Infineon slightly raises outlook for operating profitability after strong Q3
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The Star
20 minutes ago
- The Star
South Africa's Telkom profit rises on subscriber growth and fibre services
FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past a branch of South Africa's mobile operator, Telkom, in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 17,2025. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa's Telkom reported a 6.5% rise in quarterly core profit on Tuesday, helped by subscriber growth and increased use of its "next-generation network" (NGN) offerings as it ditched legacy services. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), came in at 2.8 billion rand ($155.62 million) in the first quarter ended June 30, South Africa's third-largest telecom company said in a statement. Overall group revenue rose 1.1% to 10.82 billion rand with mobile service revenue and Openserve's fibre data revenue up 7.8% and 11.3%, respectively. Telkom said mobile data subscribers surged 27.5% to 17.2 million, while there was a 17.5% increase in the number of homes connected with fibre. The majority state-owned company has been investing in migrating customers away from copper-based technology to offerings such as fibre and long-term evolution - a 4G wireless standard - as customers seek faster internet services. ($1 = 17.9928 rand) (Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
The Star
20 minutes ago
- The Star
Small public companies snap up ether in new crypto gold rush, even as risks linger
(Reuters) -Some companies are favoring ether over bitcoin as an inflation hedge as the cryptocurrency hits a sweet spot between affordability and credibility, while being underpinned by a strong blockchain backbone. Corporate treasuries held at least 966,304 ether tokens on their balance sheets at the end of July, worth nearly $3.5 billion, according to a Reuters analysis of regulatory filings and disclosures. That compares with just under 116,000 at the end of 2024. The second-largest cryptocurrency has become the token of choice for those looking for more active returns. Unlike bitcoin, which solely relies on price appreciation, ether can be used in staking, a practice where holders lock up their tokens to support the ethereum network in exchange for rewards. Staking can offer yields of about 3% to 4%. "Ether balances growth potential with the legitimacy of a blue-chip asset. It is large enough to be institutional-grade, yet early enough in adoption to benefit from future upside," said Sam Tabar, CEO of Bit Digital, which has ether on its balance sheet. The cryptocurrency also powers the ethereum blockchain, which supports a wide range of applications including lending platforms, trading protocols and stablecoins, making it a core component of the crypto financial system. "Holding ether is more like owning oil, whereas bitcoin is more one-dimensional, like gold. Ether is the foundation of decentralized finance, not just a pure store of value," said Anthony Georgiades, general partner at VC firm Innovating Capital. Still, challenges such as regulatory uncertainty and price volatility, which affect the assets' fair value, continue to hinder adoption. CAUTION AMID HYPE After disclosing plans to accumulate ether earlier this year, shares of Peter Thiel-backed BitMine and gaming media network GameSquare jumped as much as 3,679% and 123%, respectively, underscoring how eager investors are to chase crypto-linked momentum. But analysts have cautioned against unfettered optimism. "The share price response has the hallmarks of the meme craze," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. The inherent volatility of crypto tokens also makes it a poor fit for boards with a low risk appetite, which could curb ether's appeal beyond core industry players. "Most CFOs would not swap liquid cash for ether. It remains a niche tool best left to 'tech-forward' treasuries that can tolerate swings and complexity," said Anuj Karnik, founder and managing director at Straitsberg, a Singapore-based treasury advisory firm. "Treasury best-practice values liquidity, predictability and regulatory certainty above all. Most corporate leaders view crypto holdings today as experimental 'alternative' allocations, not mainstream policy." Also, while the Securities and Exchange Commission has softened its stance on staking activities, the regulatory framework around the practice is still evolving. Key questions include whether rewards should be taxed as income, how to treat locked tokens on balance sheets and whether offering staking services could trigger custodial obligations. "Every staking reward could be landing in a compliance gray zone," said MichaelAshleySchulman, partner and chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. Still, despite the risks, some companies continue to double down, raising capital through share sales or debt offerings to fund their ether purchases. BitMine sold a $182 million stake to Cathie Wood's ARK Invest in July. GameSquare CEO Justin Kenna also told Reuters his company might sell stock to invest in ether. "We're not in the business of being overly dilutive. But we'll continue to be opportunistic," Kenna said. (Reporting by Manya Saini and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
The Star
20 minutes ago
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Analysis-Autopilot verdict deals Tesla a 'black eye', threatens Musk's robotaxi ambitions
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -A court verdict against Tesla last week, stemming from a fatal 2019 crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S, could hurt its plans to expand its nascent robotaxi network and intensify concerns over the safety of its autonomous vehicle technology. A Florida juryordered Musk's electric vehicle company on Friday to pay about $243 million to victims of the crash, finding its Autopilot driver-assistance software defective. Tesla said the driver was solely at fault and vowed to appeal. The verdict follows years of federal investigations and recalls related to collisions involving Tesla's autonomous-vehicle technology, and comes as CEO Elon Musk seeks regulatory approval to rapidly expand the robotaxi service across the U.S. "The public perception of this verdict or things like this are going to fuel pressure on regulators to say, 'We just can't let this stuff be launched without a lot more due diligence'," said Mike Nelson, founder of Nelson Law and an expert on legal issues in the mobility sector. Tesla could havea tough time convincing state regulators that its technology is road-ready, threatening Musk's goal of offering robotaxis to half the U.S. population by year end, legal experts and Tesla investors said. Expanding its robotaxi service is crucial for Tesla as demand for its aging lineup of EVs has cooled amid rising global competition and a backlash against Musk's far right political views. Much of Tesla's trillion-dollar market valuation hinges on his bets on robotics and artificial intelligence. Success in the self-driving realm will requirewinning the confidence of regulators and potential customers on the full-self driving (FSD) software that underpins Tesla's robotaxis, analysts said. "The timing (of the verdict) for Tesla in light of the FSD rollouts and robotaxis is awful," said Aaron Davis, co-managing partner at law firm Davis Goldman. "Now there's essentially an opinion that some aspect of Tesla's business is not safe and maybe the safety that the company advertises isn't what it's cracked up to be." The FSD is an advanced version of Autopilot. Autopilot, which was been updated since 2019, controls speed, distance and lane centering on highways, while the FSD can operate on city streets, helping the vehicle make automatic turns and change lanes. "This case does not have direct implications for Tesla's FSD roll-out," analysts at Piper Sandler said in a note on Sunday, citing the modern iterations of the software. A spokesperson on behalf of Tesla acknowledged the company had received a request for comment from Reuters but had not provided one by the time of publication. REGULATORY ROAD AHEAD Perfecting autonomous vehicles has been harder than expected. The high costs of hardware, years of trial and error, and regulatory hurdles have forced many players to close shop or pivot, including General Motors' Cruise unit. Musk, however, has pursued what he calls a simpler and cheaper path, relying only on cameras and AI instead of pricey sensors such as lidars and radars used by Alphabet's Waymo, Amazon's Zoox and others. After years of missed deadlines, Musk rolled out a small robotaxi trial in June with about a dozen Model Y crossover SUVs in Austin, Texas, each overseen by a human safety monitor in the front passenger seat. While Musk has said Tesla was being "super paranoid about safety", he has also pledged to expand the service fast and make it available for half of the U.S. population in the next five months - a stark contrast to Waymo's cautious years-long rollout. Until Tesla's entry, Waymo was the only U.S. firm to operate a paid, driverless robotaxi service. Tesla is currently awaiting approvals in several states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. California's department of motor vehicles declined to comment on the impact of the verdict on regulatory approval. Nevada said it held talks with Tesla about a robotaxi program several weeks ago, while Arizona said it was still considering Tesla's request for certification. Both did not comment on the verdict. Florida did not respond. Tesla has typically either won other Autopilot litigation or resolved the case with the plaintiffs out of court. The Florida verdict stands such cases are pending. The case involved a Model S sedan that went through an intersection and hit the victims' parked Chevrolet Tahoe as they were standing beside it. The driver had reached down to retrieve a dropped cellphone and allegedly received no alerts as he ran a stop sign before the crash. The jury found that Tesla's Autopilot had a defect and held the company partially responsible, despite the driver admitting fault. "It's going to take time to get regulators to move forward and time being more than the end of the year," said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, a Tesla investor. "From an image standpoint, it's a black eye." (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Mike Colias and Himani Sarkar)
