Latest news with #AlexanderHübner
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Allianz-led consortium to close $3.8 billion Viridium takeover next week, sources say
By Alexander Hübner MUNCH (Reuters) - An Allianz-led consortium is close to winning a bid for Germany's largest life insurance administrator Viridium, being sold by financial investor Cinven in a 3.5 billion euros ($3.80 billion) deal expected to be finalised next week, two industry sources said on Thursday. Allianz will acquire 25% stake in Viridium, the source said, adding that the consortium also includes U.S. asset manager Blackrock, Japanese life insurer T&D and Italian insurer Generali, which also holds a 10% stake in Viridium. Hannover Re, which founded Viridium together with Cinven, will sell all or part of its stake, according to Versicherungsmonitor industry service which reported the news first. Hannover Re Chief Financial Officer Clemens Jungsthoefel on Thursday said a potential deal would have no significant impact on the company's earnings. Allianz and Cinven declined to comment on the news. Blackrock and T&D were not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.9214 euros) (Writing by Riham Alkousaa;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Puma faces weak U.S. demand, plans job cuts as shares plunge
By Linda Pasquini and Alexander Hübner (Reuters) - Puma on Wednesday announced job cuts and warned of uncertain U.S. consumer demand as the German sportswear group's shares slumped 23% in the wake of disappointing quarterly and annual forecasts issued a day earlier. The grim outlook, which follows weak quarterly sales and annual profit announced in January, has raised concerns over Puma's ability to compete with bigger rivals Adidas and Nike while fending off newer, fast-growing brands such as On Running and Hoka. Chief Executive Arne Freundt said Puma's target consumers in the United States were not spending due to economic uncertainty. "February was bad. March has started off a bit better," he said at a press conference. Chief Financial Officer Markus Neubrand announced plans to cut 500 jobs worldwide and close some unprofitable stores as part of a cost-cutting plan. Asked about the potential impact of U.S. import tariffs, Puma's management confirmed that Chinese production made up about 10% of shoe imports into the United States, down from 30% in the past. The company was urging suppliers to diversify production away from China to countries including Indonesia, they said. 'BELOW CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES' Late on Tuesday, Puma forecast currency-adjusted sales for the current quarter to grow in a low single-digit percentage, below last year's level, with "significantly" lower operating earnings for the same period. It said its annual currency-adjusted sales would grow in a low- to mid-single-digit percentage rate, compared with 4.4% growth to 8.82 billion euros ($9.62 billion) in 2024. It had previously expected 2025 growth to be stronger than in 2024. The group forecast adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 520 million to 600 million euros for 2025, before a one-time charge of up to 75 million related to its cost-cutting programme. "While expectations have lowered recently, we still think this guidance is below the most conservative estimates and raises more questions," Barclays analysts wrote in a note to investors. Puma shares slumped 23% to 21.90 euros at 1246 GMT, a level not seen since November 2016. Puma's larger peer Adidas, meanwhile, recorded a solid performance in 2024 and adopted a cautious stance for 2025. "The stark contrast in regional performance and sell-through versus Adidas, in our view, underscores the importance of brand momentum in driving demand, but also orchestrating operational leverage amid a volatile retail environment," said Felix Dennl, an analyst at Metzler in Frankfurt. Sales of popular retro shoe models helped boost sales of brands including Puma and Adidas last year. Puma said it still aims to sell 4 million to 6 million pairs of its relaunched motor racing-inspired "Speedcat" sneaker, though Freundt said an expected uptick in sales was taking longer than expected to materialise. ($1 = 0.9166 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Munich Re faces $1.3 billion in claims from Los Angeles inferno
By Tom Sims and Alexander Hübner FRANKFURT - Germany's Munich Re expects about 1.2 billion euros ($1.26 billion) in claims resulting from the Los Angeles wildfires, it said on Wednesday, representing the biggest loss reported so far by a single European reinsurer for the January catastrophe. The wildfires killed more than two dozen people and destroyed or damaged more than 16,000 structures, charring an area bigger than Paris. "They were clearly the most substantial wildfire losses in the history of the insurance industry," Munich Re said. Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, said that its estimate was a high degree of uncertainty because the losses were complex. Analysts have estimated insurance claims across the industry could total $45 billion. Hannover Re, another German reinsurer, has said that it could face claims claims amounting to 700 million euros. Fitch, the credit ratings company, has said that European insurers had reduced exposure to California after a spate of fires in 2017 and 2018 but would still be "materially affected" by the 2025 fires because of their scale. Munich Re provided the estimate as part of its fourth-quarter earnings report, which showed a 2.5% fall in net profit, slightly worse than analysts had expected. Fourth-quarter net profit was 979 million euros, down from 1 billion euros a year earlier and short of a 1.02 billion euro analyst consensus provided by the company. Despite the hit from the fires, Munich Re expects net profit for 2025 to rise to 6 billion euros from 5.7 billion euros in 2024. ($1 = 0.9535 euros)
