Sat, Apr 29, 2023 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  GERMANY

  GDP growth flat in Q1

  Europe’s largest economy narrowly dodged a recession in the first quarter of this year, but growth stagnated contrary to expectations for a slight rebound, preliminary data showed yesterday. GDP growth was flat in the quarter, federal statistics agency Destatis said. The industrial powerhouse, which had long been heavily reliant on Russian energy, was hit hard after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices surging. Analysts and the government predicted for months that surging prices, particularly of energy, would push the economy into a sharp winter recession, but expectations changed in the past few weeks as the vast industrial sector rebounded. While the economy appears to have avoided the worst, the first-quarter reading was below expectations from analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet for an expansion of 0.2 percent.

  TECHNOLOGY

  Huawei profit plummets

  Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) profit plunged 46 percent in the first quarter of this year, while revenue barely grew, as the Chinese telecom equipment maker spent heavily on research and development (R&D) to try to get around US sanctions. Net income dived to 3 billion yuan (US$433.5 million). That followed Huawei’s first annual profit decline in more than a decade, as years of US sanctions obliterated a once-thriving smartphone arm that competed with Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co. Huawei executives pledged to keep its R&D investment high to stay competitive in the market. The company earlier disclosed that last year’s research spending was 161.5 billion yuan, or about one-quarter of its annual sales.

  ELECTRONICS

  Sony offers cautious outlook

  Sony Group Corp offered a conservative profit outlook for this fiscal year, signaling caution about the effects of a global consumer spending slump on its entertainment businesses. The Tokyo-based firm said it expects operating income of ￥1.17 trillion (US$8.6 billion) in the year ending March next year, below average analyst estimates of ￥1.27 trillion. This was largely down to its PlayStation division, for which Sony’s guidance fell short of consensus and the firm said it expects fewer sales of PlayStation Studios games this year. Sales of its flagship PlayStation 5 console reached 6.3 million units last quarter, more than tripling the supply-constrained numbers from the same period last year and showing Sony is finally able to distribute the hardware at scale. However, game sales fell to 68 million units from 70.5 million in the same period a year earlier. The firm reported operating profit of ￥128.5 billion.

  INTERNET

  Zuckerberg’s net worth soars

  Meta Platforms Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth soared by more than US$10 billion on Thursday, his third-biggest jump on record, after the Facebook parent surprised investors with robust first-quarter sales. Meta shares rose 14 percent after the earnings report, lifting Zuckerberg’s fortune to US$87.3 billion and boosting him up a notch on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index to 12th place. It was the highest Zuckerberg’s wealth has been in more than a year. Thursday’s move reversed the wealth destruction Zuckerberg experienced last year, when his net worth fell 57 percent, or US$71 billion, after a costly pivot to the metaverse and an industry-wide slump stirred concern over the company’s growth prospects. Zuckerberg used Thursday’s results to burnish his case for pressing on with investments in artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
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