ROUNDUP 2: Infineon invests further billions in expansion - quarter weaker

NEUBIBERG (dpa-AFX) - The semiconductor group Infineon wants to expand its capacities strongly and takes more billions in hand for this. Thus, the factory in Malaysia is to be expanded more than initially planned. Together with the expansion of the Villach and Dresden sites, Infineon is counting on the growing market for power semiconductors for the automotive industry, solar and energy storage, and hopes this will generate additional billions in revenue. By contrast, the company reported a mixed performance in the third quarter, but confirmed its forecast.

ROUNDUP 2: Zalando more optimistic for fall - more profitable thanks to lower costs

BERLIN - Despite sluggish business, online fashion retailer Zalando earned more operationally than expected in the past quarter thanks to strict cost control. The group's management took this as an opportunity to specify its annual targets. The operating profit should develop a little better than previously expected. The current third quarter is showing positive trends, said CFO Sandra Dembeck at an analysts' conference on Thursday. While it is still very early, she said, "July was a better month for us than the second quarter." The executive hopes for a better second half of the year.

ROUNDUP 2: Beiersdorf expects more sales growth in 2023 - more investments

HAMBURG - Thanks to its well-performing skin care business with the Nivea and Eucerin brands, consumer goods group Beiersdorf is targeting more growth in 2023. In the past quarter, skin care made up for the weak performance in the luxury business - in Asia, the luxury brand La Prairie has severe problems. Things are also not going well at the adhesives subsidiary Tesa, because electronics manufacturers in Asia have recently been buying less. Beiersdorf intends to invest more money in growth in the second half of the year, so the earnings forecast remains unchanged despite a strong first half. The share, which is listed on the Dax, rose on Thursday.

ROUNDUP 2/Laboratory and semiconductor businesses continue to weaken: Merck lowers outlook

DARMSTADT - Merck is still struggling with the decline in demand in its laboratory division after the Corona boom, and the semiconductor business also continues to weaken. As a result, the Darmstadt-based company had to cope with lower sales and earnings in the second quarter despite growth in drug sales. Management is now lowering its full-year targets, as headwinds from exchange rates are also increasing. "2023 remains a transition year for us," Group CEO Belen Garijo reiterated in Darmstadt, Germany, according to Thursday's statement. "However, we remain confident that we can achieve our medium-term growth target of 25 billion euros in sales by 2025." The Dax-listed stock rallied sharply, continuing its recent recovery.

ROUNDUP 2: Lufthansa reaches earlier profit sphere - ticket prices remain high

FRANKFURT - Three years after its government bailout, the Lufthansa Group is flying again in earlier profit spheres. The record second-quarter results announced Thursday are a harbinger of at least the third-highest annual profit in the company's history. Due in part to continued high ticket prices, CEO Carsten Spohr expects full-year operating profit (adjusted EBIT) of at least 2.6 billion euros.

ROUNDUP: Adidas sees recovery in inventories - focus on Yeezy sales

HERZOGEBAURACH - Sporting goods maker Adidas continues to struggle with high inventories, but sees a significant recovery. Nevertheless, the environment remains volatile. Adidas continues to see a lot of uncertainty for the rest of the year, Group CEO Bjorn Gulden said Thursday when presenting final figures. "Inventory in the market is still high, so retailers are cautious in their orders." Still, there are some initial bright spots. Inventories, for example, rose by just one percent year-on-year in the second quarter to 5.5 billion euros, the Herzogenaurach-based company reported. Compared to the previous quarter, they had improved "significantly".

ROUNDUP: BMW earns less in second quarter - confident for rest of year

MUNICH - Automaker BMW is optimistic about the remaining months of the year despite the slump in the global economy. CEO Oliver Zipse bases his confidence, among other things, on the new 5 Series, which has been rolling off the production line since the end of July - here, the Munich-based company promises itself rich profits with each new model. At the end of the year, a fully electric version of the car, the i5, will be delivered to customers for the first time, and CFO Walter Mertl also expressed his confidence in its earnings prospects on Thursday. BMW had already presented figures for daily business two days earlier and also adjusted its outlook.

ROUNDUP: Smartphone weakness slows down chip company Qualcomm

SAN DIEGO - Chipmaker Qualcomms doesnt see an imminent recovery in global smartphone sales and is responding with further job cuts. The company did not specify how many jobs would be eliminated, but raised the prospect of "significant" severance costs. Qualcomm expects the smartphone market to shrink by a high single-digit percentage this year.

ROUNDUP: ProSiebenSat.1 still in the red - share price plummets

UNTERFÖHRING (dpa-AFX) - Media group ProSiebenSat.1 made a loss of 56 million euros in the past quarter. "As expected, the second quarter continued to be characterized by a weak TV advertising market," CEO Bert Habets said Thursday. In addition, the full consolidation of the streaming platform Joyn as well as a provision for the group restructuring including 400 job cuts weighed heavily on the quarterly result. On the stock market, the news went down badly.

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Customer Notice:

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

/jha