FirstFT: Europe’s greatest firms lose €100bn from Russian operations

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A Monetary Occasions evaluation has proven that Europe’s greatest firms suffered a minimum of €100bn in direct losses from their operations in Russia since President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine final 12 months.

A survey of 600 European teams’ annual reviews and 2023 monetary statements exhibits 176 firms have recorded asset impairments, overseas exchange-related expenses and different one-off bills on account of the sale, closure or discount of Russian companies.

The combination determine doesn’t embody the struggle’s oblique macroeconomic impacts corresponding to larger power and commodities prices. The struggle has additionally delivered a revenue increase for oil and fuel teams and defence firms.

Moscow’s choice to grab management of the Russian companies of fuel importers Fortum and Uniper in April, adopted by the expropriation of Danone and Carlsberg final month, suggests extra ache lies forward, in line with analysts.

Greater than half of the 1,871 European-owned entities in Russia earlier than the struggle are nonetheless working within the nation, in line with knowledge compiled by the Kyiv Faculty of Economics. They embody Italy’s UniCredit, Austria’s Raiffeisen, Switzerland’s Nestlé and the UK’s Unilever.

Right here’s what else I’m conserving tabs on at this time:

• Financial knowledge: Germany publishes June industrial manufacturing figures, and Halifax has its home worth index for the UK.

• Financial institution of England: Chief economist Huw Tablet takes questions on the price of dwelling disaster and Britain’s financial circumstances in a digital session.

• Firms: Clarksons, PageGroup and Saudi Aramco report first-half outcomes. Dan Olley takes over from Chris Hill as chief of Hargreaves Lansdown.

5 extra high tales

1. Brussels will press Beijing to cut back limitations to European exports at a high-level assembly in September after the EU’s commerce deficit with China hit virtually €400bn final 12 months. The “staggering” deficit, which has doubled in two years, underscores the necessity for Asia’s greatest economic system to open its markets, the bloc’s commerce commissioner mentioned. Learn the FT’s full interview with Valdis Dombrovskis.

2. Buyers are being wooed with sweeteners from non-public fairness teams corresponding to CVC Capital Companions, Ardian, TPG and Cinven, who’ve all supplied both payment reductions or bigger quantities of co-investment in latest months. Some companies are even providing pension plans and sovereign wealth funds a slice of the administration payment that normally goes to the fund supervisor in an indication that the trade is dealing with its toughest-ever fundraising surroundings.

3. The deepening disaster on the UK’s NHS presents “enterprise alternatives”, the chief government of France’s Axa mentioned, because the insurer seeks to increase its telemedicine enterprise. The corporate is a number one non-public medical insurer within the UK, and because the NHS comes beneath pressure from capability challenges, non-public firms have made inroads. Learn extra from the FT’s interview with Thomas Buberl.

4. The monetary sector is pushing the Financial institution of England to delay the UK’s adoption of recent international banking capital guidelines by six months to keep away from a interval of regulatory divergence that will have an effect on the Metropolis’s skill to compete with Wall Road. Final month, the US had shocked different main monetary centres by saying a June 2025 implementation. Right here’s extra on the considerations over the so-called Basel IV measures.

5. US authorities scientists have achieved web power acquire in a fusion response for the second time in an experiment that produced a better power output, fuelling optimism that progress is being made in direction of the dream of limitless, zero-carbon energy. Learn extra in regards to the achievement by researchers in California.

The Huge Learn

Corals are dying in waters close to Florida and the Caribbean. With far much less ice forming within the seas round Antarctica, marine biologists now fear about fisheries in components of the north Atlantic as common international sea floor temperatures hit all-time highs. Whereas scientists blame marine heating on human actions pumping greenhouse gases into the environment, the the reason why it’s dashing up now are removed from clear.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

Chart of the day

Rising US gas costs are triggering alarm in Washington. The surge in petrol prices to a nine-month excessive follows a 20 per cent bounce in international crude costs this summer time, after Saudi Arabia and Russia slashed provide. The transfer has revived predictions of $100 a barrel oil this 12 months — and new worries in regards to the political fallout.

Take a break from the information

Speaking Heads frontman David Byrne is again within the highlight with a disco musical about Imelda Marcos, the previous first woman of the Philippines. How did he provide you with that?

And hearken to Byrne speak about how he makes artistic selections on the FT Weekend podcast.

Extra contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm