ROUNDUP 2: High prices make Allianz optimistic - share price rises

MUNICH - High prices for insurance coverage are driving Allianz's profits up surprisingly strongly. Nevertheless, the board of management led by Group CEO Oliver Bäte was reluctant to raise its forecast for the current year when it presented its interim results on Thursday. "If you ask me, it's hard to imagine operating profit not reaching the upper half of the target range," Chief Financial Officer Giulio Terzariol said in a conference call with reporters. Instead of 13.2 to 15.2 billion euros, as officially targeted, that would mean at least 14.2 billion euros. They are just cautious, the manager explained the restraint. The news was well received on the stock market.

ROUNDUP: Growth at Siemens weakens - share price falls significantly

MUNICH - Growth at technology group Siemens weakened in the third fiscal quarter. The company's digitization business, which had grown by leaps and bounds in the past two years, showed signs of slowing down. The development there was below expectations, and Siemens lowered the division's forecast for fiscal 2022/23 when it published its figures on Thursday. Things did not go smoothly in China in particular. The expected rapid economic recovery after the Corona pandemic initially failed to materialize.

ROUNDUP: Munich Re becomes somewhat more optimistic - catastrophe business in view

MUNICH - The world's largest reinsurer Munich Re is becoming somewhat more confident for 2023 in view of its first-half profit and higher prices. There is no doubt that the probability of exceeding the targeted net profit of 4 billion euros has increased, Chief Executive Officer Joachim Wenning said in Munich on Thursday. He did not want to raise his target yet, because the often damaging hurricane season is still to come. Meanwhile, Munich Re plans to insure even more natural catastrophe risks. Prices in this business are currently attractive for reinsurers, the manager said in a video conference on the quarterly figures.

ROUNDUP 2: Persil manufacturer Henkel becomes more optimistic - analysts skeptical

DÜSSELDORF - Despite falling sales volumes and higher costs, consumer goods manufacturer Henkel has raised its forecasts for the current year. This is because higher prices for detergents and adhesives have enabled the Group to increase its earnings in recent months. Now sales and profits for the year as a whole are also expected to be higher than previously anticipated, as the manufacturer of brands such as Persil and Schwarzkopf announced in Düsseldorf on Thursday. The share, which is listed on the Dax, rose by around one percent in the afternoon. Analysts nevertheless remain skeptical.

ROUNDUP: Deutsche Telekom slightly more optimistic - question about sense of investments

BONN - Deutsche Telekom has again fine-tuned its annual targets after its subsidiary T-Mobile US. In the quarter just ended, revenue declined slightly. However, the company earned slightly more in its operating business. Meanwhile, Group CEO Tim Hottges is having a headache with the different framework conditions in Europe and America for investments and the regulated access of companies such as - in this country - Freenet and 1&1 to Telekom's 5G network. The Telekom share lost around one percent in trading by midday.

ROUNDUP: Grenke lowers forecasts for 2024 - share price slumps

BADEN-BADEN - Leasing specialist Grenke continued to emerge from the difficult Corona period in the second quarter. However, in view of the battered global economy, darker clouds are once again gathering. The company surprisingly lowered its targets for 2024 the previous evening, but the Executive Board justified the move not only with new economic forecasts, but also with a focus on "balanced margins." Although Grenke sees itself on track for the current year, the negative reaction of the stock market was nevertheless prompt: the share slumped on Thursday morning.

ROUNDUP 2: Disney also wants to crack down on streaming freeloaders

BURBANK - After Netflix, Disney also wants to put an end to the free sharing of passwords beyond one household on its video streaming service. However, there is a grace period: Group CEO Bob Iger held out the prospect of action against account freeloaders only for next year. At the same time, the ad-free version of the streaming service will become more expensive.

ROUNDUP: Knorr-Bremse slightly raises sales forecast for 2023 - share price rises

MUNICH - Truck and train brakes manufacturer Knorr-Bremse is becoming slightly more optimistic for the fiscal year thanks to good business in both segments. High demand caused order books to swell to a record level. The Executive Board sees in the figures the first effects of its measures to optimize earnings. Investors acknowledged the news with a strong increase in the share price.

ROUNDUP: SMA Solar posts profit in second quarter - share price slips

NIESTETAL - Inverter manufacturer SMA Solar returned to profitability in the first half of the year. All three business divisions returned to profitability earlier than planned, Chief Financial Officer Barbara Gregor said Thursday in Niestetal, according to a statement. And overall, the group was also in the black with a profit of just under 52 million euros in the second quarter, compared with a loss of almost 14 million euros a year earlier. On the stock market, however, the slowing growth in orders disappointed; the stock, which had recently been doing well, fell significantly.

ROUNDUP: New thyssenkrupp boss wants to boost profitability

ESSEN - The new head of thyssenkrupp, Miguel López, wants to boost the profitability of the industrial group with a new program. It is not yet clear what the package of measures will look like. Martina Merz's successor declined to comment on possible further job cuts on Thursday when presenting the figures for the third fiscal quarter, but did not explicitly rule them out. Details of the program are to be presented in the coming weeks. Lower steel prices, meanwhile, weighed on performance in the quarter.

ROUNDUP: Customers order less frequently from Hellofresh - but operating profit jumps

BERLIN - The cooking box mail order company Hellofresh suffered a significant drop in demand in the completed quarter as a result of the global consumer slump. Thanks to lower costs and postponed marketing expenses, the Berlin-based company nevertheless managed to post an operating profit jump. With the presentation of the half-year figures, the Management Board confirmed key data from mid-July. At that time, the management had cut the sales forecast, but had become somewhat more optimistic for the profit. On the stock market, however, the news was received with disillusionment on Thursday: The share lost almost 2 percent in the morning.

ROUNDUP: Rheinmetall's margin remains below annual target - forecast confirmed

DÜSSELDORF - Despite a further weakening margin, the defense group Rheinmetall has confirmed its annual targets. As in the first quarter, the Düsseldorf-based company's results suffered from negative earnings contributions from shareholdings. However, the ongoing armaments boom continues to provide the Group with high-dollar orders.

ROUNDUP 2: LEG Immobilien makes billion-dollar loss - share price rises sharply

DÜSSELDORF - Like the rest of the industry, the real estate group LEG is being hit by the sharp rise in interest rates. That is why LEG wants to reduce its debts, for example, by selling real estate. The company has also frozen its new construction projects and plans to invest less in its portfolio. Due to the current difficult environment for real estate sales, the company devalued its portfolio. The bottom line was therefore a loss of billions in the second quarter. By contrast, the company's day-to-day business fared better thanks to strong demand for housing. The company confirmed its annual targets, which had only recently been raised due to one-time effects. The share price rose significantly in afternoon trading.

^

Further news

-Fashion merger: Michael Kors and Kate Spade soon from a single source

-ROUNDUP: Jungheinrich confirms annual forecast - investors disappointed

-ROUNDUP: Ceconomy to expand marketplace offering

-Danger of strike averted: Pilots accept collective bargaining result at Lufthansa

-ROUNDUP/Union: Asbestos exposure in residential buildings poses major risk

-Floods paralyze southern Norway - 'Danger not over by any means'

-More people than ever waiting for routine surgery in England

-German Patriot air defense systems to remain in Poland until end of year

-ROUNDUP 2: Vitesco turns over more than expected - Stock at record high

-Storage association: LNG terminals needed despite well-filled storage facilities

-TV ratings: 'Meeresleuchten' draws four million

-ROUNDUP: Despite slump, Hapag-Lloyd posts second-best result

-Munich Re chief criticizes politics and bureaucracy: 'only trouble'

-Berlin rents rising rapidly - social mix in danger

-'HB': Fresenius faces sale of fertility clinics

-Coach Terzic confirms: BVB still looking for an offensive

-Leifheit profits from trend towards energy-saving products

-ROUNDUP: Gea on course for annual targets - Investors worry about order situation

-Hochbahn and BVG want to pay attention to social standards for e-buses

-Before first-round match: BVB coach sets Cup victory as goal

-BKA: More than 130,000 cases of cybercrime registered in 2022

-ROUNDUP: RWE records progress in establishing green electricity generation

-Federal government gives green light for submarine delivery to Singapore

-ROUNDUP: GFT Technologies lowers forecasts - share nevertheless clearly up

-Evonik falls into loss zone in second quarter

-Deutsche Pfandbriefbank sticks to profit target despite slump in business

-Lotto provider Zeal grows strongly - advertising costs depress profits

-PNE slips into loss zone due to interest result - Operating business on course

-Appetite suppressants and diabetes medicines flourish - Novo Nordisk raises targets again

-ROUNDUP: Morphosys reduces loss more strongly than expected - share hardly reacts

-Secunet slowly gaining momentum after a false start to the year

-K+S expects better business in the second half of the year

-Weak demand from China: Orders down at engine manufacturer Deutz

-Hamborner Reit raises annual target for operating profit - more cautious on rents

-Indus Holding shareholdings show slight growth

-SMA Solar in the black in the second quarter

-Zurich Insurance again posts high operating profit

-Suspension for Apple on App Store change in US court battle

-Roche receives regular approval in USA for lung cancer drug Gavreto

-China to allow group travel to Germany and other countries

-Survey: Many are skeptical about autonomous driving

-Think tank: Germany emits fewer greenhouse gases

-Less than half of EU citizens check Internet info

-Property prices hardly fall at all - study shows stabilization

-Price increases lead to sales growth at Berentzen

-ROUNDUP 2/Inferno in paradise: At least 36 dead in fire on Hawaii island

-Premier League instead of BVB: Álvarez moves to West Ham United

-ROUNDUP/100-million breakthrough: Bayern agrees with Tottenham in Kane poker deal

-Saarland still waiting for Wolfspeed's claim to be raised

-Bahn sets up replacement service with 150 buses for Riedbahn refurbishment

-Association: Container shipping companies expand fleets at record pace

-Melitta Group significantly increases sales

-Defect at ship's hoist in Scharnebeck - Traffic jam on Elbe canal

-Italy: Police discover numerous defects at beach resorts°.

Customer note:

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

/jha