ROUNDUP: Laboratory and Semiconductor weak at Merck - cautious outlook

DARMSTADT - Persistently weak business in the Laboratory division and with semiconductor materials have spoiled another quarter for the Darmstadt-based Merck Group. This was exacerbated by increased negative currency effects. Only the pharmaceuticals business was again strong from July to September. However, because the Darmstadt-based company sold fewer lucrative products, the operating result fell more sharply than sales. The management around Group CEO Belen Garijo is now even more cautious with regard to the year. On the stock exchange, however, the share price rose by more than four percent in the morning, as the market had previously expected a worse quarter for the year.

ROUNDUP: Deutsche Telekom surprises with strong figures for Germany - forecast raised

BONN - After a surprisingly good quarter in its home market, Deutsche Telekom is once again taking small steps towards more confidence. For the current year, the Board of Management led by Group CEO Tim Hottges has raised its forecasts for operating profit and free cash flow. "Deutsche Telekom continues to grow unabated in uncertain times on both sides of the Atlantic," said the manager in a statement on Thursday. Industry experts were particularly surprised by the figures for Germany. The Telekom share was trading around half a percent higher in the early afternoon.

ROUNDUP: Henkel becomes more optimistic - share at its highest level since September

DÜSSELDORF - Price increases and an improvement in volume development are making the consumer goods manufacturer Henkel more optimistic again for the current year. The management raised the lower end of the previously targeted range for organic growth and the operating margin, as the Group announced on Thursday on the occasion of the presentation of its quarterly figures in Düsseldorf. The Düsseldorf-based company's share price rose by 2.7 percent shortly after the start of trading in the morning, reaching its highest level since mid-September.

ROUNDUP: Cheaper advertising subscription brings Disney more streaming growth

BURBANK - Cheaper subscription models with advertising are gaining momentum in the video streaming business. At entertainment giant Disney, more than half of new customers opted for this in the past quarter. The trend could accelerate the redistribution of advertising expenditure away from traditional linear television and thus turn the TV landscape upside down.

ROUNDUP: Hannover Re increases profit thanks to lower taxes - share price plummets

HANNOVER - Despite devastating fires, storms and earthquakes, reinsurer Hannover Re is expecting record profits in the current year. The Group is "ideally positioned" to achieve its profit target of at least 1.7 billion euros, said CEO Jean-Jacques Henchoz at the presentation of the quarterly results in Hannover on Thursday. In the first nine months, the DAX-listed group has already earned 1.4 billion euros. In the third quarter, however, profits only rose thanks to an unusually low tax burden. On the stock market, the news was met with a slide in the share price.

ROUNDUP: Brenntag earns significantly less in the quarter - more cautious for 2023

ESSEN - Chemicals trader Brenntag is becoming somewhat more cautious for the year as a whole following a decline in profits in the third quarter. "The macroeconomic environment remained difficult in the third quarter, with ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and inflationary trends impacting our performance," said CEO Christian Kohlpaintner in a statement on Thursday. At the same time, market conditions normalized and sales volumes increased slightly on a sequential basis. The price level, on the other hand, has fallen slightly. The company's management therefore now expects operating profit to reach the lower end of the forecast range in 2023. The share price fell by around 1.6 percent in early trading.

ROUNDUP: Adyen provides clarity with targets - growth remains high - share price jumps

AMSTERDAM - The Dutch payment service provider Adyen has provided more clarity about its growth targets for the coming years. Although the ambitions are no longer quite as high as they used to be, the clear statements alleviated investors' concerns about growth, which ran high in the summer after the half-year figures. The business figures for the third quarter were also convincing, as the growth level of the first half of the year was at least maintained. The share price shot up on Thursday.

ROUNDUP: LEG Immobilien expects further increase in operating result in 2024

DÜSSELDORF - The real estate group LEG is more optimistic about the current year due to higher rents and the continuing increase in demand for affordable housing. "We also want to further increase our operating profitability in 2024," said CEO Lars von Lackum in a statement on Thursday. The operating result measured by AFFO (cash flow from operating activities adjusted for capitalized investments) is then expected to increase to between EUR 180 and 200 million. The LEG share price rose by more than three percent in the morning.

ROUNDUP: Airbus plans to significantly increase aircraft production in 2024 - share price plummets

TOULOUSE - Airbus, the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, plans to complete significantly more jets next year than in 2023 despite problems with suppliers. "We are continuing to ramp up production of the A320neo and the A220," said CEO Guillaume Faury in a conference call with journalists on Wednesday evening. Following the delivery of around 720 commercial aircraft planned for the current year, the number will be "significantly" higher in 2024. On the stock market, however, the profit figures from the third quarter caused disappointment. This was due to high extra costs for the development of new satellites.

ROUNDUP: Freenet wants to earn more - operating profit stagnates in the quarter

BÜDELSDORF - Telecommunications provider Freenet sees a little more room for improvement for its annual profit target after the third quarter. The increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to 500 million euros in the current financial year and to at least 520 million euros in 2025 is very realistic, wrote Group CEO Christoph Vilanek in a letter to shareholders.

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Further news

-ROUNDUP: Deutz raises earnings forecast - divestment of boat engines

-ROUNDUP: High losses at KWS Saat in the first quarter - shares weak

-ROUNDUP: Wacker Neuson confirms forecast - but momentum wanes

-ROUNDUP: Verbio sees turnaround in biodiesel - share price jumps

-ROUNDUP: Cancom earns significantly more - recent takeover drives

-ROUNDUP 2: Bad cards for mobile phone provider 1&1?

-ROUNDUP: Grenke becomes more optimistic after jump in profits - share price rises

-ROUNDUP: SMA Solar earns significantly more - order situation disappointed

-ROUNDUP: Astrazeneca braces itself against declining sales in the Covid business

-ROUNDUP: Stroer expects a good start to the year - third quarter surprises

-ROUNDUP: Fielmann with jump in sales and profits - share price rises significantly

-ROUNDUP 2: Compugroup grows more slowly - annual targets confirmed - share price rises

-ROUNDUP: Despite slump - Hapag-Lloyd achieves third-best result

-ROUNDUP: Armaments group Hensoldt with strong growth in core business

-ROUNDUP/Investment restraint: GFT lowers revenue forecast again

-BayernLB raises forecast once again - online subsidiary DKB makes a push

-British grid operator National Grid wants to invest more

-Rheinmetall's business picks up strongly

-Federal government: Reduction in electricity tax initially for 2024 and 2025

-Forderbank KfW achieves above-average profit

-Lottery broker Zeal Network sees itself on course for annual targets

-Jenoptik earns more and raises annual profitability target

-Weselsky ahead of collective bargaining round: compromises are always possible

-EU agreement on final details of digital wallet

-ROUNDUP: When the supermarket customer checks out

-'Kicker': FC Bayern with record revenue in the 2022/23 season

-Baywa in the red due to higher interest rates - annual forecast confirmed

-Zurich continues to grow and considers additional share buyback

-Sony raises sales and profit forecast - target for operating result confirmed

-Despite declining sales: Xing parent company New Work earns slightly more operationally

-ROUNDUP: Discrimination against mobile operator 1&1? Cartel office warns of the consequences

-Meta wants labeling for AI content in political advertising

-Hamborner Reit further raises annual target for operating profit

-Roche receives 'breakthrough' status from US regulatory authority for MS test

-Missing motors - VW cuts e-car production in Zwickau again

-Parcel carriers earn less on average than other skilled workers

-Bundeswehr moves Eurofighter to Romania for airspace protection

-Kassel Airport: only stationed aircraft to be withdrawn

-Collective bargaining has begun at Deutsche Bahn

-Bahn presents first offer at collective bargaining kick-off

-Porsche works councils take legal action against pay cut

-Fixed Stade LNG terminal - environmental organizations criticize office

-Slovakia halts plans for ammunition delivery to Ukraine

-ARD audio library boss: Radio games benefit from podcasts, Netflix & Co.

-Denmark announces levy on airline tickets

-ROUNDUP: Mohn grandson Carsten Coesfeld moves up to the Bertelsmann Executive Board

-Negotiation: Porsche works councils take legal action against pay cut

-BDEW survey: Every third heating system is more than 20 years old

-Survey: Farmers suffer from price pressure and poor soil

-'Cum-Ex' diary dispute: Banker fails with appeal before BGH

-Despite crisis at Signa: Berlin Senate does not want to abandon construction projects

-Ufo demands 15 percent more money for Lufthansa flight attendants

-Industry experts: automotive suppliers must raise prices

-Bierhoff: Germany is the second most important football market in the world

the consequences

-President of the German Pension Fund against private pension schemes with time limits

-Norway becomes partner country of the Hannover Messe 2024

-The number of respiratory diseases remains at a high level°

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