German chemical and pharmaceutical group Merck KGaA on Monday reported a sharp slump in quarterly net profit, but forecast higher earnings from its chemicals units and unveiled its first site in China.
The crisis in the global automotive industry appears to have affected the Frankfurt motor show which closed Sunday with visitor numbers down some 150,000 this year, Germany's VDA auto federation said.
Commerzbank reported a sharp second-quarter loss on Thursday and raised bad loan provisions, while working on integrating the loss-making Dresdner Bank.
Adidas posted Wednesday a massive drop in second-quarter profit that underscored weak consumer sentiment worldwide. But the sports equipment maker beat expectations and stood by its full-year outlook.
German luxury car maker BMW said on Tuesday it had returned to profit in the second quarter and was in talks with French auto group PSA, but was cautious on its full-year outlook.
Munich Re, one of the world's top reinsurance companies, surprised analysts on Tuesday with strong second-quarter figures, the latest in a row of mostly upbeat global financial sector results.
German retailing giant Metro said on Monday it was now considering cutting 17,000 jobs as part of its major restructuring programme – potentially eliminating thousands more positions than previously announced.
Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest, reported on Tuesday a better-than-expected 68 percent increase in second quarter net profit to €1.1 billion ($1.6 billion dollars).
German airline Lufthansa is planning to lay off 20 percent of administrative employees as part of a massive programme to reduce costs by €1 billion each year, daily <i>Handelsblatt</i> reported on Thursday.
The leading German airline, Lufthansa, said on Thursday it suffered a 2.8-percent fall in traffic in June from the figure for the same month in 2008, owing to the global economic crisis.
Ailing German auto parts maker Schaeffler warned on Wednesday it may have to cut up to 4,500 jobs as sales plunged by a third amid the crisis in the automobile sector.
German automaker BMW fell into a loss early this year on weak demand for luxury cars and expects a tough entry into 2010, but its results surprised analysts on Wednesday as shares surged.
German sports equipment and clothing maker Adidas posted a huge drop in first quarter profit on Tuesday while announcing a global reorganisation billed as a "game-changing structural refinement."
The German industrial group Siemens on Wednesday lowered its full-year operating profit forecast by 17.5 percent even as it presented strong quarterly results.
The German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer on Wednesday posted a 44 percent drop in first quarter net profit, owing mainly to poor results from its chemical division.
German luxury car and truck maker Daimler posted a stiff first-quarter loss Tuesday and warned sales would "decrease significantly" this year. Some 60,000 workers will also see their wages cut by nearly 9 percent.
The Franco-German aerospace group EADS soared back into the black and exceeded expectations on Tuesday by posting a 2008 net profit of €1.572 billion ($1.987 billion).
The German sports equipment and clothing maker Adidas posted on Wednesday a 2008 profit that exceeded its target, but the company warned that business would be tougher this year.
The German pharmaceutical and chemicals group Bayer said Tuesday that net profits fell more than 63 percent in 2008 owing to weak results in a high-tech materials unit and because the previous year had been boosted by one-off gains.
Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, threw down the gauntlet to rivals on Monday, saying 2008 profit had gained 15 percent and predicting it would gain market share during the global auto sector crisis.
Europe's biggest telecoms operator, Deutsche Telekom, said Friday it had achieved its 2008 targets and voiced confidence about this year's results as well.
Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, said on Wednesday it expected to incur a massive loss of nearly €5.0 billion in the fourth quarter after market conditions "severely impacted" its sales and trading operations.
