Forestry giant Copec's profits dip even as revenues beat forecasts
Revenues for the firm, which owns a large forestry business as well as fuel distribution, mining and fishing operations, nevertheless landed comfortably ahead of those expected by analysts polled by LSEG, who had forecast just $6.84 billion.
Profits landed in line with their estimates.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Forestry giant Copec's profit dips as revenue beats forecasts
Aug 14 (Reuters) - Chilean industrial conglomerate Empresas Copec ( opens new tab on Thursday posted an 21% drop in second-quarter profit although revenue surpassed expectations, as the forestry giant faces falling pulp prices and impacts from the U.S.-China trade war. Net profit for the three months ended June hit $228 million - in line with forecasts of analysts polled by LSEG - from revenue that edged down 1% to $7.18 billion. However, revenue for Copec, which owns a large forestry business as well as fuel distribution, mining and fishing operations, landed ahead of analysts' $6.84 billion estimate. Copec attributed the decline in sales largely to lower prices for pulp - a raw material used in a range of products such as paper, packaging and some textiles - though it partially offset this by selling off larger volumes. Copec said China faced an oversupply of pulp even though domestic consumption and demand remained strong, while in Europe, an oversupply had combined with a lower use of "almost all grades of paper", causing some paper mills to shut down. "The dissolving pulp market has been affected by the trade war between the United States, China, and other Asian textile-producing countries," it added. Copec said its forestry subsidiary Arauco sold nearly 8% more pulp compared to the same quarter last year, but prices were down more than 12%. Arauco contributes the bulk of earnings for Copec, which last year counted over 9,360 square km (3,614 square miles) of land planted mainly with eucalyptus and pine forests across Brazil and South America's Southern Cone - an area larger than the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Washington has slapped a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil, but excluded some major exports, including various types of wood pulp, sawn wood and paper products.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Russian aluminium giant Rusal swings to first-half loss as expenses surge
Aug 15 (Reuters) - Rusal ( opens new tab, reported a first-half net loss on Friday, as rising costs, higher interest expenses and foreign exchange fluctuations weighed on the Russian aluminium producer's earnings. The Hong Kong-listed company, the world's largest aluminium maker outside China, swung to a net loss of $87 million for the six-month period ended June 30, from a profit of $565 million last year. Rusal has faced sustained pressure for more than three years from the fallout of Western sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. While not directly sanctioned, the company has seen some Western buyers avoid new contracts for Russian metal. Finance expenses surged by $408 million, reflecting higher interest on bank and company loans, bonds and other charges, while a foreign exchange loss added $181 million to the bottom-line hit. Cost of sales jumped about 40% to $6.11 billion, driven by increased volumes of primary aluminium sales and higher alumina and raw material prices, as well as elevated electricity and transport costs. Still, Rusal's revenue rose 32% to $7.52 billion due to higher sales of primary aluminium and alloys.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Banco do Brasil quarterly profit slides, slashes yearly outlook and dividend
SAO PAULO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run lender Banco do Brasil SA ( opens new tab on Thursday reported a 60% slide in second-quarter adjusted net profit, and it announced a sharp cut to its full-year outlook and dividend payout. Net profit came in at 3.8 billion reais ($702.4 million), below the 5 billion reais expected in an LSEG poll. "2025 is a year of adjustments for growth acceleration," Chief Executive Tarciana Medeiros said in the earnings statement. Banco do Brasil, which was the last among Brazil's largest listed banks to release results, posted a return on equity of 8.4%, down from 21.6% a year earlier and 16.7% in the first quarter. In a separate filing, Banco do Brasil cut its 2025 shareholder payout to 30% of its profit, down from the previous range of 40% to 45%, attributing the move to factors including the results, cash needs and capital projections. The earnings follow a challenging first quarter, when higher-than-expected delinquency in its key agribusiness loan portfolio and regulatory changes hurt earnings. The bank's shares have fallen more than 30% since the first-quarter report, which had led the lender to suspend some of its initial 2025 projections. Banco do Brasil resumed forecasts for those metrics on Thursday, projecting full-year adjusted net profit between 21 billion and 25 billion reais, far below its initial range of 37 billion to 41 billion reais provided at the start of the year. The mid-point of the fresh range, 23 billion reais, also falls short of the 26.8 billion reais expected by analysts polled by LSEG. The lender also cut the estimate for its credit portfolio growth to between 3% and 6% this year, from its previous expectation of between 5.5% and 9.5%. ($1 = 5.4101 reais)
