As the Covid-19 pandemic kept more people at home, makers of
household staples and snack foods reported strong sales.
Procter & Gamble Co., the maker of household staples from
Tide detergent to Charmin toilet paper, posted its strongest annual
sales gain since 2006 as the pandemic kept the world's consumers at
home and vigilant about cleaning.
Kellogg Co. reaped gains amid heightened demand for a number of
its products, which include Cheez-It snacks, cereals and
Morningstar Farms meatless food. The company raised its financial
forecast for the year.
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. reported a second-quarter profit as
consumer behavior during the pandemic led to higher sales.
Other food makers signaled trouble ahead.
Nestle SA said first-half net profit rose but it experienced
slower growth in the majority of its core markets in the second
quarter due to the pandemic.
Kraft Heinz Co., however, wrote down the value of Oscar Mayer,
Maxwell House and several other of its well-known brands,
reflecting the challenges for the food maker despite strong sales
in recent months amid the pandemic.
The pandemic pummeled British banks as many companies struggled
to reopen and individuals reduced spending and deferred payments on
loans. The industry is also grappling with Brexit and the
increasing likelihood of negative interest rates.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC, Barclays PLC and the U.K. unit of
Banco Santander SA increased loan-loss charges in the three months
ended June, compared with a year ago.
Lloyds, the U.K.'s largest retail bank, reported an unexpected
swing to a pretax loss for the first half of 2020 and said its
outlook remains highly uncertain.
Other earnings reported Thursday:
Airbus SE: The European plane maker swung to a net loss in its
second quarter and said first-half commercial aircraft deliveries
were halved compared with a year ago, due to the pandemic.
Anglo American PLC: The FTSE 100 multinational miner's net
profit fell 75% for the first half of the year as
coronavirus-induced restrictions hit production.
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV: The Budweiser brewer reported a sharp
drop in second-quarter sales as beer consumption across much of the
world fell. The company took a $2.5 billion write-down on its
business in South Africa, where alcohol sales have been banned
during the pandemic.
Assicurazioni Generali SpA: The Italian insurance giant's
first-half net profit more than halved as coronavirus-related
impairments and expenses, as well as costs to settle an
arbitration, hit the results.
AstraZeneca PLC: The British pharmaceutical company, one of the
companies in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine, posted
second-quarter core earnings and revenue ahead of analysts'
expectations thanks to its push into oncology, which drove sales
higher and offset the reversal of medicine stockpiling prompted by
the pandemic in the previous quarter.
Cigna Corp.: The U.S. health-care company booked higher profit
and revenue for the second quarter, reflecting lower medical costs
from deferred care due to the pandemic.
Comcast Corp.: The U.S. company's second-quarter revenue fell
12% as the impact of the coronavirus on its advertising-dependent
businesses more than offset the cable giant's continued success in
signing up more broadband customers.
Credit Suisse Group AG: Switzerland's second-largest bank beat
expectations in the second quarter and presented some strategic
changes, including the creation of a global investment bank. Net
profit for the period rose 24% but provisions against potential
losses from borrowers also climbed, reaching 296 million Swiss
francs compared with CHF25 million a year ago.
Danone SA: The French food company reported a slight fall in
first-half net profit as the coronavirus hurt revenue and said it
expects results to improve although uncertainty persists for the
second half.
ENI SpA: The Italian energy giant reported a swing to a
first-half net loss as trading was hurt by the pandemic,
oil-production volatility and low demand but said it expects
gradual recovery to occur during the second half.
Grubhub Inc.: The U.S. delivery service is benefiting from
delivery ordering during the pandemic but not profiting from
it.
Hermes International SCA: The French luxury-good company's net
profit and revenue fell in the first half of the year as many of
its stores were forced to close and production sites ground to a
halt due to the pandemic.
Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd.: The property developer said its
underlying profit fell 24%, reflecting a reduced contribution from
investment properties as a result of pandemic-related rent
relief.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc.: The parent of the New York Stock
Exchange said its profit and sales rose for the second quarter as
it earned more from transactions amid the pandemic.
Jadestone Energy Inc.: The Asia-focused oil-and-gas company said
its first-half revenue dropped as the pandemic drove down oil
prices.
Japfa Ltd.: The Southeast Asia-focused agri-food company said
its first-half profit soared as strong performances in its dairy
and Vietnam animal protein businesses helped offset a drop in
consumer spending due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd.: The Asia-based group -- which
has a broad portfolio of market-leading businesses -- swung to a
net loss for the first half of 2020 and said trading conditions for
the second half are expected to remain challenging due to the
pandemic.
Komatsu Ltd.: The Japanese construction-machinery maker's
first-quarter net profit fell 66% owing to sharp declines in sales
in Asia, Europe and North America as a result of the pandemic.
LG Electronics Inc.: The South Korean company's second-quarter
net profit fell 38% due to sluggish demand for consumer-electronics
and home-appliance goods amid the pandemic.
Macquarie Group Ltd.: One of Australia's biggest banks said
trading conditions were mixed in the first quarter of fiscal 2021
and it couldn't provide annual earnings guidance because of
uncertainty stemming from the pandemic.
Mastercard Inc.: The U.S. credit-card company's revenue in the
second quarter tumbled nearly 20% as the pandemic continued to
weigh on business.
Northrop Grumman Corp.: The defense contractor company said its
profit grew for the second quarter as it booked gains in space,
aeronautics and mission systems sales, partially offset by a
slowdown in production of certain aircraft due to Covid-19.
Renault SA: The French auto company posted a net loss of 7.29
billion euros ($8.57 billion) for the first half of the year as it
reeled from the effects of the pandemic as well as the woes of its
alliance partner Nissan Motor Co.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC: The Anglo-Dutch company swung to its
first quarterly loss since its formation over a decade ago and
warned that the outlook for oil-and-gas demand remains uncertain,
illustrating the scale of damage Covid-19 is wreaking on the
industry.
Samsung Electronics Co.: The smartphone and memory-chip maker
reported a boost in its second-quarter net profits, aided by a
one-time gain in its display business and the continuing
coronavirus-fueled bump in memory chip demand.
Standard Chartered PLC: The Asia-focused lender's second-quarter
pretax underlying profit slumped 40%, as credit impairments
continued to surge amid the prolonged pandemic.
United Parcel Service Inc.: The U.S. delivery company rode a
pandemic-fueled surge in e-commerce to higher profits and a 13%
jump in revenue during the June quarter, and its new boss said UPS
has room to raise rates on retailers relying on its network.
Volkswagen AG: The German car maker swung to a pretax loss in
the first half of the year as sales fell 23% during the pandemic.
Volkswagen also said there were signs a recovery was under way in
markets from Western Europe to the U.S.
Yum! Brands: The parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell
reported a 12% decline in world-wide system sales in the latest
quarter from a year earlier as the company contends with the
effects of the pandemic.
Write to Rose Manzo at rose.manzo@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 30, 2020 13:36 ET (17:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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