2025-02-11 23:05

HOUSTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. pipeline operator Energy Transfer (ET.N) , opens new tab expects to reach a final investment decision on its Lake Charles liquefied natural gas export project by the fourth quarter of 2025, company executives said on a post-earnings call. Energy Transfer in December said it had entered a 20-year LNG sale and purchase agreement with oil and gas major Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, subject to giving the project the green light. President Donald Trump issued an order last month for the U.S. to resume , opens new tab processing export permit applications for new LNG projects, effectively reversing a pause put in place in early 2024 by former President Joe Biden. The lifting of the export pause is expected to push companies developing LNG projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast to move full speed ahead with their plans. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/energy-transfer-reach-final-decision-lake-charles-lng-export-project-by-q4-2025-2025-02-11/

2025-02-11 23:02

SAO PAULO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian meatpacker Minerva on Tuesday proposed selling one of its potential future cattle slaughterhouses in Uruguay as it looks to ease antitrust concerns over its stymied attempt to buy three local slaughterhouses from rival Marfrig. Minerva (BEEF3.SA) , opens new tab said it has sent a new request for approval to Uruguay's watchdog Coprodec, now proposing to sell one of the three plants it wishes to buy from Marfrig - its Colonia unit - immediately after the deal. The adjusted proposal seeks to reduce Coprodec's worries about how the deal would impact competition after the antitrust body blocked the transaction last year, a decision later upheld by the South American nation's government. The proposed purchase of the Uruguayan slaughterhouses are part of a broader deal announced in 2023, through which Minerva would buy a total of 16 slaughtering plants from Marfrig (MRFG3.SA) , opens new tab in South America for 7.5 billion reais. Minerva already concluded the acquisition of the other 13 plants of the deal, located outside Uruguay. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/minerva-pitches-slaughterhouse-sale-ease-uruguay-antitrust-concerns-2025-02-11/

2025-02-11 22:25

MEXICO CITY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Mining giant Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX) , opens new tab reported a drop in its net profit during the fourth quarter on Tuesday, missing analysts' estimates and dragged down by losses in its infrastructure division and a smaller profit in its transport unit. Net profit in the quarter fell 6.5% to $686.5 million, from revenues which were up 13% to $3.85 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast a net profit of $945 million from revenues of $4.04 billion. Grupo Mexico, controlled by billionaire German Larrea, is one of the world's largest copper producers with mines in Peru, the United States, Spain and its home base of Mexico, where it also operates major freight railroads. The conglomerate's mining division saw sales up 17.4% in the quarter, with copper output ticking up 0.8%, while zinc production more than doubled. Grupo Mexico's copper production for the year came in at 1.086 million metric tons, in line with its outlook. For 2025, the miner forecasts production at a slightly lower 1.083 million tons, it said. The transport unit saw a 3.5% decline in sales compared to the year-earlier period, with net profit down by 0.1%, while the infrastructure division trimmed losses from the previous year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/mining-giant-grupo-mexico-posts-65-profit-dip-q4-2025-02-11/

2025-02-11 22:12

MEXICO CITY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Mexican telecommunications giant America Movil (AMXB.MX) , opens new tab on Tuesday reported a 48% fall in its fourth-quarter net profit, well below analysts' expectations, with the company citing foreign exchange losses even as its revenues rose. The company, controlled by the family of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, attributed the decline to "a higher integral cost of financing, nearly half of which was associated with foreign-exchange losses." The company operates across over 20 countries in Europe and Latin America. In Mexico, its home market which brought in some 35% of revenue, the peso ended 2024 more than 20% weaker against the U.S. dollar compared to a year earlier. America Movil's profit landed at 9.48 billion pesos ($453 million) - well below the average estimate of analysts polled by LSEG, who had forecast more than double the figure in dollar-denominated net earnings, at $1.15 billion. Revenues, meanwhile, came in at 236.94 billion pesos ($11.35 billion) for the period, up 18% year-on-year, but just slightly below an LSEG forecast of $11.41 billion. America Movil noted that its quarterly revenue growth was largely due to a new accounting methodology in its operations in Argentina, which ended last year with 118% inflation. Excluding Argentina, the firm said, revenues would have still risen 10% in Mexican peso terms, thanks in part to the consolidation of its operations in Chile. America Movil said its core earnings, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), rose around 16% in the quarter to 91.11 billion pesos. The company added 2.1 million net post-paid customers in the quarter, driven by gains in Ecuador and Central America, and some 320,000 new broadband clients. ($1 = 20.8829 Mexican pesos at end-December) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/mexican-telecoms-giant-america-movil-posts-48-dip-fourth-quarter-profit-2025-02-11/

2025-02-11 21:49

HY underlying NPAT down 6.5%, but beats consensus Interim dividend of 23 Australian cents per share Narrows FY25 earnings outlook Feb 12 (Reuters) - Australian power producer AGL Energy (AGL.AX) , opens new tab on Wednesday reported first-half underlying profit ahead of analyst estimates but narrowed its annual earnings forecast, citing competition and lower customer demand anticipated in the second half of the year. AGL Energy narrowed its fiscal 2025 underlying post-tax net profit outlook to a range of A$580 million ($364.88 million) to A$710 million, compared with its previous expectation of A$530 million to A$730 million. The mid-point of this new range is slightly below the Visible Alpha consensus of A$657 million, and substantially lower than the fiscal 2024 underlying profit of A$812 million , opens new tab. The narrowing of the forecast reflects a strong first-half performance, with earnings expected to moderate in the second half due to lower customer gas and electricity demand, as well as ongoing customer competition, the power producer said. It also narrowed its annual underlying operating earnings outlook to between A$1.94 billion and A$2.14 billion, the mid-point of which misses consensus of A$2.06 billion. AGL, which accounts for nearly 20% of total electricity generation in Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM), is battling with lower contract prices — as the normalisation of high wholesale electricity prices seen in the previous fiscal year affects contract pricing and retail margins. Higher operating costs due to inflationary pressures and increased expenses to keep its thermal power plants running crimped its bottom line. Its first-half underlying profit fell to A$373 million ($234.80 million) for the six months ended December 31, below the A$399 million , opens new tab profit reported last year. However, it comfortably surpassed the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$307.4 million. "As anticipated, the result was impacted by increased Consumer customer margin compression due to lower customer pricing and heightened market competition," said Chief Executive Officer Damien Nicks. Higher generation volumes at its coal-fired Bayswater power station in New South Wales and improved gross margin at its electricity and gas trading business helped cap the losses. The Melbourne-headquartered firm, which counts tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes as its top shareholder, declared an interim dividend of 23 Australian cents per share, below the 26 Australian cents declared last year. ($1 = 1.5896 Australian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australian-power-producer-agl-energys-first-half-profit-beats-street-2025-02-11/

2025-02-11 21:47

Feb 12 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Asian markets on Wednesday will be looking to claw back Tuesday's broad losses but will face headwinds from a sluggish performance on Wall Street, higher U.S. bond yields and persistent nervousness around escalating global trade tensions. In testimony to Congress, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed the U.S. central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates. His upbeat view of the economy and willingness to continue shrinking the Fed's balance sheet weighed on U.S. equity and bond prices, which could temper risk appetite in Asia. Deep uncertainty around the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports announced by President Donald Trump on Monday, and what lies next in the brewing global trade war, may also keep investors on the defensive. This is partly being reflected in gold's relentless rise to new highs within sight of $3,000 an ounce. Fear over the inflationary impact of a global trade war isn't the only reason bullion is up 10% this year, but it's a big one. Japanese markets reopen after Tuesday's National Day holiday, and if there's a domestic driver for stocks on Wednesday it could be Softbank's results. The technology investment conglomerate is expected to post quarterly net profit of 234 billion yen ($1.54 billion) but analysts are keen to know whether the firm's recent flurry of artificial intelligence-related investments will help or hurt its bottom line. Softbank has agreed with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to set up a joint venture in Japan, is committing $15 billion to the Stargate project, and has pledged to invest up to $100 billion in AI projects in the U.S. over four years. This comes amid an extraordinarily volatile time in AI - China's DeepSeek , opens new tab rocked world markets last month, and on Monday a consortium led by Elon Musk said it had offered $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI. U.S. tech stocks are holding their ground - the Nasdaq and 'FAANG' index are up 2% and 5% so far this year, respectively - but Asian tech stocks are flying - Hong Kong's Hang Seng tech index is up 14% year to date. Hedge funds have probably been active here. According to Goldman Sachs, they have been aggressive buyers of Chinese stocks this year, especially since the emergence of homegrown AI startup DeepSeek stoked investor enthusiasm. And on Monday, a securities filing from billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper's Appaloosa Management showed that the firm substantially increased its holdings of Chinese tech giants Alibaba and JD in the fourth quarter of last year. Remember, it was in response to Beijing's initial economic stimulus and market support measures in September that Tepper said he would buy "everything" on China. He still seems just as bullish. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to Asian markets on Wednesday: - Softbank results (Q3) - India inflation (January) - India industrial production (December) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphics-2025-02-11/