Besi lifts its forecast, expects higher demand for its advanced solutions
June 12 (Reuters) - Dutch semiconductor company Besi (BESI.AS), opens new tab raised its 2025 financial targets amid its investor day as it expects higher demand for its advanced packaging solutions.
Besi now expects revenue between 1.5 billion euros and 1.9 billion euros ($2.19 billion), a gross margin of 64% to 66%, and an operating margin between 40% and 55%.
($1 = 0.8685 euros)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
32 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Britain's defeatist attitude ‘has led to reliance on foreign labour'
A 'defeatist' attitude to getting young people into work has left Britain over-reliant on foreign labour, the Business Secretary has said. Jonathan Reynolds hits out at the 'casual' approach taken to packing key sectors such as healthcare, construction and manufacturing with imported workers. In an interview with The Telegraph, he says the UK is 'vulnerable' to global events because 'tremendous skills gaps' have opened up in the domestic workforce. His intervention comes as Labour prepares to publish plans on Monday on how to boost the number of young Britons taking up jobs in areas like defence. Mr Reynolds will publish a 10-year blueprint to train up thousands more school leavers and 'end the over-reliance on foreign labour' in the economy. It comes after new analysis from Oxford University's Migration Observatory showed the proportion of migrant employees in the UK has risen from 12 per cent a decade ago to just under one in five now. At the same time, the number of young Britons who are not in employment, education or training (Neet) has risen sharply to one in seven. The Business Secretary said that the Neet statistic was 'appalling' and that people too often felt that skilled jobs had 'not been available to them and their children'. 'If on key areas the argument is 'we just have to import talent in that sector, we can't train people, we haven't got the money, we haven't got the capacity', I think that's too defeatist and we've got to address that,' he said. 'We cannot have a vibrant, diverse economy, we cannot have a very strong manufacturing base, unless we've got the skills for it and that's why we can't be casual about just importing that.' Monday's industrial strategy announcement will include plans to open a new generation of technical colleges and fund 'cutting-edge' courses in defence and engineering. It will also set out how the Government plans to be more interventionist, 'rather than leaving industry to fend for itself and let the markets decide'. Mr Reynolds said it will help 'ensure British workers can secure good, well-paid jobs in the industries of tomorrow'. He acknowledged that the historically high level of net migration over recent years 'doesn't have public consent' and has created a 'lot of anger'. It was important to remain 'very pro talent coming to the UK' but also ensure migration was 'not the only way we're meeting those skills needs', he added. 'If you think about the tremendous gaps we've got in the skills pipeline in construction, in engineering, defence, that's the reason why the wider sectors that we've picked for the strategy have these packages in there. 'We are vulnerable when the whole world wants these things. I feel previous governments have assumed it doesn't matter if we make anything in the UK – I think that's wrong.' Mr Reynolds said that 'the country has failed' the almost one million 16 to 24-year-olds who are currently classed as Neet. There is 'not just an economic argument' but 'a moral one as well', he said, adding that 'it's a tragedy' if people aren't getting the right opportunities. He backed the proposed £5 billion cuts to benefits, over which No 10 is facing a big Labour rebellion, arguing that 'we've got to be addressing these issues'. 'No young person, unless they obviously have a significant disability or are genuinely not in a position to work, should be choosing or [be] in a position where they're not going into employment or education or training,' he said. 'I go around, it doesn't matter whether it's creative industries, advanced manufacturing, services, energy, and think I'd love my kids to work in any of these sectors. 'I think the number of young people who are Neet is appalling. I don't know how we've allowed that to happen.' Mr Reynolds said the industrial strategy should be judged on whether it helps school leavers 'understand that there are major careers, good jobs for British people'. 'The skills are about new careers for thousands of British people. Business needs that, I think the country needs that,' he said. 'Part of the conversation this week has been about the number of people on disability benefits in the UK, some of whom are in work, I do recognise that. 'But we've we've got to be addressing these issues for business, and we've got to be addressing them for people's lives themselves.' He also insisted that, whilst defending UK industry, the strategy will not represent 'nostalgia for the past' or a 'protectionist and 1970s orientated' approach. The Business Secretary, who has recently struck landmark trade deals with the US and India, said he would take a more cautious approach with China. He said that he has repeatedly brought up the dumping of steel on the global market at below production value in 'candid' discussions with Beijing. 'Whatever people think of the US administration, they have a point on the reciprocity of trade, if one part of the world is producing a lot of what the world makes and doesn't consume itself a reflective share of that,' he said. 'These big global imbalances, this isn't really how the global economy is supposed to function. 'So an obvious thing for us would be, is a country like China willing to let our brilliant service industries operate freely as we allow some countries to operate in the UK? That's a question for China.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Germany's crisis-hit car industry is the key to its rearmament
Once the pride of the nation, Germany's car industry is reeling from an annus horribilis of poor sales, job losses and the threat of unprecedented factory closures. But defence firms have found a silver lining in the decline of the 'auto' trade: rehiring skilled workers to build equipment for a new German army that may soon have to defend Europe from Russia. Sources in the European defence industry, which will play a critical role in German rearmament, say they are eager to snap up engineers who have been let go by car companies so they can be put to work producing tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Discussions are also being held in Berlin about repurposing car factories to produce military equipment. 'Let's put it this way: there's a similarity in the jobs, which means teaching an expert to weld vehicles other than cars takes less time than [training] a new person,' said a defence industry source. 'Thus, job offers usually work quite well for those who left the car industry.' It comes as Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, seeks to turn his country into a major European security power, after decades of Berlin taking a back seat on geopolitical issues. Mr Merz, the centre-Right Christian Democrats (CDU) leader, has vowed to increase German defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP and transform the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, into the 'strongest conventional army in Europe'. The CDU chief has created a special €500 billion (£430 billion) fund to rebuild Germany's crumbling infrastructure, a key requirement for the rapid transit of Nato troops and tanks to its eastern flank. His coalition government is also mulling a possible return to conscription, and last month unveiled the deployment of a new brigade of soldiers in Lithuania to defend the border with Russia – the first permanent military deployment by Germany since the Second World War. The dramatic shift in German defence policy, known as the 'Zeitenwende' or turning of the times, has created unprecedented opportunities for the German arms industry, which used to be a pariah in the country due to its Nazi past. At the same time, years of economic stagnation, Donald Trump's tariff war, poor electric car sales and fierce competition from China have all wrought havoc on the once mighty German car industry. A recent study by the Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) said the German car industry is facing its worst slump since the pandemic, with two fifths of businesses struggling with a shortage in orders. 'Intensifying competition, especially from outside Europe, seems to be increasingly taking its toll on the German automotive industry. The crisis in the German car industry is continuing,' the Ifo said. Another study by EY, an audit firm, found that the German car industry suffered 19,000 job losses in 2024 and now only employs around 760,000 people in Germany, the lowest figure since 2013. But Mr Merz's rearmament policy could come to the rescue. Rafael Loss, a German security expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said discussions were under way to convert German car factories, which might otherwise have closed down, so they can be used to build weapons, such as one Audi factory in Brussels. Volkswagen, which is Europe's biggest carmaker but losing sales to China, is also understood to be looking for alternative uses for its factories in Dresden and Osnabrück. 'In cases where you have a car factory that already has skilled workers and is equipped for production of heavy machinery, that is one of the stronger arguments for the defence industry getting involved to prevent job losses,' he said. Mr Loss added that electricians could also have a valuable role to play in developing military technology that has similar design features to civilian cars. 'This could be applied to micro-electronics, the sort of electronic devices you see in automated cars such as proximity sensors for parking,' he said. 'They are not too different from the sensors being used in military vehicles.' Germany's 'Zeitenwende' policy began under Olaf Scholz, the previous chancellor, who announced the concept in a major speech in 2022 responding to Vladimir Putin's illegal and full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He vowed that Germany would no longer be a bystander on issues of European security, as he created a €100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr, in addition to giving billions of euros in aid to Ukraine. Mr Scholz was initially reluctant to provide German military support, due to fears of angering Putin, but eventually sent tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, air defence systems and huge quantities of ammunition to Kyiv. His successor, Mr Merz, wants to take German support even further, having swept to victory in elections last February and formed a coalition propped up by Mr Scholz's Social Democrats. 'Germany is back,' he has declared. Now there is speculation as to whether Mr Merz will finally agree to send powerful long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, a step that the government of Mr Scholz always maintained was a step too far that would drag Berlin into open conflict with Moscow. Mr Merz's government maintains a policy of secrecy on the nature of arms supplies to Ukraine, which it says is to keep Moscow guessing, although critics wonder if it really means that he has developed cold feet about the Taurus system. The coalition is also hampered by doveish figures in the Social Democrats, who hold many of the same views about Russia as their former leader Mr Scholz. At the same time, the rise of the Kremlin-friendly far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party – which came second place in the last election – is putting pressure on Mr Merz to temper his actions against Russia. Some German officials have been slightly taken aback by the highly positive response to Mr Merz's rearmament policy, fearing that expectations have been set too high for his government. 'We know expectations in Europe are high, and we view this defence reform as an important and necessary step,' one source said. 'But buying tanks, building tanks, this is not something that Germans are enthusiastic about,' they added, citing Germany's previous and far more infamous attempt to build the biggest army in Europe.
Finextra
2 hours ago
- Finextra
Deep Dive: How Shift4 Is Building a Global Commerce Platform: By Sam Boboev
In the fast-moving world of fintech and payments, few companies have transformed as dramatically in recent years as Shift4 Payments. Born as a small merchant processor in the late 1990s, Shift4 has rapidly evolved into a global 'commerce technology' player powering payments for over 200,000 businesses today. Its story matters now because Shift4 is at an inflection point: after years of hyper growth, strategic acquisitions, and expanding beyond its U.S. base, the company is positioning itself as a serious challenger to payment incumbents worldwide. In 2024 and 2025 alone, Shift4 has embarked on bold moves – from mega-acquisitions in Europe to launching its all-in-one point-of-sale platform internationally – that could reshape the competitive landscape of integrated payments. Moreover, founder and CEO Jared Isaacman is handing over the reins after 26 years, marking a leadership transition just as Shift4 pursues ambitious global targets. For fintech observers, Shift4 offers a compelling case study of software and payments convergence done right, and its next chapter will signal how far an upstart can go in challenging entrenched rivals. This deep dive provides a comprehensive look at Shift4's background, strategy, financial performance, expansion plans, and competitive context at this pivotal moment. Company Background and Evolution Shift4's journey began in 1999, when 16-year-old Jared Isaacman started a tiny payment processing business (then called United Bank Card) out of his parents' basement. Isaacman's early innovation was streamlining the clunky merchant onboarding process of the time – cutting setup from weeks to one day, and offering free card terminals with simple applications. This merchant-friendly approach fueled growth, and by 2012 the company rebranded as Harbortouch to emphasize its point-of-sale (POS) solutions alongside payment services. Through the mid-2010s, Isaacman's firm acquired several other payment and POS providers, expanding its reach in hospitality and retail payments. A major turning point came in 2017: the company (briefly renamed Lighthouse Network) acquired a Las Vegas-based payment gateway called Shift4 Corporation, a veteran player in hotel and restaurant payments, and adopted the Shift4 name for the combined entity. This merger of a merchant acquirer with a payment software gateway foreshadowed Shift4's future strategy of integrating software and payments. In June 2020, Shift4 Payments went public on the NYSE (ticker: FOUR) – one of the few fintech IPOs in the immediate aftermath of COVID's onset. Despite the pandemic's impact on its core restaurant and hospitality clients, Shift4's business rebounded strongly, even exceeding the aggressive targets set during its 2021 investor day. Over 2021–2023, the company aggressively broadened its offerings and vertical reach, both organically and via acquisition. It launched an e-commerce platform by acquiring 3dcart (rebranded Shift4Shop) in late 2020, and pushed into sports venues with the 2021 acquisition of VenueNext, a provider of stadium POS and mobile ordering tech. Shift4 also set its sights on new industry verticals – notably non-profits, gaming, and even space technology. It struck partnerships with major names like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (to handle donations) and Allegiant Travel (to extend its hospitality payments into airlines). In a headline-grabbing deal, Shift4 became the payments partner for SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, a global opportunity that necessitated international payment capabilities. These initiatives signaled Shift4's intent to go beyond its SMB restaurant roots and serve large, complex merchants across a variety of sectors. By 2022, founder Jared Isaacman proudly noted that Shift4 had moved 'upmarket,' powering the entire POS and payments systems of massive resort properties and stadiums – customers that bring larger payment volumes and more stability than small businesses. Today, Shift4 bills itself as an 'integrated commerce' provider, combining payments with software solutions in a one-stop platform. The company claims to serve roughly one-third of all U.S. restaurants through its various POS brands, and has expanded into hospitality, retail, entertainment, and specialty markets. Headquarters remain in Pennsylvania, but Shift4's footprint is increasingly global – a result of its recent expansion strategy (detailed below). Notably, as of early 2025, Jared Isaacman announced plans to step down as CEO (while remaining a major shareholder and Executive Chairman) after being nominated to lead NASA – handing the CEO role to company president Taylor Lauber. This leadership transition caps a remarkable evolution: from a basement startup to a publicly traded, multi-billion dollar fintech with international ambitions. Disclaimer: Fintech Wrap Up aggregates publicly available information for informational purposes only. Portions of the content may be reproduced verbatim from the original source, and full credit is provided with a "Source: [Name]" attribution. All copyrights and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. Fintech Wrap Up does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the aggregated content; these are the responsibility of the original source providers. Links to the original sources may not always be included. For questions or concerns, please contact us at
