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PARIS:

The French-Dutch airline Air France-KLM announced Thursday it was taking a 31 percent state in Britain’s Virgin Atlantic for 220 million pounds ($287 million, 246 million euros).

“The operation is expected to take place in 2018 after approval by the appropriate regulatory authorities,” Air France-KLM said in a statement.

The airline will become Virgin Atlantic’s second biggest shareholder after the US carrier Delta Airlines, which holds 49 percent. (AFP)

CINCINNATI:

Procter & Gamble Co on Thursday reported fiscal fourthquarter profit of $2.22 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Cincinnati-based company said it had profit of 82 cents. Earnings, adjusted for restructuring costs, were 85 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 78 cents per share.

The world’s largest consumer products maker posted revenue of $16.08 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $16 billion.

P&G shares have climbed 6 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased 11 percent. The stock has risen nearly 5 percent in the last 12 months. (AP)

AUSTIN, Texas:

Amazon is set to have a fixer-upper on its hands, with Whole Foods reporting that a key sales figure declined again.

The grocery chain said Wednesday that sales fell 1.9 percent at established locations for the three months that ended July 2. That marks the eighth straight quarter the figure has dropped as Whole Foods sees more competition from traditional grocers, big box retailers and others offering more organic choices.

Facing pressure from investors to improve, Whole Foods agreed to be acquired by Amazon in a $13.7 billion deal announced last month. (AP)

LONDON:

British miner Anglo American has set aside $101 million (87 million euros) to cover potential damages for former South African staff who contracted the fatal lung disease silicosis at work, it said Thursday.

The news came after Johannesburg’s High Court ruled in May to allow former and current mine workers, employed by South Africa’s main gold mining firms since 1965, to proceed with a class action against those companies.

That court decision cleared the way for up to half-a-million miners to sue for damages resulting from silicosis — a deadly respiratory condition developed from breathing in fine silica dust found in places such as mines. (AFP)

LONDON:

British American Tobacco, fresh from its takeover of US peer Reynolds, reported on Thursday sliding first-half net profits, but sales jumped on the back of the Brexit-hit pound.

Profit after tax slid 15 percent to £2.3 billion ($3.0 billion, 2.6 billion euros) in the six months to June 30 from a year earlier, the maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes said in a

results statement. (AFP)

FRANKFURT AM MAIN:

German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer lowered its full-year forecast for 2017 Thursday, as revenues shrank at its agrichemical and over-the-counter medicines arms.

The firm based in Leverkusen, western Germany reported a net profit of 1.22 billion euros ($1.43 billion) in the second quarter, an 11.3-percent fall compared with the same period in 2016 and short of analysts’ predictions.

Revenues grew 3.0 percent between April and June compared with 2016’s figure, reaching 12.19 billion euros.

And operating, or underlying profits increased 0.6 percent to 2.15 billion. (AFP)

PARIS:

Global steel giant ArcelorMittal said Thursday that second quarter net profits climbed nearly 19 percent to $1.3 billion (1.1 billion euros) thanks to improving market conditions.

Sales rose by 17 percent from the same quarter last year, and were up by seven percent from the first quarter.

The company said “current market conditions are improved compared to twelve months ago” and that its analysis of the market “suggests that steel shipments in 2H 2017 will be higher than would normally be suggested by seasonality alone.”

It said interest costs were expected to be lower than it had previously estimated, allowing it to increase investment in working capital while continuing to pare down debt. (AFP)

PARIS:

A strong increase in international passenger numbers, especially from the US, bolstered the first-half performance of Eurostar, the rail operator linking London to the European mainland, it said Thursday.

Eurostar, which is majority-owned by France’s national railways SNCF, said sales rose 11 percent in the six months to June, as business travel also picked up.

“After a muted 2016, the first half of 2017 has been marked by a resurgence in overseas travellers,” Eurostar said in a statement. (AFP)

FRANKFURT AM MAIN:

German insurer Allianz expressed confidence in reaching the top end of its forecast for the full year, as preliminary results for the second quarter showed strong growth.

Net profits at the Munich-based group soared 83.4 percent from April to June 2016 to reach 2.0 billion euros ($2.35 billion), the firm said in a statement late Wednesday.

Operating, or underlying profit climbed 23 percent to reach 2.9 billion euros, on the back of revenues up 2.0 percent to almost 30 billion euros. (AFP)

MADRID:

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica posted Thursday an 18.4 percent increase in net profit in the second quarter and lifted its revenue target for 2017.

The heavily indebted company said its net profit in the April-June period was 821 million euros ($957 million), up from 693 million euros a year earlier but below the figure of 835 million euros predicted by analysts polled by financial data company Factset. (AFP)