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Investing.com -- Swedish industrial communications firm HMS Networks AB (ST:HMSN) reported a 64% jump in fourth-quarter adjusted operating profit on Tuesday, driven by higher sales even as order intake declined.

Adjusted EBIT rose to 268 million Swedish crowns from 163 million a year earlier, lifting the adjusted operating margin to 28.2% from 20.2%. Net sales increased 18% to 951 million crowns, while order intake fell 4% to 854 million.

"The final quarter of the year was characterized by high delivery volumes," Chief Executive Officer Staffan Dahlström said, citing increased manufacturing capacity in North America and deliveries from an earlier order backlog.

Profit after tax totaled 72 million crowns, down from 75 million, hit by a one-off tax expense of 104 million crowns related to U.S. tax law following its 2024 acquisition of Red Lion. Excluding that effect, adjusted profit after tax was 209 million crowns.

For the full year, order intake rose 23% to 3.46 billion crowns and net sales increased 17% to 3.58 billion. Adjusted EBIT climbed to 911 million from 665 million, with profit after tax rising to 435 million from 310 million.

Net debt fell to 2.35 billion crowns from 3.28 billion a year earlier. The board proposed a dividend of 4.80 crowns per share versus none previously.

HMS completed its acquisition of parts of Molex’s industrial communications business on Jan. 2.

Investing.com -- India’s Adani Group and Brazil’s Embraer SA announced on Tuesday a partnership to establish a regional transport aircraft venture in India.

The collaboration will cover manufacturing, assembly, and increased localization efforts in the Indian market, according to the joint announcement.

This new venture marks Adani Group’s first entry into the aircraft manufacturing sector, expanding its business portfolio beyond its current operations.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Real Estate, Banking and Textile sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.77%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Resonac Holdings Corp (TYO:4004), which rose 6.95% or 557.00 points to trade at 8,576.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) added 5.85% or 1,380.00 points to end at 24,955.00 and Nissui Corp (TYO:1332) was up 4.45% or 55.50 points to 1,303.50 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TYO:9501), which fell 7.92% or 52.40 points to trade at 609.60 at the close. Japan Steel Works Ltd (TYO:5631) declined 3.49% or 311.00 points to end at 8,601.00 and Suzuki Motor Corp. (TYO:7269) was down 3.48% or 76.00 points to 2,106.50.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1934 to 1617 and 263 ended unchanged.

Shares in Resonac Holdings Corp (TYO:4004) rose to 5-year highs; up 6.95% or 557.00 to 8,576.00. Shares in Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) rose to all time highs; gaining 5.85% or 1,380.00 to 24,955.00. Shares in Nissui Corp (TYO:1332) rose to all time highs; rising 4.45% or 55.50 to 1,303.50.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 9.19% to 34.57 a new 1-month high.

Crude oil for March delivery was down 0.16% or 0.10 to $60.53 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April fell 0.28% or 0.18 to hit $64.59 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.00% or 0.14 to trade at $5,122.44 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.21% to 154.48, while EUR/JPY rose 0.16% to 183.42.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.09% at 96.94.

Investing.com -- The European steel sector presents selective investment opportunities despite market challenges. Bank of America (BofA) has identified key players that stand out in this cyclical industry.

BofA’s assessment highlights companies with resilient business models and strategic positioning.

1. ArcelorMittal (MT) - ArcelorMittal’s fourth-quarter EBITDA outlook appears reasonable according to BofA, though with slight downside risk of approximately 2% versus consensus depending on mix and price realization.

European operations could experience a slight spread decline offsetting quarter-over-quarter volume growth, potentially resulting in flat-to-down earnings sequentially. This depends on contract mix, lags, and seasonal factors in MT’s business.

The company faces challenges in its NAFTA region, where consensus EBITDA projections show an 18% quarter-over-quarter decline, seemingly factoring in pricing pressures.

Brazil operations are expected to see some quarterly decline due to summer seasonality, with analyst consensus already factoring in a 4% quarter-over-quarter decrease. Mexico interruptions remain a key variable, having impacted Q3 results by approximately $90 million.

2. Voestalpine (VOE) - BofA views Voestalpine’s third-quarter EBITDA consensus as fair, with potential for 1% upside versus consensus depending on Steel Division mix and seasonal factors.

The Steel Division, which has the most exposure to commodity prices, will likely experience a marginal decline in EBITDA per ton due to weaker lagged prices.

Despite these challenges, BofA believes Voestalpine remains on track to deliver around the mid-point of its fiscal year 2026 EBITDA guidance range of EUR 1.45-1.55 billion.

The key variables for the quarter will be realized prices, given the company’s diverse mix of contract terms and lags, including its project and special steel business segments.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- Vår Energi shares traded lower on Tuesday after the Norwegian oil and gas producer reported fourth-quarter production that fell short of market expectations due to operational disruptions at key fields.

The company said production averaged 397,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the fourth quarter of 2025. The output compared with consensus expectations of 418,000 boe/d and RBC’s forecast of 401,000 boe/d.

RBC said the shortfall reflected operational issues at the Balder X and Johan Castberg fields during November and December. 

About 70% of quarterly production came from oil and natural gas liquids. The company said production issues at the Johan Castberg field and the Jotun FPSO were resolved in early January, with output returning to expected levels.

Despite the quarterly miss, Var Energi’s full-year production averaged 332,000 boe/d, in line with its guidance range of 330,000 to 360,000 boe/d.

The company reported realized prices of $63 per barrel for oil and $63 per boe for gas during the quarter.

RBC said gas realizations benefited from fixed-price contracts. Var Energi also reported an underlift position of 1.3 million boe for the quarter.

RBC said Var Energi expects a foreign exchange loss of about $40 million in the fourth quarter due to the weakening Norwegian krone. 

The company also flagged a non-cash impairment of $70 million related to technical goodwill in the Njord, Gjøa and Snorre areas.

Cash tax payments totaled about $820 million in the quarter, compared with RBC’s estimate of $802 million, according to the note. Var Energi also paid a cash consideration of about $147 million to TotalEnergies for its stake in the Ekofisk pre-field platform.

Alongside the production update, Var Energi released its full-year 2025 reserves statement. Total reserves and resources stood at 2.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent on a 2P plus 2C basis, RBC said. 

The company reported a 2P replacement ratio of 185%, corresponding to about 17 years of reserves and resource life.

RBC said the reserves increase reflected exploration successes, technical revisions and progress in advancing discovered resources into new development projects.

Investing.com -- Vår Energi said fourth-quarter net production rose 43% from a year earlier, driven by higher oil and gas volumes and the resolution of operational issues at key assets, according to a trading update posted on Tuesday.

The Norwegian oil and gas producer said net output averaged 397,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 7% from the third quarter. 

Full-year production averaged 332,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, within the company’s guided range.

"The operational issues at Johan Castberg and Jotun FPSO reported in December, were resolved early January with production now back at expected levels," the company said.

Oil and natural gas liquids accounted for 71% of fourth-quarter production, with gas making up the remaining 29%. Total production volumes in the quarter reached 36.6 million barrels of oil equivalent, while sales volumes totaled 35.3 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company said "the underlift position is mainly due to timing of LNG liftings in the quarter."

Vår Energi reported an average realized price of $62 per barrel of oil equivalent in the fourth quarter. 

The realized crude oil price was $63 per barrel, while the realized gas price was $63 per barrel of oil equivalent, about $4 above the average spot market reference price. 

Fixed-price contracts represented about 15% of gas volumes sold during the quarter at an average price of $75 per barrel of oil equivalent.

The company said the weakening of the Norwegian krone during the fourth quarter resulted in a net foreign exchange loss of about $40 million. 

"Vår Energi’s functional currency is NOK, whilst interest bearing loans are in USD and EUR," it said.

Vår Energi also reported a non-cash impairment of technical goodwill in the fourth quarter estimated at about $70 million before tax, related to the Njord Area, Gjøa and Snorre assets. 

The company said "an adjustment following a redetermination process at Snorre, reducing Vår Energi’s equity share from 18.55% to 18.16%, makes up the majority of the impairment in the quarter."

Free cash flow in the fourth quarter was affected by three cash tax payments totaling about NOK 8.2 billion, equivalent to approximately $820 million, and a dividend payment of $300 million for the third quarter paid in November. 

The company also paid about $180 million related to its acquisition of TotalEnergies’ share in the Ekofisk Previously Produced Fields project, including $147 million in cash consideration and settlement of incurred costs from Jan. 1, 2025.