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Nordex sales are hit by less wind turbine installations but it sees no financial risks from US
The German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex announced on Friday that its quarterly sales were below market expectations. It installed 20% fewer turbines onshore than it did a year ago, but it said there was no financial risk from the United States. A company spokesperson said that the maker of onshore turbines will continue to plan to resume U.S. manufacturing at its Iowa facility, following Germany's RWE, which announced it would stop U.S. offshore activities in light of regulatory uncertainties under Trump. Nordex, despite the uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump’s energy and trade policies, spoke positively in February about U.S. prospects for growth, saying that it wanted to get back to a U.S. share of 15 to 18%. The spokesperson stated on Friday that "in the short-term, customer decisions could be delayed." Over the next five to ten years, we anticipate that the demand on the market will continue. This market is therefore important to us. The spokesperson stated that Nordex faces "no risk of financial loss" due to its operations in the U.S. Nordex's first-quarter earnings were above analysts' expectations, but its sales of 1,44 billion euros ($1.63billion) fell short, since the Hamburg-based company installed 180 wind turbines, compared to 227 a few years ago. North America includes Canada. The same results from last year did not include the region. Germany, Nordex’s home market, is aiming for record-breaking levels of approvals and installations in the wind industry. $1 = 0.8814 Euros (Reporting and editing by Milla Nissi in Gdansk)
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Dollar firmer, copper sags due to tariff tension
The copper prices fell on Friday, as the stronger dollar and uncertainty over demand overshadowed the optimism that China and the United States were trying to curb their trade war. By 0940 GMT, the benchmark copper price on London Metal Exchange was down by 0.4% to $9360 per metric tonne. The metal reached a high of $9,481.50 in the first half of this week, its highest level since April 3. It was on track for a gain over the entire week. News broke on Friday indicating that China had granted exemptions to its 125% tariffs for certain U.S. imported goods and asked businesses to identify the products that might be eligible. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, said earlier in the week that the high tariffs between both countries were not sustainable. It's difficult to predict where this trade war will go. Nitesh Sharma, commodity strategist at WisdomTree, said that there's a negotiation going on, but it isn't an easy one. In the short-term, we don't really know how much the trade war will affect demand. "I'm not surprised that we are having a little bit of a bad day." The Shanghai Futures Exchange's (SHFE) most-traded contract for copper fell by 0.3%, to 77440 yuan (10,682.66) per ton. SHFE reported on Friday that copper inventories in warehouses under its surveillance fell by 32% during the past week. Two traders say that the steep fall in copper prices was caused by consumers selling stocks they had bought several weeks ago when the price of copper fell sharply after President Donald Trump's new tariffs. Reports on Thursday indicated that the sharp declines of SHFE stocks had triggered fears of a possible short squeeze. The dollar's rise, fueled by signs of eased tariff tensions, has weighed on the metals markets, making dollar-priced goods more expensive for buyers who use other currencies. Other metals saw a 0.1% drop in LME aluminium to $2447 per ton. Zinc fell 1% to 2,662, Lead dropped 0.4% to 1,951.50 and Nickel slipped 0.8% to $15,690. Tin gained 1.5% at $32,250. (Reporting and editing by William Maclean, Additional reporting by Mohi Nrayan from New Delhi and Lewis Jackson from Beijing)
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Hindustan Zinc, India reports higher profits on the back of a price and production increase
Hindustan Zinc reported an increase in profit for the fourth quarter on Friday. This was due to higher production and rising zinc prices. The net profit of the company for the three-month period ending March 31 was 30.03 billion rupees (US$351.5 million), up 47.4% on a yearly basis. Systematix estimates that domestic zinc prices increased by 17.5% during the quarter due to increased demand in India's construction, manufacturing and industrial sectors. The company stated in a filing on the exchange that "Zinc prices and lead are expected to remain resilient, despite an anticipated surplus." The company stated that domestic demand for zinc will reach 926 kilo tons in the financial period 2025-2026 due to the growing domestic steel production. Most commonly, zinc is used to coat steel for corrosion resistance. Hindustan Zinc is majority owned by Vedanta - a metal-to-oil company. It previously announced that its March quarter mined metal production had reached a record of 310 kilograms. The company's revenue from operations grew 21.2%, to 88.29 Billion Rupees. Total expenses only grew 8.5%. Silver, the second largest business segment of the company, saw a growth of 24.1%. ($1 = 85.4350 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
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Sources say that Congo and Rwanda will sign an agreement in the US on a peace path amid talks about minerals
Sources have confirmed that Congo and Rwanda will sign an agreement on Friday in Washington to promote economic and peace development. This is part of a diplomatic effort to end violence following an offensive by Rwandan-backed insurgents in eastern Congo. Both countries hope to gain significant U.S. investment in minerals. The agreement gives rise to hopes that the latest violence cycle in a conflict rooted decades ago in the Rwandan genocide will ease. Previous ceasefire calls did not result in a lasting break in fighting. Both countries' foreign ministries are expected to sign the agreement at a signing ceremony alongside U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio. Washington is in negotiations to invest billions in Congo's mineral deposits, including copper, cobalt, and lithium. These minerals are used in cars and mobile phones. Rwanda announced this week that it is also in talks with Washington regarding a potential minerals deal. The violence in Congo has increased since the M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, launched a major assault in January. This led to the capture two of the largest cities in eastern Congo. According to the United Nations and Western governments, Rwanda provided weapons and troops for M23. Rwanda denies supporting M23, and claims its military acted in self defense against Congo's Army and a militia formed by perpetrators from the 1994 genocide. Qatar and the U.S. both have expressed an interest in a mediated resolution. Qatar mediated a surprise meeting between Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi, and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in March. The two leaders demanded a ceasefire. Qatar also hosted talks between Congo, M23 and other parties. This week both sides released a joint statement in which they pledged to work for peace and express their "commitment" to an immediate cessation to hostilities. 'VERY BROAD' According to a diplomatic source, the agreement that will be signed this Friday is intended to promote a "pathway towards peace, stability and integrated economic growth" in eastern Congo, as well as "the return of normal bilateral relationships". According to a second source, the agreement was designed to boost investor confidence. One diplomatic source described it as "a declaration or principles" - a set of very broad goals to strive for. Both sides will finalize specifics within a few month and, hopefully, an agreement for peace will be signed." The Trump administration has taken a special interest in Congo since a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal this year. Washington wants to increase access to minerals, which are currently dominated by China and Chinese mining companies. The State Department said that the U.S. was interested in a deal and expected any agreement to include a variety of private sector partners. Erik Prince, a prominent Trump supporter who has agreed to help the Congo tax and secure its mineral wealth earlier this year, is already positioned to back a partnership. (Ange Kasongo contributed additional reporting; Jessica Donati wrote the article; Robbie Corey Boulet, Alison Williams and Alexandra Hudson edited it.)
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ILZSG: Global markets for refined zinc and lead will face surpluses by 2025.
International Lead and Zinc Study Group said that the global refined zinc and led market will be surplus this year. The group estimates that the global supply will surpass demand for refined zinc by 93,000 metric tons and 82,000 metric tonnes in 2025. The group predicted that global demand for lead refined will increase by 1.5% in 2025 to 13,19 million tons, and output would rise 1.9%, to 13,27 million tons, due to growth in China, India Mexico, and the United States. Global demand for refined zinc is expected to increase by 1% this year to 13,64 million tonnes, while production will grow by 1.8% up to 13,73 million tons as a result of increased availability. The group reported that after declining in the past three year due to planned and unplanned mine closures the mined zinc production is expected to increase by 4.3%, to 12,43 million tons, in 2025. On Friday, zinc was trading at around $2,670 per ton, while lead was around $1,955. (Reporting and editing by Toby Chopra, David Goodman and Anushree Patel in Bengaluru)
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British currency risk management firm Argentex names new interim CEO
Argentex, a FX company, replaced its CEO on Friday and appointed its chief operating office as interim CEO. This comes at a time of liquidity crisis due to the ongoing turmoil in the financial markets. Argentex announced late on Thursday that it is in advanced discussions to be acquired for 2.49 pence a share by cross-border payment provider IFX Payments. This would value the company at approximately 3 million pounds ($3.99m). The company had revealed the discussions earlier in the week as well as possible emergency funding, while it battles against the whipsawing currency market. It also announced on Thursday that it would be seeking additional liquidity support in the coming week. The London-listed firm is one of the earliest casualties in a prolonged bout of market turmoil. The company had suspended trading of its shares on April 22, following sharp drops in the U.S. Dollar, due to trade tensions between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. This spooked many investors into selling U.S. assets. Argentex announced on Friday that CEO Jim Ormonde has left the company with immediate effect. COO Tim Rudman was appointed interim chief. Reporting and editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Simone Lobo, Dhanush Vignesh Baby in Bengaluru.
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Minister: India is trying to increase access for steel exports via FTA negotiations
Piyush Goyal, the federal trade minister, said that India was trying to increase access to its steel exports by negotiating free trade agreements with other countries. Goyal, speaking at an industry conference in Mumbai, said: "I'm working on at least ten to twelve FTAs with countries and blocks of countries such as the European Union... In every one of these we are looking at how we can gain greater access for our high-quality and cost-effective steel sector." India is negotiating multiple trade agreements with trading partners including the United States and European Union. This comes as Asia's largest economy, the third-largest in Asia, resets its global terms of trading under the shadows of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which are on-and-off again. Fears of global market disruptions have been sparked by uncertainty surrounding U.S. Tariffs. Minister Goyal has urged domestic mills to safeguard their supply chains in the face of increasing imports of metallurgical coke, an important ingredient for steelmaking. New Delhi began an investigation into anti-dumping practices in the import of metallurgical coke from countries like Australia, China and Russia. (Reporting by Neha Arora in Mumbai and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
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Swiss central bank faces protests over its investments
The Swiss National Bank AGM was protested by environmentalists on Friday. They urged the central bank not to invest in companies that they claim contribute to the destruction of the environment, such as the Amazon rainforest or Brazil's Cerrado Savannah. The protests in Bern were aimed at the SNB holdings of firms that had been identified by a University College London study as "Environmental Tipping Point" companies - corporations whose actions they claim cause irreversible environmental damage. The campaigners gathered outside the shareholders meeting of SNB with banners saying, "Deforestation Is Not A Swiss Value" and placards with an image mocking up SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel with a speech balloon saying "burn baby Burn." Activists called for stricter exclusion criteria to be applied to the SNB's investment and demanded that the central bank use its influence as an investor to influence the behaviour of companies. They said that the central bank should divest if companies fail to comply with SNB guidelines, which prohibit them from purchasing securities in companies who cause severe environmental damages. Asti Roesle, Climate Alliance Switzerland, said: "If the SNB ignores environmental and climate risks in its monetary decision-making process, it acts shortsightedly and fails to fulfill its duty to protect future generation." She said that the climate change has already visible impacts on Switzerland, such as melting glaciers and destructive storms causing landslides. Roesle said that the SNB, which is expected to address the shareholders at the meeting due to the size of its equity investments, could have a significant impact due to the fact that about 25% its 756 billion Swiss Francs ($914 Billion) in foreign reserve are held in global shares. The SNB has a passive, market-neutral investment strategy. It is not mandated by the Swiss government to influence the development of certain economic sectors. Instead, it focuses primarily on controlling inflation. In its sustainability report, it states that it excludes companies who severely harm the environment or violate human rights. The report also excludes coal mining companies. Critics say this is not enough and they want a similar approach to Norway's sovereign fund, which informs companies of its climate change expectations as well as votes on the subject. Guillaume Durin, from BreakFree, a Swiss climate group, said that the SNB still invests in companies which cause climate damage. Durin stated that "the SNB doesn't respect its own rules." As a passive investor the SNB is complicit in the destruction of ecosystems that are critical to the balance of the planet. $1 = 0.8275 Swiss Francs (Reporting and Editing by William Maclean, William Revill)
Holcim exceeds expectations for the first quarter ahead of Amrize's spin-off
Holcim, a Swiss construction materials manufacturer, reported a better-than expected first-quarter result on Friday in its final results before Amrize's spin-off from its North American operations.
Holcim reported a recurring operating loss of 515 million Swiss Francs ($619m) for the quarter ended March 31. This was higher than the consensus estimate of 494 million Swiss Francs.
Sales were stable at 5,54 billion francs compared to forecasts of 5.49 billion.
In a press release, CEO Miljan Gutovic stated that "our disciplined M&A implementation continued with five acquisitions of value-adding companies."
These transactions will strengthen the aggregates and ready mix businesses in Europe and North America and our specialty building solution in Latin America.
Holcim plans to sell 100% of Amrize back to its shareholders. The separation is expected to be complete in June.
The spin-off will be one of largest deals in global construction, initially targeting a valuation of $30 billion when announced in January 2024.
Amrize plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange, the SIX Swiss Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange.
Last month, the company announced its post-split strategies. It stated that it aimed to achieve an average annual increase in earnings before taxes and interest of between 6% and 10% by 2030.
The focus will be on Europe, Australia and North Africa as well as Latin America.
Holcim, whose 2024 net sales were 16.3 billion Swiss francs, excluding North America would have an estimated total capital deployment capacity between 2025 and 2030 of 18-22 billion Swiss francs, according to the company. The cash will be used for large acquisitions as well as share buybacks. $1 = 0.8317 Swiss Francs (Reporting and editing by Kim Coghill, Varun H. K. and Ariane L.)
(source: Reuters)