AUTOS
EU sales hit record low
New vehicle registrations in the EU hit a record low last month, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said in a statement yesterday. “With the ongoing semiconductor shortage still negatively affecting car sales across the region” the registration of new vehicles last month fell by 6 percent from January 2020, the association said. The 682,596 vehicles registered last month marks “a new historic low in EU car sales for the first month of the year” since the trade association began keeping records in 1990. Of the top EU markets, both Italy and France saw sales drops of nearly 20 percent, while Germany rose by 8.5 percent and Spain was broadly stable, the association said.
SINGAPORE
No change in GDP forecast
The city-state yesterday reaffirmed its economic growth forecast for this year and raised its reading for last year, as its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic stabilizes and it seeks to ease virus restrictions. GDP is projected to expand 3 to 5 percent this year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said, reiterating its estimate in November. It also upgraded last year’s growth to 7.6 percent, from an earlier estimate of 7.2 percent. Prospects for “outward-oriented” sectors, such as manufacturing and trade, would remain strong this year amid the global recovery, the ministry said in a statement, while aviation and tourism-related activity is expected to slow amid risks of recurring COVID-19 outbreaks.
JAPAN
Deficit hits eight-year high
The nation racked up a ￥2.2 trillion (US$19 billion) trade deficit last month, an eight-year high, as the cost of energy imports soared, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports edged up 9.6 percent last month from the same month the previous year, it said. Imports jumped 39.6 percent, resulting in a sixth straight month of trade deficits, it said. The amount is the biggest since January 2014, when the trade deficit totaled nearly ￥2.8 trillion. Exports have not risen as quickly as imports, as manufacturing of electronics and autos has been slowed by shortages of computer chips resulting from COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions in some countries.
AVIATION
Airbus posts record profits
European aircraft giant Airbus SE reported record profits for last year after two years of losses, with deliveries rising as it navigates COVID-19 pandemic disruptions to the travel industry. Net profit surged to 4.2 billion euros (US$4.8 billion), with deliveries of aircraft rising 8 percent to 611 planes, Airbus said in a statement. The company also fielded 507 net orders, almost double from 2020, including the first orders for its new A350 freighter. The company said it is targeting 720 commercial aircraft deliveries this year.
FOOD
Profitability to fall: Nestle
Nestle SA yesterday said that profitability might decline for a second year this year, showing that even the world’s largest food and beverage company is not immune to the cost inflation wracking the industry. Input costs would probably increase more this year than last year, CEO Mark Schneider told reporters, forecasting an underlying trading operating profit margin of 17 to 17.5 percent this year compared with 17.4 percent last year. “There’s almost no place in the company that’s exempt from inflation now,” Schneider said. “Hence, we have to adjust.”
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Source: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2022/02/18/2003773304
