Business

Elon Musk dials into Volkswagen executive conference

Published

3 years ago

October 16, 2021

Tesla boss Elon Musk has addressed 200 Volkswagen executives via a video call after an invitation from the German carmaker’s CEO Herbert Diess, who wants to galvanise VW’s top brass for a faster pivot to electric vehicles.

The comments on Thursday by Musk to a VW managers gathering in Alpbach, Austria, confirmed by Diess via Twitter https://twitter.com/Herbert_Diess/status/1449333401048293378 on Saturday after a report in Handelsblatt daily, included praise of VW for being an “icon” and Tesla’s greatest challenger, Handelsblatt said.

The paper said that when asked by Diess why Tesla was more nimble than its rivals, Musk said it came down to his management style and that he is an engineer, first of all, and has an eye for supply chains, logistics and production.

In a post on Linkedin, Diess added that he had brought in Musk as a “surprise guest” to drive home the point that VW needs faster decisions and less bureaucracy for what he called the biggest transformation in VW’s history.

“Happy to hear that even our strongest competitor thinks that we will succeed (in) the transition if we drive the transformation with full power,” Diess said on Linkedin.

As an example of Tesla’s prowess, Diess said it took the rival only two to three weeks to rewrite software to allow for a switch from one type of microchip, which went out of stock, to another.

Diess said in his Saturday tweet that VW, which has emerged as the main contender to Tesla for global electric vehicle supremacy, would continue its dialogue with Tesla.

“We will visit you soon in Gruenheide,” the CEO said.

Diess warned last month that the planned opening of Tesla’s car factory at Gruenheide near Berlin, the company’s first in Europe, will force local industry to step up its game against the fast-growing U.S. electric vehicle maker.

Tesla is awaiting final building approval for the 5.8 billion euro ($6.8 billion) German site.

VW, in turn, plans to build six large battery factories in Europe by 2030 as part of an all-in bet on electric mobility.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by David Holmes)

Business

Cineplex reports $24.7M Q3 loss on Competition Tribunal penalty

Published

1 day ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.

The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.

The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.

Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CGX)

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Business

Restaurant Brands reports US$357M Q3 net income, down from US$364M a year ago

Published

2 days ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)

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Business

Electric and gas utility Fortis reports $420M Q3 profit, up from $394M a year ago

Published

2 days ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.

The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.

Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.

Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)

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