2025-10-30 23:21

Oct 30 (Reuters) - First Solar (FSLR.O) , opens new tab, the biggest U.S.-based solar panel maker, beat expectations for third-quarter sales on Thursday, driven by robust demand for its products, sending its shares up more than 5% in extended trading. Solar-generated electricity is one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. energy industry, driven by strong demand from corporations and governments to adopt cleaner sources of power and combat climate change. Sign up here. First Solar said it would establish a new 3.7 GW manufacturing facility in the U.S., with production expected to start at the end of 2026 and ramp up through the first half of 2027. The factory will finish products started at the company's overseas facilities, helping First Solar products achieve President Donald Trump's goal of reducing U.S. reliance on foreign-made goods. "This activity places us uniquely at the intersection of several of the administration's key priorities, including those related to domestic manufacturing job creation, American energy and energy affordability, and serving among the generation solutions that enable the U.S. to win the artificial intelligence race against China," CEO Mark Widmar said on a conference call with investors. The company reported a profit of $455.9 million, or $4.24 per share, for the third quarter, up from $341.87 million, or $3.18 per share, a year earlier. However First Solar lowered its current-year sales forecast. It now expects annual sales to be between $4.95 billion and $5.2 billion in 2025, compared with its prior view of $4.9 billion to $5.7 billion. The change in forecast reflects "reduced international volumes sold due to customer terminations, partially offset by termination payments", the company said on a conference call. The company sued a solar division of Great Britain's BP last month for breach of contract, according to executives and court documents. This reduced First Solar's backlog of solar modules by 6.6 gigawatts (GW) at a total transaction price of $1.9 billion. First Solar also lowered the top end of its forecast range for volumes sold to 17.4 GW from 19.3 GW, while keeping the low end unchanged at 16.7 GW. The company reported net sales of $1.6 billion for the three months ended September 30, above analysts' estimates of $1.56 billion, as per data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/first-solar-beats-expectations-third-quarter-sales-robust-demand-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 23:08

BEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Tianyu Jiang took a 2,000-km (1,200-mile) road trip this month during China's national holiday week, driving in his electric vehicle from the southwestern Sichuan basin to Beijing for the first time. "I used to drive a petrol car and had never taken an EV for such a big trip, but long-distance driving for an EV doesn’t feel like a problem anymore," Jiang said. Sign up here. He is among tens of millions of Chinese increasingly taking to EV vehicles, who benefited from expanded charging infrastructure to reverse the usual boom in gasoline use during the October holiday known as "Golden Week". Far from a peak, China's gasoline demand is estimated to have fallen 9% in October on the year to 12.5 million tons, with average daily use roughly flat with September, according to Chinese consultancy Sublime China Information (SCI). The sagging holiday demand is symptomatic of the broader decline in Chinese fuel use stemming from wider EV adoption, heralding the approaching end of its decades-long role as the main driving force of new global oil demand. Gasoline consumption in the world's biggest importer of crude peaked in 2023 and the research unit of state oil company Sinopec expects demand to fall more than 4% this year from 2024. During the first nine months of the year, EVs and hybrids made up almost half of all new car sales. A fifth of the 63.5 million car trips during the eight-day holiday break were in electric or hybrid vehicles, the transport ministry says. Daily use of electricity by charging stations, a proxy for EV use, rose 45.73% during Golden Week this year, versus 2024. EV adoption has benefited from China's push to build charging infrastructure, with some 18 million charging ports by the end of September, up 54.5% on the year. "During travel peaks, both charging and refuelling mean waiting," said Jiang. "If you really need a charge, exit the highway and you will find charging stations within 10 km (6 miles), and it's cheap." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/evs-put-an-end-chinas-usual-holiday-surge-gasoline-use-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 22:03

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Weyerhaeuser (WY.N) , opens new tab reported an increase in third-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher sales and a recovery in its timberlands and real estate segments. Housing activity has been recovering amid hopes that easing mortgage rates would stimulate demand for new construction, boosting sales at companies such as Weyerhaeuser, which sells timber and other wood products. Sign up here. The company's net sales rose more than 2% to $1.72 billion during the third quarter. Adjusted core profit from its timberlands segment came in at $148 million, compared with $122 million a year earlier, while that of the real estate unit jumped more than 18% to $91 million. The results come after the Trump administration imposed tariffs of 10% on imported timber and lumber. Weyerhaeuser owns or controls about 10.5 million acres of timberlands in the U.S., primarily in the West, South and Northeast. The company said it completed two acquisitions totaling $459 million during the third quarter, while also advancing three divestiture packages of non-core timberlands worth $410 million. It posted a profit of $80 million, or 11 cents per share, for the quarter ended September 30, compared with $28 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier. https://www.reuters.com/business/timber-firm-weyerhaeusers-quarterly-profit-rises-higher-sales-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 21:43

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Australia's Origin Energy (ORG.AX) , opens new tab on Friday posted a sequential first-quarter revenue drop from its LNG joint venture in Queensland, weighed down by lower volumes and prices, which sent shares lower. Shares of Sydney-based company fell as much as 6.3% to A$11.81, marking its weakest trading session since early April. The stock also fell to its lowest level in more than two months. Sign up here. The power producer reported revenue from the APLNG project — a joint venture with U.S. oil and gas major ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab and China's state-owned Sinopec (600028.SS) , opens new tab — of A$482 million ($313.20 million) for the three months ended September 30, compared with A$547 million in the June quarter. Overall revenue of the joint venture has also dipped 5% sequentially in the September quarter, largely guided by lower sales volumes due to LNG inventory movements and timing of contracted cargoes, with lagging realised oil prices. Liquefied natural gas prices hit multi-week lows over the quarter as lackluster demand across Asia persisted, especially from major LNG consumer and Australia's largest trading partner, China, while production remained healthy alongside ample stockpiles. Origin realised $10.08 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu) in the quarter for its LNG product from the APLNG project in Queensland, compared with $10.26 per mmBtu in the June quarter. The energy retailer's total production share from the project remained stable in the three months compared to the previous quarter, while total sales slipped 1% sequentially to 44.4 petajoules. ($1 = 1.5389 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australias-origin-energy-logs-12-sequential-fall-first-quarter-aplng-revenue-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 21:35

SAO PAULO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Vale (VALE3.SA) , opens new tab, one of the world's largest iron ore miners, posted on Thursday a third-quarter net profit that landed above analysts' estimates, while also cutting its full-year cost projections for copper and nickel. Rio de Janeiro-headquartered Vale posted a $2.69 billion net profit for the July-September period, up 11% year-over-year and above the $2.10 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Sign up here. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at $4.4 billion in the period, a 21% increase, also beating estimates of $4.1 billion. Vale released its sales and output data last week, with iron ore production reaching the highest since the fourth quarter of 2018 at 94.4 million metric tons. "Overall, Vale posted strong results, driven by better realized prices in iron ore and byproducts, robust iron ore and copper sales volumes, and lower cost and expense," Santander analysts led by Yuri Pereira wrote in a note to clients. The analysts said they expected a positive share reaction on Friday. The results were released after the market closed on Thursday. Third-quarter net revenue rose 9% to $10.4 billion, with Vale's main iron ore business rising 6%, while its base metals unit - mostly copper and nickel - jumped 26%. Analysts had projected $10.3 billion of revenue for the miner. Vale also cut its estimate for all-in copper costs this year to between $1,000 and $1,500 per ton, attributing the move to higher gold prices, as gold is a byproduct of Vale's copper production. The previous projection was between $1,500 and $2,000 per ton. The company also projected its all-in nickel costs between $13,000 and $14,000 per ton, down from a previous range of $14,000-$15,500 per ton, citing solid operational performance and strong metals prices. https://www.reuters.com/business/brazilian-miner-vale-posts-11-rise-q3-net-profit-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 21:32

BOGOTA, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Colombia's state-run energy company Ecopetrol and Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras announced on Thursday a partnership for the joint marketing of natural gas from Colombia's Sirius project. The Sirius block is owned by Ecopetrol, which holds a 55.6% stake, while Petrobras owns the remaining 44.4% and acts as the project's operator. The project, which has an estimated 6 billion cubic feet of gas and a projected investment of $5 billion, is expected to begin operation between 2029 and 2030. Sign up here. Ecopetrol President Ricardo Roa said the two companies have agreed to market up to 249 million cubic feet per day for a period of up to six years. "This mechanism seeks to guarantee the efficient, public, and objective allocation of natural gas from the Sirius field," he added. The project is key to increasing Colombia's limited gas reserves, as the country has been forced to increase fuel imports to meet domestic demand. Development of the project is ongoing. In mid-October, Petrobras Colombia's president, Alcindo Moritz, stated that about 50% of the required "prior consultations" had been completed. The number of these consultations increased from an initial 116 to 120 in September. In Colombia, a prior consultation is a fundamental right that allows ethnic communities to participate in decision-making on projects that may directly affect their territories, culture and rights. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ecopetrol-petrobras-announce-joint-venture-market-natural-gas-colombias-sirius-2025-10-30/