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Business Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Business Times
Ericsson's Q2 profit beats expectations, says North America growth was good
[STOCKHOLM] Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson reported on Tuesday (Jul 15) a swing to a bigger second-quarter adjusted profit than expected, helped by sales growth in North America and cost cuts. Operating profit excluding restructuring charges was 7.0 billion crowns (S$932.9 million) against a year-earlier loss of 11.9 billion and a mean forecast of 6.1 billion in an LSEG poll of analysts. 'We have structurally lowered our cost base and are strongly focused on delivering further efficiencies,' CEO Borje Ekholm said in a statement. The company said sales in its Americas segment grew 10 per cent on the back of good growth in its biggest market North America. 'In North America, sales in Networks and Cloud Software and Services increased, benefiting from previous contract wins,' it said. Group sales fell 6 per cent to 56.1 billion crowns, against a mean forecast of 59.3 billion in the poll. Organic sales however grew 2 per cent. Ericsson said tariffs dampened profit margin growth at its Networks segment. It said increased uncertainty remains on the company's outlook, both in terms of potential for further tariff changes as well as in the broader macroeconomic environment. REUTERS
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Japan's 30-year bond yield hits record high ahead of key election
[TOKYO] Japan's 30-year government bond fell on Tuesday (Jul 15), with the yield hitting a record high, on concerns about the nation's fiscal health ahead of a closely monitored national election at the end of this week. The 30-year JGB yield touched an all-time high of 3.195 per cent, before easing to 3.18 per cent, up 2.5 basis points (bps) from the previous session. Yields move inversely to prices. The market weighed the risk of the defeat of the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito at the upcoming upper house election on July 20. A potential defeat could empower opposition parties that have pledged in their campaign platforms to cut or abolish the sales tax. The 20-year JGB yield rose to as high as 2.64 per cent, its highest since November 1999, the 10-year JGB yield rose to as high as 1.595 per cent, its highest level since October 2008. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up If the LDP-led coalition loses the majority, the 10-year bond yield could rise to as high as 1.8 per cent, the highest level since mid-2008, said Katsutoshi Inadome, a senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management. 'This indicates how the fiscal health has worsened and prices have risen since then,' Inadome said. 'Now the Bank of Japan owns about half of the JGBs and that has capped the yields from rising further. Back then, the BOJ's ownership was much smaller.' Local media reported that Japan's ruling coalition was struggling in the election campaign and could lose its majority. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration has seen approval ratings slide as the rising cost of living, including the soaring price of Japan's staple rice, hit households. Yields on shorter-dated bonds rose to their highest levels since early April, with the two-year JGB yield rising 1 bp to 0.785 per cent and the five-year yield climbing 1 bp to 1.080 per cent. REUTERS
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
RTX launches new Collins Aerospace facility with flexible manufacturing system in Singapore
[SINGAPORE] Defence conglomerate RTX launched its new Collins Aerospace facility at Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore on Tuesday (Jul 15). This marks the beginning of construction at the aerospace park, part of RTX's US$250 million investment to expand its advanced manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities in Singapore. The event was officiated by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Gan Kim Yong, who joined Paolo Dal Cin, senior vice-president of RTX's operations and supply chain, and representatives from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to mark the start of construction on the future site. The current plant of Collins Aerospace in Bedok is the sole manufacturing site for complex gears used in a wide array of modern commercial aircraft platforms, where its major customers are key airframers such as Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer and Gulfstream. New flexible manufacturing system (FMS) workflow As part of this venture, its new facility will adopt an entirely new workflow based on a FMS. This means that a new manufacturing engineering team of 60 persons in the new facility with deep manufacturing process expertise in FMS and Industry 4.0 technologies will be set up. It will be the first of such teams in Collins Aerospaces' global network. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up The move will reportedly double its manufacturing volumes by 2033, and introduce high-value component assembly work to Singapore, said DPM Gan in his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new manufacturing facility on Tuesday. In addition, the company will also upskill its existing workers at its Bedok plant, so that they will be prepared for the shift to the new facility. The launch of this new facility follows the recent agreement between RTX and EDB on Jun 18, which outlines a 10-year roadmap to strengthen Singapore's aerospace ecosystem. It focuses on digitalisation, efficiency, workforce development, and expanding high-value capabilities, with this new facility playing a key role in bringing that shared vision to life. Collins Aerospaces was one of the first aerospace companies to establish a presence in Singapore more than 50 years ago. Substantial gains in aerospace segment in May: EDB According to data from Singapore's EDB, the aerospace segment expanded by 43.6 per cent in May, as it was bolstered by higher production of aircraft parts and more MRO jobs from commercial airlines. This is up from 9.5 per cent year on year in April, and 30.9 per cent year on year in March. Transport engineering output on a whole rose 25.6 per cent year on year in May. As for the marine and offshore engineering segment, it increased by 5.3 per cent in May, on account of higher levels of activities in the shipyards. The land segment, however, declined 12 per cent. The transport engineering cluster cumulatively grew 18 per cent for the period January to May this year, compared to the same period a year ago. In 2024, Singapore's aerospace industry achieved an output valued at over S$18 billion, which represents a growth of more than 15 per cent year on year. 'Amidst the rise of technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as automation and robotics, we want to keep Singapore competitive as a hub for advanced manufacturing,' DPM Gan said. 'We do not set out to compete on cost alone; instead, we differentiate ourselves through our emphasis on quality, innovation, reliability and long-term value,' he added.
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Some airlines checking Boeing fuel switches after Air India crash
[NEW DELHI] India on Monday (Jul 14) ordered its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing models, while South Korea said it would order a similar measure, as scrutiny intensified of fuel switch locks at the centre of an investigation into a deadly Air India crash. The precautionary moves by India, South Korea and some airlines in other countries came despite the planemaker and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) telling airlines and regulators in recent days that the fuel switch locks on Boeing jets are safe. The locks have come under scrutiny following last month's crash of an Air India jet, which killed 260 people. A preliminary report found that the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. One pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. 'The other pilot responded that he did not do so,' the report said. The report noted a 2018 advisory from the US FAA, which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models including the 787 to inspect the locking feature of fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had issued an order to investigate locks on several Boeing models including 787s and 737s, after several Indian and international airlines began making their own inspections of fuel switches. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The regulator oversees the world's third-largest and fastest-growing aviation market. Boeing planes are used by three of the country's four largest airlines. Precautionary checks Some airlines around the world told Reuters they had been checking relevant switches since 2018 in accordance with the FAA advisory, including Australia's Qantas Airways and Japan's ANA. Others said they had been making additional or new checks since the release of the preliminary report into the Air India crash. Singapore Airlines said on Tuesday that it had carried out and completed precautionary checks on the fuel switches of its 787 fleet, including planes used by its low-cost subsidiary Scoot. A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said checks there would be in line with the 2018 advisory from the FAA, but did not give a timeline for them. Flag carrier Korean Air Lines said on Tuesday it had proactively begun inspecting fuel control switches and would implement any additional requirements the transport ministry may have. Boeing referred Reuters' questions to the FAA, which did not respond to a request for comment. Boeing shares closed 1.6 per cent higher on Monday after there were no recommended actions in the report aimed at operators of 787 jets or the GE engines. Japan Airlines (JAL) said it was conducting inspections, but had also been doing so since the 2018 advisory came out. 'Any issues detected were repaired on the ground, and therefore did not occur during flight,' JAL said in a statement on Tuesday. Over the weekend, Air India Group started checking the locking mechanism on the fuel switches of its 787 and 737 fleets and has discovered no problems yet, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. About half the group's 787s have been inspected and nearly all its 737s, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Inspections were set to be completed in the next day or two. The Air India crash preliminary report said that the airline had not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections as the FAA's 2018 advisory was not a mandate. But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash. In an internal memo on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. REUTERS
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Malaysia has not found any evidence yet of illicit chip smuggling, minister says
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia has not yet found any evidence of illicit trade in advanced semiconductors, its trade minister said on Tuesday (Jul 15), adding that authorities were seeking help from the United States in its probe into alleged chip smuggling. Malaysia has been under pressure from the United States to staunch the flow to China of chips crucial to the development of artificial intelligence (AI). The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry last month said it was investigating reports that a Chinese company in the country was using servers equipped with Nvidia chips for AI development. The ministry this week also imposed export controls on the movement of high-performance chips of US origin. Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the move was aimed at preventing the misuse of technology and ensure Malaysia remained in compliance with international standards and obligations. 'We want to prevent the misuse of divergent, sensitive technology, such as AI chips,' he told a press conference. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up 'And most importantly for our industries and economy, we want to avoid secondary sanctions.' Export controls on chips were one of the concerns raised by the United States in its talks with Malaysia over tariffs imposed on the country's goods, Tengku Zafrul said. Malaysia faces a 25 per cent tariff on its exports to the United States, unless it can reach a trade deal with Washington before Aug 1. Tengku Zafrul expressed concern over the tariff rate, and said several sticking points remained in the negotiations, declining to provide details due to the sensitivity of the matter. 'We can't agree to terms when the tariff rate is still high because we don't know what the terms are,' he said. Regardless of the tariffs, Malaysia remained on track to meet its economic growth target of 4.5 to 5.5 per cent for the year, while the ministry will look to achieve its trade target of 5 per cent growth in 2025, Tengku Zafrul said. REUTERS
