Swiss digital payment technology company SIX is reorganizing its business to improve its ability to compete with startups. The company, which sells virtual cards among other products, will merge its exchange execution and post-trading areas into one unit, and will separate its card acquiring unit from the rest of its payments business and seek a "partner" to operate the acquiring business.
Luxury goods maker Hermes said Wednesday that sales had accelerated during the third quarter across all its major markets and notably in its two biggest regions of Europe and Asia.
Hermes said revenues were up by 6.4 percent at €1.337 billion ($1.5 billion) in the period from July to September. The result was ahead of analysts’ average expectations of an about 8.5% revenues increase, as demand for the group’s scarves, bags and clothes accelerated since the previous quarter when sales rose 8.3%.
Amazon on Wednesday unveiled an augmented reality feature in its iOS shopping app that shows customers a 3-D rendering of how a given product will look in their home or workspace before they order it.
AR View offers the ability to view thousands of products for the home or office Рincluding furniture, electronics, toys, games, home d̩cor and more Рin augmented reality.
Swiss bank Credit Suisse posted a near six-fold year-on-year rise in third-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating analyst expectations amid an ongoing restructuring plan. Switzerland’s second-largest bank reported 244 million Swiss francs ($244 million) in third-quarter net profit. The results mark the first time the lender has posted three consecutive profitable quarters under the guidance of CEO Tidjane Thiam. It was also significantly above the 41 million Swiss francs reported for the same period last year.
Banking giant HSBC has reported pre-tax quarterly profits of $4.6bn (£3.5bn) for the three months to the end of September.
The result marks a huge 448% increase from $843m posted in the same period a year ago.
With one-off costs and currency impacts stripped out, HSBC posted a $3.8bn leap in pre-tax profits to $4.6bn for the third quarter, as it made a one-off loss on the sale of a business in Brazil last year.
Deutsche Bank on Thursday said its third-quarter profit more than doubled, beating analysts’ expectations, despite a fall in revenue. The German bank said net income in the quarter was €649 million ($766.7 million) compared with €278 million in the same period last year, helped by lower operating costs and legal expenses.
“While the revenue environment remained challenging, we have made significant progress on our key initiatives,” Chief Executive John Cryan said in a statement. Shares in Deutsche Bank were seen opening 2.5 percent higher in pre-market trade following the results.
Novartis’s third-quarter core net income rose 4 percent at constant currencies, beating analyst expectations, as the Swiss drugmaker said it made “significant progress” in preparing its Alcon eyecare unit for a possible spinoff by the first half of 2019.
For fiscal 2017, the company continues to expects net sales to be broadly in line with prior year and core operating income to be broadly in line or decline low single digit, both at constant currency rates.
Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, estimated its claims burden from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in the United States and from two earthquakes in Mexico at roughly $3.6 billion in the third quarter.
"Swiss Re maintains a very strong capital position and high financial flexibility to support our clients’ needs, respond to market developments and execute on our capital management priorities," Chief Financial Officer David Cole said in a statement on Friday. Of the claims burden, which is net of retrocession and before tax, around $175 million was from the earthquakes in Mexico.
