Danmarks Nationalbank Governor Signe Krogstrup has warned that the government will put Denmark’s economy in great danger if it pays too much compensation to homeowners who were hit by large energy bills this winter.
In a speech to Berlingske, she explained: “If compensation schemes are adopted that are not matched by public savings or higher taxes, it will intensify the pressure on the economy and thus push further for wage increases and inflation.”
Consumers will end up paying
Krogstrup accepts that pensioners need help, but questions whether students, recipients of unemployment benefits and the unemployed need help.
Minister of Trade and Industry Simon Kollerup rejects claims that development assistance can increase inflation further, but Krogstrup maintains that compensation simply postpones the inevitable: that all consumers are hit hard in the pocket.
Property owners in Dubai are cheating the system, claims TV2
According to a leak from 2020, only every tenth Danish owner of properties in Dubai has reported their earnings to the Danish Tax Agency, TV2 informs after further analysis of the figures. This means that the vast majority can cheat the system. The Danish treasury could potentially miss out on property taxes of around half a billion kroner.
Lego is likely to be copied in Russia
Lego appears to be being copied in Russia following the toy manufacturer’s decision to withdraw from the country, Berlingske reports. An application has been filed with the Russian patent system, Rospatent, to copy the famous bricks. IKEA has already been copied – the Russian version bears the same logo, but is spelled IDEA.
Quarterly record for Maersk at all times
Maersk has confirmed a profit of DKK 48 billion for the first quarter of 2022 – an all-time Danish record for three months of operation, which is mostly a result of the sky-high freight rates that shippers are currently charging. The company noted that its historic performance was the result of “solid progress across the business in Ocean, Logistics and Terminals”. Nevertheless, the war in Ukraine has left a gap of 5 billion in the numbers. Maersk does not intend to serve the Russian market when the current contracts expire. It has therefore written off 20,000 containers in the country at the moment. Last year, Maersk’s profit of DKK 117.5 billion was also an all-time record.
Vestas is likely to look red because of Russia’s withdrawal and the effects of war
Vestas has issued a statement warning that its withdrawal from Russia will hurt its economic numbers. Before the war in Ukraine started, the wind turbine manufacturer had predicted a turnover of 15-16.5 billion euros, but this has now been reduced to 14.5-16.0 and its profit margin from zero to 4 percent to -5 to zero percent. It is more than just a few scratches in the paint, โsays Sydbank’s equity analyst Jacob Pedersen to TV2. “It’s full of dents in the body.” Not only has Vestas lost money on its activities in Russia and Ukraine – at least 400 million euros – but it now has to deliver on contracts it was paid for 18 months ago, when all production costs were much cheaper.
Pandora is on fire and most unaffected by war
The jewelery company Pandora has announced a record turnover of DKK 5.7 billion for the first three months of 2022 – an increase of 21 percent compared to the same period last year, when sales were hit by store closures caused by corona. However, online sales have fallen by 17 percent as customers return to stores. Sales in China received the rising trend in the US and Europe and fell from 281 to 254 million. But the war in Ukraine has had little effect. Russia and Belarus accounted for only 1 percent of total sales.
Jyske Bank is cautious about war
Jyske Bank has made write-downs on its loans of DKK 250 million in anticipation of the effect the war in Ukraine will have on customers who pay their bills: DKK 100 million to private customers and DKK 150 million to companies. However, it has succeeded in reversing write-downs of DKK 185 million after the effect of the corona was overestimated. The write-downs were announced in connection with the bank confirming a profit of DKK 307 million for the first quarter – an improvement of DKK 206 million in the same period last year. For 2022, a profit of between 0.9 and 1.1 billion kroner is expected.
Novo Nordisk attributes robust accounts to improved performance of diabetes drugs
Novo Nordisk has set a set of sound accounts for the first quarter of 2022: a profit of DKK 14.2 billion on total sales of DKK 42 billion – an increase of 12 and 24 per cent respectively compared to the same period in 2021. It has experienced a increase of 54 percent in sales of its diabetes drugs, the GLP-1 products Rybelsus, Ozempic and Victoza. It has revised its 2022 projections for sales growth from 6-10 to 10-14 percent and increase in operating profit from 4-8 percent to 9-13 percent. In the global market for GLP-1 products, it has increased its market share from 51.2 to 54.0 percent since this time last year.
FLSmidth is doing better than expected
The engineering group FLSmidth has confirmed a turnover of DKK 4.7 billion in the first quarter of the year – 6 million more than analysts’ expectations. Throughout 2022, FLSmidth is expected to have a turnover of DKK 17.5-19 billion.
Mink breeders hope the ban will be lifted
The Danish Mink Breeders ‘Breeders’ Association is convinced that the ban on mink breeding in Denmark will soon be lifted. A new risk assessment from the Statens Serum Institut indicates that the probability of another worrying variant of coronavirus developing – as it did at the end of 2020, leading to the decision to eradicate the country’s 17 million mink – is low. However, should the ban be lifted by MPs, the rules should be stricter than before, the report recommends. Employees should be tested every day, SSI suggests, and protective equipment should always be worn.
Source: The Nordic Page