ROUNDUP: Symrise lowers margin target - likely to miss market expectations

HOLZMINDEN - The manufacturer of fragrances and flavors Symrise is feeling the effects of a delayed reduction in inventories and negative currency effects. Due to lower raw material prices, inventories will also have to be devalued, the DAX-listed company announced on Thursday evening. Symrise is now taking a more cautious view of profit margins in the current year, although sales growth from its own resources is better than planned. Here, the management around CEO Heinz-Jürgen Bertram raised the annual target. However, the company will fall short of analysts' expectations in 2023. The Symrise share price collapsed on Friday.

ROUNDUP: Munich Re expects five billion euros profit in 2024 - share price recovers

MUNICH - Higher prices for reinsurance cover are boosting Munich Re's profit prospects for the coming year. CEO Joachim Wenning expects a profit of around 5 billion euros for 2024, as the world's largest reinsurer announced in Munich on Friday. This is eleven percent more than the EUR 4.5 billion that the manager has set himself for 2023. Although analysts had already expected a profit of this magnitude for the coming year, the news was well received on the stock market. The primary insurance subsidiary Ergo is also expected to make further gains.

ROUNDUP: Weak demand slows down fashion retailer H&M - share turns positive

STOCKHOLM - Weak demand in many countries and the withdrawal from Russia continue to cause problems for fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M). While its Spanish competitor Inditex and its fashion chain Zara reported strong sales growth again this week, H&M's revenue only grew in the fourth quarter thanks to the weak Swedish currency. The company may now have to get rid of its stock with higher discounts. On the stock market, however, the business figures were received positively after initial irritation.

Volkswagen increases deliveries - China back in the black

WOLFSBURG - The Volkswagen Group has increased its sales and recorded significantly more deliveries, especially in China. The Group delivered 824,300 vehicles worldwide across all brands in November - 22.6 percent more than a year ago, as the Wolfsburg-based company announced on Friday. In China, the most important single market, sales, which had been flagging for a long time, turned significantly positive: 296,100 vehicles were delivered there, 32.4 percent more than a year ago. In Western Europe, sales rose by almost 15 percent to 284,400 vehicles.

ROUNDUP: Medical group Fresenius scraps digital subsidiary Curalie

BAD HOMBURG - The Fresenius medical group is continuing its reorganization. Following the sale of its fertility clinics, the DAX-listed company is divesting its subsidiary Curalie. All activities of the software company specializing in health apps will be discontinued at the end of 2023, as the clinic company of the Helios Group announced in Bad Homburg on Friday. Manager Magazin had previously reported on corresponding plans.

ROUNDUP: RTL Group sells its channels in the Netherlands

LUXEMBOURG - The media group RTL Group is withdrawing from the Dutch TV market and selling its channels there to DPG Media for 1.1 billion euros. "After our original consolidation strategy for the Netherlands was blocked by the competition authority in January 2023, the sale to DPG Media is now the best strategic option for RTL Nederland and all stakeholders of the company," said RTL Group CEO Thomas Rabe in a statement on Friday. "We look forward to the strategic partnership with DPG Media."

ROUNDUP: Hypoport reorganizes its business segments - share price rises

BERLIN - The financial services provider Hypoport is merging parts of its divisions following the collapse of its real estate financing business. The brokerage, financing and valuation of private residential real estate will be bundled in the new "Real Estate & Mortgage Platforms" segment, as the company announced in Berlin on Friday. Everything relating to the financing of consumers and companies will land in the "Financing Platforms" segment. Only the insurance division remains unchanged. Hypoport shares, which have been battered for some time, rose sharply on Friday.

^

Further news

-Lower ethanol prices: Südzucker subsidiary Cropenergies lowers annual targets

-Aviation and defense group RTX gets new boss

-Rheinmetall develops tank version for Hungary

-ROUNDUP: Expensive energy, empty state coffers - Chemical industry with little confidence

-ROUNDUP: Robot cab company Cruise lays off a quarter of its workforce

-ROUNDUP 2: Shell exits PCK refinery Schwedt

-Stabilus leaves dividend unchanged

-GM cuts a quarter of jobs at robotaxi subsidiary Cruise and saves money

-VW software subsidiary Cariad wants to cut costs by 20 percent - severance payments

-German government hardly approves any more arms exports to Turkey

-Verdi threatens retail strikes during the Christmas season

-Billionaire Kühne attaches conditions to participation in Elbtower project

-Rail operator Go-Ahead slaps down DB Netz

-Patent office warns against counterfeiting in online trade

-Expert advises early Christmas shopping due to warning strikes

-Waste from uranium processing remediated - Costs: 300 million euros

-Before Audi takeover: New name for Sauber Formula 1 team

-ROUNDUP: Partial victory for Prince Harry in spying lawsuit against 'Mirror' publisher

-Federal government examines US request for naval deployment in the Red Sea

-Next digital summit in Frankfurt - date not yet set

-Adeyemi and his trio at BVB are struggling

-Federal Council approves law on heat planning in municipalities

-Radio Bremen adopts business plan for 2024

-ROUNDUP: Özdemir examines further restrictions on the use of glyphosate

-Bahn launches tender for new generation of ICE trains

-ROUNDUP 2: Hapag-Lloyd freighter fired at in the Red Sea

-Diesel scandal: Further VW employees must go to court

-District of Stendal wants to take another look at 49-euro ticket°

Customer tip:

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

/jha