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Hellman & Friedman begins sale process of US software company Enverus.
By Milana Vinn Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm, has begun a process to sell Texas-based software company Enverus. The deal could be worth around $6 billion according to sources familiar with the situation. According to the person who requested anonymity because the discussion is private, the private equity firm and investment bankers of Citi are working together on the possible sale. This has drawn interest from private equity firms as well as other companies. People said that the sale process was in its infancy and there were multiple options on the table. One of them included selling a stake within Enverus. They cautioned, however, that no deal would be guaranteed. Genstar Capital still holds a small stake in Enverus, the technology company that was sold to Hellman & Friedman for $4.25billion in 2021. Citi and Genstar refused to comment. Hellman & Friedman, Enverus and Citi did not reply to requests for comment. Enverus, based in Austin, Texas, provides oil and gas companies with data, analytics and software solutions. Sources said that Enverus generated around $400 million of annual earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization. It is likely to be worth close to 15 times EBITDA or $6 billion. Bloomberg reported that in 2024, private equity owners were exploring the possibility of selling or IPOing Enverus. Investors are increasing the pressure on private equity firms to sell portfolio companies or list them in an IPO to return capital following a year with little activity. Blackstone has been reported to be exploring the sale of Sphera - a software and consultancy services provider that specializes in sustainability. (Reporting from Milana Vinn, New York; additional reporting from Amy-Jo Crowley, London; editing by Dawn Kopecki & Cynthia Osterman).
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China's copper stocks are set to drop again, raising supply concerns
Four traders predict that copper inventories at the Shanghai Futures Exchange SHFE will continue to decline this week. The rapid drawdown is likely to boost prices and encourage traders to send back copper to China. The SHFE copper inventories have declined by 60% in just one month, with the final tally of 89,307 tons being the highest ever. The traders said they expect to see an even greater decline in stocks when the stock reports are released on Friday afternoon. This could increase prices and cause a backwardation of SHFE copper, one of China's most important metals for its vast manufacturing sector. Backwardation is when the cost of securing a commodity to be delivered in a contract for a long term is less than that of a contract for a short-term. This is usually due to a strong current demand or a tight supply. On Thursday, the closing price of the SHFE front month June copper contract was 2,1% higher than that of the October contract. This compares to 0.75% at the end-of-March. There are still buyers who have taken delivery of the copper they ordered when prices plummeted after Trump announced reciprocal tariffs. One trader predicted that the copper stock will drop even further. A second trader stated that while most of the refined copper traded in China is domestically produced, it is expected that more copper from overseas will flow into China, as prices could rise compared to overseas markets. On Wednesday, the Yangshan copper price premium, which reflects the demand for imported copper into China, hit $100 per ton, its highest level since December 2023. The price has increased by 43% since March. Chinese consumers are struggling to find copper on a market that is already very tight. This has been exacerbated by the U.S.-China Trade tensions which have impacted China's top scrap metal source. Instead, traders from all over the world rushed to import copper into the United States before President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imported goods. This has led to a rise in U.S. COMEX Stocks reached 156,623 tonnes on Wednesday, an increase of 61% from the end March, and their highest level since November 2018. Reporting by Violet Li, Lewis Jackson and Varun H K
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Copec's Q1 profits in Chile fell 8.5% due to a weaker forest unit
Empresas Copec, a Chilean conglomerate of industrial companies, announced Thursday a 8.5% decline in its first-quarter profits. This was partly offset by the stronger performance of the energy sector. The first-quarter profit was $208 million, compared with $228 million for the same period last year. Revenues increased by 1.8% to $7.25 Billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected a net loss of $220 millions and revenues of $6 billion. Arauco's core earnings fell by 22.4% due to lower pulp prices, lower volumes and higher wood prices. Copec reported that while the sector had positive pricing trends, and sales improved towards the end of the third quarter, the overall market conditions deteriorated in the month of March due to escalating tensions with trade partners and newly announced tariffs. The energy operating income increased on the back of higher sales at Copec Chile and Terpel’s lubricants division, as well as improved results from Abastible due to its new Gasib Unit in Europe, and stronger performances across Latin America. Copec confirmed that construction on its "Sucuriu Project", a $4.6 billion pulp mill in Brazil, began in April. The plant will produce 3.5 millions metric tons dry cellulose per year, and operations are expected to start in late 2027.
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Zelenskiy: A 30-day ceasefire will be a "real indicator" of progress towards peace
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said that in a phone call with Donald Trump on Thursday he had told him a 30-day truce was a real indicator of progress towards peace between Russia and the United States. Kyiv is ready to implement this ceasefire immediately. Zelenskiy talked to Trump during a three-day truce declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin, coinciding the commemorations of World War Two's 80th Anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. Zelenskiy dismissed the three-day break as meaningless, and both sides accused each other of violating the rule. Zelenskiy stated in his video nightly address that "Ukraine will be ready for a 30-day complete ceasefire starting today, right now." "But there must be real ...?hirty-days which could lead to years of peace." A reliable and long-lasting ceasefire will be an indicator of progress towards peace. The Ukrainian President said that Russia must demonstrate its willingness to end the conflict, beginning with an unconditional ceasefire. In March, the United States proposed a 30-day ceasefire and Ukraine accepted it. Russia said that such a measure could only be implemented once reliable monitoring and enforcement measures are in place. Zelenskiy also said that he spoke with Trump about the agreement ratified by the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday to exploit Ukraine’s mineral wealth, along with the creation an investment fund to help rebuild Ukraine. He and Trump "noted the importance of our relationship strengthening our countries over decades". (Editing by Alistair Bell).
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Citgo reports $82 million loss for Q1 despite weak margins
Citgo Petroleum, a refiner owned by Venezuela, reported a $82 million loss for the first quarter of this year. This compares to a $410 million profit in the same period the previous year. The company based in Houston said that the result was due to the weak margins in refining. Citgo, which is being pursued for its assets by Venezuelan expropriated firms and bondholders who defaulted through an auction organized by a U.S. Court, has registered red numbers once again in its most recent period. This follows a loss of $146 million in the fourth quarter. In a press release, CEO Carlos Jorda said that despite the low prices, the refinery achieved a quarterly crude processing rate record. The average throughput of the seventh-largest U.S. oil refining company in the first quarter of 2008 was 833,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), with 768,000 bpd of crude running, for a crude utilization of 95%. This is lower than the 98% recorded in the previous quarter. The refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana saw its utilization rise to 99%. However, the refinery in Corpus Christi (Texas) fell to 83%, down from 96% the previous quarter, as planned maintenance was carried out. Profits plummeted by Last year, $305 Million was spent The auction in Delaware is expected to bring in less than the $2 billion profit that was anticipated for 2023. This has caused some investors and creditors to change their expectations about the amount they can expect. After a failed bid round last year the court has launched a second round of bidding by selecting a $3.7 billion Starting bid Last month. After rival bids have been received, and the winner has been selected in the coming months, a final sale hearing will be held for July. Citgo reported that the volume of marketing sales in the first quarter fell slightly, to 423,000 Bpd. Citgo reported $35 million in equipment and turnaround expenses between January and the end of March. The company's liquidity at quarter-end, an important indicator for the auction, fell to $2.1 billion compared to $3.8 billion by the end of the last quarter. Reporting by Marianna Pararaga, Editing by Chris Reese & Marguerita Choy
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MP Materials suffers a quarterly loss due to rising production costs
MP Materials, a U.S. rare-earths producer, announced on Thursday it had swung into a loss in the first quarter due to rising production costs as well as interest expenses. However, results were within expectations. These are the first results since the Las Vegas company announced last month that it would no longer ship the minerals to China to be processed in response to Beijing’s tariffs. The company's revenue will be affected by this move, but not until the second quarter results are released in August. The company reported a loss of $22.6m, or 14c per share for the first quarter ending March 31. This compares to a profit of $16.5m in the same period last year. According to IBES from LSEG, the company's loss per share was 12 cents, which is in line with analysts' expectations. After-hours, shares of the Las Vegas based company dropped by 1.3%. MP reported that its cost of sale, excluding depreciation, and other related items, had increased by approximately $13.3 million. This was due to higher production costs, which were associated with a low level of utilization of its refinery facilities. The company is increasing its use of these facilities. Interest costs for MP also increased by almost $5 million, largely due to the rising expenses associated with a convertible debt due in 2030. MP sells rare earth concentrates to refiners around the world, including China. It refines rare Earths in California. The company produced 12213 metric tonnes of this concentrate in the third quarter, which is 10% more than the previous period. MP's California refinery produced more than four-times the amount of rare earths (NdPr and Neodymium) during the first quarter. The actual prices of rare earths concentrates rose by 12% during the third quarter compared to the same period last year, while the prices for NdPr dropped by 16%. (Reporting and editing by Michael Perry; Ernest Scheyder)
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Pope Leo was critical of Trump and Vance before he became pontiff
The first U.S. Pope has some thoughts on the American President. According to posts made on the X page of Robert Prevost's account, which was his name before he became the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV has a long history of criticizing the policies of President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance. He reposted in February an article that had the headline "JDVance is wrong: Jesus does not ask us to rate our love for others." Prevost posted a comment in April when Trump met El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele to discuss the use of a prison, where alleged abuses of human rights took place, to hold suspected gang members who had been flown into the United States. The comment included: "Do not you see the suffering?" Are you not troubled by your conscience? The account was created in 2011, but it is not known who runs it. We contacted the Vatican, the Roman Catholic Diocese in Chiclayo, Peru, where Prevost lived for many years, as well as the Peruvian Embassy in the Holy See, to verify its authenticity. Its handle, @drprevost, includes messages asking for prayers in the final months of Pope Francis' life. Pope Leo will follow the path of Francis who was a champion for immigrants and the poor, but also had disagreements with the Trump Administration. Vance, the man who met Francis the day before his death at the Vatican, downplayed the differences that they had after the meeting. But the differences were significant. Francis called Trump's immigration policy a disgrace. The U.S. President congratulated the newly appointed Catholic leader. Trump posted on his social media that it was an honor to be the first American pope. What excitement and what an honor for our country! I am looking forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. "It will be an important moment!" Vance, who is a Catholic himself, said that he believed millions of American Catholics, as well as other Christians, would pray for Leo’s success. "May God bless him!" Vance wrote on X. White House officials didn't offer any further comment. A spokeswoman from Vance referred to his posting on X, when asked about criticisms of Prevost’s account. Trump and the new pope share some similar policies. Trump and Vance are also against abortion. According to a Facebook post encouraging followers to sign the Catholic Climate Petition, he is in favor of fighting climate change. Trump has removed the United States' participation in the Paris Climate Accord, which fights global climate change. (Reporting and editing by Caitlin Wallis and Daniel Wallis; Additional reporting and editing by Andrea Shalal, Rachael K. Kennedy and Rachael Shalal; Reporting and Editing by Jeff Mason and Jasper Ward)
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The dollar rises in global stock indexes on the back of trade optimism following US-UK agreement
The global equities market rose on Thursday. Wall Street was the best performer, and the dollar and Treasury yields were also up after the United States announced a new trade agreement with the United Kingdom. The U.S. and UK trade agreement also helped boost the cryptocurrency market. It was the first trade deal announced this month after U.S. president Donald Trump began a 90-day suspension of trade tariffs in order to allow for negotiations. The agreement, announced by Trump and British Premier Keirstarmer, maintains a 10% duty on imports from the UK, but reduces prohibitive U.S. tariffs on UK auto exports. The UK agreed to reduce its tariffs from 5.1% to 1.8% and allow greater access to U.S. products. Investors waited with anticipation for the planned talks between U.S. officials and Chinese officials to take place in Switzerland this weekend. This could be a first step towards reducing the trade war that has been raging between the two largest economies of the world. Mona Mahajan is the head of investment strategy for Edward Jones. She said that there was growing optimism about trade deals. Not only the UK deal announced today but also what could happen over the weekend. The S&P 500 index has increased sharply since April's lows. The sectors that were leading higher during that period of time have been procyclical and pro-growth segments, such as financials, and even discretionary products to a certain extent. At 02:52 p.m. on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 513.68, or 1.25% to 41,627.65. The S&P 500 also rose by 70.15, or 1.25% to 5,701.43, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 314.61 points or 1.77% to 18,052.77. The S&P 500 index rose for the first time above its intra-day high of April 2, which was the last session prior to Trump's announcement of tariffs against the largest U.S. trading partner on Liberation Day. The CBOE Volatility Index, also known by Wall Street as its fear gauge, reached its lowest level since the beginning of April. MSCI's global index of stocks rose by 4.60 points or 0.55% to 848.63. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed earlier up 0.4%. The U.S. Federal Reserve waited and saw on Wednesday about interest rates, and warned of the risks associated with higher inflation and unemployment as it navigated through the uncertainty brought by Trump's new trade policies. The U.S. Dollar gained against the safe haven currencies of the yen, and the Swiss Franc, as the market was calmed down by the U.S./UK agreement. Sterling reversed its gains after the Bank of England cut interest rates. Sterling fell 0.14% to $1.327. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket of currencies, including the yen, the euro and others) rose by 0.75%, reaching 100.64. Will Compernolle is a macro-strategist at FHN Financial, Chicago. He said that there is optimism about this deal being a model for future deals. However, it is not going to change the U.S. economic response in a dramatic way. The dollar gained 1.43% against the Japanese yen to reach 145.88. The central banks of Sweden and Norway have hinted that they may also lower rates in the second half of this year. The Swedish crown fell 0.58% against the dollar, to 9.727. Bitcoin rose 4.75%, to $101,365.21. Etherium rose 14.73%, to $2,063.37. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 9.4 basis point to 4.369% from 4.275% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, 30-year bond rates rose 5.9 basis to 4.8305%. The yield on the 2-year note, which is typically in line with Fed policy regarding interest rates, increased 10 basis points from late Wednesday to 3.893%. Crude futures rose on hopes for a breakthrough in the trade talks between China and the United States, the two world's largest oil consumers. Brent crude ended the day at $62.84 a barrel, up by 2.81% or $1.72. This erased the previous days losses. The UK-U.S. agreement has raised the prospect of other deals. Spot gold dropped 1.7% to $3307.02 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 2.29% to an ounce of $3,304.10. Reporting by Sinead carew, Gertrude Chavez, Marc Jones, Editing by Chizu nomiyama Will Dunham, Nia Williams
Monster Beverage reports surprise drop in net quarterly sales due to choppy demand
Monster Beverage announced a surprising fall in revenue for the first quarter on Thursday. This indicates that consumers in America have cut back on spending on expensive energy drinks due to economic uncertainty.
Consumer spending was affected by the cold weather in January, and high inflation in March.
The company also attributed a decline in net sales due to changes in order patterns by bottlers and distributers in Europe and the U.S., as well as foreign currency headwinds.
Monster Beverage hedges its aluminum price increases, but will recognize the tariffs placed on the imports due to the higher U.S. Midwest duty paid aluminum premium. This premium grew by more than 70% over the past three months.
One of the company's flavor and concentrates subsidiaries plans to open a facility in Brazil that is expected to become operational next year to help reduce the impact of aluminum levies.
Executives said that the tariffs were not expected have a material effect on the company's results.
Coca-Cola, the beverage giant, warned last month about macroeconomic uncertainties due to tariffs that could affect consumer sentiment despite exceeding quarterly results expectations.
The net sales of Monster energy drinks, which includes the Reign Total Body Fuel and Monster brand, decreased by 0.8%, to $1.72 billion.
According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, its total net revenue decreased 2.3% during the quarter ending March 31. Analysts had estimated a rise of 4.3% to $1.98billion.
The Corona, California based company reported that the sales were also affected by the continued weakness of its alcohol brands segment.
Monster increased its prices in the past year. This helped to increase gross profit, as a percent of net sales from 54.1% one year ago.
It earned 45 cents a share, instead of the 46 cents estimated.
In extended trading, Monster's shares fell 2.2%. (Reporting and editing by Shilpa Majumdar in Bengaluru, Juveria tabassum from Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)