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KBR Awarded Global Engineering and Project Management Services Contract by BP
Tuesday June 3, 4:15 pm ET
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KBR (NYSE:KBR - News) today announced that it has been awarded a four-year contract, including an option for extension, by BP to provide Engineering and Project Management Services (EPMS) for BP's future offshore developments worldwide.
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In the agreement KBR and KBR subsidiaries Granherne and GVA Consultants will provide conceptual studies, Front End Engineering and Design (FEED), detailed design and project management services for BP offshore projects across the globe.
“We are excited about this opportunity to continue our forty-year working relationship with BP while continuing to demonstrate our track record of safety, quality personnel and experience in the offshore energy industry,” said John Rose, President, Upstream for KBR. “This contract will lead to substantial work for project teams working together from offices in Houston and London to leverage KBR’s proven ability to execute complex projects in any water depth anywhere in the world. Our ability to manage these types of projects and capture improvement from project to project is the cornerstone of our success in the global engineering and project management sectors.”
Granherne is a leading front end engineering consultancy for onshore, offshore and deepwater oil and gas developments and has experience on over 3,000 projects in more than 20 countries. Granherne has provided services for more than 100 subsea developments, including step out expansions, marginal fields and major subsea projects.
GVA Consultants is one of the world's leading marine engineering companies with more than 20 years experience designing drilling and floating production semi-submersibles.
KBR is a global engineering, construction and services company supporting the energy, petrochemicals, government services and civil infrastructure sectors. The company offers a wide range of services through its Downstream, Government and Infrastructure, Services, Technology, Upstream and Ventures business segments. For more information, visit www.kbr.com.
man skulle tro, at når de ekspanderer gennem opkøb at de har styr på økonomien
motorbåde er også ramt af et faldende forbrug af langvarige goder i usa, men aktien er faldet meget og jeg har tidligere tjent godt på den og kender den ret godt efterhånden
den har en egenkapital, der ifølge yahoo er tæt på 0, marginalt negativ, så det kan jeg ikke gennemskue
men et lille frimærke kunne man sikkert godt satse, men jeg har ikke købt noget og gør det nok heller ikke lige med det samme
Fountain Powerboats Acquires Baja Marine Assets From Brunswick
Tuesday June 3, 4:50 pm ET
WASHINGTON, NC--(MARKET WIRE)--Jun 3, 2008 -- Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. (AMEX:FPB - News), a leading manufacturer of high performance sport boats, fish boats and express cruisers, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Baja by Fountain, Inc., has acquired certain assets of Baja Marine Corporation, a subsidiary of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC - News). Baja produces high performance sport boats in lengths from 19 feet to 40 feet.
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Fountain expects to begin manufacturing the Baja by Fountain boat product line for the 2009 model year, according to Fountain Powerboat founder and CEO Reggie M. Fountain, Jr. "We are pleased to complete this transaction, and are very happy with the progress being made in bringing Baja and its popular portfolio into the fold. This action unites two of the leading brands within the powerboat segment, adding several popular models to our product portfolio, including the Outlaw, Performance and Islander model line-ups. Likewise, we are excited to deepen our long-standing relationship with Mercury Marine, which will continue to provide marine engines and certain other power components for Baja boats manufactured by Fountain through a long-term agreement."
Additional information related to these transactions is disclosed in a Form 8-K being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Fountain Powerboats, Inc.
Fountain Powerboats, Inc., a subsidiary of Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc., has its executive offices and manufacturing facilities along the Pamlico River in Beaufort County, North Carolina. The company designs, manufactures and sells offshore sport boats, sport fishing boats and express cruisers that target the segment of the recreational power boat market where speed, performance, safety and quality are the main criteria for purchase. These recreational boats are based upon an innovative, award-winning design enabling world class performance while using standard reliable power. There are currently 12 buildings located on 65 acres totaling over 237,000 square feet accommodating 40 to 45 boats in various stages of construction at any one time. The present plant site can also accommodate up to 300,000 square feet of additional manufacturing space. The land and buildings are wholly owned by Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. and its subsidiary, Fountain Powerboats, Inc. For more information, visit www.fountainpowerboats.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=FPB&t=5y
untain Powerboats Reports Fiscal 2008 Third Quarter and Nine-Month Financial Results
Thursday May 15, 10:00 am ET
WASHINGTON, NC--(MARKET WIRE)--May 15, 2008 -- Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. (AMEX:FPB - News), a leading manufacturer of high performance sport boats, fish boats and express cruisers, today announced the results of its fiscal 2008 third quarter and nine-month period, ended March 31, 2008.
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"Sales for the quarter reflect continuing demand for our larger sport and fish boats, as well as our express cruiser line," commented Fountain Chairman and CEO Reginald M. Fountain, Jr. "While international sales have increased by approximately 48 percent, domestic sales of our smaller sport boats and fish boats have declined as the target market for the products is being significantly affected by increasing fuel and food prices, the mortgage crisis and loss of consumer confidence in the economy."
"We continue to introduce new and improved products as we implement production efficiencies and reduce expenses in response to our lower production expectations," stated Fountain President David Knight. "We are carefully managing our dealer inventory, which at 31 weeks of production, is at a five-year low."
Third Quarter Financial Results
-- Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 were $14,222,639, a
decrease of approximately 13.7 percent, when compared to net sales of
$16,475,688 for the comparable quarter of fiscal 2007. Sales for the
quarter decreased as a result of the continued weak retail market.
-- Gross profit for the quarter was $1,101,194, with a gross profit
margin of approximately 7.7 percent, versus a gross profit of $1,374,322,
with a gross profit margin of 8.3 percent, for the third quarter of fiscal
2007. The decrease in gross margin is primarily due to reduced fixed
absorption because of lower sales volume.
-- Operating loss for the quarter was $1,692,338, as compared to an
operating loss of $1,347,621 for the third quarter of fiscal 2007.
-- Net loss for the quarter was $1,966,473, or net loss per share of
$0.45 on a basic and diluted basis, versus a net loss of $3,873,524, or net
loss per share of $0.80 on a basic and diluted basis, for the third quarter
of fiscal 2007. The third quarter of the prior year included a deferred tax
expense.
Nine-Month Financial Results
-- Net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2008, ended March 31,
2008, were $47,468,106, a decrease of approximately 3 percent, when
compared to net sales of $48,922,327 for the first nine months of fiscal
2007.
-- Gross profit was $6,022,050, with a gross profit margin of
approximately 12.7 percent, versus a gross profit of $5,374,177, with a
gross profit margin of 11 percent, for the first nine months of fiscal
2007. The improvement in gross margin is primarily attributable to improved
manufacturing efficiencies and increased selling prices.
-- Operating loss was $1,500,929, compared to an operating loss of
$3,401,427 for the first nine months of fiscal 2007.
-- Net loss was $2,458,133, or a loss per share of $0.53 on a basic and
diluted basis, compared to a net loss of $5,565,673, or a loss per share of
$1.15 on a basic and diluted basis, for the first nine months of fiscal
2007.
About Fountain Powerboats, Inc.
Fountain Powerboats, Inc., a subsidiary of Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc., has its executive offices and manufacturing facilities along the Pamlico River in Beaufort County, North Carolina. The company designs, manufactures and sells offshore sport boats, sport fishing boats and express cruisers that target the segment of the recreational power boat market where speed, performance, safety and quality are the main criteria for purchase. These recreational boats are based upon an innovative, award-winning design enabling world class performance while using standard reliable power. There are currently 12 buildings located on 65 acres totaling over 237,000 square feet accommodating 40 to 45 boats in various stages of construction at any one time. The present plant site can also accommodate up to 300,000 square feet of additional manufacturing space. The land and buildings are wholly owned by Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. and its subsidiary, Fountain Powerboats.
ikke nogen købsanbefaling, men en konstatering af at boomet i fly komponent indistrien fortsætter
og der er masser af billige aktier i den sektor, bl.a. sifco og aerosonic, men denne her kan man da godt købe til en portefølje
LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Hampson Industries (HAMP.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the British aero engineer, said on Wednesday annual demand for its aircraft components from Airbus (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Boeing (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is growing by up to 10 percent.
"Just on components their (Airbus and Boeing) demand is increasing at somewhere between 5 and 10 percent depending on the programmes you're on," Chief Executive Kim Ward told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Ward added that analysts' forecasts for Hampson next year were "pretty much in the right ballpark".
Analysts at Numis and Citigroup currently expect Hampson to make a profit before tax of around 38 million pounds in 2009.
The company is set to complete the acquisition of two composite materials businesses for up to $314 million for its fast-growing U.S. operations early next week. Ward said the group would consider making more purchases in the United States because "it is a natural fit for us". (Reporting by Rhys Jones; Editing by Sue Thomas)
tata solgte 9% flere personbiler i indien i maj, så stigningen i maj er altså ret stor, med op mod 15-20%, der står ikke noget om lastbilerne
Tata Motors, India's third largest car maker, meanwhile, posted a growth of 9 per cent at 19,234 units over the corresponding month of the previous year when it posted sales of 17,580 units.
Although sales of the Indica continued to decline (19 per cent in May) selling 9,686 units, Indigo reported a rise of 105 per cent with sales of 4,542 units, thanks mainly to the compact version of the car. Safari and Sumo together sold 5,006 units during the month.
Sales in Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M) utility vehicle segment grew by nearly 19 per cent to 13,048 units as against 10,986 units in the corresponding month of the previous year.
Although its flagship brand Scorpio reported a nominal increase of 2 per cent, the company's growth was driven by other models like Bolero, Invader and pick-up vehicles.
Meanwhile, sales of Logan from the company's joint venture project with French giant Renault saw a dip by 40 per cent mainly on account of the high base effect of the same month last year. In all, the company sold 1,531 Logan units during the month as compared with 2,551 in May 2007.
US car maker General Motors recorded a nominal increase of 7 per cent in sales as it grew to 5,789 units in the reporting month as against 5,432 units posted in the same month of the previous year.
Small car Spark, which is also facing production constraint, has contributed more than half of the total sales of the company, selling 2,250 units in May.
"The industry has seen some growth, primarily driven by new models. However, the overall market sentiment remains sluggish. The market is also worried because of the steady increase in inflation, which has led to a sudden surge in input costs for all manufacturers. The fear of impending increase in fuel prices, rising interest rates and threat of the global recessionary trend are affecting the growth of the sector," said P Balendran, V-P, GM India.
Czech car maker Skoda posted an increase of 122 per cent, selling 1,802 units last month compared with 810 units a year earlier.
Sales were primarily helped by an increased demand for compact car Fabia. The company also sells luxury lines, including Octavia, Laura and Superb in India.
Honda Siel Cars sold 3,944 units, witnessing a drop of 18 per cent during the month. The company had sold 4,811 units during the corresponding month of the previous year. It sells models like City, Civic, CRV and Accord.
Chennai-based bike maker TVS Motors recorded a sales growth of 4 per cent in May to 112,770 units as against 108,151 units sold in the same month of the previous year.
During the month, the company's motorcycle sales posted 10 per cent growth, recording 54,717 units in comparison to 49,651 units in May 2007.
Ausdrill lifts earnings forecast on mining boom
jeg har som bekendt en del aktier i macmahon, medens jeg havde overvejet at købe ausdrill, hvilket jeg ikke fik gjort pga den almindelige forsigtighed om at holde meget cash
Wednesday June 4, 2008, 11:05 am
(Adds details)
MELBOURNE, June 4 (Reuters) - Ausdrill Ltd (ASX: ASL.ax) , an Australian mining and utilities contractor facing an unsolicited A$433 million ($412 million) takeover bid, raised its full-year profit forecast based on strong conditions in the mining sector.
Ausdrill last week said the offer from Macmahon Holdings Ltd (ASX: MAH.ax) was inadequate and opportunistic, but has yet to give an official recommendation to shareholders.
Ausdrill said on Wednesday it expected an operating profit of A$35 million in the year to June 2008, which would be 27 percent higher than last year and about 6 percent higher than it flagged in February, based on a strong performance to the end of April.
It said in February it expected its second-half profit to be in line with the first half profit of A$16.5 million.
It said the new forecast did not include any potential takeover defence costs.
"The increased earnings are a direct result of business development decisions the company made early last year and the expectation is for further growth in the foreseeable future," the company said.
Ausdrill shares last traded up 0.4 percent at A$2.59, which was a 3.2 percent premium to the implied value of Macmahon's offer of 1.45 of its shares for each Ausdrill share.
Macmahon, 14.6 percent owned by top Australian construction group Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX: LEI.ax) , fell 0.9 percent to A$1.735 in a broader market that was up 0.4 percent. ($1=A$1.05) (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by James Thornhill)
bilsalget i usa i maj var en grim omgang for de amerikanske producenter
men det var slet ikke så slemt som overskrifterne lyder på det samlede salg og ligger omkring 14½ mio, hvilket stadig kun er et fald fra toppen på ca 15%, hvilket sammenlignetn med faldet i boligbyggeriet på +60% og faldet i bilsalget under de første oliekriser i halvfjerserne slet ikke er ret meget
men ændringen i sammensætningen i de enkelte segmenter lover ikke godt for bilproduktionen i usa, så usa får en mærkbar negativ impuls fra bilproduktionen her i 2007, der forstærker recessionen, men det har den jo allerede gjort, så det er bedre at få så meget negativt så hurtigt som muligt, så vi kan få recessionen overstået, helst så dyb som muligt og så er vi klar til næste opgang, hvor det er meget spændende hvornår boligbyggeriet stiger igen, der er der klart tale om en bund, hvor byggeriet er kommet for langt ned og skal hurtigt op igen snart fordi man reducerer lagre af huse og bygger mindre end man sælger
de amerikanske biler er karakteriseret ved meget store fald i salget af light trucks på 30-40% for mange af de populære modeller
og salget af de japanske light trucks, der efterhånden har fået en pæn markedsandel falder ligeledes kraftigt, og da disse produceres i usa for det amerikanske marked skæres produktionen også ned her, da man normalt ikke kan producerer små personbiler på samme produktionsanlæg som dem der producerer light trucks, selvom der selvfølgelig er eksempler på det modsatte, japanerne er jo eksperter i at producere mange forskellige biler på samme samlebånd
men salget af f.ex. honda civic og accord er steget ca 35% og også nissan og toyota mm har pæne stigninger i salget af personbiler
men det betyder at importen af biler fra japan, korea og europa fortsat stiger så det er produktionen af biler i usa, der tager hele skraldet fra nedgangen i salget plus en reduceret markedsandel
så det er igen et eksempel på at udviklingen/recessionen i usa er et amerikansk fænomen, hvor resten af verden nærmest har en fordel af det
mht til olieforbruget så ændrer man jo ikke bilparken fra dag til dag så skiftet til mindre biler ændrer stort set ikke olieforbruget de første adskillige år, den slags tager lang tid og det er heller ikke sikkert at skiftet bliver permanent, man skal jo huske at benzin og dieselprisen i usa stadig er næsten det halve af det vi kender i europa, danmark, tyskland mm
udviklingen i bilparken af de store light trucks har gennem mange år været præget af en løbende stigning i markedsandelen for light trucks i salget til godt 55% for et par år siden
medens bilparken af light trucks steg forsinket så man stadig var nede på omkring 45% i slutningen af 90'erne og så måske nåede op omkring 50% da det toppede, så
en andel på 43% i salget som vi så i maj vil ikke ændre meget i bilparkens sammensætning af personbiler og light trucks, der fortsat vil ligge tæt på de 50% for trucks i de kommende år
og al den snak om hybrider mm ændrer stort set ingenting, for der bliver ikke solgt ret mange af dem
så olieforbruget til biler i usa vil ligge stort set uforandret med en marginalt negativ udvikling på kortere sigt på omkring -1-2% om året, evt forstærket lige nu af at recessionen lige nu sammen med virkningen af de høje benzinpriser sænker antallet af kørte kilometer pr bil
men såsnart boligbyggeriet begynder at stige vil usa opleve en ny opgang og man vil også køre mere i bil og så vil olieforbruget til bilkørsel sikkert ligge på omkring -1% til 0% i årlig vækst sålænge det nuværende globale boom fortsætte de næste 2-3 år elelr mere
iøvrigt er det interessant at BMW fortsat ligger helt i spidsen med et salg på 32.000 eller 350.000 om året
jeg har købt en del BMW aktier, da de faldt her det seneste halve år
salget af BMW i kina steg 44% i jan-marts til 15.000 efter +42% i 2007, så niveauet er 60.000 og kan sikkert hurtigt komme over de 100.000, de har lige introduceret 1'erne på det kinesiske marked og mon ikke de har styr på kvaliteten selvom de producerer 3'eren og 5'eren hos brilliance i kina?
audi er den førende luksusbil i kina, men selvom den ligger over 100.000 kan man sige at BMW meget hurtigt er kommet op i noget der ligner muligheden for at indhente audi selvom de først startede for 3-4 år siden på det kinesiske marked for alvor
mercedes ligger langt bagud
ja det er en skam vi ikke har stalin mere
så kunne du sikkert have fået en gratis tvangsforflytning til sibirien
hvor du kunne have gravet mineralerne op med de bare hænder i 40 graders frost
og dengang var der ikke kø ved fotokopieringsmaskinerne
og toilettet var bare et hul i jorden, eller i isen
nå, så falder aktierne igen - det kan de ikke være bekendt
opdelingen mellem OECD og NON-OECD kan ikke bruges længere
fordi sydkores, mexico, en del af østeuropa er blevet nedlemmer af OECD, jeg ved ikke engang om tyrkiet er det
så derfor repræsenterer non-OECD ikke alle de fattige lande
og andelen er derfor tæt på de 50%
i de fattige lande mener jeg ikke at olieforbruget stiger med 0.7XBNP, snarere 1.2xBNP væksten
og jeg tror ikke de data BP kommer med og som jo stadig er fra 2006 er korrekte for de fattige lande
så olieprisen stiger bl.a. fordi væksten i de fattige lande er så høj og olieforbruget stiger endnu mere og væksten i de fattige lande er nok nærmere 7-8% i gennemsnit, men jeg kigger mere på industriproduktionen, der stiger endnu mere
og så er olieforbruget til transport, biler, fly, skibe og opvarmning7afkøling slet ikke en del af produktionen, så derfor stiger energiforbruget både proportionalt med produktionen og væksten i antallet af biler mm
og det er der at boomet de seneste år og i år har skabt en fantastisk stor vækst i bilparken og antallet af skibe, flyvemaskiner og diverse entreprenør og landbrugsmaskiner mm
og tager man den reelle styrke i de fattige lande målt på købekraftskorrigeret BNP er de oppe på 70% af verdens økonomien
billig vækstaktie indenfor elektriske biler mm, alternativ energi
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=TAN.L
The Tanfield Group Plc, the leading manufacturer of zero emission electric vehicles and
aerial work platforms, is pleased to announce its Preliminary Results for the financial
year ending 31 December 2007.
Highlights:
Financial
· Strong financial performance across the Group:
o Turnover increased 201% to £123m (2006: £40.9m)
o Profit after tax from continuing operations increased 310% to £11.9m
(2006: £2.9m)
o Basic Earnings per Share increased 194% to 3.59p (2006: 1.22p)
o Net cash at year end £28m, (June 07 £4.9m)
o Net assets of £165m (2006: £43.4m)
Operational
· Agreement with Ford on development of commercial electric vehicles
· Agreement to develop and manufacture electric taxi cab
· Launch new light van utilising Tanfield derived IP
· Confirmed vehicle order book for remainder of 2008 of 523 units
· Expansion of vehicle production facilities on track
· Powered Access order book for 2008 of £101m
· OEM agreement signed with Manitou
· Record US customer backlog of $111m
· Snorkel acquisition fully integrated
· Expansion of Powered Access facilities on track
Commenting, Darren Kell, Chief Executive of The Tanfield Group Plc, said: “We
have delivered an excellent set of results, in line with our strategy for profitable growth.
“We have strengthened our position as the worldwide leader in commercial electric
vehicles and continue to develop our powered access division into one of the leading
global players in this sector.
“We are already delivering on our strategy for 2008 and retain an extremely robust
outlook for future performance.”
For further information:
The Tanfield Group Plc
Darren Kell, Chief Executive
Tel: +44(0)20 7839 4321 on 22 April only
Tel: +44(0)845 1557 755 thereafter
The Tanfield Group Plc is the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of road-going
commercial electric vehicles and aerial work platforms. Tanfield is headquartered in
Washington, Tyne & Wear, with operations in Europe, Scandinavia, North America, the
Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa. It has two main divisions:
Smith Electric Vehicles, was founded in 1920 and acquired by Tanfield in October 2004.
Following its acquisition, Smith is developing into a world leader in new technology
electric vans and trucks with greatly enhanced performance, speed and range
capabilities. This makes them attractive for all fleet operators in large towns, cities and
closed industrial environments. For the first time, these fleet operators have
economically viable, zero emission alternatives to using diesel vans and trucks. Smith
has an unrivalled UK-wide service and support network, which already maintains over
5,000 vehicles for major fleet operators. Smith’s airport offering is complemented by two
specialist airport vehicle sub-divisions; Jumbotugs and Norquip.
www.smithelectricvehicles.com
Powered Access, contains two of the world’s most established aerial work platform
brands, UpRight Powered Access and Snorkel International. UpRight is the UK's biggest
manufacturer of self-propelled aerial work platforms (also known as "cherry-pickers",
"mobile elevating work platforms", "aerial lifts", etc). UpRight has assembly facilities in
the UK and USA, with products sold through a strong network of over 200 independent,
full-service distributors across Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific
man skal huske at befolkningerne i de fattige lande er næsten 10 gange større end i de rige lande
så selvom de virker fattige så har de en betydning tilsammen
og det med at du har set lande, hvor der ikke er vækst, det er ikke rigtigt bortset fra meget få lande, der måske udgør under 10% af den samlede befolkningsmængde i de lande, og eksempler kan være myanmar, afghanistan, bangladesh og ganske få lande i afrika, men i det store og hele boomer det også i det meste af afrika, der er det fattigste område i verden, for selvom væksten er f. ex. 6% i et meget fattigt land, kan man jo ikke se det når man bevæger sig rundt i gaderne og selv iraq har et stærkt boom
der er man nødt til at bruge statistikker og diverse informationer
og dem kan man meget bedre studere hjemme i danmark foran computeren end ved at rejse ud og blive snavset
jeg deler verden op i 2 grupper
den ene er usa, det gamle EU inden udvidelsen mod øst og japan
resten er den anden gruppe som jeg kalder den fattige verden selvom der er lande, der ikke er så fattige længere
men de har stadig en dynamisk vækst
pointen er at de lande, der er meget fattige er igang med en udvikling, så de også kommer højere op i velstand
dog ikke alle sammen lige hurtigt eller på en gang
mrn i øjeblikket er der et boom i næsten alle fattige lande, også de fattigste, bl.a. i afrika fordi de har råstoffer
sandheden er at der kun findes 2 scenarier for de kommende 2-3 år
1. enten fortsætter det globale boom med fortsat høje og stigende råvarepriser og tilsvarende boom i investeringerne i disse sektorer og infrastruktur
2. eller også får vi en global recession, der får råvarepriserne til at falde og investeringerne vil så også falde
og der er ikke nogen mellemvej fordi
boomet har varet så længe og været så stærkt, at udbuddet selvfølgelig stiger alle steder, flere skibe, mere kapacitet i stål og andre industrier øget udbud af olie, gas, kul mm og skift fra olie til andre energikilder incl de alternative
så derfor er det afgørende at følge de leading indikerer jeg beskriver og væksten i de fattige lande, der jo netop overhovedet ikke viser svaghed
men da inflationen og renten stger i de fleste fattige lande sammen med kreditbegrænsninger er det meget vigtigt
at kunne følge denne udvikling med up-to-date informationer
for væksten skal ikke svækkes meget i de fattige lande før vi ender i scenarie 2
men indtil videre er det scenarie 1, der holder
men det nytter ikke at kigge på amerikanske nøgletal eller boligbyggeriet på amager for at vurdere om det er scenario 1 eller 2, der er gældende
Can Turkish economy survive high energy prices?
Metin Gezen
Monday , 25 February 2008
This commentary is from USAK's Energy Review Newsletter
http://www.turkishweekly.net/energy
To subscribe email to energyreview@turkishweekly.net
0pt">
One of the test beds of peak oil, or supply constraints, is Turkey. The country is not gifted with many hydrocarbon reserves and faces a decline in its oil production. The rising thirst of energy for this developing country relies on exports from close countries. Natural gas, which is not peaking soon, is also a twin brother of oil in terms of pricing of the contracts, yet Turkey has no chance on this front either.
Turkey has already paid more that 30 billion US dollars last year for its energy exports (more than 7% of GDP). The advocates of “free market” has not mitigated the solution, yet made it worse. A typical transition from 90s “liberalization, privatization” doctrines to “security of supply, climate change” has not reached the bookshelves, so most of the market fans are repeating the chanting of 90s. On the other hand, the foreign investors are looking for those distribution and generation privatizations.
Free market adventure is slowly turning in to chaos. More and more the “dash for gas” as well as “imported coal demand” is becoming a concern for country’s budget deficit. The energy imports’ cost to the economy has increased and the rush for imports has been accelerated as investors choose the quick and off-the-shelf solutions.
Already the price at the street for gasoline is around 2.6 dollars per liter. Natural gas prices are linked to world oil prices as in all long term contracts. Electricity prices were frozen by the government for 5 years until this January. This created the demand for electricity heaters which are now widespread around Turkey.
The latest shock has been from Iran. The gas-rich but investment-poor neighbor has found it difficult to pump gas in to Turkey, when country hit colder weather. The results were not devastating for Turks; clearly many of them hardly noticed any difference. But as it has been understood, the results will show its effect on the balance sheet of the government.
According to Bloomberg, “Turkey is paying record prices for individual or spot liquefied natural gas cargoes, after Iran slashed exports…” according to an energy consultant firm. According to the source, Turkey is paying $17-$18 per BTU (British Thermal unit) that is two times the prices at Henry Hub. Why such a high prices is paid is to be answered by the buyers, but most plausible theory is the urgency of the situation.
Siamak Adibi claims in his report that “Turkey will have serious gas shortage if the Iranian supplies are not resumed”. Despite rising prices, the inelasticity of demand causes more problems. In 2007, the demand has increased from 30.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year in 2006 to 35 bcm. Most of the jump has been caused by the electricity production from natural gas.
The bill paid for the energy imports is increasing every year and also partially blamed for slowing down of economic growth with the draught causing agriculture sector in the crises. Even if there will be no draught this year, the news are not great. Moscow based, Alfa Bank claims the oil prices will continue to increase.
A 15% increase in demand of natural gas, summed up with more than 90% imported crude oil cost and the dash for imported coal will probably ebb from the Turks’ welfare. The national energy policy is also struggling with the environmentalist opposing the use of dirty lignite resources and exploration for mining. As the bill and its effect on Turkish economy began to dominate, the environmental concerns will not be welcomed by the politicians who are preparing for local elections.
Unfortunately, this may not even save the day and Turkey may find itself in the queue for energy crises. “We are working” says the Minister for Energy frequently, but high prices are not something state can sort neither Iran can make a surprise by not cutting gas exports in winter.
The liberal markets are hungry for more gas and imported coal, the record oil prices has not affected car sales and there are no sound policies to stop any of this. The only solution seems like “let the price move freely” which can cost dearly to economy. The whole picture with double gas prices, triple oil prices is a simulation of “peak oil” in a country which fails to adopt the whole package of measures to prevent it in the hands of liberal markets. Awakening can be hoped, only after the yearly economic indicators sing the drama of ignorance.
Total Energy Services Trust Announces Q1 2008 Results and Increased 2008 Capital Expenditure Budget
Thursday May 8, 1:07 pm ET
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - May 8, 2008) - Total Energy Services Trust (TSX:TOT.UN - News; "Total Energy" or the "Trust") announces its consolidated financial results for the three months ending March 31, 2008.
Financial Highlights
($000's except per unit data)
Three Months Ended March 31
(Unaudited)
2008 2007 % Change
-------------------------------------
Revenue $ 43,526 $ 53,486 (19)%
Operating Earnings (1) 12,441 16,300 (24)%
EBITDA (1) 16,721 20,056 (17)%
Cashflow (1) 13,827 17,677 (22)%
Net Earnings 9,594 13,932 (31)%
Per Unit Data (Diluted)
EBITDA (1) $ 0.57 $ 0.67 (15)%
Cashflow (1) 0.47 0.59 (20)%
Net Earnings 0.33 0.47 (30)%
OUTLOOK
Industry conditions in Canada entering the first quarter of 2008 were challenging, particularly in natural gas prone areas of Alberta. Weak natural gas prices, uncertainty over Alberta royalties and excess service industry capacity contributed to lower demand for the products and services provided by the Trust. However, record high oil prices and the recent strengthening of natural gas prices have improved the outlook for western Canadian industry activity levels. As well, relocation of service equipment out of western Canada to more active international markets and the retirement of older equipment are expected to mitigate somewhat excess service industry capacity in western Canada. As such, Total Energy is cautiously optimistic that industry conditions are improving in western Canada.
2008 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BUDGET INCREASE
In response to specific growth opportunities, Total Energy has increased its 2008 capital expenditure budget by approximately $6.3 million to $13.2 million. Included in this increase is $4.3 million for the purchase of approximately 125 new rental equipment pieces and one heavy truck for deployment in southeastern Saskatchewan and northeastern British Columbia, $1.2 million for the purchase of a new portable top drive and other equipment for use on an existing drilling rig currently operating with a rented top-drive in northeastern British Columbia and $0.8 million for service infrastructure expansion. It is expected that most of the equipment will be delivered during the third quarter of 2008. Upon delivery of this equipment, the Drilling and Production Rentals division will have a rental equipment fleet of approximately 4,025 pieces and a fleet of 72 heavy trucks. Included in the service infrastructure expansion is a significant expansion of the Gas Compression Services division's parts and service capacity that is being pursued in light of current market opportunities. Total Energy intends to finance its increased 2008 capital expenditure budget from operating cash flow and existing credit facilities.
MADRID, June 2 (Reuters) - Spanish car sales fell almost a quarter in May, offering further evidence the Spanish economy is cooling far faster than expected and high fuel costs are hurting the consumer.
Spanish dealers sold 116,108 units in May, 24.3 percent fewer that a year ago, industry body ANFAC said on Monday.
In the year to date, car sales were down 14.3 percent at 587,407 units, almost 100,000 less than a year ago and the lowest total since at least 2002.
"Until now, the problem of expensive fuel has not had an immediate effect (but) when you add the fact there's more unemployment, financing is more difficult and it's obvious that interest rates are high, well, the rise in fuel prices hardly helps," said Anfac Director General Luis Valero.
Data last week showed Spanish retail spending on household goods fell 5.8 percent as consumer borrowing plunged on tighter credit conditions and soaring unemployment at the end of a decade-long housing boom.
Like other goods, car sales have been fuelled by debt-driven growth that has increased Spain's current account deficit to the second highest in the world.
The Ford (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Focus was the top selling car between January and May, Anfac said, followed by the Citroen (PEUP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) C4, the Renault RENA.MC Megane and Peugeot's (PEUP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) 207.
The Ibiza, made by Spanish marque Seat (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), was in fifth place. Continued...
In the year to date, Ford's sales in Spain have fallen 7.5 percent year on year to 58,203 vehicles, while Citroen in second place has sold 21.7 percent fewer. Third-placed Peugeot sold 5.5 percent fewer cars and Renault sales fell 17.8 percent.
By car type, every segment has fallen so far this year, though all-terrain cars, large people carriers and luxury cars have been worst affected.
Micro cars and small-to-mid-sized vehicles have suffered least with sales down 1.2 and 2.4 percent respectively since January. (Reporting by Ben Harding and Jane Barrett; Editing by David Holmes)
Facing an Auto Slump, Japan Lifts Capacity
Carmakers are expanding at home, where nimble, high-tech plants offer more flexibility
Nissan's Kyushu plant, which is being expanded, exports to 160 markets Junko Kimura/Getty Images
In the midst of a dramatic earnings slump, Toyota (TM), Nissan (NSANY), and Honda (HMC) are ramping up production fast. Not in the U.S., their most profitable market, but back in Japan, where domestic auto sales just hit a 25-year low.
Every major Japanese automaker is building plants at home or adding capacity to existing ones. A Toyota subsidiary is constructing a 120,000-car plant in Miyagi, north of Tokyo. It's Toyota's first such plant in Japan since 1993. Nissan, which not so long ago was slashing production in the country, is expanding capacity by 22% at its Kyushu factory. Honda is spending $1.5 billion on a new factory and engine plant in Saitama, just outside Tokyo. "The time has come for our Japan operations to once again take the initiative," Honda President Takeo Fukui told reporters on May 21.
Why all the outlays? After all, Japan's carmakers have long had a policy of opening plants in overseas markets to avoid import duties and to hedge against currency gyrations. Japan remains an expensive place to make cars, with wages 10 times higher than in China. A shrinking population is causing labor shortages. The yen's recent 15% surge against the dollar makes Japan-made cars even pricier. Throw in contracting domestic sales, and the moves seem to defy business logic.
STILL A GOOD DEAL
One explanation is the flexibility that the investment brings. Japan's high-tech plants excel at switching production from one model to another. That's especially useful when auto demand is sinking or flat in mature markets but surging in the Middle East, Russia, China, and India. Nissan's Kyushu plant, for example, exports to 160 markets and produces eight different models on a single production line.
Anxiety over quality is another factor in the increase of production back home. In recent years, Toyota has had to issue numerous recalls, while Nissan's Canton (Miss.) plant became notorious for its defects during a production speedup. Executives are loath to admit that one plant is better than another, but Japanese makers' domestic factories score higher on quality than equivalent plants overseas.
Japanese engineers and workers, while more expensive than their counterparts in developing markets, are still a good deal. One reason is that Japan's wage levels, after barely rising in a decade, are not as high as they once were relative to other developed countries. According to consultant AlixPartners, Japanese industrial workers in 2006 made around $22 an hour, just two-thirds the level in Germany. Moreover, it's still rare in Japan for workers to switch from one automaker to another, so a well-trained, seasoned workforce is a given. "It's not so expensive in Japan, and when you consider the quality, motivation, and diligence with which people work, the value-for-money is unbeatable," says Markus Schädlich, president of Karmann Japan. In December, Karmann, a German company that makes convertibles under contract for Audi, Mercedes (DAI), and Nissan, will begin production at a factory in Japan.
The notion of mother plants, which test new technologies that later filter out to plants worldwide, remains strong. Fukui predicts Honda's Saitama plant will set an example for its plants globally. Labor productivity is expected to be 20% higher than in existing plants, thanks to greater automation and advances in welding and painting. Honda aims to cut the amount of energy used to produce each car by more than 30%. Honda and its Japanese rivals are not abandoning their plan to make cars around the world. But they are strengthening Japan's role as the essential benchmark.
ja, det er også trenden, at der ER nedgang i ordrer og salg i semi eq branchen i øjeblikket, så
vi spejder efter bunden
nu har vi det igen, man har lavet et globalt ISM indeks
men det er sammensat af de fleste rige lande og så bare to af de fattige lande, kina og brazilien, hvor man uden tvivl ikke tager højde for et købekraftskorrigeret niveau, men bare tager de rå data og gange dem svarende til valutakursen
man bliver mere og mere vildledt, hvis man bruger officielle statistikker og vurderinger
der ikke tager højde for størrelsen af den samlede økonomi i alle de mange forskellige fattige lande
det er svindel og humbug, den måde man prøver at få overblik over vedensøkonomien på i de forskellige officielle organer eller i banker, finanshuse mm
Global manufacturing activity recovered slightly in May but input prices hit a 10-year high as soaring energy costs continued to bite, a report showed on Monday.
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI, compiled with research and supply management organizations, rose to 50.4 in May from April's 50.2.
This is just above the 50.0 mark that divides growth from contraction.
"Growth in the manufacturing sector remained soft overall. Further declines in new business and employment also suggest that conditions are becoming increasingly tight," said David Hensley, director of global economics coordination at JP Morgan.
The index comes after data showed U.S. factory activity contracted in May for the fourth consecutive month, but rose slightly from April, while the euro zone saw activity cool further as factory output remained at a near three-year low.
Global input prices hit 76.3, the highest since the survey began in 1998, as soaring oil, energy, fuel and food prices all took their toll.
The employment index fell to 49.3 from April's 49.6 as companies trimmed non-essential staff in subdued market conditions and to offset part of the rise in costs.
The index combines survey data from countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia.
LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - Bradford & Bingley (BB.L: Quote, Profile, Research) issued a stark warning on the state of the UK mortgage market on Monday and slashed the price of its emergency fundraising to secure a private equity lifeline, hitting bank shares across Europe.
In the bleakest outlook yet from a British lender -- weeks after it last spoke to investors -- B&B said it had tumbled to a loss for the first four months of the year and saw continued pressure on margins as funding costs remain high and the risk of customers defaulting on loans rises faster than expected.
The bank blamed a sharp deterioration in April and that was backed on Monday by official data which showed new home loan approvals in Britain fell to a new record low that month.
B&B's shares, which have already lost almost two-thirds of their value over the past year, slumped a further 32 percent to a record low of 60 pence. The pain spread to banking shares across Europe, as dealers said B&B's troubles showed even cut-price rights issues could fail amid a lukewarm appetite to invest more after a torrid year for the sector.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), which also plan bumper rights issues, put out statements to say they continued to trade in line with their previous guidance.
B&B also announced plans for an outside lifeline as U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital [TPG.UL] -- also known as Texas Pacific -- agreed to take a 23 percent stake in the bank in its first major UK bank investment. It will invest around 179 million pounds ($353 million) to become the single largest investor in Britain's biggest buy-to-let lender.
The private equity group's surprise swoop mirrors moves by strategic investors to shore up U.S. banks as financial institutions across the world have struggled with writedowns, the impact of the credit crunch and the prospect of recession. Continued...
jeg hørte conexants conference call forleden og også credences
og blev meget overrasket over så lyse udsigter de havde
så det er nok et par aktier der er værd at overveje at købe sålænge de er så billige som de er
jeg forstår ikke
jeg har aldrig påstået at vi får vækstrater som i de mange hurtigtvoksende fattige lande
men væksten der, sålænge den fortsætter på det nuværende høje niveau
holder råvarepriserne incl. olien og fragtraterne mm oppe på et højt niveau
så de virksomheder, der laver den slags og infrastruktur dertil
får en høj og profitabel vækst fordi de enten sælger til de fattige lande eller sælger produkter på de områder hvor priserne er steget pga væksten i de fattige lande
og derfor stiger den slags aktier selvom finansaktier og forbrugsaktier falder og idag er finansaktierne jo faldet igen på grund af BB.L, en bank i england, der har 'skuffet' igen
goddaw gurlimarie
og derfor er det vigtigt at følge bilsalget og byggeriet i de lande, for hvis det først ender med at væksten holder en pause i de lande så vil råvarerne ryge ned i kælderen og alle de aktier, der ligger i de sektorer vil ryge i kælderen og vi får en rigtig recession, der kan mærkes også hos os
og så er bearmarkedet slet ikke begyndt endnu, men stor foran døren med et ordentligt krak oveni det vi allerede har fået
men indikatorerne jeg har præsenteret viser at det netop forholder sig modsat og at boomet er intakt
men det kan man ikke vide, hvis man ikke har en systematik for at følge de afgørende indikatorer
og det er også derfor aktierne er grebet af panik, fordi ingen udover mig er i stand til at gøre det eller ved hvad man skal kigge på
jeg har endda hørt om nogen, der bare mener man skal kigge på de daglige nøgletal i usa
så ved man alt om hvad der foregår i verden
jo jo landsbytosserne har kronede dage
ingen tegn på svaghed i det indiske bilsalg i maj efter at de to største sælger 16% og 47% flere biler og skoda, der er ret lille på markedet stiger 122%
så er det spændende at se tata, der er nummer 3, hvordan det går efter et fald i salget af personbiler i april og en stigning i salget af lastbiler, der - hvis de tælles med gør at det er tata, der er nummer 2
man havde ellers snakket en del om at bilsalget ville falde i maj i indien efter stigningen i april, men som sædvanligt aner journalisterne ikke hvad det er de siger, for de kigger bare på salget af SUV og pick-up biler i usa
utroligt som bilsalget fortsætter med at stige i alle de fattige lande, så det globale boom fortsætter samtidig med at aktierne i europa i dag falder igen pga en åndsvag bank i england, der stadig ikke har afskrevet nok, nu må de snart stoppe al den hysteri om en finanskrise, der skulle kunne stoppe det globale boom
og vedrørende kvaliteten af kinesiske produkter er det en goddag mand økseskaft diskussion, fordi
jeg slet ikke nævner de store stigninger i boligbyggeriet på 34% i kina i jan-april i år efter 25% sidste år og 20-30% om året i 10 år og stigningen i bilsalget i kina på 20% i jan-april for at købe kinesiske aktier, det er for at have en fundamental analyse af at man stadig kan investere i infrastuktur til råvarer, incl. rederier, værfter mm, altså både mange norske aktier og de hjemlige norden og torm og f.ex. DRYS mm, så det med at fraråde at investere i kinesiske aktier, er ligesom en kommentar, der ikke rigtigt har noget at gøre med indholdet i mine indlæg, men derfor må man da gerne mene at man ikke skal købe kinesiske aktier, men der er altså flere spændende aktier rundt omkring i verden, der er et direkte play på der hvor det boomer, end der er i danmark og det ville nu være rart hvis man kunne undgå goddag mand økseskaft debat formen
MUMBAI: Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd sold 69,001 vehicles in May 2008, compared to 59,400 in the corresponding period the previous year, an increase of 16.2 per cent.
The company sold 64,143 vehicles in the domestic market and exported 4,858 vehicles in May.
Maruti's volume in the domestic A2 segment grew by 14.5 percent, while in A3 segment the volume growth was 18.7 percent over its sales in May 2007.
...............
NEW DELHI: Car maker Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) on Monday reported a 47.27 per cent jump in domestic passenger car sales at 24,510 units during May, against 16,643 units in the corresponding month of 2007.
The company's cumulative sales (including exports) during May were up 51.08 per cent at 40,261 units, compared to 26,648 units in the same month a year ago, Hyundai Motor India said in a statement.
Its exports for the month rose to 15,751 units, compared to 10,005 units during the same month previous year.
HMIL sold 34,328 units of hatchbacks Santro, Getz and i10, 5,874 units of Accent and Verna, 14 units of Elantra, 41 units of Sonata Embera and 4 units of its SUV Tucson in May.
"In spite of slowdown in the industry due to higher interest rates, HMIL has been able to emerge with very strong figures, primarily because of a very dominant presence in the compact segment where both our offerings Santro and i10 are becoming the segment leaders," company's Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Arvind Saxena said.
The company's 'i10' has done exceedingly well and it accounted for over 50,000 units in the first five months of the current financial year, he added.
..............
AURANGABAD: SkodaAuto India, a fully owned subsidiary of the Czech Republic based SkodaAuto - part of the Volkswagen Group, has sold 1,802 units this month, 122.5 percent higher than the sales achieved in May 2007.
In a statement issued here, the company said it had sold only 810 units in May 2007. Skoda Fabia, the hutchback model of the European manufacturer, is popular in its category with 753 units being sold this month.
SkodaAuto, operating in India since November 2001, has a manufacturing facility spread across 300,000 sq mt in Shendra near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
SkodaIndia now has 19 models in the country.
SHANGHAI, May 31 (Reuters) - China Construction Corp, a big home builder controlled by the central government, has applied to list on the Shanghai stock market in what could be the country's largest initial public offer so far this year.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement that it would consider on Thursday an application by the company to issue up to 12 billion A shares, or 40 percent of its expanded capital.
The offer could raise over 42 billion yuan ($6.1 billion), the official Securities Times reported on Saturday. That would make it China's largest domestic IPO this year, and the fifth biggest ever.
China Construction, founded last December with investment from several major state enterprises, obtained special permission from the State Council, or cabinet, to list without fulfilling the standard requirement of first completing three years of operations, the newspaper said. ($1 = 6.94 yuan) (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Louise
New car sales in Italy dropped by almost 20 percent in May compared with a year earlier, the chief executive of Italian carmaker Fiat said on Sunday.
(Advertisement)
Italy's Transport Ministry is due to release figures on new car registrations for May on Tuesday.
"The market fell by almost 20 percent compared with 2007," Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne told journalists on the sidelines of a conference. "We'll see that in May's data."
Marchionne reiterated that Fiat's share of the market was fundamentally stable and the company would meet its targets for 2008.
In April Italy's new car sales fell by 2.86 percent. Fiat, whose three main brands control about a third of the market, bucked the trend with a 1.4 percent rise.
Marchionne had said last week Fiat should be able to defend its market share in its home market despite an expected sharp drop in sales in May.
da jeg nu mest køber resourceorienterede aktier og infrastruktur dertil
så går jeg ud fra at guld, kobber, olie og kul i kina er af samme kvalitet som i resten af verden
de har måske også lavet om på naturlovene? så de mangler et par af de dele af atomerne, som råvarerne består af
graham, som jeg købte i 17 for ca et par år siden
er nu i 68
og jeg har stadig en pæn post i den, selvom jeg solgte en del på ca nogle og 30
på sigt vil det da bare regulere sig selv
som i alle andre lande, er der virksomheder, der producerer med en bedre og nogle med en dårligere kvalitat
dem der overlever er dem, der kan kombinere en passende kvalitet, produktdesign mm og pris
og dem der ikke kan klare sig i den konkurrence bukker bare under
så også i kina vil de virksomheder, der bliver fremtidens store kinesiske virksomheder, dem der kan levere en passende kvalitet sammen med en pris, der er konkurrencedygtig og de andre lukker bare
man kan jo heller ikke få det hele for ingenting
iøvrigt er en meget stor del af den kinesiske produktion efterhånden produktion fra udenlandske virksomheder, der producerer i kina bl.a. fra japan, usa, europa, taiwan, korea mm og de skal nok sørge for at deres produkter lever op til en passende kvalitetsstandard og at det de køber hos andre leverandører i kina lever op til deres vandte standard
det var da også godt at trabanten bukkede under i det nye østtyskland, tænk hvis den skulle have konkurreret med BMW og lada har da også store problemer, men derfor boomer det alligevel i rusland og ikke mindst bilsalget, men folk ved godt hvad de vil have og det er ikke lada
ja ligesom james river, da den kostede 7, den var også blevet for dyr
en olieaktie, man bør købe i morgen
pe ER 10 PÅ 08 1Q INDTJENING, STÆRK VÆKST OG MED OLIEPRISEN SIDEN GENNEMSNITTET FOR 1Q ER INDTJENINGEN NOK NÆSTEN 50% HØJERE I 2Q
pis, jeg har trykket på caps lock, men gider ikke skrive det om
det må gerne stå med store bogstaver
jeg tror det var gumsen, der trykkede på knappen for at drille mig
Arawak announces first quarter results
Thursday May 15, 9:30 am ET
TSX TRADING SYMBOL: ABG
TORONTO, May 15 /CNW/ - Arawak Energy Limited the independent oil and gas company with exploration, development and production in Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan, today announces its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
HIGHLIGHTS: (In US dollars unless otherwise stated)
- Net income in the first quarter of 2008 increased to $8.5 million from
$1.3 million in the first quarter of 2007
- Earnings per share (basic and diluted) increased to 4.9 cents from
0.7 cents
- Funds from operations were $16.1 million in the first quarter of 2008,
up 83% from the first quarter of 2007 with capital expenditure of
$10.6 million excluding acquisitions.
- Average production was 11,948 boepd, up 31% from 9,088 bopd in the
first quarter of 2007
- Further drilling successes in the Akzhar block in Kazakhstan and North
Irael in Russia which extend the boundaries of the oil producing areas
- Evaluation work is continuing with 359 sq km of 3D and 407 km of 2D
seismic from Russia and Azerbaijan being processed and interpreted,
and a further 1,000 km of 2D and 50 sq km 3D seismic is planned to be
acquired in 2008 in Russia and Kazakhstan to further delineate
prospectivity of the Company's exploration potential.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
For the three months ended March 31 2008 2007(2) 2006(2)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crude oil sales $66,580 $35,804 $27,719
Net income $8,473 $1,268 $5,292
Per share - basic $0.049 $0.007 $0.031
Per share - diluted $0.049 $0.007 $0.030
Funds from operations(1) $16,068 $8,760 $10,590
Per share - basic $0.092 $0.051 $0.061
Per share - diluted $0.092 $0.051 $0.062
Capital expenditure $10,563 $7,700 $9,627
Shareholders' equity $174,586 $130,042 $115,543
Weighted average shares - basic 173,892 173,392 173,039
Weighted average shares - diluted 174,276 174,476 174,486
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Funds from operations is a non-GAAP measure that represents cash
generated from operating activities before changes in non-cash
working capital.
(2) Certain comparative figures have been restated to conform to the
current financial statement presentation.
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
For the three months ended March 31 2008 2007
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Production - boe 1,087,237 817,983
Average daily production - boe 11,948 9,088
Sales - boe 1,003,587 826,973
Revenue and expenses per boe sold
---------------------------------
Crude oil and gas sales $66.34 $43.30
Interest and other income $0.69 $0.36
Royalties and taxes ($14.45) ($10.29)
Production costs ($9.01) ($4.87)
Transportation and selling expenses ($5.44) ($4.98)
Net operating income $38.13 $23.52
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEW OF Q1 2008
Arawak Energy Limited ("Arawak" or the "Company") enjoyed an excellent first quarter of 2008 with production from Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan averaging 11,948 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("boepd"), up 31% from 9,088 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") in the first quarter of 2007 and up 1% from 11,775 boepd in the fourth quarter of 2007.
In Kazakhstan, where the Company has a 100% interest in six blocks, the aggressive 2007 drilling programme has wound down over the first quarter of 2008. A further eight wells were drilled at Akzhar, the largest of the Company's fields. Seven of these wells were exploration or appraisal wells and of these, five have been completed as commercial producers, including well 92, which has proved up oil in multiple horizons 1.7 km from the nearest producing well. Work will now focus on the preparation of the Technical Scheme of Development ("TSD"), needed to facilitate the envisaged transition from the contractual exploration phase to the production phase. On completion of the TSD, intensive development drilling can commence. Similarly, no further drilling took place in the Company's Besbolek field as the Company is in the advanced stage of preparation of the TSD, which is needed to facilitate the transition to the contractual production phase. The Company is now producing at less than capacity at both Akzhar and Besbolek fields due to the regulatory restraints inherent in the exploration phase, which will be lifted in the production phase. The new oil processing facility for Besbolek is now complete and the Company's own transfer station is in the process of being commissioned, allowing direct injection of Besbolek crude to the main KazTransOil pipeline.
At Alimbai, the last of five exploration wells will be drilled in the second quarter, and so far oil productive sands have been encountered in three of the four exploration wells drilled. The successful exploration wells are being progressively tested, zone by zone. Test production from Alimbai is currently around 300 bopd, although none of the thickest and most prospective Baremian intervals have yet been tested. Once the testing programme has been completed, the wells will be shut-in in accordance with regulations until the start of the production phase. The next phase of development will be a $4.0 million seismic survey, comprising approximately 200 line km 2D and 27 sq km 3D, which will be shot later this year. A seismic survey will also be acquired at the Company's large East Zharkamys III exploration block and at Tamdykol, the new exploration block that was acquired in May 2008. Survey work on the Akzhar-Kenkiyak pipeline has commenced, and construction is expected to commence in the third quarter.
In Russia, the Company successfully drilled into a new pool in the North Irael block, proving up additional reserves. The Company has a 50% interest in this block and is the operator. The successful well 64 is now flowing approximately 270 bopd from a deeper horizon than previously encountered on the block. The Company will shortly move uphole and test the main productive horizon. An application to drill an additional well in the new pool is currently in process with the regulatory authorities. 81 sq km of 3D seismic data is now being processed prior to interpretation later in the second quarter and further drilling will follow later in the year. A 33 sq km 3D seismic shoot has been completed on the Company's newly acquired 100% owned South Sotchemyu block, with interpreted maps expected by mid year. Additional 2D seismic will be shot in the winter of 2008/09. At Sotchemyu-Talyu, where the Company also has a 50% interest and is the operator, side-track wells were drilled for the first time using our own drilling rig. The first such side track well is flowing 375 bopd. 120 km of 2D seismic is expected to be acquired later in the year over the Company's 100% owned Kymbozhyuskaya exploration block.
In Azerbaijan, Southwest Gobustan, the small quantities of oil and gas production are being progressively shut down due to water handling problems. These issues will be addressed in conjunction with a new field development plan, which will be produced after completion of interpretation of the 2D and 3D seismic survey over the 3 blocks.
Sales volumes rose 21% to 1,003,587 barrels from 826,973 barrels in the first quarter of 2007 and declined 13% from 1,156,232 barrels in the last quarter of 2007 due to a reduction in inventory in the fourth quarter of 2007. The average realised selling price in the first quarter of 2008 was $66.34, compared with $43.30 in the first quarter of 2007.
Oil and gas sales revenues were $66.6 million in the first quarter of 2008 compared with $35.8 million in the first quarter of 2007 and $79.6 million in the last quarter of 2007. The net income in the first quarter of 2008 was $8.5 million compared with $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2007 and $21.9 million in the last quarter of 2007. However, the net income for the fourth quarter of 2007 included certain one-off reductions in the tax charge for the year following a review of the group's tax position, whilst operating costs in the first quarter of 2008 include $3.0 million incurred in relation to the re-domiciliation and potential London listing. Also in the first quarter of 2008, both of our major producing fields in Kazakhstan moved to the Excess Profit Tax environment, following increases in production and profit. Current income tax in the first quarter of 2008 was $14.1 million compared to $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2007 with $13.0 million accounted for in Kazakhstan. Funds from operations were $16.1 million in the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 83% over the first quarter of 2007 and capital expenditure was $10.6 million excluding acquisitions.
In the first quarter of 2008, the Azerbaijani operations contributed a loss of $0.2 million to the consolidated results of Arawak. Prior to commencement of commercial operations in the second quarter of 2007, Arawak reflected the result of its Azerbaijani operations through their carrying value in Arawak's consolidated balance sheet.
Arawak's unaudited consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2008, have also been filed. Copies of these documents may be accessed electronically on the website for the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com and Arawak's website at www.arawakenergy.com.
Arawak's common shares are listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol "ABG". The Company is engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas in Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan. The Company's four producing fields and two exploration blocks in Kazakhstan are held through its 100% wholly-owned subsidiary Altius Energy Corporation ("Altius"). Altius' main producing field is Akzhar, extended in 2006 from 3.8 to 71.5 square km, with smaller fields at Besbolek, Karataikyz and Alimbai. The two exploration blocks East Zharkamys III and Tamdykol are also situated in western Kazakhstan. Arawak's assets in Russia are held through ZAO PechoraNefteGas ("PNG") and LLC NK Recher-Komi ("Recher-Komi") in which Arawak has a 50% interest with the remaining interest being held by Lundin Petroleum AB. Also in Russia, Arawak holds a 100% interest in the Kymbozhyuskaya exploration block and in the South Sotchemyu appraisal block. In the Azerbaijan Republic, the Company's asset is its interest in the South West Gobustan Exploration Development and Production Sharing Agreement (the "EDPSA"). Commonwealth Gobustan Limited ("CGL"), in which Arawak has a 37.17% interest, holds an 80% interest in the EDPSA with the remaining 20% owned by SOCAR Oil Affiliate.
det er slet ikke relevant om kvaliteten er god eller dårlig i kina
det det drejer sig om er om den globale konjunktur med den stærke økonomiske vækst i de fattige lande anført af kina fortsætter på kortere sigt d.v.s. måske mindst de næste 2-4 år eller mere
og det er forbruget af råvarer og maskiner i produktionen der er afgørende og anvendelse af energi når man bruger produktet
om så levetiden er kort eller lang eller kvaliteten god eller dårlig så påvirker det slet ikke den aktuelle konjunktursituation og dermed udviklingen i aktiekurserne
det eneste det drejer sig om er hvor meget de producerer og hvilke vækstrater de har på de forskellige områder
bilsalget i argentina er steget ca 22% jan-april i år og ligger dermed på 219.000 eller ca 660.000 på årsbasis
TOTAL SALES TO DEALERS April January /April
By maker and brand 2008 2007 2008
1. MARKETED BY ASSEMBLY PLANTS (MADE IN ARG. AND IMPORTED )
FIAT AUTO ARGENTINA S.A. 5870 20392 25763
FIAT 5.020 17.306 22.211
Automóviles 5.020 17.306 22.211
FIAT 832 2.984 3.424
Utilitarios 832 2.984 3.424
Categoría A 5.852 20.290 25.635
FIAT 18 102 128
Furgones 18 102 128
Categoría B 18 102 128
FORD ARGENTINA S.A. 7175 23015 26930
FORD 3.320 12.117 11.570
JAGUAR 0 9 0
VOLVO 46 86 162
Automóviles 3.366 12.212 11.732
FORD 3.386 9.502 13.393
LAND ROVER 18 60 69
VOLVO 1 15 12
Utilitarios 3.405 9.577 13.474
Categoría A 6.771 21.789 25.206
FORD 404 1.226 1.724
Transporte de Carga 404 1.226 1.724
Transporte de Pasajeros 0 0 0
Categoría B 404 1.226 1.724
GENERAL MOTOR ARGENTINA SRL 9434 29135 32226
CHEVROLET 7.362 23.202 25.571
SUZUKI 645 3.076 2.298
Automóviles 8.007 26.278 27.869
CHEVROLET 1.349 2.703 3.738
SUZUKI 78 154 619
Utilitarios 1.427 2.857 4.357
Categoría A 9.434 29.135 32.226
Furgones 0 0 0
Transporte de Carga 0 0 0
Transporte de Pasajeros 0 0 0
Categoría B 0 0 0
IVECO ARGENTINA S.A. 529 1073 1821
IVECO 40 235 199
Furgones 40 235 199
IVECO 489 822 1.622
Transporte de Carga 489 822 1.622
IVECO 0 16 0
Transporte de Pasajeros 0 16 0
Categoría B 529 1.073 1.821
MERCEDES-BENZ ARGENTINA S.A. 1278 5148 5202
MERCEDES 263 842 1.033
Automóviles 263 842 1.033
MERCEDES 6 612 25
Utilitarios 6 612 25
Categoría A 269 1.454 1.058
MERCEDES 330 973 1.192
Furgones 330 973 1.192
MERCEDES 372 1.766 1.853
Transporte de Carga 372 1.766 1.853
MERCEDES 307 955 1.099
Transporte de Pasajeros 307 955 1.099
Categoría B 1.009 3.694 4.144
PEUGEOT-CITROEN S.A. 7672 25015 29210
CITROEN 1.593 5.237 7.081
PEUGEOT 5.063 16.066 18.459
Automóviles 6.656 21.303 25.540
CITROEN 261 1.218 1.160
PEUGEOT 740 2.379 2.425
Utilitarios 1.001 3.597 3.585
Categoría A 7.657 24.900 29.125
CITROEN 3 68 25
PEUGEOT 12 47 60
Furgones 15 115 85
Categoría B 15 115 85
RENAULT ARGENTINA S.A. 8489 21360 28556
NISSAN 346 3 683
RENAULT 6.118 16.331 21.477
Automóviles 6.464 16.334 22.160
NISSAN 284 1.093 1.181
RENAULT 1.741 3.366 4.767
Utilitarios 2.025 4.459 5.948
Categoría A 8.489 20.793 28.108
RENAULT 0 567 448
Furgones 0 567 448
Transporte de Carga 0 0 0
Transporte de Pasajeros 0 0 0
Categoría B 0 567 448
SCANIA ARGENTINA S.A. 174 478 505
SCANIA 170 470 494
Transporte de Carga 170 470 494
SCANIA 4 8 11
Transporte de Pasajeros 4 8 11
Categoría B 174 478 505
TOYOTA ARGENTINA S.A. 2859 7562 8986
TOYOTA 1.246 2.498 2.482
Automóviles 1.246 2.498 2.482
TOYOTA 1.613 5.064 6.504
Utilitarios 1.613 5.064 6.504
Categoría A 2.859 7.562 8.986
Transporte de Carga 0 0 0
Transporte de Pasajeros 0 0 0
Categoría B 0 0 0
VOLKSWAGEN ARGENTINA S.A. 12141 41160 46371
AUDI 161 822 899
SEAT 18 11 109
VW 11.218 37.336 42.392
Automóviles 11.397 38.169 43.400
VW 464 2.074 2.077
Utilitarios 464 2.074 2.077
Categoría A 11.861 40.243 45.477
VW 272 906 855
Transporte de Carga 272 906 855
VW 8 11 39
Transporte de Pasajeros 8 11 39
Categoría B 280 917 894
TOTAL TERMINALES 55.621 174.338 205.570
. De producción nacional 23.079 71.982 82.341
. Importados 32.542 102.356 123.229
2. IMPORTADOS POR DISTRIBUIDORES Y PARTICULARES (ESTIMADO)
TOTAL Distribuidores y Particulares 3.530 5.710 13.450
Automóviles 2.100 3.640 8.170
Utilitarios 1.150 1.540 4.400
Categoría A 3.250 5.180 12.570
Transporte de Carga 280 530 880
Transporte de Pasajeros 0 0 0
Categoría B 280 530 880
TOTAL 59.151 180.048 219.020
China auto industry little affected by earthquake
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2008-05-22 15:42
Last week's earthquake will have a limited impact on China's auto industry as Sichuan Province accounts for only around four percent of the country's vehicle demand, Morgan Stanley said.
Still, passenger vehicle companies with relatively high exposure to Sichuan - including Dongfeng PSA Citroen, Suzuki's joint ventures and Changan Auto - will suffer in the short-term, it said.
"Before the recovery of consumer confidence - we expect at least 1-2 quarters - there is little possibility of delivering notable sales in Sichuan province, which accounts for around four percent of the nationwide passenger vehicle market," Morgan Stanley said in a note.
However, truck makers like Sinotruk and Weichai Power are expected to benefit from upcoming demand for infrastructure and housing reconstruction, the note said.
"Propelled by the forthcoming post-earthquake reconstruction of infrastructure and housing, truck sales are expected to trend up further. Sales outlook for large displacement diesel engines will also be driven up by the surging demand for construction machines," it said.
The upper and luxury passenger vehicle segment will be the least affected because of its limited exposure to the Sichuan market, Morgan Stanley said, adding that Denway Motors has the highest average selling price and least exposure to the province of all auto companies under its coverage.
Sales of mobile phones in China dropped quarter on quarter from January to March to post the first quarterly decline in several years as the snow disaster prevented people from buying handsets, Shanghai Daily learned yesterday.
There were 48 million handset units sold in the first quarter, a more than 1 percent drop from the fourth quarter, said Sandy Shen, a Shanghai-based analyst at Gartner.
While Chinese handset sales jumped 19 percent in the period year on year, they lagged behind the 26 percent annual growth rate in the Asia Pacific region, said Gartner, a US-based IT consulting firm.
"It's the first quarterly drop (in China) since we started to track handset sales (in 2001). The unexpected snowstorms had prevented people buying handsets in the Spring Festival, a traditional peak season for phone sales," Shen said during a phone interview.
Chinese handset makers still lagged behind foreign giants like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola.
The top home-grown handset maker, which ranked No. 4 in the domestic market, was Tianyu with a 4 percent market share, followed by Lenovo Mobile's 3 percent and Jinli's 2 percent, Shen added.
Global sales of mobile phones totaled 294.3 million units in the first quarter, a 13.6 percent increase from a year ago.
Nokia sold 115.2 million mobile phones in the first quarter as its market share slipped slightly to 39.1 percent.
Nokia was able to maintain market leadership thanks to its diversified line of cell phones which appeals to users in emerging and mature markets.
Samsung, which sold 42.4 million units, widened the gap from third-placed Motorola as its market share grew to 14.4 percent. Motorola's sales fell to 29.9 million units in the first quarter of the year.
folk kan ikke sove når aktierne falder
man skal huske at selvom en motorcykel ikke bruger så meget olie som en bil så kører den ikke så meget længere på literen som man skulle tro, kun ca 2-3 gange en almindelig mindre bil
og den beslaglægger heller ikke så meget investering i produktionskapacitet eller værksteder
men den fylder stor set lige så meget som en bil på landevejen, fordi man ikke kan køre to ved siden af hinanden (på boulevarder i storbyer er det lidt anderledes, der kan de godt køre tættere side om side) og man er nødt til at holde de samme sikkerhedsafstande til forankørende og bagvedkørende som en bil
så den eksplosive vækst i motorcykler i asien, hvor der er ca 3 gange så mange motorcykler som biler skaber et voldsomt behov for udbygning af vejnettet, der jo ikke kan dimensioneres efter motorcykler, men skal kunne klare ikke bare almindelige biler, men også store lastbiler
så kapacitetsbeslaglæggelsen på vejene er meget større for en motorcykel i forhold til dens størrelse og pris
så med den hastige vækst i både antallet af biler og motorcykler i både asien og andre fattige lande er der tale om et ufatteligt stort behov for at bygge veje med broer mm
China's motorcycle output surpasses 25 mln in '07
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2008-02-29 08:08
By Zhang Zeqi
With a production and sales of both over 25 million sets the motorcycle industry has got a rich harvest in 2007. It contributed to the export of over 8 million motorcycles, the foreign exchange of over US$3 billion, and gross industrial output value of over RMB100 billion, all of which have hit record highs. So you may wonder how the motorcycle market was going in 2007 and where it will go in the future.
There was a fast increase in production and sales of motorcycles and a drop in inventory. During the year of 2007, the accumulative total of motorcycle output by the industry as a whole has added up to 25.4469 million sets, an increase of 18.67 percent over the same period of last year, and the accumulative total of motorcycle sales has reached 25.4680 million sets, an increase of 19.76 percent over the same period of last year. Compared with the accumulative total of output, its sales were 21.1 thousand sets more, which were from the inventory. Without any doubt, that has helped to release the pressure of inventory, tap the idle assets and then make strides to develop healthily.
The monthly output and sales rose and fell violently with annual increase breaking the record. Due to the factors such as season, climate, consuming habit and environment etc, the absolute quantity of the monthly output and sales rose and fell certainly with some regularity. Both the output and sales reached about 1.7 million sets at the beginning of the year that is just during New Year's Day and Spring Festival, reached about 2~2.2 million sets in the period of March, April, May and June with a month-by-month increase, then dropped to about 2.08 million sets in July and August with a little rise in September and little fall in October, finally in November and December rebounded and hit the highest among all the months in 2007. The monthly rise can usually reach above 0.1 million sets with 0.4 million as the highest. Viewed from the accumulative absolute total of output and sales all year round, the accumulative output in 2007 has got an increase of 4.0034 million sets over the year of 2006 with accumulative output of 21.4435 million, and the accumulative sales had an increase of 4.2013 million sets over the same period of 2006 with accumulative sales of 21.2667 million sets. The increase of output and sales in 2007 has both broken the record. Thanks to the high position of the motorcycle industry, and the fulfillment in the general goal of China's 11th Five-Year Plan in 2006 with 4 years ahead of schedule, this industry has realized the leap-forward development with an increase of nearly 20 percent.
8 motorcycle manufacturers had a breakthrough of 1 million sets in terms of the output and sales, leading to another decrease in industrial output and sales concentration level. Those 8 manufacturers including Grand River Group, Loncin, Chongqing Jianshe Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., Lifan Group, China Jialing Group, Zongshen Industrial Group, Qianjiang Motorcycle Group, and Luoyang Northern Enterprises Group Co., Ltd., all performed quite well in 2007 and kept a certain increasing speed. They ranked the first 8 among the top 10 largest companies in terms of output and sales, 2 others of which were Sundiro Honda Motorcycle Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Motor Group. All the top 10 largest companies had positive growth compared with the same period of 2006 among which 2 companies had got a one-digit growth and other 8 got two-digit growth. With a total output of 15.1221 million sets in 2007, the top 10 largest companies accounted for 59.43 percent of the total output in motorcycle industry which has dropped 2.36 percent compared with 61.79 percent in 2006. Their total sales have reached 15.1377 million sets and accounted for 59.44 percent of the total sales in that industry, dropping 2.72 percent compared with 62.16 percent in 2006.
The motorcycles with 6 types of engine displacement performed differently with a descending trend. The statistics showed that among the motorcycles with 15 types of engine displacement those with sales of above 1 million sets, namely, accounting for above 4 percent of the total had the engine displacements of >50ml, ��50ml, 150ml, 100ml, 110ml and 125ml listed from small to big. According to the market performance of the 4 types of motorcycles with engine displacement of 100ml, 110ml, 125ml and150ml, we can conclude without difficulty that the consuming demands are changing gradually with the economic development and diversification of the consumption levels. The 100ml and 125ml motorcycles which are mainly of riding style accounted respectively for 15.28 percent and 52.04 percent, 14.99 percent and 48.90 percent, 12.94 percent and 45.98 percent from 2005 to 2007 with a descending trend, while 110ml motorcycles mainly bending girder type and 150ml motorcycles which are mainly Prince brand accounted respectively for 12.24 percent and 5.87 percent, 12.98 percent and 8.15 percent, 14.49 percent and 9.11 percent from 2005 to 2007 with a ascending trend. We can say the motorcycles with 6 types of engine displacement have become the leaders in exploring the market with total annual sales of 24.2081 million sets accounting for 95.06 percent of the motorcycles with 15 types of engine displacement. But from a comprehensive view of the situation in the recent years, we can also see the signal that the market portion of the monopoly will decrease. The motorcycles with 6 types of engine displacement accounted for 95.26 percent in 2005, increased to 95.50 percent in 2006 with a rise of 0.24 percent, while compared with 2006 their market percentage dropped 0.44 percent in 2007 decreasing month by month from 96.33 percent at the beginning of the year to 95.06 percent at the end of the year. Obviously the decreased market portion has been occupied by the motorcycles with other types of engine displacement.
Among the 4 big production bases of motorcycle, 1 base got increase while the other 3 got drop and "City of motorcycles" was the champion. Through the competition of nearly 30 years in the market, the motorcycle manufacturers were no longer country-wide, instead, gradually formed 4 big bases including Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang and Shandong-Henan manufacturing the motorcycle sets and components. The battle had finished in 2007. The champion, Chongqing basis performed very well and has gained an annual sales of 9.7851 million sets accounting for 38.42 percent of the industry total sales with an increase of 2.37 percent compared with 2006; Guangdong basis ranking the second performed also well and has gained annual sales of 7.6884 million sets accounting for 30.19 percent of the industry total sales with a decrease of 0.62 percent compared with 2006; Jiangsu-Zhejiang basis ranking the third has gained an annual sales of 4.9005 million sets accounting for 19.20 percent of the industry total sales with a decrease of 2.14 percent compared with 2006; Shandong-Henan basis ranking the fourth has gained an annual sales of 2.4681 million sets accounting for 9.69 percent of the industry total sales with a decrease of 1.32 percent compared with 2006. In one word, 1 base got increase while the other 3 got drop among the 4 big production bases of motorcycle.
The export for foreign exchange hit record high again and the economic benefit got an obvious growth. In 2007, 86 motorcycle manufacturers have entered the foreign markets and had an accumulative export of 8.1696 million sets accounting for 32.10 percent of the industry gross output in that year with an increase of 1.7660 million sets, namely 27.58 percent over the same period of last year with an export of 6.4035 million sets. The foreign exchange had added up to US$3.28653 billion with an increase of US$766.95 million, namely 30.44 percent over the same period of last year with the foreign exchange of US$2.51958 billion. This industry has made new progress in terms of the economic benefit. Up to the end of 2007, the prime operating revenue of the whole motorcycle industry has reached RMB102.267 billion yuan with an increase of RMB20.638 billion yuan, namely 25.28 percent over the same period of last year with the prime operating revenue of RMB81.629 billion yuan. The gross industrial output value (current price) has added up to RMB102.361 billion yuan with an increase of RMB16.685 billion yuan, namely 19.47 percent over the same period of last year. The profit has totaled up to RMB2.975 billion yuan with an increase of nearly RMB0.5 billion yuan, namely 20.20 percent over the same period of last year.
India's oil product consumption rose 6.3 percent in April from a year ago, driven by strong sales of cars and motorcycles in the month and cheap fuel prices, which are set to rise this weekend but not by enough to dampen demand.
In the fiscal year to March, domestic oil sales, a proxy for oil demand, grew 7 percent, the fastest pace in eight years, powered by rapid economic growth.
India is expected to raise retail fuel prices on Saturday as petrol and diesel prices are lower than they were two years ago, while crude oil prices have doubled, squeezing state refiners that sell petrol and diesel below cost.
But higher prices may not slow demand in Asia's third-largest consumer as incomes are rising and the economy, which grew 9 percent annually in the past three years, is forecast to expand at least 8.5 percent this year. [ID:nBOM207226]
Besides, the government is expected to scale down the oil ministry's proposal to raise prices 15-20 percent and make fuels only 5-10 percent more costly, which analysts say will only have a marginal and temporary impact on demand.
If the government raised petrol prices by over 20 percent low-end users of motorcycles and cars would reduce personal consumption, said Amrit Pandurangi, executive director with PricwaterhouseCoopers.
"That also will be probably temporary. People are less sensitive than what everybody thinks," he said, adding that diesel consumers, mostly commercial establishments, would be able to pass on the cost to their customers. Continued...
China's largest refiner Sinopec said it would increase its oil processing and halt oil products exports in the third quarter to ensure domestic supply.
"Sinopec will raise production, halt exports and adjust product structure to ensure domestic supply, especially for the reconstruction after the earthquake, the summer harvest and the Olympic Games," said Sinopec President Wang Tianpu.
Disaster relief is a top priority for Sinopec, according to the company. It will work in tandem with the government to keep the prices of oil products in quake-hit regions stable.
The company had made emergency deliveries of gasoline and diesel to earthquake-hit regions. It also ordered several of its refineries to raise output in response to the disaster.
China's largest oil company PetroChina also said it would increase its refined oil production to ensure supply for reconstruction and the summer harvest.
PetroChina has allocated 100,000 tons of refined oil in emergency supplies to Sichuan after the earthquake. By May 27, oil storage in Sichuan reached 252,000 tons, ensuring 16 days of supplies, the company said in a statement.
PetroChina will increase its oil supply to Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia by 20 percent for the summer harvest, the statement said.
Facing high crude prices in the international market, the government's control on domestic refined oil prices has caused big losses for the country's oil refiners. In the first quarter, Sinopec saw its net profit plunge 65.78 percent to 6.7 billion yuan.
This, happened even after the company got 12.3 billion yuan in government subsidies in March, of which 7.4 billion yuan was counted as first-quarter income.
PetroChina said its first-quarter profit fell 31.5 percent as refining losses and windfall taxes cut its earnings from record crude prices. Net income dropped to 28.9 billion yuan ($4.16 billion) from 42.1 billion yuan a year earlier.
China exported 4.84 million tons of refined oil products in the first four months of this year, a decrease of 7.8 percent from a year earlier. In April, exports of refined oil products stood at 1.23 million tons, according to Customs figures.
From January to April, the country imported 12.68 million tons of refined oil products, up 9.2 percent, show Customs figures.
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's state oil company Petrobras said on Friday it found contractors aboard to build 12 new drilling rigs for ultra-deep waters, which should be ready by mid-2012 and will then be leased to the company.
All but two new rigs will be owned by Brazilian companies, Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research)(PBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said, without revealing the value of the contracts or the names of the firms.
Earlier this week, Petrobras launched a plan to contract 40 drilling ships and platforms to operate in deep and ultra-deep waters by 2017, saying the priority will be to build the units in Brazil. It acknowledged though the domestic market was not ready to meet the demand in the short term.
"This first stage includes eight drillships and four semi-submersible rigs. Petrobras guarantees that it will lease them and companies agree to build them. Right now we cannot disclose the values," a Petrobras spokesman said.
Petrobras officials said on Monday a shortage of drilling rigs and looming relinquishment deadlines for its concessions have made it delay tests on potentially huge subsalt finds like Carioca and Bem-te-vi and move the rigs to other blocks.
With oil prices chalking up record highs, oil exploration equipment is in short supply and becoming more expensive.
Analysts are bullish on Brazil's oil potential, expecting the country to become a major world oil producer with big reserves of light oil in the subsalt cluster.
Earlier this month, investment bank UBS estimated that the Tupi and Carioca subsalt finds off Brazil's coast would need about $600 billion to develop, a massive windfall for oilfield services companies.
Last month, Norway's SeaDrill Ltd (SDRL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) won deepwater rig contracts worth up to $4.1 billion from Petrobras. Texas-based Noble Corp (NE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said in March it signed deals possibly worth $4 billion with the Brazilian energy company. (Reporting by Andrei Khalip)