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By Mathias de Rozario and Elizaveta Zhuravleva (Reuters) -Dutch digital mapping specialist TomTom reported a strong earnings beat and confirmed its annual forecasts on Tuesday, boosted by a pick-up in demand from the embattled auto industry. That sent its shares rising more than 7% in the first hours of trading in Amsterdam. The location data pioneer, which started by providing a navigational tool for turn-by-turn directions, has gone through major restructuring and is now developing high-definition self-driving maps that integrate consumer data and advanced driver assistance systems. Its operating earnings were 8.4 million euros ($9.7 million) in the third quarter, well above analysts' average estimate of 2 million euros in a company-provided consensus. Last year, it had reported a loss of 4.1 million euros. "It's a combination of good automotive revenue … tied to cost control that started to deliver," CEO and co-founder Harold Goddijn told Reuters when asked about the strong earnings. TomTom has been able to control its costs thanks to standardization on certain customers' operating systems, allowing more predictability, Goddijn said. The company said in late June it would cut 300 jobs as part of an organizational realignment that includes use of artificial intelligence. The automotive location technology business, TomTom's biggest unit, posted a 2% increase in revenue — the only unit where sales grew. While uncertainty in the automotive market remains, Goddijn said he had seen an acceleration in decision making and investments as the industry adjusts to the situation. Automated driving technology is an active growth area where TomTom has seen renewed interest among automakers from Japan, China, Europe and the United States, he added. The group, which counts more than a million users on its navigation app, also expects growth in its user base over the coming years. TomTom's historical consumer-facing business has been affected by a continued slowdown in sales, but it is still profitable and helps the company to get direct feedback on its location technology, Goddijn said. ($1 = 0.8629 euros) (Reporting by Mathias de Rozario and Elizaveta Zhuravleva in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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(Reuters) -Shares of Morgan Advanced Materials slipped nearly 14% on Tuesday after the British chip parts supplier forecast annual sales to be lower than last year due to weak semiconductor demand and growing uncertainty in European industrial markets. Chip demand has stayed under pressure amid high customer inventories and deferred orders, while stagnant industrial output in Europe and geopolitical tensions have further weighed on client sentiment. Shares of the firm, which has operations across 60 sites globally, were down 8% at 201 pence by 0805 GMT. The stock was the top loser on FTSE midcap index, which fell 0.46%.  "This is an unexpected downgrade given some signs of stabilisation with the half-year results…(this) will likely cause another hit to the share price and investor sentiment," Jefferies analysts said in a note.  Morgan Advanced Materials, which drew nearly one-third of its 2024 revenue from industrial manufacturing, expects annual sales to be about 4% lower year-on-year with adjusted operating profit margin projected to slip to around 10% this year. It reported an adjusted operating profit margin of 11.7% in 2024. The company had warned in August that the market might not recover in the second half as it flagged a profit warning.   (Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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By Munsif Vengattil BENGALURU (Reuters) -Google said on Tuesday it would invest $15 billion over five years to set up an artificial intelligence data centre in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh, its biggest ever investment in the world's most populous nation. The U.S. tech giant's plan comes amid a tense diplomatic standoff between New Delhi and Washington over tariffs and a stalled trade deal, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged a boycott of foreign goods. Indian infotech and finance ministers attended the New Delhi event at which Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said the data centre in Andhra Pradesh would be the company's "largest AI hub" outside the United States. "This long-term vision we have is to accelerate India's own AI mission," Kurian said. Google has committed to spending about $85 billion this year to build out data centre capacity as big tech companies invest heavily to build new infrastructure in their competition to meet booming demand for AI services. The data centre campus in the port city of Visakhapatnam will have an initial capacity of 1 Gigawatt. U.S.-INDIA TENSION U.S.-based multinationals face growing boycott calls in India, as business executives and Modi supporters have stoked anti-American sentiment to protest against the tariff of 50% on imported Indian goods. "This initiative creates substantial economic and societal opportunities for both India and the United States," Google said in a statement, without referring to the tariffs. In recent weeks, Indian officials have privately met many executives of U.S. companies to say they are committed to providing an easy business environment despite the discontent over U.S. tariffs, two sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity. A BILLION INTERNET USERS Microsoft and Amazon have already poured billions into building data centres in India, a critical growth market where nearly a billion users access the internet. Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani have also unveiled investments in building capacity for data centres. Adani Group and India's Airtel have partnered with Google to build the infrastructure for its new project, which also includes construction of a new international subsea gateway. AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialised data centres that enable tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters. Earlier, state officials had estimated the investment at $10 billion for the centre, which they said would generate 188,000 jobs. Google parent Alphabet Inc counts India as a key growth market where its YouTube video services has most users, and Android phones dominate smartphone usage. However, the U.S. firm has been battling many antitrust challenges in India over its business practices, and also faces a lawsuit from a Bollywood couple challenging YouTube's AI policy. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru and Sarita Chaganti Singh; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Clarence Fernandez)

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By Federico Maccioni DUBAI (Reuters) -The first 200 megawatts of a planned 5-gigawatt artificial intelligence campus in the United Arab Emirates should come online next year, an official from Abu Dhabi-backed cloud and AI firm G42 said on Tuesday. The UAE, a major oil exporter, has been spending billions of dollars to become a global AI hub, looking to leverage its strong relations with Washington to secure access to technology. During a Gulf visit by U.S. President Donald Trump in May, the UAE signed a multibillion-dollar deal to build one of the world's largest data centre hubs in Abu Dhabi with U.S. technology. G42 said at the time that the project would be powered by nuclear and solar power, as well as natural gas. DISCUSSIONS ONGOING FOR REST OF PROJECT Technology giants Nvidia, OpenAI, Cisco, and Oracle, along with Japan's SoftBank, are working with G42 to build the first phase, known as Stargate UAE, set to go online in 2026. "Building towards the (first) 1 GW, we have 200 MW that should come online next year," G42 acting group chief global affairs officer Talal Al Kaissi said at the AI and tech GITEX conference in Dubai. "The rest of the four gigawatts, we're also in deep discussions with other hyperscalers from the U.S.," Al Kaissi said. However, the deal to build the campus has not been finalised amid security concerns due to the UAE's close ties to China, Reuters has previously reported, citing sources. Middle Eastern deals will require export licences from the Trump administration, and G42's past ties to China have drawn scrutiny in Washington due to concerns around Beijing's access to advanced semiconductors including via third parties. Al Kaissi said he regularly visited Washington to support good working relations. (Reporting by Federico Maccioni. Writing by Ahmed Elimam. Editing by Mark Potter)

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By Munsif Vengattil and Sarita Chaganti Singh BENGALURU (Reuters) -Google will invest $15 billion over five years to set up an artificial intelligence data centre in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh, a company official said on Tuesday, for its biggest ever investment in the world's most populous nation. Google has committed to spending some $85 billion this year to build out data centre capacity as big tech companies spend heavily on building new data centre infrastructure as they compete to fill booming demand for AI services. "It's the largest AI hub that we are going to be investing in anywhere in the world outside of the United States," Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said at a New Delhi event, adding that investment will be spread over the next five years. "It is a part of a global network of AI centres in 12 different countries." The data centre campus in the port city of Visakhapatnam will have a capacity of 1-Gigawatt initially, but will be scaled to "multiple gigawatts", Kurian added. Earlier, state officials had estimated the investment at $10 billion for the centre, which the state government has said is expected to generate 188,000 jobs. Microsoft and Amazon have already poured billions into building data centres in India, a key growth market, in which nearly a billion users access the internet. Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani have also unveiled investments in building capacity for data centres. AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialised data centers enabling tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters. Google parent Alphabet Inc counts India as a key growth market where its YouTube video services has most users, and Android phones dominate smartphone usage. However, the U.S. giant has been battling many antitrust challenges in India over its business practices, and also faces a lawsuit from a Bollywood couple challenging YouTube's AI policy. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru and Sarita Chaganti Singh; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Clarence Fernandez)

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(Reuters) -Swedish telecoms gear maker Ericsson reported a rise in quarterly core earnings that beat expectations on Tuesday, as operational improvements drove gross margins to sustainable levels despite a decline in sales. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) excluding restructuring charges were 15.4 billion Swedish crowns ($1.62 billion) in the quarter ended in September. That was 9.2% higher than the 14.1 billion crowns forecast in an Infront consensus poll of analysts provided by the company. ($1 = 9.4988 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Agnieszka Olenska; Editing by Matt Scuffham)

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By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Agnieszka Olenska (Reuters) -Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly earnings on Tuesday and played down the impact of U.S. tariffs. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) excluding restructuring charges were 15.4 billion Swedish crowns ($1.62 billion) in the quarter ended in September. That was 9.2% higher than the 14.1 billion crowns forecast in an Infront consensus poll of analysts provided by the company. Cost savings and a dominant position in North America have helped Ericsson stay ahead of Nordic rival Nokia in the 5G race, but revenue weakness and tariffs have overshadowed its outlook. The Swedish group has outperformed rivals in winning U.S. contracts, mainly a $14 billion deal with AT&T, making it the world's second-biggest vendor in the radio access network market after Huawei, according to estimates from research firm Dell'Oro. "No company is immune to tariffs. So we will see what happens there and what decisions are coming. But what we see so far is not more impact going forward," Ericsson's finance chief Lars Sandström said in a Reuters interview. Third-quarter net sales were 9% down from a year ago at 56.2 billion crowns but came in above the analysts' expectation of 55.7 billion. However, sales in Americas slowed down by 8% from 2024, as previous deliveries and network investments by large customers contributed to a strong quarter in the same period last year. In August, Ericsson completed the sale of its Iconectiv business, resulting in a one-off profit gain of about 7.6 billion Swedish crowns. The company said this divestment will offer scope for higher dividends and or a share buyback program. Alongside its earnings, the Swedish company Ericsson announced a five-year partnership with Vodafone to modernize the operator's programmable networks. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. ($1 = 9.4988 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Agnieszka Olenska; Editing by Matt Scuffham)

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BENGALURU (Reuters) -Google will invest $15 billion over the next five years to set up data centre capacity for an artificial intelligence hub in India's Andhra Pradesh, the company said on Tuesday, marking one of its biggest ever investments in the country. "It's the largest AI hub that we are going to be investing in anywhere in the world outside of the U.S.," Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said at a New Delhi event. The 1-gigawatt data centre campus by the Alphabet Inc unit will be based in the port city of Visakhapatnam. Officials from the southern Indian state earlier put the investment at $10 billion. The move comes amid intensifying competition among big tech companies, which are spending heavily on building new data centre infrastructure to meet booming demand for AI services. Google alone has committed to spending some $85 billion this year to build out data centre capacity. AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialized data centers that enable tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters. Microsoft and Amazon have already poured billions into building data centres in India, a key growth market for the global tech giants where nearly a billion users access the internet. Reuters first reported about Google's plans in July. The search giant's data centre will be the largest in capacity and investment size in Asia, and is part of a multi-billion-dollar expansion of its data centre portfolio across the region in countries including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, Reuters reported at the time. "In an era where data is the new oil, such initiatives will serve as a strategic advantage," state IT Minister Nara Lokesh said. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru and Sarita Chaganti Singh in New Delhi; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Lincoln Feast.)

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(Reuters) -Dutch digital mapping specialist TomTom reported a rise in its third-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, beating market expectations, boosted by growth in its automotive location technology business. The Amsterdam-based company posted earnings before interest and taxes of 8.4 million euros ($9.7 million) for the quarter, a strong beat against analysts' average estimate of 2 million euros in a company-provided consensus. ($1 = 0.8629 euros) (Reporting by Mathias de Rozario and Elizaveta Zhuravleva in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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(Reuters) -Dutch digital mapping specialist TomTom reported a rise in its third-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, beating market expectations, boosted by growth in its automotive location technology business. The Amsterdam-based company posted earnings before interest and taxes of 8.4 million euros ($9.7 million) for the quarter, a strong beat against analysts' average estimate of 2 million euros in a company-provided consensus. "This quarter, our Automotive operational revenue showed encouraging growth, partly driven by the ramp-up of new car lines we supply," Chief Financial Officer Taco Titulaer said in a statement. The automotive business was the only segment to show revenue growth during the quarter with an increase of 2% to 79.5 million euros, coming above market expectation of 74 million euros. TomTom also confirmed its outlook for the full year. ($1 = 0.8629 euros) (Reporting by Mathias de Rozario and Elizaveta Zhuravleva in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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