ROUNDUP 2: Interest rate turnaround brings Commerzbank profit jump - share at Dax end

FRANKFURT - Spurred on by the turnaround in interest rates, Commerzbank is taking big steps towards profit growth in 2023. In the first three months, the group earned 580 million euros on the bottom line, almost twice as much as a year earlier (298 million euros). For the full year, the Board of Management is targeting a surplus "significantly above that of 2022," as the financial institution confirmed in Frankfurt on Wednesday. Investors on the stock market, however, the targeted net interest income for 2023 was not enough. The news was acknowledged with a slide in the share price of almost eight percent.

ROUNDUP: SAP targets more business in medium term - share buyback

WALLDORF/ORLANDO - Europe's largest software manufacturer SAP has set itself somewhat higher medium-term goals than expected as a result of the announced sale of its US subsidiary Qualtrics. The DAX heavyweight raised almost all key outlook figures for 2025 for the continuing business - only the Walldorf-based company is now calculating slightly lower free cash flow. SAP CEO Christian Klein also announced a billion-dollar share buyback at the company's customer show in Orlando on Tuesday - after the close of the stock market here. The news was well received on the stock market.

ROUNDUP: Siemens raises forecasts again - driven by digitization

MUNICH - The business around the digitization of industry and infrastructure continues to run like clockwork and drives the technology group Siemens. After significant growth in the second fiscal quarter, the Munich-based company raised its forecast for the second time in its fiscal year. For the second half of the year, the management around Group CEO Roland Busch was optimistic - even if it assumes a gradual normalization of growth rates.

ROUNDUP: Munich Re more optimistic for profit target despite Turkey quake

MUNICH - The world's largest reinsurer, Munich Re, is expecting rather more profit this year than before, despite devastating earthquake damage in Turkey. "The probability that we will exceed 4 billion has of course increased," Chief Financial Officer Christoph Jurecka said when presenting the final figures for the first quarter on Wednesday. That's because with a net profit of 1.3 billion euros in the first quarter of the year, the Munich-based Dax group has already achieved almost a third of its target for the year. However, Jurecka believes it is still too early to raise the forecast.

IPO/Circles: Thyssenkrupp to float Nucera possibly in June

ESSEN - Steel and industrial group Thyssenkrupp plans to launch the IPO of its hydrogen subsidiary Nucera, which has been planned for some time, possibly in June. The news agency Bloomberg reported this on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the situation. The transaction could value the company, which is pinning its hopes mainly on water electrolysis technology, at around four billion euros, they said. Thyssenkrupp could issue new Nucera shares worth 500 million euros in the deal. Additional sales of existing shares could raise the offering volume to a total of up to 750 million euros. As announced, Thyssenkrupp intends to retain a majority stake in Nucera. A final decision has not yet been made, he said.

ROUNDUP: Interest rate hike weighs on Grand City Properties - share falls

LUXEMBOURG - Aroundtown subsidiary Grand City Properties felt the impact of higher financing costs due to higher interest rates in the first quarter. Rising rental income could not compensate for this. In the first three months of 2023, operating profit (FFO 1) fell by three percent year-on-year to just under 47 million euros, the SDax group announced in Luxembourg on Wednesday. Rents increased by 2.6 percent on a like-for-like basis and including vacancy reduction. The management headed by Refael Zamir confirmed the targets for the full year.

Software AG CEO Brahmawar continues to promote Silver Lake offer

DARMSTADT - Software AG CEO Sanjay Brahmawar has again promoted the takeover bid of US technology investor Silver Lake to shareholders, despite a higher counter-offer. The board does not consider the offer made to the company by another party to be superior, so they have decided not to take it up, Brahmawar said at the software provider's annual general meeting in Darmstadt on Wednesday. "And with our investor Silver Lake, we have the perfect partner to achieve our goals." He said the management board and the supervisory board's takeover committee continue to back the bid of 32 euros per share.

UBS expects special profit worth billions from Credit Suisse takeover

ZURICH - Major Swiss bank UBS expects to make a book profit of almost 35 billion U.S. dollars (just over 32 billion euros) from the distressed takeover of its former rival Credit Suisse. This emerges from a document of around 100 pages for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which UBS filed on Wednesday night.

New Fresenius CEO promotes Group restructuring - pressure from investors

BAD HOMBURG - Fresenius CEO Michael Sen has promoted the realignment of the health care group and hospital operator to shareholders. "The new, simplified group structure will make Fresenius more transparent," Sen, who has been in office since October, said at Wednesday's annual general meeting, according to the speech manuscript. "Decisions will be concentrated on fewer boards and thus accelerated." Fresenius is losing complexity, but none of its substance, he added.

Insurer Zurich benefits from price increases

ZURICH - Insurance group Zurich posted gains in the first quarter, thanks in part to price increases. The group posted gains in both its property and casualty division and in new life insurance business, it said Wednesday. Insurance sales in the property and casualty segment rose by seven percent to 9.4 billion U.S. dollars (8.6 billion euros) compared to the same period last year. In local currencies, it even increased by eleven percent. Premium rates increased by five percent, it added.

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Further news

-Compugroup Board of Directors appoints Michael Rauch as new CEO

-Major stockholder Loh secures more than 40 percent of steel trader Klockner

-Thyssenkrupp Supervisory Board elects López Borrego as new Executive Board Chairman

-Maintenance work on PCK refinery expected to be completed in June

-New registrations on EU auto market continue to rise significantly

-Roche drug candidate reduces brain damage in multiple sclerosis

-ROUNDUP: Musk wants to boost Tesla's business for the first time with ads

-ROUNDUP: Deutsche Bahn and EVG union meet for talks

-SAP and Lidl parent announce partnership on cybersecurity

-Deutsche Bank shareholders demand higher profit distribution

-Goods throughput in the Port of Hamburg to continue declining in early 2023

-Fraport continues to earn good money abroad

-Court of Justice faces questions on international arbitration for investments

-Doctors' Conference calls for national reserve for key pharmaceuticals

-Iran and Russia sign plan for major rail project

-ROUNDUP: Poor harvests: orange juice in short supply and prices rising

-Court of Justice doubts ruling on open Sundays near airport

-Railroad associations doubt federal government's freight traffic forecast

-ROUNDUP: Risk of strikes at airports decreases - Collective agreement for aviation security

-ROUNDUP: Esken wants to prevent sharp rent increases after heating replacement

-EU court rejects complaint by regional utilities against RWE-Eon deal

-Shipowners: Recycling of ships will double by 2032

-Hacker report: cyberattacks on the rise

-Deutsche Post sees easing in freight forwarding business - Outlook unclear°.

Customer Notice:

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

/jha