Category: 3. Business

BP has said it will ramp up efforts to hive off parts of the business, as the energy company reported a drop in profits in its latest quarter.

The company reported an underlying profit of $2.2bn (£1.7bn) in the three months ended in September. It marked a slowdown against its previous quarter, when it made a profit of $2.4bn, but beat analyst expectations of $1.98bn.

Its chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, who is under pressure from shareholders to reverse years of underperformance by moving away from renewable projects and increasing investments in oil and gas, said BP would push to sell off parts of the business faster.

“We are looking to accelerate delivery of our plans, including undertaking a thorough review of our portfolio to drive simplification and targeting further improvements in cost performance and efficiency,” he said.

Auchincloss, who has vowed to sell off $20bn of assets by the end of 2027, added that he expects the company will have sold or announced the sale of $5bn worth by the end of the year.

It comes after BP’s new chair, Albert Manifold, told staff on his first day in the job last month that the company needed to accelerate a plan to cut costs and sell assets.

BP has already managed to agree to sell its US onshore wind business to LS Power, as well as a deal to offload its Dutch retail fuel sites and its electric vehicle charging hubs.

This week BP also agreed to sell its stakes in US shale assets for $1.5bn, including four Permian central processing facilities: Gand Slam, Bingo, Checkmate and Crossroads.

However, BP did not provide an update on the sale of its multibillion-dollar Castrol lubricants unit, which will be a central part of its plan to raise at least $20bn by 2027.

The company is under pressure from Elliott Management, the activist New York hedge fund which is known for its attempts to shake up listed companies. It has built up a stake in BP and has been pushing the company to cut costs.

BP launched a significant cost-cutting scheme over the summer, raising the prospect of further job cuts. The company, which is headquartered in London and employs about 100,000 people worldwide, said in January that it expected to cut thousands of jobs and contractor positions as part of its plans to reduce costs.

The company said in August it expects 6,200 jobs to go – about 15% of its office-based workforce – which is higher than the 4,700 announced at the start of the year, and it will use artificial intelligence to drive the cost cuts.

BP said at the time it had already slashed 3,200 contractor roles since January, with another 1,200 to go by the end of 2025.

The owner of Primark is considering splitting the fashion retailer from its food division, which contains Twinings and Kingsmill, amid a “challenging external backdrop”.

Associated British Foods (ABF) said it was considering splitting off Primark from its food arm, which includes sugar production and grocery brands, “with a view to maximising long-term value”.

The group has launched a strategic review, carried out with the help of the advisory firm Rothschild & Co, with the backing of its largest shareholder, the Weston family’s Wittington Investments.

The company said the family, which owns 59% of ABF, remained “committed to maintaining majority ownership of both businesses”. The family sat in sixth position on the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List, with its wealth valued at nearly £18bn.

ABF, which is valued at £16bn as a group, said no decision had been taken and the board would provide and update “as soon as practicable”.

Earlier this year, the Primark chief executive, Paul Marchant, resigned after an allegation made by a woman about his behaviour towards her in a social situation.

The group also announced a fall in sales and profits on Tuesday as its sugar and agriculture businesses faced higher costs and it closed its Vivergo bioethanol plant.

ABF said pre-tax profits had slumped by more than a quarter to £1.4bn as revenues slipped by 3% to £19.4bn in the year to 13 September.

Its sugar business fell £205m into the red as its revenues slid 12% to £2bn after the decision to close Vivergo as well as higher costs and lower prices for its sugar.

Sales at Primark rose 1% to £9.5bn. A 3% fall in sales at established UK and Irish stores was offset by 20% growth in the US and 2% growth in mainland Europe, where Primark is opening new stores.

The company said sales were hit by “cautious consumer sentiment and the lack of a seasonal purchasing catalyst during mild autumn weather [last year]”.

It added that shopping activity within elements of Primark’s customer base was particularly weak as the spending power of those on low incomes was hit by higher energy and food bills.

Primark has more than 470 stores across 18 countries, including 187 shops in the UK.

ABF closed Vivergo after the UK government signed a duty free deal on the product with the US. It is also finalising the merger of its bakeries business, which includes the Kingsmill brand, with rival Hovis.

George Weston, the chief executive of ABF, said: “This was a year of intense strategic and operational activity within ABF. Most of our businesses delivered robust financial results, while navigating a challenging external backdrop.

“Looking ahead, we are confident in the group outlook for 2026 although much depends on the consumer environment, which is particularly unpredictable at the moment.”

He said he fully backed the review, adding that ABF’s food business was “less well understood” than Primark but had “a highly attractive portfolio, deep global expertise and much potential”.

“Primark has an incredibly strong international brand, a powerful customer proposition, and substantial growth opportunities,” he said.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has invited qualified companies and consortiums to submit proposals for the seventh phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This phase will add 2,000 megawatts (MW) from photovoltaic solar panels and include a 1,400MW battery storage system with a six-hour capacity, providing a total storage capacity of 8,400 megawatt-hours. This makes it one of the world’s largest solar-plus-storage projects.

The project, which will be implemented under the independent power producer model, supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 that aim to provide 100% of the emirate’s total power capacity from clean sources by mid-century.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, emphasised that this pioneering project aligns with the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai a global hub for clean energy and the green economy.

“We work in accordance with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to establish Dubai as a global model for sustainability and innovation in clean energy. The seventh phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is a key strategic step in our ongoing efforts to diversify Dubai’s energy mix and increase the share of renewable and clean energy. It consolidates Dubai’s leadership in adopting the latest sustainable energy production and storage technologies and supports the net zero by 2050 target,” said Al Tayer.

“We have raised the renewable energy target in Dubai’s energy mix to 36% by 2030, compared to the originally planned 25%. With the completion of the seventh phase, the solar park’s total production capacity will reach 8,060MW by 2030, reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 8.5 million tonnes annually,” added Al Tayer.

The solar park’s current production capacity is 3,860MW, with an additional 800MW under construction. To date, DEWA has received 49 expressions of interest (EOIs) requesting the Request for Qualification document for the seventh phase. The EOI document was released on 16 May 2025 and the Request for Proposal document was issued to qualified bidders on 20 October 2025.

BBVA accelerates shareholder distributions

As announced at the second quarter 2025 earnings presentation, BBVA will have around €13 billion available for short-term distributions to shareholders. In this regard, on October 31, the bank launched the €993 million share buyback program that had been pending execution, as part of its ordinary shareholder distribution for 2024.

Furthermore, BBVA’s Board of Directors recently agreed to launch another substantial share buyback¹ once the European Central Bank (ECB) grants approval.

BBVA’s shareholder distribution policy entails an annual payout of 40 percent to 50 percent of net attributable profits. This means that 40 percent to 50 percent of the profit generated by the Group each year is allocated to shareholder distributions, through a combination of cash dividends and share buybacks. This policy is implemented through two payments: an interim dividend during the current year and a final dividend once the fiscal year has ended. BBVA has also committed to distribute excess capital over 12 percent.¹

¹ Pending approval from the governing bodies and subject to mandatory regulatory approvals.

November 4, 2025—Paris—Valeo, a global leader in thermal systems, and 2CRSi, a leading manufacturer of high-performance servers and storage solutions, announce a strategic partnership agreement to develop next-generation liquid cooling solutions tailored to edge computing environments. 

The collaboration will focus on creating scalable thermal management architectures that combine Valeo’s expertise in high-efficiency heat exchange, system integration, and operation across wide temperature ranges — acquired through decades of automotive innovation — with 2CRSi’s advanced know-how in server design and manufacturing. Together, the two companies aim to design compact, autonomous cooling systems capable of maintaining optimal performance in decentralized environments, such as outdoor edge data centers deployed near 5G antennas, where space, energy, and environmental conditions are critical challenges.

Through their combined strengths, Valeo and 2CRSi illustrate how advanced liquid cooling can enable sustainable, energy-efficient, and reliable data centers. “As demand for AI-driven and edge computing infrastructures grows, efficient and sustainable cooling has become a key enabler of performance and reliability”, said Christophe Delhovren, CTO at Valeo Power Division. “This collaboration is set to drive innovation in the rapidly growing edge data center market. With 2CRSi, we found a highly competent partner supporting us in the ambition to offer our customers advanced liquid cooling solutions for efficient and sustainable data management, wherever deployed.”

“Joining forces with Valeo, we’re bringing automotive-grade thermal reliability to the edge”, said Alain Wilmouth, CEO at 2CRSi. “Their mastery of high-efficiency heat exchange perfectly complements our high-density server design and liquid-cooling know-how to unlock compact, energy-frugal systems that keep performing even outside the white room”

A Strategic Alliance to Address the Fast-Growing Edge Computing Market

By leveraging their complementary strengths, Valeo and 2CRSi aim to accelerate the development of compact, energy-efficient cooling systems that can operate reliably in constrained or harsh outdoor environments. Valeo’s industrial expertise in thermal system design, integration, and control software perfectly complements 2CRSi’s excellence in high-performance server engineering, enabling the joint definition and manufacturing of the next generation of immersive liquid cooling solutions.

First Joint Innovation Showcased at Data Centre World Paris

The two companies introduce their first standalone dielectric-fluid-immersed cooling solution, specifically engineered to meet the demanding thermal and environmental requirements of edge infrastructures during Data Centre World Paris on Valeo’s booth (B22) on November 5-6, 2025, at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Designed for compact, outdoor environments, this system offers high energy efficiency, strong temperature and weather resistance, and reliable operation without the need for extensive supporting infrastructure.

About Valeo
Valeo is a technology company and partner to all automakers and new mobility players worldwide. Valeo innovates to make mobility safer, smarter and more sustainable. Valeo enjoys technological and industrial leadership in electrification, driving assistance systems, reinvention of the interior experience and lighting everywhere. These four areas, vital to the transformation of mobility, are the Group’s growth drivers.
Valeo in figures: 21.5 billion euros in sales in 2024 | 106,100 employees, 28 countries, 155 plants, 64 research and development centers and 19 distribution platforms on February 28, 2025. Valeo is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.
Learn more at www.valeo.com

Media Contacts
Dora Khosrof | +33 7 61 52 82 75
Caroline De Gezelle | + 33 7 62 44 17 85
press-contact.mailbox@valeo.com

Investor Relations
+33 1 40 55 37 93
valeo.corporateaccess.mailbox@valeo.com

The call forms part of TMO’s broader Synergy Grants programme, which supports cross-sector collaboration and innovation in digital heritage across Europe. Within this framework, the 3DBigDataSpace Outreach Synergy Call specifically focuses on transforming 3D heritage data into public-facing outreach experiences that connect digital preservation with contemporary audiences.

Connecting research and public engagement

Across Europe, cultural-heritage institutions and research projects are producing an ever-growing volume of 3D content, from high-resolution scans and reconstructions to interactive spatial datasets. Yet these digital assets often remain inaccessible to the wider public.

The 3DBigDataSpace project addresses this challenge by developing a shared European infrastructure for 3D heritage data, integrating repositories, metadata standards, and interoperable tools for exploration and reuse. The Outreach Synergy Call builds on this foundation, inviting proposals that use 3DBigDataSpace tools to create accessible, interactive experiences that engage audiences through web, AR/VR, or educational formats.

Supporting innovation and impact

Through this call, two projects will be selected to receive €10,000 in financial support. Each will gain access to the 3DBigDataSpace toolset, including the PCSS Viewer, 4D Viewer, and Rooom XR, and receive technical mentoring from TMO experts.

The call opened on 23 October 2025, with applications due by 15 December 2025. Results will be announced in January 2026, and funded projects will run from March to June 2026.

Eligible applicants include organisations based in EU and Horizon-associated countries, such as museums, archives, research institutions, and creative or technology partners active in 3D documentation, visualisation, or cultural outreach. Each project should result in a publicly accessible experience reaching at least 100 users during its implementation period.

Evaluation and collaboration framework

The Synergy Grants programme, overseen by the Time Machine Organisation, is designed to encourage cooperation between projects, consortia, and institutions that advance Europe’s digital heritage ecosystem. Within this structure, the 3DBigDataSpace Outreach Synergy Call provides targeted support for public engagement with 3D data.

Applications will be evaluated based on their feasibility, outreach strategy, and innovative use of 3DBigDataSpace technologies. Reviewers will prioritise proposals that demonstrate clear plans for audience engagement, sustainable impact, and reusability of results.

By fostering collaboration between Europe’s leading digital heritage infrastructures, including Europeana and TMO, this call contributes to the broader goal of building a European data space for cultural heritage, where 3D content can be discovered, reused, and shared across domains.

Building a connected 3D heritage future

The 3DBigDataSpace Outreach Synergy Call offers researchers, heritage professionals, and creative technologists an opportunity to experiment with new forms of digital storytelling and audience engagement. It encourages projects that move beyond data generation to explore how 3D heritage can inform education, tourism, and community participation.

By supporting technically robust and publicly visible initiatives, TMO’s Synergy Grants programme, together with its 3DBigDataSpace and 3D-4CH Online Competence Centre partners, aims to strengthen the visibility and interoperability of Europe’s 3D cultural heritage landscape.

For full eligibility criteria, technical documentation and to apply, please visit the official call page: 3DBigDataSpace: Outreach Synergy Call

Save the Date: Join the Online Q&A Outreach Synergy Call Session!

TMO invites you to an online Q&A session to learn more about the upcoming call, explore the available applications, and get your questions answered directly by our team.

Mark your calendar for 17 November from 13.00-14.00 CET and register here.