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(Reuters) - A Maryland police manhunt ended on Tuesday when officers arrested three male teenagers suspected of playing a role in the killing of a female police officer who responded to a burglary report in a Baltimore suburb, officials said.
The female Baltimore County officer, Amy Caprio, on Monday had confronted burglary suspects who attempted to flee in a vehicle, sparking a violent altercation that left the nearly four-year-veteran of the force critically injured, police said. Caprio later died of her injuries at a nearby hospital.
Sixteen-year-old Dawnta Harris, was arrested shortly after Monday’s altercation and was charged as an adult with first-degree murder, Baltimore police spokesman Natalie Litofsky said in a post on Twitter. Harris was expected to appear in court for a bail review later on Tuesday.
Heavily armed Maryland police working with dogs had searched through the night for the other three suspects.
Local media reports said the fleeing suspects ran the officer over with a vehicle.
“There were reports on her being run over or being shot or both, but that will not be confirmed until the autopsy is complete,” Baltimore County Police Department spokesman Matt Kuhn said in a phone interview.
Slideshow (2 Images) Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Bernadette Baum
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-maryland-police/maryland-police-hunt-three-suspects-in-police-officers-slaying-idUSKCN1IN237 |
April 30 (Reuters) - MISR OILS AND SOAP CO:
* NINE-MONTH NET PROFIT EGP 22.6 MILLION VERSUS EGP 3.4 MILLION YEAR AGO
* NINE-MONTH SALES EGP 1.08 BILLION VERSUS EGP 616.1 MILLION YEAR AGO Source:( bit.ly/2w0APXq ) Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-misr-oils-and-soap-9-month-profit/brief-misr-oils-and-soap-9-month-profit-rises-idUSFWN1S70D9 |
* 10-yr Treasury yields hit 7-yr high as oil tops $80
* Cisco weighs on main indexes as forecast disappoints
* Walmart and J.C. Penney drop after results
* Sino-U.S. trade talks resume on Thursday
* Futures down: Dow 0.25 pct, S&P 0.07 pct, Nasdaq 0.11 pct (Updates to open)
By Medha Singh
May 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street’s main indexes dropped on Thursday as U.S. bond yields climbed to a seven-year high and Cisco’s forecast disappointed, while looming Sino-U.S. trade talks added to the jitters.
Shares of Cisco fell 3.6 percent and were the biggest drag on all the three major indexes, after the company’s forecast indicated its transition to a software-focused business was a work in progress.
Also weighing was Walmart’s 1.8 percent fall. The stock was up in premarket trading after the retailer posted a rebound in its U.S. e-commerce business and beat profit estimates.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields hit a high of 3.1 percent as more expensive oil pointed to faster inflation and followed some upbeat U.S. retail sales numbers.
“There’s a lot of chatter that the 10-year is somehow going to explode to the upside, that’s why its getting everybody’s attention,” Kim Forrest, senior portfolio manager at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
“There is a lot of worry out there that might be reflected in the market ... and trade is the icing on the cake.”
The United States and China will resume negotiations over the next two days to resolve their differences over trade, and officials from both sides have recently signaled that they are looking for a deal.
Japan is considering tariffs on U.S. exports worth $409 million in retaliation against U.S.-imposed steel and aluminum import tariffs, according to media reports.
At 9:52 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 61.23 points, or 0.25 percent, at 24,707.70, the S&P 500 was down 2.02 points, or 0.07 percent, at 2,720.44 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 8.43 points, or 0.11 percent, at 7,389.86.
Six of the 11 main index groups were in negative territory.
Leading the gainers was the energy sector, which rose 0.9 percent after Brent crude prices hit $80 per barrel for the first time since November 2014.
Wells Fargo dropped 1.3 percent, weighing on financials, after the Wall Street Journal reported that some bank employees altered information on business customers’ documents.
J.C. Penney Co tumbled 6.7 percent after its same-store sales missed estimates and the company warned its could post a loss this year.
Coca-Cola rose 1.4 percent after Barclays upgraded the stock to “overweight.”
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.54-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.51-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 12 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 48 new highs and 11 new lows. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-wall-st-slips-as-cisco-drags-bond-yields-rise-idUSL3N1SO4P0 |
Consumer Reports: Tesla Model 3 has "big flaws" Monday, May 21, 2018 - 01:54
Consumer Report on Monday gave Tesla's Model 3 a crushing review saying it was a thrill to drive but had ''big flaws''.
Consumer Report on Monday gave Tesla's Model 3 a crushing review saying it was a thrill to drive but had "big flaws". //reut.rs/2IBZtDI | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/21/consumer-reports-tesla-model-3-has-big-f?videoId=429146268 |
Startup culture emerges from Greek economy woes 11:51am BST - 01:56
Greece is a place where roughly one-in-five people are unemployed. It's left many with few options: think outside the box to pay the bills, or immigrate to richer shores. Matthew Larotonda reports.
Greece is a place where roughly one-in-five people are unemployed. It's left many with few options: think outside the box to pay the bills, or immigrate to richer shores. Matthew Larotonda reports. //reut.rs/2KD49X0 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/08/startup-culture-emerges-from-greek-econo?videoId=423793398 |
May 21 (Reuters) - Hanmi Financial Corp:
* HANMI FINANCIAL CORPORATION ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE SWNB BANCORP, INC.
* HANMI FINANCIAL CORP - SWNB SHAREHOLDERS WILL ELECT TO RECEIVE 0.1961 SHARES OF HAFC COMMON STOCK OR $5.74 IN CASH
* HANMI FINANCIAL CORP - AGGREGATE CONSIDERATION OF TRANSACTION IS APPROXIMATELY $76.7 MILLION
* HANMI FINANCIAL CORP - ANTICIPATES ACQUISITION WILL BE ACCRETIVE TO EARNINGS PER SHARE IN 2019
* HANMI FINANCIAL CORP -DEAL ACCRETIVE TO HANMI’S 2019 EARNINGS PER SHARE
* HANMI FINANCIAL CORP - EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF SWNB HAVE ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT TO VOTE THEIR SHARES OF SWNB COMMON STOCK IN FAVOR THE TRANSACTION
* HANMI FINANCIAL CORP - BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF BOTH HANMI AND SWNB APPROVED TRANSACTION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hanmi-financial-to-acquire-swnb-ba/brief-hanmi-financial-to-acquire-swnb-bancorp-idUSASC0A314 |
May 10 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen adding 0.2 percent on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers. * Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc's Chief Operating Officer Simon Kirby will leave the company in June as the British manufacturer looks to streamline its business. * Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc said on Wednesday it had agreed to pay $4.9 billion to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice probe into its structuring and sale of mortgage-backed securities ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. * Gold prices steadied on Thursday as the dollar held firm near its 2018 peak on strong U.S. bond yields, with investors also keeping an eye out for any further impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran. * Oil prices clocked up more multi-year highs on Thursday as traders adjusted to the prospects of renewed U.S. sanctions against major crude exporter Iran amid an already tightening market. * EX-DIVS: Admiral Group, BP, Centrica, GlaxoSmithKline, Royal Dutch Shell, Sage Group will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 22.9 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations * The UK blue chip index closed 1.3 percent higher at 7662.52 on Wednesday, driven up by oil stocks, which rose after the U.S. decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal sent crude prices soaring. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Superdry PLC Full Year 2018 Trading Update WM Morrison Supermarkets Q1 2019 Trading Update Barratt Developments Trading Update Derwent London PLC Q1 2018 Business Update TP ICAP PLC Trading Update BT Group PLC Q4 2018 Trading Update RSA Insurance Group Q1 2018 Trading Update Next PLC Q1 2018 Trading Update ITV PLC Q1 2018 Trading Update Vesuvius PLC Q1 2018 Trading Update TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors/uk-stocks-factors-to-watch-on-may-10-idUSL3N1SH2O1 |
May 17, 2018 / 5:45 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Trump fails to halt 'Apprentice' contestant's defamation lawsuit Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York state appeals court on Thursday denied U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to halt a defamation lawsuit by a former contestant on his reality TV show “The Apprentice” who accused him of making unwanted sexual advances. U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a "California Sanctuary State Roundtable" at the White House in Washington. U.S., May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
In a one-page order, the Appellate Division in Manhattan did not explain why it refused to stay the lawsuit by Summer Zervos while the president appeals a March 20 lower court ruling that allowed the California restaurateur to pursue her case.
The White House was not immediately available for comment.
Trump is appealing a ruling by Justice Jennifer Schecter of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, which rejected his claim that as president he was immune from lawsuits over private conduct predating his entering the White House.
Zervos, an “Apprentice” contestant in 2005, accused Trump of kissing her against her will at a 2007 meeting in New York and later groping her at a Beverly Hills hotel.
She first came forward in October 2016, a month before the presidential election, following the release of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump spoke in vulgar terms about women.
While Trump apologised for his comments, he said repeatedly during his campaign that all accusations made by women after the “Access Hollywood” recording became public were “lies.” He also republished on Twitter a post calling Zervos’ claims a hoax.
Zervos has said those denials amounted to defamation and that diners avoided her restaurant after she was branded a liar.
“We look forward to proving Ms. Zervos’s claim that defendant lied when he maliciously attacked her for reporting his sexually abusive behaviour,” Zervos’ law firm, Cuti Hecker Wang said in a statement on Thursday.
Several women have accused Trump of improper sexual conduct or said he had affairs with them.
Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is seeking to end an agreement in which Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 not to discuss her alleged affair with Trump. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Richard Chang and Jonathan Oatis | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-apprentice-lawsuit/trump-fails-to-halt-apprentice-contestants-defamation-lawsuit-idUKKCN1II2KJ |
MANITOWOC, Wis., May 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICBK), the parent company for Investors Community Bank, announced that on May 15, 2018 its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per share. The dividend will be payable June 22, 2018, to shareholders of record as of June 8, 2018.
“We are pleased to continue our quarterly dividend payment, which reflects ongoing solid performance as well as confidence in our planned market expansion and a commitment to enhancing shareholder value,” said Timothy J. Schneider, President of County Bancorp, Inc. and CEO of Investors Community Bank.
About County Bancorp, Inc.
County Bancorp, Inc., a Wisconsin corporation and registered bank holding company founded in May 1996, and our wholly-owned subsidiary Investors Community Bank, a Wisconsin-chartered bank, are headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The state of Wisconsin is often referred to as “America’s Dairyland,” and one of the niches we have developed is providing financial services to agricultural businesses statewide, with a primary focus on dairy-related lending. We also serve business and retail customers throughout Wisconsin, with a focus on northeastern and central Wisconsin. Our customers are served from our full-service locations in Manitowoc, Appleton, Green Bay, and Stevens Point and our loan production offices in Darlington, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan.
Investor Relations Contact
Timothy J. Schneider
CEO, Investors Community Bank
Phone: (920) 686-5604
Email: [email protected]
Source:County Bancorp, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/16/globe-newswire-county-bancorp-inc-declares-dividend.html |
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) _ Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PTLA) on Wednesday reported a loss of $84.2 million in its first quarter.
On a per-share basis, the South San Francisco, California-based company said it had a loss of $1.28.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of $1.52 per share.
The biopharmaceutical company posted revenue of $6.6 million in the period.
Portola Pharmaceuticals shares have decreased 13 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $42.28, increasing slightly in the last 12 months.
This story was generated by Automated Insights ( http://automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PTLA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PTLA | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/the-associated-press-portola-pharmaceuticals-1q-earnings-snapshot.html |
May 2, 2018 / 9:26 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Madrid's miracle men survive German siege Richard Martin 4 Min Read
MADRID (Reuters) - Real Madrid’s passage to a third consecutive Champions League final after their 2-2 draw at home to Bayern Munich was described as being akin to a miracle in the media after they rode their luck for the third game running. Soccer Football - Champions League Semi Final Second Leg - Real Madrid v Bayern Munich - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - May 1, 2018 Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich’s catastrophic error which led to Karim Benzema’s second goal for Madrid in the semi-final second leg was termed “a gift” in the Barcelona-based media, who also highlighted a handball by Marcelo in the area which went unpunished right before half-time when the score was 1-1.
Just as they did in the first leg in Munich, where Real escaped with a 2-1 victory, Bayern took the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu through Joshua Kimmich.
However, the German champions failed to capitalise on their dominance and were beaten 4-3 on aggregate, knocked out by Madrid for the third time in four years.
Madrid, 15 points behind champions Barcelona in La Liga, will meet either AS Roma or Liverpool in the Champions League final on May 26, where they will be looking for a record-extending 13th European Cup triumph.
“This is how Madrid qualify,” howled Catalan daily Sport, adding that they had reached a third final in a row “with more refereeing help and a lot of luck”. Soccer Football - Champions League Semi Final Second Leg - Real Madrid v Bayern Munich - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - May 1, 2018 Real Madrid's Gareth Bale in action with Bayern Munich's Sven Ulreich REUTERS/Juan Medina
Fellow Barcelona newspaper Mundo Deportivo called the decision not to penalise Marcelo “outrageous”, labelled Ulreich’s slip “an epic gaffe”, and describing Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas as their “lifesaver”.
French newspaper L’Equipe said simply: “Madrid walk on water”.
Bayern fired in 22 shots at the Bernabeu, hitting the target with half of them and had an additional nine attempts blocked while winning 11 corners and 60 percent possession, prompting Madrid daily ABC to say Zinedine Zidane’s side “survived the German siege”.
However, Real midfielder Luka Modric shrugged off suggestions his side had been fortunate to make it through. Soccer Football - Champions League Semi Final Second Leg - Real Madrid v Bayern Munich - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - May 1, 2018 Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich looks dejected after the match REUTERS/Juan Medina
“There’s always some controversy. People are always trying to minimise our success, but we’re used to that,” said the Croatian.
Real had also sneaked through their quarter-final tie against Juventus 4-3 on aggregate, qualifying with the help of a hotly contested injury-time penalty.
Unlike the aftermath of their second leg against the Italians, which was dominated by seething complaints from Juve captain Gianluigi Buffon and president Andre Agnelli, there were few gripes from Bayern about Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir.
“The referee did a good job, we didn’t lose because of him,” said Bayern forward Thomas Mueller. “Keylor Navas was outstanding and he saved Madrid on many occasions.”
Marcelo admitted that he was lucky to get away with blocking a shot from Kimmich with his hand.
“If I say it didn’t hit me (on the hand) I’d be lying, but football is like that,” said the Brazilian.
“I don’t talk about referees, but it’s clear that sometimes they go in your favour and other times against you, but whatever happens, you have to play football.”
Madrid’s German midfielder Toni Kroos said his former side Bayern had played better but praised his team for their ruthless efficiency.
“They played great football and created a lot of chances. Perhaps Bayern did more than us, we were not the better team, but in both games we were more effective,” he said Editing by Peter Rutherford | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-champions-mad-bay-reaction/madrids-miracle-men-survive-german-siege-idUKKBN1I3125 |
U.S. to split families crossing border illegally Monday, May 07, 2018 - 01:18
Under a new U.S. immigration policy, parents caught crossing the border illegally will both be separated from their children and criminally prosecuted.
Under a new U.S. immigration policy, parents caught crossing the border illegally will both be separated from their children and criminally prosecuted. //reut.rs/2FQYU2A | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/07/us-to-split-families-crossing-border-ill?videoId=424789118 |
(Reuters) - Retail and technology stocks led Wall Street back to positive territory on Wednesday, and the small-cap Russell 2000 hit a new intra-day high, even as traders remained on edge about geopolitics and rising U.S. interest rates.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the opening bell in New York City, NY, U.S. November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/Files Smaller companies continued to outperform their larger rivals with the Russell 2000 reaching a record level. The index was last up 1.3 percent.
“Small caps present a cleaner play than large caps on two fundamental market drivers: lower corporate taxes and a stronger US economy,” research firm DataTrek wrote in its morning briefing on Wednesday.
Macy’s ( M.N ) shares were up 11.2 percent after beating analyst estimates and raising guidance. The S&P 500 Department Store index .SPLRCRETD was up 5.4 percent, its largest daily gain in nearly six months.
Rival department stores J.C. Penney ( JCP.N ), Kohl’s ( KSS.N ), Nordstrom ( JWN.N ) and Target Corp ( TGT.N ) were also boosted by the results.
Macy’s earnings pushed the consumer discretionary sector higher on Wednesday, a day after government data showing an acceleration of consumer spending fanned inflation concerns and helped send U.S. government bond yields higher.
Yields on U.S. Treasuries were little changed with 10-year bonds near a 7-year peak, continuing to pressure stocks as investors consider whether U.S. bonds pose a more attractive option to riskier equities.
“I think bonds are almost becoming an attractive alternative to equities,” said David Carter chief investment officer, Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York. “Not yet, in our opinion, but as yields continue to rise, we may get there soon.”
Weeks of diplomatic progress were thrown into doubt when North Korea postponed high-level talks with Seoul and threatened to pull out of its historic meeting with the United States.
The uncertainty compounded investor jitters ahead of United States-China trade negotiations.
“Tweets and tariffs are making the market a little uncomfortable and uncertain,” Carter said. “It doesn’t help markets, but it’s not necessarily knocking them down.”
On the economic front, housing starts fell 3.7 percent in April while new housing permits declined 1.8 percent, according to the Commerce Department.
At 2:17PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 92.55 points, or 0.37 percent, to 24,798.96, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.99 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,726.44 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 57.40 points, or 0.78 percent, to 7,409.03.
Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, only rate-sensitive utilities .SPLRCU and real estate .SPLRCR stocks were in negative territory.
Micron ( MU.O ) rose 4.6 percent after RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of the chipmaker with an “outperform” rating.
The Philadelphia SE semiconductor index .SOX was up 1.3 percent.
Facebook ( FB.O ) shares were the biggest drag on the S&P 500, down 0.6 percent, on news that Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg would appear before members of the European Parliament to answer questions about the improper use of users’ data.
3M Co ( MMM.N ), was the biggest drag on the Dow, slipping -0.7 percent after Jefferies downgraded the stock to “hold.”
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.30-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, a 2.62-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.
Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Steve Orlofsky
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/wall-street-to-open-flat-on-rising-u-s-yields-north-korea-worries-idINKCN1IH1Q0 |
A breakup of Facebook is highly unlikely: Analyst 7 Hours Ago 01:27 01:27 | 9:57 AM ET Sun, 13 May 2018 02:54 02:54 | 10:32 AM ET Mon, 14 May 2018 00:44 00:44 | 11:48 AM ET Fri, 11 May 2018 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/22/a-breakup-of-facebook-is-highly-unlikely-analyst.html |
BRASILIA (Reuters) - The office of Brazilian President Michel Temer said in a written statement on Wednesday that it was committed to the financial health of Petroleo Brasileiro SA and it would continue to preserve the state-led oil firm’s fuel pricing policies.
A government source told Reuters that Temer may scrap a market-based pricing mechanism that Petrobras has used for the past year and revert to selling all fuel below costs after a trucking strike largely paralyzed the nation the past 10 days. Temer acknowledged in a television interview late Tuesday that he was open to reviewing the pricing policy.
Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Brad Brooks; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
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© 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-transportation-petrobras-prici/brazil-presidents-office-says-will-preserve-petrobras-pricing-policy-idUSKCN1IV1W5 |
BERLIN (Reuters) - Audi ( NSUG.DE ) said on Tuesday that no cars in the United States were affected by its latest emissions software issues.
Volkswagen’s ( VOWG_p.DE ) main luxury division said it contacted Germany’s KBA automotive watchdog of its own volition about the problem and stopped deliveries of the affected models.
About 60,000 diesel-engined A6/A7 models have been detected with previously unknown emissions software issues, Audi said.
Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Victoria Bryan
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-audi-emissions-u-s/audi-says-no-cars-in-u-s-affected-by-latest-emissions-issue-idUSKBN1I91M3 |
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Zedge, Inc., (NYSE American:ZDGE) will report financial and operational results for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2018 (the three months ended April 30, 2018) on June 13, 2018.
Zedge’s earnings release will be filed on a Form 8-K and posted on the Zedge investor relations website ( http://investor.zedge.net ) at approximately 4:30PM Eastern on June 13th.
Zedge’s management will host an earnings conference call beginning at 5:00PM Eastern. Management’s presentation of the results, outlook and strategy will be followed by Q&A with investors.
To participate in the call, please dial 877-407-8133 (U.S. toll free) or 201-689-8040 (International) at least five minutes before the 5:00PM Eastern start and ask for the Zedge earnings conference call.
The call will also be webcast through this URL:
http://www.investorcalendar.com/event/33439 (through 9/13/18)
Following the call and continuing through June 27th, a call replay will be available by dialing 877-481-4010 (U.S. toll free) or 919-882-2331 (International) and entering the replay access code: 33439
About Zedge:
Zedge is a content platform, and global leader in smartphone personalization, with more than 300 million app installs and over 35 million monthly active users. People use Zedge to make their smartphones more personal; to express their emotions, tastes and interests using wallpapers, icons, widgets, ringtones and more. The Zedge platform enables brands, artists and creators to share their smartphone personalization content with their fans in order to extend their reach, reinforce their message and gain valuable insight into how customers interact with their content.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180531005056/en/
Zedge
Jonathan Reich - [email protected]
Source: Zedge, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/31/business-wire-zedge-to-report-third-quarter-fiscal-2018-results.html |
May 8 (Reuters) - Entravision Communications Corp:
* QTRLY LOSS PER SHARE $0.02 * ENTRAVISION COMMUNICATIONS - BOARD APPROVED EXTENSION OF SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM WITH A REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATION OF UP TO ADDITIONAL $15 MILLION OF CO’S STOCK Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-entravision-communications-corp-re/brief-entravision-communications-corp-reports-q1-loss-per-share-0-02-idUSASC0A0R5 |
CAIRO (Reuters) - China’s GCL Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Egypt’s ministry of military production to build a solar panel facility at a cost of up to $2 billion, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Thursday.
Under the MOU, which was signed on Wednesday, the facility will manufacture panels capable of producing 5 gigawatts (GW) annually, it said, without mentioning the location or timeframe of the project.
Egypt in 2014 announced extensive plans to develop renewable energy targeting 4.3 GW of wind and solar projects to be installed over three years, but many investors pulled out following contract disputes.
Egypt aims to meet 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2022.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former general who took office in 2014, has promised to revive the economy, which has struggled since a 2011 uprising scared away investors and tourists, Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency.
He has called in the military to assist in major infrastructure projects and with distribution of subsidized commodities to help curb price rises.
The economic weight of the military, which produces everything from bottled water to macaroni, has long been a topic of speculation in Egypt but official comment on its economic activities is rare.
Sisi said in March that the military’s economic activities were equivalent to 2-3 percent of GDP, well below the more than 50 percent that some have claimed.
Reporting by Amina Ismail
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-solar/egypt-signs-mou-with-chinas-gcl-for-2-billion-solar-panel-factory-idUSKBN1IB1WI |
Rockefeller Picasso sells for $115 million including fees The auction of the Rockefeller collection is expected to become the most valuable single-owner collection in history. Including its jewelry, furniture, silver and other items, the collection could fetch anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion, according to estimates. A Picasso painting, called "Young Girl with a Flower Basket," was considered to be the star of the collection. 1 Hour Ago | 02:48
A rare Picasso painting owned by the Rockefellers sold for $115 million including fees on Tuesday night, highlighting the continued strength of the art market and the enduring power of the Rockefeller name.Works by Henri Matisse and Claude Monet also went for eye-popping prices at the Christie's evening auction of 19th and 20th Century Art from the Collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller.
The auction was the largest of the week-long series of Rockefeller sales, expected to be the largest ever for a single collection. Christie's estimated the entire collection would fetch $500 million or more.
(Source: CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018)
The Picasso, called "Young Girl with a Flower Basket," was the star of the collection and was estimated to sell for $100 million or more. It was painted in 1905 and is from Pablo Picasso's rare and vivid Rose Period. Collectors have coveted the painting, which hung in David Rockefeller's Manhattan townhouse, for decades.
It was sold directly by Picasso to Gertrude Stein, the famed writer and bohemian who lived in Paris in the early 1900s and befriended many famous painters and writers. Rockefeller bought the piece from Stein's estate in 1968.The painting was not, however, a record for a Picasso. His colorful "Les Femmes d'Alger" sold for $179.4 million in 2015.
A painting by Henri Matisse, called "Odalisque couchee aux magnolias" sold for $80.75 million. It was estimated at $70 million and sets a new record for a Matisse, whose previous highest price was $48.8 million.
One of Monet's famous water lilies paintings sold for $84.7 million, above its $50 million estimate. Source: CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018 “Odalisque Lying with Magnolias” by Henri Matisse Watch: Christie's Rockefeller sale the largest single auction ever show chapters | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/rockefeller-picasso-sells-for-115-million-including-fees.html |
Continental Resources CEO: We see oil prices climbing to the mid-$70s to low-$80s 45 Mins Ago 01:27 01:27 | 9:57 AM ET Sun, 13 May 2018 02:54 02:54 | 10:32 AM ET Mon, 14 May 2018 00:44 00:44 | 11:48 AM ET Fri, 11 May 2018 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/23/continental-resources-ceo-we-see-oil-prices-climbing-to-the-mid-70s-to-low-80s.html |
May 15 (Reuters) - Sol Gel Technologies Ltd:
* SOL-GEL TECHNOLOGIES REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS
* SOL GEL TECHNOLOGIES LTD - REPORTED A LOSS OF $5.7 MILLION FOR Q1 OF 2018, COMPARED TO A LOSS OF $5.6 MILLION FOR SAME PERIOD IN 2017 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sol-gel-technologies-reported-loss/brief-sol-gel-technologies-reported-loss-of-5-7-million-for-q1-idUSASC0A2EX |
May 2 (Reuters) - Future Retail Ltd:
* FUTURE RETAIL - JV FUTURE RETAIL LLC INCORPORATED ON MAY 1 TO UNDERTAKE BUSINESS TO OPERATE FBB BRAND FASHION OUTLETS Source text: bit.ly/2HOGrVZ Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-future-retail-incorporates-jv-to-o/brief-future-retail-incorporates-jv-to-operate-fbb-brand-fashion-outlets-idUSFWN1S90YJ |
Scientists look to songbirds to solve human speech disorders 11:26pm IST - 02:28
The Rockefeller University scientists look at the brain circuits in songbirds which they say, show similarities to humans. The discovery may help individuals with speech disorders. Roselle Chen reports.
The Rockefeller University scientists look at the brain circuits in songbirds which they say, show similarities to humans. The discovery may help individuals with speech disorders. Roselle Chen reports. //reut.rs/2KL1HOy | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/07/scientists-look-to-songbirds-to-solve-hu?videoId=424736534 |
May 10, 2018 / 12:50 PM / Updated 33 minutes ago Shell offloads stake in Amberjack pipeline to MLP for $1.22 billion Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
(Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) will sell its stake in Amberjack Pipeline Co to its master limited partnership Shell Midstream Partners LP ( SHLX.N ) for $1.22 billion, the U.S. pipeline operator said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO - Showa Shell Sekiyu's logo is seen at its gas station in Tokyo, Japan, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
Drop down deals - where a parent transfers assets to its master limited partnership (MLP) - are practiced widely by energy companies to boost the value of their midstream assets without losing ownership of critical infrastructure.
The Amberjack pipeline, jointly run by Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) and Shell, is located in the Gulf of Mexico and transports roughly 300,000 barrels per day of oil.
The pipeline is expected to transport about 400,000 barrels per day by the end of 2019 from continued in-field development, as well as new projects coming online.
Shell Midstream Partners was formed by Shell to operate, develop and acquire pipelines and other midstream assets. Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-amberjackpipeline-m-a-shell-midstream/shell-midstream-to-buy-shell-stake-in-amberjack-pipeline-for-1-22-billion-idUKKBN1IB1T9 |
May 29, 2018 / 7:52 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Trump giving Japan's Abe a hard time on trade despite close ties Linda Sieg 5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tariffs on steel, threats of car import levies and intense pressure for a two-way economic deal: despite warm personal ties, U.S. President Donald Trump is giving Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a decidedly tough time on trade. U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida U.S. April 17, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files
Trump has also withdrawn from a multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) promoted by Abe as a counterweight to China, abandoned a climate change accord backed by Tokyo and is pursuing talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un notwithstanding Abe’s warnings about past mistakes.
Since Trump was elected, the two leaders have met nine times, shared burgers, played golf three times and spoken nearly two-dozen times by phone. In their latest telephone chat overnight, Abe and Trump agreed to meet again before a U.S.-North Korea summit that could take place next month.
“I think he has penetrated Trump’s mind to a certain degree, but that is different from his pet agenda on trade,” said Keio University professor Toshihiro Nakayama.
“Prime Minister Abe and his team expected a bit more because of the personal chemistry. That was a bit of wishful thinking - look at Macron,” Nakayama added.
Like Abe, French President Emmanuel Macron has developed a strong personal relationship with Trump yet has clashed with him over issues including Iran, climate change and trade.
Trump’s administration decided last week to begin a national security investigation into auto imports that could lead to new U.S. tariffs similar to those already imposed on imported steel and aluminium. Motor vehicles make up about 30 percent of Japanese exports to the United States.
The auto probe follows an April agreement by Trump and Abe to set up a new framework to discuss “free, fair and reciprocal” trade that will be led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
Trump has made clear he prefers a bilateral deal to cut a U.S. trade deficit with Japan that hit 615.7 billion yen ($5.64 billion) last month. However, Abe’s administration insists multilateral pacts are still the best bet.
“FFR is not a negotiation or scoping exercise for a bilateral FTA (Free Trade Agreement),” a Japanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. “We see it in a broader context.”
Behind Japan’s resistance to a bilateral FTA is in part the fear of pressure to open up its agriculture sector. The farm lobby is an important base for Abe’s ruling party. FAMILIAR PLAYBOOK
For now, Japan is working from a familiar playbook with a strategy combining highlighting past and planned purchases of U.S. goods and investments, possible moves sanctioned by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and expanding a web of trade pacts that Tokyo hopes will eventually lure Washington back to the multilateral order.
Japan has notified the WTO it reserves the right to take counter-measures against the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium totalling $440 million, the amount of added duties the U.S. tariffs would impose on its exports of those products.
“We have the right but not the obligation to do it,” the Japanese official said, adding any steps against future tariffs on Japanese car exports would also be WTO-consistent.
As they’ve done since Trump was elected, Japanese officials are highlighting how much Japanese carmakers and other firms contribute to the U.S. economy.
As of 2016, Japan says its companies have invested a cumulative $421 billion in the United State, creating more than 850,000 jobs.
A rise in energy imports is also expected to help trim the bilateral trade imbalance.
Japan received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) last week from Dominion Energy Inc’s newly completed Cove Point, Maryland export plant, the beginning of a jump in imports from the United States.
“The balance will tilt toward the United States. Whether it is big enough is open to question but at least things will be happening in the eyes of the president,” the Japanese official said.
Japanese officials deny they are foot-dragging on trade negotiations, but some experts said playing for time could be useful. “It’s not Japan that needs a bilateral FTA. It’s the United States,” said former Japanese trade negotiator Yorizumi Watanabe.
“Japan can take the approach of wait-and-see.”
That tactic, however, risks backfiring.
“The president is, as you know, a man of action and expects us to get results quickly,” U.S. ambassador to Japan William Hagerty said earlier this month. “I think Mr. Abe understands that.”
($1 = 109.0800 yen) U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he hosts a joint news conference with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., April 18, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files Reporting by Linda Sieg. Editing by Lincoln Feast. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-japan/trump-giving-japans-abe-a-hard-time-on-trade-despite-close-ties-idINKCN1IU0PQ |
David Tepper, the billionaire hedge fund founder, has agreed to buy the Carolina Panthers for an NFL-record of approximately $2.2 billion, according to people familiar with the sale.
In December, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson announced he would sell the team he founded, shortly after allegations of workplace misconduct were reported by Sports Illustrated. An NFL investigation of Richardson’s conduct remains ongoing.
The... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/david-tepper-to-buy-carolina-panthers-for-2-2-billion-1526402977 |
LONDON, May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Earthport , the global payments specialist, is pleased to announce the appointment of Amanda Mesler as Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 st July 2018. Amanda will join the Board as an Executive Director once the Regulatory Approvals have been received.
Amanda replaces Phil Hickman who had been serving as interim CEO, who will resume his previous role as non-Executive Chairman of Earthport. In conjunction with this appointment, Hank Uberoi will step down as Executive Chairman of Earthport. He will remain on the Board as a Non-Executive Director and Senior Advisor to the CEO and board.
Amanda has over 25 years of experience at senior management and board level for large international companies as well as smaller, high growth enterprises. Currently, Amanda is General Manager at Microsoft, where she recently managed the Enterprise Business in Central and Eastern Europe across thirty-three countries. Amanda will be stepping down from this role in June 2018. Prior to this, Amanda was the Chief Operating Officer of Misys, a private equity backed financial services software company with operations in over 120 countries.
Hank Uberoi, Executive Chairman of Earthport, said: "We are delighted to have such a talented and experienced global technology leader as Amanda join us to guide Earthport in the next stage of its growth. Everyone on the management team and board is excited to welcome her as CEO. I would also like to extend my thanks to Phil for running the company during this interim period and welcome him back into the chairman role. Phil and I very much look forward to supporting Amanda in her leadership of the firm."
Amanda Mesler, commented on her appointment : "I am thrilled to accept this opportunity to become Earthport's CEO. The scale of the opportunity at Earthport is substantial and I am confident that my experience, working for a wide variety of businesses within the technology and fintech sectors, will help the Company reach its true potential as a leading global payments network."
From 2007 to 2012 Amanda was on the Executive Committee and Operating Board of Logica plc, a FTSE 250 business with £4 billion revenues. From 2010 to 2012 she served as Logica's CEO of Global Business Consulting, managing 4,000 employees and a $750m P&L with the remit of growing business led technology services. From 2007 to 2012 she served as Logica's CEO of North America, successfully transforming an unprofitable software business into a high margin solutions business. Clients at Logica included some of the largest enterprises in the world within the Financial Services, Telecommunications and other industries.
Prior to this Amanda worked at Electronic Data Services where she led a $1 billion global business. Amanda also has extensive experience in compliance, having worked at KPMG from 1994 to 1999 where, in 2000, she created the Oil and Gas practice which become the fastest growing practice within KPMG.
Amanda's board experience includes serving as a Non-Executive Director on the Audit and Risk, Remuneration, and Nominations Committees at Pace plc, a former FTSE 250 provider of technology solutions to the PayTV and Broadband industries. She is currently a Non-Executive Director of Ensygnia Limited, a UK based technology company, as well as a Non-Executive director at National Grid plc, a FTSE 100 company. In addition, Amanda plays an active and longstanding role in women's rights advocacy and has engaged in significant work in this arena.
About Earthport:
Earthport provides cross-border payment services to banks and businesses. Through a single relationship with Earthport, clients can seamlessly manage payments to almost any bank account in the world, reducing costs and complexity to meet their customers' evolving expectations of price, speed and transparency.
Earthport offers clients access to global payment capability in 200+ countries and territories, with local ACH options in 65+ countries and an evolving suite of currencies and settlement options.
Earthport continues to invest in the establishment of in-country bank partnerships across the world, bringing together its deep market and regulatory expertise in order to maintain compliant and commercially competitive services.
The result - a global payments network accessed via a single relationship, delivering significant cost and operating efficiencies for banks and businesses servicing high volumes of lower value payments.
Headquartered in London with regional offices in New York, Dubai, Miami and Singapore, Earthport is a public company, traded on the London Stock Exchange (AIM: EPO).
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/earthport-appoints-amanda-mesler-as-chief-executive-officer-300654371.html
SOURCE Earthport | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/pr-newswire-earthport-appoints-amanda-mesler-as-chief-executive-officer.html |
Deutsche Bank AG named a new head of fixed income, promoting credit-trading executive Ioannis “John” Pipilis to oversee the business that historically has dominated the lender’s giant trading operations, according to a memo sent Friday to employees.
Mr. Pipilis, 41 years old, will replace Ram Nayak, who has overseen the fixed-income business since late 2015, according to the memo, signed by investment-banking chief Garth Ritchie. A Deutsche Bank spokesman confirmed the memo’s contents.
... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/deutsche-bank-names-new-global-head-of-fixed-income-1526060389 |
JERUSALEM, May 9 (Reuters) -
* Israeli-Cypriot blockchain company PumaPay said it raised $117 million in a token sale to private investors.
* The funds will support its open source blockchain-based billing protocol that will provide merchants with a way to process crypto currency payments.
* PumaPay said it signed up over 40 companies with over $10 billion worth of transactions per year as partners.
* “It gives us the resource to expand our ecosystem, bringing more companies to adapt the protocol at this early stage,” said CEO Yoav Dror. (Reporting by Steven Scheer)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/tech-blockchain-pumapay/blockchain-firm-pumapay-raises-117-mln-in-private-funds-idUSL8N1SG7H3 |
Flash floods leave bus passengers stranded in Ankara 10:35am BST - 01:01
High waters flooded the streets of Turkey's capital, leading to passengers being rescued from a stranded bus.
High waters flooded the streets of Turkey's capital, leading to passengers being rescued from a stranded bus. //reut.rs/2LjfY5m | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/21/flash-floods-leave-bus-passengers-strand?videoId=428980615 |
EditorsNote: Updates with Quote: s throughout
Tomas Nosek scored two goals, including what proved to be the game-winner with 10:16 remaining in the third period, to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a wild 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Nosek, who had just 15 points and seven goals in 67 games during the regular season, scored his second and third goals of the playoffs. Reilly Smith had a goal and an assist, and William Karlsson, Ryan Reaves and Colin Miller also scored goals for Vegas, which improved to 13-3 in the playoffs, including 7-1 at home. Deryk Engelland added two assists.
“We kept battling back,” Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant said. “We went down 4-3, and we never quit. Fortunately for us, we got some bounces and worked hard.”
Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves to pick up his 75th career playoff victory, just two behind Mike Vernon for seventh on the all-time list.
“Maybe a little too exciting for the goalies,” Fleury said of the high-scoring affair, despite both goaltenders entering on hot streaks. “Sometimes it goes that way. ... For me it was just about trying to stop the next one and keep us close in the game.”
Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist and Tom Wilson, John Carlson and Brett Connolly also scored goals for Washington, while T.J. Oshie added a pair of primary assists for the Capitals. Braden Holtby finished with 28 saves.
After a lengthy pregame ceremony that featured player introductions by longtime boxing and pro wrestling ring announcer Michael “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” Buffer, Vegas opened the scoring at the 7:15 mark when Miller rifled a shot from the right point just inside the right post, ending a 166:42 scoreless string by Holtby.
But Washington rebounded to take a 2-1 lead with two goals in the span of 42 seconds. Connolly, parked in the slot with his back to the net, tied it with a between-the-legs deflection of a Michal Kempny shot from the left point that also ricocheted off the skate of Miller inside the left post. Backstrom followed with his fifth goal of the playoffs into the right side of the net off a wraparound pass from Oshie.
It marked the first time the Golden Knights trailed at home in regulation in the playoffs, but it didn’t last long, as Karlsson made it 2-2 less than three minutes later, putting in a shot from the right side of the net off Holtby’s shoulder during a goal-mouth scrum.
Smith, who garnered his 15th assist of the playoffs on Karlsson’s goal, then gave Vegas a 3-2 lead early in the second period when he put in a pass from behind the net by Engelland into the right side of the cage.
Carlson, left alone in the slot, tied the game for the third time at the 8:29 mark off a slick no-look pass from Oshie from the right circle. It was the 17th playoff goal of Carlson’s career, breaking a tie with Kevin Hatcher for most playoff goals by a defenseman in Capitals’ history.
Wilson put the Capitals back in front, 4-3, at 1:10 of the third period when he redirected a shot by Alex Ovechkin past Fleury, who lost sight of the puck after it went between his pads and then knocked it in with the back of his left skate.
But Vegas regained the lead with a pair of goals by its fourth line, the first by Reaves when Kempny failed to clear the puck by the right side of the net, and the second by Nosek, who one-timed a crossing pass from defenseman Shea Theodore into the right corner of the net.
Nosek clinched it with an empty-netter with 2.7 seconds remaining.
“They work hard for us,” Gallant said of his fourth line. “They compete hard for us and it’s really nice to see them get rewarded tonight.”
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
“I think as a whole we can play a lot better, which is exciting to me,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “I know we have another level to our game.”
—Field Level Media
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/icehockey-nhl-vgk-wsh-recap/golden-knights-net-three-in-third-rally-to-top-caps-in-game-1-idUSMTZEE5TH0DESM |
DENVER, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - GrowGeneration Corp. (OTCQX: GRWG), GrowGeneration ("GrowGen" or the "Company") one of the largest specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores, announced today that it hired Yoshi Sakashita to the position of Vice-President of GrowGen Management Corp. GrowGen Mgt. is focused exclusively on providing product driven solutions, that lower costs and increases the efficiencies for large commercial cultivation operations.
From 2012-2017, Yoshi Sakashita was the Technical Lighting Expert for Gavita International, the leading indoor lighting solution for cannabis cultivators and most recently at Hawthorne Gardening, a division of Scotts Miracle-Gro, who acquired Gavita International in 2017. Prior to Gavita, he was with Bio Floral and Method 7, providing solutions and problem solving for many commercial growers.
GrowGen CEO Comments
Darren Lampert, Co-Founder and CEO, said, "The hiring of Yoshi, as our VP of GrowGen Management Corp. further solidifies the management team of GrowGen. Yoshi's years of experience in working with large commercial facilities, in both the US and around the globe, gives us a proven leader in the commercial cultivation space. Our commercial division is investing in new technologies and products that bring automation and efficacies, that will lower the grower's costs and deliver an overall better yielding and tasting product. We are extremely excited to have Yoshi on our team. "
Yoshi Sakashita Comments
Yoshi Sakashita said, "The opportunity to work with a growth company, with the vision and mission to develop the first national chain of hydroponic stores and the ability to deliver efficiencies, technology and provide solutions to the end users, drove my decision to accept the position of VP of GrowGen Management Corp. My passion is to help facilities, by bringing efficiencies, technology and techniques, used in traditional horticulture and bring it to the cannabis world will be key to the long-term success and profitability of cannabis cultivation businesses. My expertise is creating these solutions to solve cultivation problems, so they can operate most efficiently. I am truly excited about being part of the GrowGen management team."
About GrowGeneration Corp. :
GrowGeneration Corp. ("GrowGen") owns and operates specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores. Currently, GrowGen has 17 stores, which includes 6 locations in Colorado, 4 locations in California, 3 locations in Michigan, 2 locations in Nevada, 1 location in Rhode Island and 1 location in Washington. GrowGen carries and sells thousands of products, including organic nutrients and soils, advanced lighting technology and state of the art hydroponic equipment to be used indoors and outdoors by commercial and home growers. Our mission is to own and operate GrowGeneration branded stores in all the major legalized cannabis states. Management estimates that roughly 1,000 hydroponic stores are in operation in the U.S. According to New Frontier Data, by 2020 the cannabis market is estimated to reach over $23 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 32%.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release may include predictions, estimates or other information that might be considered forward-looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgments, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect our opinions only as of the date of this release. Please keep in mind that we are not obligating ourselves to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events. When used herein, words such as "look forward," "believe," "continue," "building," or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements made by us herein are often discussed in filings we make with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, available at: www.sec.gov, and on our website, at: www.growgeneration.com .
Connect:
Website: www.GrowGeneration.com
Facebook:GrowGenerationCorp
Twitter: @GrowGenOK
Instagram: Growgeneration_corp
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/growgeneration-hires-senior-commercial-expert-yoshi-sakashita-to-lead-its-commercial-division-300651410.html
SOURCE GrowGeneration | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/21/pr-newswire-growgeneration-hires-senior-commercial-expert-yoshi-sakashita-to-lead-its-commercial-division.html |
Sharon L. Giovinazzo, president and chief executive of World Services for the Blind , was recently walking through an airport with her trained service dog Watson when a "pocket pooch" growled and then bit him, she said.
The owner apologized and said the dog was her service animal. Ms. Giovinazzo, an Army veteran who lost her sight to multiple sclerosis in 2001, was not having it.
"'Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure, lady,'" she recalled telling the owner. "'Then your animal should be secured and trained not to do that.'"
More from the New York Times:
It's time to end the scam of flying pets
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Wheelchairs prohibited in the last place you'd expect
Ms. Giovinazzo said the dog was an untrained pet masquerading as a service animal in what advocates for people with disabilities said had become a growing problem in the last few years.
"It's gotten to the point where it's almost funny unless you are the one with the legitimate guide dog," Ms. Giovinazzo said.
Confusion over service dogs, which are specially trained to help people with disabilities, and emotional support animals, which can be pets that provide comfort and companionship but require no training, cloud the issue.
Recent headlines about passengers trying unsuccessfully to board flights with what they said were support animals — a peacock in one case and a hamster in another — as well as federal regulations that are subject to misinterpretation or abuse have made matters worse, experts said.
Regulators and airlines have taken notice.
Cracking Down on Fraud Delta and Alaska Airlines have tightened their rules for transporting service and support animals, and the federal Department of Transportation is exploring new rules to reduce the likelihood that airplane passengers falsely claim their pets as service animals. The department plans to solicit public comment about the "appropriate definition" of service animals, a spokeswoman said.
Twenty-two states already have some kinds of laws addressing the issue and lawmakers in Arizona , Iowa and Minnesota are considering cracking down on service dog fraud.
The Americans With Disabilities Act defines service animals as either dogs or miniature horses that are specifically trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities, such as guiding people who are blind. The Air Carrier Access Act separately governs airlines in the area of service and support animals — and that's one of the places prone to abuse.
Passengers pass off their pets as support or service animals so they can remain in the cabin instead of the cargo hold, officials said. (While unusual pets, such as pigs, have been taken aboard as support animals, airlines are not required to accommodate others, like snakes, reptiles, ferrets, rodents and spiders.)
Senator Richard Burr, Republican of North Carolina, last week introduced legislation to have the definition of a service animal under the Air Carrier Access Act match the one in the Americans with Disabilities Act. The proposal would bar from flights animals whose sole function was to provide comfort or emotional support and require federal agencies to establish a standard of behavior training for animals that would be working on planes, according to a news release .
Abuse Takes a Toll on Legitimate Cases Gerry DeRoche, chief executive of the National Education for Assistance Dog Services , said fraudulent service or support animals could displace legitimate ones because most airlines limit the number allowed in a cabin.
Jeffrey N. Younggren , a clinical professor at the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of New Mexico, said studies about the benefits of emotional support animals were "spotty and inconsistent."
"Before we start loading up airplanes with emotional support animals, we need the research," he said.
Official-looking paperwork is available online to make pets look legitimate: Owners answer questions about their need for a support animal, and a doctor issues an assessment without ever evaluating the client, Mr. Younggren said.
"The whole thing is a mess," he said, adding that such websites have become a "growth industry" over the last five years.
David Favre , a law professor at Michigan State University and editor in chief of its Animal Legal and Historical Center , said fraudulent cases eroded trust about service animals.
"There are many thoughtless, ignorant or arrogant people out there who only think of themselves," he said. "Abuse is everywhere."
Even for trained animals, maneuvering through crowds or traveling in confined places like planes can be stressful, but they are conditioned not to act out. Untrained animals in those circumstances are prone to misbehave by growling, biting or having accidents.
Chris Diefenthaler, operations administrator at Assistance Dogs International , said one of the worst outcomes could be when a pet posing as a service dog attacks a legitimate one, leaving it so traumatized or injured it has to be retired or put down.
"There are no standards for evaluating the need for an emotional support animal, whereas there are concrete rules to determine if someone is eligible for a service animal," Cassie Boness, a graduate student in clinical psychology in the department of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri, said in a post on the university's website .
"But emotional support animals can be certified through an online process, and they can be someone's pet," she continued. "The growing use of emotional support animals tends to discredit the use of service animals, which is where much of the tension comes from since people do not understand the difference."
Also, people can shop online for vests, patches or harnesses that identify their pets as service animals, leading to peculiar situations.
For instance, Ms. Giovinazzo, who flies frequently, said airline workers sometimes ask for identification for Watson. A detailed one issued by his guide school will draw scrutiny, while one that reads "TSA approved" that she bought from Amazon "looks more official," she said.
Cathy Zemaitis, director of development for National Education for Assistance Dog Services, shared a photo taken at Los Angeles International Airport of a dog wearing a vest labeled "service animal," a muzzle and a diaper.
"A true service dog would never be muzzled nor would they be in a diaper," she said. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/airlines-and-lawmakers-are-cracking-down-on-service-animals-on-planes.html |
May 31, 2018 / 1:57 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Czech caretaker PM Babis to get new shot at forming government next week Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, ruling in a caretaker capacity, will be appointed government leader again on June 6, he said on Thursday after meeting President Milos Zeman. FILE PHOTO: Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis arrives at a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
The appointment will give Babis right to propose a new cabinet and seek a vote of confidence in parliament, which he said he expected after July 10.
“The president informed me he will appoint me on June 6...and then I will have a deadline to present the government,” Babis said after meeting the president.
The central European country has been without a fully-fledged administration since an election last October.
The populist ANO party led by the billionaire businessman Babis won the most votes but feel short of a majority. It has so far failed to find majority support because most parties refuse to join a cabinet led by Babis, who faces criminal charges of abusing EU subsidies a decade ago.
He calls the investigation a plot.
Babis’s current one-party cabinet failed to win a confidence vote in January but has since lingered on in a caretaker capacity.
In parliament, it has cooperated with the far-left Communists as well as the far-right, anti-EU and anti-NATO Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party.
ANO has struck a preliminary deal to form a new government coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats, but that still requires approval by Social Democrat party members in a referendum running until June 14.
The result of the referendum is uncertain, as many Social Democrat members fear ANO would be ready to bypass them and push legislation through with the extremist SPD.
An ANO-Social Democrat cabinet would need the parliamentary backing of the far-left Communists to have majority in the 200-seat lower house of parliament.
The pro-Russian Communists have however been protesting plans by the coalition to send troops to NATO partner Lithuania this and next year, and have threatened to walk away form the government deal.
The lower house will vote on a mandate for foreign military missions on Friday.
Babis has said any government he forms would have a pro-western policy agenda, keep budgets close to balance and raise investments into infrastructure.
However, if the deal with the Social Democrats falls through, he may be forced to look for support from both the far-left and far-right groups. Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet; Editing by Toby Chopra | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-czech-politics/czech-caretaker-pm-babis-says-to-be-appointed-as-pm-again-on-june-6-idUSKCN1IW1VW |
(Adds details on Snaitech deal, context on recent trading, company comments)
May 16 (Reuters) - British gambling technology company Playtech Plc said it is exploring further acquisition opportunities, a month after agreeing to buy a majority stake in Italian betting and gaming firm Snaitech.
Playtech, which makes software that powers thousands of fixed-odds betting terminals across the UK, said in April it agreed to buy a 70.6 percent stake in Snaitech for 291 million euros ($344.22 million) in cash, in a move to source most of its revenue from regulated markets.
“In addition to the Snaitech acquisition, we continue to explore further M&A opportunities with complementary businesses in the B2B Gaming division,” the company said, ahead of its annual general meeting on Wednesday.
For Playtech, the Italian deal comes in the backdrop of sweeping regulatory changes in its UK home market, where lawmakers have hinted at drastic cuts on top stake limits in gambling machines.
The general meeting of Playtech shareholders to approve the acquisition is being held on May 29, and Playtech said it expects to complete the acquisition within the next few months.
Playtech began 2018 with a lag in its gaming division revenue following a crackdown on gambling syndicates in Malaysia, one of its largest Asian markets, the company pointed out in February.
Average daily revenues year-to-date for the B2B Gaming division in Asia were lower from the year earlier, the company said.
Playtech added on Wednesday it is taking steps to “protect its position” in the region.
“Management is confident that achievements in 2017 and in 2018 to date have delivered a strong platform for further strategic and operational progress in 2018,” the company said.
$1 = 0.8454 euros Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/playtch-outlook/update-1-playtech-eyes-more-acquisitions-after-snaitech-deal-idUSL3N1SN2W8 |
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ClearBridge American Energy MLP Fund Inc. (NYSE: CBA) and ClearBridge Energy MLP Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE: EMO) today announced approval by each Fund’s Board of Directors of a proposal to merge CBA with and into EMO, subject to approval by the stockholders of each Fund. If the proposed merger is approved by the stockholders of each Fund, (i) common stockholders of CBA would receive common stock of EMO, based on each Fund’s respective net asset value per share and (ii) holders of CBA’s mandatory redeemable preferred stock (the “CBA MRPS”) would receive shares of mandatory redeemable preferred stock of EMO in the same number and with terms identical to their CBA MRPS. In lieu of issuing fractional shares of common stock, EMO will pay cash to each former common stockholder of CBA in an amount equal to the value of the fractional shares of CBA common stock that the investor would otherwise have received in the merger. If approved by stockholders, the merger is anticipated to occur during the fourth quarter of 2018.
Management and each Fund’s Board of Directors believe it is in the best interests of stockholders to merge CBA with and into EMO in part because the combined Fund may benefit from economies of scale, as one set of fixed expenses would be spread over a larger asset base, as well as from the possibility of enhanced market liquidity and improved market price trading relative to NAV. The Merger will also result in a more streamlined product offering, allowing for more focused marketing and stockholder servicing efforts. Management and the Fund’s investment adviser do not anticipate any material portfolio turnover as a result of the proposed merger. The merger is expected to qualify as a tax-free reorganization for federal income tax purposes.
EMO Name and Policy Change: EMO also today announced approval by its Board of Directors of a change to its name from “ClearBridge Energy MLP Opportunity Fund Inc.” to “ClearBridge Energy Midstream Opportunity Fund Inc.” and, relatedly, an amendment of EMO’s 80% policy from investing at least 80% of its managed assets in master limited partnerships (“MLPs”) in the energy sector to investing at least 80% of its managed assets in energy midstream entities including entities structured as both partnerships and corporations.
The name and investment policy change should allow additional investment flexibility by including midstream C corporations in EMO’s current 80% policy. Management does not anticipate any material change in the portfolio construction in the near term because of this policy change. EMO will implement the name and investment policy changes concurrently with the merger, although such changes are not required to be approved by stockholders and will be implemented whether or not the merger is approved.
In connection with the proposal to merge CBA with and into EMO, the Funds intend to file a combined proxy statement and prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Investors and stockholders are advised to read the proxy statement and prospectus when it becomes available because it will contain important information. When filed with the SEC, the proxy statement and prospectus and other documents filed by the Funds will be available free of charge at the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov . Stockholders can also obtain copies of these documents, when available, for free by calling the Funds at 1-888-777-0102. Hard copies of the Fund’s complete audited financial statements are available free of charge upon request.
CBA and EMO, their directors and executive officers and investment adviser, members of their management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Funds’ stockholders in connection with the proposed merger. Information concerning the interests of the participants in the solicitation will be set forth in the proxy statement and prospectus to be filed with the SEC and will be set forth in the stockholder reports of the Funds on Form N-CSR to be filed with the SEC.
Each Fund is a non-diversified closed-end management investment company managed by Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc., and sub-advised by ClearBridge Investments, LLC.
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT AN OFFER TO PURCHASE NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL SHARES OF THE FUNDS. THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY CONTAIN STATEMENTS REGARDING PLANS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FUTURE THAT CONSTITUTE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. ALL STATEMENTS OTHER THAN STATEMENTS OF HISTORICAL FACT ARE FORWARD-LOOKING AND CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY THE USE OF WORDS SUCH AS “MAY,” “WILL,” “EXPECT,” “ANTICIPATE,” “ESTIMATE,” “BELIEVE,” “CONTINUE” OR OTHER SIMILAR WORDS. SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE BASED ON EACH FUND’S CURRENT PLANS AND EXPECTATIONS, AND ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE DESCRIBED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING SUCH RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES IS CONTAINED IN EACH FUND’S FILINGS WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180529005139/en/
For ClearBridge American Energy MLP Fund Inc. and ClearBridge Energy MLP Opportunity Fund Inc.
Shareholders:
Fund Investor Services, 1-888-777-0102
Source: ClearBridge American Energy MLP Fund Inc. and ClearBridge Energy MLP Opportunity Fund Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/29/business-wire-clearbridge-american-energy-mlp-fund-inc-and-clearbridge-energy-mlp-opportunity-fund-inc-announce-board-approval-of-proposed.html |
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House is prepared for a planned summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to take place on June 12, the original date proposed for the on-again-off-again meeting, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst “The president thinks ongoing discussions are going very well ... and that the meetings taking place over this week ... certainly are signs of progress,” Sanders told reporters traveling with Trump on Air Force One to Nashville, Tennessee.
“We’re going to be prepared if it takes place on June 12. We’ll certainly be prepared if it for some reason takes place at a later date - we’ll be prepared for that as well.”
Reporting by Jeff Mason and James Oliphant; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Eric Walsh
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-white-house/white-house-prepared-for-north-korea-summit-to-take-place-june-12-spokeswoman-idUSKCN1IU2T7 |
CAIRO (Reuters) - The last member of the military council that ruled Egypt after army officers overthrew the monarchy more than six decades ago died on Sunday, a member of his National Progressive Unionist Party said.
FILE PHOTO: Khaled Mohieddin, one of the last surviving members of the "Free Officers" who seized power in Egypt from the monarchy in 1952 speaks during an interview in this July 14, 2002 picture. REUTERS/Aladin Abdel Naby/File Photo Mona Abdel-Radi said that Khaled Mohieddin died at a military hospital in southern Cairo. He was 95.
Mohieddin was born to a wealthy family in al-Qalyubia governorate, north of Cairo, in 1922 and was among a group of military officers who overthrew King Farouk in July 1952.
He was the last surviving member of the Revolutionary Command Council, a 14-member body that was set up to run Egypt until 1956 when its head, Gamal Abdel Nasser, was elected president.
Mohieddin set up the National Progressive Unionist Party as a leftist opposition group in 1977, which won several seats in parliament under former President Hosni Mubarak.
He was awarded Egypt’s highest honor, the Nile medal, in 2013 by interim President Adly Mansour after the military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against his rule.
Egypt’s presidency mourned Mohieddin as a “symbol of national political action”.
“He had valuable contributions throughout his political history since his participation in the July, 1952 revolution, and also his setting up of the National Progressive Unionist Party which had enriched the partisanship and parliamentary life in Egypt,” the presidency said in a statement.
Reporting by Mohamed Abdellah, writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Adrian Croft
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-politics-mohieddin/khaled-mohieddin-last-member-of-egypts-revolutionary-command-council-dies-idUSKBN1I70DG |
May 24, 2018 / 10:35 AM / Updated 7 hours ago UK set for parliamentary showdown on Brexit law 'in weeks' Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Thursday its key piece of Brexit legislation would return to the House of Commons in a matter of weeks, the next stage in what is expected to be a major test of Prime Minister Theresa May’s authority. Anti-Brexit protesters wave EU and Union flags outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, November 14, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill is central to the government’s Brexit plan, repealing the laws that made Britain an EU member and transposing existing EU law into British law.
“I aim to bring back the very important Brexit legislation within weeks,” said Andrea Leadsom, leader of the House of Commons, without giving a specific date.
May, who has struggled to unite the government and parliament behind her vision of Brexit, has said Britain will leave the European Union’s single market and customs union after it quits the bloc next March. Britain's Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom arrives in Downing Street in London, Britain, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Britain’s upper house of parliament, the House of Lords, has inflicted 15 defeats on the legislation, including on core Brexit issues such as whether Britain should leave the EU’s single market and customs union.
The government will seek to overturn these amendments when the legislation returns to the lower House of Commons.
But there are concerns that the government may be defeated by pro-European rebels in May’s Conservative Party on whether Britain should leave the customs union, that could force her into a damaging policy U-turn. Reporting By Andrew MacAskill. Editing by Stephen Addison | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-lawmaking/britain-set-for-parliamentary-showdown-on-crucial-brexit-law-in-weeks-idUKKCN1IP1JJ |
BETHESDA, Md., May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TerraForm Power, Inc. (Nasdaq:TERP) (“TerraForm Power”) today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018. For the first quarter of 2018, TerraForm Power’s results were significantly improved with CAFD of $23 million, compared with $19 million in the first quarter of 2017. Excluding the one-time impact of outages related to the Raleigh wind facility, CAFD was $29 million.
Recent Highlights
In advanced negotiations with an original equipment manufacturer to provide a full-wrap, long-term service contract covering all of our wind fleet that features a fixed price that is consistent with our business plan and attractive availability guarantees; contract execution expected in the coming weeks Received regulatory approval to launch an accretive tender offer to acquire 100% of Saeta Yield (“Saeta”), a European renewable power company with 1,000 Megawatts (“MW”) of recently constructed wind and solar assets Declared a Q2 2018 dividend of $0.19 per share, implying $0.76 per share on an annual basis
Results
$ in millions, except per share amounts 3 Months Ended
3/31/2018 3 Months Ended
3/31/2017 Generation (GWh) 1 1,834 1,982 Net Loss $(76 ) $(56 ) Earnings (Loss) per Share 2 0.56 (0.37 ) Adj. EBITDA 3 96 103 CAFD 3 23 19 per Share 3,4 0.16 0.14 Results (excluding impact of outages related to Raleigh)
$ in millions, except per share amounts 3 Months Ended
3/31/2018 3 Months Ended
3/31/2017 Adj. EBITDA 3,5 $102 $103 CAFD 3,5 29 19 per Share 3,4,5 0.20 0.14 1 Amount in 2017 is adjusted for sale of our UK and Residential portfolios.
2 Earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2018 includes the impact of a $145.0 million net loss allocated to non-controlling interests resulting from changes in tax rates effective January 1, 2018.
3 Non-GAAP measures. See “Calculation and Use of Non-GAAP Measures” and “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” sections. Amounts in 2017 adjusted for sale of our UK and Residential portfolios.
4 Diluted earnings (loss) per share is calculated based on the net income (loss) attributable to Class A common stockholders divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding. CAFD per share calculated on shares outstanding of Class A common stock and Class B common stock on March 31. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Class A common stock shares outstanding totaled 148.1 million (three months ended March 31, 2017: 92.2 million). For three months ended March 31, 2018, there were no Class B common stock shares outstanding (three months ended March 31, 2017: 48.2 million).
5 Excluding the impact of outages related to Raleigh.
“We have made significant progress in executing our business plan, which is resilient to macroeconomic factors and capital market volatility,” said John Stinebaugh, CEO of TerraForm Power. “After closing the Saeta acquisition this summer, our growth over the next five years will be driven primarily by executing our cost savings plan, accretion from the acquisition and organic growth initiatives, with limited need to issue equity.”
Growth Initiatives
Over the past few months, we have made significant progress executing an outsourcing agreement for all of our wind fleet. We are currently in advanced negotiations with an original equipment manufacturer to provide a full-wrap, long-term service agreement (“LTSA”). The scope of the LTSA would include comprehensive wind turbine operations and maintenance (O&M) as well as other balance of plant services for a term of 10 years, with flexibility to terminate early. The agreement would also lock in pricing and provide availability guarantees that are consistent with our business plan. We anticipate finalizing the agreement within the next few weeks. While we expect a modest amount of transition costs in order to implement the agreement, we should begin realizing cost savings in the second half of 2018. Combined with the $10 million in cost savings we expect to achieve on a run rate basis by the end of the second quarter, we are confident we will realize approximately $25 million in annual cost savings over the next two to three years.
In April, we received approval from Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) of the prospectus for our tender offer to acquire Saeta, including approval of our €12.20 per share offer price as a fair price for a delisting tender offer. Saeta is a European renewable power company with 1,000 MW of wind and solar capacity that has an average remaining life in excess of 23 years. It has historically produced very stable cashflow, with an average contract and/or regulatory life of approximately 14 years. Commencing this week, we will launch a voluntary tender offer to acquire 100% of Saeta, which is supported by irrevocable commitments to purchase over 50% of Saeta’s shares. To the extent we acquire over 90% of Saeta’s shares in the voluntary offer, we will immediately proceed with a merger to acquire the remainder of Saeta. If we acquire less than 90% of Saeta’s shares, we will be able to delist Saeta’s shares by means of a purchase order at the approved price of €12.20 per share, which we anticipate launching shortly after the close of the voluntary offer. In either case, we are very confident we will acquire the vast majority of Saeta’s shares through tender offers by mid-summer.
Since February, it has become apparent to us that the volatility in the capital markets will likely continue for some period of time. As a result, we believe that it is prudent to consider increasing the equity to fund the Saeta transaction from $400 million up to $650 million, which is consistent with our initial underwriting and target returns. If we do so, we believe this would further strengthen our balance sheet and ensure that we have ample access to liquidity. The remainder of the ~$1.2 billion purchase price would be funded with ~$350 million in non-recourse debt raised from TerraForm Power’s unencumbered assets and ~$200 million of cash released from Saeta’s balance sheet. With the incremental equity, the Saeta acquisition would still be very accretive to TerraForm Power’s CAFD per share, and we expect our proforma corporate debt-to-cash flow ratio will decline to within our 4.0x to 5.0x goal, furthering our long-term plan to establish an investment grade rating. With a strong balance sheet and nearly $1 billion of available liquidity under committed facilities after the acquisition closes, we would be well-positioned to make opportunistic acquisitions in this period of market turbulence should they arise.
In addition to opportunistic acquisitions such as Saeta, we are looking for ways to take advantage of investment opportunities within our existing portfolio and to build our pipeline of organic growth opportunities. We are in late stage negotiations to acquire a 6 MW portfolio of operating distributed solar generation assets located in California and New Jersey pursuant to a right of first offer (“ROFO”) associated with a prior acquisition. Expected returns are at the high end of our target range with potential upside from executing our business plan. We have a ROFO on an additional 15 MW of operating distributed solar assets with the same seller, which we may be able to exercise in phases over the next 9-18 months.
We are also progressing a number of opportunities to establish relationships with developers in North America and Europe whereby we may provide capital to fund their pipeline of shovel-ready development projects and add-on acquisitions. We are in discussions with a renewable power developer in Europe in which we would commit capital to fund a strategy to consolidate small, regulated solar facilities in Spain. We are targeting returns on this program that would be accretive to our target return for Saeta.
Operations
In mid-January, the failure of a single faulty blade caused the collapse of a tower at our Raleigh wind facility in Dillon, Ontario. While the incident did not cause any injuries or impact the broader community, it reduced our CAFD for the quarter by approximately $6 million. In order to determine the root cause of the blade failure, we removed from service all 70 turbines at Raleigh and Bishop Hill that utilize the same blades. After a thorough investigation and rigorous inspections of the blades, all turbines were returned to service between mid-March and the end of April.
Excluding outages related to Raleigh, our fleetwide performance was in-line with the same period in the prior year. In addition to the wind outsourcing agreement, we are making progress on our plan to enhance availability at our solar sites. We are in the process of evaluating each of our solar assets that have below average availability to determine the root cause of the underperformance. This will result in a performance improvement plant that should increase availability to our target of 97% and enhance the cash flow of our solar fleet. Finally, the replacement of the battery energy storage system (BESS) at one of our wind farms in Maui is progressing on scope, schedule and budget.
Financial Results
Beginning this quarter, we will report CAFD using the definition that we disclosed last year, which we believe will provide a more meaningful measure for investors to evaluate our financial performance and our ability to pay dividends. As compared to preceding periods, CAFD has been revised to (i) exclude adjustments related to deposits into and withdrawals from restricted cash accounts, required by project financing arrangements, (ii) replace sustaining capital expenditures made during the quarter with the average long-term sustaining capital expenditures necessary to maintain the reliability and efficiency of our assets, and (iii) levelize debt service payments paid during the year rather than including the cash principal and interest payments made during a given quarter. For consistency purposes, we will also begin reclassifying into Adjusted EBITDA certain capital expenditures that we expect will be covered under our long-term service agreement and will be reported as O&M expense, prospectively. As a result of these changes, we expect less volatility in our quarterly CAFD than in previous years.
During the first quarter, our portfolio performed broadly in-line with expectations, excluding the impact of the outages related to Raleigh, delivering Adjusted EBITDA and CAFD of $102 million and $29 million, respectively. This represents a decrease in Adjusted EBITDA of $1 million but an increase of CAFD of $10 million compared to the same period last year. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was largely attributable to the transmission outage at Bishop Hill, which was partially offset by stronger resource at our utility scale solar facilities compared with the same period in the prior year. The increase in CAFD resulted from reduced interest expense that more than offset the decline in Adjusted EBITDA. Interest savings were driven by the attractive senior note, term loan B and corporate revolver refinancings completed in Q4 2017 as well as lower debt balances. For the first quarter, our total operating expenses on an annualized basis were $181 million, compared to total operating expenses of $191 million in 2017. The $10 million reduction reflects efficiencies from our organization structure and other cost savings initiatives. Deducting the nonrecurring lost revenue of $6 million related to Raleigh, Adjusted EBITDA was $96 million and CAFD was $23 million, representing a decline of $7 million, and an increase of $4 million for the quarter, respectively, compared to the same period in the prior year. We also recorded a non-cash asset impairment charge of $15 million due to the rejection of a Solar Renewable Energy Credit (“SREC”) contract with First Energy Solutions, which recently filed for bankruptcy.
Note that we have also enhanced our supplemental reporting package to better facilitate the assessment of our business by investors. Going forward, we will be providing an estimate of long-term average annual generation (LTA) by segment, which is defined as energy at the point of delivery, net of all recurring losses and constraints. Our LTA represents the level of production we expect to achieve by 2019 as we improve the performance of our fleet. In the short-term, we recognize that wind and irradiance conditions will vary from one period to the next. However, we expect our facilities will produce in-line with their long-term averages over time. We believe that comparing actual generation levels against LTA will enable investors to better assess the impact of an important factor that affects our business results.
Announcement of Quarterly Dividend
TerraForm Power today announced that, on April 30, 2018, its Board declared a quarterly dividend with respect to TerraForm Power’s Class A common stock of $0.19 per share. The dividend is payable on June 15, 2018, to shareholders of record as of June 1, 2018. This dividend represents TerraForm Power’s second dividend payment under Brookfield’s sponsorship.
About TerraForm Power
TerraForm Power owns and operates a best-in-class renewable power portfolio of solar and wind assets located primarily in the U.S., totaling more than 2,600 MW of installed capacity. TerraForm Power’s goal is to acquire operating solar and wind assets in North America and Western Europe. TerraForm Power is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange (Nasdaq:TERP). It is sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with more than $285 billion of assets under management.
For more information about TerraForm Power, please visit: www.terraformpower.com .
Contacts for Investors / Media:
Chad Reed
TerraForm Power
[email protected]
Quarterly Earnings Call Details
Investors, analysts and other interested parties can access TerraForm Power’s 2018 First Quarter Results as well as the Letter to Shareholders and Supplemental Information on TerraForm Power’s website at www.terraformpower.com .
The conference call can be accessed via webcast on May 2, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time at https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/ty7ocvs7 , or via teleconference at 1-844-464-3938 toll free in North America. For overseas calls please dial 1-765-507-2638, at approximately 8:50 a.m. Eastern Time. A replay of the webcast will be available for those unable to attend the live webcast.
Safe Harbor Disclosure
This communication contains forward-looking statements Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, assumptions, known and unknown risks, and uncertainties and typically include words or variations of words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “goal,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “objective,” “forecast,” “target,” “potential,” “continue,” “would,” “will,” “should,” “could,” or “may” or other comparable terms and phrases. All statements that address operating performance, events, or developments that TerraForm Power expects or anticipates will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. They may include estimates of cash available for distribution (CAFD), dividend growth, cost savings initiatives, earnings, Adjusted EBITDA, revenues, income, loss, capital expenditures, liquidity, capital structure, future growth, and other financial performance items (including future dividends per share), descriptions of management’s plans or objectives for future operations, products, or services, or descriptions of assumptions underlying any of the above. Forward-looking statements provide TerraForm Power’s current expectations or predictions of future conditions, events, or results and speak only as of the date they are made. Although TerraForm Power believes its expectations and assumptions are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct and actual results may vary materially.
By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to suggested by the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks related to: risks related to the transition to Brookfield Asset Management Inc. sponsorship, including our ability to realize the expected benefits of the sponsorship; risks related to wind conditions at our wind assets or to weather conditions at our solar assets; risks related to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting; pending and future litigation; the willingness and ability of counterparties to fulfill their obligations under offtake agreements; price fluctuations, termination provisions and buyout provisions in offtake agreements; our ability to enter into contracts to sell power on acceptable prices and terms, including as our offtake agreements expire; our ability to compete against traditional and renewable energy companies; government regulation, including compliance with regulatory and permit requirements and changes in tax laws, market rules, rates, tariffs, environmental laws and policies affecting renewable energy; risks related to the proposed relocation of the Company’s headquarters; the condition of the debt and equity capital markets and our ability to borrow additional funds and access capital markets, as well as our substantial indebtedness and the possibility that we may incur additional indebtedness going forward; operating and financial restrictions placed on us and our subsidiaries related to agreements governing indebtedness; risks related to the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the tender offer for the shares of Saeta Yield, S.A., including the timing or receipt of any governmental approvals; risks related to our financing of the tender offer for the shares of Saeta Yield, S.A., including our ability to issue equity on terms that are accretive to our shareholders and our ability to implement our permanent funding plan; our ability to successfully identify, evaluate and consummate acquisitions; and our ability to integrate the projects we acquire from third parties, including Saeta Yield, S.A., or otherwise and realize the anticipated benefits from such acquisitions.
The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions, factors, or expectations, new information, data, or methods, future events, or other changes, except as required by law. The foregoing list of factors that might cause results to contemplated in the forward-looking statements should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties, which are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as well as additional factors we may describe from time to time in other filings with the SEC. We operate in a competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and you should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors and, consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.
TERRAFORM POWER, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018 2017 Operating revenues, net $ 127,547 $ 151,135 Operating costs and expenses: Cost of operations 37,323 34,338 Cost of operations - affiliate — 5,598 General and administrative expenses 24,284 36,725 General and administrative expenses - affiliate 3,474 1,419 Acquisition and related costs 3,685 — Impairment of renewable energy facilities 15,240 — Depreciation, accretion and amortization expense 65,590 60,987 Total operating costs and expenses 149,596 139,067 Operating (loss) income (22,049 ) 12,068 Other expenses: Interest expense, net 53,554 68,312 Loss on foreign currency exchange, net 891 587 Other expenses, net 849 360 Total other expenses, net 55,294 69,259 Loss before income tax benefit (77,343 ) (57,191 ) Income tax benefit (976 ) (918 ) Net loss (76,367 ) (56,273 ) Less: Net (loss) income attributable to redeemable non-controlling interests (2,513 ) 835 Less: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests (157,087 ) (25,339 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Class A common stockholders $ 83,233 $ (31,769 ) Weighted average number of shares: Class A common stock - Basic 148,139 92,072 Class A common stock - Diluted 148,166 92,072 Earnings (loss) per share: Class A common stock - Basic and diluted $ 0.56 $ (0.37 ) Dividends declared per share: Class A common stock $ 0.19 $ — TERRAFORM POWER, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
March 31,
2018 December 31,
2017 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 157,833 $ 128,087 Restricted cash 51,987 54,006 Accounts receivable, net 70,346 89,680 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 43,473 65,393 Due from affiliates 4,856 4,370 Total current assets 328,495 341,536 Renewable energy facilities, net, including consolidated variable interest entities of $3,238,105 and $3,273,848 in 2018 and 2017, respectively 4,719,808 4,801,925 Intangible assets, net, including consolidated variable interest entities of $810,724 and $823,629 in 2018 and 2017, respectively 1,057,557 1,077,786 Restricted cash 43,577 42,694 Other assets 109,344 123,080 Total assets $ 6,258,781 $ 6,387,021 Liabilities, Redeemable Non-controlling Interests and Stockholders' Equity Current liabilities: Current portion of long-term debt and financing lease obligations, including consolidated variable interest entities of $80,564 and $84,691 in 2018 and 2017, respectively $ 413,249 $ 403,488 Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities, including consolidated variable interest entities of $40,109 and $34,199 in 2018 and 2017, respectively 107,439 88,538 Deferred revenue 1,807 17,859 Due to affiliates 3,369 3,968 Total current liabilities 525,864 513,853 Long-term debt and financing lease obligations, less current portion, including consolidated variable interest entities of $831,074 and $833,388 in 2018 and 2017, respectively 3,181,122 3,195,312 Deferred revenue, less current portion 13,134 38,074 Deferred income taxes 16,839 18,636 Asset retirement obligations, including consolidated variable interest entities of $98,812 and $97,467 in 2018 and 2017, respectively 153,557 154,515 Other long-term liabilities 38,155 37,923 Total liabilities 3,928,671 3,958,313 Redeemable non-controlling interests 50,760 58,340 Stockholders' equity: Class A common stock, $0.01 par value per share, 1,200,000,000 shares authorized, 148,586,447 shares issued and 148,086,027 shares outstanding in 2018 and 2017 1,486 1,486 Additional paid-in capital 1,841,692 1,866,206 Accumulated deficit (290,818 ) (398,629 ) Accumulated other comprehensive income 30,360 48,018 Treasury stock, 500,420 shares in 2018 and 2017 (6,712 ) (6,712 ) Total TerraForm Power, Inc. stockholders' equity 1,576,008 1,510,369 Non-controlling interests 703,342 859,999 Total stockholders' equity 2,279,350 2,370,368 Total liabilities, redeemable non-controlling interests and stockholders' equity
$ 6,258,781 $ 6,387,021 TERRAFORM POWER, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 Cash flows from operating activities: Net loss $ (76,367 ) $ (56,273 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation, accretion and amortization expense 65,590 60,987 Amortization of favorable and unfavorable rate revenue contracts, net 9,817 9,827 Impairment of renewable energy facilities 15,240 — Amortization of deferred financing costs and debt discounts 2,684 4,639 Unrealized loss (gain) on commodity contract derivatives, net 2,148 (2,231 ) Recognition of deferred revenue (464 ) (3,987 ) Stock-based compensation expense — 2,509 Unrealized loss on foreign currency exchange, net 779 748 Deferred taxes (882 ) 639 Other, net 2,907 (22 ) Changes in assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable (6,410 ) (10,982 ) Prepaid expenses and other current assets 15,390 7,024 Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities 18,527 19,858 Due to affiliates (599 ) — Deferred revenue 368 186 Other, net 3,361 2,306 Net cash provided by operating activities 52,089 35,228 Cash flows from investing activities: Capital expenditures (2,720 ) (2,076 ) Proceeds from reimbursable interconnection costs 4,084 — Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 1,364 (2,076 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Revolving credit facility draws 52,000 — Revolving credit facility repayments (42,000 ) (5,000 ) Borrowings of non-recourse long-term debt — 79,835 Principal payments on Term Loan and non-recourse long-term debt (9,556 ) (11,870 ) Debt financing fees (2,134 ) (2,791 ) Contributions from non-controlling interests in renewable energy facilities 7,685 6,935 Distributions to non-controlling interests in renewable energy facilities (5,786 ) (9,692 ) Due to/from affiliates, net 3,214 (4,841 ) SunEdison investment — 7,371 Payment of dividend (28,008 ) — Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (24,585 ) 59,947 Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 28,868 93,099 Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash classified within assets held for sale — 19,440 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (258 ) (471 ) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 224,787 682,837 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $ 253,397 $ 794,905 Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
Adjusted Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and CAFD are supplemental non-GAAP measures that should not be viewed as alternatives to GAAP measures of performance, including revenue, net income (loss), operating income or net cash provided by operating activities. Our definitions and calculation of these non-GAAP measures may not necessarily be the same as those used by other companies. These non-GAAP measures have certain limitations, which are described below, and they should not be considered in isolation. We encourage you to review, and evaluate the basis for, each of the adjustments made to arrive at Adjusted Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and CAFD.
Calculation of Non-GAAP Measures
We define Adjusted Revenue as operating revenues, net, adjusted for non-cash items including unrealized gain/loss on derivatives, amortization of favorable and unfavorable rate revenue contracts, net and other non-cash revenue items.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) plus depreciation, accretion and amortization, non-cash general and administrative costs, interest expense, income tax (benefit) expense, acquisition related expenses, and certain other non-cash charges, unusual or non-recurring items and other items that we believe are not representative of our core business or operating performance, as described further below.
We define “cash available for distribution” or “CAFD” as Adjusted EBITDA (i) minus cash distributions paid to non-controlling interests in our renewable energy facilities, if any, (ii) minus annualized scheduled interest and project level amortization payments in accordance with the related borrowing arrangements, (iii) minus average annual sustaining capital expenditures (based on the long-sustaining capital expenditure plans) which are recurring in nature and used to maintain the reliability and efficiency of our power generating assets over our long-term investment horizon, (iv) plus or minus operating items as necessary to present the cash flows we deem representative of our core business operations.
As compared to the preceding period, we revised our definition of CAFD to (i) exclude adjustments related to deposits into and withdrawals from restricted cash accounts, required by project financing arrangements, (ii) replace sustaining capital expenditures payment made in the year with the average annualized long-term sustaining capital expenditures to maintain reliability and efficiency of our assets, and (iii) annualized debt service payments. We revised our definition as we believe it provides a more meaningful measure for investors to evaluate our financial and operating performance and ability to pay dividends. For items presented on an annualized basis, we will present actual cash payments as a proxy for an annualized number until the period commencing January 1, 2018.
Furthermore, to provide investors with the most appropriate measures to assess the financial and operating performance of our existing fleet and the ability to pay dividends in the future, we have excluded results associated with our UK solar and Residential portfolios, which were sold in 2017, from Adjusted Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and CAFD reported for all periods presented.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
We disclose Adjusted Revenue because it presents the component of our operating revenue that relates to the energy production from our plants, and is, therefore, useful to investors and other stakeholders in evaluating the performance of our renewable energy assets and comparing that performance across periods in each case without regard to non-cash revenue items.
We disclose Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it is useful to investors and other stakeholders as a measure of financial and operating performance and debt service capabilities. We believe Adjusted EBITDA provides an additional tool to investors and securities analysts to compare our performance across periods and among us and our peer companies without regard to interest expense, taxes and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA has certain limitations, including that it: (i) does not reflect cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual liabilities or future working capital needs, (ii) does not reflect the significant interest expenses that we expect to incur or any income tax payments that we may incur, and (iii) does not reflect depreciation and amortization and, although these charges are non-cash, the assets to which they relate may need to be replaced in the future, and (iv) does not take into account any cash expenditures required to replace those assets. Adjusted EBITDA also includes adjustments for non-cash impairment charges, gains and losses on derivatives and foreign currency swaps, acquisition related costs and items we believe are infrequent, unusual or non-recurring, including adjustments for general and administrative expenses we have incurred as a result of the SunEdison bankruptcy.
We disclose CAFD because we believe cash available for distribution is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance and because securities analysts and other stakeholders analyze CAFD as a measure of our financial and operating performance and our ability to pay dividends. CAFD is not a measure of liquidity or profitability, nor is it indicative of the funds needed by us to operate our business. CAFD has certain limitations, such as the fact that CAFD includes all of the adjustments and exclusions made to Adjusted EBITDA described above.
The adjustments made to Adjusted EBITDA and CAFD for infrequent, unusual or non-recurring items and items that we do not believe are representative of our core business involve the application of management judgment, and the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA and CAFD should not be construed to infer that our future results will be unaffected by infrequent, non-operating, unusual or non-recurring items.
In addition, these measures are used by our management for internal planning purposes, including for certain aspects of our consolidated operating budget, as well as evaluating the attractiveness of investments and acquisitions. We believe these Non-GAAP measures are useful as a planning tool because it allows our management to compare performance across periods on a consistent basis in order to more easily view and evaluate operating and performance trends and as a means of forecasting operating and financial performance and comparing actual performance to forecasted expectations. For these reasons, we also believe these Non-GAAP measures are also useful for communicating with investors and other stakeholders.
The following tables present a reconciliation of Operating Revenues to Adjusted Revenue and net loss to Adjusted EBITDA to CAFD and has been adjusted to exclude asset sales in the UK and Residential portfolios:
Three Months Ended March 31 (in thousands) 2018 2017 Adjustments to reconcile operating revenues, net to adjusted revenue Operating revenues, net $127,547 $151,135 Unrealized (gain) loss on commodity contract derivatives, net (a) 2,148 (2,231 ) Amortization of favorable and unfavorable rate revenue contracts, net (b) 9,817 9,827 Other non-cash items (c) (416 ) (3,433 ) Adjustment for Asset Sales - (6,596 ) Adjusted revenue $ 139,096 $ 148,702 Direct operating costs (d) (43,383 ) (45,738 ) Settled FX gain (loss) (112 ) 161 Adjusted EBITDA $ 95,601 $ 103,125 Non-operating general and administrative expenses (e) (18,065 ) (25,374 ) Stock-based compensation expense - (2,509 ) Acquisition and related costs (3,685 ) - Depreciation, accretion and amortization expense (f) (75,406 ) (70,814 ) Impairment charges (15,240 ) - Interest expense, net (53,554 ) (68,312 ) Income tax benefit 976 918 Adjustment for asset sales - 3,147 Other non-cash or non-operating items (g) (6,994 ) 3,546 Net loss ($ 76,367 ) ($ 56,273 ) (in thousands) Three Months Ended March 31 Reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to CAFD 2018
2017
Adjusted EBITDA $ 95,601 $ 103,125 Fixed management fee (2,500 ) - Variable management fee (787 ) - Adjusted interest expense (h) (49,508 ) (60,011 ) Levelized principal payments (i) (24,350 ) (24,810 ) Cash distributions to non-controlling interests (j) (4,737 ) (9,602 ) Sustaining capital expenditures (k) (1,850 ) (244 ) Adjustment for asset sales - (134 ) Other (l) 10,722 10,940 Cash available for distribution (CAFD) (m) $ 22,591 $ 19,264 a) Represents unrealized loss (gain) on commodity contracts associated with energy derivative contracts that are accounted for at fair value with the changes recorded in operating revenues, net. The amounts added back represent changes in the value of the energy derivative related to future operating periods, and are expected to have little or no net economic impact since the change in value is expected to be largely offset by changes in value of the underlying energy sale in the spot or day-ahead market.
b) Represents net amortization of purchase accounting intangibles arising from past business combinations related to favorable and unfavorable rate revenue contracts.
c) Primarily represents recognized deferred revenue related to the upfront sale of investment tax credits.
d) In the three months ended March 31, 2017, reclassifies $2.3 million wind sustaining capital expenditure into direct operating costs, which will be covered under a new Full Service Agreement.
e) Pursuant to the management services agreement, SunEdison agreed to provide or arrange for other service providers to provide management and administrative services to us. In the three months ended March 31, 2017, we accrued $0.4 million of costs incurred for management and administrative services that were provided by SunEdison under the Management Services Agreement that were not reimbursed by TerraForm Power and were treated as an addback in the reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA. In addition, non-operating items and other items incurred directly by TerraForm Power that we do not consider indicative of our core business operations are treated as an addback in the reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA. These items include extraordinary costs and expenses related primarily to restructuring, legal, advisory and contractor fees associated with the bankruptcy of SunEdison and certain of its affiliates (the “SunEdison bankruptcy”) and investment banking, legal, third party diligence and advisory fees associated with the Brookfield transaction, dispositions and financings. The Company’s normal general and administrative expenses, paid by Terraform Power, are the amounts shown below and were not added back in the reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA ($ in millions):
Q1 2018 Q1 2017 $7 M $9 M f) Include reductions (increases) within operating revenues due to net amortization of favorable and unfavorable rate revenue contracts as detailed in the reconciliation of Adjusted Revenue.
g) Represents other non-cash items as detailed in the reconciliation of Adjusted Revenue and associated footnote and certain other items that we believe are not representative of our core business or future operating performance, including but not limited to: loss (gain) on foreign exchange (“FX”), unrealized loss on commodity contracts, loss on investments and receivables with affiliate, loss on disposal of renewable energy facilities, and wind sustaining capital expenditure previously reclassified.
h) Represents project-level and other interest expense and interest income attributed to normal operations. The reconciliation from Interest expense, net as shown on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations to adjusted interest expense applicable to CAFD is as follows:
$ in millions Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Interest expense, net ($ 54 ) ($ 68 ) Amortization of deferred financing costs and debt discounts 3 5 Adjustment for asset sales - 4 Other 1 (1 ) Adjusted interest expense ($ 50 ) ($ 60 ) i) Represents levelized project-level and other principal debt payments to the extent paid from operating cash.
j) Represents cash distributions paid to non-controlling interests in our renewable energy facilities. The reconciliation from Distributions to non-controlling interests as shown on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows to Cash distributions to non-controlling interests, net for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 is as follows:
$ in millions Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Distributions to non-controlling interests ($ 6 ) ($ 10 ) Adjustment for non-operating cash distributions 1 - Cash distributions to non-controlling interests, net ($ 5 ) ($ 10 ) k) Represents long-term average sustaining capex starting in 2018 to maintain reliability and efficiency of the assets.
l) Represents other cash flows as determined by management to be representative of normal operations including, but not limited to, wind plant “pay as you go” contributions received from tax equity partners, interconnection upgrade reimbursements, major maintenance reserve releases or (additions), and releases or (postings) of collateral held by counterparties of energy market hedges for certain wind plants.
m) CAFD in 2017 was recast as follows to present the levelized principal payments and adjusted interest expense in order to reduce volatility in reported CAFD. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, CAFD remained $88 million as reported previously.
$ in millions Q1
2017 Q2
2017 Q3
2017 Q4
2017 2017 Cash available for distribution (CAFD) before debt service reported $ 104 $ 120 $ 106 $ 91 $ 421 Levelized principal payments (25 ) (25 ) (25 ) (24 ) (99 ) Adjusted interest expense (60 ) (61 ) (63 ) (50 ) (234 ) Cash available for distribution (CAFD), recast $ 19 $ 34 $ 18 $ 17 $ 88
Source:TerraForm Power, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/globe-newswire-terraform-power-reports-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
The issue of Japanese hostages in North Korea is important: Expert 5 Hours Ago Sheila Smith of the Council on Foreign Relations says one issue that may come up in a summit between Pyongyang and the U.S. is the fate of Japanese hostages held by North Korea. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/27/the-issue-of-japanese-hostages-in-north-korea-is-important-expert.html |
May 11 (Reuters) - SeaSpine Holdings Corp:
* SEASPINE HOLDINGS SAYS ENTERED INTO EQUITY DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH PIPER JAFFRAY RELATING TO CO’S COMMON STOCK OFFERED BY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
* SEASPINE HOLDINGS SAYS CO MAY OFFER AND SELL CO'S COMMON STOCK HAVING AGGREGATE OFFERING PRICE OF UP TO $50.0 MILLION FROM TIME TO TIME - SEC FILING Source text: ( bit.ly/2KUsU1d ) Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-seaspine-holdings-says-entered-int/brief-seaspine-holdings-says-entered-into-equity-distribution-agreement-with-piper-jaffray-idUSFWN1SI1HB |
May 2 (Reuters) - Infosys Ltd:
* ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH ASTOUND * ASTOUND'S AI PLATFORM WILL BE EMBEDDED INTO INFOSYS ENTERPRISE SERVICE MANAGEMENT CAFÉ TO DELIVER AI-DRIVEN AUTOMATION TO LARGE ENTERPRISES Source text - bit.ly/2FAjQuu Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-infosys-announces-partnership-with/brief-infosys-announces-partnership-with-astound-idUSFWN1S90GM |
May 19, 2018 / 4:42 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago West Ham target Pellegrini leaves Hebei
HONG KONG, May 19 - Manuel Pellegrini has left Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune, the club said on Saturday, increasing speculation that the former Manchester City manager could join West Ham United. FILE PHOTO: Britain Soccer Football - Swansea City v Manchester City - Barclays Premier League - Liberty Stadium - 15/5/16 Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini at the end of his last game in charge Reuters / Rebecca Naden Livepic
Hebei made the announcement on social media after Pellegrini guided the team to a 2-1 win over Chongqing Lifan in the club’s final league match before a two-month break for the World Cup.
“After amicable discussions with Mr Pellegrini, we have reached a mutual agreement,” a club statement said.
“As of May 20, Mr Pellegrini will no longer work as the head coach of Hebei China Fortune Football Club.
“We sincerely thank Mr Pellegrini for his contribution to the club and we wish him all the best for the future.” Chilean Pellegrini, 64, joined Hebei after leaving Manchester City in 2016 having guided them to the Premier League title in 2014.
During almost two years in the Chinese Super League, he took Hebei to fourth place in the table in 2017, narrowly missing out on leading them into the Asian Champions League for the first time.
Pellegrini has been linked with West Ham since David Moyes left the London club last week. Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Ed Osmond | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-china-heb/west-ham-target-pellegrini-leaves-hebei-idUKKCN1IK0N7 |
One of the analysts cut off by Tesla chief executive Elon Musk during the company's latest earnings call has responded, telling clients he plans to "hold Tesla accountable" for its performance.
In an open letter and invitation to Musk entitled "Dear Elon," RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak on Wednesday defended his questioning.
"Some of these questions can seem dry, boring or short-term focused, but hopefully you can appreciate that anyone looking to invest in Tesla's future must first be comfortable with its present," Spak wrote.
"I would be elated to host you for a webcast or call to talk extensively about all the amazing industry innovations you are driving and dispel any investor misconceptions you perceive," he added.
Tesla declined to comment for this story.
Musk, who hosted Tesla's earnings conference call last week to detail the company's quarterly progress, grew frustrated by what he characterized as "boring, bonehead" questions from industry analysts.
So when Spak later asked Musk for clarification on the company's Model 3 reservations on the call, he didn't get the answer he was looking for.
"We're going to go to YouTube," Musk declared. "These questions are so dry. They're killing me."
tweet
He then took a string of questions from Galileo Russell, a 25-year-old retail investor and owner of a YouTube Channel, who asked the Tesla chief on Twitter if he could be on the earnings call, normally reserved for analysts, professional investors and sometimes, the media.
Tesla's shares tumbled the day after the call , but since then have regained much of the losses.
To be sure, Spak remains optimistic about the electric car maker, calling Tesla "an amazing company with a compelling long-term opportunity." The analyst currently has a sector perform rating on shares and a 12-month price target of $280, implying 7 percent downside.
"Don't get me wrong. I love talking and thinking about the big picture and what Tesla can become. That's what makes Tesla such a fascinating company," Spak wrote. But "my responsibility is to be well informed when I discuss Tesla's stock with current and potential investors. A financial results call is an opportunity for Wall Street to re-calibrate our expectations."
While Spak was just one of a few analysts on the receiving end of an exasperated CEO, several Wall Street analysts criticized Musk's behavior on the call, arguing that the shareholders they represent need the gritty details of any company's finances before making investment decisions.
Clear results from Tesla are of unusually paramount importance for many on Wall Street who feel the electric car maker is at risk of continuing to miss on its Model 3 production goals.
tweet
Musk said last summer that Tesla would likely be making 20,000 Model 3s per month by the end of the year, but the company then downgraded those expectations to 2,500 per week. Just last month, Jalopnik.com reported that the company was making 2,000 Model 3s per week as of the end of the first quarter.
Aside from the production issues, Wall Street's short sellers – who have made Tesla the single biggest short on the Street – likely celebrated a voluntary recall of 123,000 Model S vehicles last month because of an issue with a power-steering component.
Still, Musk continues to push back against who have raised concerns about the company's long-term financial outlook. Though some have wondered whether the setbacks will require the company to raise more capital later this year, Musk firmly rebuked that claim last week.
Asked last week if he might consider now a good time to raise more money, the CEO simply said "no."
Many investors, too, are hoping for a big payoff from the company. Since its initial public offering price of $17 a share in mid-2010, Tesla's stock soared as high as $385 last year before production issues deflated shares to their current $302 level.
—CNBC's John Melloy and Robert Ferris contributed reporting.
Disclaimer | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/analyst-cut-off-by-teslas-musk-plans-to-hold-carmaker-accountable.html |
May 3 (Reuters) - U.S. and Chinese negotiators will end two days of talks on Friday to try and avert a trade war over thorny technology transfer issues amid expectations that they will not reach a breakthrough deal but will at least agree to keep talking.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs are seen as likely to continue their march toward activation.
The following are key dates in the tense trade standoff between the world’s two largest economies:
Early to mid-May: U.S. Senate Banking Committee and House of Representatives Financial Services Committee are expected to finalize their versions of legislation to strengthen national security reviews of foreign acquisitions and tie-ups with U.S. companies and make it harder for Chinese firms to acquire sensitive technologies. Timing for final passage is unclear.
May 11: U.S. Trade Representative’s deadline for submission of written public comments on Trump’s first round of proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods, including electronic and machinery parts, television sets and autos.
May 15: USTR holds public hearing on its $50 billion tariff list. The agency has received requests from 83 individuals and groups to testify.
May 18: U.S. Treasury Department deadline to propose investment restrictions to address China’s state acquisition of sensitive U.S. technologies under the “Section 301” intellectual property probe.
May 22: USTR deadline for submission of public hearing rebuttal comments, ending the tariff comment period.
May 22: End of 60-day consultation period for the United States to try and settle World Trade Organization complaint against China over technology licensing requirements. The United States could then request dispute settlement panel to adjudicate.
June 1: New deadline for Canada, Mexico and European Union to reach agreements with USTR on permanent exemptions from steel and aluminum tariffs.
June 9: End of 60-day consultation period for China to try and settle WTO complaint against the United States over its steel and aluminum tariffs. China could then request a dispute settlement panel to adjudicate.
Early to mid-June: Following analysis of public comments on tariffs, USTR may revise its tariff list. Sometime after that, the tariffs will be ready for activation, but Trump will decide whether to impose them.
Unknown: USTR will reveal its next threatened tariff list of $100 billion worth of additional Chinese goods to levy. USTR is expected to go through another 60-day comment period with a public hearing before activating these tariffs.
July 1: U.S. “fast track” trade negotiating authority law expires. The Trump administration intends to seek a three-year extension, which is automatic unless Congress blocks it with a disapproval vote.
Second half of 2018: WTO dispute settlement panel is expected to notify parties of its decision in China’s “market economy” case. Beijing has challenged the European Union’s decision to continue treating China as a non-market economy in determining anti-dumping duties. Publication of the decision, which could shake the WTO’s foundations, could come months later. The United States also treats China as a non-market economy and supports the EU’s position. (Reporting by David Lawder Editing by Leslie Adler)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-china-deadlines/timeline-next-steps-deadlines-in-u-s-china-trade-fight-idUSL1N1SA28X |
LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Borrowing costs in Italy jumped in early Wednesday trade, pushing out the gap over benchmark German bond yields after a report that Italy’s 5-Star and League plan to ask the ECB to forgive 250 billion euros of Italian debt.
Italian 10-year bond yields hit a two-month high at 2.003 percent, with the 6 basis points jump pushing the gap over benchmark German Bund yields to 138 bps from 129 bps late on Tuesday.
Italian 2-year bond yields rose to 0.007 percent to trade above zero percent for the first time since May 2017, according to Reuters data.
A draft of a coalition program obtained by Huffington Post Italia also calls for a renegotiation of Italy’s European Union budget contributions, an end to sanctions against Russia and plans to dismantle a 2011 pension reform that raised the retirement age.
The draft accord is likely to cause concern in Brussels and at ECB headquarters in Frankfurt. It might also dismay Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who has repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining a strong, pro-European stance. (Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds/italian-bond-yields-jump-after-report-that-5-star-league-want-ecb-to-forgive-debt-idUSL5N1SN1F1 |
(Adds closing date to buy AdsWizz)
May 3 (Reuters) - Despite intensifying competition from larger rivals, Pandora Media Inc reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday as the music streaming service provider benefited from higher subscription revenue and smaller declines in its advertising business than feared.
Shares of the Oakland, California-based company rose 7.8 percent to $6.21 after the bell.
The company said total subscription and other revenue surged 61.3 percent to $104.7 million, slightly above analysts' estimate of $104.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Pandora's advertising revenue fell 3.9 percent to $214.6 million, but topped analysts' estimate of $198.7 million.
The company faces stiff competition from deep-pocketed music streaming rivals such as Apple Inc's Apple Music and Sweden's Spotify Technology SA, whose results on Wednesday failed to enthuse investors.
Those newer services have plucked away many former Pandora listeners, but the Oakland company has started courting them to come back with new offerings such as its "Premium Access" feature, which lets users try out its ad-free, on-demand service after watching a video ad.
"The recapture of our prior listeners is a very, very important factor for us," Chief Executive Roger Lynch told Reuters in an interview. "March was the first time in 18 months where we increased the recapture of lapsed listeners."
For paid users, Pandora's revenue per user jumped to $6.30, up nearly a third from $4.76 a year ago. Pandora Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra said that was primarily a result of users opting for Pandora's $9.99 month "Premium" plan, which competes against Apple Music and Spotify to let users select what songs to listen to, rather than its older "Plus" plan for ad-free radio stations where users cannot select the songs.
"We expect we'll continue to see that (increase in revenue per user) as Premium grows. Plus is actually declining a bit, so Premium has an outsized impact," Chopra said.
On a conference call with investors, Pandora executives also said they expect its $145 million deal to buy AdsWizz, an audio advertising technology firm, to close in mid-May. That technology will make it easier for advertisers to place ads on Pandora's service, as well as the services of other online streaming music services.
"It's very similar to what Google did when they bought DoubleClick," Lynch told Reuters, "and that's worked out well for them."
Excluding items, Pandora posted a loss of 27 cents per share. Total revenue increased to $319.2 million from $316.0 million.
Analysts on average had expected a loss of 38 cents per share and revenue of $304.3 million. (Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Lisa Shumaker) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/reuters-america-update-3-powered-by-subscriptions-pandora-media-losses-beat-estimates.html |
0 COMMENTS Mortgage rates jumped to their highest level since 2011, a shift that could slow home price appreciation and squeeze first-time buyers.
Campbell’s CEO resigned and the company said it might sell some brands, after a bet on fresher foods failed to revive sales.
Coinbase and another cryptocurrency firm talked to U.S. regulators about the possibility of obtaining banking licenses.
Stocks stalled , posting weekly losses on trade and rate concerns. The Dow edged up 1.11 point on Friday.
Deere said it would raise equipment prices to protect profits as costs rise.
Cambridge Analytica filed for bankruptcy protection in New York.
Mattel rejected a recent offer by MGA’s Larian, the mogul behind Bratz dolls, to merge the two firms.
Baidu’s president said he would relinquish his operational roles.
Hilton said Blackstone is exiting its investment in the hotel operator. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/whats-news-business-finance-1526694278 |
Facebook is "very serious" about launching its own cryptocurrency, according to a report from Cheddar .
It's not the first time the idea of a Facebook coin has been floated, but the plans take on some greater meaning in light of Facebook's recently reshuffled executive structure and newly formed blockchain group .
Blockchain, the decentralized record-keeping system, could help tackle some of Facebook's most bothersome problems , like identity verification or advertising sales. It's also the technology behind most cryptocurrencies, logging ownership and transfers of the digital tokens.
"Like many other companies Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology. This new small team will be exploring many different applications," a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.
It would likely be years before Facebook's work on blockchain and cryptocurrency became anything material, Cheddar reports, citing anonymous sources. The business news site also reports Facebook has no plans to hold an ICO, or initial coin offering. WATCH: How to start your very own cryptocurrency show chapters | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/facebook-cryptocurrency-reportedly-in-the-works.html |
Canadian PM on tariffs: We hope common sense will triumph 1 Hour Ago | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/31/trudeau-canada-tariffs.html |
abortion laws Ireland Is Holding a Once-In-a-Generation Abortion Referendum Tomorrow. Here's What's at Stake Activists from the 'Trinity Together for Yes' campaign canvass in front of Trinity College, urging a 'yes' vote. Artur Widak—NurPhoto via Getty Images By Natasha Bach 6:21 AM EDT
Ireland is one of just a handful of countries in Europe that outlaws abortion. But that might change on May 25. The referendum
Irish citizens will vote in a historic referendum on Friday, which could see a change to the country’s restrictive abortion laws. The referendum will ask whether they want to remove the Eighth Amendment, thereby allowing politicians to create new abortion laws in the future.
According to the BBC , the precise wording of the referendum will be: “Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancies.” Activists from the 'Angels for Yes' campaign near Trinity College. Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
In March, Ireland ’s Health Minister, Simon Harris, outlined what this government legislation would look like if the people voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
Abortions would be accessible to women who are in their first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Beyond that, abortions would be permitted only if the woman’s life or physical or mental health is at serious risk, up to 24 weeks. There would also be an exception in cases of fatal fetal abnormality. The law—as it stands
While women are not prevented from seeking abortions in other countries, there are currently few circumstances in which an abortion is permitted in Ireland. Since 2013, they are allowed only when the mother’s life is at risk , including from suicide.
Accessing an illegal abortion is currently punishable, with a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. The Eighth Amendment
All of this stems from the Eighth Amendment, which was passed in 1983. Prior to that, many of Ireland’s laws were retained from the U.K., including a law that criminalized abortion.
In the 1980s, when many other countries began to loosen restrictions around abortion , pro-life activists in Ireland wanted to avoid the same from happening at home. As such, they lobbied the government for a referendum, which passed, with more than 65% in favor. The Eighth Amendment was then introduced to the country’s constitution, and it read:
“The state acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.” A pro-life poster in the Irish abortion referendum. Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images Subsequent amendments
Since then, Ireland has held a number of subsequent referendums, which have loosened the restrictions somewhat—but not legalized abortion entirely.
Three referendums were held in 1992, resulting in the adoption of the 13th and 14th amendments. They allow women to travel abroad for abortions and to access information about abortion services from other countries, respectively.
A third amendment, which sought to remove suicide as grounds for abortion, was rejected in 1992 and again in another referendum in 2002.
In 2013, this was finally taken off the table with the passage of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. The law clearly defined three circumstances under which an abortion could be performed: risk of loss of life from physical illness, risk of loss of life from physical illness in emergency, or risk of loss of life from suicide.
Whatever the outcome, this referendum is historic: it will be the first time anyone who came of age since 1983 will have an opportunity to influence the abortion laws in Ireland . SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/24/ireland-abortion-referendum-may-25/ |
April 30 (Reuters) - TELE COLUMBUS AG:
* COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL REFINANCING * HAS PRICED EUR 650 MILLION IN AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF SENIOR SECURED NOTES DUE 2025 AT OFFERING PRICE OF 99.243%
* CASH COUPON AT 3.875% P.A. Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-tele-columbus-completes-successful/brief-tele-columbus-completes-successful-refinancing-idUSFWN1S70EZ |
* Tight supplies come amid strong global demand
* Global supply overhang of 2014-2017 virtually eliminated - OPEC
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, May 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices held firm on Tuesday as ongoing production cuts by OPEC and looming U.S. sanctions against Iran tightened the market amid strong demand.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $78.37 per barrel at 0028 GMT, up 14 cents from their last close and not far off a three-and-a-half year high of $78.53 a barrel reached the previous session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $71.09 a barrel, up 13 cents and also not far off their Nov. 2014 high of $71.89 a barrel reached last week.
Markets have generally tightened as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, have been withholding supplies since 2017 in order to push up oil prices.
With renewed U.S. sanctions looming against OPEC-member Iran and oil demand strong, analysts said crude prices were well supported.
“The commitment of Saudi Arabia and the rest of OPEC to the production cuts is a major factor in supporting the price at the moment as well as the possibility of reduced exports from Iran due to sanctions,” said William O’Loughlin, investment analyst at Rivkin Securities.
The tightening market has all but eliminated a global supply overhang which depressed crude prices between late 2014 and early 2017.
OPEC figures published on Monday showed that oil inventories in OECD industrialised nations in March fell to 9 million barrels above the five-year average, down from 340 million barrels above the average in January 2017. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; editing by Richard Pullin)
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WINDSOR, Conn., May 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:SSNC), a global provider of financial services software and software-enabled services, today announced that consistent with the previously announced quarterly dividend policy, its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, payable on June 15, 2018 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 1, 2018.
About SS&C Technologies
SS&C is a global provider of investment and financial software-enabled services and software for the global financial services and healthcare industries. Founded in 1986, SS&C is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut and has offices around the world. Some 13,000 financial services and healthcare organizations, from the world's largest institutions to local firms, manage and account for their investments using SS&C's products and services.
Additional information about SS&C (Nasdaq:SSNC) is available at www.ssctech.com .
Follow SS&C on Twitter , LinkedIn and Facebook .
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ssc-announces-quarterly-dividend-300651075.html
SOURCE SS&C | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/18/pr-newswire-ssc-announces-quarterly-dividend.html |
May 8, 2018 / 11:55 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago BRIEF-Atara Biotherapeutics Reports Q1 Loss Per Share $1.05 Reuters Staff
May 8 (Reuters) - Atara Biotherapeutics Inc:
* ATARA BIOTHERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS AND RECENT OPERATIONAL PROGRESS * ATARA BIOTHERAPEUTICS INC Q1 SHR LOSS $1.05
* ATARA BIOTHERAPEUTICS INC Q1 SHR VIEW $-0.92 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* ATARA BIOTHERAPEUTICS INC - CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS AS OF MARCH 31, 2018 TOTALED $407.3 MLN Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-atara-biotherapeutics-reports-q1-l/brief-atara-biotherapeutics-reports-q1-loss-per-share-1-05-idUSASC0A0F4 |
Breakingviews TV: Policy shift 4:45pm BST - 04:08
May 4 - AIA, a $107 bln insurance giant founded in Shanghai in 1919 by an American, has been minting money in the Chinese market in recent years. But blistering growth slowed in the first quarter. Perhaps more diversification into countries like Thailand and Singapore could help.
May 4 - AIA, a $107 bln insurance giant founded in Shanghai in 1919 by an American, has been minting money in the Chinese market in recent years. But blistering growth slowed in the first quarter. Perhaps more diversification into countries like Thailand and Singapore could help. //reut.rs/2KzK5oA | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/04/breakingviews-tv-policy-shift?videoId=423851456 |
May 7 (Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP said on Monday it would buy Gramercy Property Trust, which is an asset manager of commercial real estate, in a deal valued at $7.6 billion in cash.
The $27.50-per-share offer represents a premium of 15.4 percent to Gramercy Property’s close on Friday at $23.82.
Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/gramercy-prpty-ma-blackstone-group/blackstone-to-buy-gramercy-property-in-7-6-billion-deal-idUSL3N1SE3PK |
May 1, 2018 / 2:34 PM / Updated an hour ago UK territories ordered to open up about secretive companies Andrew MacAskill 4 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain agreed on Tuesday to order its overseas territories such as the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands to make secretive company ownership information public by the end of 2020 to try to tackle corruption and tax avoidance. FILE PHOTO: Margaret Hodge, Labour Party Member of Parliament and chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), poses for a portrait after speaking to Reuters about corporate taxation, in Westminster, central London April 24, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Winning
The move was hailed as a major victory by campaigners in the fight against tax avoidance and money laundering.
“This is the news we have been waiting for,” said Simon Kirkland, a campaigner at Christian Aid. “This is a major step forward in the fight against the tax avoidance, evasion and corruption that costs developing countries so dearly.”
Overseas territories and crown dependencies have come under increasing pressure to reveal who is behind anonymously owned companies, with campaign groups saying such secrecy aids money laundering, tax evasion and corrupt diversion of public funds from developing economies.
But Orlando Smith, premier of the British Virgin Islands, said he was “deeply disturbed” by developments in London, calling the new transparency policy “deeply flawed”.
“It is not only a breach of trust but calls into question our very relationship with the UK and the constitutional rights of the people of the BVI,” he said in a statement.
Several politicians in Britain’s ruling Conservative party teamed up with opposition Labour lawmakers to back the changes, which were first pushed by former Prime Minister David Cameron, but resisted by the overseas territories.
Many of these territories have large financial services sectors because they levy low taxes and ownership of businesses lacks transparency.
Despite repeated calls for more openness, British crown dependencies and overseas territories are only required to reveal information on the true owners of offshore companies to law enforcement bodies, and then only if asked.
Alan Duncan, a junior foreign office minister, told parliament the government would support an amendment brought by two members of parliament calling for a central register of company ownership in these territories as lawmakers debated an amendment on an anti-money laundering law.
Britain has been trying to clamp down on tax evasion and corrupt flows of money through its large financial services sector, but has faced resistance from some of its overseas territories because the secrecy and low taxes are what makes their finance sectors attractive. RUSSIAN MONEY?
Margaret Hodge, the opposition Labour member of parliament who introduced the amendment, said it would help prevent tax evasion and disrupt the activities of criminals and militant groups.
“It will stop them exploiting our secret regime, hiding their toxic wealth and laundering money into the legitimate system, often for nefarious purposes,” she said.
“With open registers we will then know who owns what and where, and we will be able to see where the money flows, and then we will better equipped to root out dirty money and deal with the issues that arise from that.”
Naomi Hirst, a spokeswoman for the Global Witness anti-corruption group, said the move comes after four similar amendments submitted before parliament in the past failed.
She added the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in England in March had probably pressured the government to tackle the web of offshore shell companies used to invest in Britain.
Seven times the amount of money from Russia has flowed to British overseas territories rather than directly into Britain over the last decade, she said.
“This has really fired up imaginations and pointed out to even the most squeamish of politicians concerned about Russian’s role in the world that they need to look at this,” she said.
The amendment does not apply to the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, because parliament does not have the right to impose its will on them. Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Adrian Croft | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-tax-territories/uk-territories-ordered-to-open-up-about-secretive-companies-idUSKBN1I23S3 |
By Grace Donnelly 3:46 PM EDT
The Silicon Valley investor who backed companies like Google, Amazon , Twitter, AOL says the same goal-setting system successful business leaders use can also improve results elsewhere, from households and classrooms to Congress and the White House.
John Doerr is an engineer, venture capitalist, and chairman at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers with a net worth of nearly $8 billion . Fortune sat down with Doerr, author of Measure What Matters , to discuss how effective companies get things done.
Doerr’s new book explains how OKRs — shorthand for “Objectives and Key Results” — can help leaders achieve their goals. Based on what he learned from Andy Grove at Intel and applied when working with Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Google , he shares the practices that can help organizations improve transparency and accountability.
Microsoft’s Bill Gates, who uses OKRs in the management of his philanthropic Gates Foundation, recommends it “for anyone interested in becoming a better manager.”
While the book lays out a path to accomplishing goals, Doerr emphasized that it’s the intention behind objectives that he hopes OKRs can help people consider more carefully and more often.
“Many of us don’t set goals at all. Most people start with the goals — what I want to achieve and how — but the more fundamental question is why.”
He says there aren’t enough business leaders considering this question.
“We’re at a critical moment in the tech industry and the economy at large where people have lost confidence in our institutions,” he told Fortune in an interview in April. “A number of leaders are bad or unethical, but too often our institutions are not leading us to the right objectives.”
From Uber to Wells Fargo , Doerr says OKRs can help with this crisis of trust.
“Getting the goals wrong. Goals gone awry — all of this in pursuit of sales numbers as opposed to happy leadership,” he said.
But the lessons in Measure What Matters aren’t limited to business organizations. Doerr cites Orly Friedman and the work she is doing at Khan Academy’s school as a surprising example of leaders using OKRs. Every student there writes down their own objectives and key results, giving them a longterm learning plan.
“We can take OKRs beyond our businesses and see them successfully used in governments and schools,” he says. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/21/john-doerr-measure-what-matters-okr/ |
LOS ANGELES, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ITB Worldwide, one of Europe's leading Entertainment Marketing agencies, has been acquired by global PR agency Rogers & Cowan. ITB, who are committed to harnessing the power of Talent, Influencer and Popular Culture to produce creative and strategically driven work for their clients, will join Rogers & Cowan as part of the Octagon Sports and Entertainment Network of agencies. ITB works with brands such as H&M, Mango, Avon, Chivas Regal, Lacoste and creative talent such as Hattie Stewart, Katie Hillier and Orla Kiely. It recently executed the Chivas Regal Will.I.Am partnership for Chivas' Venture, Freya's podcast series 'When Life Gives you Melons' and the latest installment of Mango's Journeys campaign with Sofia Sanchez de Betak & Leandra Medine.
Led by Managing Directors Emma Gregson and Matthew Pitcher, ITB is comprised of three core divisions – Entertainment Marketing (casting, endorsements & collaborations, talent equity agreements, influencer campaigns and VIP gifting/seeding and event services), Licensing & Brand Extensions, and Representation of prominent creative talent and designers for career management and commercial deals.
"Over the last nine years, ITB has shown their expertise in the fashion and influencer space, creating award winning campaigns with cutting edge influencers and designers for their great roster of brand and creative clients," said Mark Owens CEO, Rogers and Cowan. "I am thrilled to marry their expertise in the global fashion and lifestyle space with our music, talent and content capabilities, especially as the world moves more digitally forward."
"With their global scope and scale and seasoned management team, we are excited about our ability to scale our business to a wider network of brands and more territories," said Emma Gregson MD ITB . "We will be able to extend to our clients extra capabilities and reach, experiential services and integrated communications that can amplify our work providing a more end to end offering. Our founder, Emma Grede has set us up for incredible success to take this agency forward. The ITB team are best in class at what they do with a tight, creative and exemplary culture that in turn provides our clients with dedicated and award winning work."
"We are excited to be able to be able to offer our brand and talent clients around the world access to ITB's insight-led, approach to fashion and lifestyle," said Jeff Ehrenkranz, President Octagon Marketing International. "In our time getting to know each other, ITB have proven the ability to create strategic and creatively-led partnerships between brands and popular culture that engage with the audience in credible and meaningful ways."
Terms were not disclosed. ITB will retain its name. ITB was represented by Hellion partners in the sale. Rogers and Cowan is part of the Octagon Sports and Entertainment Network and also has the FRUKT, Film Fashion and Clickable Media Group brands in its growing portfolio.
For more information, visit: http://www.itb-worldwide.com/
About Rogers & Cowan
Rogers & Cowan is a leading entertainment PR and marketing communications agency connecting brands with the media, consumers and influencers that matter. R&C offers an insider's "POV" in creating distinctive integrated marketing campaigns that leverage the powerful marketing influencers of the entertainment industry to drive strategic positioning, build brand awareness, increase consumer engagement, activate online communities and support product launches. The agency works with a diverse roster of clients ranging from A-list celebrities to content creators to consumer technology companies to construct traditional and social media campaigns that support brand initiatives and resonate with target audiences. http://www.rogersandcowan.com/ . Follow us @RogersandCowan
About ITB Worldwide
An entertainment marketing, partnerships and talent agency, we deliver strategic and creatively-led partnerships rooted in popular culture for brands and individuals alike. Our services span brand, designer and talent collaborations, influencer marketing, talent procurement for global advertising campaigns, brand extensions, licensing, retail partnerships, distribution, talent representation and VIP services. We service a global roster of both brand and agency clients from our offices in London. http://www.itb-worldwide.com/ . Follow us @itb_worldwide
Contact: Shae DeWaal, Rogers & Cowan (310) 854-8178 [email protected]
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rogers--cowan-acquires-london-based-itb-worldwide-300645989.html
SOURCE Rogers & Cowan | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/pr-newswire-rogers-cowan-acquires-london-based-itb-worldwide.html |
Over two decades, author Nancy Friday cobbled together an unusual compound of three adjacent apartments atop a New York City apartment building that overlooks Central Park. Now her estate is putting all three units on the market for $22.5 million.
Ms. Friday, a best-selling author of books on female sexuality, first moved into a five-room duplex on the 16th and 17th floors of the Upper West Side building in 1979. She then purchased an additional 17th floor unit in 1981, combining it with her unit, according to theater producer... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/author-nancy-fridays-central-park-west-compound-asks-22-5-million-1527087600 |
Ryanair posts record profit, pessimistic on year ahead 1:06pm BST - 01:45
Ryanair has posted a record annual profit as it brushed off a rostering mess-up that forced it to cancel flights and sparked a dispute with pilots, but warned profits would fall back in the coming year due to higher costs and no fare growth. As Ciara Lee reports, strikes by pilots could also be a threat. ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
Ryanair has posted a record annual profit as it brushed off a rostering mess-up that forced it to cancel flights and sparked a dispute with pilots, but warned profits would fall back in the coming year due to higher costs and no fare growth. As Ciara Lee reports, strikes by pilots could also be a threat. Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2wZ5ncJ | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/21/ryanair-posts-record-profit-pessimistic?videoId=429008115 |
SAINT JOSEPH, Mich., May 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Edgewater Bancorp, Inc . (OTC PINK:EGDW) announced first quarter 2018 net income of $230,905, or $0.36 per share, compared to net income of $59,600, or $0.10 per share, for the first quarter of 2017.
Return on Average Assets (annualized) was 6.67% at March 31, 2018 compared to 3.52% for December 31, 2017. Dyer indicated, “We are pleased to report solid net income results for the first quarter of 2018, and a continuation of improved quarterly financial performance for the organization. The first quarter 2018 net income, following solid net income growth for the year ended December 31, 2017, reflects a very positive trend for Edgewater.”
Net interest income increased $180,965, or 16.3%, to $1.3 million for the quarter, compared to $1.1 million during the first quarter of 2017. Total provision expense of $20,000 for the first quarter of 2018 exceeded provision expense of $10,000 for the first quarter of 2017 due to loan portfolio growth, not a deterioration of asset quality.
Total non-interest expense was flat at $1.3 million from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018 as the organization continues to monitor and manage expenses.
Total consolidated assets at March 31, 2018 were $154.7 million, down from $156.4 million at December 31, 2017. Total gross loans, however, increased to $120.7 million from $120.2 million while bank securities increased from $11.2 million to $16.2 million. The increase in available-for-sale securities was funded through a reduction in Fed Funds and other deposits from $20.1 million to $13.1 million, as funds were redeployed into higher-yielding investments.
Total deposits were flat at $137.6 million while borrowings from Federal Home Loan Bank decreased $2.0 million from $4.0 million at December 31, 2017 to $2.0 million at March 31, 2018.
Total equity increased to $14.1 million as of March 31, 2018, with Edgewater’s Tier 1 capital ratio improving from 8.67% at March 31, 2017 and 9.01% at December 31, 2017, to 9.18% at March 31, 2018.
Based in Saint Joseph, Michigan, Edgewater Bancorp is the bank holding company for Edgewater Bank. Edgewater provides commercial, mortgage, and consumer loan and deposit banking services from 5 banking offices in St. Joseph, Bridgman, Buchanan, Coloma, and Royalton Township. Edgewater Bancorp’s common stock is listed under the symbol "EGDW."
This news release contains comments or information that constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results expressed in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include changes in interest rates and interest rate relationships; demand for products and services; the degree of competition by traditional and nontraditional competitors; changes in banking regulation or actions by bank regulators; changes in tax laws; changes in prices, levies, and assessments; the impact of technological advances; governmental and regulatory policy changes; the outcomes of contingencies; trends in customer behavior as well as their ability to repay loans; changes in local real estate values; changes in the national and local economies; and other factors. Edgewater undertakes no obligation to update or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Edgewater Bancorp
Coleen Rossman
SVP & Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
(269) 982-4175
Source:Edgewater Bancorp, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/globe-newswire-edgewater-bancorp-reports-earnings-for-first-quarter-2018.html |
Israel says first country to use U.S.-made F-35 in combat reuters.com • Israel says first country to use U.S.-made F-35 in combat More JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is the first country to have used the U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter in combat, the Israeli air force chief said on Tuesday in remarks carried by the military's official Twitter account. Israeli media further quoted Major-General Amikam Norkin as saying: “We are flying the F-35 all of the Middle East and have already attacked twice on two different fronts”. Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Jeffrey Heller | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lockheed-f35-israel/israel-says-first-country-to-use-u-s-made-f-35-in-combat-idUSKCN1IN0ON?il=0 |
PARIS (Reuters) - France will respect its international commitments to comply with a World Trade Organisation ruling on Tuesday against European Union subsidies to Airbus, the French government said.
FILE PHOTO: Logo of Airbus is pictured at the Airbus A380 final assembly line at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac, near Toulouse, France, March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau The World Trade Organisation said the EU had failed to remove support for the world’s largest airliner, the A380, and Europe’s newest long-haul plane, the A350, causing losses for U.S. rival Boeing and U.S. aerospace workers.
“With the European Commission and out of respect for international trade rules, France confirms its intention to respect its international commitments by soon adopting new compliance measures,” the foreign, finance and transport ministers said in a joint statement.
It added that the French government would closely watch a WTO decision expected in 2019 on U.S. aid to Boeing in a parallel case.
Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Michel Rose
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-usa-wto-france/france-says-will-respect-wto-decision-on-airbus-aid-idUSKCN1IG2H3 |
Markets are quite concerned about an inflation surprise, says trader 1 Hour Ago 01:27 01:27 | 9:57 AM ET Sun, 13 May 2018 02:54 02:54 | 10:32 AM ET Mon, 14 May 2018 00:44 00:44 | 11:48 AM ET Fri, 11 May 2018 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/15/markets-are-quite-concerned-about-an-inflation-surprise-says-trader.html |
(Reuters) - ICICI Bank Ltd ( ICBK.NS ) said on Wednesday it will institute an inquiry into the allegations raised by an anonymous whistleblower against Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar.
FILE PHOTO: A security guard sits outside an ICICI bank branch in Mumbai, India, April 4, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas ICICI, India’s third-biggest lender by assets, said the probe, headed by an independent person, would examine allegations that the chief executive did not adhere to provisions relating to the bank’s code of conduct and whether her actions involved “conflict of interest”.
The bank is battling allegations that Kochhar allegedly favored Videocon Group in its lending practices. Videocon’s founders had an investment in a renewable energy company founded by Kochhar’s husband.
The bank has backed Kochhar, calling the rumors “malicious and unfounded”.
Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-icici-bank-probe/indias-icici-bank-to-probe-allegations-against-ceo-idUSKCN1IV19W |
May 4, 2018 / 5:11 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago BNP Paribas' quarterly profit falls on back of trading weakness in Europe Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas, France’s biggest bank, reported a 17 percent decline in quarterly net profit, in line with expectations, weighed down by weakness in fixed income trading revenues in Europe.
First-quarter net income fell to 1.57 billion euros ($1.9 billion), in line with analysts’ estimates of 1.55 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll of 5 analysts.
Revenues fell 4.4 percent to 10.8 billion euros, compared to 11.04 billion expected by analysts. Revenues at its corporate and institutional bank were also down 9.8 percent.
“Even if the market context was lacklustre in Europe compared to the first quarter of 2017, the results are in line with the trajectory of the 2020 plan and the achievement of its targets,” BNP Paribas’ chief executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafe said in a statement. $1 = 0.8344 euros Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/bnp-paribas-results/bnp-paribas-quarterly-profit-falls-on-back-of-trading-weakness-in-europe-idUSP6N1SA001 |
May 16, 2018 / 9:35 PM / Updated an hour ago Britain seeks $40 billion investment to boost economy after Brexit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s trade minister Liam Fox will invite overseas investors on Thursday to submit bids for financing 30 billion pounds ($40 billion) of projects to help the world’s sixth-largest economy cope with the upheaval of leaving the European Union. Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox arrives for a Brexit subcommittee meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Britain is trying reinvent itself as a global trading nation and improve economic ties with countries outside Europe as the government prepares to leave the EU next year.
Investors will be offered the chance to fund 68 projects across 20 sectors of the economy, including technology, housing and retail, and many of the projects are outside London in less affluent parts of Britain.
The Department for International Trade will promote the projects to investors overseas and more will be added in the coming months.
“This is a bold and ambitious programme, building on the UK’s position as the leading destination for foreign investment in Europe,” Fox said in a statement.
Prime Minister Theresa May has made infrastructure spending a cornerstone of her industrial strategy, a hands-on approach to business that had largely been abandoned by her Conservative predecessors from the time of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
Britain lagged every other G7 country in terms of growth last year and has been outpaced by the euro zone ever since the referendum to leave the EU in 2016.
Global foreign direct investment into Britain shrank by 90 percent to $19.4 billion last year, according to United Nations data. However, this did come against unprecedented investment in 2016 led by some mega-deals.
The Confederation of British Industry’s Director General Carolyn Fairbairn welcomed the Department for International Trade’s announcement.
This will “be a vital tool to attracting even more capital to the UK, enabling the benefits of free trade and investment to flow into our communities,” Fairbairn said. Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; editing by Stephen Addison | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-investment/britain-seeks-40-billion-investment-to-boost-economy-after-brexit-idINKCN1IH32E |
May 1, 2018 / 6:25 PM / Updated 32 minutes ago Rushed testing, poor communication played role in British TSB outage - contractors Lawrence White 5 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - A computer systems migration at Britain’s TSB bank that left up to 1.9 million customers unable to access their accounts was hindered by rushed and inadequate testing and poor internal communication, two contractors who worked on the project said. FILE PHOTO: A sign is displayed outside a branch of the TSB bank in central London March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo
TSB, bought in 2015 by Spain’s Sabadell Bank ( SABE.MC ) from Lloyds Banking Group, was migrating to Sabadell’s in-house developed system, Proteo, from legacy systems for which it had been paying Lloyds around a hundred million pounds a year.
TSB customers started reporting problems making bill and mortgage payments within hours of the migration over the weekend of April 21-22. On Tuesday, clients were still complaining on social media.
Two IT contractors who managed employees involved in the migration up until late last year told Reuters that testing of the different systems was not as thorough as it could have been at that time because TSB rushed as it neared a self-imposed deadline of November 2017, later extended to April 2018. TSB rejected that view, telling Reuters testing was “extensive”.
“There wasn’t time to test everything, digital and mobile payment testing weren’t properly scoped, so it wasn’t a surprise to me when it went live last week and those parts didn’t work,” said one source, a project manager who oversaw people working on the upgrade, referring to the testing up to the first deadline.
A second source, a software tester, said tests were in some cases poorly designed or rushed in order to meet the initial project launch date. He also cited a lack of communication between IT and the business about who was managing the testing.
“There were multiple daily failures in Proteo that would go on sometimes for five days and a lack of adequate training on Proteo, meaning testing was conducted based on knowledge of the legacy systems,” the tester said.
The project manager stopped working for the company when his contract ended in December. The tester left around the same time. Both said they have kept in touch with colleagues still working at the bank and were told the situation had not changed.
Reuters contacted several contractors and TSB staff currently working on the project but none were willing to talk.
TSB, which has apologised to customers and pledged an investigation, declined to comment on the specific allegations but disputed any shortcomings in its testing.
“We are working round the clock to put things right and to keep our customers informed about the latest position. This is our priority at the moment,” it said in a statement to Reuters.
“There was extensive testing that was completed before migration. There will of course be an investigation into why the migration did not go as expected.”
TSB chief executive Paul Pester and chairman Richard Meddings are due to appear at a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday to explain how the problems occurred and what they are doing to fix them. SOFTWARE UPGRADES
Banks around the world face the potential for similar crises as they upgrade aging computer systems after decades of under-investment and stitch together different platforms from a wave of mergers.
The sources described the Lloyds system as complicated because it was created by amalgamating many systems as Lloyds acquired rivals leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
Banks have been fined in the past for technical problems. The Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) was fined 56 million pounds by regulators in 2014 over a botched software upgrade in June 2012 that left millions of customers unable to access accounts.
TSB said it will cancel overdraft fees for the month of April and increase interest payments to savers as it tries to prevent a customer exodus in the wake of the outage. Sabadell said it is too early to estimate the costs of the incident.
It has had to bring in remedial teams from IBM ( IBM.N ) to help try and stem the crisis, while Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has sent in its own team to investigate.
An FCA spokeswoman said: “We are working with the firm to ensure customers are properly communicated with and are not left out of pocket. We’ll be talking to the firm to understand exactly what went wrong.”
On a call to discuss the bank’s annual results on Thursday, Pester told Reuters he did not know whether the problem was in infrastructure, servers or the software communications layer.
Asked whether the issue could be poor testing and communications, he said he was not aware of problems in those areas.
“If he (your source) is so knowledgeable, he can come and help IBM fix it,” he said. Additional reporting by Eric Auchard, Emma Rumney and Huw Jones; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-tsb/rushed-testing-poor-communication-played-role-in-british-tsb-outage-contractors-idUKKBN1I2460 |
PICTURE PARADISE: an empty beach, a lapping tide, a dewy bottle of Mexican lager, perhaps with a lime stuffed into its neck. Since the 1980s, when Corona and other Mexican imports surged in popularity and came to symbolize summertime fun stateside, disciples of craft brewing in this country have held up these light, easy-drinking brews as the antithesis of all they hold dear about beer. Lately, however, Mexican-style beers have become an unexpected darling of the artisanal set, and craft-brewed takes on this category have started to bubble up all over.
Mexico... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-summers-must-have-beers-for-the-poolside-cooler-1526491452 |
May 3 (Reuters) - Medifast Inc:
* MEDIFAST, INC. ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS
* SEES FY 2018 REVENUE $385 MILLION TO $395 MILLION * Q1 REVENUE $98.6 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $89.9 MILLION
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.86 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-medifast-inc-q1-earnings-per-share/brief-medifast-inc-q1-earnings-per-share-1-01-idUSASC09ZOX |
RED BANK, N.J., May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZAIS) ("ZAIS"), today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018. ZAIS conducts substantially all of its operations through ZAIS Group, LLC ("ZAIS Group"). ZAIS Group provides investment advisory and asset management services to private funds, separately managed accounts and structured vehicles. References to the "Company" herein refer to ZAIS, together with (where the context requires) its consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates.
FIRST QUARTER 2018 HIGHLIGHTS
A summary of the Company's results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017 are set forth below. All dollar amounts are presented in millions, with the exception of figures presented on a per share basis.
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
U.S. GAAP
Net income/(loss)
$(2.8)
$(5.4)
Net income/(loss) per diluted weighted average share outstanding applicable to ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc.
$(0.26)
$(0.30)
Net income/(loss) before income taxes
$(2.8)
$(5.4)
Non-U.S. GAAP
Net income/(loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group)
$(5.6)
$(6.2)
Net income/(loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group) per diluted weighted average share outstanding
$(0.26)
$(0.30)
Adjusted EBITDA
$(5.3)
$(5.0)
The consolidated financial statements include non-controlling interests of the members of ZAIS Group Parent, LLC ("ZGP") (the "ZGP Founder Members") which represent Class A Units of ZGP held by the ZGP Founder Members. ZGP, a majority-owned consolidated subsidiary of ZAIS, is the sole member, and owns all of the equity, of ZAIS Group.
CONSOLIDATED U.S. GAAP RESULTS
The Company recorded U.S. GAAP net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2018 of $(2.8) million compared with U.S. GAAP net loss of $(5.4) million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The decrease of $2.6 million in U.S. GAAP net loss was primarily driven by an increase in revenues of $2.6 million and a decrease in expenses of $0.1 million offset by a decrease in other income of $0.1 million. The U.S. GAAP results include the results of funds and structured financing entities which are consolidated by the Company (the "Consolidated Funds").
Total revenues increased by $2.6 million primarily due to a $2.0 million increase in management fee income and a $1.0 million increase in income of Consolidated Funds, offset by a decrease of $0.2 million in incentive income and a decrease of $0.2 million in reimbursement revenue from certain ZAIS Managed Entities for research and data services expenses.
Management fee income increased by $2.0 million primarily due to the increase in the number of CLOs managed by ZAIS and fees earned from a ZAIS CLO beginning in June 2017 which previously had its fees waived because all of its subordinated notes were collectively owned by certain vehicles managed by ZAIS. Income of Consolidated Funds related to ZAIS Zephyr A-6 LP's ("Zephyr A-6") investments in unconsolidated ZAIS managed CLOs increased by $1.0 million.
Incentive income decreased by $0.2 million primarily due to lower performance related to ZAIS Managed Entities that crystalized incentive fees during the respective quarters.
Total expenses decreased by $0.1 million period over the period. Compensation and benefits decreased by $1.3 million primarily due to a $1.0 million decrease in equity compensation expense relating to the vesting, in March 2017, of equity units previously awarded to certain employees and a $0.5 million decrease primarily due to reduced bonus expense. These favorable variances were offset by $0.1 million increase in severance costs.
General, administrative and other expenses ("G&A") increased by $0.8 million primarily due to an increase of $0.8 million in legal fees as a result of an increase of $0.6 million related to a strategic review and an increase of $0.2 million due to payments made to the Company's former general counsel who was retained as a senior legal advisor that commenced in April 2017. G&A expenses also increased by $0.4 million due to investment banking services in connection with a potential take private transaction between the Company and Z Acquisition. These unfavorable variances were offset by a decrease of $0.2 million in expenses relating to research and data services borne by ZAIS Group and paid directly by ZAIS Group to vendors which are reimbursable from certain ZAIS Managed Entities and a decrease of $0.2 million in other expenses.
Expenses of Consolidated Funds increased by $0.4 million primarily due to interest expense for the master repurchase agreement entered into by Zephyr A-6 in October 2017. Zephyr A-6 did not have any expenses related to repurchase agreements during the three months ended March 31, 2017.
Other income decreased by $0.1 million primarily due to a $0.7 million decrease in net gain (loss) on investments in affiliates and a $0.6 million decrease in net gain (loss) on beneficial interest of collateralized financing entity, offset by a $1.0 million increase in net gain (loss) on Consolidated Funds' investments and a $0.1 million increase in other income.
Net gain (loss) on investments in affiliates decreased by $0.7 million primarily due to losses of $0.6 million relating to the two ZAIS Managed Entities in which ZAIS Group had made investments that carry first loss risk (on March 12, 2018 ZAIS Group sent notice to terminate its management contracts for these two ZAIS Managed Entities effective March 16, 2018). The $0.6 million decrease in net gain (loss) on beneficial interest of consolidated collateralized financing entity relates to Zephyr A-6's investment in ZAIS CLO 5. ZAIS CLO 5 was a Consolidated Fund for the period from October 26, 2016 through August 10, 2017, the date which ZAIS CLO 5 was deconsolidated due to the sale of all of the Company's beneficial interests in ZAIS CLO 5. Net gain (loss) on Consolidated Funds' investments increased by $1.0 million driven by the net realized and unrealized gains and losses from Zephyr A-6's investments in ZAIS CLOs during the warehouse period and unconsolidated ZAIS CLOs.
CONSOLIDATED NON-U.S. GAAP RESULTS
Please see the discussion of "Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measures", including the definitions of net income (loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group) and Adjusted EBITDA, and reconciliations of such non-U.S. GAAP financial measures to the respective U.S. GAAP net income (loss) measures for the periods discussed above at the end of this press release.
The Company's U.S. GAAP net income (loss) and non-U.S. GAAP measures of income (loss) may fluctuate materially depending upon the performance of ZAIS Managed Entities as well as other factors. Accordingly, the U.S. GAAP net income (loss) and non-U.S. GAAP measures of income (loss) in any particular period should not be expected to be indicative of future results.
LIQUIDITY & CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of March 31, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, excluding cash and cash equivalents of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities, of $30.9 million and no debt obligations, excluding liabilities of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities.
FIRST QUARTER 2018 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
The Company's First Quarter 2018 Supplemental Information – March 31, 2018, is available on ZAIS's website at www.zaisgroupholdings.com . To access the information, go to the "ZAIS Shareholders" section of the website.
USE OF NON-U.S. GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION
In addition to the results presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"), this press release includes certain non-U.S. GAAP financial information, including net income (loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group) and Adjusted EBITDA (and per share measures). Net income (loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group) is a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure that the Company defines as U.S. GAAP net income (loss) excluding the consolidating effects of the Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure that the Company defines as U.S. GAAP net income (loss) excluding consolidating effects of the Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group, equity-based compensation, severance, taxes, depreciation and amortization expenses and foreign currency translation adjustments.
The Company believes that providing investors with this non-U.S. GAAP financial information, in addition to the related U.S. GAAP measures, gives investors greater transparency to the information used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. However, because net income (loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group) and Adjusted EBITDA are incomplete measures of the Company's financial performance and involve differences from net income (loss) computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP, they should be considered along with, but not as alternatives to, the Company's net income (loss) computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP as a measure of the Company's financial performance. In addition, because not all companies use identical calculations, the Company's presentation of net income (loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group) and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly-titled measures of other companies.
ZAIS GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)
March 31,
2018
December 31,
2017
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
30,906
$
41,619
Income and fees receivable
2,947
8,863
Investments in affiliates, at fair value
158
10,151
Due from related parties
594
798
Property and equipment, net
1,791
278
Prepaid expenses
786
967
Withdrawals receivable
9,380
—
Other assets
1,570
359
Assets of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
Cash
29,762
8,975
Investments in affiliated securities, at fair value – $46,212 and $46,136 pledged as collateral for repurchase agreement, at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.
117,195
114,911
Other assets
619
968
Total Assets
$
195,708
$
187,889
Liabilities and Equity
Liabilities
Compensation payable
$
2,427
$
9,222
Due to related parties
—
31
Fees payable
2,235
2,171
Other liabilities
1,686
1,285
Liabilities of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
Repurchase agreement
45,500
45,943
Other liabilities
451
415
Total Liabilities
52,299
59,067
Commitments and Contingencies
Equity
Preferred Stock, $0.0001 par value; 2,000,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding.
—
—
Class A Common Stock, $0.0001 par value; 180,000,000 shares authorized; 14,555,113 and 14,555,113 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.
1
1
Class B Common Stock, $0. 1 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 20,000,000 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017.
—
—
Additional paid-in capital
64,436
64,365
Retained earnings (Accumulated deficit)
(27,191)
(23,414)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
(55)
(61)
Total stockholders' equity, ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc.
37,191
40,891
Non-controlling interests in ZAIS Group Parent, LLC
17,755
19,568
Non-controlling interests in Consolidated Funds
88,463
68,363
Total Equity
143,409
128,822
Total Liabilities and Equity
$
195,708
$
187,889
ZAIS GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
Revenues
Management fee income
$
5,063
$
3,107
Incentive income
146
297
Reimbursement revenue
309
494
Other revenues
77
93
Income of Consolidated Funds
1,013
—
Total Revenues
6,608
3,991
Expenses
Compensation and benefits
6,086
7,424
General, administrative and other
4,496
3,669
Depreciation and amortization
16
40
Expenses of Consolidated Funds
480
43
Total Expenses
11,078
11,176
Other income (loss)
Net gain (loss) on investments in affiliates
(586)
75
Other income (expense)
104
(16)
Net gain (loss) of Consolidated Funds' investments in affiliated securities
2,130
1,107
Net gain (loss) on beneficial interest of consolidated collateralized financing entity
—
589
Total Other Income (Loss)
1,648
1,755
Income (loss) before income taxes
(2,822)
(5,430)
Income tax (benefit) expense
4
5
Consolidated net income (loss)
(2,826)
(5,435)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Foreign currency translation adjustment
9
30
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)
$
(2,817)
$
(5,405)
Allocation of Consolidated Net Income (Loss)
Non-controlling interests in Consolidated Funds
$
2,767
$
810
Stockholders' equity, ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc.
(3,777)
(4,162)
Non-controlling interests in ZAIS Group Parent, LLC
(1,816)
(2,083)
Total Allocation of Consolidated Net Income (Loss)
$
(2,826)
$
(5,435)
Allocation of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Non-controlling interests in Consolidated Funds
$
2,767
$
810
Stockholders' equity, ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc.
(3,771)
(4,142)
Non-controlling interests in ZAIS Group Parent, LLC
(1,813)
(2,073)
Total Allocation of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)
$
(2,817)
$
(5,405)
Consolidated Net Income (Loss), per Class A common share applicable to ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc. – Basic
$
(0.26)
$
(0.30)
Consolidated Net Income (Loss), per Class A common share applicable to ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc. – Diluted
$
(0.26)
$
(0.30)
Weighted average shares of Class A common stock outstanding:
Basic
14,555,113
13,986,305
Diluted
21,555,113
20,986,305
The following supplemental financial information illustrates the consolidating effects of the Consolidated Funds on the Company's financial position and results of operations:
March 31, 2018
ZAIS
Consolidated
Funds
Consolidating
Entries
Consolidated
( Dollars in thousands )
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
30,906
$
—
$
—
$
30,906
Income and fees receivable
2,947
—
—
2,947
Investments in affiliates, at fair value
13,768
—
(13,610)
158
Due from related parties
594
—
—
594
Property and equipment, net
1,791
—
—
1,791
Prepaid expenses
786
—
—
786
Withdrawals receivable
9,380
—
—
9,380
Other assets
1,570
—
—
1,570
Assets of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
Cash
—
29,762
—
29,762
Investments in affiliated securities, at fair value
—
117,195
—
117,195
Other assets
—
1,067
(448)
619
Total Assets
$
61,742
$
148,024
$
(14,058)
$
195,708
Liabilities and Equity
Liabilities
Compensation payable
$
2,427
$
—
$
—
$
2,427
Due to related parties
—
—
—
—
Fees payable
2,683
—
(448)
2,235
Other liabilities
1,686
—
—
1,686
Liabilities of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
Repurchase Agreements
—
45,500
—
45,500
Other liabilities
—
451
—
451
Total Liabilities
6,796
45,951
(448)
52,299
Commitments and Contingencies
Equity
Preferred Stock
—
—
—
—
Class A Common Stock
1
—
—
1
Class B Common Stock
—
—
—
—
Additional paid-in-capital
64,436
—
—
64,436
Retained earnings (Accumulated deficit)
(27,191)
—
—
(27,191)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
(55)
—
—
(55)
Total stockholders' equity, ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc.
37,191
—
—
37,191
Non-controlling interests in ZAIS Group Parent, LLC
17,755
—
—
17,755
Non-controlling interests in Consolidated Funds
—
102,073
(13,610)
88,463
Total Equity
54,946
102,073
(13,610)
143,409
Total Liabilities and Equity
$
61,742
$
148,024
$
(14,058)
$
195,708
December 31, 2017
ZAIS
Consolidated
Funds
Consolidating
Entries
Consolidated
( Dollars in thousands )
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
41,619
$
—
$
—
$
41,619
Income and fees receivable
8,863
—
—
8,863
Investments in affiliates, at fair value
20,669
—
(10,518)
10,151
Due from related parties
798
—
—
798
Property and equipment, net
278
—
—
278
Prepaid expenses
967
—
—
967
Other assets
359
—
—
359
Assets of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
Cash
—
8,975
—
8,975
Investments in affiliated securities, at fair value
—
114,911
—
114,911
Other assets
—
1,353
(385)
968
Total Assets
$
73,553
$
125,239
$
(10,903)
$
187,889
Liabilities and Equity
Liabilities
Compensation payable
$
9,222
$
—
$
—
$
9,222
Due to related parties
31
—
—
31
Fees payable
2,556
—
(385)
2,171
Other liabilities
1,285
—
—
1,285
Liabilities of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
Repurchase Agreements
—
45,943
—
45,943
Other liabilities
—
415
—
415
Total Liabilities
13,094
46,358
(385)
59,067
Commitments and Contingencies
Equity
Preferred Stock
—
—
—
—
Class A Common Stock
1
—
—
1
Class B Common Stock
—
—
—
—
Additional paid-in-capital
64,365
—
—
64,365
Retained earnings (Accumulated deficit)
(23,414)
—
—
(23,414)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
(61)
—
—
(61)
Total stockholders' equity, ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc.
40,891
—
—
40,891
Non-controlling interests in ZAIS Group Parent, LLC
19,568
—
—
19,568
Non-controlling interests in Consolidated Funds
—
78,881
(10,518)
68,363
Total Equity
60,459
78,881
(10,518)
128,822
Total Liabilities and Equity
$
73,553
$
125,239
$
(10,903)
$
187,889
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018
ZAIS
Consolidated
Funds
Consolidating
Entries
Consolidated
( Dollars in thousands )
Revenues
Management fee income
$
5,063
$
—
$
—
$
5,063
Incentive income
146
—
—
146
Reimbursement revenue
309
—
—
309
Other revenues
77
—
—
77
Income of Consolidated Funds
—
4,109
(3,096)
1,013
Total Revenues
5,595
4,109
(3,096)
6,608
Expenses
Compensation and benefits
6,086
—
—
6,086
General, administrative and other
5,026
—
(530)
4,496
Depreciation and amortization
16
—
—
16
Expenses of Consolidated Funds
—
480
—
480
Total Expenses
11,128
480
(530)
11,078
Other Income (loss)
Net gain (loss) on investments in affiliates
(160)
—
(426)
(586)
Other income (expense)
104
—
—
104
Net gain (loss) of Consolidated Funds' investments
—
(437)
2,567
2,130
Total Other Income (Loss)
(56)
(437)
2,141
1,648
Income (loss) before income taxes
(5,589)
3,192
(425)
(2,822)
Income tax (benefit) expense
4
—
—
4
Consolidated net income (loss)
(5,593)
3,192
(425)
(2,826)
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), net of tax
Foreign currency translation adjustment
9
—
—
9
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)
$
(5,584)
$
3,192
$
(425)
$
(2,817)
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2017
ZAIS
Consolidated
Funds
Consolidating
Entries
Consolidated
( Dollars in thousands )
Revenues
Management fee income
$
3,107
$
—
$
—
$
3,107
Incentive income
297
—
—
297
Reimbursement revenue
494
—
—
494
Other revenues
93
—
—
93
Income of Consolidated Funds
—
205
(205)
—
Total Revenues
3,991
205
(205)
3,991
Expenses
Compensation and benefits
7,424
—
—
7,424
General, administrative and other
3,669
—
—
3,669
Depreciation and amortization
40
—
—
40
Expenses of Consolidated Funds
—
43
—
43
Total Expenses
11,133
43
—
11,176
Other Income (loss)
Net gain (loss) on investments in affiliates
918
—
(843)
75
Other income (expense)
(16)
—
—
(16)
Net gain (loss) of Consolidated Funds' investments
—
1,492
(385)
1,107
Net gain (loss) on beneficial interest of consolidated collateralized financing entity
—
—
589
589
Total Other Income (Loss)
902
1,492
(639)
1,755
Income (loss) before income taxes
(6,240)
1,654
(844)
(5,430)
Income tax (benefit) expense
5
—
—
5
Consolidated net income (loss)
(6,245)
1,654
(844)
(5,435)
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), net of tax
Foreign currency translation adjustment
30
—
—
30
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)
$
(6,215)
$
1,654
$
(844)
$
(5,405)
The following table presents the reconciliations of our consolidated U.S. GAAP net income to (i) our non-U.S. GAAP financial measure of net income (loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group) and (ii) our non-U.S. GAAP financial measure of Adjusted EBITDA:
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
(Dollars in thousands)
Consolidated net income (loss) (U.S. GAAP Net Income (Loss))
$
(2,826)
$
(5,435)
Add back: Elimination of Management fee income
—
—
Less: Income of Consolidated Funds
(1,013)
—
Less: Elimination of fee rebate expense
(530)
—
Add back: Elimination of Net gain on investments in affiliates
426
843
Add back: Expenses of Consolidated Funds
480
43
Less: Net gain on Consolidated Funds' investments
(2,130)
(1,107)
(Less)/Add back: Net (gain) loss on beneficial interest of consolidated collateralized financing entity
—
(589)
Net income (loss) (excluding Consolidated Funds of ZAIS Group) – Non-U.S. GAAP
(5,593)
(6,245)
Add back (less): Tax expense (benefit)
4
5
Add back: Compensation attributable to equity compensation
71
1,112
Add back: Severance costs
202
72
Add back: Depreciation and amortization
16
40
Adjusted EBITDA – Non-U.S. GAAP
$
(5,300)
$
(5,016)
ABOUT ZAIS GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
ZAIS (NASDAQ: ZAIS) owns a majority interest in, and is the managing member of, ZGP. ZGP is the sole member of ZAIS Group, an investment advisory and asset management firm focused on specialized credit strategies with approximately $4.793 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2018. Based in Red Bank, New Jersey with operations in London, ZAIS Group employs professionals across investment management, client relations, information technology, analytics, finance, law, compliance, risk management and operations. To learn more, visit www.zaisgroupholdings.com .
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains statements that constitute " ," as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. These statements are generally identified by the use of words such as "outlook," "believe," "expect," "potential," "continue," "may," "will," "should," "could," "would," "seek," "approximately," "predict," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate," "opportunity," "pipeline," "comfortable," "assume," "remain," "maintain," "sustain," "achieve" or the negative version of those words or other comparable words. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the ; the Company can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, but are not limited to: competition, the ability of the Company to grow and manage growth profitably, and retain its management and key employees; the ability to rationalize our expense structure and specifically to exit the residential whole loan related businesses in an orderly fashion, or at all; the outcome of the strategic review of the Company's business and availability of suitable strategic options; the ability of the Company to negotiate and enter into an agreement for a potential sale, business combination, going private or other strategic transaction; the ability of the Company to consummate any potential strategic transaction and to realize any anticipated benefits of such transaction; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company or others; the inability to continue to be listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market; operational expenses and costs related to being a public company; changes in political, economic or industry conditions, the interest rate environment or financial and capital markets, which could result in changes in demand for products or services or in the value of assets under management; the relative and absolute investment performance of advised or sponsored investment products; the availability of suitable investment opportunities; changes in interest rates; changes in the yield curve; changes in prepayment rates; the availability and terms of financing; conditions in the market for mortgage-related investments; the impact of capital improvement projects; the impact of future acquisitions or divestitures; the impact, extent and timing of technological changes and the adequacy of intellectual property protection; the impact of legislative and regulatory actions and reforms and regulatory, supervisory or enforcement actions of government agencies relating to the Company; terrorist activities and international hostilities, which may adversely affect the general economy, financial and capital markets, specific industries, and the Company; the ability to attract and retain highly talented professionals; the impact of changes to tax legislation and, generally, the tax position of the Company; legislative and regulatory changes that could adversely affect the business of the Company; and other factors, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed by the Company with the Commission (the "SEC"), copies of which are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov . The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zais-group-holdings-inc-reports-first-quarter-2018-results-300646738.html
SOURCE ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/pr-newswire-zais-group-holdings-inc-reports-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
May 2 (Reuters) - Vonovia Se:
* DGAP-NEWS: VONOVIA SE: FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL TAKEOVER OF BUWOG, VONOVIA APPOINTS DANIEL RIEDL TO THE MANAGEMENT BOARD
* DANIEL RIEDL WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AUSTRIA WITH EFFECT FROM MAY 10, 2018 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-vonovia-appoints-daniel-riedl-to-t/brief-vonovia-appoints-daniel-riedl-to-the-management-board-idUSASO000455 |
April 30 (Reuters) - PAMAPOL SA:
* SAID ON FRIDAY THAT ITS FY NET LOSS WAS 2.4 MILLION ZLOTYS VERSUS PROFIT OF 3.2 MILLION ZLOTYS YEAR AGO
* FY REVENUE WAS 489.5 MILLION ZLOTYS VERSUS 453.6 MILLION ZLOTYS YEAR AGO
* FY OPERATING PROFIT WAS 3.8 MILLION ZLOTYS VERSUS 9.8 MILLION ZLOTYS YEAR AGO
Source text for Eikon:
Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1S728W |
There is no deal with ZTE: President Trump 1 Hour Ago CNBC's Eamon Javers reports on the latest news on ZTE, the Chinese electronics company that was sanctioned by the United States. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/22/there-is-no-deal-with-zte-president-trump.html |
May 21 (Reuters) - hopTo Inc:
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.00 * Q1 REVENUE FELL 16.3 PERCENT TO $822,000 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hopto-inc-q1-revenue-fell-163-perc/brief-hopto-inc-q1-revenue-fell-16-3-percent-to-822000-idUSASC0A34C |
President Donald Trump 's administration is telling Congress it has come to an agreement to boost Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, The New York Times and Reuters reported.
As part of the deal, ZTE would pay a financial penalty, revamp its management and hire American compliance officers, the Times reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The U.S. would scrap a ban on the company buying American products under the agreement, the newspaper said. It is unclear how firm the reported deal is at this point.
The outline reported by the Times appears to fall in line with some steps Trump said he could take to help ZTE get back into business . On Tuesday, the president said he envisioned "a large fine of more than a billion dollars," new "management, a new board and very, very strict security rules." He added that he would want ZTE to "buy a big percentage of their parts and equipment from American companies."
An agreement to revive ZTE, which has argued the U.S. penalties would cripple its operations, could possibly help critical trade talks between the U.S. and China. Trump has called the ZTE negotiations part of broader talks to address alleged Chinese trade abuses, though top advisors have labeled ZTE an "enforcement" issue. Washington and Beijing are trying to cement a deal that would avoid potentially damaging tariffs.
Trump has said he agreed to help the firm, a major smartphone supplier in the American market, at the request of Chinese President Xi Jinping .
The prospect of a deal to aid the phone maker has prompted bipartisan criticism from Capitol Hill. Many lawmakers have argued any deal would hurt national security because the U.S. government was punishing the firm for violating sanctions on Iran and North Korea. Some members of Congress have also contended the firm's equipment poses a cybersecurity risk.
Earlier this week, the Senate Banking Committee overwhelmingly passed an amendment introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen , D-Md., to limit Trump's ability to remove the penalties on ZTE. Following the Times report Friday, Van Hollen told NBC News "there's strong bipartisan resistance to this idea of the president trading away" national security considerations.
The senator said the Senate will vote on the measure as part of a defense authorization bill when it returns to Washington next month. Van Hollen warned an agreement could compromise U.S. efforts to force North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs, largely through sanctions.
"Giving a break to ZTE undermines our maximum pressure sanctions effort against North Korea," he said.
In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., contended the deal would help to "make China great again" and "would not protect America's economic or national security." He said "both parties in Congress should come together to stop this deal in its tracks."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the reported agreement a "stunning betrayal of the American people." In a statement, she contended that Americans "deserve better than a President who is eager to sell out the American people and our national security for his personal enrichment."
Sen. Marco Rubio , R-Fla., a frequent critic of Trump's push to save ZTE, called the reported agreement a "great deal" for ZTE and China. "Now Congress will need to act," he tweeted.
Rubio tweet: Yes they have a deal in mind. It is a great deal... for # ZTE & China. # China crushes U.S. companies with no mercy & they use these telecomm companies to spy & steal from us. Many hoped this time would be different. Now congress will need to act.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders would not confirm any possible deal terms. She said the Trump administration wants to make sure ZTE is "held accountable."
— CNBC's Eamon Javers contributed to this report | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/25/trump-administration-is-telling-congress-it-has-an-agreement-to-save-chinas-zte-new-york-times.html |
RICHARDSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ: RP), a leading global provider of software and data analytics to the real estate industry, today announced the closing of its follow-on public offering of 8,050,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $57.00 per share, before underwriting discounts, including 1,050,000 additional shares of common stock issued upon the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares.
RealPage received gross proceeds of approximately $458,850,000 from the offering, before underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as the joint bookrunners for the offering. JMP Securities LLC, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. and Fifth Third Securities, Inc. acted as co-managers for the offering.
An effective registration statement relating to the shares of common stock was previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, 2018. A preliminary prospectus supplement and final prospectus supplement, each describing the terms of the offering, were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, 2018 and May 24, 2018, respectively. The offering was made only by means of the effective shelf registration statement, including a preliminary prospectus supplement and a final prospectus supplement, copies of which may be obtained from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014; from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717; from Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 375 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10152; and from RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate, Three World Financial Center, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10281. The final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov .
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About RealPage
RealPage is a leading global provider of software and data analytics to the real estate industry. Clients use our platform to improve operating performance and increase capital returns. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Richardson, Texas, RealPage currently serves over 12,400 clients worldwide from offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information about the company, visit https://www.realpage.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006519/en/
RealPage, Inc.
Investor Relations
Rhett Butler, 972-820-3773
[email protected]
Source: RealPage, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/business-wire-realpage-announces-closing-of-follow-on-public-offering-of-common-stock.html |
Ford could reopen two US truck plants next Friday Published 15 Hours Ago Updated 14 Hours Ago Reuters
Ford Motor could resume production of its best-selling F-150 pickups as early as Friday, May 18 in Dearborn and Kansas City, according to a source familiar with the automaker's plans.
Ford shut truck plants in Michigan, Missouri and Kentucky earlier this week because of parts shortages caused by a supplier fire in Michigan.
Also on Friday, Mercedes-Benz said SUV production at its Alabama plant stopped on Thursday because of parts shortages caused by the same May 2 fire at a Meridian Magnesium Products plant in Eaton Rapids, Michigan.
Mercedes said it had exhausted its supply of cockpit cross-members on May 9 and did not have enough parts to resume full production. It said the Alabama plant will reopen next week on a "modified production schedule" while the automaker works with Meridian to restore parts production.
Ford's Louisville truck plant, which builds F-series Super Duty pickups, remains closed indefinitely.
Ford executives earlier this week said the company's quarterly earnings could be affected by shutdowns at the three truck plants, but affirmed its full-year earnings estimate.
Ford said it was working with Chinese-owned Meridian to shift production of the affected parts to other suppliers until the fire-damaged plant can be repaired and production resumed.
Ford shares were down slightly in after-hours trade, at $11.19. Related Securities | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/ford-will-resume-production-of-popular-f-series-pickup-truck-on-may-18-reuters-citing-source.html |
May 5, 2018 / 8:07 PM / Updated 6 hours ago Golf - Leader Day gets feet wet at Wells Fargo Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
(Reuters) - Jason Day needed to get his feet wet at the final hole to salvage a four-under-par 67 and take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina on Saturday. May 5, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; Jason Day watches his shot from the fourth tee during the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow Club. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
The Australian took off his shoes and socks and stood in a small creek to play a shot to the green at the 18th before coming through with a par putt to stand at 10-under 203, two strokes ahead of Nick Watney (66).
Tiger Woods, who has struggled with his putting this week, was nine strokes off the lead after a 68 while Rory McIlroy rebounded from his 76 on Friday by going 10 strokes lower to sit seven off the lead.
Day struggled to get going but four birdies in six holes on the back nine saw him break free of the pack.
“It was a bit of a struggle through eight holes,” the former world number one told CBS television. May 5, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; Jason Day hits out of the bunker on the fifth hole during the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow Club. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
“Then a nice shot into the ninth hole for a tap-in birdie and a good drive down 10 kind of really started getting things in the right direction.”
Rookie Aaron Wise had tracked Day for most of the afternoon but bogeys on two of his last three holes dropped him into a tie for third with Peter Uihlein, who narrowly missed the course record with a nine-under 62, Bryson DeChambeau (66) and Englishman Paul Casey (69).
Phil Mickelson also took advantage of the softer greens to shoot a seven-under 64 and move into 10th at five-under 208. Slideshow (15 Images)
Woods picked up six birdies to reach one-under 212 but finished the round on a sour note with a three-putt bogey on 18.
The former world number one had moved to four under with three consecutive birdies from the 13th.
“I was so close to shooting about seven, eight-under today,” he told reporters. “I still didn’t have enough pace on a couple that I left on the lip.
“I’m close, I’m hitting the ball well enough to contend, to win this golf tournament, but I just haven’t made putts.”
Uihlein had five consecutive birdies from the fifth, an eagle at 10 and added two more birdies at the 14th and 15th as he missed McIlroy’s 2015 Quail Hollow record by one shot.
“The way the golf course was set up today it felt like you could get after it a bit,” he said. “It played a little easier than it did the first two days.”
McIlroy, at three-under 210, had four birdies in a row before also bogeying the last.
“I’m just not that comfortable with anything right now,” McIlroy told Golf Channel. “I’m trying really hard to hit it in the fairway and then trying really hard to get my irons on line. It’s all just a little bit of a struggle.” Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Peter Rutherford | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-golf-wellsfargo/golf-uihlein-and-mickelson-make-big-moves-as-woodss-putting-improves-idUKKBN1I60V2 |
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The President of Kenya’s Olympic Committee has called for urgent measures to deal with what he described as the “cancer” of doping among athletes in the east African country.
Kenya, renowned for its distance running pedigree, has been tainted by a number of doping cases involving high-profile athletes in recent years.
“We need a deeper and genuine national conversation on this cancer within us. We must stop sweeping it under the carpet under the guise of confidentiality and expose it for what it is,” Paul Tergat, President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), said.
“I once again wish to repeat my previous call that this menace must be treated for what it is - a criminal act and all participants in the whole chain face the severest sanctions possible - whoever they may be - as provided in Law,” added Tergat, who was twice Olympic 10,000 meters silver medalist.
“As a former athlete, President of NOCK and IOC Member, I am most disturbed by these recent developments. It is telling me that whatever we have been doing is not delivering results and there is need to recalibrate our approach,” Tergat said in an address to athletes at a ceremony for Kenyan medalists from the recent Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Former Olympic 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop has tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO, the IAAF’s Athletics Integrity Unit confirmed on Friday.
The 28-year-old three-times world champion was the latest among the over 50 Kenyan athletes who have failed doping tests, including 2016 Olympic marathon gold medalist Jemima Sumgong.
Kiprop has vowed to prove his innocence and his case is now with an IAAF tribunal.
Reporting by Isaack Omolu, Editing by Ed Osmond
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sport-doping-athletics-kenya/kenyan-olympic-chief-wants-action-to-end-cancer-of-doping-idUSKBN1IA39V |
May 8 (Reuters) - Intel Corp:
* INTEL CAPITAL - INTEL CORP’S GLOBAL INVESTMENT ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCED NEW INVESTMENTS TOTALING $72 MILLION IN 12 TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS
* INTEL CAPITAL - WITH THE NEW FUNDING, INTEL CAPITAL’S YEAR-TO-DATE INVESTMENTS HAVE REACHED MORE THAN $115 MILLION
* INTEL CAPITAL - NBA, CO ANNOUNCE SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION COLLABORATION CALLED “NBA + INTEL CAPITAL EMERGING TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE” Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-intel-corps-global-investment-orga/brief-intel-corps-global-investment-organization-announced-new-investments-totaling-72-mln-in-12-startups-idUSFWN1SF17L |
May 21, 2018 / 6:20 PM / Updated an hour ago Gay man says pope told him - 'God made you this way': paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
MADRID (Reuters) - A Chilean man who suffered clerical sexual abuse has said Pope Francis told him in a private conversation that God had made him gay and loved him that way, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais. FILE PHOTO - Pope Francis leads the Italian conference of bishops (CEI) meeting in the Synod Hall at the Vatican, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile
The Vatican declined to comment on the report but, if confirmed, it would be a striking statement of tolerance towards homosexuality, which the Church has condemned as an immoral disorder if it is actively practised.
In an interview published on Sunday, abuse victim Juan Carlos Cruz told El Pais that Pope Francis had told him during a meeting this month: “The fact that you are gay does not matter.”
Cruz said Francis had also told him: “God made you this way and loves you this way, and it doesn’t matter to me. The pope loves you this way, you must be happy the way you are.”
Cruz was one of three Chilean victims who were invited by the pope to Rome this month in the wake of a scandal in Chile over priestly sexual abuse and efforts by the Church hierarchy there to hush it up.
After attending a crisis meeting with Francis about the cover-up last week, all of Chile’s bishops offered to resign.
Since his election in 2013, the pope has dramatically shifted the language the Church has used about homosexuality, which was once seen as a taboo subject.
“If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” he said on his first overseas trip in 2013. In 2016, he said had ministered to people with unfulfilled homosexual tendencies as well as homosexuals who were not able to remain chaste, as the Church asks them to.
“When a person arrives before Jesus, Jesus certainly will not say: ‘Go away because you are homosexual’,” he said.
Francis’s predecessor, Pope Benedict, wrote in 2005 that homosexuality was “a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil”. Reporting by Julien Toyer; Editing by Kevin Liffey | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pope-gay/gay-man-says-pope-told-him-god-made-you-this-way-paper-idUKKCN1IM22M |
The plot behind MoviePass parent's bad review Tuesday, May 15, 2018 - 01:53
MoviePass, the widely popular movie theater subscription service owned by parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics may soon serve as a cautionary tale of the dangers of trying to cash in on a great idea too soon.
MoviePass, the widely popular movie theater subscription service owned by parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics may soon serve as a cautionary tale of the dangers of trying to cash in on a great idea too soon. //reut.rs/2rPX5Oz | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/15/the-plot-behind-moviepass-parents-bad-re?videoId=427134576 |
May 8, 2018 / 4:34 AM / Updated 21 minutes ago BRIEF-Navios Maritime Containers Reports Qtrly Basic EPS Of $0.10 Reuters Staff
May 8 (Reuters) - Navios Maritime Containers Inc:
* REPORTS FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2018
* QTRLY BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.10 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-navios-maritime-containers-reports/brief-navios-maritime-containers-reports-qtrly-basic-eps-of-0-10-idUSASC0A0B6 |
QUEBEC CITY, May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H 2 O Innovation Inc. (“H 2 O Innovation” or the “Corporation”) (TSX-V:HEO) announces that it will release its financial results for the 2018 third quarter on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, at approximately 8:00 a.m. (EDT). The Corporation will also host a conference call, on that same day, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
Financial analysts and investors are invited to attend the conference call during which the 2018 third quarter results will be presented. The call will begin with a presentation by management followed by a question-and-answer period. A slide presentation will be available on the Corporate Presentations page of the Investors section of the Corporation’s website.
Time and date: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT)
Dial in number: 1 (877) 223-4471 or 1 (647) 788-4922
About H 2 O Innovation
H 2 O Innovation designs and provides state-of-the-art, custom-built and integrated water treatment solutions based on membrane filtration technology for municipal, industrial, energy and natural resources end-users. The Corporation’s activities rely on three pillars which are i) water and wastewater projects and services, including digital control and monitoring solutions as well as after sale customer services; ii) specialty products, which include a complete line of specialty chemicals, consumables, specialized products for the water treatment industry; and iii) operation and maintenance services for water and wastewater treatment systems and utilities. For more information, visit www.h2oinnovation.com .
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the Alternext Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Source:
H 2 O Innovation Inc.
www.h2oinnovation.com
Contact:
Marc Blanchet
+1 418-688-0170
[email protected]
Source: H2O Innovation Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/globe-newswire-h2o-innovation-announces-the-release-of-its-financial-results-for-the-third-quarter-of-2018.html |
French President Emmanuel Macron told executives from the world's biggest technology firms on Wednesday that he wanted innovation to be a driving force for the French economy, but also that they needed to contribute more to society.
The French leader paints himself as a champion of France 's plugged-in youth and wants to transform France into a "startup nation" that draws higher investments into technology and artificial intelligence. He is also spearheading efforts in Europe to have digital companies pay more tax at source.
Macron's guest-list included Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg , IBM 's Virginia Rometty , Intel 's Brian Krzanich , Microsoft 's Satya Nadella and a raft of other big hitters in the corporate world.
"There is no free lunch," he quipped in English to the executives lined up on the steps of the Elysee Palace for a photo call at a lunch meeting. "So I want from you some commitments."
As Macron spoke, IBM announced it would hire about 1,400 people in France over the next two years in the fields of blockchain and cloud computing.
Ride-hailing app Uber also said it planned to offer all its European drivers an upgraded version of the health insurance it already provides in France in a drive to attract independent workers and fend off criticism over their treatment.
Macron will hold one-on-one talks with Mark Zuckerberg on tax and data privacy on the sidelines of the Tech For Good summit - a day after the Facebook chief executive faced questions from European Union lawmakers.
Christophe Petit Tesson | Reuters Facebook's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg meets with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace after the "Tech for Good" summit, in Paris, France, May 23, 2018. Those talks will be frank, an Elysee official said ahead of the meeting. While Macron will be pitching France Inc, he will also push his case for a European Union tax on digital turnover and a tougher fight against both data piracy and fake news.
Zuckerberg on Tuesday sailed through a grilling from EU lawmakers about the social network's data policies, apologizing to leaders of the European Parliament for a massive data leak but dodging numerous questions.
Macron told the executives that business needed to do more in tackling issues such as inequality and climate change.
"It is not possible just to have free riding on one side, when you make a good business," the French president said. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/french-president-tells-big-tech-ceos-they-need-to-contribute-more-to-society.html |
Ryan moves to stop GOP revolt on immigration 00:50
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday warned a small group of his fellow Republicans against forcing a floor debate on four separate bills that would protect young illegal immigrants from deportation, saying doing so would be a ''big mistake.'' Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday warned a small group of his fellow Republicans against forcing a floor debate on four separate bills that would protect young illegal immigrants from deportation, saying doing so would be a "big mistake." Rough Cut (no reporter narration). //reut.rs/2L7JbzR | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/16/ryan-moves-to-stop-gop-revolt-on-immigra?videoId=427475783 |
May 4, 2018 / 10:06 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago BRIEF-Vereit Reports Q1 FFO Per Share $0.17 Reuters Staff
May 4 (Reuters) - VEREIT Inc: * Q1 ADJUSTED FFO PER SHARE $0.18
* BOARD AUTHORIZED EARLY TERMINATION OF SHARE REPURCHASE PLAN AS OF MAY 3
* VEREIT - ADOPTED NEW 1-YEAR PROGRAM AUTHORIZING PURCHASE OF UP TO $200 MILLION STOCK, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING TERMINATION OF PREVIOUS PLAN Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-vereit-reports-q1-ffo-per-share-01/brief-vereit-reports-q1-ffo-per-share-0-17-idUSASC09ZV7 |
A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk. Bribery: Spanish opposition parties are moving to hold a no-confidence vote against […]
To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In Previous Whistleblowing Hotlines: A Gray Area Under EU's New Privacy Law | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2018/05/29/corruption-currents-ivanka-trump-receives-trademarks-days-before-zte-move/ |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Insight Public Sector Inc, a subsidiary of Insight Enterprises Inc, is being awarded a $653 million firm-fixed-price blanket purchase agreement to supply Microsoft Inc software, services and cloud offerings to the U.S. Navy, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by David Alexander
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-insight-enterp-pentagon/insight-public-sector-wins-653-million-u-s-defense-contract-pentagon-idUSKBN1I52JR |
(Reuters) - Virgin Money ( VM.L ) said on Monday that it had received an all-stock takeover offer from rival CYBG Plc ( CYBGC.L ), a proposal that values the British lender at about 1.6 billion pounds ($2.17 billion).
A man checks his phone as he walks past a branch of Virgin Money in Manchester, Britain September 21, 2017. Picture taken September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble The merger would create Britain’s leading ‘challenger’ bank, with 6 million personal and business customers, said CYBG, the owner of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, in a statement.
Challenger banks emerged in Britain after the financial crisis to fill a gap in small business lending and capitalize on problems at the bigger banks.
CYBG, which made its London market debut in 2016 after it was spun off by National Australia Bank ( NAB.AX ), said Virgin Money would own about 36.5 percent of the combined company. Virgin Money shareholders would receive 1.13 new CYBG shares for each Virgin Money share.
Virgin Money, founded and partly owned by entrepreneur Richard Branson, said its board was reviewing the proposal.
Virgin Money shares have risen about 10 percent this year and closed at 312 pence on Friday, while CYBG shares were down about 6 percent in the same period and closed at 318 pence. Markets were closed on Monday in London for the May Day holiday.
Based on those prices, CYBG’s offer values Virgin Money at around 359 pence per share, or about 1.60 billion pounds, a premium of about 15 percent.
CYBG shares fell last month after the lender said it had increased provisions for repaying customers missold payment protection insurance.
Last week, Virgin Money reported a strong credit performance and better-than-expected deposit growth from savers in the first quarter.
Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Rosalba O'Brien
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-virgin-money-m-a-cybg/uk-bank-cybg-makes-takeover-bid-for-virgin-money-idUSKBN1I82K0 |
Pond5 fills two new executive roles, Sam Napolitano as CTO and Jeffrey Wilks as CRO, to support burgeoning media business
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pond5 , the world’s leading content marketplace for high-quality royalty-free video and other media, today announced the appointment of two key executive roles: Sam Napolitano as Chief Technology Officer and Jeffrey Wilks as Chief Revenue Officer. Both Napolitano and Wilks join the Pond5 team in the company’s New York City office. As CTO, Napolitano is responsible for driving the company’s technology forward, including the advancement of its AI Visual Search program and tech integrations with industry-leading software developers. As CRO, Wilks oversees global sales and marketing for Pond5.
Pond5 Chief Technology Officer, Sam Napolitano
A senior technology leader and software enthusiast with more than 15 years of experience leading globally distributed engineering teams in building high-scale, world-class platforms, Napolitano will marry content, product, technology, and data to reach and expand Pond5’s dedicated user base. In his most recent position as the SVP of Engineering at Viacom, Napolitano oversaw the 100+ person Media & Technology Services Global Engineering Team. He was responsible for platform engineering and operational support for the reinvention of technology services aimed at current, new, and emerging audiences for brands including MTV and Comedy Central.
“Sam is a passionate technologist and leader who brings to Pond5 both a strategic mindset and a willingness to roll up his sleeves,” said Pond5 CEO Jason Teichman. “Just like the thousands of filmmakers who contribute to and use Pond5 every day, Sam is an artist himself, with an art-school background focusing on commercial art and web design and development. His experience in applying technology to the creative field will enable us to continue our mission of helping filmmakers fulfill their creative vision.”
Prior to his role at Viacom, Napolitano was the VP of Engineering at The Huffington Post, where he spent six years leading distributed engineering teams, helping to scale their technology platform to 15 international editions and more than 200 million visitors per month. He also spent time at AOL and LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. Growing up, Sam spent hundreds of hours digging through documentation that helped him to write games and small apps on his TI-82 graphing calculator. He learned at a young age how to make machines do what you wanted them to do by changing a few lines of code, a passion that turned into a lifelong career.
Pond5 Chief Revenue Officer, Jeffrey Wilks
With his appointment as CRO, Wilks is responsible for accelerating the growth of Pond5, overseeing both sales and marketing globally. Prior to joining Pond5, Wilks was the General Manager for Experian Marketing Services across the Americas, leading customer success, customer service, sales and marketing for both the CheetahMail and Marketing Suite Cross Channel platforms.
“Jeffrey comes to us with over three decades of experience selling creative and marketing solutions to the world’s most recognizable brands and creative organizations,” said Teichman. “He brings significant agency experience running sales and account management from companies like BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather, and more recently, ran the marketing solutions business at both eBay and Experian. Jeffrey’s deep understanding of the creative mindset, his sales acumen, and experience leading distributed inside sales and field sales organizations make him a tremendous asset to the company.”
Prior to Experian, Wilks was President of the Advertising Group at InVentiv Health, leading a diverse group of global bio-pharmaceutical health-care agencies. At eBay, he was responsible for the client services team of the eBay Enterprise business unit. Additional experience includes many years in the advertising business.
Wilks is a graduate of St. Lawrence University. He is currently a Board Member and past Board Vice President of USA Climbing, the governing body of competitive climbing in the US. He has held board member positions with the Single Parent Resource Center, a New York-based charity, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and the Online Publishers Association (OPA).
About Pond5
Pond5 is transforming the role of video in the creative process by connecting producers, creative directors, and editors to more than 60,000 filmmakers and creators in over 150 countries. The company is dedicated to improving creative production through its innovative artist technology, easy-to-use platform, and ever-growing library of more than ten million royalty-free video clips, plus millions of music tracks, sound effects, photos and other high-quality media. Pond5 is a venture-backed company funded by Accel Partners and Stripes Group with offices located in New York, Dublin, and Prague.
For more information, please visit https://www.pond5.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180501006485/en/
Zazil Media Group
Megan Linebarger, +1 617-480-3674
[email protected]
Source: Pond5 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/business-wire-pond5-taps-talent-from-viacom-and-ebay-for-roles-of-cto-and-cro-respectively.html |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Singapore has emerged as the likeliest location for a planned summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: A combination photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) in Pyongyang, North Korea and U.S. President Donald Trump (R), in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., respectively from Reuters files. REUTERS/KCNA handout via Reuters & Kevin Lamarque (R) Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Peter Cooney
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-usa-singapore/singapore-likeliest-option-for-trump-kim-summit-u-s-official-idUSKBN1IB06I |
Companies are going to have to train people to fill jobs: Expert 2 Hours Ago Harvey Lippman, Genesis 10, discusses the difficulties companies are having filling tech jobs due to issues with visas. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/18/companies-are-going-to-have-to-train-people-to-fill-jobs-expert.html |
Q1 2018 Afrezza Net Revenue was $3.4 million; +184% vs. Q1 2017 (+234% under the 2017 revenue recognition model) Q1 2018 Net Cash Used in Operating Activities was $21.7 million STAT study results accepted for presentation at American Diabetes Association’s 78 th scientific sessions Initiated Phase 1 clinical trial of Treprostinil Technosphere
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
“We started 2018 with solid growth of 184% in quarterly Afrezza sales year-over-year, which reflects our progression as a fully-integrated commercial enterprise and our focused promotional efforts,” said Michael Castagna, Chief Executive Officer of MannKind Corporation. “We look forward to new scientific data releases at the American Diabetes Association scientific meeting in June to help clinicians better understand the unique benefits of this innovative product.”
For , Afrezza net revenue was $3.4 million compared to $1.2 million for the first quarter of 2017, an increase of $2.2 million or 184%. On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASC 606, the new revenue recognition standard, under which it recognizes revenue as it sells product to wholesale distributors. Previously, it recognized sales on the basis of a model that estimated the sale of Afrezza to patients. As of January 1 2018, it reduced $3.4 million in previously deferred revenue (that reflected inventory in sales channels) to zero and also made a corresponding decrease to accumulated deficit. A comparison of the condensed consolidated financial statements with and without the adoption of ASC 606 can be found in the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in the form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. Total revenue for was $3.4 million compared to $3.0 million for the first quarter of 2017, an increase of $0.4 million or 15%. This increase was primarily due to the increased net revenue from Afrezza, partially offset by the sale of bulk insulin of $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Cost of goods sold for was $4.0 million compared to $2.5 million for the first quarter of 2017, an increase $1.5 million or 57%. This increase was primarily the result of higher Afrezza sales compared to the same period in the prior year together with inventory write-offs of $0.6 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2018. There were no inventory write-offs in the same period of the prior year.
Research and development (R&D) expenses for were $2.6 million compared to $3.1 million for the first quarter of 2017, a decrease of $0.5 million or 16%. This decrease reflected a $1.1 million reallocation of salary and salary-related expenses from R&D in 2017 to selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) in 2018) associated with personnel who were engaged in R&D activities in 2017 and transitioned to providing medical affairs and pharmacovigilance support to Afrezza commercial activities in 2018. The decrease in R&D expenses in the first quart of 2018 was offset by increased outside contract research organization spending on clinical trials of $0.5 million.
SG&A expenses were $20.6 million for compared to $15.4 million for the first quarter of 2017. The $5.2 million or 34% increase was primarily due to $5.7 million in headcount-related expenses from additional field force and G&A support functions (inclusive of the $1.1 million reallocation from R&D). In addition, there was a charge of $0.8 million in the first quarter 2018 for costs related to transitioning corporate support functions from Danbury, CT to Westlake Village, CA to create a more efficient back-office operation. Partially offsetting these increases were a $0.5 million decrease in spending on outside sales efforts that were transitioned in-house, $0.6 million lower consulting costs, and $0.2 million due to lower facility costs.
The net loss for was $30.4 million, or $0.25 per share compared to a $16.3 million net loss in the first quarter of 2017 or $0.17 per share. In addition to the variances described above which impacted the net loss in 2017, there was a favorable change due to a non-cash gain recognized in the first quarter of 2017 for the decrease in the fair value of warrant liability of $6.6 million which did not have a corresponding first quarter 2018 amount as the warrants were exchanged for shares and cancelled in October 2017.
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at March 31, 2018 decreased to $27.2 million compared to $48.4 million at December 31, 2017, primarily due to net cash used in operating activities of $21.7 million in the first quarter 2018 offset by $0.5 million of net proceeds from the at-the-market equity offering facility. Subsequent to the quarter end in early April, the Company raised $26.3 million of net proceeds from a registered direct offering of 14 million shares of common stock and warrants at a purchase price of $2.00 per share and accompanying warrant exercisable at $2.38 per share.
Conference Call
MannKind will host a conference call and presentation webcast to discuss these results today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To participate in the live call by telephone, please dial (800) 289-0438 toll-free or (323)794-2423 toll/international and use the conference passcode: 3321662. Those interested in listening to the conference call live via the Internet may do so by visiting the Company’s website at www.mannkindcorp.com .
A telephone replay of the call will be accessible for approximately 14 days following completion of the call by dialing (844) 512-2921 toll free or (412) 317-6671 toll/international and use the replay passcode: 3321662. A replay will also be available on MannKind’s website for 14 days.
About MannKind Corporation
MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutic products for patients with diseases such as diabetes and pulmonary arterial hypertension. MannKind is currently commercializing Afrezza® (insulin human) Inhalation Powder, the Company’s first FDA-approved product and the only inhaled rapid-acting mealtime insulin in the United States, where it is available by prescription from pharmacies nationwide. MannKind is headquartered in Westlake Village, California, and has a state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Danbury, Connecticut. The Company also employs field sales and medical representatives across the U.S. For further information, visit www.mannkindcorp.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding MannKind’s ability to directly commercialize pharmaceutical products. Words such as “believes”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “expects”, “intend”, “will”, “goal”, “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon the MannKind’s current expectations. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the ability to generate significant product sales for MannKind, MannKind’s ability to manage its existing cash resources or raise additional cash resources, stock price volatility and other risks detailed in MannKind’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and MannKind undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.
MANNKIND CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Three months ended
March 31, 2018 2017 Revenues: Net revenue – commercial product sales $ 3,402 $ 1,196 Net revenue – collaboration 63 63 Revenue – other -- 1,750 Total net revenues 3,465 3,009 Expenses: Cost of goods sold 4,008 2,548 Research and development 2,644 3,129 Selling, general and administrative 20,618 15,389 Loss on foreign currency translation 2,984 1,545 Total expenses 30,254 22,611 Loss from operations (26,789 ) (19,602 ) Other (expense) income: Change in fair value of warrant liability -- 6,629 Interest income 106 55 Interest expense on notes (1,794 ) (2,706 ) Interest expense on note payable to principal stockholder (1,114 ) (714 ) Loss on extinguishment of debt (825 ) Other income 31 14 Net loss $ (30,385 ) $ (16,324 ) Net loss per share — basic $ (0.25 ) $ (0.17 ) Net loss per share — diluted $ (0.25 ) $ (0.17 ) Shares used to compute basic net (loss) income per share 120,911 95,744 Shares used to compute diluted net (loss) income per share 120,911 95,744
MANNKIND CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(unaudited)
(In thousands)
March 31,
2018 December 31,
2017 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 26,706 $ 43,946 Restricted cash 527 4,409 Accounts receivable, net 1,550 2,789 Inventory 3,891 2,657 Deferred costs from commercial product sales -- 405 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 2,354 3,010 Total current assets 35,028 57,216 Property and equipment, net 26,481 26,922 Other assets 368 437 Total assets $ 61,877 $ 84,575 Liabilities and Stockholders’ Deficit Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 4,976 $ 6,984 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 15,930 12,449 Facility financing obligation 43,654 52,745 Deferred revenue, net -- 3,038 Deferred payments from collaboration - current 250 250 Recognized loss on purchase commitments — current 15,859 12,131 Total current liabilities 80,669 87,597 Note payable to principal stockholder 72,247 79,666 Accrued interest — note payable to principal stockholder 3,469 2,347 Senior convertible notes 24,368 24,411 Recognized loss on purchase commitments — long term 96,694 97,585 Deferred payments from collaboration – long term 437 500 Milestone rights liability and other liabilities 7,201 7,201 Total liabilities 285,085 299,307 Total stockholders’ deficit (223,208 ) (214,732 ) Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit $ 61,877 $ 84,575 Company Contact:
Rose Alinaya
SVP, Investor Relations and Treasury
818-661-5000
[email protected]
Source:MannKind | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/globe-newswire-mannkind-corporation-reports-2018-first-quarter-financial-results.html |
TORONTO, May 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) (OTCQX:IVPAF) today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three mine-development projects in Southern Africa: The Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel-copper-gold discovery in South Africa; the Kamoa-Kakula copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ); and the extensive upgrading of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine, also in the DRC .
HIGHLIGHTS
On March 9, 2018, DRC President Joseph Kabila Kabange signed a new mining code into effect that revises and updates the country’s 2002 mining code. The international mining companies that have operations in the DRC , including Glencore, Randgold, China Molybdenum, MMG , Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, collectively are negotiating with the DRC ’s national government to resolve corporate concerns about anticipated impacts on their DRC operations from changes in the new mining code.
The DRC mining-code negotiations began in late March, following an initial, high-level meeting in Kinshasa on March 7 during which DRC President Kabila gave an assurance that the companies’ concerns would be resolved through transitional arrangements, mining regulations and respect for existing agreements and guarantees.
The international companies have confirmed their willingness to negotiate royalties and changes to other taxes as part of this process. The companies expect that the negotiations will give priority to respecting the legislated guarantee of stability and protection of rights specified in Article 276 of the 2002 mining code, and other protections afforded under established mining conventions and bilateral agreements.
Continuing strategic discussions concerning Ivanhoe Mines and its projects are ongoing with several significant mining companies and investors across Asia, Europe, Africa and elsewhere. Several investors that have expressed interest have no material limit on the provision of capital.
On February 26, 2018, Ivanhoe announced results of an independently verified, updated Mineral Resource estimate showing that the ultra-high-grade Kakula Discovery alone now contains Indicated Mineral Resources of 174 million tonnes at 5.62% copper, at a 3% copper cut-off grade, and 585 million tonnes at 2.92% copper, at a 1% cut-off.
The February 2018 Mineral Resource estimate boosted the combined Kamoa-Kakula Indicated Mineral Resources to 1.03 billion tonnes at 3.17% copper, containing approximately 72 billion pounds of copper, plus an additional 183 million tonnes of Inferred Mineral Resources at 2.31% copper, at a 1.5% cut-off. The new Mineral Resource estimate established the Kamoa-Kakula Project as the world’s fourth-largest copper discovery. Kamoa-Kakula’s copper grades are the highest, by a wide margin, of the world’s top 10 copper deposits.
Kakula’s strike length now extends to more than 13 kilometres and remains open for significant expansion in multiple directions. A total of 13 rigs are continuing with resource expansion and delineation drilling at the project, as well as geotechnical, hydrological and metallurgical drilling. Geophysical surveys were conducted at the Kamoa-Kakula Project to help identify new, high-priority targets in the untested parts of the 400-square-kilometre mining licence.
Ivanhoe’s DRC exploration team is continuing with its regional drilling program targeting Kamoa-Kakula-style copper mineralization on its 100%-owned exploration licences in the Western Foreland region, just to the west of the Kamoa-Kakula mining-licence area.
The planned initial, six-million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) mine at Kakula is estimated to cost $1.2 billion; subsequent expansions and a smelter can be funded from cash flows or project financing. With the new, expanded February 2018 Mineral Resource estimate, Ivanhoe and its joint-venture partner, Zijin Mining, are exploring options to accelerate building of the first two mines at Kamoa-Kakula, and the potential for expanding production to 18 Mtpa and beyond.
Underground development at the planned initial mine at Kakula is making steady progress and is expected to reach the high-grade copper mineralization later this year. The service and conveyor declines each have been advanced more than 460 metres through underground development work.
In January 2018, Ivanhoe announced that ongoing upgrading work at the Mwadingusha hydropower plant in the DRC – the first of three existing, state-owned hydroelectric plants that Ivanhoe and Zijin Mining plan to modernize to supply power to Kamoa-Kakula – has increased power output to 32 megawatts ( MW ). Upgrading of the other two hydroelectric plants – Koni and Nzilo 1 – is expected to begin once Mwadingusha has been fully restored to its installed capacity of 71 MW . Kamoa-Kakula has been conducting project development activities with clean, hydroelectric power drawn from the national grid since late 2016.
The Ivanhoe-sponsored Fionet program to improve malaria diagnostics and treatment was expanded in 2017 to 300 Deki Readers installed in 252 medical-service providers in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba provinces in southern DRC , which host Ivanhoe’s Kipushi and Kamoa-Kakula projects. Deki hand-held devices provide automated readings of rapid diagnostic tests to remove the human-error factor and avoid prescription of unnecessary medication.
On December 13, 2017, Ivanhoe announced the findings of an independent, pre-feasibility study ( PFS ) for the redevelopment of the Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-lead-silver mine in the DRC . The PFS analyzed the plan to bring Kipushi’s Big Zinc Zone into production in less than two years, with a life-of-mine, average annual production rate of 225,000 tonnes of zinc and cash costs of $0.48 per pound of zinc. Based on the findings of an independent, pre-feasibility study ( PFS ) issued in December 2017, Kipushi is expected to have average annual production of 381,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate over an 11-year, initial mine life at a total cash cost of approximately $0.48 per pound of zinc. The PFS focuses on the initial mining of Kipushi’s Big Zinc orebody, which has an estimated 10.2 million tonnes of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources grading 34.9% zinc. Ivanhoe has made significant progress in upgrading the mine’s underground infrastructure and the planned return to production would establish Kipushi as the world’s highest-grade, major zinc mine.
At the Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel-copper-gold discovery in South Africa , sinking of Shaft 1 reached a depth of 750 metres below surface on April 23, 2018. Development of the second of four planned shaft stations – the 750-metre-level station – has begun. Shaft 1 is expected to reach the top of the Flatreef orebody, at a depth of approximately 783 metres, in the third quarter of this year. Sinking of the shaft will continue to a planned final depth of 980 metres.
Surface construction for Platreef’s Shaft 2 is progressing. Blasting and excavation of a box cut to a depth of approximately 29 metres below surface is underway, and construction of a concrete hitch for the headframe is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
On May 7, 2018, Ivanhoe announced the signing of an agreement to provide local, treated bulk water for the first phase of production at Platreef. The agreement is for the supply of a minimum of five million litres of treated water a day for 32 years, beginning in 2022, from the town of Mokopane’s new Masodi treatment plant. Platreef expects to begin receiving a small quantity of treated water this year, which will be used in ongoing underground mine development and surface infrastructure construction.
Based on the findings of an independent, definitive feasibility study issued in July 2017, the Platreef Mine is projected to be Africa’s lowest-cost producer of platinum-group metals, with a cash cost of $351 per ounce of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE+Au), net of by-products, including sustaining capital cost.
Ivanhoe has appointed five leading mine-financing institutions as Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers to arrange debt financing for the Platreef Mine’s development. They are: KfW IPEX -Bank, a 100% subsidiary of the German promotional bank KfW; Swedish Export Credit Corporation; Export Development Canada; Nedbank Limited (acting through its Corporate and Investment Banking division); and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking. Expressions of interest have been received for approximately $900 million of the targeted $1 billion project financing.
On April 25, 2018, Ivanhoe issued its initial Sustainability Report. The report provides an overview of Ivanhoe’s sustainability programs and initiatives conducted in 2017, highlighting the significant accomplishments achieved and the new goals set for current and future corporate activities.
At the end of Q1 2018, Platreef had recorded 562,000 work hours free of lost-time injuries, Kipushi 905,000 hours and Kamoa-Kakula more than 9.58 million hours.
Principal projects and review of activities
1. Platreef Project
64%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines
South Africa
The Platreef Project is owned by Ivanplats (Pty) Ltd, which is 64%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines. A 26% interest is held by Ivanplats’ historically-disadvantaged, broad-based, black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) partners, which include 20 local host communities with a total of approximately 150,000 people, project employees and local entrepreneurs. In April 2018, Ivanplats reconfirmed its Level 3 status in its fourth verification assessment on a B-BBEE scorecard. A Japanese consortium of ITOCHU Corporation, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation and Japan Gas Corporation owns a 10% interest in Ivanplats, which it acquired in two tranches for a total investment of $290 million.
The Platreef Project hosts an underground deposit of thick, platinum-group metals, nickel, copper and gold mineralization on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in Limpopo Province, approximately 280 kilometres northeast of Johannesburg and eight kilometres from the town of Mokopane.
On the Northern Limb, platinum-group metals mineralization is hosted primarily within the Platreef, a mineralized sequence that is traced more than 30 kilometres along strike. Ivanhoe’s Platreef Project, within the Platreef’s southern sector, is comprised of two contiguous properties: Turfspruit and Macalacaskop. Turfspruit, the northernmost property, is contiguous with, and along strike from, Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena group of mining operations and properties.
Since 2007, Ivanhoe has focused its exploration and development activities on defining and advancing the down-dip extension of its original discovery at Platreef, now known as the Flatreef Deposit, which is amenable to highly mechanized, underground mining methods. The Flatreef area lies entirely on the Turfspruit and Macalacaskop properties, which form part of the company’s mining right.
Health and safety at Platreef
At the end of Q1 2018, the Platreef Project reached a total of 562,276 lost-time, injury-free hours worked in terms of South Africa’s Mine Health and Safety Act and Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Platreef Project continues to strive toward its workplace objective of an environment that causes zero harm to employees, contractors, sub-contractors and consultants.
Positive independent, definitive feasibility study for Platreef’s first-phase development; Platreef projected to be Africa’s lowest-cost producer of platinum-group metals
On July 31, 2017, Ivanhoe Mines announced the positive results of an independent, definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the planned first phase of the Platreef Project’s platinum-group metals, nickel, copper and gold mine in South Africa.
The Platreef DFS covers the first phase of development that would include construction of a state-of-the-art underground mine, concentrator and other associated infrastructure to support initial production of concentrate by 2022. As Phase 1 is being developed and commissioned, there would be opportunities to refine the timing and scope of subsequent phases of expanded production.
DFS highlights include:
Indicated Mineral Resources containing an estimated 41.9 million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, with an additional 52.8 million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold in Inferred Resources.
Increased Mineral Reserves containing 17.6 million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, following stope optimization and mine sequencing work.
Development of a large, safe, mechanized, underground mine, with an initial four-Mtpa concentrator and associated infrastructure.
Planned initial average annual production rate of 476,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE+Au), plus 21 million pounds of nickel and 13 million pounds of copper.
Estimated pre-production capital requirement of approximately $1.5 billion, at a ZAR:USD exchange rate of 13 to 1.
Platreef would rank at the bottom of the cash-cost curve, at an estimated $351 per ounce of 3PE+Au produced, net of by-products and including sustaining capital costs, and $326 per ounce before sustaining capital costs.
After-tax net present value (NPV) of $916 million, at an 8% discount rate.
After-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 14.2%.
The DFS was prepared for Ivanhoe Mines by principal consultant DRA Global, with economic analysis led by OreWin, and specialized sub-consultants including Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services (Amec Foster Wheeler), Stantec Consulting, Murray & Roberts Cementation, SRK Consulting, Golder Associates and Digby Wells Environmental.
Preliminary expressions of interest received for approximately $900 million of the targeted $1 billion Platreef project financing
During 2017, Ivanhoe announced the appointment of five leading financial institutions to arrange project financing for the development of the Platreef Project. The five Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers (IMLAs) will make best efforts to arrange a total debt financing of up to $1 billion for the development of Platreef’s first-phase, four Mtpa mine. Preliminary expressions of interest have been received for approximately $900 million of the targeted $1 billion financing. Negotiation of a term sheet is ongoing. In addition, preliminary discussions have begun with leading financial institutions around the financing of the black economic empowerment partners’ contribution to the development capital.
The IMLAs appointed Export Development Canada to direct the technical, environmental and social due diligence phase of the project. Chlumsky, Armbrust & Meyer and IBIS ESG South Africa Consulting were appointed as Independent Technical Consultant and Independent Social and Environmental Consultant, respectively.
Shaft 1 has reached a depth of more than 750 metres below surface; development of first mine-access station now underway
On April 23, 2018, Ivanhoe announced that Platreef’s Shaft 1 had reached a depth of 750 metres below surface and lateral development of the first mine-access station now is underway.
The station on Shaft 1’s 750-metre level will provide initial, underground access to the high-grade orebody, enabling mine development to proceed during the construction of Shaft 2, which will become the mine’s main production shaft. The mining zones in the current Platreef Mine plan occur at depths ranging from approximately 700 metres to 1,200 metres below surface. The 750-metre-level station also will allow access for the first raise-bore shaft that will provide ventilation to the underground workings during the mine’s ramp-up phase.
Sinking of Shaft 1 will resume after the station is completed. The shaft is expected to intersect the upper contact of the Flatreef Deposit (T1 mineralized zone) at an approximate shaft depth of 783 metres. As shaft sinking advances, two additional shaft stations will be developed at mine-working depths of 850 metres and 950 metres. Shaft 1 is expected to reach its projected, final depth of 980 metres below surface in 2019.
Shaft 1, with an internal diameter of 7.25 metres, will provide access to the Flatreef Deposit and enable the initial, underground development to take place during the development of Shaft 2. Ultimately, Shaft 1 will become the primary ventilation intake shaft during the project’s four-Mtpa production case.
Shaft 2 early-works construction progressing
Shaft 2, to be located approximately 100 metres northeast of Shaft 1, will have an internal diameter of 10 metres, will be lined with concrete and sunk to a planned, final depth of more than 1,104 metres below surface. It will be equipped with two, 40-tonne, rock-hoisting skips capable of hoisting a total of six million tonnes of ore a year – the single largest hoisting capacity at any mine in Africa.
The headgear for the permanent hoisting facility was designed by South Africa-based Murray & Roberts Cementation. The first three blasts for Shaft 2’s box cut were successfully completed in April; three additional blasts are planned. The blasting will enable the excavation of the box cut to a depth of approximately 29 metres below surface and the construction of the concrete hitch (foundation) for the 103-metre-tall concrete headgear (headframe) that will house the shaft’s permanent hoisting facilities and support the shaft collar. Excavation of the box cut and construction of the tower hitch foundation is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Underground mining to incorporate highly productive, mechanized methods
Ivanhoe plans to develop the Platreef Mine in phases. The initial annual production rate of four million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) is designed to establish an operating platform to support future expansions. This is expected to be followed by a potential doubling of production to eight Mtpa, and then a third expansion phase to a steady-state 12 Mtpa, which would establish Platreef among the largest platinum-group-metals mines in the world.
The mining zones in the current Platreef mine plan occur at depths ranging from approximately 700 metres to 1,200 metres below surface. Primary access to the mining zones will be by way of Shaft 2; secondary access will be via Shaft 1. During mine production, both shafts also will serve as ventilation intakes. Three additional ventilation exhaust raises are planned to achieve steady-state production.
Planned mining methods will use highly productive, mechanized methods, including long-hole stoping and drift-and-fill. Each method will utilize cemented backfill for maximum ore extraction. The ore will be hauled from the stopes to a series of internal ore passes and fed to the bottom of Shaft 2, where it will be crushed and hoisted to surface.
The current mine plan has been improved beyond the earlier projections in the 2015 PFS mine plan by optimizing stope design, employing a declining Net Smelter Return (NSR) strategy and targeting higher-grade zones early in the mine’s life. This strategy has increased the grade profile by 23% on a 3PE+Au basis in the first 10 years of operation and by 10% during the life of the mine.
Long-term bulk water supply secured for the Platreef Mine
On May 7, 2018, Ivanhoe announced the signing of a new agreement to provide local, treated water to supply most of the bulk water needed for the first phase of production at Platreef. The Mogalakwena Local Municipality has agreed to supply a minimum of five million litres of treated water a day for 32 years, beginning in 2022, from the town of Mokopane’s new Masodi Treatment Works.
Ivanplats expects to begin receiving a small quantity of processed wastewater this year, after the Masodi plant has been commissioned. The initial supply will be used in Platreef’s ongoing underground mine development and surface infrastructure construction.
Under terms of the agreement, which is subject to certain suspensive conditions, Ivanplats will provide financial assistance to the municipality for certified costs of up to a maximum of R248 million (approximately $19.6 million) to complete the Masodi treatment plant. Ivanplats will purchase the treated wastewater at a reduced rate of R5 per thousand litres for the first 10 million litres/day to offset a portion of the initial capital contributed.
Development of human resources and job skills
Work progressed on the implementation of Ivanhoe’s Social and Labour Plan (SLP). The company has pledged a total of R160 million ($13 million) during the first five years, culminating in November 2019. The approved plan includes R67 million ($6 million) for the development of job skills among local residents and R88 million ($7 million) for local economic development projects.
2. Kipushi Project
68%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Kipushi copper-zinc-germanium-lead mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is adjacent to the town of Kipushi and approximately 30 kilometres southwest of Lubumbashi. It is located on the Central African Copperbelt, approximately 250 kilometres southeast of the Kamoa-Kakula Project and less than one kilometre from the Zambian border. Ivanhoe acquired its 68% interest in the Kipushi Project in November 2011; the balance of 32% is held by the state-owned mining company, La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines).
Health, safety and community development
At the end of Q1 2018, the Kipushi Project had achieved a total 905,347 work hours free of lost-time injuries.
In an effort to reduce the incidence of malaria in the Kipushi community, a Water Sanitation and Health (WASH) program has been initiated in cooperation with the Territorial Administrator and the local community. The main emphasis of the program’s first phase is cleaning storm drains in the municipality to prevent accumulations of ponded water, where malarial mosquitos breed.
The Kipushi Project also operates a potable-water station to supply the municipality with water. This includes power supply, disinfectant chemicals, routine maintenance, security and emergency repair of leaks to the primary reticulation. A new overhead powerline to the pump station recently was installed and commisioned.
The Ivanhoe-sponsored Fionet program to improve malaria diagnostics and treatment was expanded in 2017, with a total of 300 Deki Readers installed in 252 medical-service providers in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba provinces in southern DRC, which host Ivanhoe’s Kipushi and Kamoa-Kakula projects. Deki devices provide automated readings of rapid, diagnostic tests to remove the human-error factor and avoid prescription of unnecessary medication. The data are uploaded to a cloud server for analysis by the Ministry of Health in planning malaria-control measures. Deki Readers provided diagnostic testing in more than 30,000 patient encounters during 2017, with approximately 63% of patients testing negative for malaria.
Underground drilling program completed in November 2017; updated Mineral Resource estimate expected in Q2 2018
Ivanhoe initiated a second phase of underground drilling at Kipushi in April 2017 with the goal of upgrading Inferred Mineral Resources on the Southern Zinc and Fault zones to Indicated, expanding Mineral Resources in the Série Recurrent Zone and collecting additional sample material for metallurgical flotation testing.
The drilling program was completed in November 2017, with a total of 9,706 metres drilled in 58 holes. Eight holes were drilled for metallurgy, 31 holes in the Southern Zinc and Big Zinc, five holes in the Nord Riche and 14 holes in the Série Récurrente.
Logging and sampling of the holes was completed at the end of 2017 and the final assays have been received. Geological interpretation of the results is ongoing and a new resource update is planned for release in Q2 2018. The updated Mineral Resource will be used in the preparation of the Kipushi Feasibility Study.
Project development and infrastructure
Ivanhoe completed the upgrading of a significant amount of underground infrastructure at the Kipushi Project, including a series of vertical mine shafts to various depths, with associated head frames, as well as underground mine excavations. A series of crosscuts and ventilation infrastructure still are in working condition. The underground infrastructure also includes a series of pumps to manage the influx of water into the mine.
Shaft 5, the main production shaft for the Kipushi Mine, is eight metres in diameter and 1,240 metres deep. It now has been upgraded and re-commissioned. The main personnel and material winder has been upgraded and modernized to meet international industry standards and safety criteria. The Shaft 5 rock-hoisting winder now is fully operational.
Underground upgrading work is continuing on the crusher and the rock load-out facilities at the bottom of Shaft 5 and on the main haulage way on the 1,150-metre level, between the Big Zinc access decline and Shaft 5.
Pre-feasibility study for Kipushi completed in December 2017; definitive feasibility study underway
On December 13, 2017, Ivanhoe Mines announced the results of a pre-feasibility study for the rebirth of the historic Kipushi Mine. The study anticipates annual production of an average of 381,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate over an 11-year, initial mine life at a total cash cost of approximately $0.48 per pound of zinc.
Highlights of the PFS, based on a long-term zinc price of $1.10 per pound, include:
After-tax net present value (NPV) at an 8% real discount rate of $683 million.
After-tax real internal rate of return (IRR) of 35.3%.
After-tax project payback period of 2.2 years.
Pre-production capital costs, including contingency, estimated at $337 million.
Existing surface and underground infrastructure allows for significantly lower capital costs than comparable greenfield development projects.
Life-of-mine average planned zinc concentrate production of 381,000 dry tonnes per annum, with a concentrate grade of 59% zinc, is expected to rank Kipushi, once in production, among the world’s largest zinc mines.
Estimated life-of-mine average cash cost of $0.48 per pound of zinc is expected to rank Kipushi, once in production, in the bottom quartile of the cash-cost curve for zinc producers internationally.
The definitive feasibility study, to further refine and optimize the project’s economics, is underway and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018.
Agreement to rebuild railway spur line to support the Kipushi Project
On October 30, 2017, Ivanhoe Mines and the DRC’s state-owned railway company, Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Congo (SNCC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to rebuild 34 kilometres of track to connect the Kipushi Mine with the DRC national railway at Munama, south of the mining capital of Lubumbashi.
Under the terms of the MOU, Ivanhoe has appointed R&H Rail to conduct a front-end engineering design study to assess the scope and cost of rebuilding the spur line from the Kipushi Mine to the main Lubumbashi-Sakania railway at Munama. The study is underway and construction on the Kipushi-Munama spur line could start later this year. Ivanhoe will finance the estimated $32 million (plus contingency) capital cost for the rebuilding, which is included within the overall Kipushi 2017 PFS capital cost.
The proposed export route is to utilize the SNCC network from Kipushi to Ndola, connecting to the north-south rail corridor from Ndola to Durban. The rail corridor to Durban via Zimbabwe is fully operational and has significant excess capacity.
3. Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project
39.6%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, has been independently ranked as the largest copper discovery ever made on the African continent, with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 kilometres west of Lubumbashi.
Ivanhoe sold a 49.5% share interest in Kamoa Holding to Zijin Mining in December 2015 for an aggregate consideration of $412 million. In addition, Ivanhoe sold a 1% share interest in Kamoa Holding to privately-owned Crystal River for $8.32 million – which Crystal River will pay through a non-interest-bearing, 10-year promissory note. Since the conclusion of the Zijin transaction in December 2015, each shareholder has been required to fund expenditures at the Kamoa-Kakula Project in an amount equivalent to its proportionate shareholding interest in Kamoa Holding.
A 5%, non-dilutable interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project was transferred to the DRC government on September 11, 2012, for no consideration, pursuant to the 2002 DRC mining code. Following the signing of an agreement with the DRC government in November 2016, in which an additional 15% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project was transferred to the DRC government, Ivanhoe and Zijin Mining now each hold an indirect, 39.6% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project, Crystal River holds an indirect 0.8% interest and the DRC government holds a direct 20% interest. Kamoa Holding holds an 80% interest in the project.
Kamoa-Kakula surpasses nine million hours worked without a lost-time injury
Health and safety remain key priorities for all people working at the Kamoa-Kakula Project, which had achieved 9,588,390 lost-time, injury-free hours worked to the end of Q1 2018. This outstanding achievement reflects the dedication and safety-focused culture of the entire Kamoa-Kakula exploration and development teams.
Updated Mineral Resource estimate announced in February 2018 establishes Kamoa-Kakula as world’s fourth-largest copper deposit
On February 26, 2018, Ivanhoe issued an updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Kamoa-Kakula Project. The updated estimate included an update to the Kakula Mineral Resource estimate and was prepared by Ivanhoe Mines under the direction of Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services Inc., of Reno, USA, in accordance with the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The Qualified Persons for the Kamoa-Kakula Mineral Resource estimate are Dr. Harry Parker, RM, SME and Gordon Seibel, RM, SME, both of Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services Inc.
The combined Kamoa-Kakula Project’s Indicated Mineral Resources now total 1,340 million tonnes grading 2.72% copper, containing 80.7 billion pounds of copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off grade and a minimum thickness of three metres. Kamoa-Kakula also now has Inferred Mineral Resources of 315 million tonnes grading 1.87% copper and containing 13.0 billion pounds of copper, also at a 1.0% copper cut-off grade and a minimum thickness of three metres.
The new Kakula estimate covers a mineralized strike length of 13.3 kilometres. For the first time, the updated estimate incorporates Mineral Resources contained in the Kakula West Discovery area and the saddle area between the main Kakula Discovery area and Kakula West. The updated Mineral Resource estimate is based on results from approximately 151,000 metres of drilling in 271 holes completed by December 31, 2017.
Kakula’s Indicated Mineral Resources now total 585 million tonnes at a grade of 2.92% copper, containing 37.7 billion pounds of copper at a 1% copper cut-off. At a 2% copper cut-off, Indicated Mineral Resources total 330 million tonnes at a 4.07% copper grade, containing 29.6 billion pounds of copper. At a 3% copper cut-off, Indicated Mineral Resources total 174 million tonnes at a grade of 5.62% copper, containing 21.5 billion pounds of copper.
Inferred Mineral Resources total 113 million tonnes at a grade of 1.90% copper, containing 4.7 billion pounds of copper at a 1% copper cut-off. At a 2% copper cut-off, Inferred Mineral Resources total 44 million tonnes at a 2.59% copper grade, containing 2.5 billion pounds of copper. At a 3% copper cut-off, Inferred Mineral Resources total nine million tonnes at a grade of 3.66% copper, containing 0.7 billion pounds of copper.
The average true thickness of the selective mineralized zone (SMZ) at a 1% copper cut-off is 10.1 metres in the Indicated Mineral Resources area and 6.7 metres in the Inferred Mineral Resources area. At a higher 3% copper cut-off, the average true thickness of the SMZ is 4.7 metres in the Indicated Mineral Resources area and 3.3 metres in the Inferred Mineral Resources area.
The Kakula Mineral Resources are defined within a total area of 24.9 square kilometres at a 1% copper cut-off. At the same cut-off grade, the areal extent of Indicated Mineral Resources is 19.4 square kilometres and the areal extent of the Inferred Mineral Resources is 5.5 square kilometres. The Kakula Discovery remains open for significant expansion in multiple directions, while the remainder of the southern parts of the Kamoa-Kakula mining-licence area is virtually untested.
Kamoa-Kakula 2017 PEA and PFS present three initial development scenarios
On November 28, 2017, Ivanhoe Mines announced positive findings of an expanded, independent, preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the development of the Kakula Discovery at the Kamoa-Kakula Project.
Highlights of the three development scenarios examined include:
Initial mine development scenario of a six-Mtpa underground mine and surface processing complex at Kakula:
For this option, the PEA envisaged an average annual production rate of 246,000 tonnes of copper at a mine-site cash cost of $0.45 per pound of copper and total cash cost of $1.08 per pound of copper for the first five years of operations, and copper annual production of up to 385,000 tonnes by year four.
An initial capital cost of $1.2 billion for this option would result in an after-tax net present value at an 8% discount rate (NPV8%) of $4.2 billion. The internal rate of return of 36.2% and project payback period of 3.1 years confirm the compelling economics for Kamoa-Kakula’s initial phase of production.
Kakula would benefit from an ultra-high, average feed grade of 6.4% copper during the first 10 years of operations, and 5.5% copper on average during a 24-year mine life.
A six-Mtpa Kakula pre-feasibility study (PFS) is underway, with completion targeted for the second half of 2018. Kakula’s surface box cut was completed in October 2017. Development of twin underground declines, similar to those at the nearby Kansoko Mine, has begun and is expected to take about a year to complete. The first blast for the declines was completed in November 2017.
Expanded, two-mine scenario for an integrated, 12-Mtpa, two-stage development, beginning with initial production from Kakula, to be followed by a subsequent, separate underground mining operation at nearby Kansoko, along with the construction of a smelter:
Under this option, initial production would occur at a rate of six-Mtpa from the Kakula Mine, before increasing to 12-Mtpa with ore from the Kansoko Mine. As resources at Kakula and Kansoko are mined, the PEA envisages that production would begin at Kamoa North to maintain 12-Mtpa throughput during a 44-year mine life.
For the two-phase, sequential operation, the PEA envisaged $1.2 billion in initial capital costs. Future expansion at the Kansoko Mine and subsequent extensions could be funded by cash flows from the Kakula Mine, resulting in an after-tax, net present value at an 8% discount rate (NPV8%) of $7.2 billion and an internal rate of return of 33%.
Under this approach, the PEA also included the construction of a direct-to-blister, flash-copper smelter with an annual capacity of 690,000 tonnes of copper concentrate to be funded from internal cash flows. This would be completed in the fifth year of operations, achieving significant savings in treatment charges and transportation costs.
The 12-Mtpa scenario would deliver average annual production of 370,000 tonnes of copper at a total cash cost of $1.02 per pound of copper during the first 10 years of operations and production of 542,000 tonnes by year nine. At this future production rate, Kamoa-Kakula would rank among the world’s five largest copper mines.
Kamoa 2017 pre-feasibility study ( PFS ) development scenario of building the Kansoko Mine as a stand-alone, six-Mtpa underground mine and surface processing complex:
Under this scenario, the PFS envisages an average annual production rate of 178,000 tonnes of copper for the first 10 years of operations, and annual copper production of 245,000 tonnes by year seven.
The initial capital cost of $1.0 billion to develop this mine would result in an after-tax, net present value of $2.1 billion at an 8% discount rate (NPV8%) – an increase of 109% compared to the net present value projected in the March 2016 Kamoa PFS. The internal rate of return is expected to be 24%, with a five-year project payback period.
Potential phased mine developments to 18-Mtpa and above are under evaluation for Kamoa-Kakula. In light of the successful, step-out drilling at Kakula West, as well as the potential to find additional resources in high-priority targets located in the untested parts of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, development plans will be reassessed and amended as the project moves forward.
The Kakula six-Mtpa PFS has begun. The work will be based on an updated Kakula 3-D resource model. The target date for completion is at the end of Q3 2018.
Underground development at the Kakula Deposit progressing
At the end of Q1 2018, each of the twin declines at Kakula had been advanced more than 360 metres from the portal face toward the mineralized zone.
Detailed engineering and design activities to allow equipping of the decline already are at an advanced stage to enable early procurement of conveyors, drives and ancillary equipment to ensure the conveyor decline is fully functional once the high-grade mineralized zone has been intersected.
The 3,535-metre decline development contract is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018.
Underground development at the Kansoko Deposit reached the high-grade mineralization in mid-2017; awaiting finalization of Kamoa-Kakula development plans
Underground development at Kamoa-Kakula’s Kansoko Mine, consisting of service and conveyor declines, was completed by Byrnecut Underground Congo SARL in September 2017. The high-grade Kansoko Sud copper mineralization was reached and approximately 13,500 tonnes of development ore was stockpiled at surface. Various development options for Kansoko are being assessed in conjunction with the ongoing mine development activities at Kakula.
Exploration activities focused on development programs at Kakula and Kakula West
Thirteen rigs are drilling at Kakula and surrounding areas. As of the end of Q1 2018, a total of 18,293 metres had been drilled for the year to date. Drilling to delineate an expanded Indicated resource to include Kakula West was completed early in the quarter. Further drilling was directed to infill, step-out and to inform metallurgical, hydrogeological and civil geotechnical studies.
Regional geophysical surveys
A seismic survey began early in February to acquire data on a series of seismic lines planned across the Kamoa and Kakula deposit areas. A total of 74 kilometres of lines were surveyed, including a 10-kilometre line done at variable spacing to test near-surface reflectors. The survey was demobilized at the end of the March as the remaining lines were on water-logged grasslands, which are expected to be suitable for work to resume in May. Interpretation of the initial lines appears promising.
Ongoing upgrading work enables Mwadingusha power station to supply 32 megawatts of clean electricity to national grid
In January of this year, Ivanhoe announced that ongoing upgrading work at the Mwadingusha hydropower plant in the DRC had almost tripled the plant’s interim power output from 11 to 32 megawatts (MW). This represents 45% of the plant’s designed capacity. Three of Mwadingusha’s six generators now have been modernized; the remaining three generators are due to be upgraded and fully operational by the end of 2019 – restoring the plant to its installed output capacity of approximately 71 MW of power.
The work at Mwadingusha, part of a program to eventually overhaul and boost output from three hydropower plants, is being conducted by engineering firm Stucky, of Lausanne, Switzerland, under the direction of Ivanhoe Mines and its joint-venture partner, Zijin Mining Group, in conjunction with the DRC’s state-owned power company, La Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL). Once fully reconditioned, the three plants will have combined installed capacity of approximately 200 MW of electricity for the national grid, which is expected to be more than sufficient for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project.
The Kansoko Mine, Kakula Mine and Kamoa camp have been connected to the national, hydroelectric power grid, since the completion of a 12-kilometre, 120kV, dual-circuit power line between Kansoko and Kakula last December.
Continued focus on community and sustainability
The Kamoa-Kakula Sustainable Livelihoods program is committed to sustainable development in the communities within the project’s footprint.
The main objective of the Livelihoods program is to enhance food security and the living standards of the people who reside within the project’s footprint. The program is mainly implemented through fish farming and agriculture activities, such as maize, vegetable, poultry production, and beekeeping.
Activities for Q1 2018 included the application of fertilizers to community maize fields, milling of maize-mealie meal for distribution to workers, construction of a community fish pond in the Tshimbuji area near Kakula, planting of citrus fruits and vegetables at the Livelihoods demonstration gardens, training communities in vegetable and poultry production, preparation of land for banana production, planting of pineapples, and servicing of the maize milling plant.
Ongoing detailed discussions to resolve issues arising from DRC ’s 2018 mining code
On March 9, 2018, DRC President Joseph Kabila Kabange signed a new mining code into effect that revises and updates the country’s 2002 mining code.
International mining companies that have operations in the DRC, including Randgold Resources, Glencore, Ivanhoe Mines, Gold Mountain International/Zijin Mining Group, MMG, Crystal River Global, China Molybdenum Co. and AngloGold Ashanti, are collectively negotiating with the government to resolve their concerns about impacts on their DRC operations that would result from the new mining code.
The industry group submitted a formal proposal to the DRC’s Ministry of Mines on March 29 to address concerns about the new code, notably the stability clauses embodied in the previous code, which included taxation, customs and exchange control. The industry’s proposal included a provision for a sliding scale on royalties for copper, cobalt and gold that, in the industry’s view, would be a more effective mechanism for the government to share in higher commodity prices than the windfall tax on strategic minerals envisaged in the new mining code.
While the Ministry of Mines has not yet formally responded to the industry’s proposal, there has been constructive engagement through the working groups set up to draft the regulations to implement the law, and with the all-important Civil Society leadership, along with other industry and government counterparts. The mining industry group believes a way forward could be found that would be in the best interests of all parties. A mutually acceptable solution would support and encourage the substantial investments the DRC requires for the optimal development of its mineral resources and the growth of its economy.
DRC Western Foreland exploration project
Ivanhoe’s DRC exploration group is targeting Kamoa-Kakula-style copper mineralization through a regional drilling program on its 100%-owned Western Foreland exploration licences, located to the west of the Kakula-Kamoa Project.
Ivanhoe successfully continued exploration through the rainy season during Q1 2018 from its new, standalone exploration camp. Drilling focused on one of the company's promising targets utilizing the new, all-weather road that connects the Kamoa-Kakula road network to the Western Foreland exploration licences. Swampy ground conditions and limited access west of the Lufupa River restricted the areas available for drill testing.
Assessment of regional data continued during the quarter to identify priority exploration targets for dry-season drilling programs during Q2 and Q3. High-grade copper trends emanating from Kamoa are expected to be targeted on the licences north and northwest of Kamoa Nord, in addition to a number of targets resulting from the recent gravity survey on the licences west of Kamoa. Target areas identified from the airborne gravity survey are to be initially followed up with detailed ground-based geophysics.
During Q1 2018, Ivanhoe's exploration team completed 6,180 metres in 14 holes of drilling and finalized detailed interpretation of the Makoko high-grade zone. Acquisition of 11 kilometres of 2-D seismic data was completed on the licences west of Kakula; processing is in progress.
Selected quarterly financial information
The following table summarizes selected financial information for the prior eight quarters. Ivanhoe had no operating revenue in any financial reporting period and did not declare or pay any dividend or distribution in any financial reporting period.
The table corresponding to this section can be viewed in this attachment: http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/99ad8c26-50cf-4a5f-9cab-cf932501ca1f
Discussion of results of operations
Review of the three months ended March 31 , 2018 vs. March 31, 2017
The company recorded a total comprehensive profit of $3.9 million for Q1 2018 compared to a total comprehensive loss of $5.0 million for the same period in 2017. The profit mainly was due to a $5.7 million increase in exchange gains on translation of foreign operations, as well as a $6.9 million decrease in exploration and project expenditure.
Exploration and project expenditures for the three months ending March 31, 2018, amounted to $1.4 million and were $6.9 million less than for the same period in 2017 ($8.3 million). The decrease is attributable to the capitalization of costs incurred at the Kipushi Project subsequent to the finalization of its pre-feasibility study in December 2017. With the focus at the Kipushi and Platreef projects being on development and the Kamoa-Kakula Project being accounted for as a joint venture, the total $1.4 million exploration and project expenditure in Q1 2018 related to exploration at Ivanhoe’s 100%-owned Western Foreland exploration licences. In Q1 2017, $8.2 million of the total $8.3 million exploration and project expenditure related to the Kipushi Project.
The company’s share of losses from the Kamoa Holding joint venture increased from $5.5 million in Q1 2017 to $7.2 million in Q1 2018. The following table summarizes the company’s share of the comprehensive loss of Kamoa Holding for the three months ending March 31, 2018 and for the same period in 2017:
The table corresponding to this section can be viewed in this attachment: http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/99ad8c26-50cf-4a5f-9cab-cf932501ca1f
The costs associated with mine development are capitalized as development costs in Kamoa Holding, while the exploration expenditure is expensed. Capitalization of costs at Kakula commenced during Q2 2017, coinciding with the start of the Kakula box cut. Exploration drilling at Kakula West and in the saddle area between Kakula West and Kakula still is expensed.
The interest expense in the Kamoa Holding joint venture relates to shareholder loans where each shareholder is required to fund Kamoa Holding in an amount equivalent to its proportionate shareholding interest. The company is advancing Crystal River’s portion on its behalf in return for an increase in the promissory note due to Ivanhoe.
Finance income for the three months ending March 31, 2018, amounted to $10.4 million, and was $4.0 million more than for the same period in 2017 ($6.4 million). The increase mainly was due to interest earned on loans to the Kamoa Holding joint venture to fund operations that amounted to $8.7 million in 2018, as the accumulated loan balance increased.
Financial position as at March 31 , 2018 vs. December 31 , 201 7
The company’s total assets decreased by $1.6 million, from $1,271.3 million as at December 31, 2017, to $1,269.7 million as at March 31, 2018. The company utilized $10.5 million of its cash resources in its operations and received interest of $1.1 million during Q1 2018.
The company’s investment in the Kamoa Holding joint venture increased by $12.7 million from $552.4 million as at December 31, 2017, to $565.1 million as at March 31, 2018, with each of the current shareholders funding the operations equivalent to their proportionate shareholding interest. The company’s portion of the Kamoa Holding joint venture cash calls amounted to $11.2 million during the three months ending March 31, 2018, while the company’s share of comprehensive loss from the joint venture amounted to $7.2 million.
Property, plant and equipment increased by $34.8 million, with a total of $27.2 million being spent on project development and to acquire other property, plant and equipment, $12.3 million and $14.4 million pertained to development costs and other acquisitions to property, plant and equipment of the Platreef Project and Kipushi Project respectively.
The main components of the additions to property, plant and equipment of the Platreef and Kipushi projects for the three months ending March 31, 2018, and for the same period in 2017, are set out in the following table:
The table corresponding to this section can be viewed in this attachment: http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/99ad8c26-50cf-4a5f-9cab-cf932501ca1f
Liquidity and capital resources
The company had $134.6 million in cash and cash equivalents as at March 31, 2018. At this date, the company had consolidated working capital of approximately $138.0 million, compared to $181.9 million at December 31, 2017.
The Platreef Project’s restricted cash has been fully utilized and the project’s current expenditure is being funded solely by Ivanhoe as the Japanese consortium of ITOCHU Corporation, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation and Japan Gas Corporation have elected not to contribute to current expenditures. Since the Platreef Project’s restricted cash was fully utilized, the company has contributed a total of $6.7 million on behalf of the Japanese consortium.
Since December 8, 2015, each shareholder in Kamoa Holding has been required to fund Kamoa Holding in an amount equivalent to its proportionate shareholding interest. The company is advancing Crystal River’s portion on its behalf in return for an increase in the promissory note due to Ivanhoe.
The company’s main objectives for 2018 at the Platreef Project are the continuation of Shaft 1 construction, securing a bulk-water supply and completion of early-works construction of Shaft 2. At Kipushi, the principal objective is the completion of the feasibility study and continued upgrading of mining infrastructure. At the Kamoa-Kakula Project, priorities are the continuation of decline construction at Kakula and the completion of a pre-feasibility study for Kakula. The company has budgeted to spend $52 million on further development at the Platreef Project; $48 million at the Kipushi Project; $10 million on regional exploration in the DRC; and $14 million on corporate overheads for the remainder of 2018 – as well as its proportionate funding of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, expected to be $42 million for the remainder of 2018. Of the budgeted amounts, an aggregate of $55 million, which excludes the company’s proportionate funding of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, is committed expenditure with the balance either discretionary or not contractually committed at March 31, 2018.
Continuation of the company as a going concern is dependent upon establishing profitable operations, the confirmation of economically recoverable reserves, and the ability of the company to obtain further financing to develop its projects. Although the company has been successful in raising funds in the past, the company’s access to financing always is uncertain and there can be no assurance that additional funding will be available to the company in the near future.
Continuing strategic discussions concerning Ivanhoe Mines and its projects are ongoing with several significant mining companies and investors across Asia, Europe, Africa and elsewhere. Several investors that have expressed interest have no material limit on the provision of capital. There can be no assurance that the company will pursue any transaction or that a transaction, if pursued, will be completed.
This news release should be read in conjunction with Ivanhoe Mines’ Q1 2018 Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis report available at www.ivanhoemines.com and at www.sedar.com .
Qualified person
Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Stephen Torr, who is considered, by virtue of his education, experience and professional association, a Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101. Mr. Torr is not considered independent under NI 43-101 as he is the Vice President, Project Geology and Evaluation. Mr. Torr has verified the technical data disclosed in this news release.
Ivanhoe has prepared a current, independent, NI 43-101-compliant technical report for each of the Platreef Project, the Kipushi Project and the Kamoa-Kakula Project, which are available under the company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com :
The Kamoa-Kakula 2017 Development Plan dated January 10, 2018, prepared by OreWin, Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services and Amec Foster Wheeler Australia (collectively Amec Foster Wheeler), MDM (Technical) Africa, Stantec Consulting International and SRK Consulting (South Africa), covering the company’s Kamoa-Kakula Project;
The Platreef 2017 Feasibility Study Technical Report dated September 4, 2017, prepared by DRA Global, OreWin, Amec Foster Wheeler, Stantec Consulting, Murray & Roberts Cementation, SRK Consulting, Golder Associates and Digby Wells Environmental, covering the company’s Platreef Project; and
The Kipushi 2017 Prefeasibility Study Technical Report dated January 25, 2018, prepared by OreWin, The MSA Group, SRK Consulting (South Africa) and MDM (Technical) Africa, covering the company’s Kipushi Project.
These technical reports include relevant information regarding the effective dates and the assumptions, parameters and methods of the mineral resource estimates on the Platreef Project, the Kipushi Project and the Kamoa-Kakula Project cited in this news release, as well as information regarding data verification, exploration procedures and other matters relevant to the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release in respect of the Platreef Project, Kipushi Project and Kamoa-Kakula Project.
Information contacts
Investors North America: Bob Williamson +1.604.512.4856 Bill Trenaman +1.604.331.9834 South Africa: Jeremy Michaels +27.82.772.1122 Media Website www.ivanhoemines.com Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute “ ” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “predict” and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company’s current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.
Such statements include without limitation, the timing and results of: (i) statements regarding Shaft 1 providing initial access for early underground development at the Flatreef Deposit; (ii) statements regarding the station development of Shaft 1 at the 750-, 850- and 950-metre levels; (iii) statements regarding Shaft 1 expected to intersect the upper contact of the Flatreef Deposit (T1 mineralized zone) at an approximate shaft depth of 783 metres; (iv) statements regarding Shaft 1 reaching the planned, final depth at 980 metres below surface in 2019; (v) statements regarding the timing of Shaft 2 development, including that excavation of the box cut and construction of the tower hitch foundation be completed by the end of the year and that Shaft 2 will be sunk to a final depth of more than 1,100 metres; (vi) statements regarding the operational and technical capacity of Shaft 1; (vii) statements regarding the internal diameter and hoisting capacity of Shaft 2; (viii) statements regarding the company’s plans to develop the Platreef Mine in three phases: an initial annual rate of four million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to establish an operating platform to support future expansions; followed by a doubling of production to eight Mtpa; and then a third expansion phase to a steady-state 12 Mtpa; (ix) statements regarding the planned underground mining methods of the Platreef Project including long-hole stoping and drift-and-fill mining; (x) statements regarding supply of treated water from the town of Mokopane’s new Masodi treatment plant; (xi) statements regarding the timing of the study and construction on the Kipushi-Munama spur line; (xii) statements regarding the timing and completion of a pre-feasibility study for a six Mtpa mine at Kakula; (xiii) statements regarding the timing, size and objectives of drilling and other exploration programs for 2018 and future periods; (xiv) statements regarding exploration on the Western Foreland exploration licenses; (xv) statements regarding completion of the twin declines at Kakula scheduled for completion of the contract by the end of 2018; (xvi) statements regarding the timing of an update to the Kipushi Mineral Resource estimate in Q2 2018; (xvii) statements regarding the timing and completion of a definitive feasibility study at the Kipushi Project in the second half of 2018; and (xviii) statements regarding expected expenditure for 2018 of $52 million on further development at the Platreef Project; $48 million at the Kipushi Project; $10 million on regional exploration in the DRC; and $14 million on corporate overheads for the remainder of 2018 – as well as its proportionate funding of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, expected to be $42 million for the remainder of 2018.
As well, all of the results of the pre-feasibility study of the Kamoa-Kakula Project and preliminary economic assessment of development options for the Kakula deposit, the feasibility study of the Platreef Project and the pre-feasibility study of the Kipushi Project, constitute or information, and include future estimates of internal rates of return, net present value, future production, estimates of cash cost, proposed mining plans and methods, mine life estimates, cash flow forecasts, metal recoveries, estimates of capital and operating costs and the size and timing of phased development of the projects. Furthermore, with respect to this specific forward-looking information concerning the development of the Kamoa-Kakula, Platreef and Kipushi Projects, the Company has based its assumptions and analysis on certain factors that are inherently uncertain. Uncertainties include: (i) the adequacy of infrastructure; (ii) geological characteristics; (iii) metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization; (iv) the ability to develop adequate processing capacity; (v) the price of copper, nickel, zinc, platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold; (vi) the availability of equipment and facilities necessary to complete development; (vii) the cost of consumables and mining and processing equipment; (viii) unforeseen technological and engineering problems; (ix) accidents or acts of sabotage or terrorism; (x) currency fluctuations; (xi) changes in regulations; (xii) the compliance by joint venture partners with terms of agreements; (xiii) the availability and productivity of skilled labour; (xiv) the regulation of the mining industry by various governmental agencies; and (xiv) political factors.
This release also contains references to estimates of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The estimation of Mineral Resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. Estimates of Mineral Reserves provide more certainty but still involve similar subjective judgments. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation (including estimated future production from the company’s projects, the anticipated tonnages and grades that will be mined and the estimated level of recovery that will be realized), which may prove to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of drilling results and statistical inferences that ultimately may prove to be inaccurate. Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve estimates may have to be re-estimated based on: (i) fluctuations in copper, nickel, zinc, platinum group elements (PGE), gold or other mineral prices; (ii) results of drilling; (iii) metallurgical testing and other studies; (iv) proposed mining operations, including dilution; (v) the evaluation of mine plans subsequent to the date of any estimates and/or changes in mine plans; (vi) the possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and licenses; and (vii) changes in law or regulation.
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the or information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed below and under “Risk Factors”, as well as unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.
Although the contained in this release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these . These are made as of the date of this release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.
The company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these as a result of the factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in the company’s Q1 2018 Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis.
A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/99ad8c26-50cf-4a5f-9cab-cf932501ca1f
Source: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/globe-newswire-ivanhoe-mines-issues-2018-first-quarter-financial-results-and-review-of-exploration-and-development-activities.html |
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