Markets Defused gives an easy-to-understand and straightforward recap of the day’s most engaging business and stock market news.
- Man United reckons it’ll hit a new revenue record
- AMD has bought a European AI lab for $665mln
- TSMC traded higher amid surging in AI demand
- Microsoft has exited OpenAI board
- BP warns of ‘disorderly’ and more costly energy transition
- Ford has rebooted the Capri, as a modern EV
- Volkswagen warns it may close an Audi EV plant
Manchester United reckons it’ll hit a new revenue record
Manchester United Plc (NYSE:MANU) told investors it is expecting to bank record revenue for its financial year, but today it marked a net loss of £71.4 million for its third quarter.
The club, meanwhile, was confident that it will comply with the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules - which allows clubs to make a loss of up to £105 million over three seasons.
Fewer home fixtures in the quarter – because of the early exit from European competition – saw revenue for the three-month period down 19.6% year-on-year, at £136.7 million.
Improved commercial revenue saw a slight increase, up 0.3% to £69.6 million in the quarter, and sponsorship revenue was down 0.7%.
Manchester United reported that the 27.7% stake sale to INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe had incurred £30.3 million of costs.
Following the deal, the club has been working on a wide-ranging reform of its operations, its internal structures and has involved significant changes to its executive management.
A cost-cutting drive inside the club, will see around 250 job cuts.
Looking ahead, meanwhile, the club has upgraded its full-year revenue guidance pitched at a record level of £660 million.
Manchester United’s New York listed shares rose by 46 cents or 2.89% to trade on Wednesday at $16.35 each.
AMD bought European AI lab for $665mln
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, ETR:AMD) has announced the acquisition of Silo AI, Europe's largest private AI lab, in a $665 million cash deal.
This purchase is the latest in AMD's series of AI company acquisitions, having spent over $125 million on twelve AI companies in the past year.
Vamsi Boppana, AMD's senior VP for AI, highlighted the importance of Silo AI's expertise in developing advanced AI models on AMD platforms, which he said will help accelerate AMD's AI strategy for global customers.
Silo AI, headquartered in Finland, has a history of delivering successful AI products for clients like Rolls Royce, Unilever, Allianz, and Philips.
“Our mission from the start has been to build an AI flagship company,” Silo chief executive and co-founder Peter Sarlin said.
“Today's announcement is a logical next step in that pursuit as we join forces with AMD to shape the future of AI computing.”
AMD investors welcomed the acquisition news, with the shares up just over 3% in Wednesday’s traded to $182.75 in New York.
TSMC traded higher amid surging in AI demand
Microchip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSMC) saw its New York listed shares trade higher, after it reported a 40% year-over-year increase in revenue for the second quarter of 2024.
It attributed this surge in growth to the continuing rise in demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
TSMC had revenue of US$20.7 billion (NT$673.51 billion) for the quarter, comfortably ahead of market forecasts of NT$ 652.05 billion.
The company noted that the boom in AI technologies has been a key driver of its recent success, offsetting a slowdown in demand in other sectors of the semiconductor industry, such as consumer electronics and automobiles.
It is core manufacturer, with a significant market share supplying chips and components for the likes of Nvidia and Apple.
Microsoft has exited OpenAI board
Regulatory scrutiny was again in focus for big-tech on Wednesday, with Microsoft giving up its ‘observer’ seat on the OpenAI board.
As the same time, Apple is no longer expected to appoint someone to a similar role on the OpenAI board.
It comes after OpenAI has struck partnerships and tie-ups with ‘big tech’ firms seeking to leverage the ChatGPT maker’s AI models and expertise.
There’s also a backdrop of recent and recurring regulatory scrutiny which has seen investigation and censure of ‘big tech’ in different jurisdictions across the globe over a variety of matters including competition / anti-trust rules, data privacy and the accessibility of certain technologies by minors.
Microsoft, the largest investor in OpenAI with $13 billion, announced the move in a letter to OpenAI.
The company said the resignation of the observer role, which does not carry voting power, is effective immediately.
BP warns of ‘disorderly’ and more costly energy transition
BP PLC (LSE:BP.), which has been rowing back its ‘net zero’ plans following last year’s management change, today published its annual ‘energy outlook’ commentary – in which it said that the global transition to clean energy would be disorderly and more costly, if current trends persist.
The oil and gas major estimated that crude oil demand would ‘peak’ in 2025, at 102 million barrels per day, before gradually declining.
Even by 2035 the oil major estimates the demand for crude would remain at a robust 97.8 million barrels per day – which is more than seen last year.
BP also sees demand for natural gas on the rise, mostly coming from ‘emerging economies’
As such, BP is reckoning on fossil fuels playing a significant role in the global energy mix over the next decade.
Ford has rebooted the Capri, as a modern EV
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has pulled out some iconic IP from its back catalogue, launching an electric reboot of its 1970s muscle car, the Capri.
The US carmaker, in a press release, said the new all-electric Ford Capri reimagines the classic sports coupe for the electric vehicle (EV) era, combining iconic design elements with modern features.
Car owners of a certain vintage may, however, find themselves disappointed by what is a largely contemporary and not particularly familiar aesthetic.
The new EV Capri boasts a driving range of 620 kilometres and has fast-charging capability, plus more than 570 litres of boot space … both features are a far cry from the 1970s old-school Capri.
Effectively being a sporty all-electric SUV, is very much targeted at modern car owners rather than classic car enthusiasts – with the model set to compete directly with the Tesla Model Y, the Polestar 2 or the ever-expanding range of Western and Chinese EVs.
Volkswagen warns it may close an Audi EV plant
Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) today cautioned that it may close an Audi plant in Brussels, due to a sharp decline in demand for its high-end electric vehicles (EVs).
The company said such a move could lead to financial impacts of up to €2.6 billion ($2.8 billion) in 2024.
The Brussels plant produces the Audi Q8 e-tron, but demand for this model has dropped significantly, the carmaker revealed.
It noted that ‘structural challenges’ and high logistics costs have further complicated the situation at the Brussels site, which employs around 3,000 people.
If it goes ahead, it would mark the first plant shutdown for Volkswagen since 1988.
Volkswagen made EV headlines last month as it stuck a deal to collaborate with Rivian, one of America’s electric vehicle pioneers.
It envisages a technology exchange and partnership between the German carmarker, which would benefit from an accelerated development of EVs, and Amazon-backed Rivian, which would be helped to scale up its approach to car manufacturing.
New Audi Q8 e-tron models sell for close to €90,000 each.