ROUNDUP 2: Record investments weigh on BMW profits - shares weaker

MUNICH - The car manufacturer BMW is planning the highest investments in its history in the current year and therefore expects a slight decline in profit before tax. CFO Walter Mertl said on Thursday that with the construction of the battery factories in Bavaria, China, Mexico and the USA, the construction of the car plant in Hungary and the start of production of the "New Class" e-cars, investments and research and development costs are rising "to a new level".

ROUNDUP 2: Nemetschek plans more growth - margin disappointed

MUNICH - Despite the gloomy situation in the European construction industry, building software provider Nemetschek is aiming for stronger growth again in the new year. However, after the decline in the previous year, some experts had expected somewhat higher profitability targets. This year, the Munich-based group, which specializes in software for architects and construction companies, will continue to switch to subscription-based solutions. CEO Yves Padrines also wants to invest money in innovations such as artificial intelligence, cloud offerings and digital twins. Contrary to the positive market sentiment, the Nemetschek share price fell significantly.

ROUNDUP 2: Talanx targets even more profit for 2025 - share price plummets

HANNOVER - Following its record profit last year, the insurance group Talanx (HDI) is raising the bar for 2025. The company announced in Hanover on Thursday that net profit is set to rise to more than 1.9 billion euros in the coming year. Previously, CEO Torsten Leue had set a target of more than 1.6 billion. He wants to exceed this mark by 2024 and generate a profit of more than 1.7 billion. Shareholders can look forward to a higher dividend for 2023 and 2024.

EU car market also on the upswing in February - electric share stable

BRUSSELS - The car market in the EU continued to grow in February. Last month, new registrations rose by 10.1 percent year-on-year to 883,608 cars, according to the European manufacturers' association Acea in Brussels on Thursday. Of the four largest EU markets, France saw the strongest growth at 13 percent, followed by Italy with a slightly lower increase. Spain, with an increase of just under ten percent, and Germany, with a good five percent, did less well. In January, new car registrations in the EU were up by a good twelve percent. The market share of battery electric vehicles (BEV) remained stable in February at 12 percent compared to the previous year.

Biden wants to invest billions more in US chip industry

CHANDLER/WASHINGTON - The US government wants to further boost the country's chip industry with additional billions in subsidies. President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that his government intends to provide the US chip giant Intel with up to 8.5 billion dollars (around 7.8 billion euros) in direct funding and 11 billion dollars (around 10.1 billion euros) in loans for computer chip factories in four US states. The cash injection is intended to help increase the US share of global production of state-of-the-art chips to 20 percent by the end of the decade.

Heidelberg Materials raises dividend - profit target for 2024 confirmed

HEIDELBERG - Following a billion-euro profit, the building materials group Heidelberg Materials intends to pay out more to its shareholders. A dividend of 3.00 euros per share is to be paid for 2023, as the DAX-listed company announced in its annual report on Thursday. This is 40 cents more than in the previous year. Analysts were expecting slightly more. The company had already presented preliminary full-year figures in February and provided an initial outlook for the current year.

E-car discount battle boosts car sales in China - PCA forecast

PEKING - High discounts for electric cars are helping the important Chinese car market to grow in March. With a total of 1.65 million cars, 3.7 percent more cars are likely to be delivered to customers than a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association (PCA) announced in Beijing on Thursday on the basis of preliminary data. The decisive factor here is the sharp rise in sales of electric cars. Sales of cars called NEVs (new energy vehicles) in China are expected to increase by more than a third to 750,000 vehicles. The association blamed price discounts for the high increase.

ROUNDUP/Major shareholder MFE: ProSiebenSat.1 to spin off core TV business from the rest

MILAN/AMSTERDAM - ProSiebenSat.1's major shareholder Media For Europe (MFE) from Italy is calling for the media group to be split up. The important entertainment television business should be separated from the "peripheral activities" of e-commerce and dating in order to focus on the core business, the Milan-based media group announced on Thursday. In this context, the Berlusconi family-owned company is also advocating the appointment of an expert specializing in mergers and acquisitions to the Supervisory Board. On the stock market, investors made strong gains: ProSiebenSat.1 shares rose by 6.7 percent in the morning, putting them at the top of the SDax.

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Further news

-United Internet earns more operationally - 1&1 with profit decline due to network expansion

-Circles: US Department of Justice likely to sue Apple for antitrust violations

-DocMorris writes loss again in 2023

-IPO: Douglas comes under greater pressure after weak debut on the stock market

-Siemens buys industrial drive technology from EBM-Papst

-Japan Airlines buys 42 passenger jets from Airbus and Boeing

-Marketing expenditure takes effect: Ionos generates significantly higher turnover - profit also increases

-Verdi calls for nationwide warning strikes at Postbank

-Struggle for wage compromise for aviation security personnel continues

-Rail and transport technology group Vossloh wants to become more profitable

-IPO: Galderma sets issue price at the upper end of 53 francs

-Delivery Hero buys back convertible bonds in the amount of 500 million euros

-VW holding company Porsche SE reduces debt by one billion euros

-Chief executive of ProSiebenSat.1 urges rapid restructuring

-Roche subsidiary Chugai fails to meet targets in Phase III trial

-ROUNDUP: HHLA expects cargo withdrawal from Hamburg - Uncertain business outlook

-ROUNDUP: Leipzig Book Fair opens - Steinmeier arrives

-German politicians for tougher action against Tiktok

-Kühnert takes the Greens to task on yes to cannabis approval

-Pilots at Lufthansa subsidiary Brussels Airlines want to strike again

-Bremer ArcelorMittal boss: Green hydrogen still too expensive

-Researchers: Children in cargo bikes often unprotected in accidents

-ROUNDUP: Deutsche Bahn promises more reliability - will the turnaround succeed?

-Bundestag passes Digital Services Act

-Tourism association criticizes burdens caused by strike waves

-Deutsche Vermogensberatung with record profit

-Study: DAX companies face difficult year after drop in profits

-Hugendubel cooperates with used book trade

-German ice hockey World Cup games to be shown on free TV on ProSieben

-Airline Korean wants to buy 33 Airbus wide-body jets

-ROUNDUP: Soyuz launch to ISS aborted - reason unknown

-Consortium: Construction of Stade LNG terminal on land financially secured

-RWE secures 800 megawatts of wind power from Nordex

-ROUNDUP: Medical technology group B. Braun increases sales slightly

-SGL Carbon boss Derr does not want to extend contract

-Chinese construction group Radiance misses payment

-'MM': BMW sidelines Conti for the time being due to brake problems

-Automotive supplier ZF continues to grow - but profit decline and debts

-Fashion industry satisfied with business - but outlook gloomy

-Survey: Two thirds of students already use AI assistants

-Activists disrupt nuclear energy summit in Brussels

-VW plans test drives in driverless ID Buzz with passengers

-ROUNDUP: Majority in Tesla works council election for non-union lists

-The Netherlands and Flanders open as guest countries in Leipzig

-ROUNDUP: Alliance calls for climate money - 'Promise of the German government'°

Customer reference:

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

/jha