New OMV chief executive could be found this year, chairman tells Reuters
In a surprise move, CEO Alfred Stern decided in May not to stand for re-election after his term ends in August 2026. Stern led a push towards sustainable fuels, chemicals and recycling.
"We are currently still at the very beginning of the recruiting process ... I really wouldn't rule out having a decision already by the end of the year," supervisory board chairman Lutz Feldmann said on Thursday.
Growth in the oil and gas business remains an important pillar of OMV, he said.
"But of course the chemicals business with all its facets is becoming increasingly important in our portfolio. The new CEO must also shape this," he added.
Feldmann added the appointee would have to deal with the strong pressure to change that both OMV and the wider energy industry are under. "This must also be taken into account in the selection process," said the Chairman.
($1 = 0.8747 euros)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
25 minutes ago
- Reuters
Birkenstock narrowly misses quarterly sales estimates as demand cools
Aug 14 (Reuters) - German sandal maker Birkenstock (BIRK.N), opens new tab narrowly missed third-quarter revenue expectations and reported slower sales growth in the Americas region on Thursday, but said it was well placed to manage the impact of the 15% U.S. tariff on European imports. Birkenstock, whose suede leather closed-toe Boston clogs sell at $179.95 each online, has seen firm demand over the past several quarters as wealthy shoppers showed few signs of resistance to price increases. But the uncertainty from the ongoing tariff war has pushed prices higher on everything from essential goods and services to discretionary items such as high-end footwear, prompting even the more affluent shoppers to tighten their wallets. The company's gross profit margin during the quarter ended June 30 came at 60.5%, up 100 basis points. It reported quarterly revenue of 635 million euros ($741.49 million), compared with analysts' average estimate of 636.74 million euros, according to data compiled by LSEG. Birkenstock maintained fiscal year 2025 revenue growth at the high-end of its forecast range of 15% to 17% in constant currency. ($1 = 0.8564 euros)
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Euro zone industry shrinks more than feared in June but GDP holds up
FRANKFURT, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Euro zone industrial output dipped more than expected in June even as overall economic growth held up in the second quarter, challenging views that the 20 nation currency union remains resilient to the fallout from a global trade war. Industrial output fell 1.3% on the month in June, driven by a big dip in Germany and weak consumer goods production, underperforming expectations for a 1.0% fall, data from Eurostat showed on Thursday. Adding to the negative surprise, Eurostat also revised its output growth estimate for May to 1.1% from 1.7%, suggesting that the underlying trend is weaker than thought. Meanwhile GDP grew by 0.1% on the quarter, in line with a preliminary estimate, and employment rose just 0.1% on the quarter, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll, but below the 0.2% in the previous three months. A recent string of relatively upbeat indicators from purchasing managers (PMI) data to the European Commission's sentiment reading have fuelled a narrative that consumption is keeping the bloc resilient to trade tensions, but more recent numbers, like industrial orders and a key sentiment reading from Germany, have challenged this view. Still, investors continue to bet on a modest upturn on the premise that a recent EU trade deal with the U.S. provides much needed certainty and Germany's plans to sharply boost budget spending will support growth. This is why financial investors think the ECB may be done cutting interest rates and policymakers will sit out a temporary dip in inflation below the 2% target, as price pressures over the medium term are already building up. Growth is unlikely to take off, however, and the euro zone is facing modest expansion of only around 1% a year in the coming years, trailing other major economies, given structural inefficiencies. Compared to a year earlier, second quarter economic growth was 1.4%, a figure that is boosted by a one-off demand surge before U.S. tariffs took effect. This figure is now seen slowing steadily before picking up in 2026. The monthly industrial fall was driven by a 2.3% drop in Germany and an 11.3% fall in Ireland, a figure that is unlikely to concern many, since Irish data is exceptionally volatile due to activity among big multinational companies, mostly in pharmaceuticals, based there for tax purposes. Industry figures showed that besides energy production, every sector took a dip last month, led by a 4.7% fall in non-durable consumer goods and a 2.2% fall in capital goods production.
Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The dangerous driver behind Britain's growth
Britain has become dangerously reliant on public spending to fuel the economy. Growth slowed in the three months to June, with the economy expanding by 0.3pc compared with 0.7pc in the first quarter of 2025. However, it is still better than the 0.1pc expected by analysts and a figure that will be welcomed by Rachel Reeves, with GDP per person – a proxy for living standards – also seeing growth in the first half of this year. However, scratch below the surface and it's clear that the factors behind this growth are unsustainable. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the expansion over the past quarter was driven by 'government consumption'. This includes health and defence, as Labour pours billions of pounds into the NHS and ramps up its pledge to spend more on the military. Statisticians added that public sector administration costs had also climbed in the three months to June. By contrast, business investment declined and household spending barely grew. At the same time, private sector businesses saw a massive increase in costs – with the Chancellor's record National Insurance raid on employers coming alongside a big jump in the minimum wage at the start of April. Reeves's decision to boost public spending for the rest of the parliament while taxing private sector businesses will only cement these trends. The Chancellor hailed the 'strong start to the year', adding: 'I know that the British economy has the key ingredients for success but has felt stuck for too long.' However, Anna Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said: 'It is good to see a stronger growth outturn than many feared. 'But it is striking that momentum is coming from the public sector, with consumer spending slowing and business investment contracting. Private sector growth is being held back by both global and domestic policy uncertainty, with speculation over forthcoming tax increases adding to the headwinds.' With this speculation of further tax rises likely to create more uncertainty and hold back vital investment, the Chancellor faces becoming even more reliant on the public sector to fuel growth. The trend didn't just start under Labour. The Bank of England has previously highlighted that public sector output has been driving growth for almost two years now while private sector growth has lagged behind. This is dangerous for two reasons. Public sector productivity is barely above levels seen in 1997, meaning that despite all the technological advances over the past few decades, for every £1 spent on schools, hospitals and teachers, it still gets about the same amount out. By contrast, output per hour in the private sector is about 32pc higher than its 1997 level, which is still not much to celebrate. Productivity tells us how much the economy can grow without generating too much inflation. When productivity grows, so do company profits and staff wages. This leads to stronger growth, a bigger economy, rising tax revenues and smaller borrowing bills. As Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, put it earlier this year: 'It is fair to say we have seen an increase in public sector employment. We haven't seen a commensurate increase in measured public sector output.' Measurement issues play a role. After all, it is difficult to quantify what an hour of teaching is worth. Britain's older and sicker population also suggests the state will only get bigger, relying on ever higher taxes on the private sector to pay for it all. Analysis by the Resolution Foundation, a think tank, shows that Reeves has put health spending on course to gobble up half of all the money spent on day-to-day services by the end of the decade. This is up from a third in 2010 and roughly a quarter in 1999. With public sector employment on the rise and demands for ever higher pay getting louder, there is a risk that the trend of dire public sector productivity continues. For this reason, Reeves's allies say she will focus on driving up productivity in the Budget. She needs to if Labour is to achieve a pledge of raising living standards across the country. ONS data showed real GDP per head grew by 0.2pc in the three months to July, following growth of 0.6pc in the first quarter. The UK is also holding its own on the international stage, with overall growth of 0.3pc compared to a contraction of 0.1pc in Germany and Italy, two of Europe's biggest economies. However, separate analysis by the World Bank showed Britain's living standards fell behind those in Italy for the first time since 2001 in another sign that the UK's status as a rich country is being eroded. It's not all gloomy, with net trade confounding all expectations by contributing positively to growth. The UK has emerged relatively unscathed from Donald Trump's trade war, with exports actually rising in the second quarter by 1.6pc. Pharmaceutical manufacturing also ramped up over the quarter, with the sector still fearful of being hit by higher tariffs. Sanjay Raja at Deutsche Bank said the strong momentum at the end of the quarter suggested annual growth could be revised up in 'a welcome sign for the Chancellor and the Office for Budget Responsibility'. However, he also cautioned that a strong private sector was the key to sustainable growth. 'To be sure, the economy is growing,' Raja said. 'Positive momentum is brewing. But animal spirits remain tepid. While the Chancellor is poised to focus her Budget on improving productivity – a very welcome focus for the UK – Number 11 should also prioritise lifting household and business confidence to sustain the UK's outperformance.'
