurers see flood risk at over 320,000 addresses

-Youth hostels: renewed growth in school classes after Corona

-Weak buying mood causes Otto Group's online business to slump

-Study: Automotive supplier and charging network gateway for hacker attacks

-ROUNDUP: Study: Problematic social media use among children remains high

-Habeck: Expansion of renewables on track

-Controversial billion-euro deal: Madrid loses dispute against LaLiga

-Court of Justice: Money back in the event of cancellation due to corona accommodation ban

-Water association: Tesla exceeds limit values for wastewater

-Wüst warns of failure of coal phase-out by 2030

-ROUNDUP: More deaths and injuries in traffic accidents°

Customer tip:

ROUNDUP: You can read a summary in the company overview. There are several reports on this topic on the dpa-AFX news service.

/jha