Netherlands

Shell’s climate pay gesture lacks thermostat

3 December 2018

Linking executive bonuses to carbon targets, as the $258 billion giant has pledged to do, should focus bosses’ minds. Yet the goals and sums involved are unclear, and the plan only starts in 2020. Investors can do more to hold energy groups’ feet to the fire on emissions.

GSK looks like a better seller than buyer

3 December 2018

The UK drug giant is acquiring cancer specialist Tesaro for $5.1 bln and offloading its Horlicks unit to Unilever for about the same amount. It’s a neat way for CEO Emma Walmsley to reshape GSK. But the purchase will take years to pay off – and is much riskier than hot drinks.

New Unilever CEO’s hard graft will come later

29 November 2018

Insider Alan Jope has the right skills to deliver the sound strategy that he inherits from Paul Polman. But a share-structure change that the consumer giant had to ditch may need be revisited. The big deals needed to boost slow growth will be harder to clinch with a dual listing.

EU sends mixed signals to scale-hungry corporates

27 November 2018

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager may wave through a Dutch mobile merger but not the Siemens-Alstom rail deal. One decision hints at flexibility in the EU’s antitrust thinking. Still, politicians hoping to build regional champions to counter the U.S. and China will be disappointed.

Shell deserves to check out of investors’ doghouse

1 November 2018

The UK energy group slightly undershot earnings forecasts but generated oodles of cash in the third quarter. That compensates for a bigger disappointment earlier this year. Unless oil prices dive, Shell should be able to invest as much as it needs while rewarding shareholders.

Unilever and Nestlé’s growth tests pricing power

18 October 2018

Higher prices helped the consumer goods giants boost revenue in the third quarter. Both need to keep charging more to offset rising costs. The risk is that price-conscious customers go elsewhere. It ultimately depends on whether the world economy can cope with higher inflation.

Louis Dreyfus showcases downside of being private

10 October 2018

The commodity trader’s dividends are a bigger proportion of net profits than rival Cargill. The latter is demonstrating that non-listed status and success are compatible. But the short-term needs of Margarita Louis-Dreyfus jar with those of the French company that she controls.

Unilever bows to corporate version of Brexit revolt

5 October 2018

The Anglo-Dutch group ditched a vote to move its head office to the Netherlands after UK shareholders rebelled. The saga shows the limits of the special treatment that large multinationals can ask from politicians. It also demonstrates what investors can do when they join forces.

Altice financial invention is born of necessity

4 October 2018

Patrick Drahi may sell part of his telecom group’s fibre broadband business, having recently offloaded some mobile towers. The cash could reduce debt and increase capex. But ceding control over investment decisions to private equity could undermine the business model over time.

Unilever should delay its head office vote

3 October 2018

A growing number of UK shareholders oppose the Persil maker’s choice of Rotterdam as its base. Postponing the vote would give investors more clarity on Dutch tax changes, and Unilever more time to spell out the benefits of the shift. Pushing ahead risks an embarrassing defeat.

Buyout pass-the-parcel hands BC Partners a present

28 September 2018

The investment group is buying a stake in a $3 bln European cable company from KKR. It’s a good deal, thanks to the seller’s desire to cash out. Private equity funds’ limited investment terms mean managers can’t always choose when to sell. Longer-life funds are one solution.

TomTom is risky option on carmakers beating Google

27 September 2018

The $2 bln navigation group may sell a sideline business a week after key customer Renault said it would use Google Maps. After the sale, TomTom would look cheap – unless the search giant wipes the floor with rival mapmakers. The U.S. group’s track record makes that a dicey bet.

Unilever has itself to blame for investor revolt

25 September 2018

A growing group of shareholders want to block the Pot Noodle maker’s plan to pick Rotterdam over London as its global HQ. The move’s benefits are overshadowed by uncertainty over how UK investors will be taxed. Rushing the decision has left Unilever more vulnerable to opposition.

Banks belatedly realise money laundering is bad

11 September 2018

ING’s finance director will leave after the bank’s illicit fund failings incurred a 775 million euro hit from Dutch prosecutors. In the past, miscreants have got away with paying fines. Now shareholders are pushing the issue as well as politicians, accountability is improving.

Europe’s $50 bln payment upstarts can justify hype

10 September 2018

Investors can’t get enough of groups like Wirecard, which is replacing Commerzbank in Germany’s main stock index. As with peer Adyen, the risk is that a crowded sector caps growth. To hit their targets, the pair need to double their share of the payments pie. That’s doable.

Consumer giants have bigger problems than Turkey

28 August 2018

Unilever and Nestlé can resist a crisis in Turkey, which accounts for little of their revenue. But both will suffer if troubles spread across emerging markets, which account for about half of group sales. All the more so since Western shoppers are unlikely to take up the slack.

Unions the first of many fights for Air France CEO

17 August 2018

As the airline’s first foreign boss, Ben Smith will face labour strife that ousted his predecessor and has cost 335 million euros. But the former Air Canada executive must also tackle the weak governance, competition and soaring costs that threaten the carrier’s survival.

Franco-Dutch utility deal muddies U.S. M&A waters

31 July 2018

Suez is selling a fifth of its stateside unit to pension manager PGGM for 30 times earnings. The $601 mln transaction looks even pricier than the takeover battles for two other U.S. water utilities. With asset scarcity making the market frothy, buyers risk ending up high and dry.

Heineken short on ideas to close AB InBev chasm

30 July 2018

The Dutch brewer’s shares fell after it said operating margins would dip this year instead of rise. The gap between its profitability and that of bigger rival AB InBev is widening. And beyond more craft beer, Heineken has few convincing ways to close it.

Shell and Total can hand investors even more cash

26 July 2018

The Anglo-Dutch major has begun a $25 bln share buyback, months after its French peer. That may signal Shell lacks growth ideas, yet investing in new oil projects and green energy is also risky. Sharing windfalls from high oil prices with shareholders is the lesser of the evils.