French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. Exmar reported on Thursday a decline in FY IFRS revenues to $348.9 millions but an increase in IFRS EBITDA at $204.7 million. It will not be proposing a dividend in 2024. Fluxys announced on Thursday that FY revenues and EBIT had increased to 608.8 millions euros ($657.0) and 133.9million euros, respectively. It proposes to pay a EUR 1.4 dividend per share.
Rapid7 adds 3 new directors to its board of directors as part of a settlement with Jana Partners
Rapid7, a cybersecurity company, announced on Monday that it had reached an agreement with activist investors Jana Partners for three new board members to be added to its team. One of these directors is a partner in the hedge fund. Wael Mohammed, Mike Burns, and Kevin Galligan were named as the new directors of a Boston-based firm. The board has eight members. Reports on Sunday indicated that both sides were close to a settlement for the addition of three directors to Rapid7's board.
Boeing, Apple and GE will join US business delegation to Vietnam next week list shows
A list of participants, including Boeing, Apple, and other top U.S. companies in tech, defence, and energy, will be joining a large mission to Vietnam, next week. This could be a sign of confidence, as Vietnam tries to avoid U.S. tariffs on trade. The US-ASEAN Business Council is an advocacy group that organizes the annual mission. This year, Vietnam is reviewing its tariffs on U.S. products, including liquefied gas, agricultural and high-tech goods, while U.S.
Crown Castle sells fiber assets in an $8.5 billion deal to two entities
Crown Castle announced on Thursday that it would sell its fiber and small cells businesses to two entities for $8.5 billion, following the activist investor Elliott Investment Management's push. The fiber company announced that it would sell its fiber solutions and small cell business to Zayo Group Holdings for $4.25 Billion each. Shares of the Houston-based company increased 2% during extended trading. Crown Castle began exploring options for the…
Egypt talks to Excelerate Energy about floating gas unit, says ministry
The Egyptian petroleum ministry announced on Thursday that it is in discussions with Excelerate Energy about a floating storage unit and regasification (FSRU). This will help to ensure a steady supply of natural gas for the Egyptian market. According to a statement, Steven Kobos CEO of Excelerate Energy expressed his company's willingness to supply the FSRUs necessary to Egypt. According to its website, Excelerate offers downstream LNG infrastructure as well as a fleet consisting of 11 FRSUs.
Vopak will invest an additional 1 billion Euros in industrial and gas terminals before 2030
Vopak, the Dutch tank storage company, doubled its investment goal for expanding its industrial and gas footprint. The company has committed another 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) to it until 2030. Vopak, a company that provides storage and handling to end markets in the energy and manufacturing industries, stated that its growth strategy is supported by positive market outlooks and demand for infrastructure. Vopak said that it had achieved its goal of increasing its industrial and gas footprint by investing 1 billion euros by 2030.
Sources say that most EU countries support softer storage targets for gas
In a meeting held behind closed doors on Wednesday, a majority of European Union member countries supported plans to relax some of the bloc’s binding gas storage targets when they were extended until 2026-2027. EU diplomats confirmed this. Germany, France, and the Netherlands warned that the EU's deadlines for filling gas storage were pushing prices up. By indicating to the markets that European buyers are required to purchase large volumes of fuel within fixed deadlines, it created an opportunity to manipulate the prices.
Ministers and executives say that if sanctions are eased, Europe will avoid Russian energy.
Ministers and executives at a Houston conference said that European buyers will not return to Russia's Energy Sector if the sanctions are lifted. The bloc has diversified its power mix by using renewable energy and alternative suppliers of gas. According to a joint U.S. and Ukrainian statement released on Tuesday, Ukraine agreed to accept the U.S. proposal of an immediate 30-day truce in order to restore a lasting peace following Russia's invasion. Last week, it was reported that the U.S.
Trump's Energy dominance aims to attract more global companies to the US
Executives said that the market upheaval caused by U.S. president Donald Trump's protectionist policies on trade has not dampened interest from foreign investors in the U.S. Energy Industry. They praised his promise to reduce regulations and support fossil energies. Trump made energy dominance the cornerstone of his administration. He declared a national emergency on his first official day in office, and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Experts say that Trump's tariffs against steel and aluminum will increase costs for US energy companies
The proposed U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs will increase costs for U.S. Oilfield Services companies that rely on this metal for their operations. Oilfield service firms like ChampionX and Patterson UTI are the backbone for the North American oil and natural gas industry. They provide essential equipment and services to drill, produce and maintain. Steel is the lifeblood of these industries - drilling platforms, pipelines and refineries, compressors and storage tanks, offshore platforms, and offshore platforms.
Exxon Mobil to receive LNG from ARC Resources
ARC Resources announced on Tuesday that it had signed a long-term liquefied gas supply contract with a division of Exxon Mobil. In recent years, global LNG demand has increased amid a move towards cleaner energy. The U.S. is now a major supplier of both Europe and Asia. ExxonMobil LNG Asia Pacific has announced that it will buy all of ARC’s LNG from the Cedar LNG Project, which is approximately 1.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa), ARC said. Cedar LNG…
DNO buys Sval Energi in cash for $450 mln, enhancing North Sea portfolio
Norwegian oil group DNO announced on Friday that it had agreed to purchase rival Sval Energi Group, which is focused on the North Sea from private equity group HitecVision. The cash consideration was $450 million based on a $1.6 billion enterprise value. It said that the transaction would quadruple DNO’s North Sea production, to around 80,000 barrels equivalent per day (boepd), and raise its total output to approximately 140,000 boepd on the basis of pro-forma data for 2024.
Indonesia's Pertamina promises to improve transparency after corruption allegations
Indonesia's state owned energy company Pertamina publicly apologized on Monday and promised to improve its governance following the arrest of five executives from one of its units for alleged corruption in relation to oil imports. Last week, the Attorney General's Office arrested five executives from three Pertamina units on suspicion of corruption in relation to oil imports that occurred between 2018 and 2023. This allegedly caused state losses of $12 billion.
Indonesian prosecutors have arrested three Pertamina executives for oil imports
A senior official revealed that the Attorney General's Office in Indonesia has arrested three executives from Pertamina, a state-owned energy company. They were accused of corruption in relation to oil imports which cost the government $12 billion. Abdul Qohar told reporters that prosecutors arrested Riva Saifuddin and Yoki Firnandi late on Monday. Pertamina stated in a press release on Tuesday that they respected the legal process being conducted by the Attorney General's Office.
French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. ALTEN: Alten has announced that its net profit for the fiscal year is EUR 277 million. COFACE: Coface has announced a proposed dividend of EUR 1,40 per share and forecasts growth at the same 2.7% rate as in 2024. GTT: GTT expects to have a consolidated EBITDA of between 490 mln and 540 mln euro for 2025. Imerys has published an EBITDA adjusted for 2024 of EUR 675 millions and proposed a EUR 1.45 dividend.
Stock prices of US natgas producers soar as gas futures soar
Gas futures prices have risen by 27% in the last seven days, reaching a two-year high. The extreme cold of recent days has pushed U.S. Gas Futures up to $4.42 per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu) at midday on Wednesday. This puts the front-month just a few cents away from the closing high of $2.258, which was reached on January 16 of this year. The increase in gas futures has helped Devon Energy's stock, which announced earnings on February 18th, to reach a three-month high at $38.58 by midday Wednesday.
Vopak's profits are unlikely to change much by 2025 as one-offs have a negative impact on the 4th quarter results
Dutch tank storage company Vopak said that it expects to see little difference in its earnings by 2025, despite the fact that strong demand for energy-storage infrastructure is boosting its results. Analysts cited a missed quarterly core profit and a cautious outlook as the reason for the 7% drop in shares of this company that operates terminals and stores fuels and chemicals around world. Vopak reported a negative impact in the fourth quarter of…
Vopak's earnings exceeded its guidance range
The Dutch tank storage company Vopak announced Wednesday that its core earnings for 2024 were above the previously-guided range, due to strong demand across its various business units. The proportional earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which is the measure of profit before all other costs, rose by 9%, to reach 1.17 billion euro ($1.22 billion), with its top-end annual guidance at 950 millions euros. The company that operates terminals and stores worldwide said they expected their core profit to be between 1…
EQT's profit for the fourth quarter beats estimates due to higher natural gas prices and sales
EQT's fourth-quarter profit exceeded analysts' estimates on Tuesday as the natural gas company benefited from increased prices and sales. The natural gas price rose during the first quarter of this year, reaching a peak that has not been seen in two years. This was due to an increase in gas flow to export plants for liquefied gas. Prices were also boosted by the forecast of more cold weather for January, which will increase heating demand. EQT realized an average price of $3.01 per 1…
Constellation skips first earnings call since spinoff
Constellation Energy, the U.S.'s largest nuclear power company, missed its quarterly investor call for the first since it went public three years ago. Constellation didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Analysts were surprised by the lack of a phone call. Constellation, based in Maryland, held a conference call with its management last month. It announced that it was planning to acquire private natural gas and geothermal provider Calpine for $16.4 billion. This is one of the largest deals ever made by the U.S. energy industry.
