(Handelsblatt) Fearing an E-Powered Price War

Fearing an E-Powered Price War
German electric carmakers have shied away from producing their own batteries for fear of competing with Asia’s low prices. Since China announced plans to command the market, industry players are on guard.

Batteries are the nerve center of the electric car. Electric vehicle (EV) battery technology determines the limit to how far one can travel per charge, and also the speed of recharging. Around 40 percent of an electric car’s value is based purely on the battery alone.

EV batteries are a lucrative field, but one most German auto makers have been holding back from. Merecedes’ parent company Daimler collaborated on the technology with German chemicals firm Evonik, a project which it abandoned in late 2015 for lack of prospective buyers. Daimler’s “Made in Germany” cells were too expensive compared with Asian competitors.

Now China plans to take on a leading role in the e-car batteries market, and are closer than one might think. Chinese producers will try to push sales in 2017 by selling lithium-ion batteries for lower prices. In January, Shenzhen-based market researcher Gaogong Industry said that the price of batteries produced in China are expected to fall between 35 to 40 percent this year.


REuters - France's Macron dismisses affair as rival Fillon battles scandal

France's presidential election campaign lurched deeper into uncertainty on Tuesday after centrist Emmanuel Macron was forced to deny an extramarital affair while financial scandal continued to dog conservative rival Francois Fillon and his party.

Macron has become favourite to win by a thin margin since a scandal two weeks ago surrounding the work of Fillon's wife, Penelope, knocked the former prime minister off the top spot.

Late on Monday, the centrist former economy minister and ex-banker sought to move his campaign on, taking an opportunity to dismiss rumours he had a gay relationship outside his marriage to Brigitte Trogneux.

"If you're told I lead a double life with Mr Gallet it's because my hologram has escaped," Macron told supporters, referring to Radio France chief executive Mathieu Gallet.

A spokeswoman said the comments were "a clear denial of the rumours about his private life".

Separately, a day after Fillon held a major news conference to re-invigorate his scandal-hit campaign, an opinion poll for Harris Interactive said 65 percent of French people wanted him replaced as candidate of the centre-right.

In that press appearance, Fillon apologised for organising hundreds of thousands of euros in payment for his wife and family for carrying out work for him, but vowed to fight on as candidate.

Also on Tuesday, a judicial source said a magistrate had ordered another prominent member of Fillon's The Republicans party - ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy - to stand trial over irregularities - a poignant reminder of the party's past brushes with financial scandal.

UNCERTAINTY REIGNS

Uncertainty about the outcome of the election, taking place in two rounds on April 23 and May 7, has this week driven the premium that investors demand for holding French over German government debt to its highest for almost four years.

Opinion polls show Macron ahead of Fillon in the first round of the election, but only by a few percentage points, and behind Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front.

Macron seen winning French presidency as his score edges up - Opinionway poll
Only the top two candidates go through to a second round on May 7. Polls show that Macron would beat Le Pen with about two thirds of the vote and that Fillon would win by a smaller, but still comfortable margin.

In its daily opinion poll update on Tuesday, pollster Opinionway left its first round score little changed from Monday, putting Le Pen on 25 percent, Macron on 23, and Fillon on 20.

It raised its prediction for the Macron vote in the second round to 66 percent from 65.

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:
  • GIGA -26.6%, KORS -7.3%, MOS -6.7%, ALLT -5.6%, YRCW -4.8%, FMC -4.4%, KN -4.3%, BP -3.6%, ARWR -3.2%, MAC -3%, LMNX -2.4%, VSH -2.4%
  • TLLP -2%, STO -1.9%, BMI -1.8%
  • AM -1.6%, (provides prelim Q4 results; announces the formation of a joint venture to develop processing and fractionation assets in Appalachia; increases 2017 guidance; commences an underwritten public offering of 5,000,000 common units representing limited partner interests)
  • GAIN -1.1%, FOXA -0.7%
Select EU financial related names showing weakness in sympathy with BNP Paribas (-5% in France after earnings):
  • CS -0.9%, DB -0.6%, HSBC -0.5%, SAN -0.5%
Select metals/mining stocks trading lower:
  • AUY -2.5%, KGC -1.9%, HMY -1.4%, GFI -1.4%, ING -1.4%,NEM -1.2%, AU -1.1%, ABX -0.9%, AG -0.9%, GOLD -0.8%,GDX -0.8%, SLV -0.5%
Other news:
  • KTOV -23.9% (late decline on speculation of an investigation involving the company's CEO)
  • FXCM -19.7% (confirms settlement with NFA and CFTC and non-binding letter of intent for GAIN Capital (GCAP) to purchase FXCM's U.S. customer accounts)
  • AUPH -8.1% (Aurinia Pharma accepted the resignation of Charles Rowland as CEO and appointed Dr. Richard Glickman as new CEO)
  • HLI -3.4% (02/06 16:16 BFPL N HLI Houlihan Lokey commences 10 mln common stock offering, consisting of 7.5 mln shares offered by the co and 2.5 shares offered by certain of its employees and members of management)
  • TEVA -3.3% (appoints Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg as Interim CEO succeeding Erez Vigodman and names Dr. Sol J. Barer as Chairman)
  • AM -1.6% (provides prelim Q4 results; announces the formation of a joint venture to develop processing and fractionation assets in Appalachia;upsizes and prices offering of 6 mln common units at $33.00 per unit)
  • EBAY -0.9% (eBay lower after disclosing material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting and filing mixed securities shelf offering), .
Analyst comments:
  • RH -4.6% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Buckingham Research)
  • AKG -1.6% (downgraded to Hold from Speculative Buy at Canaccord Genuity)
  • CMO -1.2% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo)

>>> Cynosure beats by $0.03, beats on revs (50.15)

--> +4.70% in pre mkt - low volume

Cynosure beats by $0.03, beats on revs (50.15)
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.41; revenues rose 19.2% year/year to $122.1 mln vs the $119.97 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • "Demand for aesthetic procedures in North America was our largest growth driver over the course of 2016, led by the full launch of our SculpSure platform in the first quarter," Davin said. "Our international business gained momentum in the second half of 2016, reflecting our focus on securing additional regulatory clearances such as the third quarter 2016 marketing approval of SculpSure in Korea and the China Food and Drug Administration's clearance of the Icon Aesthetic System in November."
  • "We begin 2017 with a high degree of optimism, confident that we have the right product portfolio, technology and distribution to capitalize on the trends that will shape the aesthetic market in the quarters and years ahead," Davin said. "Our strategy positions us to generate sustained growth from diverse revenue sources, drive long-term profitability and deepen our competitive advantage."

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:
  • RE +8.1%, JLL +7.8%, PMD +7.2%, AVXL +6.5%, HQY +6.4%, GWPH +6%, ACM +5.7%, ALSN +5.1%, (also will buyback all of ValueAct's holdings)
  • WWW +4.4%, (announces leadership appointments; indicates quarterly results were in-line with expectations), FN +4.4%, NOV +3.2%, ITUB +3.2%
  • GPS +2.7%, (Gap sees Q4 EPS of $0.50-0.51 ex items, vs $0.45 consensus and reports prelim Q4 sales of $4.43 bln vs $4.39 bln CapIQ consensus; January same store sales +1% (Banana Republic -4% and Old Navy +2% vs -8.0% (BR -17%, ON -6%) year ago and +3% (BR -7%, ON +12%) last month)
  • TDG +2.2%, PAHC +2%, EMR +1.8%, GM +1.5%, CHD +1.4%, CNC +1%, QSR +0.8%
Other news:
  • PIP +22.8% (continued strength following yesterday's 159% move)
  • ADHD +11.5% (announces FDA meeting on its ADAIR product candidate defined a 505(b)(2) development path, to be funded with existing cash balance, and targeting a 2H 2018 NDA submission)
  • DRYS +6.6% (after closing near highs - up 30% on the day)
  • GLBS +4.6% (after closing near highs - up 20% on the day)
Analyst comments:
  • ATHX +8.6% (initiated with a Buy at Needham; tgt $7)
  • NOK +2.1% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley)
  • CAT +1.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays)
  • BIIB +1.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup)

>>> Sabre misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides FY17 EPS and revenue bel

Sabre misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides FY17 EPS and revenue below consensus; announces $500 mln buyback (24.81)
07/02/2017 à 07:52:03 ET
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.27 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.31; revenues rose 9.4% year/year to $829.6 mln vs the $828.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Co issues downside guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $1.31-1.45, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.60 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY17 revs of +5-7% to ~$3.54-3.62 bln vs. $3.62 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • "In 2017, we expect continued growth in our businesses. Total revenue is forecasted to increase from 5% to 7%, with balanced growth across our business units, reflecting continued strong growth in Travel Network and Hospitality Solutions, and more modest growth in Airline Solutions," said Rick Simonson, Sabre executive vice president and chief financial officer. "We will make investments in our IT infrastructure this year to modernize, drive efficiency in development and ongoing technology costs, further enhance the stability and security of our network and accelerate our shift to open source and cloud-based solutions. The costs associated with these investments will be felt in both our corporate-level product and technology operating expenses, as well as our capital expenditures. While we expect growth in cash provided by operating activities, these investments will dampen 2017 adjusted profit and Free Cash Flow, as we set the stage for greater efficiency and sustainable growth in the future."
  • Sabre also announced the approval of a multi-year share repurchase program to purchase up to $500 million of Sabre's common stock.

>>> General Motors beats by $0.11, beats on revs; reaffirms FY17 EPS guidance

General Motors beats by $0.11, beats on revs; reaffirms FY17 EPS guidance (36.83)
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.28 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.17; auto revenue rose 9.2% year/year to $41.23 bln vs the $40.08 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • GM guided FY16 EPS at high end of $5.50-6.00 range on Jan 10.
  • For the year ended Dec. 31, 2016, GM sold a record 10 million vehicles around the world, up 1.2 percent from 2015. In Q4, GM sold 2.78 million vehicles, up 3.3 percent compared to Q4 2015. December 2016 global volume of 1.05 million units was the highest in the company's history, capping the fourth consecutive record year for global deliveries.
  • Co reaffirms guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $6.00-6.50, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $6.14 Capital IQ Consensus; maintain or improve EBIT-adjusted and EBIT-adjusted margin; and generate higher revenues, compared to 2016. The co also expects to generate about $15 billion in automotive operating cash flow and about $6 billion in adj. automotive free cash flow.
  • GM expects its global volume from new or refreshed vehicles to grow to 38 percent from 2017-2020, up from 26 percent in the 2011-2016 period. New or refreshed crossovers, trucks and SUVs are expected to represent a majority of this volume between 2017-2020.
  • The co raised its cost efficiency target for 2015-2018 to $6.5 billion, an increase of $1 billion.
  • Peers: Ford (F), FCA (FCAU), Toyota (TM)

>>> IntercontinentalExchange beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; co rises divi

IntercontinentalExchange beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; co rises dividend 18% y/y; expects share repurchases of $200 mln in Q1 2017
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.71 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.69; revenues rose 30.1% year/year to $1.14 bln vs the $1.14 bln Capital IQ Consensus
    • Amidst a volatile and dynamic environment, we delivered our eleventh consecutive year of record revenue," said ICE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher. "Despite the challenges of market volatility driven by geopolitics, we achieved our objectives by working closely with our customers across trading, risk management and data to again deliver strong revenue growth, margin expansion and double-digit profit increases
  • Co sees 2017 data services revenue growing at least 6% in constant currency