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I wrote – Yasmine Selim:
The consequences of the Corona Virus and what it inflicted on the global economy have affected the profits of the main companies around the world during the first quarter of this year.
And the main companies that operate in the automotive, oil and financial institutions announced that they suffered losses or decreased profits due to the effects of the Corona virus during the first quarter, although these figures only reflect data for three weeks from the time the Organization World Health announced the outbreak of the Corona virus.
A European Central Bank survey said eurozone companies saw a large increase in demand for loans, as the Corona virus pandemic affected the economy.
On the other hand, companies operating in the field of Internet commerce have jumped in revenue due to high demand on the Internet, and many countries around the world are entering domestic quarantine for fear of spreading the Corona virus.
The automotive sector
The automotive sector was seriously affected by the closure of factories in China and the United States due to the Corona virus pandemic, and this damage was evident with the results of the businesses of the main companies during the first quarter.
And the American automaker, Ford Motor Company, reported a loss of $ 2 billion in the first quarter due to the aftermath of the Corona pandemic.
He said he hoped to double his losses in the second quarter as it was hit by the shutdown of its North American factories.
Almost all automotive production in the United States stopped in March, amid rapid growth in the number of HIV infections.
The Japanese company Nissan Motor also expected to record the first operating loss in 11 years, with the decline in car sales, to a value of 45 billion yen ($ 419.7 million), a decrease in operating profit of 54 thousand million yen in the company’s previous forecast last February.
The company expects to incur a net loss of 95 billion yen, compared to previous profit forecasts of 65 billion yen.
Nissan is heading for the worst financial performance since the global financial crisis in 2008, according to announced data.
Oil companies
Oil companies suffered a double crisis during the first quarter of this year after oil prices fell to record levels and the Corona Virus pandemic caused a decline in oil demand, causing huge losses.
And Exxon Mobil, the US oil company, reported a quarterly loss in the first quarter compared to earnings in the same period a year ago due to the cancellation of the longest stock at approximately $ 3 billion due to higher prices. low oil.
The big US oil company incurred a loss of $ 610 million, or 14 cents a share, in the quarter, compared to a profit of $ 2.35 billion, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier.
Austrian energy group OMV also incurred a net loss in the first quarter of the year due to high inventory costs.
OM said it lost 68 million euros ($ 74 million) in the three months ending March, after a profit of 496 million in the same period last year.
British oil company BP’s profits fell two-thirds in the first quarter to net income of $ 800 million, compared to $ 2.4 billion a year ago.
Financial institutions
Financial institutions were not immune to the losses suffered by most companies as a result of the closure that affected the world.
Deutsche Bank announced its recovery from the loss in the first quarter of the year and said it incurred a loss attributable to shareholders of € 43 million ($ 46.64 million) in the first quarter, compared to earnings of 97 million euros from the previous year.
Barclays has set aside £ 2.1 billion ($ 2.6 billion) to cover a possible increase in loan losses.
The British Investment Bank made a profit in the first quarter, before taxing £ 923m, down 38% from £ 1.5bn in the first quarter of 2019.
Standard Chartered Bank announced that the increase in credit and the decrease in provisions in the expected increase in credit losses pushed pre-tax earnings for the period January to March 12% less compared to the same period of the year prior to $ 1.22 billion.
The results came a day after HSBC Holdings, the largest rival in the same locations as Standard Chartered Bank, announced that its first-quarter earnings fell nearly half as bad loan provisions increased to $ 3 billion.
HSBC Holdings’ earnings fell almost half in the first quarter of this year.
Pre-tax earnings were calculated at $ 3.2 billion in the January-March period, down from $ 6.2 billion the previous year.
Berkshire Hathaway, owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, posted record first-quarter losses of $ 49.75 billion, reflecting huge unrealized losses on common stocks like Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) during the market crash. .
The misfortunes of the people
The Corona virus appears to have benefited some companies, especially e-commerce companies, because dozens of countries have made quarantine decisions in their homes.
And Amazon.com, the world’s largest retailer, announced a 26% rise in first-quarter revenue to $ 75.5 billion, with a surge in demand due to antivirus measures.
The company said it could incur its first quarterly loss in five years because it is spending at least $ 4 billion in response to the Corona Virus pandemic, including plans to test Covid-19 for its workers, providing them with protective tools. and pay higher wages.
Carrefour, Europe’s largest food retailer by sales, increased revenue during the first quarter of this year.
Sales in the first quarter amounted to 19,445 billion euros ($ 21.07 billion), driven by strong performance in January and February, and purchases for household storage in March, according to data announced by the company .
