Siemens’ R&D and Teva’s new plans | Calamatta Cuschieri

U.S. Stock Markets declined with the selling pressure coming from health-care, materials and telecoms sectors.

Investors are focused on the Republican tax overhaul package that may struggle to be approved by the Senate.

The U.S. dollar closed higher at the end of the session on Thursday, propped up by unexpected positive economic data and helped by a weak euro.

Teva’s new plans to make global and efficient business

Teva Pharmaceutical shares rose 10.3% in extremely heavy Thursday trade after the restructuring news, making it the day’s most active stock.

The new Chief Executive Officer Kåre Schultz, just six weeks ago announced plans to slash 25% of the Israeli company’s 56,000-strong workforce, suspend dividends and forgo employee bonuses. The plans will cut $3 billion of costs in two years, and as top priority will bring its leverage below 4 times EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, by the end of 2020.

In addition, the proposals include paying down $4 billion of bank loans within a relative short period of time. The company, whose expenses will total $16.1 billion this year, said most of the cost reduction will take place in 2018. Teva will also record a restructuring charge of at least $700 million. Since 1 November 2017, when Schultz joint Teva, he announced plans to reorganise its generic and branded drug businesses into a single, streamlined entity. Teva has been struggling since it paid almost $41 billion last year to acquire Allergan Plc’s generics unit, because the deal failed to yield the sales boost Teva’s previous CEO Erez Vigodman promised it would.

Schultz said “We are taking immediate and decisive actions to reduce our cost base across our global business and become a more efficient and profitable company”.

Siemens: 450 million in R&D to boost the company

Siemens AG said Friday that investments in research and development will rise an additional 450 million ($530.6 million) in fiscal 2018 as it tries to accelerate its innovation process.

Total research-and-development spending will reach more than EUR5.6 billion compared with EUR5.2 billion in fiscal 2017.

Of that, around EUR500 million will be invested in technologies including autonomous robotics, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and as well as power electronics and distributed energy systems.  The company said it opened a new energy-services facility in Berlin.

The MindSphere Application Center has been designed so that energy customers, software engineers and Siemens engineering experts can explore the customer value offered by the company's digital-services tools and solutions.

Additional facilities will open in the future, Siemens said, with Orlando and Shanghai opening in the next few months.

Disclaimer:

This article was issued by Linda De Luca, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.