ROUNDUP: Recovery at Frankfurt Airport drags on - shares plummet

FRANKFURT - The recovery of the passenger business from the coronavirus pandemic continues to drag on at Frankfurt Airport. The operator Fraport earned more than ever before in its day-to-day business in 2023, and CEO Stefan Schulte is aiming for further increases in 2024 and beyond. However, passenger volumes at Germany's largest airport are likely to remain well below pre-crisis levels this year at 61 to 65 million passengers. And Fraport shareholders are to continue to forego a dividend. The news on Tuesday morning went down badly on the stock market.

ROUNDUP: Engine manufacturer Deutz cautious for 2024 - share price collapses

COLOGNE - Engine manufacturer Deutz closed 2023 with record sales and operating profit. However, the weakening economy is now causing the company problems - the order backlog has shrunk significantly. The company is cautious about the current year. The further rise in interest rates has led to a certain reluctance to invest, the SDax-listed engine manufacturer announced on Tuesday. Therefore, a recession during the course of the year cannot be completely ruled out.

ROUNDUP: Thyssenkrupp talks with financial investor about entry into marine division

ESSEN - The planned independence of the marine business of the industrial group Thyssenkrupp is taking shape. Thyssenkrupp announced in Essen on Tuesday that the company is examining a cooperation with the US financial investor Carlyle. An in-depth audit has been agreed, at the end of which a possible partial sale of the TKMS marine business could be possible. The Bloomberg news agency had previously reported on a possible majority sale to Carlyle.

Unilever wants to divest its ice cream business - cost-cutting program launched

LONDON - The consumer goods manufacturer Unilever wants to grow more strongly and become more profitable in the future with the help of a group reorganization. Unilever will divest its ice cream division in order to focus on a portfolio of "brands with strong positions", the company announced in London on Tuesday. The division is to be separated by 2025. The ice cream division reportedly generated sales of 7.9 billion euros in 2023 with brands such as Magnum. Group-wide turnover amounted to 59.6 billion euros last year.

Pharmaceutical group Astrazeneca wants to take over oncology specialist Fusion

CAMBRIDGE - The pharmaceutical group Astrazeneca wants to take over the Canadian cancer specialist Fusion Pharmaceuticals. The British-Swedish manufacturer intends to pay 21 dollars in cash for each Fusion share, it announced on Tuesday in Cambridge. In addition, the management wants to add a premium of three US dollars per share if certain company targets are achieved. The initial cash consideration represents a transaction value of approximately two billion US dollars (1.84 billion euros), which is almost double the closing price of the merger shares on March 18. Including the possible premium, the takeover could cost Astrazeneca up to 2.4 billion dollars.

Commerzbank aims to 'significantly' exceed record profit in 2024

FRANKFURT - Commerzbank is further raising its profit expectations for 2024. The bank expects to "significantly exceed" both the operating result of the previous year and the record net profit of 2023 in the current year, according to the annual report published by the Frankfurt-based DAX-listed group on Tuesday. The bank explains its confidence primarily by the fact that the recent high one-off charges at the Polish subsidiary mBank are expected to decrease. In addition, the management expects an increase in net commission income of four percent.

ROUNDUP: Personnel services provider Amadeus Fire expects growth - share price jumps

FRANKFURT - Following an increase in sales and profits last year, the personnel services provider Amadeus Fire is expecting further growth. In view of the continuing shortage of skilled workers, the company is focusing on growth in the training business. Amadeus Fire wants to improve productivity in personnel services.

ROUNDUP: VW subsidiary Audi with gloomy outlook due to higher costs

INGOLSTADT - Audi increased sales and turnover considerably last year, but made significantly less profit. Profit after tax fell by twelve percent to 6.3 billion euros - mainly due to raw material hedging transactions, as CFO Jürgen Rittersberger said on Tuesday in Ingolstadt. The outlook for the current year is bleak: Audi expects sales to fall from 69.9 billion to 63 to 68 billion euros, partly due to several model changes after two years without a new model.

Mechanical engineering company Dürr wants to keep dividend stable

BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN - The mechanical engineering company Dürr intends to keep its dividend stable despite a decline in profits. The management is again proposing a dividend of 70 cents per share, the company announced on Tuesday in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Baden-Württemberg. At the end of February, Dürr CEO Jochen Weyrauch had already held out the prospect of a stable dividend when presenting the figures for the past year.

Weak construction industry: Sto postpones medium-term targets - shares under pressure

STÜHLINGEN - Due to the weak construction industry, particularly in Germany, the insulation and paint manufacturer Sto is postponing its medium-term targets by two years. The turnover of EUR 2.1 billion planned for 2025 and the return on sales based on earnings before taxes of 10 percent are now not to be achieved until 2027, the company announced in Stühlingen on Tuesday. For 2025, Sto expects consolidated turnover of EUR 1.9 billion and a return on sales of 7.6 to 9.2 percent. The SDax-listed share recently fell by around five percent.

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Further news

-ROUNDUP/Administrative Court: Tree houses in protest camp against Tesla allowed to stay

-ROUNDUP: Bremen Senate approves funds for ArcelorMittal's steel mill conversion

-IPO/Circles: Douglas shares probably only priced at the lower end of the range

-Amadeus Fire sees continuing shortage of skilled workers and higher earnings

-Delivery Hero wants to buy back more convertible bonds than announced

-Bayer plans approval application for menopausal symptom treatment

-Airbus calls off takeover of Atos' cyber data business

-ROUNDUP: New hurdle for new cars causes model range to shrink

-Irena: World not on track with renewables expansion

-Schott Pharma invests in the USA

-ROUNDUP: Nvidia aims to consolidate dominance in the AI era with new computer system

-Germany: Exports in the electrical industry grow - first increase in 6 months

-Survey: Young people spend over three hours on their smartphones

-Justice Minister clearly criticizes Lauterbach's cannabis policy

-Spotify: A good 1250 artists with payments in the millions in 2023

-New boss for the KaDeWe Group

-ROUNDUP: Magazine publishers with stable sales - call for political action

-ROUNDUP/Dobrindt: Will not cooperate on changes to cannabis law

-Corona crisis overcome: DFL reports record turnover

-Greens politician Droge hopes for Bundestag resolution on solar package in April

-Last ICE 4 ordered handed over - Fleet complete

-Works Council election at Porsche in Zuffenhausen invalid

-BER expects around 1.2 million passengers over Easter

-Kloeppel successor: RTL puts together new news team

-Verdi wants to 'massively extend' warning strikes at Postbank

-Ballot launched on indefinite strikes at Lufthansa

-Minister Wissing hopes for a solution to the rail wage dispute before Easter°

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