Unilever India's New CEO Has to Invigorate a Sluggish Consumer Giant
While the Indian unit of Unilever Plc posted a forecast-beating quarterly profit last week, Nair, who took over the CEO role on Aug. 1, has her task cut out in sustaining this momentum.
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MercadoLibre misses profit estimates as Brazil free-shipping boost hurts margins
By Andre Romani SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre on Monday posted a 1.5% dip in its second-quarter net profit from a year earlier, missing analysts' estimates, as increased free shipping in Brazil drove sales up but also hit margins. MercadoLibre, Latin America's largest company by market value, reported net income of $523 million for the quarter through the end of June, below the $596 million expected by analysts in an LSEG poll. MercadoLibre, based in Uruguay, operates an e-commerce platform and the fintech Mercado Pago, selling in nearly 20 countries throughout Latin America. Net revenue of $6.8 billion was up 34% year-on-year, beating the estimate of $6.7 billion, with sales measured by gross merchandise value rising 37% on a forex-neutral basis. In early June, MercadoLibre cut the threshold for purchases eligible for free shipping in Brazil, after also lowering shipping costs for companies and users selling on its platform in May, amid fierce competition in the country's e-commerce segment. Brazil, the firm's main market, together with Mexico helped MercadoLibre to increase total items sold by 31% in the quarter, the fastest pace year-on-year since mid-2021. However, that also hurt margins, said Chief Financial Officer Martin de los Santos. "We don't want to miss the growth opportunities ahead of us," he said in an interview. "That might generate some structural margin pressure, but we are very optimistic about the long-term trajectory of our profitability." Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached a record high of $825 million, but also missed the $869 million forecast. The EBIT margin stood at 12.2%, down from 14.3% a year earlier. The CFO said that among the main impacts on margins were investments in free shipping and related marketing, and growth in its so-called 1P business, which sells directly to customers. MercadoLibre's fintech arm grew its credit portfolio by 91% to $9.3 billion, while the 15-to-90-day default ratio fell 1.5 percentage points to 6.7%, the lowest since it started to release the figure seven years ago, the CFO said. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
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Modi and Trump once called each other good friends. Now the US-India relationship is getting bumpy
NEW DELHI (AP) — They men shared bear hugs, showered praise on each other and made appearances side by side at stadium rallies — a big optics boost for two populist leaders with ideological similarities. Each called the other a good friend. In India, the bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump was seen as a relationship like no other. That is, until a series of events gummed up the works. From Trump's tariffs and India's purchase of oil from Russia to a U.S. tilt towards Pakistan, friction between New Delhi and Washington has been hard to miss. And much of it has happened far from the corridors of power and, unsurprisingly, through Trump's posts on social media. It has left policy experts wondering whether the camaraderie the two leaders shared may be a thing of the past, even though Trump has stopped short of referring to Modi directly on social media. The dip in rapport, some say, puts a strategic bilateral relationship built over decades at risk. 'This is a testing time for the relationship,' said Ashok Malik, a former policy adviser in India's Foreign Ministry. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Simmering tensions over trade and tariffs The latest hiccup between India and the U.S. emerged last week when Trump announced that he was slapping 25% tariffs on India as well as an unspecified penalty because of India's purchasing of Russian oil. For New Delhi, such a move from its largest trading partner is expected to be felt across sectors, but it also led to a sense of unease in India — even more so when Trump, on social media, called India's economy 'dead.' Trump's recent statements reflect his frustration with the pace of trade talks with India, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal administration thinking. The Republican president has not been pursuing any strategic realignment with Pakistan, according to the official, but is instead trying to play hardball in negotiations. Trump doubled down on the pressure Monday with a fresh post on Truth Social, in which he accused India of buying 'massive amounts' of oil from Russia and then 'selling it on the Open Market for big profits.' 'They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA,' he said. The messaging appears to have stung Modi's administration, which has been hard-selling negotiations with Trump's team over a trade deal by balancing between India's protectionist system while also opening up the country's market to more American goods. Many expected India to react strongly considering Modi's carefully crafted reputation of strength. Instead, the announcement prompted a rather careful response from India's commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, who said the two countries are working towards a 'fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement.' India's Foreign Ministry also played down suggestions of any strain. However, experts in New Delhi wonder. 'Strenuous, uninterrupted and bipartisan efforts in both capitals over the past 25 years are being put at risk by not just the tariffs but by fast and loose statements and social media posts,' said Malik, who now heads the India chapter of The Asia Group, a U.S. advisory firm . Malik also said the trade deal the Indian side has offered to the U.S. is the 'most expansive in this country's history,' referring to reports that India was willing to open up to some American agricultural products. That is a politically sensitive issue for Modi, who faced a yearlong farmers' protest a few years ago. Trump appears to be tilting towards Pakistan The unraveling may have gained momentum over tariffs, but the tensions have been palpable for a while. Much of it has to do with Trump growing closer to Pakistan, India's nuclear rival in the neighborhood. In May, India and Pakistan traded a series of military strikes over a gun massacre in disputed Kashmir that New Delhi blamed Islamabad for. Pakistan denied the accusations. The four-day conflict made the possibility of a nuclear conflagration between the two sides seem real and the fighting only stopped when global powers intervened. But it was Trump's claims of mediation and an offer to work to provide a 'solution' regarding the dispute over Kashmir that made Modi's administration uneasy. Since then, Trump has repeated nearly two dozen times that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan. For Modi, that is a risky — even nervy — territory. Domestically, he has positioned himself as a leader who is tough on Pakistan. Internationally, he has made huge diplomatic efforts to isolate the country. So Trump's claims cut a deep wound, prompting a sense in India that the U.S. may no longer be its strategic partner. India insists that Kashmir is India's internal issue and had opposed any third-party intervention. Last week Modi appeared to dismiss Trump's claims after India's Opposition began demanding answers from him. Modi said that 'no country in the world stopped' the fighting between India and Pakistan, but he did not name Trump. Trump has also appeared to be warming up to Pakistan, even praising its counterterrorism efforts. Hours after levying tariffs on India, Trump announced a 'massive' oil exploration deal with Pakistan, saying that some day, India might have to buy oil from Islamabad. Earlier, he also hosted one of Pakistan's top military officials at a private lunch. Sreeram Sundar Chaulia, an expert at New Delhi's Jindal School of International Affairs, said Trump's sudden admiration for Pakistan as a great partner in counterterrorism has 'definitely soured' the mood in India. Chaulia said 'the best-case scenario is that this is just a passing Trump whim,' but he also warned that 'if financial and energy deals are indeed being struck between the U.S. and Pakistan, it will dent the U.S.-India strategic partnership and lead to loss of confidence in the U.S. in Indian eyes.' India's oil purchases from Russia are an irritant The strain in relations has also to do with oil. India had faced strong pressure from the Biden administration to cut back its oil purchases from Moscow during the early months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Instead, India bought more, making it the second-biggest buyer of Russian oil after China. That pressure sputtered over time and the U.S. focused more on building strategic ties with India, which is seen as a bulwark against a rising China. Trump's threat to penalize India over oil, however, brought back those issues. On Sunday, the Trump administration made its frustrations over ties between India and Russia ever more public. Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House, accused India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow, saying it was 'not acceptable.' Some experts, though, suspect Trump's remarks are mere pressure tactics. 'Given the wild fluctuations in Trump's policies,' Chaulia said, 'it may return to high fives and hugs again.' ___ Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed reporting. Sheikh Saaliq And Rajesh Roy, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
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Coterra Energy beats second quarter profit estimates
(Reuters) -Coterra Energy surpassed Wall Street expectations for second quarter profit on Monday, as the U.S. shale producer benefited from a rise in production and stronger commodity prices. The Houston, Texas-based company posted an adjusted profit of 48 cents per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts' estimates of 45 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sign in to access your portfolio
