
Russia's Sberbank reports marginal Q2 profit rise to $5.19 billion
Sberbank has coped relatively well with high interest rates squeezing lending portfolios. Banks are set to benefit with interest rates now coming down, nipping concerns about rising overdue consumer debt in the bud.
($1 = 81.5500 roubles)

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Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russia's Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery halted operations after drone attacks, sources say
MOSCOW, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Primary oil processing at Russia's Novokuibyshevsk refinery, which is operated by the Rosneft oil company, has been halted since August 2 following a Ukrainian drone attack last week, two industry sources said. That was the first time a major Russian refinery had been attacked by a drone since March 2025. It came after U.S. President Donald Trump last Monday set a 10-12-day deadline for Moscow to agree on a ceasefire with Kiev or face consequences, underscoring his frustration over the continuing 3-1/2-year-old conflict. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Russia this week after his current visit in Israel. The refining capacity of Novokuibyshevsk is 8.3 million metric tons of oil per year (or some 160,000 barrels per day). Rosneft did not respond immediately to a request for comment. According to the sources, the attack damaged the main primary oil refining unit CDU-11 at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery. The refinery has two primary units: CDU-11 with a capacity of 18,900 metric tons per day, and CDU-9 with a capacity of 4,700 tons per day. The refinery planned to stop CDU-9 for a major scheduled maintenance from August to early September. According to the sources, the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery was recently processing about 18,000 tons of crude oil per day. Last year, the refinery processed 5.74 million tons of crude oil, produced 1.10 million tons of motor gasoline, 1.64 million tons of diesel fuel, and 1.27 million tons of fuel oil, according to industry sources.


Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Senior boosted by air travel demand and higher defence spending
UK engineer Senior saw double-digit profit growth in the first half as the group benefited from strong consumer air travel demand and higher defence spending. The Rickmansworth-based firm, which is a supplier to Boeing and Airbus, designs and manufactures high-tech components and systems for aerospace, defence, land vehicle, and power and energy markets. It follows last month's sale of Senior's largest business segment, aerostructures, as the business pursues a leaner structure to become a 'market leading pure-play fluid conveyance and thermal management business'. Senior posted an operating profit of £29million for the six months to 30 June, up 26 per cent year-on-year on a constant currency basis, on revenues of £371.2million. Its two key business areas – aerospace and Flexonics – each saw solid growth, with the former growing revenues 7 per cent thanks to 'improved pricing' and strong growth within its Chinese joint venture. It also benefited from 'higher defence volumes, and good growth in sales to adjacent markets such as semiconductor equipment'. Senior Flexonics, the market leader in 'expansion joint technology', performed 'slightly better than anticipated' with revenues up 2 per cent. It was boosted by land vehicle sales, which were lifted by newer contracts moving into production, while Senior also cited solid growth within its downstream oil and gas, and nuclear business. The £200million sale of aerostructures, which builds the structural components of an aircraft's airframe like the wings, is expected to complete by the end of this year. It follows production issues at Boeing and enduring damage to its operations caused by the pandemic. Senior told shareholders the proceeds would be used to 'reduce net debt' and fund a £40million share buyback programme. It says it currently has a 'robust balance sheet' with leverage - net debt to adjusted earnings before nasties - of 1.9x. But the group wants to get leverage down to 0.5x to 1.5x to support its medium term goals of achieving 'at least double-digit' operating margins over the medium term. David Squires, group chief executive, said: 'We are delivering on our strategy which gives us confidence in our ability to achieve our medium-term financial targets.'


Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Swatch CEO hopes for US-Swiss trade deal: 'It's not doomsday'
ZURICH, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Flagship Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group (UHR.S), opens new tab is hopeful that the Swiss government can quickly strike a deal to avert a threatened 39% U.S. import tariff on Swiss goods, while its high inventories in the United States offer it a short-term buffer. Chief Executive Nick Hayek told Reuters on Monday that the owner of the Omega, Tissot and Longines brands was well positioned to ride out trade tensions but called for urgent talks after the higher tariff rate was revealed last week. The 39% rate - one of the highest tariffs in U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade reset - is due to be implemented from Thursday. The rate was announced late last week when Swiss markets were closed for the Swiss National Day holiday. But the news dealt a blow on Monday to Swiss watch and luxury shares, including Swatch's, which fell nearly 5% at one point before paring back losses. "It's not doomsday. Of course, a settlement can be reached. Why would Donald Trump say tariffs are coming on August 1 and not implement them until the 7th? The door is always open," Hayek told Reuters in an interview. Switzerland's government was due to hold an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss its response to the tariff. Hayek called on Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter to travel quickly to the United States to work to resolve the issue. "She should take the plane and go to Washington. That would increase the chances of a deal enormously," he said. Hayek added that the firm had three to six months of stock in the United States, which would help protect it from tariffs in the world's largest market for Swiss watches. He added that Swatch was planning to ship "a little bit more" inventory to the United States over the next few days. "Our brands are growing in the United States very strongly, and consumption is good," Hayek said. "I am very happy we transferred a lot of stock already in the first six months of this year when the story about the tariffs started." "We shipped much more products to the United States, so this means there is not an immediate impact on us," he added. The U.S. market generated 18% of Swatch's 2024 sales, according to broker Jefferies. The United States is also the biggest foreign market for Swiss watches overall, accounting for 16.8% of exports worth about 4.4 billion Swiss francs ($5.44 billion), according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. ($1 = 0.8093 Swiss francs)