Sweden’s Volvo Cars on Thursday posted stronger-than-expected third-quarter profit, prompting shares to rally by around 40% and putting the stock on track for its best-ever trading day.
Volvo Cars, which is owned by China’s Geely Holding, posted operating income for the July-September period of 6.4 billion Swedish kronor ($680.4 million), well above analysts’ expectations and up from 5.8 billion kronor a year earlier.
Its margin on earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) came in at 7.4% for the third quarter, compared to 6.2% in the same period last year.
Volvo Cars said the result was largely driven by its ongoing 18 billion kronor cost-saving program, as well as certain one-off items.
The Stockholm-listed stock price jumped as much 41% on Thursday morning, before paring gains. It reflects the firm’s biggest intraday gain since it started trading four years ago.
“In a tough market we delivered a solid third-quarter result and our cost and cash actions are delivering,” Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson said in a statement.
“We returned to a slight sales growth in September and we are now ramping up sales of our BEV cars. We are fully on track towards the very important January launch of the EX60 in the largest and most popular electric segment,” he added.
Looking ahead, Volvo Cars said it expects to see more positive effects from its cost-cutting drive in the final three months of the year.
It noted, however, that the short-term outlook appears to be increasingly challenging, citing persistent macroeconomic challenges, including price competition and the effects of U.S. import tariffs.
England’s water company ratings have fallen to the lowest level on record after sewage pollution last year rose to a new peak, with eight of nine water companies rated as poor and needing improvement by the Environment Agency.
The cumulative score of just 19 stars out of a possible 36 is the lowest since the regulator began auditing the companies using the star rating system in 2011.
Only one water company, Severn Trent, achieved full marks. The company did so despite having presided over 62,085 sewage spills, averaging seven hours each, in 2024.
Struggling Thames Water was the only company to be awarded just one star for its performance. In 2023-24, its serious sewage pollution incidents more than doubled from 14 to 33.
Thames is on the brink of collapse as the company struggles to secure a deal to write off its debt and secure its future. It has been crippled by huge debts built up over two decades by owners who have been criticised for paying out dividends without investing enough in its leaking pipes and malfunctioning treatment works.
The report blames the wet and stormy weather in 2024, underinvestment and poor maintenance of infrastructure, and also increased monitoring and inspection, for the decrease in performance.
Ofwat’s performance report was also published on Thursday and the regulator found pollution incidents remained at unacceptable levels, with only two companies having reported a reduction in incidents over the five-year period.
It found that so far during the 2020-25 period, water companies had increased the amount of sewage spilled despite having promised to cut it by 30%.
The report says: “Companies committed to reduce pollution incidents by 30% in the 2020-25 period. Companies achieved a reduction of 15% in the first three years, but the increase in the final two years has led to an overall 27% increase in numbers across the 2020-25 period.”
The Environment Agency’s ratings have been criticised as not fit for purpose by pollution experts because they allow top marks to be awarded to companies that illegally spill sewage.
Bosses presiding over companies found to “recklessly” discharge sewage have been able to justify their large pay packets because of being awarded the top rating, while companies that preside over sewage spills can call themselves “industry leaders”.
From 2027 the Environment Agency will introduce new ratings, replacing the star system with a descriptor and number rating.
At present, companies are given one to four stars. As part of the new methodology, they will instead be given a numeric rating from one to five, with only those that achieve the highest standards across the board rated “excellent” and the worst performers rated as “failing”.
skip past newsletter promotion
after newsletter promotion
The Environment Agency chair, Alan Lovell, said: “This year’s results are poor and must serve as a clear and urgent signal for change. What is needed now from every water company is bold leadership, a shift in mindset and a relentless focus on delivery. We will support them however we can but will continue to robustly challenge them when they fall short.”
Companies are judged on seven metrics, including drought resilience and transparency over sewage spills. If they score highly on some of these, they can get top marks even if they have discharged large amounts of untreated waste into England’s rivers and seas.
Severn Trent has used the company’s four-star rating to justify the pay packet and bonus of its chief executive. Last year, Liv Garfield was awarded a £3.2m pay deal, including a £584,000 bonus, despite the company being fined £2m for spilling 260m litres of sewage into the River Trent.
This week the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told regulators to focus on helping businesses achieve economic growth rather than enforcing regulations. She announced that the government would set growth targets and publish a league table.
The government plans to overhaul regulation by abolishing Ofwat and creating a “super regulator” by merging the powers of the existing bodies.
Campaigners have questioned how effective this will be, as the privatised water system has allowed large bonuses and dividends to be paid by water companies at the expense of investment in sewage infrastructure. This has led to increasing sewage pollution into England’s rivers and seas.
An isolate of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), one of three high-impact coronaviruses with pandemic potential to have emerged in recent years, has been added to the WHO BioHub System.
Through the BioHub, countries can voluntarily share and request biological materials with epidemic or pandemic potential. This initiative, set up by the Director-General of WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic, directly supports pathogen characterization and research, surveillance and risk assessments, and in the future will contribute to the development of medical countermeasures such as diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics by enabling rapid access to verified biological materials and data essential for advancing research, validation, and product development.
MERS-CoV is a zoonotic virus and can be transmitted between dromedary camels and humans. Infection in people may lead to acute respiratory disease and even death, with a fatal outcome in 37% of cases reported to date. There are currently no licensed vaccines or therapeutics against MERS.
“Since its identification, outbreaks caused by MERS-CoV have been sporadic. As such MERS-CoV isolates have been challenging to obtain, making it all the more important that the WHO BioHub System provides researchers with access to this virus isolate,” said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Acting Director of WHO’s Epidemic and Pandemic Management Department. “By supporting timely and transparent sharing of biological materials like the MERS-CoV isolate, the WHO BioHub is supporting research that helps the world prepare for epidemics and, potentially, pandemics.”
Most MERS research to date has used clade A isolates, which are believed tohave been extinct since 2015. The isolate now available in the BioHub was derived from a camel and is of clade C, which is the clade found to be widely circulating in African camel populations.
Recent pandemics and emergencies underscored the urgent need for faster, fairer, and more reliable sharing of pathogens to accelerate global response efforts. In an increasingly interconnected world where new infectious threats continue to emerge, timely access to biological materials is essential for science and public health action.
The WHO BioHub System provides a functional, trusted, and scalable mechanism that minimizes administrative burdens through standardized agreements and procedures, ensuring rapid exchange while maintaining biosafety, supporting research and equity. Since its establishment, the BioHub has grown significantly in both participation and impact. To date, 76 laboratories from 30 countries across all WHO regions have engaged in the system through sharing and requesting biological materials with epidemic or pandemic potential. The BioHub has already played a key role in supporting global responses to major public health events – for example by supporting the sharing of SARS-CoV-2 variants isolates during the COVID-19 pandemic, and by facilitating access to mpox materials during the 2023-2024 outbreak, which enabled diagnostic validation and basic research across multiple laboratories worldwide.
In line with its guiding principles, the BioHub has also served as a bridge for scientific collaboration, fostering equitable partnerships between providers and requestors of biological materials with epidemic or pandemic potential. This has enabled the inclusion of providers in joint scientific projects and publications, reinforcing acknowledgement and co-authorship, transparency, equity and fairness, collaboration and cooperation as well as ensuring shared benefits across the system.
Today, the BioHub’s collection includes 33 variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; mpox clades Ia, Ib, IIb; the Oropouche virus; and now MERS-CoV. These additional pathogens reflect the evolving capacity of the WHO Biohub System to support preparedness for known and emerging pathogens.
Currently, the Spiez Laboratory in Switzerland serves as the central WHO BioHub Facility, responsible for storing, characterizing, and distributing materials. Looking ahead, WHO aims to expand the network by establishing BioHub Facilities in each WHO region, ensuring all regions have equitable access and the capacity to respond rapidly to future health threats.
This next phase will build on the BioHub’s strong foundation – advancing regional scientific collaboration, strengthening biosafety and biosecurity capacities, and enhancing global health security.
Panelists: • Dong He, Chief Economist, AMRO • Arief Ramayandi, Senior Research Fellow, ADBI • Ayako Fujita, JP Morgan
The objective of the session is to (1) exchange views on the AFSR 2025’s key findings, and (2) gather perspectives from panellists and participants on how Japan and other ASEAN+3 economies can strengthen financial resilience and stability amid heightened global uncertainties.
Questions for discussion:
1. How are global uncertainties and monetary policy shifts affecting financial stability in Japan and the broader region, and what key risks lie ahead?
2. With the region’s reliance on the US dollar and its recent weakening, what policy options can help reduce vulnerabilities and build resilience?
3. In the digital age, how can ASEAN+3 economies, including Japan, strike the right balance between fostering financial innovation and safeguarding stability?
WALLDORF— SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that Nestlé S.A., one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, has completed its first major upgrade to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. This wave covers 112 countries, with more countries in Europe and the Americas to follow soon.
Explore features of the cloud ERP that’s helping mature enterprises worldwide run effectively
The first of three upgrades, this one involved more than 50,000 employees and was completed in under 20 hours. Supported by a standardized technology landscape that enabled minimal downtime, this smooth transition to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition sets a new benchmark for digital transformation in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry.
A long-time SAP customer, Nestlé since 2000 has used SAP software as its single unified system to manage its global operations and moved to the cloud in 2022. The upgrade to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition is a strategic leap in its transformation journey to future-proof the company as consumer expectations evolve and new technologies reshape the marketplace.
“We are building a future-ready enterprise—one that works smarter and faster,” said Chris Wright, Nestlé’s head of IT and CIO. “Having a common ERP system as our backbone is already a tremendous advantage for Nestlé. It provides a unified platform and data foundation that allows us to execute end to end across the value chain and have visibility across the entire company and beyond. With the upgrade, we gain new capabilities and insights that will help scale new products faster globally to meet the needs of our customers and consumers, and with AI and automation at scale, we’ll drive efficiency and effectiveness across our value chain.”
With a portfolio that includes global icons such as Nescafé, Kit Kat and Maggi, Nestlé chose to upgrade to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition to accelerate the rollout of new products and innovations across the group. The upgrade also supports it in making data-driven insights and improving processes to drive efficiency and effectiveness across the company’s business operations to better serve consumers worldwide who rely on its products every day.
“Nestlé’s successful go-live of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition showcases how scale can be a strategic advantage for innovation,” said Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, Customer Services & Delivery. “As one of the world’s most recognizable and forward-thinking companies, Nestlé exemplifies how cutting-edge technology empowers global brands to anticipate consumer trends, optimize operations and deliver exceptional experiences at scale.”
The upgrade also provides a robust digital core ready for AI and automation at scale across the company’s value chain, enabling Nestlé to gain real-time data insights for smarter decision-making. By harnessing AI and the Joule copilot at scale across its operations, value chain and product portfolio, Nestlé can personalize consumer engagement and optimize operations with greater agility. This helps ensure it remains responsive to evolving consumer expectations and lays the foundation for a truly omnichannel experience.
Visit the SAP News Center. Get SAP news via LinkedIn and Bluesky.
Sign up for our newsletter to receive weekly news and highlights from the SAP News Center
Media Contact: Lesa Plingen, +49 622 776 9000, lesa.plingen@sap.com, CET SAP Press Room; press@sap.com
The European Innovation Council (EIC) has announced the results of the 2025 EIC Pathfinder Open call, awarding over €140 million to visionary research projects developing radically new technologies with the potential to create future markets.
The 2025 call drew record interest from the research community, with proposals received from 71 countries. Following evaluation, 44 projects were selected for funding.
The selected consortia bring together universities (48%), private companies (27%) and research organisations (25%), to explore breakthrough ideas in fields such as quantum technologies, advanced materials, health, energy, and artificial intelligence.
In addition to financial support, the selected projects will benefit from tailor-made coaching, mentoring, and networking opportunities through the EIC Business Acceleration Services, helping them translate their scientific vision into real-world innovation and impact.
Examples of the selected projects include:
CEREBRIS tackles one of today’s most pressing health challenges: neurological disease. The project is developing a secure, federated, and explainable AI ecosystem for stroke care, capable of learning from diverse patient data such as brain scans, motion patterns, and neural signals. By enabling hospitals to collaborate without sharing raw data, CEREBRIS ensures privacy while improving diagnostics and rehabilitation outcomes. They aim to transform the entire stroke-care pathway—from early diagnosis to recovery—reducing long-term disability and healthcare costs worldwide.
Superspin aims to achieve a major milestone in quantum communication by creating the technology to link a superconducting quantum computer with a spin-based quantum memory operating at different frequencies. The project will develop innovative devices to convert quantum signals between microwave and optical regimes, allowing distant quantum systems to interact. This breakthrough will provide a building block for interconnected quantum networks, enabling scalable, secure, and high-performance quantum technologies in Europe.
Fiber3D pioneers a new fabrication method that integrates optical fibre sensors directly into metal structures using advanced 3D-printing and spraying techniques. This innovation allows real-time monitoring of temperature and strain in critical infrastructure such as railways, hydrogen pipelines, and nuclear power plants, dramatically improving safety, sustainability, and maintenance efficiency.
Background information
The Pathfinder programme supports visionary ideas for radically new technologies. It promotes high-risk/high-gain, interdisciplinary collaborations focused on early-stage technology development (Technology Readiness Levels 1–3), up to proof of concept.
Funded projects benefit not only from grants of up to €3-4 million, but also from direct engagement with EIC Programme Managers. Additional funding opportunities are available to explore the innovative potential of research results or to support collaborative portfolio actions.
Funding opportunities in 2026
New funding opportunities and Pathfinder Open and Challenges deadlines will be announced in the 2026 EIC work programme that is expected to be adopted at the beginning of November 2025.
How the new wave of AI is disrupting manufacturing operations, and how to benefit from it.
As digital technologies, and particularly artificial intelligence (AI) evolve at unprecedented pace, the shift toward AI-driven manufacturing is now a pressing reality. This transition is reshaping how plants are designed, operated, and maintained.
From Capgemini’s perspective, AI in manufacturing represents a transformative convergence of technologies, involving data standards, generative and agentic AI, Edge capabilities high-speed connectivity, simulation, and robotic advancements. It embodies a profound rethinking of processes, operations, and collaboration. It aims to build factories that are more efficient, worker-centric, sustainable, and flexible to adapt to disruptions. This revolution is reshaping the role of people – assisted by AI agents, empowered with the right insights to deliver innovation at speed – while more repetitive tasks get automated.
Capgemini’s unique approach, leveraged by our strategic alliance with Microsoft, plays a pivotal role in how we help organizations embrace AI-driven manufacturing at scale. This collaboration combines our deep industry expertise and transformation capabilities with Microsoft’s cutting-edge technologies to deliver agile, secure, and scalable solutions, tailored to our clients’ needs. Together with our clients, we accelerate digital transformation, unlock real-time data intelligence, and build connected, adaptative production environments.
Together with Microsoft, Capgemini helps manufacturers reimagine what is possible, empowering our clients to move faster, operate smarter, and build a more sustainable future. The time to act is now.
