ROUNDUP: DHL lowers operating profit target for current year and for 2025

BONN - The logistics company DHL Group is taking a more pessimistic view of the current year and medium-term business development. The economic development is throwing a spanner in the works for the DAX-listed company, which is why operating profit in 2023 will not be as high as previously assumed in the best-case scenario. Moreover, the management no longer expects to be able to earn as much operationally by the middle of the decade as in the record year 2022. As expected by the market, the third quarter was weaker than in the previous year.

ROUNDUP 2: Bayer leaves three-way split as an option - details in March

LEVERKUSEN - Bayer shareholders will have to wait until March 2024 for details of the Group's reorganization. That is when CEO Bill Anderson, who has been in office since June, will present his plans. During the presentation of the third-quarter results on Wednesday, Bayer merely stated that it was continuing to look at various options, such as a separation of the Consumer Health division and/or the Crop Science division. Investors will have to wait until spring for answers to these questions, including the extent of possible job cuts through a streamlining of management, how much this will cost and how much money can be saved. At the same time, after a difficult year so far, the DAX-listed group has little hope of a significant improvement in 2024.

ROUNDUP: Deutsche Pfandbriefbank fears for more loans - share price plummets

MUNICH - Deutsche Pfandbriefbank expects significantly more loan defaults due to the crisis on the real estate market. The Management Board headed by outgoing bank CEO Andreas Arndt therefore significantly increased risk provisions for impaired loans on Tuesday evening and cut its profit forecast for 2023 by almost half. Accordingly, the commercial real estate financier is likely to earn just EUR 90 million to EUR 110 million before taxes this year instead of EUR 170 million to EUR 200 million. The news was greeted with a slide in the share price on the stock market on Wednesday.

ROUNDUP: Fresenius wants to sell fertility clinic operator

BAD HOMBURG - The health care group Fresenius is divesting further businesses as part of its reorganization. The DAX-listed company is selling the Eugin Group, which specializes in fertility clinics, to a consortium led by the financial investor KKR. Fresenius intends to raise up to 500 million euros, including milestone payments, as the Group announced in Bad Homburg on Wednesday. Only the Eugin Group is affected by the sale. Other fertility treatments in hospitals and outpatient centers of the Fresenius clinic chain Helios will remain within the Group, it said.

ROUNDUP 2: Commerzbank aims to significantly increase profits by 2027 - share price ups and downs

FRANKFURT - More business with wealthy private customers and additional digital offerings for corporate customers should bring Commerzbank higher profits in the coming years. For 2023, the Board of Managing Directors led by CEO Manfred Knof is now aiming for a net profit of around 2.2 billion euros after another successful quarter, as the DAX-listed group announced in Frankfurt on Wednesday. Previously, the management had only forecast a significant increase. Net profit is expected to increase to around 3.4 billion euros by 2027. Over the next few years, the bank plans to invest an average of 530 million euros annually in digitalization and new technologies, among other things.

ROUNDUP: Used car dealer Auto1 becomes profitable faster in day-to-day business

BERLIN - The online used car dealer Auto1 has once again improved its earnings outlook following a surprising profit in its day-to-day business in the third quarter. Because the Berlin-based company already made a small profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the months of July to September instead of in the fourth quarter as previously planned, CEO Christian Bertermann now sees a slightly smaller loss for the year than previously calculated. The SDax-listed share price jumped significantly.

ROUNDUP 2/Siemens Healthineers: Focus on restructuring laboratory diagnostics

ERLANGEN - After a decline in profits in the past fiscal year, the medical technology group Siemens Healthineers wants to become more profitable again. Laboratory diagnostics, which is currently weakening, should contribute to this and then return to the black. Group CEO Bernd Montag sees progress being made here. A possible separation, which has recently been speculated about, does not appear to be on the agenda for the time being.

ROUNDUP: Munich Re's profit driven by mild hurricane season

MUNICH - Above all, the mild hurricane season has brought the world's largest reinsurer Munich Re a slight increase in profits in the summer. The bottom line for the third quarter was a profit of just under 1.2 billion euros, around six percent more than a year earlier, as the DAX-listed company announced in Munich on Wednesday. CEO Joachim Wenning had already raised his profit forecast for 2023 to around 4.5 billion euros when the first key figures were published at the end of October. This was solely due to the reinsurance segment - and the Board of Management intends to further increase prices in this business.

ROUNDUP 2: Lanxess with high quarterly loss - nevertheless strong share price recovery

COLOGNE - The chemicals group Lanxess has slipped into the red in the third quarter in a persistently difficult industry environment. Low demand from almost all industries and continuing, albeit slowing, destocking by customers continue to weigh on the Cologne-based company. The company management around CEO Matthias Zachert had only lowered the profit outlook at the beginning of the week.

ROUNDUP: Eon expects significant burden in the fourth quarter - share price drops

ESSEN - The energy supplier Eon expects significant burdens on earnings in the fourth quarter due to price reductions. The Group is passing on the lower wholesale prices to millions of electricity and gas customers, and this is having an impact on the customer solutions segment, Eon announced in Essen on Wednesday. In the first nine months, the Essen-based company had still grown strongly. The share price fell sharply after the presentation of the figures.

ROUNDUP: Evotec slowly shakes off burden of hacker attack thanks to cooperations

HAMBURG - The aftermath of the hacker attack on the drug researcher and developer Evotec in the spring is now easing noticeably. Productivity and capacity utilization are still impaired, the company announced in Hamburg. However, thanks to strong demand, Evotec was recently able to improve its operating result. Investors on the stock market reacted very positively. Nevertheless, investors will have to swallow a big pill this year: This is because the management around CEO Werner Lanthaler is still preparing for a decline in profits for the year as a whole and confirmed the annual targets already lowered in the summer.

ROUNDUP: Continental scores in car supply - Euro slows down

HANNOVER - The automotive supplier and tire manufacturer Continental has made noticeable progress in the third quarter in the problem area of automotive supplies and benefited from price increases. However, the year-on-year strength of the euro dampened the optimism of the Hanover-based DAX-listed company somewhat, which is why the management lowered its sales outlook. However, the slightly improved profitability helped the share price on Wednesday.

ROUNDUP: Dürr cuts profit targets for 2023 - hundreds of jobs to be cut

BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN - The mechanical engineering company Dürr has cut its annual targets due to sluggish demand for woodworking machinery. The Board of Management has also announced that hundreds of jobs are to be cut. Due to the cost of the job cuts, the Group's operating margin (EBIT margin) in 2023 is likely to be only 4.5 to 5.5 percent, the MDax company announced surprisingly on Tuesday evening in Bietigheim-Bissingen. Previously, the range was 5.6 to 6.6 percent. At 110 to 160 million euros, after-tax earnings are also likely to be significantly lower than previously predicted. At both ends, the management recently had 50 million euros more on the cards. The share price fell only slightly in early Wednesday trading. However, the share has lost more than a third of its value since the turn of the year.

ROUNDUP: Plant manufacturer Gea increases quarterly profit - 'On course' for targets

DÜSSELDORF - The plant engineering company Gea benefited in the third quarter above all from a strong service business. "We are doing very well and will have another good year," said Group CEO Stefan Klebert in a video conference on Wednesday. He confirmed the annual targets. He also believes the Group is "on track" to achieve its medium-term targets by 2026. Gea already announced a new share buyback program on Tuesday evening. The share, which is listed in the MDax mid-cap index, rose by around 1.5 percent to EUR 33.51 around midday. Since the turn of the year, however, the share has lost a good 12 percent in value.

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Further news

-Ebay's sales forecast disappoints the stock market

-Machinery manufacturer Dürr cuts profit targets for 2023 - hundreds of jobs to be cut

-Stronger euro and high costs hit retailer Ahold Delhaize

-Enel raises annual targets after significantly more profitable first nine months

-Airbus gets closer to annual target for aircraft deliveries

-GM suspends production of future robotaxi vehicles

-Süss Microtec sells MicroOptics division - Becomes more optimistic about profit margin

-Jost Werke more optimistic for profit thanks to cost reductions - Sales weakening

-Machinery manufacturer Heidelberger Druck earns more operationally

-Rivian: Electric delivery vans not only for Amazon in the future

-ROUNDUP: Elmos significantly increases sales and profit - but forecast only confirmed

-Lack of recovery in advertising markets makes RTL Group pessimistic

-Online used car dealer Auto1 becomes profitable faster in day-to-day business

-Rising costs cause earnings at laboratory service provider Synlab to shrink

-California's glyphosate warning requirement not constitutional - Success for Bayer

-Bertelsmann increases sales despite TV advertising slump

-SAP: Acquisition of software management company LeanIX completed

-Total blackout: Ten million Australians without Internet and telephone

-Spanish Telefonica Group aims to earn more in the medium term - share price rises

-Intersport wants to sell Sport Voswinkel to specialist retailer from Italy

-ROUNDUP: Vestas impresses with figures and forecast - Share price rises significantly

-ROUNDUP: Sixt specifies annual targets - Quarterly sales break billion mark

-Tesla boss Musk announces €25,000 car in Grünheide

-Post's mail business is shrinking more than before

-ROUNDUP: Ikea achieves record sales and wants to cut prices

-Adidas suspends sale of remaining Yeezy stock for the time being

-Knaus Tabbert increases profit and turnover - shares up

-ROUNDUP: Signa founder René Benko cedes power in real estate group

-Car demand in China continues to grow - November should also see an increase

-Digital radios for the German Armed Forces: legal dispute being negotiated

-Expert: Germany ticket already too expensive

-Study: Germany only mediocre when it comes to restructuring the electricity market

-BVB on course in the top flight: victory against Newcastle after Bayern debacle

-Merz demands more funding for Long Covid research

-City of Hamburg assumes rapid continuation of Elbtower construction

-Circles: Deutsche Bahn wants to present collective bargaining offer to GDL at start of negotiations

-Siemens Energy starts electrolyser production in Berlin

-Press: Signa halts construction projects in Berlin

-Airbnb highlights offers with top ratings more strongly

-Auto expert: German manufacturers are losing innovative strength

-Cum-Ex: Indictment for 343 million euros tax evasion in Munich

Lufthansa plans to significantly expand long-haul flights in Munich

-China controls 15 percent of transport capacity on the seas

-ROUNDUP: After HHLA protests - Work resumes at Burchardkai

-ROUNDUP: German government allows significantly more arms exports for Israel

-ROUNDUP 2: Pleasant victory dispels BVB's low mood - 'Right answer'

Cup on free-to-air TV: Three round of 16 matches to be shown on ARD and ZDF

-Snack entrepreneur Lorenz Bahlsen passes away

-Transport industry calls for better conditions for electric trucks

-Instant euro transfers soon throughout the EU°

Customer tip:

ROUNDUP: You can read a summary in the company overview. There are several reports on this topic on the dpa-AFX news service.

/jha