2025-02-04 07:23
TOKYO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Demand for gas turbines should remain solid even if data centres require less electricity, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' (MHI) (7011.T) , opens new tab finance chief said on Tuesday, after a market rout last week driven by the arrival of Chinese AI DeepSeek. While DeepSeek's performance remains unproven, MHI had no particular concern on its turbine business since an efficient AI, if any, would not affect the view that global power demand continues to rise, said chief financial officer Hisato Kozawa. "Rather, I was kind of moved to see our company was now traded as an AI-related stock," Kozawa said of the DeepSeek-induced sell-off last week. The Japanese industrial giant on Tuesday released record third-quarter earnings and annual forecasts for the financial year ending in March, driven largely by strong demand for gas turbines used in power plants. MHI raised its net profit forecast for fiscal 2024/25 to 240 billion yen ($1.55 billion), more than 8% higher than its previous guidance. Its share price has more than doubled over the past year, thanks also to growing orders for jets, naval ships and missiles amid Japan's defence buildup. MHI shares closed on Tuesday at 2,218 yen per share, down 0.6% from the previous day's close, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 (.N225) , opens new tab was up 0.7%. ($1 = 155.2800 yen) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/gas-turbine-demand-is-solid-despite-deepseek-mitsubishi-heavy-cfo-says-2025-02-04/
2025-02-04 07:22
Feb 4 (Reuters) - Tullow Oil (TLW.L) , opens new tab said on Tuesday that it has appointed its finance chief Richard Miller as interim chief executive officer, effective Feb. 14. Miller, who joined Tullow in 2011, will succeed Rahul Dhir, who is stepping down as CEO and resigning from the board but will stay on until June 5. Tullow said the process to find a permanent CEO is in progress. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uks-tullow-oil-names-richard-miller-interim-ceo-2025-02-04/
2025-02-04 07:20
OSLO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Equinor's (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab Johan Sverdrup oilfield in the North Sea has suffered a power outage that is estimated to last for some 8 hours, a regulatory statement posted on the Nord Pool web site showed on Tuesday. "Operational issues, troubleshooting in progress," the message said. Operator Equinor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previous power outages at Sverdrup have resulted in full or partial shutdowns of oil production. Sverdrup is western Europe's largest producing field, pumping last year at a rate of around 755,000 barrels of oil per day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/equinors-massive-johan-sverdrup-oilfield-hit-by-power-outage-2025-02-04/
2025-02-04 07:07
NAIROBI, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Kenya's shilling gained slightly against the dollar on Tuesday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed. At 0658 GMT, the shilling traded at 128.85/129.35, compared with Monday's closing rate of 129.00/129.50. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/kenya-shilling-firms-slightly-versus-dollar-lseg-data-shows-2025-02-04/
2025-02-04 06:58
Feb 4 (Reuters) - Austrian oil and gas firm OMV (OMVV.VI) , opens new tab on Tuesday reported full-year adjusted operating profit in line with expectations, as better performance at its chemicals division offset weakness at the fuel and feedstock and energy segments. The Vienna-based company reported a clean operating result of 5.14 billion euros ($5.29 billion), down 15% year-on-year, but roughly in line with expectations of 5.13 billion euros, according to a consensus compiled by Vara Research. A clean operating result is based on the current cost of supply, and excludes one-off items and short-term gains and losses from energy inventory holdings. OMV's chemicals division, viewed as a growth engine for the company as it moves away from polluting fossil fuels, produces chemicals used in gas and water pipes, car parts and medical syringes. For 2025, the company said it expected the average Brent price to be around $75 per barrel, as well as an average realized natural gas price of around 35 euros per megawatt-hour. In 2024, the average Brent price stood at $80.8 per barrel and the average realized natural gas price reached 25.1 euros per megawatt-hour. The firm also said it will propose a total dividend of 4.75 euros per share for 2024, divided into a regular dividend of 3.05 euros and a special dividend of 1.70 euros. Last year, the dividend reached 5.05 euros per share. ($1 = 0.9714 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/austrias-omv-posts-fy-profit-line-with-view-helped-by-chemicals-segment-2025-02-04/
2025-02-04 06:32
BANGKOK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Thailand will suspend electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb scam centres, its government said on Tuesday, amid growing pressure on the illegal compounds that have ensnared vast numbers of people of multiple nationalities. According to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centres and illegal online operations across Southeast Asia, including along the Thai-Myanmar border. A 2023 U.N. report estimated the fast-growing operations generate billions of dollars annually. "We must take action to cut off the electricity immediately," Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters, adding authorities would instruct the Provincial Electricity Authority that supplies power to these areas to cut it off. The scam compounds have come into renewed focus after Chinese actor Wang Xing was abducted after arriving in Thailand last month. He was later freed by Thai police who found him in Myanmar. Thailand has been concerned about the impact on its vital tourism sector and has has sought to allay safety concerns of visitors from China, a key source market. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said talks would be held on Tuesday with the National Security Council on various measures to address the scam compounds, including stopping the power supply. "What happened has had a huge impact on many Thai people and the image of the country," she said. Asked when power would be cut off, she said: "Today, if we talk and it's clear, then we can do it today." The security council's chief on Monday said evidence showed transnational crime syndicates operating in Myanmar's Tachileik, Myawaddy, and Payathonzu - outlining areas that the power supply cuts may target. Myanmar's state-run Global New Light of Myanmar in a rare article on scam centres last month said basic essentials, including power and internet, are not provided by Myanmar but by other countries, in a veiled reference to Thailand. It said "foreign organisations" were investing in this infrastructure. Myanmar's military government has since October 2023 repatriated more than 55,000 foreigners, overwhelmingly Chinese, who were forced to work in scam compounds to their home countries, the newspaper said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-cut-power-myanmar-border-areas-linked-scam-centres-2025-02-04/
