ROUNDUP 2: Mercedes becomes more cautious and buys back more shares - Dax leader

STUTTGART - The car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz expects less lucrative business in the new year due to burdens in the supply chain and higher investments. Despite relief on raw materials, high inflation already had an impact in 2023 and resulted in lower profits. However, Group CEO Ola Källenius wants to keep investors happy thanks to the good cash position with a new share buyback worth billions, the prospect of further such programs and a slightly higher dividend. The Stuttgart-based company's share price rose significantly on Thursday.

ROUNDUP 2/AI boom continues to drive Nvidia - shares expected to rise significantly

SANTA CLARA - The boom in the use of artificial intelligence continues to drive strong growth for chip company Nvidia. At 22.1 billion US dollars (around 20.3 billion euros), sales in the past quarter were more than three times as high as a year earlier. Analysts had expected an average of 20.4 billion dollars. There were signs of significant gains for the shares on Thursday.

ROUNDUP/Because of engine recall: MTU cuts dividend - More business in 2024

MUNICH - MTU shareholders will have to make do with a lower dividend for the time being due to the costly material defect in the engines of many Airbus jets. For 2023, they will receive 2 euros per share, as the engine manufacturer surprisingly announced in Munich on Wednesday evening. MTU had still paid out 3.20 euros for 2022. Repairing the geared turbofan engines of US partner Pratt & Whitney costs a lot of money. MTU CEO Lars Wagner now wants to keep the money together even more in the coming years. However, he is expecting strong business growth in 2024.

ROUNDUP/Delivery Hero: Foodpanda sale failed - shares on a downward spiral

BERLIN - The food delivery service Delivery Hero now wants to keep its business in Southeast Asia after all. Talks with a potential buyer have been broken off, the company announced on Wednesday evening. "The decision to break off negotiations after months has been made after careful consideration," said CEO Niklas Östberg according to the press release. Investors were disappointed. The share price plummeted by a good nine percent on Thursday morning. A recovery of the share price is now a distant prospect. Recently, speculation about the failure of the Foodpanda sale had already weighed on the share price.

ROUNDUP: Nestle plans fewer price increases - figures and outlook disappoint

VEVEY - The food giant Nestle is preparing for low sales increases this year. Due to the now declining inflation, CEO Mark Schneider no longer wants to raise prices as before, which could be at the expense of the pace of growth. In return, he hopes to finally be able to sell more products again this year. "In 2024, we will focus primarily on volume growth and product mix, coupled with strengthening our brands," said the Nestle CEO in Vevey, Switzerland, according to a statement on Thursday. However, the stock market was disappointed by the figures and the outlook, with the shares recently losing 3.5 percent.

ROUNDUP: Danone expects more moderate growth this year

PARIS - The French food group Danone is expecting slightly less growth this year than recently. On a comparable basis, sales are expected to increase by between three and five percent, as the company announced in Paris on Thursday. However, analysts had expected Danone to achieve slightly less. According to the manufacturer, the adjusted operating margin should improve moderately. The targets are therefore in line with the medium-term forecast, said CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique.

ROUNDUP 2: Heidelberg Materials aims for further growth after record figures

HEIDELBERG - The building materials group Heidelberg Materials (formerly Heidelbergcement) is optimistic for the current year following record figures. "Even if the general conditions in the construction sector remain challenging, we expect sales and earnings growth in the current year," said CEO Dominik von Achten on Thursday in Heidelberg. On Wednesday evening, the company announced the buyback of its own shares with a total volume of up to 1.2 billion euros. The share price fell by around two percent in midday trading on Thursday.

ROUNDUP: Knorr-Bremse posts jump in sales and improves profitability

MUNICH - Truck and train brake manufacturer Knorr-Bremse wants to carry the momentum of the past year and become more profitable in 2024. In addition to a jump in sales, record figures for order intake and order backlog give Group CEO Marc Llistosella an optimistic outlook for the current year. The manager also wants to tidy up the company portfolio and continue to keep an eye on costs. Investors were delighted. The share price rose by eight percent shortly after the start of trading on Thursday. The share was thus at the top of the MDax.

ROUNDUP: Gerresheimer expects less growth in 2024 - dividend stable

DÜSSELDORF - Gerresheimer felt the effects of continued destocking by pharma customers towards the end of 2023. Nevertheless, in some cases things went a little better than analysts had expected. The specialty packaging manufacturer anticipates less growth in 2024, which is not surprising given the headwind from pharmaceutical customers reducing their inventories of injection vials and the largely discontinued special coronavirus business. Group CEO Dietmar Siemssen remains optimistic in the medium term. Shares rose by a double-digit percentage in the first few minutes of trading on Thursday.

ROUNDUP: Krones targets further growth in 2024

NEUTRAUBLING - With a thick order book as a cushion, bottling and packaging equipment manufacturer Krones expects profitable growth again in 2024. The MDax group is also building on its latest acquisition, the mechanical engineering company Nestal. The Bavarians have long since put the coronavirus pandemic behind them and have also digested the bottlenecks in various components well. Thanks to price increases and more flexible processes, Krones was able to make further gains last year and increase its profitability. Krones was also able to convince investors on the stock market with this news on Thursday.

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Further news

-SAP plans to raise dividend to 2.20 euros per share

-Zurich Group significantly increases results

-Energy supplier Iberdrola increases profit - share price falls

-BASF subsidiary Wintershall Dea earns significantly less operationally

-Dispute over multi-million fine against Vonovia subsidiary Deutsche Wohnen continues

-Wirecard insolvency administrator wants millions from the Group's top management

-Heidelberg Materials decides on new share buyback program

-Moderna posts loss due to Covid vaccine - Unexpectedly strong end to the year

-Volkswagen and BMW have to call many cars into the workshops in the USA

-Chinese car market weak in February under the influence of the New Year celebrations

-Zalando wants to remove misleading sustainability labels

-Hochtief earns more in 2023 - higher dividend

-Progress at Varta after cyber attack

-Lufthansa with new offer - Initially no agreement with Verdi

-Verdi: Lufthansa offer not a big hit

-Federal Ministry of Economics fears for diesel supplies in the event of Rosneft's failure

-ROUNDUP: Change of boss at Boeing's Max program after incident

-Verdi announces nationwide wave of strikes on buses and trains

-ROUNDUP: Indus Holding achieves targets - Share buyback of up to 25 million euros

-ROUNDUP: SFC Energy aims for further growth after record year - share price rises

-RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 join forces with advertising customers

-OpenAI boss: AI will not only bring good things

-Intel boss: PC supply chain could follow chips to Europe

-ROUNDUP: Fan spokesman Kessen cannot guarantee end to protests

-Intel boss: PC supply chain could follow chips to Europe

-Lauterbach confident ahead of cannabis vote

-Bavaria wants mediation committee on cannabis legalization

-Study: Smartphones are being used for longer

-ROUNDUP: Expert considers dissolution of the Climate Foundation MV legally impossible

-Hannover 96: End of investor deal 'justifiable decision'°

Customer reference:

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

/jha