ROUNDUP: Siemens Energy talks with German government about state aid - share price slumps

MUNICH/BERLIN - Siemens Energy is talking to the German government about possible state guarantees. The company confirmed corresponding reports on Thursday. Preliminary talks are being held with various parties, including Siemens Energy's partner banks and the German government, to secure access to a growing volume of guarantees that will enable the expected strong growth," the energy technology company said. A spokesman for the Economics Ministry said the federal government was "in close and trusting discussions" with the company. The talks were ongoing, so details could not be commented on.

ROUNDUP: Facebook group Meta worried about economy

MENLO PARK - Facebook Group Meta is bracing for the Gaza war to slow its online advertising business. Demand for ads weakened at the beginning of the current quarter, said chief financial officer Susan Li. That coincided with Islamist Hamas' attack on Israel and the start of the Gaza war, she said. Advertising business had already been worse after previous conflicts of a similar nature, she said.

ROUNDUP: Mercedes-Benz feels the impact of tougher competition - share price falls

STUTTGART - The economic downturn has left its mark on carmaker Mercedes-Benz. In view of tough competition as well as parts shortages and rising costs, the Swabians are becoming somewhat more pessimistic for the full year in the passenger car division. The company was also unable to maintain the strong business figures from the same period last year in the third quarter. CFO Harald Wilhelm emphasized on Thursday the continued good order situation, which points in the right direction and also referred to his cautious optimism for the coming year. But the share continued its recent weak run and fell.

TOTAL ROUNDUP: Aixtron confirms annual targets - Suess Micro tests investor patience

HERZOGENRATH - Business figures from equipment suppliers for the chip industry provide light and shade. Thanks to continued good demand for efficient power electronics, machine builder Aixtron still wants to achieve its annual targets with a strong final quarter. In addition, the situation continues to normalize with regard to the traffic jam in the processing of export licenses by the authorities, as a company spokeswoman said. The situation at industry colleague Suess Microtec is quite different: "Because the German customs and export control authorities have significantly intensified the documentation and examination effort for deliveries to China since August 2023," the SDax group again backtracked on its 2023 targets.

ROUNDUP: Defence group Rheinmetall exceeds expectations - shares up

DÜSSELDORF - Thanks to lucrative business with weapons and ammunition, the armaments group Rheinmetall earned significantly more in the third quarter. Based on preliminary figures, operating earnings rose by almost two-thirds year-on-year to €191 million, as the Dax-listed company surprisingly announced in Düsseldorf on Wednesday evening. Rheinmetall thus far exceeded average expectations. This was well received on the stock market on Thursday.

ROUNDUP: Hellofresh struggles with strong euro and vacation season in third quarter

BERLIN - The strong euro and weaker demand due to the vacation season have caused a lousy third quarter for the cooking box mail order company Hellofresh. Fewer customers ordered than a year earlier, for example, and the number of orders fell. Revenue and operating profit fell accordingly, and for the first time in years the group slipped back into the red at the bottom line. Hellofresh shares lost almost 12 percent of their value in the morning.

ROUNDUP: Volkswagen Group continues to struggle with costs at mass brands

WOLFSBURG - The Volkswagen Group continues to push for the savings program under consideration in view of disappointing results at the core brand VW Passenger Cars. However, details have not yet been finalized in talks with employees, as finance chief Arno Antlitz admitted Thursday at the presentation of the quarterly figures. However, he also saw the need to increase returns as evidenced by the third-quarter figures. "If you look at the operating margin in the third quarter alone, that should be a warning signal to us," he said in a video interview distributed internally. "6.2 percent return on sales is too little to be able to invest decisively in the future."

ROUNDUP: Danone aims to turn over even more in 2023 - Unilever's quarter disappoints

PARIS/LONDON - French food group Danone wants to achieve even higher sales on a like-for-like basis in 2023 than previously envisaged by raising prices. In recent months, the company has already been able to increase its profits with this strategy - even though demand for its products is limping. This went down well with the Borsians. It is true that consumer goods manufacturer Unilever is also passing on higher costs to its customers in the form of increased prices. In contrast to Danone, the British company could not score with the news and its outlook on the stock exchange on Thursday.

Package delivery company UPS slashes annual targets further - shares plummet

ATLANTA - Fewer shipments and higher wages are again thwarting the business plans of U.S. package delivery company UPS. Group CEO Carol Tomé expects only a turnover between 91.3 and 92.3 billion U.S. dollars (86.3 to 87.2 billion euros) in the current year, as United Parcel Service (UPS) announced in Atlanta on Thursday. In addition, only 10.8 to 11.3 percent of the proceeds should remain as operating profit before special items. The news went down badly in the financial market: In pre-borsday U.S. trading, UPS shares recently lost more than three percent in value.

ROUNDUP: High taxes eat into profits at BNP Paribas - share price plummets

PARIS - The major French bank BNP Paribas posted a drop in profits in the third quarter due to higher taxes. With just under 2.7 billion euros, the surplus was four percent lower than a year earlier, as the group announced in Paris on Thursday. Trading in securities, currencies and commodities also weakened. On the stock market, the news went down badly: BNP shares lost around four percent in the morning, making them among the weakest stocks in the EuroStoxx 50 eurozone index.

U.S. pharmaceutical group Merck expects more sales thanks to high demand

RAHWAY - U.S. pharmaceutical group Merck & Co is raising its sales forecast for the current year amid strong business in medicines. Demand for one of its top-selling drugs, the cancer drug Keytruda, and a controversial Covid drug is up, the company said Thursday in Rahway. Revenue from Keytruda accounts for 40 percent of sales. In terms of profit, however, the group continues to row back.

ROUNDUP: Ceconomy can significantly improve earnings - share price rises strongly

DÜSSELDORF - The electronics retailer Ceconomy closed the fiscal year 2022/23, which ended at the end of September, with an increase in sales. The company with its Media Markt and Saturn chains was able to significantly increase its operating result compared to the previous year. The retailer expressed confidence for the upcoming Christmas business.

ROUNDUP/Waiting for trend reversal: Wacker Chemie still somewhat more cautious for 2023

MUNICH - Due to persistently weak demand, Wacker Chemie is taking a somewhat more cautious view of the current year. Sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) are only likely to reach the lower half of the target ranges already lowered in the summer, the MDax group announced in Munich on Thursday. This initially caused share price losses on the stock exchange. Analyst Konstantin Wiechert of Baader Bank believes that a gloomier outlook is already largely priced in after the share price losses of recent weeks.

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Further news

-Buying and travel bring Mastercard more profit - share price declines

-New chief executive for U.S. bank Morgan Stanley

-VW rival Hyundai posts significant gains in third quarter

-EU parliamentary committee wants 'right to repair' for consumers

-Schneider Electric continues to profit from high demand for energy technology

-Swedish carmaker Volvo earns significantly more

-Iberdrola raises profit forecast - significant earnings growth after nine months

-Court of Justice: Selection buttons on cigarette machines must have warning labels

-Opel parent Stellantis invests billions in Chinese e-car maker

-ROUNDUP: Meta's Twitter alternative Threads has almost 100 million users

-Court of Justice clarifies: bottle deposit must be stated separately

-ZDF plans more AI for subtitles and sign language

-Teamviewer boss Steil to stay on for another five years

-ROUNDUP: Mattel cautious for Christmas despite success of 'Barbie' movie

-Wariff agreement at Helios clinic in Leezen

-Chip supplier Suess Microtec has to adjust annual targets again

-Software business boosts IBM sales

-Study: 85 percent of retailers sell online and over the counter

-ROUNDUP/BGH clarifies: bottle deposit must be stated separately

-Lower electricity prices cause quarterly loss for Vattenfall

-Kion order intake disappoints - share slips

-Post introduces Germany's first crypto stamp

-ROUNDUP: Totalenergies surprises positively thanks to higher oil prices

-ROUNDUP: Warning must already appear on selection buttons for cigarette machines

-ROUNDUP: Wind industry doubts that expansion targets can be achieved

RTL no longer wants to 'come across as more well-behaved' after all

-ProSiebenSat.1: No talks with MFE about content synergies

-ROUNDUP: Siltronic more confident - but chip sector still waiting for turnaround

-Court: Earlier termination rule at Parship partially invalid

-VW builds 150,000 fewer new cars due to Slovenia floods

-Ford and US union UAW agree on wage deal

-ROUNDUP/Insurers: E-cars cause fewer accidents - repairs more expensive

-ROUNDUP: Panel doctors call for exemption from social insurance for emergency services

-Frankfurt Airport expands offer for biometric identification

-Survey: Majority have never bought a ticket for Germany

-ROUNDUP: Industrial recycler Befesa cuts annual forecast - shares turn positive

-BMW tests battery cell production for the 'new class'

-New Slovakian government no longer wants to supply Ukraine with weapons

-Machine manufacturer Trumpf becomes more pessimistic about the future after a drop in orders

-ROUNDUP: BMW criticizes German government and EU

-ROUNDUP/Courageous at the right time: BVB back in the race thanks to Nmecha

-Bulgaria expands nuclear power - Two new piles for Kozloduy nuclear power plant°.

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