International company news in brief: Apple could raise prices of new iPhones

Upgraded iPhone line-up may come at a higher cost

Bengaluru — Apple is considering raising the prices of its iPhone line-up in autumn, a step it is seeking to couple with new features and design changes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Shares of the company rose 7% in premarket trading.

The company is determined to avoid any scenario in which it appears to attribute price increases to US tariffs on goods from China, where most Apple devices are assembled, according to the report. Reuters

Chinese shipments of foreign cellphones down 49.6%

Beijing — Chinese shipments of foreign-branded cellphones, including Apple Inc’s iPhones, dropped by 49.6% year on year in March, according to data released on Monday by a government-affiliated research company.

Calculations based on the data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that March shipments of foreign-branded phones in China decreased to 1.887-million units from 3.747-million a year earlier. Reuters

UK’s InPost launches next-day out-of-home service

Bengaluru— Parcel locker company InPost has partnered with British online fashion retailer ASOS to introduce the country’s first next-day out-of-home (OOH) delivery service, InPost said on Monday.

The launch of the D+1 delivery service follows InPost’s acquisition of British courier company Yodel in April, which significantly expanded its delivery capabilities and positioned it as the third-largest independent logistics operator in the UK. Reuters

Adidas investor to vote against chair’s re-election

London — A leading investor in German sportswear company Adidas said on Monday it planned to vote against the re-election of chair Thomas Rabe at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Thursday because he holds too many roles at other companies.

Despite being concerned about the so-called “overboarding” last year, Allianz Global Investors — the 13th biggest investor in Adidas, according to LSEG data — said it had supported Rabe’s re-election last year on the basis that the company would find a replacement.

Since then, the company had not presented a successor or laid out a “convincing” succession plan, Allianz said in a statement. Reuters

Hungary’s budget deficit widens, debt servicing soars

Budapest — Hungary’s budget posted a 376.4-billion forint ($1.04bn) deficit in April, widening the shortfall for January-April to 71% of its full-year target, as surging debt servicing and pensions spending offset a rise in revenue, data showed on Monday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government aims to narrow the budget deficit to 4% of its output target this year from a higher-than-expected 4.9% shortfall in 2024.

Orban has banked on an economic recovery to help him secure another term in next year’s elections when he is expected to face the sternest opposition challenge in well over a decade. Reuters

Saudi budget airline selling a 30% stake to investors

Dubai — Saudi Arabian budget airline flynas, backed by billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, is seeking to raise up to 4.1bn riyals ($1.1bn) from an initial public offering in Riyadh, it said on Monday.

The airline, which is selling a 30% stake to investors in the first IPO by a Gulf airline in almost 20 years, said the price range had been set at between 76 and 80 riyals a share, implying a market capitalisation of up to $3.6bn.

Saudi Arabia has targeted tourism as a key pillar of its domestic economic agenda to reduce reliance on oil revenue. Reuters

Cobalt Holdings plans global offer

Bengaluru — Cobalt Holdings said on Monday it planned to raise $230m through a global offer and potentially list its shares in the London Stock Exchange, aiming to offer investors pure-play exposure to cobalt prices.

The company, which has a contract with Glencore to buy an initial $200m worth of cobalt from the global miner, said it planned to use the proceeds from the equity raise to execute the purchase of the metal, a core component in electric vehicle batteries.

Glencore and affiliates of investment firm Anchorage Structured Commodities Advisor have agreed to invest about 20.5% of the shares to be offered, it said. The company’s six-year supply contract with Glencore provides a guaranteed supply of cobalt worth up to $1bn. Reuters

Guinea cancels bauxite concession

Conakry — Guinea has cancelled a bauxite mining concession granted to Kebo Energy over its failure to deliver on promised investments, according to a statement broadcast on state television.

The cancellation was announced late on Friday, with state television citing a decree issued by junta leader Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in 2021.

A senior Guinean mining official confirmed that the concession had been cancelled. A source close to Kebo Energy said the company had failed to raise sufficient funding for the project, which included building an alumina refinery. Reuters

NRG Energy to buy natural gas facilities

Bengaluru — US utility NRG Energy said on Monday it would acquire natural gas generation facilities and a virtual power plant from energy infrastructure investment firm LS Power in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $12bn.

A virtual power plant integrates multiple resources to provide to the grid. Demand for electricity has been rapidly rising, driven by the proliferation of data centres dedicated to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency and for homes and businesses use more electricity for heat and transportation.

NRG said the deal would double its generation capacity to 25 gigawatts, adding 18 natural gas-fired facilities totalling 13GW across key markets in the Northeast and Texas. Reuters

Fincantieri’s core profit rockets

Fincantieri reported a 53.5% rise in first-quarter core profit to €154m driven by strong performance across all segments, particularly in shipbuilding, and increased revenues in the defence business.

Revenues jumped to €2.38bn, up 35% from the same period in 2024, and Fincantieri’s total backlog amounted to €57.6bn, the Trieste-based group said on Monday.

“The increase in revenues in the defence segment and the consolidation of our three dimensions — cruise, defence and offshore — confirm the effectiveness of our integrated business model,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and GM of Fincantieri. Reuters

Vertical Aerospace makes hybrid air-taxi

Bengaluru — Vertical Aerospace said on Monday it was developing a long-range hybrid-electric variant of its air-taxi VX4, aiming to expand into commercial markets including defence and logistics.

Vertical’s new variant is targeted to have a range of up to 1,600km — a tenfold increase from its electric predecessor — and can carry up to 1,100kg, the company said on Monday.

Air-taxi start-ups are racing to get approvals for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft on the growing demand for faster urban transportation, while also exploring new commercial applications for the emerging technology.

“The demand for long-range, high-payload, quiet aircraft is growing rapidly — especially across defence and critical logistics,” said Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace.

The move comes after the company announced a new long-term deal with Honeywell last week to help certify key systems for its VX4 air taxi. Reuters