Business
Lego hits record revenue in first half of 2025, boosted by brick flowers and cars

Icons Tiny Plants by Lego.
James Manning – Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty Images
Flowers, succulents and Formula One race cars helped fuel a 12% revenue bump for Lego during the first half of the year.
The company reported a record 34.6 billion Danish kroner, or $5.4 billion, in revenue as part of its biannual earnings report on Wednesday. Operating profit rose 10% year over year to 9 billion Danish kroner, or $1.4 billion, the company said.
“It’s the best first half ever,” Lego CEO Niels Christiansen told CNBC. “It’s a record on revenue, a record on operating profit, it’s a record on net profit. … So, we are very happy.”
The brick maker launched 314 new sets during the first six months of the year, another record high. Lego has steadily added new product to its portfolio, branching out into home decor with wall art sets. It has also added new license partners and released sets tied to animated children’s program “Bluey” and fan-favorite anime “One Piece.”
Up next is a multiyear partnership with Pokemon, due to hit shelves in 2026.
“You can always find something that you really like, the pop culture you’re into or the passion point you have,” Christiansen said. “That works really well.”
In expanding its catalog of product, Lego has also grown its consumer base. Gateways into the brand such as its line of botanicals — plants, flower bouquets and succulents — and its ongoing partnership with Epic Games — which brings Lego to the digital space and elements from the popular video game Fortnite into the physical world — have encouraged newcomers into the brick-building space, Christiansen said.
“Then they figure out what it is and what it does for them, how it kind of allows them to express themselves, but also de-stress and focus on stuff in a different way,” he said. “So botanicals sets turn out to be good at recruiting new consumers into the brand, and then as soon as they build their botanical set, they may move on to building something else.”
Lego opened 24 new stores globally during the first six months of the year. The company has been opening more physical retail locations in areas that, unlike the U.K. and the U.S., did not grow up with the iconic colored bricks. This includes countries such as China and India.
Having brick-and-mortar places where kids and adults can get their hands on Legos and see the available sets has previously helped bolster sales.
Business
Ketchup giant Kraft Heinz to split in two ‘to unleash power of brands’

Food giant Kraft Heinz is poised to divide its sprawling operations into two independent, publicly traded companies, a decade after its formation through a major merger.
The move, confirmed on Tuesday following reports last week, comes as the company seeks to overcome recent struggles. Known for household staples such as ketchup, baked beans, Heinz soups, and HP sauce in the UK, the firm stated the overhaul is “designed to maximise Kraft Heinz’s capabilities and brands while reducing complexity”.
One part of the business will operate as Global Taste Elevation Co, which will include the group’s global brands and many of its sauces and tinned products.
This will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese, the company said.
It will then also create the North American Grocery Co, focusing on staples in the US and other parts of the region, where it has brands including Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables.
Carlos Abrams-Rivera, Kraft Heinz chief executive, said: “This move will unleash the power of our brands and unlock the potential of our business.
“This next step in our transformation is only possible because of the commitment of our 36,000 talented employees who deliver quality and value for consumers every day.
“We will continue to operate as ‘one Kraft Heinz’ throughout the separation process.”
The deal is expected to complete in the second half of next year, dependent on regulatory approval.
Business
Eurozone inflation: Prices edge up to 2.1% in August, ECB likely to hold rates steady – The Times of India

Inflation in the eurozone rose slightly to 2.1% in August from 2% in July, official data showed on Tuesday, fuelling expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) will keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting next week.The EU’s statistics agency Eurostat said the uptick was mainly driven by a smaller fall in energy prices. While energy costs continued to decline, they fell by 1.9% compared with 2.5% in July, AFP reported.Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected inflation to remain at 2%, in line with the ECB’s target. The increase now reinforces expectations that policymakers will leave rates unchanged at their September 11 meeting. The ECB had already paused rate cuts in July, ending a streak of consecutive reductions that began in September 2024.Core inflation — which excludes volatile categories like energy, food, alcohol and tobacco — remained steady at 2.3% in August.Meanwhile, food, alcohol and tobacco prices eased to 3.2% from 3.3% in July, while services inflation also softened marginally to 3.1% from 3.2%.
Business
Revolut founder to become one of Britain’s richest businessmen after huge valuation

The founder of fintech firm Revolut, Nik Storonsky, is set to become one of the ten richest businessmen in Britain.
App-based bank Revolut is allowing employees to sell a portion of their shares in the company – up to 20 per cent – for $1,381.06 per share (around £1,029) in a secondary sale, which will value the business in total at $75bn (£55.9bn). Last year, the company was valued at $45bn (£33.5bn).
Mr Storonsky has around a 25 per cent holding of the firm, meaning his personal wealth will grow to more than $18bn (£13.5bn) – putting him in the top ten richest businesspeople in the UK.
Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index ranks James Dyson, the entrepreneur and inventor, as the richest on these shores with a personal wealth of $19.5bn. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, owner of Ineos and part-owner of Manchester United, is next in line at $16.2bn according to their list.
Other sources who work out billionaire wealth by different metrics place Storonsky’s impending value below that of Ratcliffe’s, while individuals such as Lakshmi Mittal – chairman at one of the world’s biggest steel manufacturers – is based in the UK, though born in India.
Thus, there will be discrepancies at the precise rank of Mr Storonsky – himself Russian-born but who renounced his citizenship after the invasion of Ukraine – when it comes to richest business people in the UK. He will certainly, however, be within the ranks of the top ten – and with the potential to go far higher.
As part of his package at Revolut, the founder will add more shares to his ownership if he steers the firm to a $150bn valuation, double that of the new level.
On the employee share sale, a spokesperson said: “As part of our commitment to our employees, we regularly provide opportunities for them to gain liquidity. An employee secondary share sale is currently in process, and we won’t be commenting further until it is complete.”
While Revolut does not yet have a full banking licence for the UK, it does hold a restricted one to allow it to operate towards being a full bank during a “mobilisation” phase.
Its valuation of around £56bn makes it bigger than the market capitalisation of public listed banks such as Natwest (£41.7bn), the Lloyds group (£47.6bn) and Barclays (£51.6bn). Revolut are expected to float on the stock market in due course, though Mr Storonsky suggested New York, rather than London, fits the company better for it.
Annual profits at Revolut topped £1bn last year, while earlier this year they announced an internal points system which contributes towards employee bonuses, as well as an intent to break into the mobile phone operator market.
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