Saudi Arabia’s stc Group Wins Forbes Middle East Sustainability Leaders Award

stc Group logo
stc Group logo
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Saudi Arabia’s stc Group Wins Forbes Middle East Sustainability Leaders Award

stc Group logo
stc Group logo

stc Group, the Saudi enabler of digital transformation, has won the Forbes Middle East Sustainability Leaders Award in recognition of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable practices in four areas related to climate, society, digitalization and the future of work.
The award was received by stc Group Vice President of Corporate Relations Mohammed bin Rashid Abaalkheil on the sidelines of the Forbes Middle East Sustainability Leaders Summit 2023, which was held in Abu-Dhabi on November 2-3.
The award represents a testimony to stc Group’s commitment to sustainable business practices, which are being applied within the group’s various divisions. The group’s initiatives have had a positive impact on the environment and the communities within which it operates, from reducing carbon emissions to environmental awareness campaigns, as stc Group considers sustainability fundamental in dealing with the environment and a vital necessity for doing business.
The group pledges its commitment to shaping a sustainable future for its customers, employees, and the communities to which it provides its services, it said in a statement.
The sustainability efforts made by the group have received recognition from other organizations as well, such as the United Nations Global Compact and the Carbon Disclosure Project. The group’s sustainability strategy aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and focuses on three main areas: environmental responsibility, social investment and governance, it said.
The statement added that stc Group is committed to sustainability and carries out practices that help the environment, cementing its position as a leader in sustainable business practices. By reducing the carbon footprint and implementing sustainable practices, the group is having a positive impact and making the world healthier and more prosperous for future generations.
stc Group has a number of achievements in many aspects of sustainability, including providing 4,348 hours of sustainability training to employees, relying 38,21% on local content, involving 213 small and medium enterprises in procurement processes, and awarding contracts to giant projects that use local content worth SAR 5billion, as well as providing more than 127,000 hours of training through stc Academy.
The group, through the InspireU accelerator, adopted about 100 startup companies and provided them with support at a value of up to SAR10 billion, has 52% women in the advanced analytics department, employs 43 different nationalities in the work team, and contributed to the technical empowerment of 324 non-governmental organizations through the technical empowerment program, which provides services to more than 10,000 users in 64 cities.



Nintendo Cuts Annual Profit Forecast 10% as Switch Sales Slow

A staff member sorts products at the Nintendo store in Shibuya district in Tokyo November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A staff member sorts products at the Nintendo store in Shibuya district in Tokyo November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Nintendo Cuts Annual Profit Forecast 10% as Switch Sales Slow

A staff member sorts products at the Nintendo store in Shibuya district in Tokyo November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A staff member sorts products at the Nintendo store in Shibuya district in Tokyo November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Nintendo cut on Tuesday its operating profit forecast for the year to March 2025 by 10% to 360 billion yen ($2.36 billion), as its ageing Switch console loses steam.

The latest forecast is below analyst estimates of a 391.4 billion yen profit.

The Kyoto-based gaming company sold 4.7 million Switch consoles in the first half of the financial year. That compares with 6.8 million units sold in the same period a year earlier.

Nintendo lowered its full-year sales forecast for the console, which is in its eighth year on the market, by 7% to 12.5 million units. That would be down 20% from actual Switch sales of 15.7 million units a year earlier.

It also revised down its annual software sales forecast by 3% to 160 million units.

"For a platform that is in its 8th year in the market, both hardware and software enjoy stable demand and brisk sales," Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told an online press conference.

"But sales so far fell short of our original projections. Taking into consideration their sales in the first half, we revised our forecasts for both hardware and software, and that led to the earnings revision."

Furukawa said there was no change to Nintendo's plan to announce a successor to its long-lasting Switch console in the current financial year, but did not go into specifics.

Shares in Nintendo closed down 3.9% ahead of the earnings announcements, underperforming the Nikkei average's 1.1% gain.