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☆ Europe endures another year of droughts and wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Last year, heatwaves resulted in over 61,600 heat-related fatalities across 35 European countries and triggered devastating wildfires. Below is a list of the most recent blazes and heat-related warnings issued in Europe. Another broke out on Aug. 20 in the southern Hautes-Alpes region of France, burning at least 140 hectares. It was the biggest blaze the region has faced in the last 20 years, media reported. Portugal's authorities declared some 120 municipalities across Portugal at maximum risk of wildfires due to the heat.

Persons: heatwaves, BRGM, Fernando Clavijo, Dina Kartit, Gaëlle Sheehan, Piotr Lipiński, Ed Osmond Organizations: Spanish National Research Council, ITALY, Thomson Locations: Europe, Sicily, France, Perpignan, Alpes, GREECE, Alexandroupolis, Spain, Greece, Rhodes, Corfu, Italy, Sardinia, Rome, Lazio, PORTUGAL, Portugal, SPAIN Tenerife, Canary, La Palma

☆ Accor is in talks for Potel & Chabot takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 21 (Reuters) - Europe's biggest hotel group Accor (ACCP.PA) announced on Friday it has entered exclusive negotiations with Andera Partners and partner investors to acquire a 63% stake in Potel & Chabot and become the sole shareholder of the company. The transaction is expected to be completed in autumn, Accor said in a statement. Following this transaction, Potel & Chabot will be consolidated within Accor's Luxury & Lifestyle Division, Accor added. Reporting by Dina Kartit, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Accor, Chabot, Dina Kartit, Louise Heavens Organizations: Andera Partners, Potel, Accor's, Thomson Locations: Potel

☆ Ubisoft Q1 net bookings down 8.7% on lack of new games releases
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 20 (Reuters) - French video game producer Ubisoft (UBIP.PA), maker of the blockbuster "Assassin's Creed" franchise, on Thursday posted a 8.7% decline in net bookings in its first quarter, blaming a lack of new games releases. Net bookings in the April-June period fell to 267.7 million euros ($298.35 million), Ubisoft, which had guided for 240 million, said in a statement. The family-run firm, which has been dogged by game cancellations and delays in recent years, confirmed its targets for the 2023/24 finance year and said it expects second-quarter net bookings to increase to 350 million euros. Sales in the first quarter fell 9.2% to 288.9 million euros. ($1 = 0.8973 euros)Reporting by Dina Kartit and Pierre John Felcenloben, editing by Kirsti KnolleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ubisoft, Dina Kartit, Pierre John Felcenloben, Kirsti Organizations: Ubisoft, Thomson Locations: Paris

☆ Factbox: Europe sees another year of droughts and wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Last year, heat waves resulted in over 61,600 heat-related fatalities across 35 European countries and triggered devastating wildfires. Below is a list of the most recent blazes and heat-related warnings issued in Europe. **********CROATIAA bushfire near the coastal town of Sibenik quickly spread on July 13, fuelled by strong southerly winds. Emergency services were also dealing with fires on the island of Evia, east of Athens, and Aigio, southwest of Athens. RUSSIAIn central Russia's Urals region, in the small village of Shaidurikha near Yekaterinburg, wildfires spread on July 12 and caused significant damage.

Persons: BRGM, Rhodes, El, Dina Kartit, Gaëlle Sheehan, Piotr Lipiński, Alexandra Hudson, Milla Nissi Organizations: Firefighters, Flames, El Pais, Caldera, SWITZERLAND Swiss, Swiss, TURKEY, Directorate of Forestry, Thomson Locations: Europe, Sicily, CROATIA, Sibenik, Grebastica, FRANCE, Nouvelle, Aquitaine, Occitanie, Grand Est, Bouches, Du, Rhone, Corsica, France, GREECE, Corfu, Evia, Athens, Cyprus, Israel, Italy, ITALY, Calabria, Italian, Rome, Lazio, PORTUGAL Mainland Portugal, May, RUSSIA, Russia's, Shaidurikha, Yekaterinburg, SPAIN, La Palma, Spanish, Spain, Bitsch, Valais, Turkey's, Hatay, Mersin, Canakkale, Turkish

☆ Chipmaker ASMI sees more business coming in from China this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - ASM International (ASMI.AS) sees more business coming from China this year compared with previous years, the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker said on Wednesday. When asked by analysts about how much growth the company would see in its domestic China business in the current year, Chief Financial Officer Paul Verhagen said: "I think you know we will see probably more business coming in from China compared to, you know, previous years, but it's not going to be at the same level as what perhaps one of our peers have mentioned." ASML Holding (ASML.AS) said last week that it expects sales to mainland China to pick up for the remainder of 2023 following a dip in the first quarter. Reporting by Dina Kartit. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 13 (Reuters) - France's Sanofi SA (SASY.PA) on Monday agreed to acquire Provention Bio Inc <PRVB.O> for $2.9 billion to bolster its work on a U.S.-approved type 1 diabetes therapy and strengthen its drug pipeline following development setbacks. The deal builds on an existing co-promotion agreement between the two companies, and would give the French drugmaker full ownership of the drug, Tzield, Sanofi said, adding it expects to complete the acquisition in the second quarter of 2023. While growth in asthma and eczema drug Dupixent is boosting Sanofi's sales, investors have criticised its drug development pipeline as weak. Sanofi, the maker of long acting insulin products Toujeo and Lantus for type 2 diabetes, in 2019 quit further type 2 diabetes drug development. Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson said last month the company saw great promise in type 1 diabetes drug development and reaffirmed his commitment to steer clear of further work on type 2 diabetes and obesity.

☆ France's Sanofi to acquire US-based Provention Bio for $2.9 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Dina Kartit | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 13 (Reuters) - France's Sanofi (SASY.PA) said on Monday it has entered into a deal to acquire U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company Provention Bio in a transaction worth $2.9 billion, or $25.00 per share in cash. This transaction builds on an existing co-promotion deal between Sanofi and Provention Bio to provide TZIELD to patients in need, said the French firm. "Provention Bio also brings certain pipeline assets in early development in immune-mediated diseases," added the group. Sanofi said it expects to complete the acquisition in the second quarter of 2023. Reporting by Dina Kartit; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Threats towards women deter political involvement - UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Dina Kartit | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 8 (Reuters) - Violence and threats towards women still act as a deterrent to their involvement in politics, the U.N. gender equality organisation said, despite more women holding office. Data showed that the number of women in political leadership posts, both in government and in parliament, has improved overall, though, some regions such as the Middle East and North Africa lagged far behind. "Full democracy needs the equal participation of women in all its processes," the U.N. body added in its report on Tuesday, ahead of International Women's Day. The organisation's data also showed the global average number of women in national parliaments had inched up to 26.5% as of Jan 1., from 25.5% a year ago. The region grouping the Middle East and North Africa remained at the bottom of the regional ranking with fewer than 18% of female members of parliament, the U.N. Women's data showed.

☆ Heineken blames Russia exit delay on local paperwork
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 7 (Reuters) - Heineken (HEIO.AS) on Tuesday blamed the delay in its Russia exit on local bureaucracy that it said was beyond its control, and reiterated it still planned to exit the country. Last month, a story by investigative website Follow The Money questioned whether Heineken had followed through on its March 2022 promise to leave Russia, including selling its non-Heineken international brands like Amstel. "There's no ambiguity about our promise: we will leave Russia," Heineken said in a Q&A section on its website on Monday, to which it referred in Tuesday's statement. Heineken is the third largest brewer in Russia and the local business accounts for just 2% of its global sales, the company said. Danish rival Carlsberg (CARLb.CO) said on Tuesday its chief executive Cees't Hart would retire at the end of September after seeing through the sale of its Russian business.

March 2 (Reuters) - French oil and gas services provider Technip Energies (TE.PA) announced on Thursday lower annual revenue and guidance for 2023, citing the impact of its exit from a major LNG project in Russia. By the end of Dec. 2021, the Russian projects accounted for 23% of Technip Energies' order backlog. Annual adjusted revenue came in at 6.4 billion euros ($6.82 billion), down 4% from 2021 and below a company-provided consensus of 6.5 billion on average. The group's Project Delivery segment had annual adjusted revenue down 6% year-on-year, to 5 billion euros, but adjusted revenue for the Technology, Product and Service (TPS) branch was up 8% from 2021, to 1.4 billion euros. In 2023, Technip Energies said it expected adjusted revenue of 5.7-6.2 billion euros and a recurring core margin of 6.7%–7.2% — both below 2022 guidance of 6.2-6.5 billion euros and 6.7%-6.9%.

☆ Teleperformance full-year revenue tops guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - French office services and call centre company Teleperformance (TEPRF.PA) posted full-year revenue slightly above its previous guidance on Thursday, helped by a drive towards digitalisation among clients. The company posted 12.5% like-for-like revenue growth to 8.15 billion euros ($8.7 billion), slightly above its 12% growth estimate provided in November. Teleperformance came under pressure in Colombia last November over work practices in its content moderation business. Teleperformance targets recurring organic or self-generated growth of about 10.0% and an EBITA margin increase of 20 basis points in 2023. It had also confirmed its 2025 financial targets of at least 10 billion euros in revenue and an EBITA margin of 16%.

☆ EU's Nov 2022 excess deaths drop sharply from 2020/21 peaks - data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The EU's excess mortality rate measures the increase in total number of deaths, from any cause, compared with the same month in previous years. The November 2022 rate of 6.7% was a fall from 10.6% in October, and was almost in line with monthly averages for 2016-2019, Eurostat said. In 2022, a peak was reached in July at 16.8%, likely due to extreme heatwaves which hit parts of Europe and led to thousands of heat-related deaths, Eurostat said. The excess mortality rate in November 2022 varied across the EU, with Slovakia (-1.6%), Bulgaria (-2.6%), Romania (-6.2%) and Italy (0.5%) recording little or no excess deaths. Cyprus, Finland and Germany recorded excess mortality rates of 23.8%, 20.5% and 15.6% respectively in November, Eurostat said.

☆ Semiconductor supplier ASMI says Q4 revenue above guidance due to supply chain improvement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Dutch semiconductor supplier ASM International (ASMI) (ASMI.AS) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter revenue ahead of its guidance, citing better-than-expected supply chain conditions and higher conversion of the backlog. The company's revenue increased to around 720 million euros ($777.31 million) in the fourth quarter, beating its guided range of 630 million euros to 660 million euros. The group said it expects its operating margin for the fourth-quarter of 2022 to be approximately 26%, excluding purchase price allocation amortization related to the acquisition of LPE. ($1 = 0.9263 euros)Reporting Dina Kartit, editing by Silvia AloisiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ France's GTT ceases its activities in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 2 (Reuters) - French engineering group Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) (GTT.PA) said on Monday it was stopping its activities in Russia after analysing the latest European sanction packages which include a ban on engineering services with Russian firms. Meanwhile, terms of GTT's exit from the Gravity Based Structure (GBS) projects with Saren B.V - a joint-venture between Renaissance Heavy Industries Russia and Saipem's (SPMI.MI) Russian subsidiary - are being finalised. "These elements will have a financial impact mainly from 2023," GTT said in a statement, adding that its order book would no longer include projects in Russia. GTT added that annual targets will exclude revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) generated by the last services in progress in Russia from 2023 onwards. ($1 = 0.9384 euros)Reporting by Dina Kartit, edited by Tomasz Janowski and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology removes CO2 emissions from the atmosphere and stores them underground. * Smeaheia, a project by Equinor to develop a storage site in the North Sea with a potential to inject up to 20 mtpa from 2027/2028. The project plans to transport CO2 via pipelines to a storage site some 145 km offshore in the southern North Sea. ICELAND* The Coda Terminal will be a cross-border carbon transport and storage hub in Straumsvík, operated by Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix. The full capture, transport and storage chain will handle up to 100,000 mtpa of CO2.

☆ France's Veolia's nine-month revenue jumps nearly 50% on Suez acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Dina Kartit | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 9 (Reuters) - Revenues at France's Veolia (VIE.PA) jumped 49.1% in the nine months to the end of September, the company said on Wednesday, mostly driven by its takeover of rival Suez earlier this year. The waste and water company's revenues for the period climbed to 30.71 billion euros ($30.92 billion), while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 5.2% year-on-year to 4.53 billion euros. The acquisition of Suez in February contributed 7.12 billion euros to revenues, with organic growth totalling 13.2% for Veolia and Suez together. "This very good performance is also the result of an integration of Suez ahead of schedule." ($1 = 0.9930 euros)Reporting Dina Kartit Edited by Christian Schmollinger and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU gas emissions end post-COVID rise on cleaner supply, energy-saving-study
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Avi Asher-Schapiro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Steam rises from the cooling towers of the coal power plant of RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity and gas companies in Niederaussem, Germany, March 3, 2016. "The post-COVID rebound in the EU's fossil fuel use and emissions has come to an end in the past few months, due to the growth in clean energy supply led by solar power, and energy saving measures precipitated by the fossil fuel supply crunch," said CREA lead analyst Lauri Myllyvirta. "Clean energy investments and policies have expanded dramatically, which will lead to a sustained and accelerated fall in emissions in the next years." Hydropower generation is now closer to historical averages, and nuclear underperformance should recover, easing Europe's reliance on pollutants, it said. World leaders are expected to discuss increasing clean energy production facilities in emerging countries during the annual United Nations climate summit in Egypt from Sunday.

☆ Air France-KLM beats quarterly estimates on travel recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Dina Kartit | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM's (AIRF.PA) quarterly core profit beat expectations on Friday, as the airline company reported favourable demand recovery despite lower capacity and inflationary pressure on costs. Quarterly revenue came in 8.11 billion euros, above 2019 levels. These disruptions resulted in 60 million euros additional compensation costs compared to the same quarter in 2019, Air France-KLM said. Third-quarter traffic and passenger numbers for Transavia, the group's low-cost subsidiary, increased by 45.4% and 41.8%, driven by demand recovery in North Africa and Europe, despite record-high eurozone inflation. Air France-KLM expects seat capacity levels in the fourth quarter, full-year 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 at about 85%, 80% and 90%, respectively, confident that the recovery context will continue.

Interpol's member countries have raised concerns about how to prepare for possible metaverse crime, Madan Oberoi, Interpol's executive director for technology and innovation, told Reuters. "Some of the crimes may be new to this medium, some of the existing crimes will be enabled by the medium and taken to a new level," he said. Phishing and scams could operate differently when augmented reality and virtual reality are involved, Oberoi said. Virtual reality could also facilitate crime in the physical world, Oberoi said. Users may also create virtual worlds with "extremist rules," the report said.

SummarySummary Companies Q3 RevPar up 14% from same period in 2019Average pricing in Q3 was 23% above 2019 levelDemand in Asia will "correct itself"Oct 26 (Reuters) - Europe's biggest hotel group Accor (ACCP.PA) reported higher than expected third-quarter revenue per available room (RevPAR) on Wednesday, continuing a sharp improvement in activity since the start of the year after a "gorgeous" summer season. U.S. tourists travelling to Europe took advantage of the dollar's strength against the euro and other currencies, Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Morin said on a call with journalists. Accor's average pricing in the third quarter has been 23% above 2019 levels, the CFO said, adding the capability to earn more fees through inflation needed to be accounted for. However, the situation in Asia will "correct itself", with recovery in China and Southeast Asian countries next year possibly making a difference to the group's performance, Morin added. ($1 = 0.9930 euros)Reporting by Diana Mandia and Dina Kartit; Editing by David Holmes, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Europe's alternatives if Russia shuts off gas supply
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Germany halted certification of the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia because of the Ukraine war so it never went into operation. Germany, Europe's biggest consumer of Russian gas, can import gas from Britain, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands via pipelines. Southern Europe can receive Azeri gas via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline to Italy and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) through Turkey. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to Europe have increased from producers such as the United States, Qatar and other countries. OTHER OPTIONS TO COPE WITH A GAS SUPPLY CRUNCH?

☆ Factbox: Energy crisis revives coal demand and production
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

France - The Emile Huchet coal power plant restarted in early October, only six months after it closed, according to local media. Netherlands - Dutch energy minister Rob Jetten said in June the Netherlands will remove a production cap at coal-fired energy plants to preserve gas. In June, it said it plans to "increase thermal coal production from existing mines this year maximum by 1.5 million tonnes". Spain - The ministry for the ecological transition requested in May the delay of Endesa's As Pontes coal power station closure. (** Note that Ukraine's government has stopped releasing coal production data since the start of the war).

☆ EU emergency oil stocks still low in July after IEA's joint releases
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - The European Union's emergency oil stocks, including crude oil and petroleum products, recovered slightly in July after two coordinated releases drained the levels to a record low in June, the bloc's statistic office said on Tuesday. The EU held 103.6 million tonnes of emergency oil stocks in July, up 2.5% from the historical low of 101.1 million tonnes in June, Eurostat data showed. To stabilise the market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) allowed two emergency oil stock releases in March and April. Current emergency stocks are mostly composed of crude oil at 45.5 million tonnes, gas and diesel oil at 35.9 million tonnes, and gasoline at 9.8 million tonnes, Eurostat said. The countries with biggest commercial stocks were Germany with 9.3 million tonnes, the Netherlands with 8.9 million tonnes, and Italy with 5.8 million tonnes, Eurostat said.

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