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BAGHDAD, May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out from the international nuclear deal with Iran is “hasty and rash”, Iraq’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ministry said it was following with “deep concern the dangerous developments” resulting from Trump’s decision.
It said the nuclear agreement “had contributed to Middle East peace” and Washington’s withdrawal “goes in the direction of escalation which would bring nothing but destruction and war desolation” in the Middle East.
Shi’ite-led Iraq lies on the faultline between Shi’ite Iran and the mostly Sunni Muslim Arab world. Iran became the main foreign power broker in Iraq after the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 2011, with its local allies controlling the security services.
The ministry statement welcomed the decision of the other signatories of the agreement, including Iran and European nations, to stick with the 2015 deal despite the U.S. pullout.
Trump said on Tuesday that the 2015 deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for measures restricting its nuclear programme, did not go far enough in removing the threat posed by Iran to the United States and its allies in the Middle East.
During his four-year term in office, Iraqi Prime Minister Haier al-Abadi has cautiously trodden a diplomatic middle course between Tehran and Washington, ensuring the cooperation of both in the war against Islamic State hardline Sunni militants.
Abadi is seeking a second term in elections due on Saturday. He is facing two allies of Iran, ex-prime minister Nuri al-Maliki and Shi’ite militia leader Hadi al-Amiri.
Iraqi President Fuad Masum earlier in the day expressed concern at the American decision.
“The (nuclear) agreement marked a major achievement in bolstering the chances of peace and progress for all the states of the region and the international community,” said Masum, an ethnic Kurd whose position as president of the republic is largely ceremonial.
The executive powers in the country are concentrated in the hands of Abadi, who belongs to the Shi’ite Arab majority. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Jon Boyle)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-nuclear-iraq/update-2-iraqi-foreign-ministry-says-trumps-decision-on-iran-hasty-and-rash-idUSL8N1SG6X6 |
Cramer Remix: A lot of the negativity in the market is bogus 16 Hours Ago Jim Cramer breaks down why stocks are taking a pause, and it’s not due to the negative stories. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/16/cramer-remix-a-lot-of-the-negativity-in-the-market-is-bogus.html |
Details Released in 2017 Operations Report
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CAMICO ( www.camico.com ), the nation’s largest CPA-directed program of insurance and risk management for the accounting profession, posted total policyholders’ surplus of $40.9 million and net income of more than $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.
CAMICO’s policyholder retention rate for 2017 was 94.3 percent, consistent with an average policyholder retention rate of more than 94 percent over the past three decades for the company. CAMICO has also continued to maintain key financial ratios at historically high levels for the past several years.
The company’s results are detailed in its 2017 Operations Report , which has been posted online at www.camico.com along with 2017 financial statements.
“CAMICO’s proactive risk management and loss prevention services continue to be highly popular with policyholders, as our retention rate indicates,” said Robert P. Evans, CPA, CISA, CAMICO chairman of the board. “The company is well positioned to continue our partnership with policyholders in helping them achieve security and success over the long term.”
About CAMICO
CAMICO delivers insurance, risk management and related services to more than 8,000 CPA firms and 50,000 staff members in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Founded in 1986, CAMICO is endorsed by state CPA societies and associations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Greater Washington D.C., Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington. CAMICO provides Professional Liability Insurance, Employment Practices Liability Insurance, and other insurance products needed by CPA firms.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503006043/en/
CAMICO
Dan Crouch, 650-378-6827 – office
925-324-1369 - mobile
[email protected]
www.camico.com
Source: CAMICO | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/business-wire-camico-posts-gains-in-net-income-policyholdersa-surplus.html |
ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran’s president said on Monday that the United States could not decide for Iran after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded sweeping changes in the country’s foreign and nuclear policies, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported.
“Who are you to decide for Iran and the world? The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent ... that era is over ... We will continue our path with the support of our nation,” ILNA Quote: d Hassan Rouhani as saying.
Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alison Williams
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-usa-rouhani/president-rouhani-says-u-s-cannot-decide-for-iran-ilna-idUSKCN1IM1XN |
CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy today declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.890 per share payable on June 18, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business May 18, 2018.
Duke Energy has paid a cash dividend for 92 consecutive years.
Duke Energy
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is one of the largest energy holding companies in the United States. Its Electric Utilities and Infrastructure business unit serves approximately 7.5 million customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. The company's Gas Utilities and Infrastructure business unit distributes natural gas to approximately 1.6 million customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Its Commercial Renewables business unit operates a growing renewable energy portfolio across the United States.
Duke Energy is a Fortune 125 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com .
The Duke Energy News Center serves as a multimedia resource for journalists and features news releases, helpful links, photos and videos. Hosted by Duke Energy, illumination is an online destination for stories about people, innovations, and community and environmental topics. It also offers glimpses into the past and insights into the future of energy.
Follow Duke Energy on Twitter , LinkedIn , Instagram and Facebook .
Media contact: Catherine Butler
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Analyst contact: Mike Callahan
704.382.0459
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/duke-energy-declares-quarterly-dividend-payment-to-shareholders-300642414.html
SOURCE Duke Energy | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/pr-newswire-duke-energy-declares-quarterly-dividend-payment-to-shareholders.html |
By Aaron Pressman and Adam Lashinsky 8:48 AM EDT This is the web version of Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the top tech news. To get it delivered daily to your in-box, sign up here .
Incumbency has its advantages.
We at Fortune should know. We’ve been publishing the annual Fortune 500 list of largest companies in the U.S. since 1955. Others publish lists of bigness and profitability and market value. But only the Fortune 500, a ranking based on revenues, is synonymous with size and durability and prestige among America’s biggest enterprises.
That gorgeous issue (326 pages in print!) hits newsstands—and our website—this week. It’s a great opportunity to dig into some of the most important companies in the world’s (still) largest economy. Unsurprisingly, tech companies are more than well represented on the list, as well as in our deep-dive stories in the issue.
And the obstacles to challenging an incumbent shine through in Beth Kowitt’s penetrating story about Amazon’s notably tough slog in establishing itself as a powerhouse in the grocery business. Walmart steamrolled incumbents in the business a generation ago to become the nation’s biggest grocer. Amazon , which has boldly challenged Walmart in a retail slugfest, has had far less success in the grocery segment. The competitive beast from Seattle, it turns out, excels at selling non-perishable goods. When freshness is imperative and the merchandise can’t be warehoused, Amazon has struggled.
This explains Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods. Kowitt has sparkling examples of how Whole Foods give Amazon a shot at grocery relevancy and doubles as a real-time laboratory for Amazon’s technology ideas.
Whether you’re a challenger or an incumbent yourself, this is a story that’s worth a read.
Adam Lashinsky @adamlashinsky [email protected] NEWSWORTHY
Steve Ballmer is jealous. The Finnish startup run by former Nokia execs that makes Nokia-branded phones under license, HMD Global , was valued at over $1 billion in a $100 million fundraising round. The company had a net loss of $77 million on sales of $2.1 billion last year after shipping 70 million phones and plans to use the cash infusion to expand its device portfolio and retail reach. “We aim to be among the top smartphone players globally,” CEO Florian Seiche said.
Joe Biden is jealous. The rumors were true and Netflix announced on Monday a wide-ranging deal with Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama . The multi-year agreement covers “scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries, and features,” Netflix said.
The SEC is jealous . The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued guidance on Monday instructing trading exchanges how they can list derivative contracts likes options and futures on digital currencies like bitcoin. Two of the largest exchanges, the CME and the CBOE, have already started trading bitcoin futures.
PUGB players are jealous . Game publisher Epic Games put up $100 million as a prize pool for players of its monster hit title Fortnite . Epic’s $100 million pot is bigger than the 10 most popular e-sports tournaments combined according to numbers taken from esportsearnings.com.
Facebook users are jealous . A security flaw in a Comcast web site allowed security researchers to find customers’ Wi-Fi network names and passwords, ZDNet reports. Comcast closed the loophole after the article was published.
Robocallers are jealous . The new European privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation has prompted a wave of emails from web sites and online services notifying users about updated privacy policies. The aim is to ensure users have given consent for data sharing. But EU officials say the email are likely unnecessary , The Guardian reports. “Think about whether you actually need to refresh consent before you send that email, and don’t forget to put in place mechanisms for people to withdraw their consent easily,” Steve Wood, the deputy information commissioner, noted in guidance for companies.
Sheryl Sandberg is probably not jealous . Speaking of European laws, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in Brussels on Tuesday to answer questions from European Parliament members about his company’s recent scandals. The testimony is being live streamed .
Advertisement FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Hackers stealing credit numbers , Facebook oversharing personal data, Russian bots spreading propaganda. Sometimes it’s hard to pick which scandal is the worst. But Slate’s Will Oremus wants us to focus on the wireless carriers selling real time location data about all of their customers. Securus, one site that sells the data, has already been hacked and a flaw at another site called LocationSmart accidentally allowed anyone to view anyone else’s tracking feed. Why doesn’t the public seem to care? Oremus has a theory:
Privacy abuses and slip-ups by major tech companies have become so numerous, and the prospect of containing them seems so hopeless, that the public and much of the media have become nearly numb to them. My data was hacked? So it goes. It may have been used in unauthorized ways by unspecified parties? C’est la vie. But the idea that my data was hacked to help elect Donald Trump? That was what elevated the Cambridge Analytica story and got people to care about things, like privacy policies and developer permissions, that they had long taken for granted.
What the LocationSmart scandal lacks is not import, nor the potential for serious harm, but a link to some divisive political issue or societal outrage sufficient enough to generate visceral anger from people who aren’t privacy wonks.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Japan’s Biggest Bank to Switch on Blockchain Payments in 2020 By Robert Hackett
Trump Vowed to Save ZTE’s Chinese Workers. Now China and the U.S. Have a Plan By David Meyer
Three Techniques for Building Stronger Teams From Facebook’s Jen Dulski By Jennifer Dulski
Walmart and Dunkin’ Donuts Gaining on Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, But Starbucks Is Tops By Aaron Pressman
Donald Trump Is Using a ‘Twitter’ Phone Without a Critical Security Measure. Here’s What Could Go Wrong By David Meyer
Meet Facebook’s Fix-It Team By Michal Lev-Ram
Adobe to Buy Magento Commerce for $1.68 Billion By Jonathan Vanian
Advertisement BEFORE YOU GO
Although some prior Tesla models have gotten top marks from reviewers, the new Model 3 isn’t faring as well. Consumer Reports says it found “big flaws” with the cheapest Tesla’s ride quality, excessive reliance on touch screen controls and braking distance. “These performance and ergonomic problems were serious downsides to an otherwise impressive performance sedan,” the magazine said, concluding it could not recommend the car.
This edition of Data Sheet was curated by Aaron Pressman . Find past issues, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters . | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/22/data-sheet-whole-foods-amazon-fortune-500/?iid=recirc_f500landing-zone2 |
May 27, 2018 0
(Reuters) – Russians will not be involved in drug testing procedures at the World Cup as FIFA looks to reassure teams that samples cannot be tampered with, the governing body’s medical committee chairman Michel D’Hooghe has told the Times newspaper. The logo of FIFA is seen in front of its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
A 2016 report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and compiled by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren found more than 1,000 Russian competitors were involved in a conspiracy to conceal positive tests over a five-year period.
Soccer was among the sports implicated in the probe and the sport’s global governing body are taking no chances at the Russia-hosted World Cup.
“My basic condition to lead the anti-doping policy in Russia is that everything would be done from the very beginning to the last point by FIFA without Russian intervention,” D’Hooghe told the Times.
“That means the chaperones, who take the players from the field, will be designated by FIFA and will not be Russian.”
Russia has acknowledged some findings of the McLaren report but has repeatedly denied the existence of a state-sponsored doping program.
D’Hooghe said players at the June 14-July 15 finals could be accompanied by an official from their national associations with a medical doctor preferred.
“The players will be brought to a doping control room where there will be only FIFA doctors, two FIFA medical people and no entrance for anybody who is not allowed to be there,” Belgian D’Hooghe added.
“Everything will be sealed and brought to the control of the laboratory in Lausanne… I told the people in Russia that if something goes wrong, for the first time they will not be criticized as it will not be their responsibility.” Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O’Brien | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-doping-fifa/russians-to-take-no-part-in-world-cup-drug-testing-fifa-idUSKCN1IP0UK/ |
1:51 PM EDT
Hello, readers! This is Sy.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking what, for an agency that’s generally known for its caution and under-the-radar regulatory approach, may be seen as an aggressive new tact against drug makers: Publicly calling out companies accused of delaying the entry of cheaper generic drugs to the market by preventing generic manufacturers from getting samples of expensive brand name medicines.
“Today, we’re making public a list of companies that have potentially been blocking access to the samples of their branded products,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in a statement. “We hope that this increased transparency will help reduce unnecessary hurdles to generic drug development and approval.”
The FDA’s new public list of companies that may be “gaming” the system, as the agency puts it, is being compiled by collecting inquiries from generic biopharmaceutical firms who claim they’re having trouble getting their hands on branded treatments they’d like to make copycats of due to limited distribution. (It’s hard to make a version of a therapy without, well, access to the actual therapy.)
A number of industry giants currently in the database have inquiries spanning a variety of medications—although some appear on the list more than others. For instance, Celgene , which has come under intense scrutiny for regularly hiking the price of its flagship blood cancer treatment Revlimid, has 31 inquiries across three different drugs (including 13 Revlimid-related inquiries). Novartis has 11 inquiries over four drugs and Gilead has 11 for two medicines (including one for the HIV prevention treatment Truvada).
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar telegraphed the FDA database when announcing new Trump administration efforts aimed at reducing drug prices last week. As it turns out, Azar and Gottlieb were serious about the name-and-shame.
Read on for the day’s news. Sy Mukherjee @the_sy_guy DIGITAL HEALTH
American Heart Association, Philips launch venture fund for heart health startups. The American Heart Association (AHA), the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), and device maker Philips have teamed up to launch a $30 million initial venture fund for startups focused on cardiovascular health. The fund is specifically meant for digital health firms developing mobile apps and platforms for managing conditions like heart disease and stroke. ( FierceHealthcare ) Advertisement INDICATIONS
FDA approves first non-opioid drug to help with withdrawal. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday approved US WorldMeds LLC’s Lucemyra, the first-ever non-opioid drug meant to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms in the U.S. The drug is only approved for adults for two weeks’ worth of therapy; as the opioid addiction crisis rages on, public health officials have been calling for more experimentation with non-opioid pain—and withdrawal—medicines. ( Reuters )
ASCO fever begins. The American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) annual meeting, the largest cancer conference in the world, is around the corner—and companies are beginning to preview the data they’ll be unveiling at the confab. Shares of Jounce Therapeutics plunged 32% Thursday as investors recoiled from a lackluster abstract for its new type of cancer therapy, which is also being tested in combination with various cancer immunotherapies. On the other end of the spectrum: Loxo Oncology soared 20% in Thursday trading thanks to strong results for its own experimental therapy LOXO-292, which is being tested in multiple tumor types. ( FierceBiotech ) THE BIG PICTURE
House passes VA choice expansion bill. The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to expand veterans’ access to private health care on the tax payer dime, weeks before the Department of Veterans Affairs’“Choice” program was set to run out of money. Public VA facilities have been criticized for their backlogs, and the legislation to expand private care access passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis. The bill now goes to the Senate. ( Modern Healthcare ) Advertisement | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/17/brainstorm-health-daily-05-17-18/ |
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - China’s Advanced Technology & Materials (AT&M) ( 000969.SZ ) has completed its takeover of Cotesa, the head of the German aerospace supplier told the Handelsblatt newspaper, following an investigation by German authorities.
The German economy ministry in December launched a review of the deal after tightening its rules on foreign corporate takeovers, concerned that important technology and know-how was being transferred to foreign countries.
“The deal is done,” Cotesa Chief Executive Joerg Huesken was Quote: d as saying by the paper, which added Berlin had recently approved the transaction.
AT&M counts China Iron & Steel Research Institute as its largest shareholder, a state-owned company that aims to make Chinese aircraft maker Comac competitive with Airbus ( AIR.PA ) and Boeing ( BA.N ).
Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Mark Potter
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cotesa-m-a-at-m/chinas-atm-seals-takeover-of-german-aerospace-supplier-cotesa-handelsblatt-idUSKCN1II2IS |
BOSTON, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Anagram -- a digital media agency built for the modern marketing era, and part of the ispDigital group of digital marketing technology companies -- announced the hiring of Jenna Umbrianna Gino as Chief Client Officer. In her new role, she will be responsible for the design, development, and management of the company's customer experience delivery capabilities, as well as serve as executive-in-charge of client services.
Jenna Umbrianna Gino brings a wealth of experience from all facets of the industry to Anagram, having worked at both globally recognized brands and large advertising agencies. Active at the intersection of marketing and technology for a decade, she's one of only a handful of industry executives who have managed the design, launch and operation of two successful programmatic trading desks -- first at Hill Holliday, a unit of IPG, and then at Affiperf, a division of Havas. Both IPG and Havas are among the leading five advertising agencies in the world. "I'm thrilled to be joining Anagram," says Jenna Umbrianna Gino. "I'm excited about the company's strategic direction of meeting the marketing demands of the modern era. I appreciate how its leadership embraces fully transparent client communication strategies, and has created a company culture that facilitates recruitment of top talent."
Joe Zawadzki , CEO and Founder of programmatic industry leader MediaMath, remarked, "I, and all of us at MediaMath, have been fortunate to work with Jenna for the past decade. We are excited for Jenna, for Anagram, and for the industry. Her ability to not only envision a better world for marketing, but to drive teams, clients, and partners toward that vision and ideal state is a rare and deeply needed gift."
Before joining Anagram, Jenna Umbrianna Gino served as Partner and Research Director at Invisible Science, a research and advisory firm focused exclusively on programmatic marketing. Previously, she was Senior Vice President and General Manager at Havas -- one of the world's largest advertising agencies -- where she managed programmatic strategy and trading activities across the North American client roster. Jenna Umbrianna Gino has also held a variety of marketing and advertising roles at Hill Holliday, a top 20 agency in the U.S and part of the IPG network.
"We're very fortunate to be adding Jenna to the executive team," says Adam Cahill , Founder and CEO of Anagram. "Her addition immediately strengthens our client strategy and service capabilities. Jenna is one of the pioneers in the programmatic industry, and we know our clients will enjoy more success with her on board."
About Anagram
Anagram is a digital media agency built for the modern marketing era, with data and technology at our core. As marketing becomes more complex, we find that our client's needs are quite varied, and tend to evolve over time. In some cases, we operate as a full-service digital media agency of record, planning, buying and optimizing campaigns across all digital channels. In others, we provide strategic counsel and systems integration services, assisting our clients as they build their internal capabilities. We've built our company around biddable media from day one: the way we work, the technologies we use, and the talent we hire are all oriented around an approach that is data-driven, fast, fluid, and outcome-obsessed.
Anagram is an ispDigital Group Company . For more information, visit us at www.anagram.io and follow us on Twitter @AnagramLLC .
Related Links
https://anagram.io/our-team/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennaumbrianna/
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/programmatic--digital-advertising-leader-adds-jenna-umbrianna-gino-to-executive-suite-300640595.html
SOURCE Anagram | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/pr-newswire-programmatic-digital-advertising-leader-adds-jenna-umbrianna-gino-to-executive-suite.html |
ALPINE, Utah, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Purple Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPL) ("Purple"), a comfort technology company known for creating the "World's First No Pressure™ Mattress," will report first quarter 2018 financial results on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, immediately following the closing of regular stock market trading hours. The Company will hold a conference call that day at 4:30 p.m. ET to review the results and discuss the Company's outlook and business.
Investors and analysts interested in participating in the call are invited to dial (877) 425-9470 (domestic) or (201) 389-0878 (international) at 4:25 p.m. ET. The conference call will also be available to interested parties through a live webcast at investors.purple.com . Please visit the website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to register and download any necessary software.
A telephone replay of the call will be available until May 29, 2018, by dialing (844) 512-2921 (domestic) or (412) 317-6671 (international) and entering the conference identification number: 13679767. Please note participants must enter the conference identification number in order to access the replay. After the conference call, a webcast replay will remain available on the investor relations section of the Company's website for 30 days.
About Purple
Purple is a comfort technology company that designs and manufactures products to improve how people sleep, sit, and stand. It designs and manufactures a range of comfort technology products, including mattresses, pillows, and cushions, using its patented Hyper-Elastic Polymer technology designed to improve comfort. The Company markets and sells its products through its direct-to-consumer online channel, traditional retail partners, and third party online retailers. For more information on Purple, visit www.purple.com .
Investor Contact:
Brendon Frey, ICR
[email protected]
203-682-8200
Media Contact:
Alecia Pulman/Kate Kohlbrenner, ICR
[email protected]
646-277-1200
Purple Innovation, Inc.
For information regarding Purple products, please contact:
Savannah Turk
Director of Purple Communications
[email protected]
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/purple-to-report-first-quarter-2018-results-on-may-15-2018-300646107.html
SOURCE Purple Innovation, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/pr-newswire-purple-to-report-first-quarter-2018-results-on-may-15-2018.html |
TORONTO, May 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) ("Corus Entertainment") today announced that the Commissioner of Competition has not approved the sale by Corus Entertainment of French-language specialty channels Historia and Séries+ to Bell Media Inc. ("Bell Media").
At this time, Corus Entertainment and Bell Media are reviewing the Commissioner's decision, and considering the appropriate course of action. Corus Entertainment will provide further updates in due course.
In addition to Competition Act approval, completion of the sale remains subject to the approval of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the "CRTC") and other customary closing conditions. The application is currently before the CRTC.
Corus Entertainment also remains an active contributor to the Quebec broadcast and production community with Global Montreal, Télétoon and La chaîne Disney, as well as Toon Boom, its animation software company.
About Corus Entertainment Inc.
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that creates and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. The company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses 44 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a global content business, digital assets, live events, children's book publishing, animation software, technology and media services. Corus' roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY®, Showcase, National Geographic Channel, Q107, CKNW, Fresh Radio, Disney Channel Canada, YTV and Nickelodeon Canada. Visit Corus at www.corusent.com .
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/corus-entertainment-provides-update-on-sale-of-historia-and-series-to-bell-media-300655368.html
SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/28/pr-newswire-corus-entertainment-provides-update-on-sale-of-historia-and-saries-to-bell-media.html |
May 17, 2018 / 4:20 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago 'Ash fallout' alert after Hawaii volcano erupts in 30,000-foot plume Terray Sylvester 2 Min Read
PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - An explosive eruption sent ash spewing 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) into the air above Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano on Thursday and residents of the Big Island were warned to shelter in place as the plume engulfed a wide area, authorities said. People watch as ash erupts from the Halemaumau crater near the community of Volcano during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
“Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that an Explosive Eruption at Kilauea’s Summit has occurred,” County of Hawaii Civil Defense said in a phone alert. “The resulting ash plume will cover the surrounding area. Shelter in place if you are in the path of the ash plume.”
“The wind may carry the ash plume north toward Kau, Volcano, Mt. View, Kea’au and as far as Hilo. Protect yourself from ash fallout,” another phone alert warned.
The eruption could not be heard in the village of Pahoa, some 25 miles (40 km) down the volcano’s east flank, but the air smelled of sulfur and there was a smoky-looking haze of ash, a Reuters reporter in the village said.
The powerful, steam-driven blast was expected to spew large amounts of volcanic ash and smoke from Kilauea’s crater. The volcano has destroyed 37 homes and other structures in a small southeast area of the island and forced around 2,000 people to evacuate their homes.
Geologists had warned explosive eruptions could begin once Kilauea’s falling lava lake descended below the water table, allowing water to run on to the top of the lava column and create a steam-driven blasts.
The powerful explosions could hurl “ballistic blocks” the size of small cars across a distance of more than half a mile (1 km) and shoot pebble-sized projectiles and debris up to a dozen miles, the USGS has warned.
Such an eruption could not only shroud large areas of the Big Island in volcanic ash and smog but also other Hawaiian Islands and potentially distant areas if the plume reaches up into the stratosphere and ash is carried by winds.
Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, last experienced explosive eruptions in 1924. Reporting By Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Tom Brown | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hawaii-volcano-blast/explosive-eruption-rocks-hawaiis-kilauea-volcano-usgs-idUKKCN1II2E3 |
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan is working to prepare markets for a future withdrawal of its huge stimulus program, with some policymakers calling for more scrutiny of the rising cost of prolonged easing, a summary of debate at the April rate review showed.
FILE PHOTO - People walk on a street in front of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo One of the nine BOJ board members said the central bank must find ways to gain public understanding that it is ready to dial back monetary support if the economy continues to improve, the summary released on Thursday showed.
“It’s necessary to give a clear definition on what we mean by an ‘exit’ from easy policy and ‘policy normalization’,” the policymaker was Quote: d as saying.
The BOJ kept policy steady at the April meeting, but ditched a timeframe it had set for hitting its 2 percent inflation target, a surprise move analysts say is aimed at keeping market expectations for more stimulus in check.
Some members reiterated the need to maintain ultra-easy policy and even strengthen the BOJ’s commitment to hit its 2 percent inflation target with price growth still distant from that level, the summary showed.
But others said the central bank must focus more on the rising demerits of its policy, such as the damage that years of near zero rates is inflicting on financial institutions’ profits.
“Looking at recent developments in corporate bond markets and bank lending, the effect of monetary easing ... on economic activity and prices could be becoming smaller,” one of the members was Quote: d as saying.
“It’s important to further scrutinize the appropriate shape of the yield curve, as the cumulative impact on banks’ financial strength becomes increasingly severe,” the member said, advocating raising the BOJ’s bond yield target in the future.
Another member said the BOJ should continue to take a careful look at both the merits and demerits of the bank’s purchases of risky assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETF).
Under its yield curve control (YCC) policy, the BOJ guides short-term interest rates at minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year government bond yield around zero percent.
The summary, issued about two weeks after the BOJ’s policy meeting, is a list of opinions voiced by its board members. It does not disclose the name of the member who made the comment.
Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Eric Meijer
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj/boj-must-gain-public-understanding-that-it-adjusts-policy-flexibly-april-meeting-summary-idUSKBN1IB01V |
May 23 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
Headlines
U.S. lawmakers vote to give regulatory relief to smaller banks on.ft.com/2s3EVcT
Amazon under fire over facial recognition software on.ft.com/2s1c6h4
Donald Trump casts doubt on summit with Kim Jong Un on.ft.com/2rZvon8
Overview
The U.S. House of Representatives passed on Tuesday bipartisan legislation that would ease bank rules introduced in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, giving President Donald Trump a major legislative victory.
U.S. civil liberties groups on Tuesday called on Amazon.com Inc to stop offering facial recognition services to governments, warning that the software could be used to target immigrants and people of colour unfairly.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was a “substantial chance” his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not take place as planned on June 12 amid concerns that Kim is resistant to giving up his nuclear weapons. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft/press-digest-financial-times-may-23-idUSL3N1ST5PT |
Closing Bell Ringer: May 7, 2018 2 Hours Ago Ringing today's closing bells are YPO at the New York Stock Exchange and Lakeland Financial Corporation at the Nasdaq. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/07/video/2017/10/17/closing-bell-ringer-date.html |
SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
Cash and investments in marketable securities at March 31, 2018 were $333.8 million as compared to $353.2 million at December 31, 2017. This does not include the $1.0 billion upfront payment and $850.0 million share purchase proceeds received on April 3, 2018, as a result of our new Bristol-Myers Squibb collaboration.
"Nektar begins 2018 in a very strong position with a major collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb for NKTR-214 and key advancements in our immuno-oncology and immunology pipeline," said Howard W. Robin, President and CEO of Nektar. "The PIVOT study of NKTR-214 in combination with nivolumab continues to enroll patients and we are exceptionally pleased that the preliminary data from PIVOT was accepted for an oral presentation at this year's ASCO Meeting. We initiated two new clinical studies this quarter, the first with our novel I-O combination of NKTR-262 and NKTR-214 and the second with our autoimmune disease candidate, NKTR-358. Based on positive preclinical results, we entered into a clinical collaboration with Takeda to evaluate NKTR-214 with their TAK-659, a SYK/FLT inhibitor. Finally, in the area of pain, we plan to submit our NDA filing for NKTR-181 this month."
Revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was $38.0 million as compared to $24.7 million in the first quarter of 2017. Revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was higher primarily because of the recognition of $10.0 million received from Shire for the approval of Adynovi in Europe.
Total operating costs and expenses in the first quarter of 2018 were $124.8 million as compared to $79.2 million in the first quarter of 2017. Total operating costs and expenses increased primarily as a result of increased research and development (R&D) expense.
R&D expense in the first quarter of 2018 was $99.4 million as compared to $61.1 million for the first quarter of 2017. R&D expense was higher in the first quarter 2018 as compared to the same period in 2017 primarily because of expenses for our pipeline programs, including the completion of Phase 3 clinical studies for NKTR-181, Phase 1/2 clinical studies of NKTR-214 and NKTR-358, initiation of the Phase 1 study of NKTR-262 in combination with NKTR-214 and IND-enabling activities for NKTR-255.
General and administrative expense was $18.7 million in the first quarter of 2018 as compared to $12.0 million in the first quarter of 2017 and increased primarily due to increased stock based compensation.
In the first quarter of 2018, net loss was $95.8 million, or $0.60 loss per share as compared to net loss of $63.9 million, or $0.42 loss per share in the first quarter of 2017.
2018 Business Highlights
In May, Nektar began dosing patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in a Phase 1b multiple ascending dose study of NKTR-358, a first-in-class regulatory T cell stimulator, designed to correct the underlying immune system dysfunction found in patients with immune disorders.
In April, Nektar announced a new clinical collaboration agreement with Takeda to evaluate NKTR-214 in combination with TAK-659, a dual SYK and FLT-3 inhibitor in liquid and solid tumors with the first of these studies expected to begin in the second half of 2018 in patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
In April, Nektar presented positive preclinical data for its immuno-oncology programs at the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting. Preclinical data presented by Nektar researchers and collaborators demonstrate how NKTR-214 synergizes with multiple modalities including TLRs, HDAC and ACT, highlighting the potential of NKTR-214 as a backbone therapy in immuno-oncology.
In April, Nektar began dosing patients in the REVEAL Phase 1/2 study, which will evaluate the safety and efficacy of NKTR-262, a novel toll-like receptor agonist, in combination with NKTR-214. This novel-novel combination is designed to engage both the innate and adaptive immune response to fight cancer and may ultimately provide another option for patients with many types of advanced or metastatic solid tumor cancers.
In February, Nektar and Bristol-Myers Squibb entered into a global development and commercialization agreement to evaluate the full potential of NKTR-214 plus Opdivo® (nivolumab) in more than 20 indications in 9 tumor types including melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, bladder and triple negative breast cancer.
The company also announced upcoming presentations at the following scientific congresses during the second quarter of 2018:
Treg Directed Therapy for Autoimmune Disorders Meeting, Boston, MA:
Preclinical Data Presentation: "NKTR-358: An IL-2 Pathway Agonist that Selectively Expands and Activates Regulatory T cells for the Treatment of Allergy and Autoimmune Disease" Presenter: Jonathan Zalevsky, Ph.D., Nektar Therapeutics Session: Enhanced Treg-based therapy with the use of IL-2 Date: Wednesday, May 23, 2018, 3:40 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
3rd Annual Advances in Immuno-Oncology Congress, London, U.K.:
Presentation: "Accessing The Potential Of An Immunotherapeutic Agent" Presenter: Jonathan Zalevsky, Ph.D., Nektar Therapeutics Session: Translational Immuno-Oncology Date: Thursday, May 24, 2018, 5:40 p.m. British Summer Time
American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2018 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL :
Oral Presentation: "NKTR-214 (CD122-biased agonist) plus nivolumab in patients with advanced solid tumors: Preliminary phase 1/2 results of PIVOT". Abstract #3006 Presenter: Dr. Adi Diab, Assistant Professor, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas Session: Developmental Therapeutics - Immunotherapy Date: Saturday, June 2, 2018, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time
Abstract #2567: "TAK-659 in Combination with NKTR-214 and anti-PD-1 Therapy Leads to Complete and Sustained Tumor Regression and Immune Memory In Pre-Clinical Syngeneic Models", Huck, J., et al. Session: Developmental Therapeutics - Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Date: Monday, June 4, 2018, 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time
Abstract #3085: "Efficacy and immune modulation by BXCL701 a dipeptidyl peptidase inhibitor, NKTR-214 a CD122-biased immune agonist with PD1 blockade in murine pancreatic tumors", Rastelli, L., et al. Session: Developmental Therapeutics - Immunotherapy Date: Monday, June 4, 2018, 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time
Abstract #5582: "Efficacy and immune modulation of the tumor microenvironment in murine ovarian tumor with the PARP inhibitor rucaparib and CD122-biased immune agonist NKTR-214", Simmons, A., et al. Session: Gynecologic Cancer Date: Monday, June 4, 2018, 1:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. Central Daylight Time
Abstract #TPS3115: "PROPEL: A phase 1/2 trial of NKTR-214 (CD122-biased agonist) combined with anti-PD-1 (pembrolizumab) or anti-PD-L1 (atezolizumab) in patients (pts) with advanced solid tumors", Vaena, D., et al. Session: Developmental Therapeutics - Immunotherapy Date: Monday, June 4, 2018, 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time
Abstract #TPS1111: "ATTAIN: Phase 3 study of etirinotecan pegol (EP) vs. treatment of physician's choice (TPC) in patients (pts) with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who have stable brain metastases (BM) previously treated with an anthracycline, a taxane, and capecitabine (ATC)", Tripathy, D., et al. Session: Breast Cancer - Metastatic Date: Saturday, June 2, 2018, 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time
College on Problems of Drug Dependence 80th Annual Scientific Meeting (2018), San Diego, CA:
Oral Presentation: "Assessment of Drug Abuse-Related Events with MADDERS in SUMMIT-07: A Phase-3 Study of NKTR-181 in Patients with Moderate to Severe Chronic Low-Back Pain" Abstract #76 Presenter: Ryan Lanier, Ph.D., Analgesic Solutions Session: The Pain and the Strain Comes Mainly from the Brain Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 1:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time
Oral Presentation: "Neuropharmacodynamic Profile of NKTR-181: Correlation to Low Abuse Potential" Abstract #335 Presenter: Laurie Vanderveen, Ph.D., Nektar Therapeutics Session: Basically Opioids Date: Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time
Abstract #168 : "NKTR-181 demonstrates low abuse potential in recreational opioid users in two double-blind, randomized crossover human abuse potential studies", Henningfield, J., et al. Session: Abuse Liability Date: Thursday, June 14, 2018, 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time
Conference Call to Discuss First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Nektar management will host a conference call to review the results beginning at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Thursday, May 10, 2018.
This press release and a live audio-only Webcast of the conference call can be accessed through a link that is posted on the home page and Investors section of the Nektar website: http://ir.nektar.com/index.cfm . The web broadcast of the conference call will be available for replay through Monday, June 11, 2018.
To access the conference call, follow these instructions:
Dial: (877) 881.2183 (U.S.); (970) 315.0453 (international)
Passcode: 2379326 (Nektar Therapeutics is the host)
In the event that any non-GAAP financial measure is discussed on the conference call that is not described in the press release, or explained on the conference call, related information will be made available on the Investors page at the Nektar website as soon as practical after the conclusion of the conference call.
About Nektar
Nektar Therapeutics is a research-based development stage biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover and develop innovative medicines to address the unmet medical needs of patients. Our R&D pipeline of new investigational medicines includes treatments for cancer, auto-immune disease and chronic pain. We leverage Nektar's proprietary and proven chemistry platform in the discovery and design of our new therapeutic candidates. Nektar is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with additional operations in Huntsville, Alabama and Hyderabad, India. Further information about the company and its drug development programs and capabilities may be found online at http://www.nektar.com .
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains uncertain or forward-looking statements which can be identified by words such as: "expect," "plan," "may," "will," "design," "develop," "enable" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding the potential therapeutic benefits of and future development plans for our products (including NKTR‑214, NKTR-181, NKTR-358, NKTR-262 and NKTR-255) and the timing for filing a new drug application, "NDA". Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results may those indicated in the forward-looking statements and you should not rely on such statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to those indicated in the forward-looking statements include: (i) clinical study outcomes remain very unpredictable and it is possible that a clinical study could fail even after positive interim data is observed; (ii) the data package required for filing and approval of an NDA to the FDA is very uncertain and difficult to predict due to broad FDA regulatory discretion, and changing FDA regulatory guidelines; (iii) regulations concerning and controlling access to opioid-based pharmaceuticals are strict and it is difficult to predict which scheduling category will apply to NKTR-181 if regulatory approval is achieved; (iv) patents may not issue from our patent applications for our drug candidates, patents that have issued may not be enforceable, or additional intellectual property licenses from third parties may be required; and (v) certain other important risks and uncertainties set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2018. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no any forward-looking statement.
Contact:
For Investors:
Jennifer Ruddock of Nektar Therapeutics
415-482-5585
Jodi Sievers of Nektar Therapeutics
415-482-5593
For Media:
Dan Budwick of 1AB
973-271-6085
[email protected]
NEKTAR THERAPEUTICS
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
March 31, 2018
December 31, 2017
(1)
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 34,805
$ 4,762
Short-term investments
261,854
291,370
Accounts receivable, net
15,607
5,014
Inventory
10,675
10,726
Other current assets
13,074
14,948
Total current assets
336,015
326,820
Long-term investments
37,157
57,088
Property, plant and equipment, net
46,328
47,463
Goodwill
76,501
76,501
Other assets
789
994
Total assets
$ 496,790
$ 508,866
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 11,375
$ 4,782
Accrued compensation
15,130
8,263
Accrued clinical trial expenses
19,790
9,461
Other accrued expenses
10,676
10,064
Interest payable
4,090
4,198
Deferred revenue, current portion
19,531
18,949
Other current liabilities
105
446
Total current liabilities
80,697
56,163
Senior secured notes, net
245,643
245,207
Liability related to sale of future royalties, net
92,846
94,655
Deferred revenue, less current portion
12,808
19,021
Other long-term liabilities
6,513
5,992
Total liabilities
438,507
421,038
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock
-
-
Common stock
16
15
Capital in excess of par value
2,262,219
2,207,865
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(2,796)
(2,111)
Accumulated deficit
(2,201,156)
(2,117,941)
Total stockholders' equity
58,283
87,828
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$ 496,790
$ 508,866
(1) The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2017 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and notes required by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States for complete financial statements.
NEKTAR THERAPEUTICS
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share information)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2018
2017
Revenue:
Product sales
$ 6,295
$ 4,756
Royalty revenue
11,076
7,217
Non-cash royalty revenue related to sale of future royalties
6,920
6,663
License, collaboration and other revenue
13,727
6,092
Total revenue
38,018
24,728
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of goods sold
6,646
6,131
Research and development
99,424
61,058
General and administrative
18,687
11,976
Total operating costs and expenses
124,757
79,165
Loss from operations
(86,739)
(54,437)
Non-operating income (expense):
Interest expense
(5,340)
(5,402)
Non-cash interest expense on liability related to sale of future royalties
(5,019)
(4,552)
Interest income and other income (expense), net
1,571
658
Total non-operating expense, net
(8,788)
(9,296)
Loss before provision for income taxes
(95,527)
(63,733)
Provision for income taxes
265
133
Net loss
$ (95,792)
$ (63,866)
Basic and diluted net loss per share
$ (0.60)
$ (0.42)
Weighted average shares outstanding used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share
160,884
153,666
NEKTAR THERAPEUTICS
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2018
2017
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss
$ (95,792)
$ (63,866)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Non-cash royalty revenue related to sale of future royalties
(6,920)
(6,663)
Non-cash interest expense on liability related to sale of future royalties
5,019
4,552
Stock-based compensation
19,949
8,184
Depreciation and amortization
2,541
4,033
Other non-cash transactions
(370)
(731)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net
151
14,113
Inventory
51
(1,907)
Other assets
1,853
2,134
Accounts payable
6,492
4,117
Accrued compensation
6,867
(6,817)
Accrued clinical trial expenses
10,329
(515)
Other accrued expenses
605
1,798
Interest payable
(108)
(108)
Deferred revenue
(3,678)
9,619
Other liabilities
545
(2,509)
Net cash used in operating activities
(52,466)
(34,566)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of investments
-
(75,857)
Maturities of investments
37,232
58,053
Sales of investments
11,963
8,823
Purchases of property, plant and equipment
(985)
(4,089)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
48,210
(13,070)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Payment of capital lease obligations
-
(613)
Proceeds from shares issued under equity compensation plans
34,352
11,792
Net cash provided by financing activities
34,352
11,179
Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents
(53)
297
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
30,043
(36,160)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
4,762
59,640
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
$ 34,805
$ 23,480
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest
$ 4,952
$ 5,067
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nektar-therapeutics-reports-financial-results-for-the-first-quarter-of-2018-300646660.html
SOURCE Nektar Therapeutics | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/pr-newswire-nektar-therapeutics-reports-financial-results-for-the-first-quarter-of-2018.html |
May 11 (Reuters) - Diary of U.S. (.SPX) corporate earnings for the week ahead. ** Please Note - All times given are in U.S. EST unless otherwise stated ** U.S. EARNINGS Start Date Start Time RIC Company Event Name 14-May-2018 AMC A.N Agilent Technologies Q2 2018 Agilent Technologies Inc Earnings Inc Release 15-May-2018 BMO HD.N Home Depot Inc Q1 2018 Home Depot Inc Earnings Release 16-May-2018 BMO M.N Macy's Inc Q1 2018 Macy's Inc Earnings Release 16-May-2018 BMO PGR.N Progressive Corp April 2018 Progressive Corp Earnings Release 16-May-2018 AMC TTWO.O Take-Two Interactive Q4 2018 Take-Two Interactive Software Inc Software Inc Earnings Release 16-May-2018 AMC CSCO.O Cisco Systems Inc Q3 2018 Cisco Systems Inc Earnings Release 17-May-2018 BMO WMT.N Walmart Inc Q1 2019 Wal-Mart Stores Inc Earnings Release 17-May-2018 AMC AMAT.O Applied Materials Inc Q2 2018 Applied Materials Inc Earnings Release 17-May-2018 AMC JWN.N Nordstrom Inc Q1 2018 Nordstrom Inc Earnings Release 18-May-2018 BMO CPB.N Campbell Soup Co Q3 2018 Campbell Soup Co Earnings Release 18-May-2018 BMO DE.N Deere & Co Q2 2018 Deere & Co Earnings Release ** All times are listed in U.S. EST, or AMC - 'After U.S. Market Close', or BMO - 'Before U.S. Market Opens', or DBH - 'During U.S. business hours', or blank if not known. ** This Diary does not provide the EPS estimate figures. EPS figures can be retrieved from Eikon. Steps in Eikon to retrieve the EPS estimate:- Eikon Indicator-> Equities Guide-> Top Indices-> S&P 500-> Events-> Select Event types-> Select the company-> Estimates (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-results/diary-u-s-earnings-week-ahead-idUSL3N1SI4UY |
May 25, 2018 / 6:32 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Exclusive: Tesla flies in new battery production line for Gigafactory Edward Taylor , Alexandria Sage 5 Min Read
FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Inc has flown six planes full of robots and equipment from Europe to California in an unusual, high-stakes effort to speed up battery production for its Model 3 electric sedan, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week. FILE PHOTO: A wheel of a prototype of the Tesla Model 3 on display in front of the factory during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory, which will produce batteries for the electric carmaker in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. July 26, 2016. REUTERS/James Glover II
Transporting equipment for a production line by air is costly and hardly ever done in the automotive industry, and the move underscores Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk’s urgency to get a grip on manufacturing problems that have hobbled the launch of the high-volume Model 3 and pushed Tesla’s finances deep into the red.
“As usual with Tesla, everything is being done in a massive hurry and money seems to be no obstacle,” said one of the two sources.
Tesla on Friday declined to comment on whether it has shipped in any new production equipment from Europe.
Investors are closely watching Tesla and its high-profile, often brash CEO to see if the upstart electric vehicle maker can pull off high-volume production of the Model 3, a car with the potential to catapult the niche automaker to a mass producer and assure its financial stability.
But manufacturing missteps have led Tesla to repeatedly miss production targets for the sedan, and raised doubts about Musk’s promises that the company will stop burning cash by the third quarter of this year. Tesla had free cash flow of negative $1 billion in the first quarter, and earlier this month disclosed that it could offer its Fremont, California, vehicle assembly plant as collateral for debt.
Engineers from Tesla’s German engineering arm, Grohmann, are now reworking the battery production line at the Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada, in a bid to free up bottlenecks, the person said. The line will become more automated gradually over time, added the source, who was not authorized to speak for attribution.
Musk first disclosed plans for this line on a conference call with analysts in November, after complaining of problems with an original line built by a subcontractor.
Musk has told investors the new battery production line will help the carmaker achieve a quantum leap in productivity. The company has noted, however, that it will still be able to reach its target of building 5,000 Model 3s per week by June without the addition of the new line.
But Tesla’s lack of consistency in its factories has undercut Musk’s production promises in the past.
Under time pressure to fix problems, Musk has now insisted the new production line should be a no-expenses-spared effort, the source said. That led to the decision to airlift the new production equipment to the United States from Europe, a step carmakers usually avoid by planning production equipment installations months or years ahead of a production launch.
The shipments of new equipment began arriving in Reno this week, the two sources told Reuters.
It is not clear when the new production system will be ready to start running. Robots frequently need to be recalibrated to adjust for minimal differences in the quality of raw materials they are working with or temperature and humidity differences. Steps to test the quality of materials and recalibrate robots have proven to be a bottleneck that Tesla managers had underestimated, the first source said.
Musk has repeatedly complained of “manufacturing hell” trying to ramp up the Model 3, which began production, albeit slowly, last July.
In February, Musk said the main bottleneck was still its battery module production, saying Tesla had become “a little overconfident, a little complacent” in its ability to execute.
The Gigafactory’s battery production is divided into four zones, two of which have experienced problems. Responsibility for two of these zones was originally delegated to subcontractors specialized in integrating complex systems, Musk said.
“We were promised they would work, and it just didn’t work,” Musk said during a February conference call. A new design for an automated system for those zones was nearing completion, Musk said in November, adding that Grohmann was “working on the issue and making very rapid progress.”
One of the problems, both at the Gigafactory and at Tesla’s Fremont vehicle manufacturing factory, has been the interface between Tesla and the subcontractors it hires. Sources have told Reuters of communication problems and high managerial turnover, which complicate the execution of big projects.
Musk said in early May he planned to rid the company of “barnacles” – contractors and subcontractors – saying Tesla’s reliance on them had become “out of control.” Reporting by Edward Taylor in Frankfurt and Alexandria Sage in San Francisco; Editing by Joe White and Matthew Lewis | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-gigafactory-production-exclusiv/exclusive-tesla-flies-in-new-battery-production-line-for-gigafactory-idUSKCN1IQ2RN |
NEW YORK (AP) — Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc. on Thursday reported better-than-expected profit and total revenue for the first quarter.
But sales at its established stores — a key measure of a retailers' health — showed meager gains.
Shares in the Seattle-based company fell 7 percent in after-market trading.
Department stores have been under financial pressure as more people shop online at off-price retailers or spend less money overall on clothing, which makes up a big part of their business.
Against a tough environment, the Nordstrom family — including co-presidents Blake, Peter and Erik Nordstrom — have offered take the company private so they could manage its reinvention away from the watch of the public markets.
But in March, the company rejected the offer — $50 in cash for each share of the company that the family doesn't own, plus the same price for about 21 percent of the company that the individual family members own. In total, family members, who are descents of founder John W. Nordstrom, own about 30 percent of the company.
Meanwhile, Nordstrom is experimenting with new concepts to win back shoppers. It opened a store in Los Angeles that doesn't have any inventory. It's being staffed by personal stylists who can order merchandise for customers. It just opened its first Manhattan store — a men's clothing store — that has services like same-day delivery for a $20 fee and self-service kiosks for returns.
The department store chain earned $87 million, or 51 cents per share, on revenue of $3.56 billion.
That beat the average Street estimate for earnings per share of 42 cents on revenue of $3.47 billion, according to Zacks Investment Research.
In its full-price division, which consists of Nordstrom U.S. full-scale stores, Nordstrom.com , Trunk Club, revenue at stores comparable sales rose 0.7 percent. The top-ranking merchandise was children's and men's clothing.
In the off-price sector, which consists of Nordstrom U.S. Rack stores, Nordstromrack.com/HauteLook and Last Chance clearance stores comparable sales increased 0.4 percent.
Nordstrom expects full-year earnings to be $3.35 to $3.55 per share, with revenue in the range of $15.2 billion to $15.4 billion.
Analysts were expecting profits of $3.43 per share and revenue of $15.7 billion for the year, according to FactSet.
In after-hours extended trading, Nordstrom shares slid nearly $3.61 to $47.30 following the earnings report.
Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights ( http://automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on JWN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/JWN | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/the-associated-press-nordstrom-posts-strong-profit-but-its-sales-gains-are-meager.html |
May 7 (Reuters) - Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd:
* CONTRACTED SALES FOR FOUR MONTHS ENDED 30 APRIL ABOUT RMB257.52 BILLION Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-country-garden-says-contracted-sal/brief-country-garden-says-contracted-sales-for-four-months-ended-30-april-about-rmb257-52-bln-idUSL8N1SE1ZH |
CHERRY HILL, N.J., May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Corcentric, a leading provider of procurement and financial process automation solutions, today announced that it has acquired Source One Management Services, LLC, a leading tech-enabled procurement services provider delivering cost reduction and savings through strategic sourcing and procurement transformation.
Based out of Willow Grove, PA, and Chicago, IL, Source One adds a strong Fortune 1000 customer base representing manufacturing, finance, life sciences, retail, CPG, and more industries to Corcentric's roster of more than 6,000 customers. Source One is an industry-recognized thought leader in the procurement space, and brings sourcing-related services and technology to complement Corcentric's procure-to-pay solutions.
"When Source One was founded, its mission was to be the best procurement services provider - quality and service being paramount in executing our work," said Steven Belli, CEO of Source One. "Sharing our focus on innovation and customer service, Corcentric gives us an opportunity to expand our sourcing and procurement optimization services to more customers and across larger sets of spend data. We're thrilled to be part of the team."
"The acquisition of Source One was a natural fit for Corcentric and we are excited to add their sourcing and procurement expertise to our portfolio of procure-to-pay solutions," commented Matt Clark, President and COO of Corcentric. "As companies look to gain more visibility into their spend and better manage cash flow, the acquisition of Source One gives us an opportunity to share our innovations with more customers while increasing value across finance and procurement."
About Corcentric
Corcentric is a leading provider of procurement and finance solutions that transform how companies purchase, pay, and get paid. Corcentric's procurement, accounts payable, and accounts receivable solutions empower companies to spend smarter, optimize cash flow, and drive profitability. Since 1996, more than 6,000 customers from the middle market to the Fortune 1000 have used Corcentric to reduce costs and improve working capital. Learn more at corcentric.com , or follow Corcentric on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/corcentric .
This year, the company unified its AmeriQuest and Corcentric brands under the Corcentric name, emphasizing its commitment to helping companies to unlock new potential within their enterprise.
About Source One
Source One Management Services, a Corcentric company, is a premier procurement services provider and strategic sourcing consulting firm. Since 1992, Source One's team of spend management experts has supported best-in-class organizations in optimizing spend management and procurement operations. Source One serves as an expansion of client's existing teams, saving them time and resources by applying collective experience, tools, cross-industry best practices, and customized solutions. To learn more, visit sourceoneinc.com .
Media Contacts
David Saba
Director of Public Relations, Garfield
P (800) 608-0809
(646) 300-0779
corcentric.com
[email protected]
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/corcentric-announces-acquisition-of-source-one-management-services-300647328.html
SOURCE Corcentric | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/pr-newswire-corcentric-announces-acquisition-of-source-one-management-services.html |
May 24, 2018 / 8:46 AM / Updated 38 minutes ago Ukraine puts Russian tycoon Deripaska on updated sanctions list Pavel Polityuk 2 Min Read
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine has placed Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska, whose company Rusal RUSL.MM owns a large alumina plant in Ukraine, and other prominent Russians on a recently expanded sanctions list, a document on the president’s website showed on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: President of En+ Group, Oleg Deripaska attends an agreement signing ceremony with the Krasnoyarsk region's government, in Moscow, Russia December 12, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo
It was not clear what effect the blacklisting would have as many Russian companies have already sought to wind up their Ukraine-linked activities due to earlier sanctions.
But restrictions on Deripaska could impact the operations of the Mykolaiv plant in southern Ukraine, which is the second-largest alumina asset of his aluminium business Rusal.
Kiev first implemented sanctions against hundreds of Russian companies and entities after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its support for a pro-Russian separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.
Earlier in May it expanded these restrictions to mirror those of the United States, which blacklisted officials and business people around President Vladimir Putin in April - one of Washington’s most aggressive moves to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and other “malign activity”.
Ukraine’s updated list was published online on Thursday, confirming sanctions on Deripaska as well as on other Russian tycoons such as Viktor Vekselberg, key owner of Renova holding group, and Alexei Miller, the CEO of Russia’s gas exporter Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ). Writing by Alessandra Prentice; editing by Matthias Williams and Gareth Jones | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-russia-sanctions/ukraine-puts-russian-tycoon-deripaska-on-updated-sanctions-list-idUKKCN1IP17E |
NEW YORK, May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vidaris Inc. announced today that Kevin Kavanagh has returned to its staff as a Senior Associate and Director, Southwest Region. Mr. Kavanagh will lead the Company’s growth opportunities for the West Coast, with an initial focus on California. He rejoins the nationally renowned team of building envelope consultants advising clients on both new and existing buildings.
“I am pleased to rejoin the team at Vidaris and lead West Coast growth. There are huge opportunities for Vidaris and for other project stakeholders out here,” said Kevin Kavanagh. “I enjoyed my first 10 years with Vidaris and I couldn’t pass up the chance to work with some of the best in the industry again when the opportunity arose. Not only does the firm provide a deep bench of talent and a commitment to continuing to grow its practice nationally, it provides an opportunity for me personally and professionally to broaden my practice.”
“This is a true homecoming for Kevin, and we’re thrilled to welcome him back to the firm,” said Marc Weissbach, Chief Executive Officer and President of Vidaris, Inc. “Not only does he have a well-rounded background, but he also brings a natural ability for client service and creativity to every facet of his work. He is an integral part of our continued growth. We expect to build on the strong foundation we’ve established with our New York clientele who also have a presence on the West Coast, as well as through the network of Vidaris’ affiliate companies on the West Coast, including, LPI and C2G International.”
Alexander Argento, Senior Vice President at Vidaris says, “I’m excited for Vidaris tapping back into the West Coast market. Early in my career at Vidaris we worked on projects at MGM’s CityCenter, McCarran Airport, Pacific Design Center’s Red Building and Hotel Bel-Air. Kevin’s commitment to exposing us to more exemplary projects in the market is very exciting.”
Mr. Kavanagh joined a predecessor of the Company, Israel Berger & Associates (IBA), from 1998 through 2008. His career in the AEC industry spans over 20 years. Following his departure at Vidaris, Mr. Kavanagh worked for 10 years as an Architect in Southern California, specializing in building envelope design development and execution. Mr. Kavanagh received his Bachelors of Architecture degree from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1995.
About Vidaris
Vidaris, together with its affiliates LPI, Inc., CBI Consulting, LLC and C2G International, LLC, helps real estate owners, architects, institutions and other stakeholders realize their goals and objectives in the areas of building envelope, energy efficiency, dispute resolution, code and zoning, and specialty engineering. The group employs over 275 professionals in 12 offices.
Contact: Michelle Maxwell
Phone: 212.689.5389 Ext. 168
[email protected]
www.vidaris.com
Source:Vidaris, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/globe-newswire-vidaris-inc-senior-associate-kevin-kavanagh-rejoins-company-as-regional-director-to-lead-west-coast-growth-strategy.html |
CALGARY, Alberta, May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New West Energy Services Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NWE), an oil and gas and environmental services company focused on Western Canada, today announced its financial results for the eight months ended December 31, 2017.
CHANGE IN FINANCIAL YEAR-END
NWE has changed its financial year-end from April 30 to December 31 to better conform with other similar energy services companies in the industry and to line up the company’s quarterly filings with more traditional quarters.
Consequently, NWE is reporting audited financial results for an eight-month transition period from May 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 with a twelve-month comparative period from May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017, as well as quarterly results for a two-month transition period from November 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 with a three-month comparative period from February 1, 2017 to April 30, 2017. Readers should be cautioned that the transition and comparative periods not only relate to a difference in the number of months but, in the case of the eight-month transition period, does not include the winter months of January to March, which is typically is one of the company’s most active periods.
Going forward, NWE will use a customary quarterly reporting calendar based on a December 31 financial year-end, with fiscal quarters ending on the last day in March, June, September and December each year.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Gerry E. Kerkhoff, President and Chief Executive Officer of NWE stated, “New West is coming off a very active winter season with continued top line growth. Our drilling services equipment was at near full utilization, we secured larger projects in completions and production with some of the most active producers in the Duvernay and Montney plays and are increasingly recognized as one of the most reliable fluid transportation companies in the region.”
Mr. Kerkhoff continued, “Our rapid revenue growth in 2017, however, came with some expected growing pains. Particularly, our gross margin was depressed due to certain non-recurring expenses, higher than normal repair and maintenance expenses associated with the fluid hauling equipment acquired in March 2017 and a greater reliance on low margin third party contractors needed to complete larger projects.”
Mr. Kerkhoff concluded, “In 2018, we expect to complete major equipment repairs that will increase our revenue generating units by approximately 45% and anticipate continued revenue growth and improvements in gross margin as equipment costs normalize, service rates increase due to stronger demand and we bring more revenue generating units into service, reducing our reliance on third party contractors.”
Revenue was $13,383,615 in the eight months ended December 31, 2017 compared to $11,927,912 in the twelve months ended April 30, 2017, and $3,671,672 in the two months ended December 31, 2017 compared to $4,876,588 in the three months ended April 30, 2017.
This significant improvement reflects increased activity and equipment utilization across all drilling, completions and production sectors.
Gross margin was 17% in the eight months ended December 31, 2017 compared to 23% in the twelve months ended April 30, 2017, and NWE operated at a near break-even gross margin in the two months ended December 31, 2017 compared to a gross margin of 23% in the three months ended April 30, 2017.
This decrease in gross margin is due in part to roughly $490,000 of non-recurring expenses incurred by the vacuum truck and fluid transportation services division in November and December 2017, including approximately: $150,000 in major repair expenses associated with the fluid hauling equipment acquired in March 2017; $150,000 in auction related expenses incurred in respect of the sale of approximately $1.1 million of equipment; and, $190,000 in respect of provincial sales taxes levied by the Province of British Columbia resulting from an audit. Gross margin was also negatively impacted by higher fuel and labour costs and a greater reliance on low margin third party contractors.
General and administrative expenses were $2,478,715 in the eight months ended December 31, 2017 compared to $2,949,944 in the twelve months ended April 30, 2017, and $721,841 in the two months ended December 31, 2017 compared to $752,642 in the three months ended April 30, 2017.
This increase was mainly due to expenses associated with the hiring of personnel to meet increased demand, and the establishment of operations in Grande Prairie, servicing the completions and production sectors.
For the two months ended December 31, For the three months ended April 30,
2017 2017 Vacuum Truck
& Fluid
Transportation
Services Environmental
Services Corporate Total Vacuum Truck
& Fluid
Transportation
Services Environmental
Services Corporate Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Revenue 2,841,146 830,526 - 3,671,672 3,837,133 1,039,455 - 4,876,588 Direct costs 2,993,173 626,358 - 3,619,531 3,034,928 727,687 - 3,762,615 Gross margin (152,027 ) 204,168 - 52,141 802,205 311,768 - 1,113,973 G & A expenses 417,734 251,317 52,790 721,841 283,796 361,276 107,570 752,642 Share base pmts - - 92,538 92,538 - - 276,740 276,740 Finance charges 112,897 9,256 20,271 142,424 199,146 13,861 39,348 252,355 Depreciation 266,362 - - 266,362 407,641 - - 407,641 Disposal of assets 1,167,918 - - 1,167,918 - - - - Net loss before tax (2,116,938 ) (56,405 ) (165,599 ) (2,338,942 ) (88,378 ) (63,369 ) (423,658 ) (575,405 ) Total assets 12,713,646 1,164,457 42,179 13,920,282 14,569,579 1,094,911 149,016 15,813,506 EBITDAC* (229,761 ) (47,149 ) (52,790 ) (329,700 ) 518,409 (49,508 ) (107,570 ) 361,331 For the eight months ended December 31, For the twelve months ended April 30,
2017 2017 Vacuum Truck
& Fluid
Transportation
Services Environmental
Services Corporate Total Vacuum Truck
& Fluid
Transportation
Services Environmental
Services Corporate Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Revenue 10,025,549 3,358,066 - 13,383,615 8,328,756 3,599,156 - 11,927,912 Direct costs 8,876,817 2,285,518 - 11,162,335 6,784,347 2,451,885 - 9,236,232 Gross margin 1,148,732 1,072,548 - 2,221,280 1,544,409 1,147,271 - 2,691,680 G & A expenses 1,344,646 917,926 216,143 2,478,715 1,139,606 1,378,828 431,510 2,949,944 Share base pmts - - 356,067 356,067 - - 276,740 276,740 Finance charges 443,991 34,354 102,618 580,963 342,809 17,091 76,173 436,073 Deprecation 1,170,421 - - 1,170,421 1,364,747 - - 1,364,747 Disposal of assets 1,247,131 - - 1,247,131 - - - - Net loss before tax (3,057,457 ) 120,268 (674,828 ) (3,612,017 ) (1,302,753 ) (248,648 ) (784,423 ) (2,335,824 ) Total assets 12,713,646 1,164,457 42,179 13,920,282 14,569,579 1,094,911 149,016 15,813,506 EBITDAC 144,086 154,622 (216,143 ) 82,565 404,803 (231,557 ) (431,510 ) (258,264 )
* Normalized EBITDAC is earnings from continuing operations before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and share-based payments and is a measure of NWE’s operating profitability. The calculation is further adjusted to normalize EBITDAC by removing any non-reoccurring transactions that are not in the normal course of operations.
** Copies of NWE’s financial statements, MD&A and other public filings are available under the company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .
Contact:
Gerry E. Kerkhoff
New West Energy Services Inc.
President & Chief Executive Officer
Phone - 403.984.9798 or 1.888.977.2327 (BEAR)
Fax - 403.984.9799
Email - [email protected]
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this news release may constitute “forward-looking information” applicable securities laws that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements or industry results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information and financial outlook. Forward-looking information is identified by the use of terms and phrases such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “predict”, “project”, “will”, “would”, and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Such information may involve, but is not limited to, comments with respect to strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, without limitation, statements with respect to: the use of proceeds of its loans; the use of the acquired equipment; planned changes in NWE’s business and revenues; the competitive environment in which NWE operates; and the assessment of future plans and operations. Actual events or results may differ materially. The forward-looking information in this news release is based on assumptions which includes, but is not limited to: NWE realizing the expected benefits of its loans and acquired equipment; the general state of the economy and the oil and gas industry not worsening; NWE not losing any key personnel; NWE sustaining or increasing their level of revenues and EBITDAC NWE growing its businesses long term and managing its growth; NWE complying with existing regulations and not becoming subject to more stringent regulations; and, NWE’s insurance being sufficient to cover losses that may occur as a result of its operations. The forward-looking information in this news release is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or results anticipated by the forward-looking information. The factors which could cause results to differ from current expectations include, but are not limited to: failure to realize the expected benefits of its loans and acquired equipment; potential undisclosed liens associated with the acquired equipment; NWE’s results being dependent upon the general state of the economy and the oil and gas industry; NWE being dependent on key personnel, the loss of which could harm its business; NWE may not be able to sustain or increase their revenues or EBITDAC; NWE may be unable to grow its business long term or to manage any growth; NWE may be unable to integrate the acquired equipment into its business; competition in NWE’s markets may lead to reduced revenues and EBITDAC; NWE may fail to comply with existing regulations or become subject to more stringent regulations; NWE’s insurance may be insufficient to cover losses that may occur as a result of NWE’s operations; the market price of NWE’s common shares will fluctuate; and, there is a possibility of dilution of existing holders of NWE’s common shares due to future financings or acquisitions. Although NWE has attempted to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in the in this news release, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of NWE. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information in this news release. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release, and NWE does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement.
Source: New West Energy Services Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/globe-newswire-new-west-energy-services-inc-announces-financial-results-for-eight-month-period-ending-december-31-2017.html |
May 3 (Reuters) - CELLAVISION AB:
* Q1 OPERATING PROFIT SEK 23.2 MILLION VERSUS SEK 34.3 MILLION YEAR AGO
* Q1 NET SALES DECREASED BY 17 % TO SEK 77.6 MILLION (93.1) Source text for Eikon: (Gdynia Newsroom)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cellavision-q1-operating-profit-fa/brief-cellavision-q1-operating-profit-falls-to-sek-23-2-million-idUSFWN1SA04C |
TORONTO, April 30 (Reuters) - Canada’s stock exchanges resumed trading on Monday after an outage that halted trading for several hours on Friday afternoon, with the country’s main stock index edging up to a nearly six-week high as financials and industrials rose.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 15.33 points, or 0.1 percent, at 15,684.26, shortly after the open. Seven of the index’s 10 main groups were higher. (Reporting by Fergal Smith Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Steve Orlofsky)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-tmx-grp-reopen/canadas-stock-exchanges-resume-trading-tsx-rises-to-6-week-high-idUSL1N1S70GZ |
TORONTO, May 2 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index edged higher on Wednesday, although paring some earlier gains, as resource shares climbed, while financials and Maple Leaf Foods Inc lost ground.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 9 points, or 0.06 percent, at 15,627.93. Four of the index’s 10 main groups ended higher. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Peter Cooney)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-close/canada-stocks-tsx-edges-higher-as-resource-shares-climb-idUSL1N1S91W8 |
PROVIDENCE, R.I., May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Washington Trust Company has partnered with EverFi, Inc. to bring an interactive financial management program to Providence high school students. Through this new financial literacy initiative, Providence Career & Technical School, Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, Hope Arts School, Mount Pleasant High School, E-Cubed Academy and Classical High School students receive access to the EverFi™—Financial Literacy/ Vault™ – Understanding Money learning platform at no costs to the students or the schools. Additional Providence schools will be added to the program later this year.
“It is critical that today’s students have the tools and education necessary to help them make informed financial decisions,” said Edward O. Handy III, Washington Trust Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The Everfi program uses the technology and gaming tools students enjoy - providing a fun and engaging learning experience.”
Washington Trust worked closely with the Rhode Island State Treasurer’s office to introduce the Everfi program in Providence schools, joining in a common goal of providing access to effective financial literacy programming across Rhode Island.
“Financial education is more vital for young people today than ever before,” added Rhode Island State Treasurer Seth Magaziner. “I commend Washington Trust for making an investment in Rhode Island’s future by offering an innovative financial literacy program to Providence high school students.”
Ever-Fi’s web-based program uses the latest in new media technology –simulations, avatars, gaming and adaptive-pathing – to bring complex financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation. Through this platform, students will become certified in hundreds of topics in personal finance, allowing them to become more informed, responsible citizens. The 10-unit course offers approximately six hours of programming aimed at teaching, assessing and certifying students in a variety of relevant financial topics including credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401k’s and other critical concepts that map to national financial literacy standards. The platform uniquely tracks the progress and score of every student and provides students who successfully complete the course with Certification in Financial Literacy, a valuable mark of distinction on college applications and resumes.
“From small rural towns to major cities across the US, EverFi technology is literally transforming how students learn, and we are incredibly grateful for the public-private partnerships that make this possible,” said EverFi CEO Tom Davidson. “Washington Trust is critical to the success of our mission to ensure that these cutting-edge tools reach all communities.”
ABOUT WASHINGTON TRUST ®
Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation and one of the Northeast’s premier financial services companies. Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including commercial banking , mortgage banking , personal banking and wealth management and trust services through its offices located in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Washington Trust Company is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., (NASDAQ:WASH). Additional information on Washington Trust and its subsidiaries can be found at https://www.washtrust.com/ .
ABOUT EVERFI
EverFi, Inc. is the leading education technology company focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills they need for life. The company teams with major corporations and foundations to provide the programs at no cost to K-12 schools. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EverFi investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Twitter founder Evan Williams, Rethink Education, New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), and Tomorrow Ventures (the investment arm of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt). Learn more at www.everfi.com
MEDIA CONTACT:
Tony Nunes
Public Relations
401.348.1657
[email protected]
Source:The Washington Trust Company | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/globe-newswire-washington-trust-empowers-providence-high-school-students-through-innovative-web-based-financial-literacy-program.html |
HANOI, May 15 (Reuters) - A unit of Russian state oil firm Rosneft, Rosneft Vietnam BV, has started drilling at a new production well in waters off the southern coast of Vietnam, the company said in a statement posted to its website on Tuesday.
The drilling is significant for Vietnam, which has been struggling to maintain its crude oil and gas output amid already declining production from its key fields and ongoing pressure from China in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
The LD-3P well explored by Rosneft is part of the Lan Do gas field in Block 06.1, Rosneft said. The field has initial natural gas reserves of 23 billion cubic metres, according to the statement.
Block 06.1 is 370 kms (230 miles) southeast of Vietnam’s coast and is not close to the U-shaped “nine-dash line” that marks the vast area of the South China Sea claimed by China, where the two countries have been embroiled in maritime disputes.
In March, Vietnam halted an oil drilling project in the nearby “Red Emperor” block following pressure from China, sources told Reuters.
The block is licensed to Spanish energy firm Repsol , which has asked Vietnam to pay compensation over the issue.
In April, Vietnam’s state oil firm PetroVietnam admitted that maritime tensions with China will hurt its offshore exploration and production activities this year.
The Lan Do gas field drilling will be undertaken using the Hakuryu-5 equipment made by Japanese company Japan Drilling Co., Ltd, Rosneft said in the statement.
With sanctions barring Russia’s largest oil producer from offshore extraction with Western companies, Rosneft is looking to its operations in Vietnam for the experience needed to expand its global reach.
Rosneft said that production offshore Vietnam is very profitable. Operational costs to produce gas stand at $1.5 per barrel of oil equivalent, half of what it usually costs the company. (Reporting by Khanh Vu Editing by James Pearson and Adrian Croft)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-rosneft-vietnam-well/russia-state-oil-firm-starts-drilling-at-new-well-offshore-vietnam-idUSL3N1SM5Z3 |
May 1 (Reuters) - ZeroCater:
* ZEROCATER SAYS RAISED SERIES B FUNDING OF $12 MILLION, LED BY CLEVELAND AVENUE LLC, WITH PARTICIPATION FROM ROMULUS CAPITAL AND STRUCK CAPITAL Source text for Eikon:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-zerocater-says-raised-series-b-fun/brief-zerocater-says-raised-series-b-funding-of-12-mln-led-by-cleveland-avenue-with-participation-from-romulus-capital-and-struck-capital-idUSFWN1S809M |
May 8, 2018 / 10:35 AM / Updated 2 hours ago PRECIOUS-Gold flat after dollar hits 2018 high; Iran tensions underpin Reuters Staff 3 Min Read * Market awaits Trump decision on Iran nuclear deal * Spot gold may revisit May 1 low of $1,301.51/oz - technicals (Updates prices, headline; adds comment, second byline, NEW YORK to dateline) By Renita D. Young and Maytaal Angel NEW YORK/LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - Gold prices were flat following a brief increase on Tuesday after the U.S. dollar backed down from a new 2018 high as worries hovered that the United States may be set to pull out of a key nuclear accord with Iran. Spot gold was flat at $1,313.76 per ounce by 1:32 p.m. EDT (1732 GMT), while U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled down $0.40, or 0.03 percent, at $1,313.70 per ounce. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) that he is pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, European officials said, after they struggled to persuade him that the accord has halted Iran's nuclear ambitions. "If Trump pulls out, I reckon gold will pop higher, but I doubt it will stay elevated for too long," said Forex.com's Fawad Razaqzada. The decisions to leave the accord should raise risk aversion in the broader markets, helping gold, seen as a safe asset that holds its value in times of geopolitical turmoil, though bullion is still pressured by a stronger dollar, in which it is priced. "It must be the dollar which is providing the major influence on (gold's) direction," said Razaqzada. "However, gold has held its own relatively better than the euro in the dollar's slipstream, suggesting that there is a degree or two of safe haven flows into the precious metal." Against a commodity basket, the greenback earlier surged to a 2018 high helped by safe haven flows linked to the Trump announcement on Iran and as expectations that other major central banks would follow the footsteps of the U.S. Federal Reserve in normalising monetary policy have been dashed. India's gold imports in April fell for a fourth straight month from a year ago to 57 tonnes, on subdued demand after local prices jumped to 21 month highs, provisional data from consultancy GFMS and bank dealers showed. In 2018, gold will deliver its strongest annual price performance in five years, GFMS analysts forecast, as political uncertainty drives investment in bars and bullion-backed funds. Spot gold may revisit its May 1 low of $1,301.51 per ounce as it twice failed to break resistance at $1,317, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. 0 Silver rose 0.2 percent at $16.47 an ounce, earlier hitting close to a one-week low at $16.30. Platinum gained 0.5 percent at $912.20 per ounce. Palladium fell 0.1 percent at $970.70 an ounce. (Additional reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Jon Boyle, Richard Balmforth and Cynthia Osterman) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-slips-as-dollar-hits-2018-high-iran-tensions-underpin-idUSL8N1SF3PB |
May 11, 2018 / 11:02 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago Top Trump aide says protected immigrants need path to citizenship Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Immigrants from Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador and other countries who were given protected status to live in the United States should have a path to citizenship, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told National Public Radio on Friday.
Kelly said many of those with temporary protected status, or TPS, resulting from natural disasters or conflict have lived in the United States for decades, and that Congress should act.
“We should fold all of the TPS people that have been here for a considerable period of time and find a way for them to be on a path to citizenship,” Kelly, one of President Donald Trump’s top aides, said in an interview.
The Trump administration, under U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, has moved to revoke this special status and to expel tens of thousands of protected immigrants.
Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security said it would end protections for 57,000 Hondurans in January 2020, leaving them vulnerable to deportation.
Around 200,000 Salvadorans, 59,000 Haitians and 5,300 Nicaraguans will lose their status in 2019. Protections have also ended for 9,000 Nepalese immigrants and certain immigrants from Liberia.
Trump has pursued his crackdown on legal and illegal immigration since becoming president, promising to strengthen the nation’s borders and to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Critics, citing the nation’s history of immigration, say Trump’s policies are hostile to vulnerable people who work in the fast food, hospitality, child care and agriculture sectors, often for low wages.
Some U.S. lawmakers want immigration legislation before the November midterm election after previous bipartisan efforts failed. Their plan, however, is aimed at so-called “Dreamers,” immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children, and border security issues.
Kelly said that while most illegal immigrants “are not bad people ... they’re also not people that would easily assimilate” into modern American society.
“They’re overwhelmingly rural people,” he told NPR. “They don’t speak English ... They don’t integrate well. They don’t have skills.”
Questions were raised about Nielsen’s tenure after the New York Times reported that she had considered resigning after Trump criticized her at a meeting on Wednesday for what he said was her failure to secure U.S. borders.
A DHS spokesman denied the story. Fox News Channel, however, quoted Kelly as saying in an interview on Friday that he called Nielsen after the meeting urging her not to quit. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly looks on before the arrival of the three Americans formerly held hostage in North Korea, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Bourg Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Cynthia Osterman | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-immigration/top-trump-aide-says-protected-immigrants-need-path-to-citizenship-idUKKBN1IC2PD |
Tesla posts quarterly loss Wednesday, May 02, 2018 - 02:02
Tesla reported its worst-ever quarterly loss and said its Model 3 production target remains on track. Aleksandra Michalska reports.
Tesla reported its worst-ever quarterly loss and said its Model 3 production target remains on track. Aleksandra Michalska reports. //reut.rs/2FChBXu | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/02/tesla-posts-quarterly-loss?videoId=423331195 |
May 23, 2018 / 10:14 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Blood test may predict who is most at risk for diabetes Lisa Rapaport 5 Min Read
(Reuters Health) - Adding a test normally used for diabetes monitoring to employee wellness exams could identify people who don’t have the disease but are at high risk of developing it, a recent study suggests.
Researchers examined data from two different types of blood sugar test for more than 34,000 participants in a U.S. employee wellness program who didn’t have diabetes. At the start of the study, they all also had fasting blood sugar in a healthy range.
Researchers also looked at results of blood tests showing so-called hemoglobin A1c levels, which reflect average blood sugar levels over about three months. Readings above 6.5 percent A1c signal diabetes, and none of the participants had readings this high.
But people who started the study with readings closest to a diabetes diagnosis – above 5.9 percent A1c but less than 6.5 percent - were more than eight times more likely to develop diabetes over about four years of follow-up than participants who had readings under 5.7 percent to begin with.
People who started out with A1c readings from 5.7 percent to 5.9 percent had about twice the risk of developing diabetes as people with lower results, researchers report in Diabetes Care.
“Identifying diabetes risk is really important because we know that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with effective intervention, including exercise and diet changes,” said Laura Rosella of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
“Employers would be interested in knowing who is at risk for diabetes so that they could potentially play a role in facilitating or offering preventive strategies that would prevent full blown diabetes,” Rosella said by email. “This keeps their employees healthy and prevents downstream health and disability care costs.”
Globally, about one in 10 adults has diabetes, according to the World Health Organization. Most have type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and aging and occurs when the body can’t make or process enough of the hormone insulin.
Medications as well as lifestyle changes such as improved diet and exercise habits can help manage diabetes and keep symptoms in check. When diabetes isn’t well managed, however, dangerously high blood sugar can eventually lead to blindness, amputations, kidney failure, heart disease and stroke.
“One of the key issues with diabetes is that a person may make the transition from not having diabetes to having diabetes and not otherwise know it,” said Dr. Robert Cohen of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.
That transition depends on an interaction between inherited factors and environmental factors and is still the subject of intense study, Cohen, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
“One person can do a great job on all the environmental factors (lifestyle, diet, exercise, avoiding smoking) and still develop diabetes while another can do considerably less well yet not go on to diabetes - there is a lot of difference between people in how those factors interact,” Cohen added.
“Hence, we need a screening procedure to pick up the problem early,” Cohen said.
During the study, about 13 percent of the people with the highest A1c readings went on to develop diabetes, versus less than 1 percent of people with lower readings.
One limitation of the study is that researchers lacked data on whether any employee wellness programs were implemented to prevent diabetes in the people who appeared most at risk, and how effective they might have been. The study authors couldn’t be reached for comment.
“The obvious next step is an intervention study to test whether A1c screening in combination with employee wellness programs is a more cost-effective method of preventing diabetes than such programs alone,” said Mika Kivimaki, a researcher at University College London in the UK, who wasn’t involved in the study.
“Many employees with diabetes are not diagnosed and do not get treatment,” Kivimaki, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “A1c screening could help to address this important problem.”
SOURCE: bit.ly/2Hu3Foe Diabetes Care, online April 26, 2018. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes/blood-test-may-predict-who-is-most-at-risk-for-diabetes-idUKKCN1IO3DZ |
May 14, 2018 / 11:27 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago METALS-Tight supplies lift lead from nine-month lows, copper slips Reuters Staff
* LME/ShFE arb: bit.ly/2wZSAEz (Adds technical comments on copper, updates prices)
By Peter Hobson
LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - An increase in copper stockpiles on Monday pushed down prices of the metal used in power and construction, while lead continued to rise from nine-month lows on fears of tight supply.
LEAD: Benchmark lead on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.5 percent to $2,379.50 a tonne by 1420 GMT. It has risen almost 7 percent since on May 2, touching $2,241, the lowest since August.
TECHNICALS: The metal broke above its 50-day moving average at $2,362. It faced Fibonacci resistance at $2,411, brokers Marex Spectron said.
TIGHTEST MARKET: “Lead from a raw materials side is probably the tightest commodity market out there. There has been a big clamp down on Chinese private sector mining. China is around 60 percent of primary lead supply,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Colin Hamilton said.
PRICE OUTLOOK: Prices were likely to hit $2,640 in the third quarter, Hamilton said.
SUPPLY: Over 2014-2016 global mined lead supply shrank by roughly 500,000 tonnes, or 10 percent. A Chinese crackdown since last year on industries that are heavy polluters squeezed output further.
This year, consultancy Wood Mackenzie forecast a market deficit of 115,000 tonnes in 2018 and 56,000 tonnes in 2019 after a 119,000 shortfall last year.
LEAD STOCKS: Headline stocks in LME-registered warehouses have fallen by a third since the start of last year to 131,225 tonnes. MPBSTX-TOTA
LEAD TIME SPREAD: However a rise in the discount of cash lead over three-month metal CMPB0-3 to $13 a tonne, the highest since November, suggests there is no immediate shortage of metal.
COPPER: LME copper shed 0.7 percent to $6,893 a tonne after headline stocks in LME warehouses rose 8,900 tonnes to 289,975 tonnes. MCUSTX-TOTAL
Inventories had fallen more than 100,000 tonnes since March to just over 280,000 tonnes, while copper prices have moved sideways after reaching a four-year high of $7,312.50 in December.
COPPER SCRAP: The effect of Chinese curbs on scrap metal imports introduced this year will be blunted by a rise in domestic scrap production, Wood Mackenzie consultants Yanting Zhou and Sifang Liu said.
“Total scrap supply in China will drop by around 100,000 tonnes in 2018, but will return to positive growth in 2019, to rise by approximately 70,000 tonnes,” they said in a note. Copper prices rose sharply last year when the restrictions were announced.
COPPER TECHNICALS: Copper may be forming a head and shoulder formation with a neckline at $6,532/$6,507, said Stéphanie Aymes, head of technical analysis at Societe Generale.
“A decisive break below would lead to a deeper correction towards $6,366/30 and $6,204/$6,168,” she said in a note.
OTHER METALS: Nickel traded 2.1 percent higher at $14,350 a tonne, aluminium rose 0.9 percent to $2,308 a tonne, zinc lost 0.7 percent to $3,064.50 a tonne and tin dipped 0.4 percent to $20,915 a tonne. Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Eric Onstad in London Editing by Louise Ireland and Edmund Blair | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals/metals-tight-supplies-push-lead-from-nine-month-lows-idUSL5N1SL3LQ |
McLEAN, Va., May 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gladstone Land Corporation (Nasdaq:LAND) (“Gladstone Land” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
A reconciliation of funds from operations (“FFO”), core FFO (“CFFO”), and adjusted FFO (“AFFO”), all non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles in the United States) financial measures, to net loss, which the Company believes is the most directly-comparable GAAP measure for each, and a computation of fully-diluted net loss, FFO, CFFO, and AFFO per weighted-average share is set forth in the Quarterly Summary Information tables below, and a description of each of FFO, CFFO, and AFFO is located at the end of this press release. In addition, a description of net asset value (“NAV”), a non-GAAP financial measure, and a reconciliation to total equity, which the Company believes is its most directly-comparable GAAP measure, is also located at the end of this press release. All per-share references are to fully-diluted, weighted-average shares of common stock of the Company unless otherwise noted. For further detail, please refer to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Form 10-Q”), filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which is available on the SEC’s website at www.SEC.gov and the Company’s website at www.GladstoneLand.com .
Please note that the limited information that follows in this press release is a summary and is not adequate for making an informed investment judgment.
Quarterly Summary Information
(Dollars in thousands, except per-share amounts)
For and As of the Quarters Ended Change Change 3/31/2018 12/31/2017 ($ / #) (%) Operating Data: Total operating revenues $ 9,245 $ 6,812 $ 2,433 35.7 % Total operating expenses, net of credits (6,459 ) (3,864 ) (2,595 ) 67.2 % Other expenses, net (3,104 ) (3,164 ) 60 (1.9 )% Net loss available to common stockholders and OP Unitholders $ (318 ) $ (216 ) $ (102 ) 47.2 % Plus: Real estate and intangible depreciation and amortization 2,189 2,114 75 3.5 % Less: Gains on disposals of real estate assets — (56 ) 56 (100.0 )% FFO available to common stockholders and OP Unitholders $ 1,871 $ 1,842 $ 29 1.6 % Plus: Acquisition-related expenses 134 60 74 123.3 % Plus: Acquisition-related accounting fees 22 14 8 57.1 % Plus: Other charges (1) 163 — 163 — % CFFO available to common stockholders and OP Unitholders $ 2,190 $ 1,916 $ 274 14.3 % Net rent adjustment (2) (251 ) (45 ) (206 ) 457.8 % Plus: Amortization of deferred financing costs 143 159 (16 ) (10.1 )% AFFO available to common stockholders and OP Unitholders $ 2,082 $ 2,030 $ 52 2.6 % Share and Per-Share Data: Weighted-average common shares outstanding – basic and diluted 13,957,732 13,666,560 291,172 2.1 % Weighted-average OP Units outstanding (3) 977,271 1,095,159 (117,888 ) (10.8 )% Weighted-average total shares outstanding 14,935,003 14,761,719 173,284 1.2 % Diluted net loss per weighted-average total share $ (0.021 ) $ (0.015 ) $ (0.007 ) (45.5 )% Diluted FFO per weighted-average total share $ 0.125 $ 0.125 $ — 0.4 % Diluted CFFO per weighted-average total share $ 0.147 $ 0.130 $ 0.017 13.0 % Diluted AFFO per weighted-average total share $ 0.139 $ 0.137 $ 0.002 1.4 % Cash distributions declared per total share $ 0.133 $ 0.132 $ 0.000 0.3 % Balance Sheet Data: Net investments in real estate, at cost (4) $ 461,186 $ 451,864 $ 9,322 2.1 % Total assets $ 472,916 $ 462,278 $ 10,638 2.3 % Total indebtedness (5) $ 323,780 $ 331,738 $ (7,958 ) (2.4 )% Total equity $ 131,968 $ 117,951 $ 14,017 11.9 % Total common shares + OP Units outstanding (3) 16,186,804 14,799,679 1,387,125 9.4 % Other Data: Cash flows from operations $ 2,751 $ (1,155 ) $ 3,906 (338.2 )% Farms owned 75 73 2 2.7 % Acres owned 63,351 63,014 337 0.5 % Occupancy rate (6) 99.7 % 100.0 % — — % Farmland portfolio value $ 537,378 $ 533,297 $ 4,081 0.8 % NAV per share $ 13.57 $ 13.96 $ (0.39 ) (2.8 )%
(1) Consists of the property and casualty loss recorded during the quarter ended March 31, 2018, plus approximately $34,000 of additional repairs incurred as a result of damage caused to certain irrigation improvements from a lightning strike on one of our Arizona properties, which repairs were expensed during the quarter ended March 31, 2018. (2) This adjustment removes the effects of straight-lining rental income, as well as the amortization related to above-market lease values and accretion related to below-market lease values, deferred revenue and tenant improvements, resulting in rental income reflected on a modified accrual cash basis. The effect to AFFO is that cash rents received pertaining to a lease year are normalized over that respective lease year on a straight-line basis, resulting in cash rent being recognized ratably over the period in which the cash rent is earned. (3) There were 970,605 and 1,008,105 OP Units (as defined below) held by non-controlling limited partners as of March 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017, respectively. (4) Consists of the initial acquisition price (including the costs allocated to both tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed), plus subsequent improvements and other capitalized costs associated with the properties, and adjusted for accumulated depreciation and amortization. (5) Consists of the principal balances outstanding of all indebtedness, including our lines of credit, mortgage notes and bonds payable, and our Series A Term Preferred Stock. (6) Based on total acreage. Includes one farm currently leased (on a temporary basis) to our taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”). Highlights for the quarter:
Property Acquisitions: Acquired 2 new farms, consisting of 337 total acres across 2 states, for approximately $5.0 million. One of these farms was acquired without a lease in place and remained vacant throughout the quarter (though we expect to have a lease in place on this farm by the end of the second quarter), while the other farm was acquired at an initial, minimum net capitalization rate of 6.3%. Financing Activity: Obtained approximately $1.3 million of new, long-term borrowings from an existing lender at an interest rate of 4.47%, which is fixed for 10 years. Equity Activities: Series B Preferred Stock: Launched a continuous public offering of up to $150.0 million of 6.00% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (the “Series B Preferred Stock”), which is expected to be sold on a “reasonable best efforts” basis over the next five years. No shares were sold during the quarter. Follow-on Common Stock Offering: Completed an overnight common stock offering, issuing a total of 1,100,000 new shares for net proceeds of approximately $12.7 million (the “March 2018 Offering”). ATM Program: Issued and sold 316,925 shares of common stock under our ATM Program for net proceeds of approximately $4.1 million. Increased and Paid Distributions: Increased our monthly distribution run rate by 0.3% and paid total cash distributions of $0.13275 per share of common stock (including outstanding common units of limited partnership interests in Gladstone Land Limited Partnership (“OP Units”) that are held outside of the Company) for each of January, February, and March 2018.
Q1 2018 Results: Net loss for the quarter was approximately $318,000, or $0.02 per share, compared to approximately $216,000, or $0.01 per share, in the prior quarter. AFFO for the quarter was approximately $2.1 million, or $0.14 per share, an increase of 2.6% from the prior quarter. The increase in AFFO was driven by the additional profit recognized as a result of the ongoing operations on one farm currently leased (on a temporary basis) to our TRS (through which we recognized additional income of approximately $108,000 during the current quarter, as compared to none in the prior quarter) and additional rental revenues earned on certain of our recent acquisitions, partially offset by a crop share payment received during the prior quarter from one of our pistachio farms in California. AFFO per share increased by 1.4% from the prior quarter due to the additional revenues (including income earned by our TRS) recognized during the current quarter (as discussed above), partially offset by the additional common shares issued during the quarter through our ATM Program and in connection with the March 2018 Offering. Excluding costs incurred by our TRS related to its farming operations, our core operating expenses (which also exclude depreciation and amortization expense and acquisition-related expenses) increased by approximately $8,000 from the prior quarter, driven by higher property-operating expenses (primarily property-level legal costs and state filing fees), partially offset by lower general and administrative expenses (due to the write off of certain deferred rent balances to bad debt expense during the prior quarter due to two early lease terminations). Cash flows from operations for the prior quarter were negatively impacted by additional costs paid in connection with the initial operations on the farm leased by our TRS. Our NAV per share decreased by $0.39 from the prior quarter to $13.57 at March 31, 2018, primarily driven by ongoing capital improvements made on certain of our farms (which won't be reflected in the properties' fair values until the respective projects are completed) and the additional shares issued at the end of the quarter in connection with the March 2018 Offering, partially offset by a decrease in the fair value of our long-term borrowings due to increases in market interest rates.
Subsequent to March 31, 2018:
Financing Activity: Obtained approximately $1.5 million of new, long-term borrowings from an existing lender at an expected effective interest rate of 4.24%, which is fixed for the next five years. Equity Activity: As a result of the underwriters’ exercise of the over-allotment option in connection with the March 2018 Offering, we issued and sold an additional 165,000 shares of common stock for net proceeds of approximately $1.9 million. Increased Distributions: Increased our distribution run rate by 0.1%, declaring monthly cash distributions of $0.0443 per share of common stock (including OP Units held outside of the Company) for each of April, May, and June 2018. This marks our 10th distribution increase over the past 40 months, during which time we’ve increased the distribution run rate by a total of 47.7%.
Comments from David Gladstone, President and CEO of the Gladstone Land: “This was another solid quarter for us, as we continued to earn the money needed to increase the distributions, and we continued to increase the number of farms owned, which, in turn, increases the amount of rent we hope to collect. There is a lot of uneasiness about tariffs having a negative impact on agricultural sales to China; however, we don’t believe there will be a significant impact on the crops grown on our farms. Since most of the crops grown by our farmers (e.g., berries and vegetables) are highly perishable, most of them are consumed within the U.S. and are not shipped over to China. There could be an impact to almond farms, but we do not believe that would pose a huge problem for our farmers because many of the almond farms we own grow organic almonds, and there is a large global shortage of organic almonds. We do have two small farms that grow corn and other grain crops that could be negatively impacted by tariffs, but this is a very small part of our overall farmland holdings.”
Conference Call for Stockholders: The Company will hold a conference call on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. EDT to discuss its earnings results. Please call (855) 363-1762 to enter the conference. An operator will monitor the call and set a queue for any questions. A conference call replay will be available beginning one hour after the call and will be accessible through May 16, 2018. To hear the replay, please dial (855) 859-2056, and use playback conference number 54444665. The live audio broadcast of the Company’s conference call will also be available online at the Company’s website, www.GladstoneLand.com . The event will be archived and available for replay on the Company’s website through July 9, 2018.
About Gladstone Land Corporation:
Gladstone Land is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust that invests in farmland and farm-related properties located in major agricultural markets in the U.S., which it leases to farmers. The Company reports the current fair value of its farmland on a quarterly basis; as of March 31, 2018, the estimated net asset value of the Company was $13.57 per share. Gladstone Land currently owns 75 farms, comprised of 63,351 acres in 9 different states across the U.S., valued at approximately $537 million. Its acreage is predominantly concentrated in locations where its tenants are able to grow fresh produce annual row crops (e.g., berries and vegetables), which are generally planted and harvested annually, as well as permanent crops (e.g., almonds, blueberries, and pistachios), which are planted every 10 to 20-plus years. The Company may also acquire property related to farming, such as cooling facilities, processing buildings, packaging facilities, and distribution centers. Gladstone Land pays monthly distributions to its stockholders, and the current per-share distribution is $0.0443 per month, or $0.5316 per year. The Company has paid 63 consecutive monthly cash distributions on its common stock since its initial public offering in January 2013. Additional information can be found at www.GladstoneLand.com and www.GladstoneFarms.com .
Owners or brokers who have farmland for sale in the U.S. should contact:
Bill Frisbie at (703) 287-5839 or [email protected] – Eastern U.S. Bill Reiman at (805) 263-4778 or [email protected] – Western U.S. Bill Hughes at (618) 606-2887 or [email protected] – Midwest U.S.
Lenders who are interested in providing us with long-term financing on farmland should contact Jay Beckhorn at (703) 587-5823 or [email protected] .
For stockholder information on Gladstone Land, call (703) 287-5893. For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly dividend-paying Gladstone funds, please visit www.Gladstone.com .
Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
FFO: The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) developed FFO as a relative non-GAAP supplemental measure of operating performance of an equity REIT in order to recognize that income-producing real estate historically has not depreciated on the basis determined under GAAP. FFO, as defined by NAREIT, is net income (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of property and impairment losses on property, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. The Company believes that FFO per share provides investors with an additional context for evaluating its financial performance and as a supplemental measure to compare it to other REITs; however, comparisons of its FFO to the FFO of other REITs may not necessarily be meaningful due to potential differences in the application of the NAREIT definition used by such other REITs.
CFFO: CFFO is FFO, adjusted for items that are not indicative of the results provided by the Company’s operating portfolio and affect the comparability of the Company’s period-over-period performance. These items include certain non-recurring items, such as acquisition-related expenses, income tax provisions and property and casualty losses or recoveries. Although the Company’s calculation of CFFO differs from NAREIT’s definition of FFO and may not be comparable to that of other REITs, the Company believes it is a meaningful supplemental measure of its sustainable operating performance. Accordingly, CFFO should be considered a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. For a full explanation of the adjustments made to arrive at CFFO, please read the Company’s Form 10-Q, filed today with the SEC.
AFFO: AFFO is CFFO, adjusted for certain non-cash items, such as the straight-lining of rents and amortizations into rental income (resulting in cash rent being recognized ratably over the period in which the cash rent is earned). Although the Company’s calculation of AFFO differs from NAREIT’s definition of FFO and may not be comparable to that of other REITs, the Company believes it is a meaningful supplemental measure of its sustainable operating performance on a cash basis. Accordingly, AFFO should be considered a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. For a full explanation of the adjustments made to arrive at AFFO, please read the Company’s Form 10-Q, filed today with the SEC.
The Company’s presentation of FFO, as defined by NAREIT, or CFFO or AFFO, as defined above, does not represent cash flows from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered an alternative to net income as an indication of its performance or to cash flow from operations as a measure of liquidity or ability to make distributions.
NAV: Pursuant to a valuation policy approved by our board of directors, our valuation team, with oversight from the chief valuation officer, provides recommendations of value for our properties to our board of directors, who then review and approve the fair values of our properties. Per our valuation policy, our valuations are derived based on either the purchase price of the property; values as determined by an independent, third-party appraiser; or through an internal valuation process, which process is, in turn, based on values as determined by independent, third-party appraisers. In any case, we intend to have each property valued by an independent, third-party appraiser at least once every three years, or more frequently in some instances. Various methodologies are used, both by the appraisers and in our internal valuations, to determine the fair value of our real estate on a fee simple, “As Is” basis, including the sales comparison, income capitalization (or a discounted cash flow analysis), and cost approaches of valuation. NAV is a non-GAAP, supplemental measure of financial position of an equity REIT and is calculated as total equity, adjusted for the increase or decrease in fair value of our real estate assets and encumbrances relative to their respective costs bases. Further, we calculate NAV per share by dividing NAV by our total shares outstanding (inclusive of both our common stock and OP Units held outside of the Company). A reconciliation of NAV to total equity, to which the Company believes is the most directly-comparable GAAP measure, is provided below (dollars in thousands, except per-share amount):
Total equity per balance sheet $ 131,968 Fair value adjustment for long-term assets: Less: net cost basis of tangible and intangible real estate holdings (1) $ (461,186 ) Plus: estimated fair value of real estate holdings (2) 537,378 Net fair value adjustment for real estate holdings 76,192 Fair value adjustment for long-term liabilities: Plus: book value of aggregate long-term indebtedness (3) 319,880 Less: fair value of aggregate long-term indebtedness (3)(4) (308,360 ) Net fair value adjustment for long-term indebtedness 11,520 Estimated NAV $ 219,680 Total shares outstanding (5) 16,186,804 Estimated NAV per common share $ 13.57
(1) Consists of the initial acquisition price (including the costs allocated to both tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed), plus subsequent improvements and other capitalized costs associated with the properties, and adjusted for accumulated depreciation and amortization. (2) As determined by the Company's valuation policy and approved by its board of directors. (3) Includes the principal balances outstanding of all long-term borrowings (consisting of mortgage notes and bonds payable) and the Series A Term Preferred Stock. (4) Long-term mortgage notes and bonds payable were valued using a discounted cash flow model. The Series A Term Preferred Stock was valued based on its closing stock price as of March 31, 2018. (5) Includes 15,216,199 shares of common stock and 970,605 OP Units held by non-controlling limited partners. Comparison of estimated NAV and estimated NAV per share to similarly-titled measures for other REITs may not necessarily be meaningful due to possible differences in the calculation or application of the definition of NAV used by such REITs. In addition, the trading price of our common shares may differ significantly from our most recent estimated NAV per share calculation. The Company’s independent auditors have neither audited nor reviewed our calculation of NAV or NAV per share. For a full explanation of our valuation policy, please read the Company’s Form 10-Q, filed today with the SEC.
CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
Certain statements in this press release, including, but not limited to, the Company’s ability to maintain or grow its portfolio and FFO, expected increases in capitalization rates, benefits from increases in farmland values, increases in operating revenues, and the increase in net asset value per share, are “ ” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These inherently involve certain risks and uncertainties, although they are based on the Company’s current plans that are believed to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. Factors that may cause materially from these include, but are not limited to, the Company’s ability to procure financing for investments, downturns in the current economic environment, the performance of its tenants, the impact of competition on its efforts to renew existing leases or re-lease real property, and significant changes in interest rates. Additional factors that could cause materially from those stated or implied by its are disclosed under the caption “Risk Factors” within the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, as filed with the SEC on February 20, 2018, and its Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2018, as filed with the SEC on May 8, 2018, and certain other documents filed with the SEC from time to time. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such , which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any , whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
Gladstone Land Corporation, +1-703-287-5893
Source:Gladstone Land Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/globe-newswire-gladstone-land-announces-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
May 5, 2018 / 11:26 AM / Updated 15 minutes ago Atlas 5 rocket launches, sending NASA's robot to Mars Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
(Reuters) - An Atlas 5 rocket soared into space early on Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying NASA’s first robotic lander designed for exploring the deep interior of another planet on its voyage to Mars. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas-V rocket is seen with NASA's InSight spacecraft onboard, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, U.S., May 3, 2018. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to study the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core. Picture taken on May 3, 2018. Courtesy of NASA/Bill Ingalls/Handout via REUTERS
The Mars InSight probe lifted off from the central California coast at 4:05 a.m. PDT, treating early-rising residents across a wide swath of the state to the luminous predawn spectacle of the first U.S. interplanetary spacecraft to be launched over the Pacific. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Janet Lawrence | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-space-mars-launch/atlas-5-rocket-launches-sending-nasas-robot-to-mars-idUKKBN1I60DH |
'Mahathir has been a game-changer' this time around: Professor 10:50 PM ET Tue, 8 May 2018 Bridget Welsh of John Cabot University says there has been "a growing sentiment" against the Barisan Nasional party in Malaysia. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/08/mahathir-has-been-a-game-changer-this-time-around-professor.html |
MADRID (Reuters) - Factbox on the Spain national team ahead of the 2018 World Cup:
FIFA ranking: 8 (till June 7)
Previous tournaments:
Spain have played in 14 World Cups and qualified for every edition since 1978. They have won it once, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the 2010 final in South Africa with an extra-time strike from Andres Iniesta.
Before then they had reached the quarter-finals in 1934, 1986, 1994 and 2002 but lost every time. As holders they suffered a shock elimination from the group stage in 2014.
Coach: Julen Lopetegui
Former goalkeeper Lopetegui spent most of his career with Logrones and Rayo Vallecano and had brief stints at Real Madrid and Barcelona. He made one appearance for Spain and was an unused substitute at the 1994 World Cup.
He coached Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid’s reserve team before going into Spain’s youth team set-up, leading the under-21 team to glory at the 2013 European Championship with a side containing future first teamers Isco, Koke and David de Gea.
After being sacked following a trophy-less 18 months at FC Porto he was named Vicente del Bosque’s successor in July 2016. He has rejuvenated the squad with many of his former charges from the under-21 side and helped them to recover their attacking flair, refocusing on a possession-based style of play but making them faster and more dangerous on the counter-attack.
Key players:
Isco: Lopetegui knows how to get the best out of the Real Madrid playmaker. He can play across midfield, behind the striker or even as a deep lying center-forward and ran riot in impressive wins over Italy and Argentina.
Andres Iniesta: The Barcelona veteran has conducted Spain’s all-powerful midfield for more than a decade and was the heartbeat of their world dominance between 2008 and 2012.
Still as masterful on the ball as ever at 34 years of age, he will be looking for one last hurrah in Russia before quitting international football and leaving Barca.
Sergio Ramos: The center back and captain has developed a win-at-all-costs mentality and knows exactly how to manage the biggest games. An unforgiving opponent for attackers due to his physical presence and never-say-die attitude, Ramos’s experience of four Champions League finals with Real Madrid and five major tournaments will be vital to Spain’s hopes.
Form guide:
Spain have not lost since their Euro 2016 last-16 defeat to Italy and have won 13 out of 18 games with Lopetegui, drawing five. They comprehensively beat France and Belgium in international friendlies and proved their credentials by ripping apart Argentina 6-1 in their last outing.
How they qualified:
Spain breezed their way through qualifying by winning every game aside from a 1-1 draw away to Italy, whom they outclassed 3-0 at home to finish above them and top of their group, scoring 36 goals in 10 games.
Prospects:
Spain will face a testing opener against European champions Portugal which is likely to determine whether they finish top of Group B, which also contains Iran and Morocco.
If they win the group they are likely to face either Uruguay or Egypt in the last 16, with a possible quarter-final against Argentina, Croatia or France coming next.
Given the talent in the squad and their form under Lopetegui, a semi-final appearance should be the minimal target, although they will feel confident they can go all the way.
Reporting by Richard Martin; editing by Martyn Herman
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-esp-factbox/soccer-spain-world-cup-factbox-idUSKCN1IM1P2 |
SYCAMORE, Ill., May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IDEAL Tool Group, with iconic American brand SK Professional Tools, plus Pratt Read and Western Forge, announced today a new Vice President of Sales, Chris Sanford. In his newly appointed role, Sanford will lead and execute initiatives to support the growth of SK’s distribution channel, including automotive, industrial and mobile trucks. He will also lead the development of retail channels for IDEAL Tool Group.
New Vice President of Sales for IDEAL Tool Group
“Chris has the breadth and depth of marketplace knowledge, unique industry insights and energy needed to propel us into the future,” said Jim Gillis, General Manager for IDEAL Tool Group. “We’re very excited to have him join the IDEAL family.”
Sanford most recently served as a senior director of industrial national accounts for APEX Tool Group, one of the largest manufacturers of professional hand and power tools in the world. He re-engineered the sales team to increase productivity and played a critical role in driving multi-million dollar revenue.
With more than 20 years of sales success, Sanford has a history of producing stellar revenue growth and driving operational excellence internally.
“I’ve always had great respect for SK’s commitment to American-made innovation,” said Sanford. “Right now, the IDEAL Tool Group brands are experiencing tremendous momentum. I’m excited to help keep that force moving and continue to push these great brands forward.”
About SK Professional Tools
Today, as part of IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC., SK Professional Tools manufactures over 3,000 products, continuing their commitment to providing American-made innovation to the toughest automotive tradesmen in the world. SK has been trusted by generations of mechanics for its broad line of high-quality, American-made tools that includes sockets, wrenches, ratchets, hammers and screwdrivers. Learn more by visiting https://www.sktools.com .
About IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC.
IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. is a global, diversified family business designing and manufacturing superior products and tools for professional tradesmen in the electrical, wire processing, data communications, aerospace, automotive and construction industries. The 102-year old company was founded in 1916 on the premise of forging ideal relationships with customers, employees and communities. The company has consistently grown and expanded across five generations of family ownership.
Contact:
Anthony Filomena
E: [email protected]
P: 312.464.1666
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/34a25f0e-8561-4642-93cd-95ba9abf6001
Source: IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/globe-newswire-ideal-tool-group-taps-former-apex-tool-group-director-to-lead-salesforce.html |
(Reuters) - Egypt’s Mohamed Salah’s shoulder injury will keep him out of action for three to four weeks, Liverpool’s club physio said, as the forward tries to recover in time for the World Cup.
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League Final - Real Madrid v Liverpool - NSC Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine - May 26, 2018 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah looks dejected after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Hannah McKay The 25-year-old winger is desperate to play for Egypt in only their third World Cup and their first for 38 years.
“He is sad about what happened but is totally focused on recovery, seeing when he can be ready,” physio Ruben Pons told Spanish sports newspaper Marca of the injury to Salah during Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid.
“In principle it will be between three and four weeks but we will try to reduce those dates, that’s the big goal,” he added.
Egypt begin their campaign in World Cup Group A against Uruguay on June 15, before facing hosts Russia on June 19 and Saudi Arabia on June 25, meaning if Salah takes four weeks to recover he could be fit in time for the knock-out phases.
Egypt reached the tournament after Salah scored a 95th minute penalty to help them beat Congo 2-1 in October.
Salah, who scored 44 goals in a sensational first season for Liverpool after joining from Roma, was voted Player of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association this month, completing a sweep of England’s individual prizes and becoming the first African player to win the prestigious award.
Reporting by Rik Sharma; Editing by Alexander Smith
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-egy-salah/soccer-egypts-salah-out-for-up-to-four-weeks-says-liverpool-physio-idUSKCN1IV11T |
The U.S. Department of Justice opened a criminal probe into the possibility that traders are manipulating the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to a report from Bloomberg .
The investigation surrounds the practice of spoofing — where an investor places orders that are intended to manipulate the price of an instrument — and flooding the market with fake orders, the report said Thursday, citing four unnamed people familiar with the probe.
Federal prosecutors are also working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, it added.
show chapters SEC eyes crackdown on cryptocurrency 10:59 AM ET Wed, 23 May 2018 | 04:17 The price of bitcoin fell on the news to $7,339, and was down more than 6 percent, according to bitcoin exchange Coinbase.
Volatility in the cryptocurrency market has led to scrutiny from authorities around the world, who are scrambling to figure out ways to clamp down on speculative trading and illegal activities.
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The Department of Justice declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.
You can read the full report by Bloomberg here .
WATCH: How to start your very own cryptocurrency show chapters How to start your very own cryptocurrency 7:15 AM ET Wed, 9 May 2018 | 03:13 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/us-opens-criminal-probe-into-bitcoin-price-manipulation-bloomberg.html |
May 9, 2018 / 1:37 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX opens higher led by the energy group Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
May 9 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Wednesday, led by shares of energy companies, as oil prices gained after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran.
* At 9:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 44.23 points, or 0.28 percent, to 15,886.94. (Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open/canada-stocks-tsx-opens-higher-led-by-the-energy-group-idUSL3N1SG5DC |
May 7, 2018 / 10:25 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Philippines seeks parts from Japan for "Huey" helicopters Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines is talking to Japan about acquiring spare parts for its UH-1H “Huey” helicopters, the air force commander said on Monday, after a deal for new Canadian choppers collapsed this year.
The $96 million parts package would keep about 80 U.S.-made Bell utility helicopters flying until 2020 when the Philippines expects to take delivery of new aircraft, Lieutenant-General Galileo Kintanar, the air force chief, told Reuters.
Japan eased a decades-old arms export ban in 2014, allowing for weapons exports and participation in joint arms programs when they serve international peace and Japan’s security.
Two years later, the Philippines agreed to lease from Japan five TC-90 aircraft to help patrol the disputed South China Sea, where China is expanding its military presence.
Kintanar said an agreement for the helicopter parts would be finalised in the third quarter of this year.
President Rodrigo Duterte canceled a deal in February to buy 16 new Bell 412 EPI helicopters worth $233 million from Canada, whose government expressed concern they could be used to fight rebels.
The new aircraft would have begun to replace the second-hand Vietnam War-era Huey helicopters that are the workhorse of the Philippine air force.
Since then, the Philippines military has said China, Russia, South Korea and Turkey have shown interest in selling new helicopters to Manila.
“We will definitely sign a contract for the brand-new combat utility helicopters this year,” Kintanar said, without giving more details.
The new helicopters are expected to be delivered by 2020.
($1 = 51.8910 Philippine pesos) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-defence-japan/philippines-seeks-parts-from-japan-for-huey-helicopters-idUKKBN1I80ZG |
May 2 (Reuters) - JMU Ltd:
* JMU ANNOUNCES CHANGE TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-jmu-announces-change-to-board-of-d/brief-jmu-announces-change-to-board-of-directors-idUSASC09YZI |
May 3, 2018 / 1:34 PM / in 14 minutes BRIEF-AG Mortgage Investment Trust Files For Mixed Shelf Of Upto $750 Mln Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
May 3 (Reuters) - AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc:
* AG MORTGAGE INVESTMENT TRUST INC FILES FOR MIXED SHELF OF UPTO $750 MILLION - SEC FILING Source text: [ bit.ly/2JS4J2i ] Further company coverage: | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ag-mortgage-investment-trust-files/brief-ag-mortgage-investment-trust-files-for-mixed-shelf-of-upto-750-mln-idUSFWN1SA15X |
May 21, 2018 / 10:43 AM / Updated 30 minutes ago May's spokesman says cannot comment on Russian billionaire's Abramovich visa delay Reuters Staff 1 British Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Monday the government could not comment on why Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s visa was yet to be renewed.
Abramovich, best known in Britain as the owner of Premier League soccer club Chelsea, is in the process of renewing his visa as part of a standard procedure after it expired last month but it is taking longer than usual, sources told Reuters on Sunday.
Relations between Moscow and London have been strained since the poisoning former Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in March, an act Britain has blamed on Russia but in which the Kremlin denies any involvement. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper. Writing by Michael Holden, Editing by Andrew MacAskill | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-russia-abramovich/mays-spokesman-says-cannot-comment-on-russian-billionaires-abramovich-visa-delay-idUKKCN1IM0YZ |
May 14, 2018 / 9:17 AM / in 7 hours Major League Baseball roundup: Williams blast lifts Phillies past Mets Reuters Staff 10 Min Read
Nick Williams hit a go-ahead three-run, pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning Sunday afternoon as the Philadelphia Phillies came back to defeat the visiting New York Mets 4-2. May 13, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Williams (5) celebrates his three run home run with second baseman Scott Kingery (4) during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
The Phillies won for the fifth time in six games to earn a split of the series shortened to two games by rain. The Mets have lost 17 of 25 since an 11-1 start.
Yoenis Cespedes homered in the top of the sixth to put the Mets in position to overcome an abbreviated start by Jacob deGrom, who was lifted after throwing 45 pitches in a scoreless first tinning. The New York ace as a precaution due to the pitch count in his first outing back from the disabled list.
In the bottom of the sixth, Mets reliever Paul Sewald (0-3) gave up a leadoff double to Carlos Santana and issued a one-out walk to Scott Kingery. With two outs, Williams stepped to the plate for starting pitcher Aaron Nola (6-1) and crushed a 2-1 pitch deep into the right field seats for his second career pinch-hit homer.
Angels 2, Twins 1
Zack Cozart’s single in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Chris Young from second base to lift Los Angeles past visiting Minnesota in Anaheim, Calif.
Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani had another impressive performance on the mound despite a no-decision. Ohtani gave up just one run on three hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings, striking out 11.
Twins reliever Zach Duke (2-2) hit Young with a pitch to start the ninth inning. Martin Maldonado followed with a sacrifice bunt, moving the runner to second and bringing up Cozart, who swung at Duke’s first pitch and lined it into left field, Young scoring without a throw.
White Sox 5, Cubs 3
Matt Davidson homered and knocked in two runs, including the tiebreaker, as the visiting Chicago White Sox avoided a series sweep at the hands of their cross-town rival.
Lucas Giolito (2-4) survived seven walks and five stolen bases in his 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win. Giolito allowed only two hits and three runs, recording three strikeouts. Three relievers notched the last 10 outs, with Bruce Rondon working the ninth inning for his first save.
Kyle Hendricks (3-3) was tagged with the loss for the Cubs, yielding six hits and four runs, three earned, over six innings. The Cubs’ five-game winning streak ended.
Yankees 6, A’s 2
Giancarlo Stanton homered and had four hits as host New York beat Oakland following a rain delay of two hours, 45 minutes.
Stanton helped the Yankees win for the 19th time in 22 games by producing his second four-hit game of the season, with the first three hits off left-hander Brett Anderson (0-2). After his big day, Stanton is batting .429 (15-for-35) with seven homers and 15 RBIs off left-handed pitching.
Luis Severino (6-1) allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out seven, won his fourth straight decision and allowed one run or none for the 21st time since the start of last season.
Nationals 6, Diamondbacks 4
Mark Reynolds hit two homers in his season debut, and Bryce Harper and Trea Turner also homered as Washington completed a four-game sweep of Arizona in Phoenix.
Reynolds hit a solo shot in the sixth inning and added a tiebreaking, two-run homer with one out in the eighth off Archie Bradley (0-1). He also singled in his first game since his contract was purchased from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday when Ryan Zimmerman was placed on the disabled list. The Nationals won for the 13th time in 15 games.
A.J. Pollock and Ketel Marte had two hits, Jarrod Dyson had a two-run single, and David Peralta and Daniel Descalso knocked in runs for the Diamondbacks. Arizona has lost a season-high five in a row and eight of 11. May 13, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Tigers 5, Mariners 4
Jose Iglesias smacked a game-winning single, Niko Goodrum homered and scored twice, and Detroit edged visiting Seattle. The Mariners lost second baseman Robinson Cano for an indefinite period with a fractured fifth metacarpal on his right hand after being hit by a pitch in the third inning.
Mariners left-hander James Paxton got a no-decision in his first start since his no-hitter at Toronto on Tuesday. He gave up three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in six innings.
JaCoby Jones led off the ninth against Juan Nicasio (1-2) with an infield single. Goodrum advanced him to third with another single, and Iglesias then slapped an opposite-field single against the drawn-in infield.
Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3
J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer and added an RBI single as visiting Boston defeated Toronto in the rubber match of a three-game series.
The win went to reliever Hector Velazquez (5-0), who allowed two hits and struck out two in two innings. Joe Kelly pitched a perfect ninth to earn his second save of the season.
Toronto’s Joe Biagini (0-2), recalled from Triple-A Buffalo for the start, allowed four runs, four hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out three.
Brewers 7, Rockies 3
Freddy Peralta struck out 13 in his major league debut as Milwaukee beat Colorado to win three of four in a weekend series at Denver.
Peralta (1-0), whose parents watched him pitch as a professional for the first time, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before allowing a one-out single to David Dahl. He then struck out Charlie Blackmon and left after throwing 98 pitches.
Travis Shaw and Jesus Aguilar homered and Domingo Santana had three hits for Milwaukee. Dahl and Tony Wolters homered, and Jon Gray (4-5) allowed six runs on 10 hits and fanned 10 for the Rockies.
Astros 6, Rangers 1
Dallas Keuchel worked seven shutout innings while Evan Gattis and Carlos Correa both homered for a second consecutive game as Houston claimed the rubber match of its three-game series against visiting Texas.
Keuchel (3-5) continued what has been a bounce-back month of May, allowing just three hits and one walk while recording a season-high eight strikeouts. After surrendering six earned runs in his final start of April, Keuchel has allowed four runs on 14 hits and three walks with 17 strikeouts over 22 innings this month, posting back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Carlos Perez smacked a solo home run, his first, off Hector Rondon to get the Rangers on the board in the eighth inning. Texas totaled three runs in the series. Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre aggravated a left hamstring injury in the seventh.
Reds 5, Dodgers 3
Luis Castillo pitched effectively into the seventh inning, and Eugenio Suarez and Joey Votto supported him with two-run home runs, helping visiting Cincinnati complete a stunning four-game sweep of Los Angeles. Slideshow (9 Images)
The Reds, who began the series with the worst record in the National League, limited the Dodgers to nine runs in four games, extending their winning streak to six straight.
Castillo (3-4) allowed solo home runs to Yasiel Puig in the third inning and Yasmani Grandal in the seventh but otherwise limited the Dodgers to just two other hits and one unearned run in six-plus innings. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter.
Braves 4, Marlins 3
Sean Newcomb pitched six scoreless innings, and Ender Inciarte slugged a two-run homer as Atlanta held on to win at Miami.
Miami had just one hit — a double by Brian Anderson — entering the ninth. However, after singles by Starlin Castro and J.B. Shuck, Justin Bour hit his third pinch-hit homer of the season.
Braves reliever Jesse Biddle allowed the two singles before making way for Arodys Vizcaino, who gave up the upper-deck homer by Bour. Vizcaino recovered to retire Miami’s final three batters to pick up his seventh save of the season.
Padres 5, Cardinals 3
Clayton Richard yielded two runs on five hits over eight innings, and San Diego ruined Adam Wainwright’s return from the disabled list, holding on to gain a split of the four-game series against visiting St. Louis.
Richard (2-5) picked up the win to snap a four-decision losing streak. He walked one while equaling his career high of 10 strikeouts.
Wainwright, 36, came off the disabled list to make his first start since April 23. He had missed four starts due to inflammation in his right elbow. He allowed two runs on three hits and issued a career-high six walks with three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
Indians 11, Royals 2
Jose Ramirez, Yan Gomes and Michael Brantley hit home runs to back the strong pitching of Corey Kluber, lifting the Cleveland to a victory over visiting Kansas City. The Indians took two of three in the series.
Staked to a 5-0 lead in the second inning, Kluber (6-2) became the American League’s first six-game winner, allowing just two runs, both of which were unearned, in seven innings. He gave up eight hits and did not walk a batter, striking out four.
The Indians took advantage of the Royals’ inability to turn a double play on either of two fielder’s choice ground balls to score five times in the second inning, with Ramirez capping the uprising with a three-run homer off Kansas City starter Danny Duffy (1-5).
Giants 5, Pirates 0
Derek Holland pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, and San Francisco scored five runs in the sixth, including two homers, to break a season-worst, six-game losing streak with a win at Pittsburgh.
Holland (1-3) collected his first road win since last May 21, going 0-9 in 12 outings away from home in the interim. He allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked five.
Relievers Reyes Moronta, Will Smith and Hunter Strickland preserved the shutout and Gorkys Hernandez and Nick Hundley hit homers in the sixth-inning outburst. Pittsburgh had its five-game winning streak halted and missed a chance to sweep the series.
Orioles 17, Rays 1
Joey Rickard made his return to the major leagues in style, hitting two homers and driving in five runs as Baltimore ripped Tampa Bay to win for the fifth time in six games.
Rickard hit a solo homer in the second inning and got the big hit in a seven-run fourth inning, a three-run blast to give Baltimore an 11-0 lead.
Danny Valencia and Rickard hit back-to-back homers off starter Blake Snell (4-3) in the second for a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning, Trey Mancini banged a third solo homer.
—Field Level Media | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-baseball-mlb/major-league-baseball-roundup-williams-blast-lifts-phillies-past-mets-idUSKCN1IF10I |
BAGHDAD—Iraq’s Shiite militias used artillery and ammunition provided by Iran to fight Islamic State. Now, some of those Tehran-backed militias have effectively morphed into political parties poised to expand their role through Iraqi elections on Saturday.
The main alliance running against Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s bloc is dominated by political factions with ties to Iran, such as a party called Victorious that is linked to the Master of the Martyrs Brigades militia in 2016.
... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-backed-militias-seek-political-sway-in-iraq-1525944600 |
Reference is made to the first quarter 2018 report released on May 31, 2018. Golar LNG has declared a total dividend of $0.05 per share to be paid on July 5, 2018. The record date will be June 14, 2018.
Golar LNG Limited
Hamilton, Bermuda
31 May, 2018
Source:Golar LNG Limited | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/31/globe-newswire-golar-lng-dividend-information.html |
May 10 (Reuters) - Histogenics Corp:
* ORATION ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS
* Q1 LOSS PER SHARE $0.52 * Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $-0.22 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* HISTOGENICS - TOP-LINE SUPERIORITY DATA FROM NEOCART PHASE 3 CLINICAL TRIAL, POTENTIAL BLA SUBMISSION ON TRACK FOR Q3 OF 2018
* AS OF MARCH 31, 2018, CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND MARKETABLE SECURITIES OF $15.5 MILLION, VERSUS $8.0 MILLION AT DECEMBER 31, 2017
* BELIEVES ITS CURRENT CASH POSITION WILL BE SUFFICIENT TO FUND ITS OPERATIONS INTO Q4 OF 2018 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-histogenics-reports-q1-loss-per-sh/brief-histogenics-reports-q1-loss-per-share-of-0-52-idUSASC0A1BL |
Bull market is still in the 6th inning, says Sandip Bhagat 12:30am IST - 05:54
Whittier Trust's CIO tells Reuters' Fred Katayama that with no signs of a recession, stocks can extend their rally a few more years.
Whittier Trust's CIO tells Reuters' Fred Katayama that with no signs of a recession, stocks can extend their rally a few more years. //reut.rs/2GHa4al | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/22/bull-market-is-still-in-the-6th-inning-s?videoId=429385346 |
May 2, 2018 / 6:17 PM / Updated 27 minutes ago Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition to nominate jailed ex-leader for presidency Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition party said on Wednesday it would nominate former co-leader Selahattin Demirtas, who is jailed on security charges, to run for president in the June 24 snap election.
Demirtas’s People’s Democratic Party (HDP) commands only about 10-12 percent support, but he is still likely to draw significant backing in a first round presidential vote against President Tayyip Erdogan and other candidates.
Pollsters also say that as a presidential candidate Demirtas would probably the boost the prospects of the HDP in the parliamentary part of the June 24 election.
Demirtas, one of Turkey’s best-known politicians, won votes beyond his Kurdish core constituency in recent elections and in 2015 helped make the HDP the second biggest opposition force in parliament.
“We are coming together to share our joy in Selahattin Demirtas’s candidacy for president,” the party’s current leaders said in a letter inviting supporters to a rally on Friday where the formal announcement of Demirtas’s candidacy will be made.
The HDP had said last week it was highly likely that Demirtas would be nominated and one of his lawyers on Wednesday told Reuters there was no legal obstacle to him standing despite ongoing legal cases against him.
Demirtas is charged with links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and faces up to 142 years in jail if convicted. Turkish law bars those convicted of terrorism charges from running in elections. He has denied the charges.
Nine other members of the HDP have also been jailed, convicted or are awaiting trial for alleged links to PKK militants. The HDP denies direct ties to the PKK, which has been waging an insurgency in the mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984.
The two other main opposition parties, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the fledgling Iyi (Good) Party, have decided to join two smaller groups in an election alliance, a CHP official said on Wednesday.
The deal with the Islamist Saadet Party and the Democrat Party creates a broad coalition against Erdogan’s ruling alliance and will enable the two smaller parties to sidestep a 10 percent threshold needed to enter parliament. Reporting by Gulsen Solaker in Ankara; Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Mark Heinrich | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/turkey-election-hdp/turkeys-pro-kurdish-opposition-to-nominate-jailed-ex-leader-for-presidency-idINKBN1I32LJ |
LOWELL, Mass., May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jabra , a leader in engineering professional headsets and sound solutions, today reported two changes to Senior Leadership. Kelly Nagel, formerly Vice President of Distribution, is being promoted to President and GM for Jabra North America (NA), effective July 1, 2018. This promotion serves as a reflection of Kelly's leadership in aggressively driving sales and channel growth in the North American market. As President and GM for Jabra in North America, Kelly will continue to drive the company's proven growth strategies.
Kelly is an industry veteran with more than 20+ years of IT Channel market experience and joined Jabra in 2016 from OKI Data and Ingram Micro where she held several senior leadership positions, developed strong insights to channel structures and strategies in the U.S. and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Throughout her career she has maintained a successful track record of tackling new challenges, including co-launching the Jabra Women's Network earlier this year.
Most Recently, Kelly served as Vice President of Distribution for Jabra, where she helped strengthen the distributor and channel partner ecosystem. As a member of the NA leadership team, she delivered a formidable contribution to the success of Jabra's overarching business strategy.
"Our market strategy has proven to be extraordinarily successful across the last few years, launching Jabra to the title of leading supplier of Unified Communications Headsets worldwide. The appointment of Kelly Nagel to this top leadership position will continue our ambitious expansion in this space," said René Svendsen-Tune, CEO of Jabra.
The previous President of Business Solutions, Paul Hamnett, who joined Jabra in 2015, has decided to relocate back to his native U.K. with his family and will voluntarily vacate his post after a very successful tenure. His strong leadership and unparalleled business acumen were mission critical to Jabra's achievement of double-digit growth in a very competitive industry. Paul will remain in the GN Group based in Europe.
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jabra-names-kelly-nagel-gm-for-jabra-north-america-na-300654363.html
SOURCE Jabra | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/pr-newswire-jabra-names-kelly-nagel-gm-for-jabra-north-america-na.html |
May 25, 2018 / 6:45 PM / Updated an hour ago Exclusive: Tesla flies in new battery production line for Gigafactory Edward Taylor , Alexandria Sage 5 Min Read
FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) has flown six planes full of robots and equipment from Europe to California in an unusual, high-stakes effort to speed up battery production for its Model 3 electric sedan, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week. FILE PHOTO: A man cleans a Tesla Model 3 car during a media preview at the Auto China 2018 motor show in Beijing, China April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
Transporting equipment for a production line by air is costly and hardly ever done in the automotive industry, and the move underscores Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk’s urgency to get a grip on manufacturing problems that have hobbled the launch of the high-volume Model 3 and pushed Tesla’s finances deep into the red.
“As usual with Tesla, everything is being done in a massive hurry and money seems to be no obstacle,” said one of the two sources.
Tesla on Friday declined to comment on whether it has shipped in any new production equipment from Europe.
Investors are closely watching Tesla and its high-profile, often brash CEO to see if the upstart electric vehicle maker can pull off high-volume production of the Model 3, a car with the potential to catapult the niche automaker to a mass producer and assure its financial stability.
But manufacturing missteps have led Tesla to repeatedly miss production targets for the sedan, and raised doubts about Musk’s promises that the company will stop burning cash by the third quarter of this year. Tesla had free cash flow of negative $1 billion in the first quarter, and earlier this month disclosed that it could offer its Fremont, California, vehicle assembly plant as collateral for debt.
Engineers from Tesla’s German engineering arm, Grohmann, are now reworking the battery production line at the Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada, in a bid to free up bottlenecks, the person said. The line will become more automated gradually over time, added the source, who was not authorized to speak for attribution.
Musk first disclosed plans for this line on a conference call with analysts in November, after complaining of problems with an original line built by a subcontractor.
Musk has told investors the new battery production line will help the carmaker achieve a quantum leap in productivity. The company has noted, however, that it will still be able to reach its target of building 5,000 Model 3s per week by June without the addition of the new line.
But Tesla’s lack of consistency in its factories has undercut Musk’s production promises in the past.
Under time pressure to fix problems, Musk has now insisted the new production line should be a no-expenses-spared effort, the source said. That led to the decision to airlift the new production equipment to the United States from Europe, a step carmakers usually avoid by planning production equipment installations months or years ahead of a production launch.
The shipments of new equipment began arriving in Reno this week, the two sources told Reuters.
It is not clear when the new production system will be ready to start running. Robots frequently need to be recalibrated to adjust for minimal differences in the quality of raw materials they are working with or temperature and humidity differences. Steps to test the quality of materials and recalibrate robots have proven to be a bottleneck that Tesla managers had underestimated, the first source said.
Musk has repeatedly complained of “manufacturing hell” trying to ramp up the Model 3, which began production, albeit slowly, last July.
In February, Musk said the main bottleneck was still its battery module production, saying Tesla had become “a little overconfident, a little complacent” in its ability to execute.
The Gigafactory’s battery production is divided into four zones, two of which have experienced problems. Responsibility for two of these zones was originally delegated to subcontractors specialised in integrating complex systems, Musk said.
“We were promised they would work, and it just didn’t work,” Musk said during a February conference call. A new design for an automated system for those zones was nearing completion, Musk said in November, adding that Grohmann was “working on the issue and making very rapid progress.”
One of the problems, both at the Gigafactory and at Tesla’s Fremont vehicle manufacturing factory, has been the interface between Tesla and the subcontractors it hires. Sources have told Reuters of communication problems and high managerial turnover, which complicate the execution of big projects.
Musk said in early May he planned to rid the company of “barnacles” – contractors and subcontractors – saying Tesla’s reliance on them had become “out of control.” Reporting by Edward Taylor in Frankfurt and Alexandria Sage in San Francisco; Editing by Joe White and Matthew Lewis | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/tesla-gigafactory-production/exclusive-tesla-flies-in-new-battery-production-line-for-gigafactory-idINKCN1IQ2SN |
May 1 (Reuters) - Xalles Holdings Inc:
* XALLES HOLDINGS INC. ACQUIRES CO-OWNERS REWARDS INC. Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-xalles-holdings-inc-acquires-co-ow/brief-xalles-holdings-inc-acquires-co-owners-rewards-inc-idUSASC09YKR |
The NFL made sweeping changes to its national anthem policy Wednesday in a bid to quell a controversy that has rattled the league for two years and drew the ire of President Donald Trump.
Under a new policy approved by NFL owners this week at a meeting in Atlanta, teams can be fined if their players are on the field during the national anthem and do not “stand and show respect” for the flag. Players, however, now can elect to remain in the locker room until after the national anthem. They had previously been required to be... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-adopts-new-anthem-policy-to-quell-player-protests-1527094309 |
Stocks, oil & dollar rise as trade war put "on hold" 9:41am EDT - 01:36
Stocks, oil prices and the dollar were on the rise on Monday after the U.S.-China trade war was declared ''on hold'', while in Europe, Italy's borrowing costs climbed and the Milan bourse retreated as two anti-establishment parties got closer to power. Sonia Legg reports
Stocks, oil prices and the dollar were on the rise on Monday after the U.S.-China trade war was declared "on hold", while in Europe, Italy's borrowing costs climbed and the Milan bourse retreated as two anti-establishment parties got closer to power. Sonia Legg reports //reut.rs/2wULeEq | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/21/stocks-oil-dollar-rise-as-trade-war-put?videoId=429021852 |
Buffett still hates Bitcoin, wants all of Apple 2:26pm EDT - 01:08
While billionaire investor Warren Buffett bashed Bitcoin on Monday, he doubled down on his love for Apple, saying he'd ''love to own 100 percent of it.'' ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
While billionaire investor Warren Buffett bashed Bitcoin on Monday, he doubled down on his love for Apple, saying he'd "love to own 100 percent of it." Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2KFWwzg | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/07/buffett-still-hates-bitcoin-wants-all-of?videoId=424749825 |
May 1 (Reuters) - Semler Scientific Inc:
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.12 * Q1 REVENUE ROSE 117 PERCENT TO $4.463 MILLION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-semler-scientific-q1-revenue-rises/brief-semler-scientific-q1-revenue-rises-117-pct-to-4-5-mln-idUSASC09YL7 |
The Trump administration on Tuesday amended its Russia sanctions program, paving the way for aluminum giant United Co. Rusal to escape from the blacklist and granting the metals market a reprieve from a supply scare that rocked markets over the past month.
Facing delisting from the London Stock Exchange this week, Rusal’s owner, EN+ Group, sought the 11th-hour amnesty from the U.S. Treasury late last week by pledging that its majority shareholder and a primary target of the U.S. sanctions, Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, would... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/rusal-set-to-escape-sanctions-after-treasury-amends-russia-blacklist-1525217278 |
Several injured in "horrific" school bus crash 2:08pm EDT - 00:52
Police say a school bus and dump truck collided on a New Jersey highway Thursday, leaving several injured.
Police say a school bus and dump truck collided on a New Jersey highway Thursday, leaving several injured. //reut.rs/2Kz3c1m | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/17/several-injured-in-horrific-school-bus-c?videoId=427805208 |
EditorsNote: Tweaks headline, numerous corrections in body
Scooter Gennett had five hits, including a home run, Tony Cruz also homered and the visiting Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies 6-5 on Saturday night.
Michael Lorenzen (1-0) pitched one inning in relief of Tyler Mahle to earn the win, and Jared Hughes survived the ninth for his third save.
Gennett tied a career high for hits, set last year against St. Louis, and used some solid defense to help the Reds secure the win.
The Rockies loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth off Hughes, but after a force out at home, Gennett snared David Dahl’s liner near second base and then doubled up Carlos Gonzalez to end the game.
Dahl doubled and had three RBIs, and Charlie Blackmon and starting pitcher Tyler Anderson scored twice each for the Rockies.
Chris Rusin (0-1) faced only two batters but allowed two runs on two hits to take the loss.
Gennett hit the first pitch he saw from Anderson into the Cincinnati bullpen to give the Reds a 1-0 lead in the first. Colorado rallied to take a 2-1 lead in the third on Dahl’s double off the wall in center.
Cruz gave Cincinnati the lead right back in the fourth with his first homer of the season, a two-run shot to left that went an estimated 449 feet.
The Rockies took a 4-3 lead in the fifth when Charlie Blackmon had an RBI triple and scored on Dahl’s sacrifice fly.
Cincinnati got to Colorado’s usually reliable bullpen in the seventh. Scott Schebler led off with a single and Billy Hamilton tripled to center off Rusin.
Bryan Shaw relieved Rusin and allowed an RBI single to Jose Peraza to put the Reds ahead 5-4. Gennett’s single put runners on the corners, and Peraza scored on a wild pitch to make it a two-run game.
Nolan Arenado led off the eighth with a double off David Hernandez, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Gerardo Parra’s groundout.
—Field Level Media
—Field Level Media
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/baseball-mlb-col-cin-recap/reds-hang-to-edge-rockies-idUSMTZEE5RDE3TGL |
NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until June 19, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities against Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NasdaqGS: MYGN), if they purchased the Company’s securities between August 13, 2014 through March 12, 2018, Period”). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Utah.
What You May Do
If you purchased securities of Myriad and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( [email protected] ), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgs-mygn/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by June 19, 2018 .
About the Lawsuit
Myriad Genetics and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.
On March 12, 2018, the Company revealed that it received a subpoena from the Department of Health and Human Services, regarding “an investigation into possible false or otherwise improper claims submitted for payment under Medicare and Medicaid,” specifically relating to the Company’s hereditary cancer testing dating back to January 1, 2014 (less than four months after the Company launched its myRisk test in September 2013) to the date of the subpoena’s issuance.
On this news, the price of Myriad’s shares plummeted over 12.14%.
About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.
To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com .
//www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180511005803/en/
Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
Lewis Kahn, 1-877-515-1850
Managing Partner
[email protected]
Source: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/business-wire-myriad-genetics-shareholder-alert-by-former-louisiana-attorney-general-kahn-swick-foti-llc-reminds-investors-with-losses-in.html |
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of regular-grade gasoline in the U.S. jumped 10 cents a gallon over the past two weeks to $3.00.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the price has spiked 41 cents over the past three months.
Lundberg says the increase is largely driven by higher crude oil costs and the phasing-in of summer-grade gasoline, which is used to prevent smog.
The highest average price in the contiguous 48 states was $3.79 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lowest was $2.54 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The average price for diesel fuel rose 9 cents, to $3.23. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/20/the-associated-press-average-price-of-us-gas-jumps-10-cents-to-3-a-gallon.html |
May 2 (Reuters) - Efecte Oyj:
* Q1 SALES EUR 2.9 MILLION VERSUS EUR 2.4 MILLION YEAR AGO * AIMS FOR OVER 20% ANNUAL ORGANIC GROWTH ON AVERAGE IN 2017-2022.
* ANNUAL GROWTH IN NET SALES IS EXPECTED TO EXCEED 20% IN 2018
* Q1 EBITDA LOSS EUR 0.5 MILLION VERSUS EUR 0 MILLION YEAR AGO
* ANNUAL GROWTH IN NET SALES IS EXPECTED TO EXCEED 20% IN 2018
* “DUE TO GROWTH INVESTMENTS, WE EXPECT EBITDA TO BE CLEARLY NEGATIVE”
* PROFITABILITY IN FIRST YEAR-HALF IS EXPECTED TO BE LOWER THAN IN SECOND YEAR-HALF.
* AIMS FOR OVER 20% ANNUAL ORGANIC GROWTH ON AVERAGE IN 2017-2022 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-efecte-q1-ebitda-swings-to-loss-eu/brief-efecte-q1-ebitda-swings-to-loss-eur-0-5-million-idUSFWN1S90NE |
May 15, 2018 / 5:18 PM / Updated 8 hours ago Spike Lee says his KKK movie is a wake-up call for Trump's America Reuters Staff
(Attention: obscenities in paragraphs 4-5)
By Johnny Cotton and Robin Pomeroy
CANNES, France (Reuters) - Spike Lee’s satirical movie about the Ku Klux Klan may be set in the 1970s, but it is really about the deadly racism that is still prevalent in the United States, the director said on Tuesday in Cannes.
“BlacKkKlansman”, based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, a black police officer who infiltrated the Colorado Springs chapter of the KKK, stars John David Washington, son of Denzel, and Adam Driver who plays the white officer who helps him pull off the subterfuge.
At the end of the film, satirical comedy gives way to news footage of the far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last August where counter-protester Heather Heyer was killed, and clips of President Donald Trump blaming “both sides” for the violence.
A quietly furious Lee used a news conference in Cannes to express his opinion on that.
“That motherfucker was given a chance to say ‘We are about love and not hate’,” he said.
“And that motherfucker did not denounce the motherfucking Klan, the alt-right, and those Nazi motherfuckers. It was a defining moment and he could have said to the world, not the United States, that we were better than that.” Winnie Harlow arrives for the screening of the film "BlacKkKlansman" May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
Two days after the event, Trump said the KKK and similar groups were “repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans”.
That was too late for Lee: “This film to me is a wake-up call,” he said.
“Because we’ve gone for the “okey doke”, walking around in a daze, and stuff is happening and it’s topsy turvy and fake has been trumpeted as truth.
“That’s what this film is about and I know in my heart, I don’t care what the critics say or anybody else, we are on the right side of history with this film.”
At the “BlacKkKlansman” premiere, the audience laughed and applauded scenes in which KKK members use distinctly Trumpian rhetoric, saying, for example, that purging the country of ethnic minorities would “make America great again”.
IndieWire critic David Ehrlich said: “Far more frightening than it is funny (especially after Lee connects the dots from Colorado Springs to Charlottesville), “BlacKkKlansman” packages such weighty and ultra-relevant subjects into the form of a wildly uneven but consistently entertaining night at the movies.” Slideshow (6 Images)
The film marks a return to Cannes for Lee almost 30 years after “Do the Right Thing” missed out on the Palme d’Or.
“BlacKkKlansman” is in the running for this year’s prize, set to be awarded on May 19. Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Richard Balmforth | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/us-filmfestival-cannes-blackkklansman/spike-lee-says-his-kkk-movie-is-a-wake-up-call-for-trumps-america-idINKCN1IG2OW |
May 23 (Reuters) - Modine Manufacturing Co:
* MODINE REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR FISCAL 2018 RESULTS
* Q4 SALES ROSE 16 PERCENT TO $566.6 MILLION * SEES 2019 FULL FISCAL YEAR-OVER-YEAR SALES UP 3 TO 8 PERCENT
* SEES 2019 ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE OF $1.50 TO $1.65 * “ANTICIPATE THAT CONTINUED STRENGTH IN OUR END MARKETS WILL DRIVE FURTHER SALES AND EARNINGS GROWTH IN FISCAL 2019” Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-modine-q4-earnings-per-share-034/brief-modine-q4-earnings-per-share-0-34-idUSASC0A3GW |
The 77-year-old driver of a Paramus, N.J, school bus involved in a collision that killed a fifth-grade student and a teacher was charged on Thursday with vehicular homicide, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s office.
Hudy Muldrow, of Woodland Park, N.J, was driving the bus of 38 students and seven adults from the Paramus East Brook Middle School toward the historic Waterloo Village on May 17. While traveling west on Interstate 80 in the Mount Olive Township, the driver allegedly turned the bus to the left to enter... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/driver-of-bus-in-fatal-n-j-collision-charged-with-vehicular-homicide-1527195555 |
Trump threatens to cut aid to countries that don't stop MS-13 gang migrants Reuters 1 hr ago Steve Holland Click to expand Replay Video UP NEXT President Trump takes aim at the murderous MS-13 gang What are the expectations from the president's immigration event? Nassau County PBA President James McDermott sounds off on 'Fox & Friends First.' FOX News Yosemite National Park hiker dies in fall A hiker fell to his death while ascending Yosemite National Park's famous Half Dome trail, the US National Park Service said. CNN Sinkhole appears on White House lawn A sinkhole has appeared steps from the entrance to the White House briefing room. CNN 1 Cancel SETTINGS OFF HD HQ SD LO Trump Defends MS-13 'Animal' Comment Associated Press See more videos SHARE SHARE TWEET SHARE EMAIL What to watch next President Trump takes aim at the murderous MS-13 gang FOX News 4:25 Yosemite National Park hiker dies in fall CNN 0:25 Sinkhole appears on White House lawn CNN 0:38 Russia claims a first as nuclear sub test-launches four ICBMs NBC News 1:00 South Korean reporters set to visit nuclear test site Reuters 1:22 Man defending home hit by volcano's 'lava bomb' CNN 2:27 Trump lawyers seek to limit Mueller interview CNN 1:34 Why the Trump-Kim Summit Meeting ‘May Not Work Out’ The Wall Street Journal. 2:34 Fact Checker | Has the administration obtained $2 billion for 'school safety'? The Washington post 1:22 'Who the hell wrote that line?' Trump takes swipe at speechwriter The Washington post 0:52 Lesley Stahl: Trump said he bashes press to "demean" and "discredit" them CBS News 1:07 Venezuelan President Maduro declares U.S. diplomat "persona non grata" CBS News 1:36 Trump: North Korean summit could be postponed The Washington post 1:22 'Spy' or FBI source: What to know about Stefan Halper The Washington post 2:06 NYT: Cohen's business partner makes plea deal CNN 1:03 Meet the Midterms: 3 primary races to watch out for MSNBC 1:11 UP NEXT Video by Associated Press
BETHPAGE - President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday he was working on a plan to reduce U.S. aid to countries he says are doing nothing to stop MS-13 gang members from crossing into the United States illegally.
"We're looking at our whole aid structure. It’s going to be changed very radically," Trump told a roundtable discussion about the threat posed by the violent gang.
MS-13, or the Mara Salvatrucha gang, was founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s in part to protect immigrants from El Salvador and has since grown into a sprawling cross-border criminal organization.
Trump has made the fight against the gang a major part of his drive to stem the flow of immigrants illegally entering the United States.
Last week, he called gang members "animals," drawing scorn from Democrats. On Wednesday, he defended his description.
"I called them 'animals' the other day and I was met with rebuke," Trump said. "They said: 'They are people.' They're not people. These are animals," he said.
Trump was joined at the event by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has drawn criticism from the president for his handling of a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Rosenstein said MS-13 gang members were preying on unaccompanied children who cross into the United States illegally, most of whom must be released from custody.
"Some develop gang ties," Rosenstein said.
Trump praised his homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, whom the president has criticized privately for not doing enough in his view to stop illegal immigrants.
"You're doing a really great job," Trump told her, adding that her job was "not easy."
Trump did not give details on his plan to cut funding for countries from which MS-13 gang members originate, but said the penalties would be large. He also did not identify any countries by name.
"We’re going to work out something where every time someone comes in from a certain country, we are going to deduct a rather large sum of money," he said.
Illegal border crossings fell to record lows with about 15,700 immigrants arrested along the U.S.-Mexico border in April of last year.
But those numbers soon began creeping back up and in recent months have surpassed levels seen during the administration of President Barack Obama. Trump has voiced increasing frustration with the trend as border apprehensions reached more than 50,900 in April 2018.
But longer-term, crossings have fallen sharply. So far in 2018, 212,000 immigrants have been arrested on the southwest border, a fraction of the more than 1 million caught during the same period in 2000.
© REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Trump participates in a roundtable on immigration in Bethpage, New York
(Reporting by Steve Holland Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-idUSKCN1IO30Y?utm_source=34553&utm_medium=partner |
DALLAS, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII) voted to increase the quarterly cash dividend 25 percent to $0.64 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on July 13, 2018, to stockholders of record as of June 29, 2018.
Lennox International Inc. is a global leader in the heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration markets. Lennox International Inc. stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and traded under the symbol "LII".
Contact: Steve Harrison, Vice President, Investor Relations of Lennox International Inc., 972-497-6670.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Lennox International's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lennox-international-increases-dividend-25-percent-300648923.html
SOURCE Lennox International Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/pr-newswire-lennox-international-increases-dividend-25-percent.html |
0 COMMENTS Health insurer Cigna plans to buy Express Scripts in a cash-and-stock deal worth $54 billion. Photo: Bloomberg News
An abundance of capital and a need to keep pace with an increasingly digital workplace are among the factors stoking a surge in merger and acquisition activity in the first three months of the year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
U.S. deal values for the first quarter of 2018 jumped nearly 13% to $531 billion up from the previous three-month period, reaching the highest amount since the final quarter of 2016, according to a report by the accounting firm released last week. The total number of deals also rose 6% to 3,670.
Aging baby boomers have created a savings glut as they prepare to retire ensuring that banks have plenty of capital, according to Curt Moldenhauer, a partner at PwC’s deals practice.
“We’re pretty bullish not just for the first quarter but for all of 2018,” Mr. Moldenhauer said. “The level of megadeals have been staggering.”
During the first three months of the year, there have been 26 deals valued over $5 billion, up from nine during the first quarter of 2017, Mr. Moldenhauer said. Among notable examples, Health insurer Cigna Corp. unveiled plans in March to buy Express Scripts Holding Co. in a deal worth $54 billion.
The sweeping tax overhaul is enabling the current spending spree to take shape. A soaring stock market has set valuations high, matching eager sellers with flush buyers.
“The main characteristic is a huge amount of capital supply,” Mr. Moldenhauer said.
PwC’s report also noted that more than 1,000 U.S. deals in the first quarter of 2018, roughly a third of the total number of deals in the period, reached across sectors. Companies are often looking to bring technological capabilities in-house when striking such deals, the report said.
Mr. Moldenhauer said there were some factors that could present headwinds to the increased M&A activity. Geopolitical turmoil, rising interest rates in the U.S. and trade tension between Washington and Beijing were among the factors.
But he expects a strong year, he said. “Between a lower tax rate and other provisions, many companies will explore new acquisitions,” he said.
Share this: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Previous CFOs Confident About U.S. Fundamentals But Fear Protectionism Next The Morning Ledger: U.S. Companies Report Best Earnings for Years After Corporate Tax Overhaul | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2018/05/04/u-s-dealmaking-surges-in-first-three-months-of-2018/ |
May 14, 2018 / 11:02 AM / Updated an hour ago JPMorgan poaches Wells Fargo banker for entertainment group - sources Liana B. Baker 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) has hired Reginald Lang, the head of media investment banking at Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ), to work for its entertainment industries group, which provides financing to TV and film studios, people familiar with the matter said. FILE PHOTO: A sign outside the headquarters of JP Morgan Chase & Co in New York, September 19, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Segar
The group, which is part of JPMorgan’s commercial banking arm, does not finance individual TV and movie projects. Instead, it provides corporate financing that producers can use to fund budgets, refinance debt or splash out on mergers and acquisitions.
Lang, a managing director in Wells Fargo’s New York office, will relocate to Los Angeles and report to the head of JPMorgan’s entertainment industries group, David Shaheen, the sources said, requesting anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of an official announcement.
JPMorgan could announce the new hire as early as Monday in an internal memo, according to one of the sources. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Lang all declined to comment.
The move marks a return to JPMorgan for Lang, who left the New York-based bank in 2006 to join Wachovia, a bank subsequently acquired by Wells Fargo, according to his LinkedIn page.
JPMorgan has a market share of more than 90 percent in the provision of senior debt financing to entertainment production companies, according to its website. It started financing Hollywood movies in the silent film era of the 1920s.
JPMorgan’s corporate clients in the entertainment industry include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp ( LGFa.N ), Legendary Pictures, which is now owned by China’s Dalian Wanda, Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, Village Roadshow Ltd and Entertainment One Ltd ( ETO.L ). Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Paul Simao | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-moves-wellsfargo-lang/jpmorgan-poaches-wells-fargo-banker-for-entertainment-group-sources-idUSKCN1IF1C6 |
May 1, 2018 / 11:46 AM / Updated 5 hours ago UK ministers attack upper house over Brexit vote Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Ministers criticised the upper house of parliament on Tuesday over its vote to hand parliament powers to block or even delay Brexit, saying the move would tie the government’s hands in negotiations with the European Union. Anti-Brexit protesters are reflected in a puddle as they demonstrate opposite the Houses of Parliament in London. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
The House of Lords voted overwhelmingly on Monday in favour of an amendment to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit blueprint, or the EU withdrawal bill, to offer what some peers said was a truly “meaningful vote” on any final deal.
It was seventh of nine defeats in the last two weeks for the government, which says the EU withdrawal bill is purely a technical document to “copy and paste” EU law into British law and guarantee a smooth Brexit.
At a meeting of May’s top cabinet ministers, the prime minister and her Brexit secretary, David Davis, led the expressions of disappointment over the Lords’ vote.
“Cabinet expressed its strong disappointment at the defeats inflicted on the EU withdrawal bill in the House of Lords, saying they risked tying the government’s hands behind its back in negotiations with Brussels,” May’s spokesman told reporters.
“The prime minister said when the bill returns to the House of Commons, the government will be robust. She said it was vital to ensure the legislation is able to deliver the smooth Brexit which is in the interests of everybody in the United Kingdom.”
He declined to comment directly on whether the government would try to overturn the amendment which, if passed by the lower house, would allow parliament to send ministers back to the negotiating table in Brussels or halt the Brexit process.
“As for individual amendments, we have said we will look at those and discuss those in due course,” the spokesman said, adding that if the government’s hands were tied in the talks, “that’s not something we believe is in the UK’s interest”.
The government has said parliament will get a vote on any final deal with the EU, but only to “take it or leave it”. Some peers in the House of Lords, and members of parliament in the lower house, want parliament to be given a bigger say in the process.
Earlier, May’s trade minister, Liam Fox, accused the unelected peers in the upper house of “trying to block the democratic will of the British people”. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu/uk-government-disappointed-by-lords-votes-on-brexit-laws-vows-robust-action-idUKKBN1I23I9 |
BURLINGTON, Mass., Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN), The Digital Engagement Company™, announced today that it will release its financial results for the second quarter ended March 31, 2018 on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 4:30 pm ET. On that day, Ari Kahn, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer and Michael Prinn, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, plan to host a live conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss the financial results. A replay will be available for one week following the live call.
The details of the conference call and replay are as follows:
What: Bridgeline Digital First Quarter of Fiscal 2018 Conference Call When: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 Time: 4:30 p.m. ET Live Call: (877) 837-3910, domestic (973) 796-5077, international Replay: (855) 859-2056 (404) 537-3406 Conference ID: 8376075 About Bridgeline Digital
Bridgeline Digital, The Digital Engagement Company™, helps customers maximize the performance of their full digital experience – from websites and intranets to online stores and campaigns. Bridgeline’s Unbound (formerly iAPPS®) platform deeply integrates Web Content Management, eCommerce, eMarketing, Social Media management, and Web Analytics to help marketers deliver digital experiences that attract, engage and convert their customers across all channels. Headquartered in Burlington, Mass., Bridgeline has thousands of quality customers that range from small- and medium-sized organizations to Fortune 1000 companies. To learn more, please visit www.bridgeline.com or call (800) 603-9936.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
All statements included in this press release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the impact of the weakness in the U.S. and international economies on our business, our inability to manage our future growth effectively or profitably, fluctuations in our revenue and quarterly results, our license renewal rate, the impact of competition and our ability to maintain margins or market share, the limited market for our common stock, the volatility of the market price of our common stock, the ability to maintain our listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market, the ability to raise capital, the performance of our products, our ability to respond to rapidly evolving technology and customer requirements, our ability to protect our proprietary technology, the security of our software, our dependence on our management team and key personnel, our ability to hire and retain future key personnel, or our ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls as well as other risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any of such risks could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
For more information
please contact:
Michael Prinn
Bridgeline Digital, Inc.
Executive Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer
781.497.3016
[email protected]
Source:Bridgeline Digital, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/globe-newswire-bridgeline-digital-to-report-financial-results-for-the-second-quarter-of-fiscal-2018.html |
Live Conference Call to be Held at 9:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time on May 14, 2018
BEIJING, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix New Media Limited (NYSE: FENG) ("Phoenix New Media", "ifeng" or the "Company"), a leading new media company in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
"We are delighted to start the year 2018 with solid financial and operating performance, and pleased to see that our mobile advertising remained a strong growth driver in the first quarter," stated Mr. Shuang Liu, CEO of Phoenix New Media. "Our strong media DNA and our mission to provide high-quality, professional and unbiased news content allows us to stay at the forefront of the media space in the long run. During the quarter, we further enhanced our artificial intelligence solutions by adding editorial recommendations. In doing so, we have not only improved the efficiency of our content distribution and the accuracy of our audience targeting, but also enriched with humanity and value into digital media, thus further differentiating ourselves from peers. We are also building out our content ecosystem that includes both original content and we-media content. Together with our premium brand equity and synergy among our diversified business segments, we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in China's rapidly growing socially responsible media industry."
Ms. Betty Ho, CFO of Phoenix New Media, further stated, "We are pleased to carry the strong growth of our mobile advertising revenues, which increased by 46.3% under the old accounting standard of ASC605, into the first quarter of 2018 despite of seasonality factors. Due to the adoption of the new accounting standard of ASC606 on January 1, 2018, our total revenues decreased by 3.4% year over year to RMB284.4 million in the first quarter of 2018. Excluding the impact of adoption of the new accounting standard, or under ASC605, our total revenues would have increased by 5.2% year over year to RMB309.9 million in the first quarter of 2018. Net advertising revenue increased by 10.5% year-over-year, driven by the strong growth in mobile advertising revenues at 46.3% year-over-year. In addition, our gross margin in the first quarter of 2018 increased to 54.9% under the new accounting standard of ASC606 (50.0% under ASC605), from 44.8% in the first quarter of 2017. Looking forward, we will continue to differentiate our products by enhancing our content offerings, while taking strict control over our cost and expense, in order to generate long-term return to our shareholders"
Adoption of ASC606
Beginning from January 1, 2018, the Company adopted a new accounting standard of ASC606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (the "new accounting standard"). The main impact of applying the new accounting standard on the Company's financial results include, (1) sales taxes and surcharges, previously presented as a component of cost of revenues, are now presented as a reduction item of revenues, and (2) some advertising-for-advertising barter transactions, previously not recognized as revenues, are now recognized as revenues. By applying the modified retrospective method under the new accounting standard, the financial statements of prior periods are not retrospectively adjusted as the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance at January 1, 2018, the date of initial application, is not material. Accordingly, the financial data presented in the Company's financial statements for the first quarter of 2018 are in accordance with the new accounting standard while all financial data presented for the quarters of 2017 are in accordance with ASC605, Revenue Recognition (the "old accounting standard").
Impact of applying the new accounting standard on the Company's unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 as compared to the old accounting standard is as follows:
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
Adjustments
Old Accounting Standard (1)
Sales Taxes And Surcharges
Barter Transactions
Contract Fulfillment Costs
New Accounting Standard (2)
(RMB in thousands)
Revenues
309,918
(25,739)
233
-
284,412
Net advertising revenues
266,284
(23,656)
233
-
242,861
Paid services revenues
43,634
(2,083)
-
-
41,551
Cost of revenues
(154,887)
25,739
(172)
1,087
(128,233)
Gross profit
155,031
-
61
1,087
156,179
Operating expenses
(213,384)
-
(645)
-
(214,029)
Sales and marketing expenses
(130,574)
-
(645)
-
(131,219)
Loss from operations
(58,353)
-
(584)
1,087
(57,850)
Note:
(1) This financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2018 is presented under the old accounting standard (ASC605).
(2) This financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2018 is presented under the new accounting standard (ASC606).
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
REVENUES
Total revenues for the first quarter of 2018 were RMB284.4 million (US$45.3 million) under the new accounting standard, which represented a decrease of 3.4% from RMB294.5 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Net advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2018 were RMB242.9 million (US$38.7 million) (net of advertising agency service fees and sales taxes and surcharges) under the new accounting standard, which represented an increase of 0.7% from RMB241.1 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Paid services revenues [1] for the first quarter of 2018 were RMB41.6 million (US$6.6 million) under the new accounting standard, which represented a decrease of 22.2% from RMB53.4 million in the first quarter of 2017. Revenues from digital entertainment [2] for the first quarter of 2018 were RMB32.8 million (US$5.2 million) under the new accounting standard, which represented a decrease of 22.6% from RMB42.3 million in the first quarter of 2017. Revenues from games and others [3] for the first quarter of 2018 were RMB8.4 million (US$1.3 million) under the new accounting standard, which represented a decrease of 24.1% from RMB11.1 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Under the old accounting standard ASC605, total revenues for the first quarter of 2018 would have been RMB309.9 million (US$49.4 million), which would have represented an increase of 5.2% from RMB294.5 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Under the old accounting standard ASC605, net advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2018 would have been RMB266.3 million (US$42.5 million), which would have represented an increase of 10.5% from RMB241.1 million in the first quarter of 2017, primarily attributable to a 46.3% year-over-year increase in mobile advertising revenues that was partially offset by a 26.0% year-over-year decrease in PC advertising revenues.
Under the old accounting standard ASC605, paid services revenues for the first quarter of 2018 would have been RMB43.6 million (US$7.0 million), which would have represented a decrease of 18.3% from RMB53.4 million in the first quarter of 2017. Under the old accounting standard ASC605, revenues from digital entertainment for the first quarter of 2018 would have been RMB34.7 million (US$5.5 million), which would have represented a decrease of 17.9% from RMB42.3 million in the first quarter of 2017, due to a 30.9% decrease in the MVAS revenues mainly resulting from the decline in users' demand for services provided through telecom operators in China. Under the old accounting standard ASC605, revenues from games and others for the first quarter of 2018 would have been RMB8.9 million (US$1.4 million), which would have represented a decrease of 19.6% from RMB11.1 million in the first quarter of 2017, primarily attributable to a decrease in revenues generated from web-based games operated on the Company's own platform.
COST OF REVENUES
Cost of revenues for the first quarter of 2018 was RMB128.2 million (US$20.4 million) under the new accounting standard, which represented a decrease of 21.1% from RMB162.5 million in the first quarter of 2017. Under the old accounting standard, cost of revenues for the first quarter of 2018 would have been RMB154.9 million (US$24.7 million), which would have represented a decrease of 4.7% from RMB162.5 million in the first quarter of 2017. Such decrease was mainly due to:
The sales taxes and surcharges were RMB25.8 million (US$4.1 million) in the first quarter of 2018, which was excluded from cost of revenues and recorded as a reduction item of revenues under the new accounting standard, as compared to sales taxes and surcharges of RMB24.3 million in the first quarter of 2017, which was recorded as a component of cost of revenues under the old accounting standard. Content and operational costs for the first quarter of 2018 decreased slightly to RMB105.3 million (US$16.8 million) from RMB106.3 million in the first quarter of 2017. Revenue sharing fees to telecom operators and channel partners for the first quarter of 2018 decreased by 50.2% to RMB8.6 million (US$1.4 million) from RMB17.3 million in the first quarter of 2017, primarily attributable to a decrease in the sales of MVAS products. Bandwidth costs for the first quarter of 2018 decreased slightly to RMB14.3 million (US$2.3 million) from RMB14.5 million in the first quarter of 2017. Share-based compensation included in cost of revenues was RMB0.2 million (US$0.03 million) in the first quarter of 2018, as compared to RMB1.6 million in the first quarter of 2017. The decrease was primarily due to the lesser share-based compensation recognized in the first quarter of 2018 for share options granted before 2017, as the Company recognized share-based compensation, net of estimated forfeitures, on a graded-vesting basis over the vesting term of the awards.
GROSS PROFIT
Gross profit for the first quarter of 2018 was RMB156.2 million (US$24.9 million), as compared to RMB132.0 million in the first quarter of 2017. Gross margin for the first quarter of 2018 was 54.9%, as compared to 44.8% in the first quarter of 2017. The increase in gross margin was primarily attributable to the slight decrease in revenues under the new accounting standard and the more significant decrease in certain cost of revenues as explained above.
To supplement the financial measures presented in accordance with the United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), the Company has presented certain non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, which excluded the impact of certain reconciling items as stated in the "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section below. The related reconciliations to GAAP financial measures are presented in the accompanying "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Results of Operation Measures to the Nearest Comparable GAAP Measures."
Non-GAAP gross margin for the first quarter of 2018, which excluded share-based compensation, was 55.0%, as compared to 45.4% in the first quarter of 2017.
OPERATING EXPENSES AND LOSS FROM OPERATIONS
Total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2018 increased by 24.4% to RMB214.0 million (US$34.1 million) from RMB172.0 million in the first quarter of 2017, primarily attributable to an increase in traffic acquisition expenses. Share-based compensation included in operating expenses was RMB3.2 million (US$0.5 million) in the first quarter of 2018, as compared to RMB6.6 million in the first quarter of 2017. The decrease in share-based compensation was primarily due to the lesser share-based compensation recognized in the first quarter of 2018 for share options granted before 2017, as the Company recognized share-based compensation, net of estimated forfeitures, on a graded-vesting basis over the vesting term of the awards, and due to the fact that several batches of share options granted to employees in 2013 became fully vested in 2017 and the corresponding share-based compensation were no longer recognized in 2018.
Loss from operations for the first quarter of 2018 was RMB57.9 million (US$9.2 million), as compared to loss from operations of RMB40.1 million in the first quarter of 2017. Operating margin for the first quarter of 2018 was negative 20.3%, as compared to negative 13.6% in the first quarter of 2017, which was primarily attributable to the increase in traffic acquisition expenses.
Non-GAAP loss from operations for the first quarter of 2018, which excluded share-based compensation, was RMB54.4 million (US$8.7 million), as compared to non-GAAP loss from operations of RMB31.8 million in the first quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP operating margin for the first quarter of 2018, which excluded share-based compensation, was negative 19.1%, as compared to negative 10.8% in the first quarter of 2017.
OTHER INCOME OR LOSS
Other income or loss reflects interest income, interest expense, foreign currency exchange gain or loss, income or loss from equity investments, including impairments, and others, net [4] . Total net other income for the first quarter of 2018 was negative RMB5.2 million (US$0.8 million), as compared to RMB4.8 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Interest income for the first quarter of 2018 was RMB12.9 million (US$2.1 million), as compared to RMB12.7 million in the first quarter of 2017. Interest expense for the first quarter of 2018 decreased to RMB4.6 million (US$0.7 million), from RMB6.3 million in the first quarter of 2017, which was primarily due to the decrease in outstanding short-term bank loans in the first quarter of 2018 as compared to that in 2017. Foreign currency exchange loss for the first quarter of 2018 was RMB15.1 million (US$2.4 million), as compared to foreign currency exchange loss of RMB2.3 million in the first quarter of 2017, which was mainly caused by the further appreciation of Renminbi against US dollars in the first quarter of 2018. Loss from equity investments, including impairments, for the first quarter of 2018 was RMB2.4 million (US$0.4 million), as compared to loss from equity investments, including impairments, of RMB0.7 million in the first quarter of 2017. Others, net, for the first quarter of 2018 increased by 186.9% to RMB4.1 million (US$0.7 million), from RMB1.4 million in the first quarter of 2017, which was primarily attributable to the decrease in litigation provisions as a result of the settlement of several claims in March 2018 and the increase of government subsidies received in the first quarter of 2018.
NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO PHOENIX NEW MEDIA LIMITED
Net loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited for the first quarter of 2018 was RMB57.5 million (US$9.2 million), as compared to a net loss of RMB32.2 million in the first quarter of 2017. Net margin for the first quarter of 2018 was negative 20.2%, as compared to negative 10.9% in the first quarter of 2017. Net loss per diluted ADS [5] in the first quarter of 2018 was RMB0.79 (US$0.13), as compared to net loss per diluted ADS of RMB0.45 in the first quarter of 2017.
Non-GAAP net loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited for the first quarter of 2018, which excluded share-based compensation and income or loss from equity investments, including impairments, was RMB51.7 million (US$8.2 million), as compared to non-GAAP net loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited of RMB23.2 million in the first quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP net margin for the first quarter of 2018 was negative 18.2%, as compared to negative 7.9% in the first quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP net loss per diluted ADS in the first quarter of 2018 was RMB0.71 (US$0.11), as compared to non-GAAP net loss per diluted ADS of RMB0.32 in the first quarter of 2017.
For the first quarter of 2018, the Company's weighted average number of ADSs used in the computation of diluted net income per ADS was 72,403,514. As of March 31, 2018, the Company had a total of 578,729,336 ordinary shares outstanding, or the equivalent of 72,341,167 ADSs.
CERTAIN BALANCE SHEET ITEMS
As of March 31, 2018, the Company's cash and cash equivalents, term deposits and short term investments and restricted cash were RMB1.30 billion (US$207.6 million). Restricted cash represents deposits placed as security for banking facilities granted to the Company, which are restricted in their withdrawal or usage.
Business Outlook
Based on the new accounting standard (ASC606), for the second quarter of 2018, the Company expects its total revenues to be between RMB361.4 million and RMB376.4 million; net advertising revenues are expected to be between RMB320.5 million and RMB330.5 million; and paid services revenues are expected to be between RMB40.9 million and RMB45.9 million.
If the old accounting standard (ASC605) were to be used, for the second quarter of 2018, the Company would expect its total revenues to be between RMB396.8 million and RMB411.8 million, its net advertising revenues to be between RMB353.5 million and RMB363.5 million, and its paid services revenues to be between RMB43.3 million and RMB48.3 million.
All of the above forecasts reflect the Company's current and preliminary view on the market and operational conditions, which are subject to change.
Conference Call Information
The Company will hold a conference call at 9:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on May 14, 2018 (May 15, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Beijing/Hong Kong time) to discuss its first quarter 2018 unaudited financial results and operating performance.
To participate in the call, please use the dial-in numbers and conference ID below:
International:
+6567135090
Mainland China:
4006208038
Hong Kong:
+85230186771
United States:
+18456750437
Conference ID:
6370379
A replay of the call will be available through May 21, 2018 by using the dial-in numbers and conference ID below:
International:
+61281990299
Mainland China:
4006322162
Hong Kong:
+85230512780
United States:
+16462543697
Conference ID:
6370379
A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.ifeng.com .
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with the United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), Phoenix New Media Limited uses non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP income or loss from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income or loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited, non-GAAP net margin and non-GAAP net income or loss per diluted ADS, each of which is a non-GAAP financial measure. Non-GAAP gross profit is gross profit excluding share-based compensation. Non-GAAP gross margin is non-GAAP gross profit divided by total revenues. Non-GAAP income or loss from operations is income or loss from operations excluding share-based compensation. Non-GAAP operating margin is non-GAAP income or loss from operations divided by total revenues. Non-GAAP net income or loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited is net income or loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited excluding share-based compensation and income or loss from equity investments, including impairments. Non-GAAP net margin is non-GAAP net income or loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited divided by total revenues. Non-GAAP net income or loss per diluted ADS is non-GAAP net income or loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited divided by weighted average number of diluted ADSs. The Company believes that separate analysis and exclusion of the aforementioned non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items add clarity to the constituent parts of its performance. The Company reviews these non-GAAP financial measures together with the related GAAP financial measures to obtain a better understanding of its operating performance. It uses these non-GAAP financial measures for planning, forecasting and measuring results against the forecast. The Company believes that using these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate its business allows both management and investors to assess the Company's performance against its competitors and ultimately monitor its capacity to generate returns for investors. The Company also believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful supplemental information for investors and analysts to assess its operating performance without the effect of items like share-based compensation and income or loss from equity investments, including impairments, which have been and will continue to be significant and recurring in its business. However, the use of these non-GAAP financial measures has material limitations as an analytical tool. One of the limitations of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that they do not include all items that impact the Company's gross profit, income or loss from operations and net income or loss attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited for the period. In addition, because these non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in the same manner by all companies, they may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. In light of the foregoing limitations, you should not consider these non-GAAP financial measures in isolation from, or as an alternative to, the financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Exchange Rate
This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars ("USD") at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to USD were made at the rate of RMB6.2726 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on March 30, 2018 in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or USD amounts referred could be converted into USD or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. For analytical presentation, all percentages are calculated using the numbers presented in the financial in this earnings release.
About Phoenix New Media Limited
Phoenix New Media Limited (NYSE: FENG) is a leading new media company providing premium content on an integrated Internet platform, including PC and mobile, in China. Having originated from a leading global Chinese language TV network based in Hong Kong, Phoenix TV, the Company enables consumers to access professional news and other quality information and share user-generated content on the Internet through their PCs and mobile devices. Phoenix New Media's platform includes its PC channel, consisting of ifeng.com website, which comprises interest-based verticals such as news, finance, fashion, military and digital reading, and interactive services; its mobile channel, consisting of mobile news applications, mobile video application, HTML5-based mobile Internet websites, and mobile digital reading application; and its operations with the telecom operators that provides content and mobile value-added services.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward−looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward−looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Phoenix New Media's strategic and operational plans, contain forward−looking statements. Phoenix New Media may also make written or oral forward−looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Forms 20−F and 6−K, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Phoenix New Media's beliefs and expectations, are forward−looking statements. Forward−looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward−looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's goals and strategies; the Company's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of online and mobile advertising, online video and mobile paid services markets in China; the Company's reliance on online and mobile advertising and MVAS for a majority of its total revenues; the Company's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its services; the Company's expectations regarding maintaining and strengthening its relationships with advertisers, partners and customers; fluctuations in the Company's quarterly operating results; the Company's plans to enhance its user experience, infrastructure and services offerings; the Company's reliance on mobile operators in China to provide most of its MVAS; changes by mobile operators in China to their policies for MVAS; competition in its industry in China; and relevant government policies and regulations relating to the Company. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the SEC, including its registration statement on Form F−1, as amended, and its annual reports on Form 20−F. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Phoenix New Media does not undertake any obligation to update any forward−looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
[1]
Paid services revenues comprise of (i) revenues from digital entertainment, which includes MVAS and digital reading, and (ii) revenues from games and others, which includes web-based games, mobile games, content sales, and other online and mobile paid services through the Company's own platforms
[2]
Digital entertainment includes mobile value-added services delivered through telecom operators' platforms, or MVAS, and digital reading.
[3]
Games and others include web-based and mobile games, and other online and mobile paid services through the Company's own platforms
[4]
"Others, net" primarily consists of government subsidies and litigation loss provisions.
[5]
"ADS" means American Depositary Share of the Company. Each ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares of the Company.
For investor and media inquiries please contact:
Phoenix New Media Limited
Nicole Shan
Email: [email protected]
ICR, Inc.
Rose Zu
Tel: +1 (646) 405-4883
Email: [email protected]
Phoenix New Media Limited
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Amounts in thousands)
December 31,
March 31,
March 31,
2017
2018
2018
RMB
RMB
US$
Audited *
Unaudited
Unaudited
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
362,862
343,401
54,746
Term deposits and short term investments
737,657
511,850
81,601
Restricted cash
336,700
447,000
71,262
Accounts receivable, net
458,744
389,570
62,107
Amounts due from related parties
187,214
184,925
29,481
Prepayment and other current assets
57,458
59,935
9,555
Convertible loans due from a related party
102,631
99,777
15,907
Total current assets
2,243,266
2,036,458
324,659
Non-current assets:
Property and equipment, net
64,454
81,546
13,000
Intangible assets, net
6,712
6,173
984
Available-for-sale investments
1,196,330
1,197,636
190,931
Equity investments, net
15,342
12,912
2,058
Deferred tax assets
60,460
67,717
10,796
Other non-current assets
12,544
14,440
2,303
Total non-current assets
1,355,842
1,380,424
220,072
Total assets
3,599,108
3,416,882
544,731
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Short-term bank loans
330,000
296,626
47,289
Accounts payable
262,657
259,651
41,394
Amounts due to related parties
14,140
12,230
1,950
Advances from customers
65,196
55,418
8,835
Taxes payable
92,214
76,664
12,222
Salary and welfare payable
134,471
95,766
15,267
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
173,253
135,487
21,600
Total current liabilities
1,071,931
931,842
148,557
Non-current liabilities:
Deferred tax liabilities
1,312
1,312
209
Long-term liabilities
24,714
25,077
3,998
Total non-current liabilities
26,026
26,389
4,207
Total liabilities
1,097,957
958,231
152,764
Shareholders' equity:
Phoenix New Media Limited shareholders' equity:
Class A ordinary shares
17,180
17,268
2,753
Class B ordinary shares
22,053
22,053
3,516
Additional paid-in capital
1,587,575
1,591,950
253,794
Statutory reserves
81,237
81,237
12,951
Retained earnings
229,250
171,686
27,371
Accumulated other comprehensive income
570,244
581,594
92,720
Total Phoenix New Media Limited shareholders' equity
2,507,539
2,465,788
393,105
Noncontrolling interests
(6,388)
(7,137)
(1,138)
Total shareholders' equity
2,501,151
2,458,651
391,967
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
3,599,108
3,416,882
544,731
* Derived from audited financial statements included in the Company's Form 20-F dated April 26, 2018.
Phoenix New Media Limited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
(Amounts in thousands, except for number of shares and per share (or ADS) data)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
December 31,
March 31,
March 31,
2017
2017
2018
2018
RMB
RMB
RMB
US$
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Revenues:
Net advertising revenues
241,084
410,547
242,861
38,718
Paid service revenues
53,395
51,240
41,551
6,624
Total revenues
294,479
461,787
284,412
45,342
Cost of revenues
(162,489)
(208,679)
(128,233)
(20,443)
Gross profit
131,990
253,108
156,179
24,899
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing expenses
(95,462)
(156,590)
(131,219)
(20,919)
General and administrative expenses
(31,951)
(50,457)
(34,398)
(5,484)
Technology and product development expenses
(44,628)
(51,494)
(48,412)
(7,718)
Total operating expenses
(172,041)
(258,541)
(214,029)
(34,121)
Loss from operations
(40,051)
(5,433)
(57,850)
(9,222)
Other income/(loss):
Interest income
12,658
13,213
12,938
2,063
Interest expenses
(6,349)
(3,746)
(4,633)
(739)
Foreign currency exchange loss
(2,311)
(4,481)
(15,131)
(2,412)
(Loss)/income from equity investments, including impairments
(664)
4,865
(2,430)
(387)
Others, net
1,427
10,037
4,093
653
(Loss)/income before tax
(35,290)
14,455
(63,013)
(10,044)
Income tax benefit/(expense)
2,341
(3,294)
4,724
753
Net (loss)/income
(32,949)
11,161
(58,289)
(9,291)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests
775
660
749
119
Net (loss)/income attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited
(32,174)
11,821
(57,540)
(9,172)
Net (loss)/income
(32,949)
11,161
(58,289)
(9,291)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax: fair value remeasurement for available-for-sale investments (1)
8,891
22,227
46,364
7,392
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax: foreign currency translation adjustment
(3,767)
(14,609)
(35,014)
(5,582)
Comprehensive (loss)/income
(27,825)
18,779
(46,939)
(7,481)
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests
775
660
749
119
Comprehensive (loss)/income attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited
(27,050)
19,439
(46,190)
(7,362)
Net (loss)/income attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited
(32,174)
11,821
(57,540)
(9,172)
Net (loss)/income per Class A and Class B ordinary share:
Basic
(0.06)
0.02
(0.10)
(0.02)
Diluted
(0.06)
0.02
(0.10)
(0.02)
Net (loss)/income per ADS (1 ADS represents 8 Class A ordinary shares):
Basic
(0.45)
0.16
(0.79)
(0.13)
Diluted
(0.45)
0.16
(0.79)
(0.13)
Weighted average number of Class A and Class B ordinary shares used in computing net (loss)/income per share:
Basic
573,935,277
576,851,243
579,228,111
579,228,111
Diluted
573,935,277
591,174,724
579,228,111
579,228,111
(1) The Company adopted ASU 2016-1, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, beginning from January 1, 2018. After the adoption of this new accounting standard, the Company measures long-term equity investments other than equity method investments at fair value through earnings. As investments in Particle meet the definition of debt securities, which are recorded as available-for-sale investments, there is no impact by the adoption of ASU 2016-1 on the available-for-sale investments in Particle and the changes in their fair value continue to be recorded in other comprehensive income.
Phoenix New Media Limited
Condensed Segments Information
(Amounts in thousands)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
December 31,
March 31,
March 31,
2017
2017
2018
2018
RMB
RMB
RMB
US$
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Revenues:
Net advertising service
241,084
410,547
242,861
38,718
Paid services
53,395
51,240
41,551
6,624
Total revenues
294,479
461,787
284,412
45,342
Cost of revenues
Net advertising service
131,125
181,361
107,289
17,104
Paid services
31,364
27,318
20,944
3,339
Total cost of revenues
162,489
208,679
128,233
20,443
Gross profit
Net advertising service
109,959
229,186
135,572
21,614
Paid services
22,031
23,922
20,607
3,285
Total gross profit
131,990
253,108
156,179
24,899
Phoenix New Media Limited
Condensed Information of Cost of Revenues
(Amounts in thousands)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
December 31,
March 31,
March 31,
2017
2017
2018
2018
RMB
RMB
RMB
US$
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Revenue sharing fees
17,320
12,350
8,617
1,374
Content and operational costs
106,316
143,588
105,273
16,783
Bandwidth costs
14,528
12,830
14,343
2,286
Sales taxes and surcharges
24,325
39,911
-
-
Total cost of revenues
162,489
208,679
128,233
20,443
Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Results of Operations Measures to the Nearest Comparable GAAP Measures
(Amounts in thousands, except for number of ADSs and per ADS data)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
Three Months Ended December 31, 2017
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
Non-GAAP
Non-GAAP
Non-GAAP
GAAP
Adjustments
Non-GAAP
GAAP
Adjustments
Non-GAAP
GAAP
Adjustments
Non-GAAP
RMB
RMB
RMB
RMB
RMB
RMB
RMB
RMB
RMB
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Gross profit
131,990
1,623
(1)
133,613
253,108
1,221
(1)
254,329
156,179
205
(1)
156,384
Gross margin
44.8%
45.4%
54.8%
55.1%
54.9%
55.0%
Income from operations
(40,051)
8,266
(1)
(31,785)
(5,433)
4,677
(1)
(756)
(57,850)
3,450
(1)
(54,400)
Operating margin
-13.6%
-10.8%
-1.2%
-0.2%
-20.3%
-19.1%
8,266
(1)
4,677
(1)
3,450
(1)
664
(2)
(4,865)
(2)
2,430
(2)
Net (loss)/income attributable to Phoenix New Media Limited
(32,174)
8,930
(23,244)
11,821
(188)
11,633
(57,540)
5,880
(51,660)
Net margin
-10.9%
-7.9%
2.6%
2.5%
-20.2%
-18.2%
Net (loss)/income per ADS—diluted
(0.45)
(0.32)
0.16
0.16
(0.79)
(0.71)
Weighted average number of ADSs used in computing diluted net (loss)/income per ADS
71,741,910
71,741,910
73,896,840
73,896,840
72,403,514
72,403,514
(1) Share-based compensation
(2) Loss/(income) from equity investments, including impairments
Non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items have no income tax effect.
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/phoenix-new-media-reports-unaudited-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-300647861.html
SOURCE Phoenix New Media Limited | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/pr-newswire-phoenix-new-media-reports-unaudited-first-quarter-2018-financial-results.html |
May 1, 2018 / 12:40 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago UK has not yet identified Skripal poisoning suspects Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has not identified the suspects who carried out the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal but is stepping up protection for other defectors who might also be at risk, the UK’s national security adviser said on Tuesday. A police officer guards a cordoned off area in the city centre where former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found poisoned, in Salisbury, Britain, April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in the southern English city of Salisbury on March 4 after a liquid form the Novichok type of nerve agent was applied to the front door of his home.
Britain says Russia was behind the attack but Moscow has denied any involvement. The ensuing fallout led to the biggest Western expulsions of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War.
Asked by lawmakers on the British parliament’s defence committee if the suspects behind the poisoning had been identified, Mark Sedwill, the national security adviser to Prime Minister Theresa May, said: “Not yet”.
The attack left both Skripal and his daughter critically ill in hospital for weeks. A British policeman was also treated in hospital.
Yulia Skripal, 33, was discharged last month but her father, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service, remains in hospital.
Other Russian dissidents and defectors have also been killed in Britain in recent years in circumstances that have raised suspicions.
Police said they had launched a murder investigation into the death of Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov who was found dead at his London home days after Skripal was poisoned, although detectives said there was nothing to link the two events.
Following the Skripals’ poisoning, police and intelligence services were also instructed to look at 14 other deaths which were not originally treated as suspicious by police but where allegations of Russian state involvement had been made.
In a letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last month, Sedwill said Russia’s intelligence agencies spied Skripal and his daughter for at least five years and regarded some defectors as “legitimate targets for assassination”.
He told the British lawmakers that preventative steps were now being taken.
“The police who are responsible for protective security and the various agencies alongside them are reviewing the security of all people who might be vulnerable in that way,” Sedwill told the committee. Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Guy Faulconbridge | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-russia-skripal/uk-has-not-yet-identified-skripal-poisoning-suspects-idINKBN1I23L3 |
Company to Hold Conference Call on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. ET
First Quarter 2018 Financial Performance Summary (comparisons to First Quarter 2017 unless noted):
Gross premiums written decreased by 3.0% to $95.6 million In-force premium increased 7.4% to $274.6 million Total revenue increased by 14.8% to $57.2 million Underwriting income for the first quarter 2018 was $6.0 million, compared to $6.3 million The combined ratio for the first quarter 2018 was 89.3%, compared to 86.9% Net income for the first quarter 2018 was $5.5 million, or $0.45 earnings per common share diluted, compared to $4.9 million, or $0.40 earnings per common share diluted, representing an increase in earnings per common share diluted of $0.05 Annualized return on equity was 24.3% in the first quarter 2018 compared to 14.9%
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFH) (“Atlas” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
Management Comments
Scott D. Wollney, Atlas’ President and CEO, stated, “We achieved a solid start to 2018 with a focus on underwriting profitability. Our expectation is that the conservative approach we’ve taken with respect to current year loss ratio coupled with incremental rate increases and our continued stringent evaluation of claims inventory and subsequent closure levels will optimize retained earnings over time. By leveraging analytics to amplify the core expertise we’ve established as a specialist, our team works diligently to identify challenging claims, with the goal of ensuring that we defend our clients against non-meritorious claims but also proactively settle appropriate claims as quickly and accurately as possible. In addition to overall rate activity, we are confident that our investment in technology and analytics is also having a positive impact on underwriting activities. The first quarter illustrates the earnings power of our business with an annualized return on equity of 24.3% in the first quarter compared to 14.9% in the prior year quarter.”
Financial and Operational Review
Premiums Written: For the three month period ended March 31, 2018, gross premiums written was $95.6 million compared to $98.5 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2017, representing a 3.0% decrease. Gross premiums written decreased primarily due to the non-renewal of one large Illinois taxi fleet as a result of disciplined underwriting practices.
Geographic Distribution: The Company is licensed in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Atlas actively writes its core business in 42 of these states plus the District of Columbia. Compared to the three month period ended March 31, 2017, Atlas experienced growth in gross premiums written in its core business in 24 states for the three month period ended March 31, 2018. Based on the Company’s commitment to optimize return on deployed capital, the Company utilizes predictive analytics based pricing coupled with its strong value proposition to grow market share in environments that are favorable and is prepared to reduce exposure to those that are more challenging.
Combined Ratio: Atlas’ combined ratio increased for the three month period ended March 31, 2018 to 89.3%, compared to 86.9% in the prior year period.
Loss Ratio: The loss ratio relating to claims incurred for the three month period ended March 31, 2018 was 62.7%, compared to 60.5% for the three month period ended March 31, 2017. The loss ratio increased over the prior year period primarily as a result of the Company’s continued review of underwriting profitability by product and state and higher than expected claim cost associated with Atlas’ participation in non-voluntary assigned risk pools and run-off commercial auto. For reference, 1.4 percentage points of the year-over-year difference is attributable to assigned risk business, reflecting the challenges facing broader commercial auto, with the remainder of the change attributable to a more conservative current year loss ratio selection. As previously announced, the Company is utilizing machine learning based predictive analytics in the claim area, in addition to using it as an underwriting tool, to further benefit from the data and experience within its organization. Atlas believes this approach amplifies the value of the assets accumulated over its operating subsidiaries’ many years spent focusing on niche target markets to model potential risk and deliver value for both customers and stakeholders. On a year over year basis, the Company expects its loss ratio to continue to generally trend in a positive direction based on prior year and potential future pricing, underwriting and claims activities. Underwriting Expense Ratio: The underwriting expense ratio for the three month period ended March 31, 2018 was 26.6% compared to 26.4% for the three month period ended March 31, 2017. The ratio increased mainly because of higher than average acquisition costs in the quarter. The average was higher due to the non-renewal of the one large taxi fleet in Illinois which had been historically underwritten at zero commissions. As previously indicated, due to seasonality and the timing of certain expenses, the Company believes the full year expense ratio is a more indicative measure of efficiency that the ratio in any given quarter. Atlas remains focused on continually enhancing its value proposition through re-investment into research and development to ensure that its organization is able to continue leading the industry in terms of existing and developing niche markets on which Atlas focuses.
The table below details the comparisons of each component of the Company’s combined ratio for the periods indicated (after accounting for the effect of quota share reinsurance):
Three Month Periods Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Loss Ratio: Current accident year 60.7 % 59.9 % Prior accident years 2.0 % 0.6 % Loss Ratio 62.7 % 60.5 % Underwriting Expense Ratio: Acquisition cost ratio 10.7 % 10.5 % Other underwriting expense ratio 16.8 % 16.0 % DPAC amortization ratio (0.5 ) % (0.8 ) % Underwriting expense ratio before expenses related to stock purchase agreements and share-based compensation expenses 27.0 % 25.7 % Expenses recovered related to stock purchase agreement ratio (0.9 ) % — % Share-based compensation expense ratio 0.5 % 0.7 % Underwriting expense ratio 26.6 % 26.4 % Total combined ratio 89.3 % 86.9 % As the Company continues the use of quota share reinsurance, and potentially changes the percentage of ceded premiums under its contract, the impact on the individual ratios of acquisition cost and other underwriting expense will vary. On a pro-forma basis, as if there was no quota share reinsurance in place, the components of the underwriting expense ratio for the periods indicated would have been as follows:
Three Month Periods Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Acquisition costs 13.3 % 13.7 % Other insurance general and administrative expenses 15.1 % 14.0 % DPAC amortization (0.5 )% (0.7 )% Expenses recovered related to stock purchase agreements (0.8 )% — % Share-based compensation expense 0.5 % 0.6 % Total underwriting expense ratio 27.6 % 27.6 % Underwriting Results: Underwriting profit decreased to $6.0 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2018, compared to $6.3 million in the same period of the prior year, representing a 5.8% decrease.
Net Income before Income Taxes: Net income before income taxes decreased to $6.8 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2018, compared to $7.5 million in the same period of the prior year, representing a 8.7% decrease.
Income Taxes: Atlas recognized tax expense of $1.3 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2018 compared to a tax expense of $2.6 million in the same period of the prior year.
Net Income: Atlas reported net income of $5.5 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2018, compared to $4.9 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2017.
Earnings per common share (“EPS”): Atlas generated $0.45 earnings per common share diluted for the three month period ended March 31, 2018. This compares to $0.40 earnings per common share diluted as reported for the three month period ended March 31, 2017.
Share Count: The following chart illustrates Atlas’ potential dilutive common shares for the three month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017:
Three Month Periods Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Weighted average common shares outstanding 12,140,587 12,045,519 Dilutive potential ordinary shares: Dilutive stock options 57,474 155,049 Dilutive average common shares outstanding 12,198,061 12,200,568 The effects of convertible instruments are excluded from the computation of earnings per common share diluted in periods in which the effect would be anti-dilutive. For the three month periods ended March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017, all exercisable stock options were deemed to be dilutive.
Balance Sheet/Investment Overview
Book Value: Book value per common share was $7.62 based on 11,944,378 common shares outstanding as of March 31, 2018, compared to $7.42 based on 12,178,857 common shares outstanding as of December 31, 2017. Book value per common share of $7.62 increased by $0.20 relative to December 31, 2017 as follows:
$ 0.44 increase related to net income after tax and before items indicated below; (0.01 ) decrease related to the loss from change in fair value of equity securities; 0.02 increase related to the change in net realized investment gains after tax; (0.17 ) decrease related to the change in unrealized gains/losses after tax; (0.09 ) decrease related to stock repurchases; and 0.01 increase related to share-based compensation. $ 0.20 total increase from December 31, 2017 book value per common share Cash and Invested Assets: Cash and invested assets as of March 31, 2018 totaled $239.3 million as compared to $243.5 million as of December 31, 2017.
Investment Strategy: Atlas aligns its securities portfolio to support the liabilities and operating cash needs of its insurance subsidiaries, to preserve capital and to generate investment returns. Atlas invests predominantly in fixed income securities with overall maturities that correlate with the payout patterns of Atlas’ claims liabilities and other liquidity needs. Other than fixed income investments are limited to an appropriately small percentage of its portfolio and are generally opportunities identified through the Company’s specialty focus or by leveraging the resources of its business partners. As of March 31, 2018, the average life on the Company’s portfolio was 5.2 years with a duration of 4.0 years. The Company’s investment allocations will be regularly reviewed based on market conditions with a continued emphasis on capital preservation to support growth in its operating business.
Net Investment Income / Net Investment Realized Gains: Atlas generated net investment income of $964,000 and $1.1 million for the quarters ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, as well as $293,000 and $134,000 of net realized gains, respectively. The decrease in net investment income from the prior year period was primarily the result of lower returns on equity method investments and higher investment expenses, partially offset by higher interest income on the Company’s fixed income securities portfolio. The higher interest income on fixed income securities resulted from increased yields on the fixed income securities portfolio. The gross annualized investment yield on the Company’s fixed income securities was 2.6% and 2.2% for the quarters ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The increase in the gross annualized yield was due to management’s decision to use the proceeds from the maturity and sales of certain fixed income securities to purchase fixed income securities with higher yields. The gross annualized investment yield on the Company’s cash and cash equivalents was 0.5% and 0.2% for the quarters ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The increase in gross yield on cash investments was due to higher interest rates on certain accounts and higher balances in accounts earning greater interest. The increase in net realized gains was primarily comprised of gains from the sale of equity securities, partially offset by losses from the sale of fixed income securities.
Beginning January 1, 2018, Atlas adopted Accounting Standards Update 2016-01, which requires changes in the unrealized market value of equities held at fair value to be recorded through net income. Atlas recorded a loss of $128,000 through net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 related to the changes in unrealized amounts on equities held at fair value.
Outlook for 2018
Atlas expects to write in excess of $300 million in premiums in 2018, which is a consistent rate of growth relative to last year, subject to market conditions. Based on recent commercial auto industry results, the Company expects further market hardening through 2018. As always, underwriting profit will take precedent over top line growth.
At that level of premium and expected use of the Company’s existing reinsurance programs, with a full year combined ratio in the mid-80s, it is reasonable to expect annual net earnings per share to exceed $2.00.
Mr. Wollney concluded, “We continued to emphasize bottom line performance over top line growth, with written premiums coming in as expected in the first quarter following rate enhancements. We do expect to write in excess of $300 million in premiums in 2018, but remain focused on utilizing the repository of data specific to our niche and integrating predictive analytics to achieve returns on equity over the broader P&C universe.”
Conference Call Details
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 8, 2018 - 8:30 a.m. ET Participant Dial-In Numbers: (United States): 877-423-9817 (International): 201-493-6770 To access the call, please dial-in approximately five minutes before the start time and, when asked, provide the operator with passcode “Atlas”.
An accompanying slide presentation will be available in .pdf format on the investor relations page of the Company’s website after issuance of the earnings release.
Webcast
The call will also be simultaneously webcast over the Internet via the “Investor Relations” section of Atlas’ website at www.atlas-fin.com/investorrelations or by clicking on the conference call link: http://atlas-fin.equisolvewebcast.com/q1-2018 . Audio and a transcript of the call will be archived on the Company’s website.
About Atlas
The primary business of Atlas is commercial automobile insurance in the United States, with a niche market orientation and focus on insurance for the “light” commercial automobile sector including taxi cabs, non-emergency para-transit, limousine/livery (including certain transportation network company drivers) and business auto. The business of Atlas is carried on through its subsidiaries American Country Insurance Company, American Service Insurance Company, Inc., Gateway Insurance Company, Global Liberty Insurance Company of New York, Anchor Group Management, Inc., Plainview Premium Finance Company, Inc., and Plainview Premium Finance Company of California, Inc. Atlas’ insurance subsidiaries have decades of experience with a commitment to always being an industry leader in these specialized areas of insurance.
For more information about Atlas, please visit www.atlas-fin.com .
Financial Information
Atlas’ financial statements reflect consolidated results of Atlas’ subsidiaries: American Insurance Acquisition Inc., American Country Insurance Company, American Service Insurance Company, Inc., Gateway Insurance Company, Global Liberty Insurance Company of New York, Anchor Holdings Group, Inc., Anchor Group Management, Inc., Plainview Premium Finance Company, Inc., Plainview Premium Finance Company of California, Inc., UBI Holdings Inc., and DriveOn Digital IP Inc. Additional information about Atlas, including a copy of Atlas’ 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K financial statements and Management Discussion & Analysis, can be accessed via the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission internet site at www.sec.gov or through Atlas’ website at http://www.atlas-fin.com/InvestorRelations/FinancialReports.aspx .
Forward-Looking Statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Atlas and its insurance subsidiaries and businesses. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of each entity. The words “anticipate”, “expect”, “believe”, “may”, “should”, “estimate”, “project”, “outlook”, “forecast” or similar words are used to identify such forward looking information. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Companies, including risks regarding the insurance industry, economic factors and the equity markets generally and the risk factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Atlas and its subsidiaries undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
ATLAS FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME ($ in ‘000s, except for share and per share data)
Three Month Periods Ended Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income March 31, 2018
(unaudited)
March 31, 2017
(unaudited)
Net premiums earned $ 55,892 $ 48,426 Net investment income 964 1,143 (Loss) income from change in fair value of equity securities (128 ) — Net realized gains 293 134 Other income 164 114 Total revenue 57,185 49,817 Net claims incurred 35,046 29,300 Acquisition costs 5,976 5,096 Other underwriting expenses 9,319 7,591 Amortization of intangible assets 97 97 Interest expense 455 268 Expenses recovered pursuant to stock purchase agreement (520 ) — Total expenses 50,373 42,352 Income from operations before income taxes 6,812 7,465 Income tax expense 1,283 2,613 Net income 5,529 4,852 Less: Preferred share dividends — — Net income attributable to common shareholders $ 5,529 $ 4,852 Basic weighted average common shares outstanding 12,140,587 12,045,519 Earnings per common share, basic $ 0.46 $ 0.40 Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding 12,198,061 12,200,568 Earnings per common share, diluted $ 0.45 $ 0.40 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income Net income $ 5,529 $ 4,852 Other comprehensive (loss) income: Changes in net unrealized investment (losses) gains (2,768 ) 349 Reclassification to net income 158 (89 ) Effect of income taxes 549 (91 ) Other comprehensive (loss) income (2,061 ) 169 Total comprehensive income $ 3,468 $ 5,021 ATLAS FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION ($ in ‘000s, except for share and per share data)
March 31, 2018
(unaudited)
December 31,
2017
Assets
Investments Fixed income securities, available for sale, at fair value (amortized cost $152,288 and $158,411) $ 149,251 $ 157,984 Equity securities, at fair value (cost $6,966 and $7,969) 7,315 8,446 Other investments 30,071 31,438 Total Investments 186,637 197,868 Cash and cash equivalents 52,688 45,615 Accrued investment income 1,362 1,248 Premiums receivable (net of allowance of $3,656 and $3,418) 101,412 79,664 Reinsurance recoverables on amounts paid 9,700 7,982 Reinsurance recoverables on amounts unpaid 52,316 53,402 Prepaid reinsurance premiums 14,993 12,878 Deferred policy acquisition costs 19,753 14,797 Deferred tax asset, net 16,101 16,985 Goodwill 2,726 2,726 Intangible assets, net 4,048 4,145 Property and equipment, net 27,000 24,439 Other assets 18,718 20,754 Total Assets $ 507,454 $ 482,503 Liabilities
Claims liabilities $ 204,742 $ 211,648 Unearned premium reserves 156,453 128,043 Due to reinsurers 10,135 8,411 Notes payable, net 24,087 24,031 Other liabilities and accrued expenses 20,647 19,725 Total Liabilities $ 416,064 $ 391,858 Shareholders’ Equity
Ordinary voting common shares, $0.003 par value, 266,666,667 shares authorized, shares issued: March 31, 2018 - 12,192,475 and December 31, 2017 - 12,164,041; shares outstanding: March 31, 2018 - 11,936,970 and December 31, 2017 - 12,164,041 $ 36 $ 36 Restricted voting common shares, $0.003 par value, 33,333,334 shares authorized, shares issued and outstanding: March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 - 0 — — Additional paid-in capital 201,382 201,105 Treasury stock, at cost: March 31, 2018 - 255,505 and December 31, 2017 - 0 shares of ordinary voting common shares (3,000 ) — Retained deficit (104,629 ) (110,535 ) Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax (2,399 ) 39 Total Shareholders’ Equity 91,390 90,645 Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity $ 507,454 $ 482,503 Use of Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measurements
Atlas uses these non-GAAP financial measures in order to present its financial condition and results of operations in the way it believes will be most meaningful and representative of its business results. The non-GAAP financial measures that Atlas presents may not be comparable to similarly-named measures reported by other companies.
Adjusted operating income, before income taxes includes both underwriting income and loss and net investment income, but excludes net realized gains and losses, legal and professional expense incurred related to business combinations, interest expense, net impairment charges recognized in earnings and other items. Underwriting income is derived by reducing net premiums earned by net claims incurred, policy acquisition costs and general operating expenses.
Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP Net Income to Adjusted Operating Income, Before Income Taxes ($ in ‘000s, except per share data) Three Month Periods Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Net income $ 5,529 $ 0.45 $ 4,852 $ 0.40 Add: income tax expense 1,283 0.10 2,613 0.21 Add: expenses recovered pursuant to stock purchase agreement (520 ) (0.04 ) — — Add: interest expense 455 0.04 268 0.02 Less: loss from change in fair value of equity securities (128 ) (0.01 ) — — Less: net realized investment gains 293 0.02 134 0.01 Less: other income 164 0.01 114 0.01 Adjusted operating income, before income taxes $ 6,418 $ 0.53 $ 7,485 $ 0.61 After-tax return on average common equity is derived by subtracting preferred share dividends accrued from net income and dividing by average common equity. Common equity is total shareholders’ equity less preferred shares and cumulative preferred share dividends accrued. Average common equity is the average of common equity at the beginning and the ending of the reporting period.
Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP Shareholders’ Equity to Common Equity ($ in ‘000s) As of: March 31, 2018 December 31,
2017
March 31, 2017 December 31,
2016
Total shareholders’ equity $ 91,390 $ 90,645 $ 132,683 $ 127,342 Less: accrued dividends on preferred shares (333 ) (333 ) (333 ) (333 ) Total common equity $ 91,057 $ 90,312 $ 132,350 $ 127,009 Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP Return on Equity to Return on Common Equity ($ in ‘000s) Three Month Periods Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Net income $ 5,529 $ 4,852 Average equity 91,018 130,012 Return on equity 24.3 % 14.9 % Net income $ 5,529 $ 4,852 Preferred share dividends accrued — — Net income attributable to common shareholders $ 5,529 $ 4,852 Average common equity 90,685 129,679 Return on average common equity 24.4 % 15.0 %
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180507006067/en/
Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc.
Scott Wollney, CEO
847-700-8600
[email protected]
www.atlas-fin.com
or
Investor Relations
The Equity Group Inc.
Adam Prior, Senior Vice President
212-836-9606
[email protected]
www.theequitygroup.com
Source: Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/07/business-wire-atlas-financial-holdings-announces-2018-first-quarter-financial-results.html |
U.S. consumers are boosting purchases of everything from clothes to furniture on the heels of the U.S. tax cut and rising wage gains, a relief for investors who had worried soft spending would weigh on economic growth. Commerce Department data released Tuesday showed retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in April from the prior month, matching Rising Crude Prices Tempt Shale Oil Producers to Branch Out—Energy Journal Next Stocks to Watch: Home Depot, Amazon, Symantec, Wynn, CBS, Viacom, Tesla, Ford, Micron, Valeant | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2018/05/15/are-u-s-consumers-finally-going-shopping-with-their-tax-savings/ |
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germans will be able to use dashcam footage as evidence in some road accident cases following a federal supreme court ruling on Tuesday, even though it violates strict privacy rules.
FILE PHOTO: The sign of the German Federal Supreme Court Bundesgerichtshof is pictured in Karlsruhe, Germany, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo A German court sparked a debate in 2016 about privacy and surveillance when it decided to accept footage from a dashboard mounted camera as the sole evidence to convict a driver who ran a red light.
Surveillance is a sensitive issue because of extensive snooping by the Stasi secret police in Communist East Germany and by the Gestapo in the Nazi era, and the Federal Court of Justice decision overturned a ruling by a lower court.
This had told a plaintiff seeking damages for a car crash that he could not use footage from his dashboard-mounted camera to prove who had caused the accident.
German law forbids continuous filming in public places, which means that drivers are not allowed to leave their dashcams running for hours at a time.
“But continuous, unprompted recording of what is happening on and along the road is not necessary for a plaintiff to secure evidence,” the Federal Court of Justice said in a statement.
“It is technically possible to create a short recording of an accident itself, for instance by continuously overwriting what is being recorded but only saving it permanently when an accident happens,” it added.
It also said that courts should be allowed to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to allow dashcam footage as evidence by weighing a plaintiff’s right to bring claims before a civil court against a defendant’s right to privacy.
They should also take into account that there is often very little evidence available in road accidents, and that the people caught on camera were in a public place.
The federal supreme court ruling means the lower court will now have to deliver a new verdict.
Germany’s insurance trade body GDV, which is in favour of using dashcam footage to quickly settle questions of liability, said the court’s ruling failed to set out clear guidelines.
“On the one hand, such cameras are not forbidden and their footage can be used in civil proceedings. On the other hand the court says that you’re breaking privacy laws if you record people and license plates while driving,” GDV manager Bernhard Gause said in a statement.
FILE PHOTO: The building of the German Federal Supreme Court Bundesgerichtshof is pictured in Karlsruhe, Germany, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Alexander Smith
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/germany-trial-privacy/dashcam-footage-gets-top-german-court-appoval-for-car-crash-cases-idINKCN1IG1LJ |
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc will offer its first dating service, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday, signaling the entry of the world’s largest social network into a growing market that sent shares of established dating site operators tumbling.
Zuckerberg told software developers at Facebook’s annual F8 conference that a dating service would be a natural fit for a company that specializes in connecting people online.
“There are 200 million people on Facebook that list themselves as single, so clearly there’s something to do here,” Zuckerberg said.
Facebook users have been able reveal on the network whether they are single or in a relationship since it first went live in February 2004.
Zuckerberg said Facebook was building the dating service with an emphasis on privacy, a sensitive subject for people who use online dating and for Facebook as the company reels from a scandal over its handling of personal information.
A dating service could increase the time people spend on Facebook and be a “big problem” for competitors such as Match Group Inc , said James Cordwell, an analyst at Atlantic Equities. Match, the owner of popular mobile dating app Tinder and OkCupid, calls itself the “global leader in dating” on its website.
“But the initial functionality looks relatively basic compared to those offered by Match’s services, so the impact Facebook has on the dating space will be down to how well it executes in this area,” Cordwell said.
Related Coverage Dating sites Tinder, Match swoon as Facebook plays the field Facebook adds more tools to Workplace to court business customers Facebook to use augmented reality to draw ads to Messenger app Match Group shares fell more than 23 percent on the news of Facebook’s service. IAC, Match Group’s parent company, dropped more than 15 percent. Sparks Networks, owner of JDate and ChristianMingle, fell 7.3 percent.
A prototype displayed on screens at the F8 conference showed a heart shape at the top-right corner of the Facebook app. Pressing on it will take people to their dating profile if they have set one up.
The prototype was built around local, in-person events, allowing people to browse other attendees and send them messages.
It did not appear to have a feature to “swipe” left or right on potential matches to signal interest, as Tinder and other established services have.
The feature will be for finding long-term relationships, “not just hook-ups,” Zuckerberg said. It will be optional and will launch soon, he added, without giving a specific day.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about a dating feature at Facebook Inc's annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S. May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said in a separate presentation that the company would share more over the next few months.
Cox said he had been thinking about a dating feature on Facebook since 2005, when he joined the company about a year after its founding.
The company began seriously considering adding a dating service in 2016, when Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook page a photo of a couple who had met on the network, Cox said.
Thousands of people responded to Zuckerberg’s post with similar stories about meeting partners on Facebook, Cox said. “That’s what got the gears turning,” he said.
People will be able to start a conversation with a potential match by commenting on one of their photos, but for safety reasons that Cox did not specify, the conversations will be text-only, he said.
Facebook executives were quick to highlight other features for safety and privacy, noting that dating activity would not show up in Facebook’s centerpiece News Feed.
Concerns about privacy on Facebook have grown since the social network’s admission in March that the data of millions of users was wrongly harvested by political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.
Slideshow (3 Images) A dating service “represents a potentially challenging situation if Facebook can’t fulfill its promise to offer dating services in a privacy-protected and safe way,” said Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at eMarketer.
However, “I’m sure it will make good use of the data Facebook has been able to collect about its users,” she added.
Zuckerberg also said on Tuesday that Facebook was building a new privacy control called “clear history” to allow users to delete browsing history, similar to the option of clearing cookies in a browser.
Reporting by David Ingram in San Jose; Additional reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Richard Chang
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-f8conference/facebook-to-allow-users-to-clear-browsing-history-idUSKBN1I23YV |
BUCHAREST, May 23 (Reuters) - Romania’s government will maintain its policy of cutting taxes and raising the minimum wage and state pensions until 2020 in a bid to improve living standards, the leader of the ruling Social Democrats said on Wednesday.
The government could also make it optional to join a private pension scheme, said Liviu Dragnea, who holds a tight grip on his party and is also speaker of parliament’s lower house. (Reporting by Luiza Ilie Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/romania-government-economy/romania-to-maintain-fiscal-stimulus-policy-until-2020-ruling-party-chief-idUSL5N1SU6NS |
President Donald Trump , who has repeatedly attacked pharmaceutical companies for "getting away with murder," wants to do more to address drug prices, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday.
HHS is working with Trump to create a comprehensive strategy to address issues that are causing ever-increasing drug prices, Azar said in a speech at the World Health Care Congress. The agency will build on proposals laid out in Trump's budget proposal for 2019, he said.
"But I can assure you the president wants to go further. Much further. Action is desperately needed," Azar said. "There's little access for a sick patient between a miracle cure that hasn't been discovered and one that is too expensive to use."
Trump criticism of drug prices includes chastising foreign countries for setting price controls on medication and "freeloading" on American innovation.
show chapters Trump's drug pricing plan not so bad for pharma 9:01 AM ET Mon, 12 Feb 2018 | 01:22 The Trump administration plans to address high list prices and rising out-of-pocket costs for consumers, said Azar, a former executive at pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly . He said it's possible to lower prices without inhibiting research and development.
"I believe we can lower the cost of medicine while still promoting research that will transform the future of health care going forward," Azar said. "Doing both is the only way forward."
The administration will also address the issue of seniors in government programs overpaying for drugs due to lack of negotiating of negotiating tools, Azar said. He has rejected the idea of allowing Medicare to directly work with manufacturers on prices.
However, the administration's 2019 budget called for some changes. That includes moving some costly drugs from Medicare Part B to Medicare Part D, where private insurers who administer plans can negotiate with manufacturers.
Azar said the administration wants to tackle the problem of foreign governments "freeriding" on American investment and innovation. The White House released a white paper in February calling for a way to get foreign countries to pay more for drugs.
Trump is expected to address drug prices in a speech next week.
He's given his administration "a very strong mandate" to do something about fixing the health-care system, Azar said.
"The time has simply come for this to happen. The status quo just cannot hold," Azar said. "The way we do business in American health care, from insurance to (information technology) to drug pricing to patient billing, has got to change." | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/hhs-alex-azar-addresses-drug-prices-at-world-health-care-congress.html |
May 4 (Reuters) - Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd
* Says it will merge with 94.5 percent owned communicate unit Q-Ware
* Says the unit will be dissolved after merger
Source text in Chinese: goo.gl/stqGd2
Further company coverage: (Beijing Headline News)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-far-eastone-telecommunications-to/brief-far-eastone-telecommunications-to-merge-with-communicate-unit-idUSL3N1SB3LQ |
May 3 (Reuters) - BrightSphere Investment Group PLC :
* QTRLY ECONOMIC NET INCOME EPS OF $0.50 PER SHARE * AUM OF $240.1 BILLION AT MARCH 31, 2018, A DECREASE OF 1.2% FROM DECEMBER 31, 2017
* QTRLY GAAP REVENUE $249.7 MILLION VERSUS $196.2 MILLION * Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.45, REVENUE VIEW $236.8 MILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* INCREASE IN QUARTERLY DIVIDEND TO $0.10 PER SHARE, UP 11.1% Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-brightsphere-investment-group-plc/brief-brightsphere-investment-group-plc-posts-qtrly-u-s-gaap-eps-of-0-52-idUSFWN1SA0SV |
May 23, 2018 / 12:28 AM / Updated 3 minutes ago Oil falls on shock U.S. stock builds, OPEC supply worries Ayenat Mersie 3 Min Read
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil benchmarks fell on Wednesday after an unexpected build in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories despite strong demand, and as traders weighed a possible increase in OPEC crude output to cover any shortfalls in supply from Iran and Venezuela. A general view of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation's (CPS) Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery in Colombo, Sri Lanka May 11, 2018. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
U.S. crude inventories rose 5.8 million barrels last week, while gasoline stocks increased by 1.9 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said. [EIA/S]
“Normally, you don’t see builds at this time of year. With Memorial Day Weekend and summer driving season coming up, we were expecting a draw. And getting a build - and such a large build, was surprising,” said Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures slipped 23 cents to settle at $79.80 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 lost 36 cents to $71.84 a barrel.
“A 5.8 million-barrel build is kind of like a slap in the face, where it’s like, ‘Where did this oil come from?’ And as you look through the numbers, it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “It is definitely a shock to the system.”
The increase in U.S. inventories came from a combination of reduced exports and rising imports. The latter is somewhat surprising, Flynn said, because Brent crude is trading at more than a $7 premium to U.S. crude WTCLc1-LCOc1, making exports more attractive.
Indeed, Sinopec ( 600028.SS ), Asia’s largest refiner, will boost U.S. crude oil imports to an all-time high as China tries to reduce its trade deficit with the United States, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Oil prices have gained nearly 20 percent this year, driven primarily by coordinated supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and partners including Russia.
OPEC may decide to raise oil output as soon as June as Venezuelan output collapses, U.S. sanctions against Iran loom, and after Washington raised concerns that the oil rally was going too far, OPEC and oil industry sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. “It does seem like any move above $80 attracts selling interest right now and that could potentially lead us to a period of consolidation, where I think $77.50 or even $75 might be in focus,” Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said.
Prices have also been affected by rising geopolitical tensions that could dent global output just as demand is set to hit 100 million barrels per day in the final quarter of this year, according to the International Energy Agency. Additional reporting by David Gaffen and Stephanie Kelly in New York, Amanda Cooper in London, Naveen Thukral and Jessica Jaganathan in Singapore; Editing by Richard Chang and Alistair Bell | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-dips-after-rally-opec-may-ease-supply-curbs-idUSKCN1IO01M |
WASHINGTON—House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that she is urging Democrats to focus on infrastructure projects, better-paying jobs and rolling back Republican tax cuts in the midterm elections—and not to run simply as opposition to President Donald Trump.
“It comes down to an economic message,” the California Democrat said in an interview hosted by Politico. “The financial instability of American families is something that needs to be addressed.”
... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/pelosi-urges-democrats-to-run-on-economic-issuesnot-simply-on-trumpin-midterms-1525801662 |
CONCORD, Mass., May 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Technical Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:TCCO) today announced its results for the three and six month periods ended March 31, 2018. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company reported a net loss of $(313,000), or $(0.17) per share, on revenue of $930,000, compared to net income of $128,000, or $0.07 per share, on revenue of $1,385,000 for the quarter ended April 1, 2017. For the six months ended March 31, 2018, the Company reported a net loss of $(365,000), or $(0.20) per share, on revenue of $2,046,000, compared to a net loss of $(567,000), or $(0.31) per share, on revenue of $2,017,000 for the six months ended April 1, 2017.
Commenting on corporate performance, Carl H. Guild, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of TCC, said, “During the Company’s second quarter ended March 31, 2018, we did not achieve our desired financial performance for fiscal 2018. Several international opportunities have made significant progress but have not yet closed due to delays in the evaluation and procurement process. TCC’s products go through rigorous field and laboratory testing, which ensures that all customer requirements are met prior to procurement. We expect that some customer evaluations will be completed during the next quarter, thereby allowing associated procurements to proceed.”
“TCC is committed to returning to profitability over the remainder of fiscal 2018. We continue to closely monitor and reduce operating expenses as appropriate, while strategically investing in business development efforts, developing productive relationships and expanding our sales channel network.”
About Technical Communications Corporation
For over 50 years, TCC has specialized in superior-grade secure communications systems and customized solutions, supporting our CipherONE ® best-in-class criteria, to protect highly sensitive voice, data and video transmitted over a wide range of networks. Government entities, military agencies and corporate enterprises in 115 countries have selected TCC's proven security to protect their communications. Learn more: www.tccsecure.com .
Statements made in this press release or as may otherwise be incorporated by reference herein constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding anticipated operating results, future earnings, and the ability to achieve growth and profitability. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including but not limited to the effect of foreign political unrest; domestic and foreign government policies and economic conditions; future changes in export laws or regulations; changes in technology; the ability to hire, retain and motivate technical, management and sales personnel; the risks associated with the technical feasibility and market acceptance of new products; changes in telecommunications protocols; the effects of changing costs, exchange rates and interest rates; and the Company's ability to secure adequate capital resources. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of the risks facing the Company, see the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended December 30, 2017 and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 and the “Risk Factors” section included therein.
Technical Communications Corporation
Condensed consolidated statements of operations
Quarter Ended (Unaudited) 03/31/2018 04/01/2017 Net sales $ 930,000 $ 1,385,000 Gross profit 351,000 1,147,000 S, G & A expense 531,000 545,000 Product development costs 135,000 477,000 Operating (loss) income (315,000 ) 125,000 Net (loss) income (313,000 ) 128,000 Net (loss) income per share: Basic $ (0.17 ) $ 0.07 Diluted $ (0.17 ) $ 0.07
Six Months Ended (Unaudited) 03/31/2018 04/01/2017 Net sales $ 2,046,000 $ 2,017,000 Gross profit 923,000 1,590,000 S, G & A expense 991,000 1,191,000 Product development costs 301,000 971,000 Operating loss (369,000 ) (572,000 ) Net loss (365,000 ) (567,000 ) Net loss per share: Basic $ (0.20 ) $ (0.31 ) Diluted $ (0.20 ) $ (0.31 ) Condensed consolidated balance sheets
03/31/2018 09/30/2017 (Unaudited) (derived from audited financial statements) Cash and marketable securities $ 1,543,000 $ 1,657,000 Accounts receivable - trade 316,000 730,000 Inventory, net 1,475,000 1,358,000 Other current assets 140,000 136,000 Total current assets 3,474,000 3,881,000 Property and equipment, net 63,000 54,000 Total assets $ 3,537,000 $ 3,935,000 Accounts payable $ 80,000 $ 109,000 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 345,000 326,000 Total current liabilities 425,000 435,000 Total stockholders’ equity 3,112,000 3,500,000 Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 3,537,000 $ 3,935,000 Technical Communications Corporation
100 Domino Drive
Concord, MA 01742 – 2892
Michael P. Malone
Chief Financial Officer
(978) 287-5100
www.tccsecure.com
Source:Technical Communications Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/07/globe-newswire-technical-communications-corporation-reports-results-for-the-three-and-six-months-ended-march-31-2018.html |
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Geospace Technologies (NASDAQ: GEOS) today announced that it narrowed its net loss to $4.7 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, on revenue of $19.2 million for its second quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to a net loss of $11.5 million, or $0.88 per diluted share, on revenue of $20.6 million for the second quarter of the prior year.
For the six months ended March 31, 2018, the company recorded revenue of $33.9 million compared to revenue of $35.8 million during the prior year period. The company reported a net loss of $14.2 million, or $1.07 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $23.2 million, or $1.77 per diluted share for the year ago period.
Walter R. ("Rick") Wheeler, President and CEO of Geospace Technologies said, “We are encouraged to see that revenue generated in the second fiscal quarter increased sequentially over the first quarter by 31%, or $4.6 million. While the sequential increase is positive, the amounts recorded in both the three month and six month periods ended March 31, 2018 reflect slight reductions in revenue of 6% and 5%, respectively, compared to the same periods last year. These reductions, while not attributed to any particular trend, resulted from the inconsistent demand for the purchase and rental of our seismic products. Despite the slightly lower revenue reported during the fiscal 2018 periods, we successfully generated a gross profit; our first gross profit in three years. The gross profit generated was primarily driven by lower inventory obsolescence charges as well as other financial management and cost reduction efforts that were implemented during this time. Further evidence of our cost control efforts is exemplified by our lower operating expenses. Excluding bad debt reserves and recoveries, operating expenses for the three month and six month periods ended March 31, 2018 fell by 15% and 8%, respectively, compared to last year.”
Traditional Seismic Products
“Revenue generated during the second quarter from our traditional seismic products totaled $3.2 million. This represents a decrease of 12% from last year’s second quarter, and generally reflects lower seismic industry demand for sensor products, as well as our connector and marine products. In contrast, revenue from these products in the first six months of the fiscal year increased by 12% over the same period last year, producing revenue of $7.0 million. Sales of specialty sensors and geophones from our rental fleet during the first quarter were the main driver of the increased revenue. Fluctuations in the sale of our traditional seismic products are typical from one period to another. If seismic exploration activities increase with the recent rise in crude oil prices, we would anticipate that these products will see an overall increase in demand.”
Wireless Seismic Products
“Revenue from our wireless seismic products for the three months and six months ended March 31, 2018 totaled $6.0 million and $9.7 million, respectively. These figures represent respective declines of 37% and 39% from the corresponding periods last year. It is important to note that the revenue generated during both prior year periods was associated with large OBX rental contracts underway at that time, compared with smaller OBX rental contracts in the current year periods. Despite this decline, we believe demand for our OBX marine nodes will continue to increase in future periods, based on the number and size of job tenders our customers are currently quoting. In that light, we recently entered into a contract with a new customer to rent 9,000 OBX nodes for a period of 180-days. We expect revenue from this rental contract to begin near the latter portion of our fiscal third quarter ending on June 30, 2018.”
Reservoir Seismic Products
“Our reservoir seismic products generated $2.1 million in the second fiscal quarter. This is almost three times the amount recorded in last year’s second fiscal quarter. Similarly, in the first six months of the current fiscal year, revenue from this segment more than doubled from the same period last year. The revenue increase in both periods is attributed to the sale of borehole seismic tools from our rental fleet, which are utilized in ‘frac monitoring’ and near-borehole well and reservoir characterization. Revenue in this segment will continue to fluctuate and will not increase in a significant way unless and until we have been awarded a contract to deliver a permanent reservoir monitoring system. Discussions to provide such systems are underway with customers, but the decision cycles for these projects are typically long and are not expected to have a commercial impact in the near future.”
Non-Seismic Products
“Collectively, our non-seismic products performed very well in the three month and six month periods ended March 31, 2018. Total revenue from this business segment reached $7.8 million and $14.3 million over the stated time periods, reflecting respective increases of 21% and 17%. This quarter’s revenue is the largest amount received from these products in the last five fiscal quarters. While our imaging product revenue remained relatively flat compared to last year’s three and six month periods, our industrial products experienced significant gains, improving by 43% and 31%, respectively. For the most part, these gains were the result of greater demand for our water meter cables and connectors and contract manufacturing services. We believe our continued efforts to expand our presence and product offerings in these markets will continue to show benefit. In further efforts to leverage our core technologies within non-seismic markets, we are in early stages of new product development that could significantly expand our presence in the border and perimeter security market. We have long served this industry as a provider of reliable sensor products, but through the adaptation of our advanced permanent reservoir monitoring systems, borehole tools, and cellular based wireless data recorders, we expect to provide products which are both innovative and scalable into the growing security industry. In today’s world of heightened security and risk management, we believe these products have great commercial opportunity.”
“During the first six months of our 2018 fiscal year we have seen oil prices increase to their highest level in more than three years, albeit considerably less than the record highs experienced in 2014. Although crude storage figures have fluctuated, efforts by OPEC and other aligned nations to reduce oversupply through managed production are having a stabilizing effect. Many oil companies are now achieving positive cash flows, largely through tightly constrained spending in conjunction with higher oil prices. Nevertheless there remains a hesitancy to increase spending, given the history of how costs spiraled upwards in the past. Exploration for new fields has taken the brunt of this spending resistance, but we are encouraged by an apparent loosening in the stranglehold on exploration funding. This is important in light of increasing analyses warning of future supply shortages if the prior trend were to otherwise continue. Our balance sheet remains strong with no debt and almost $41 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short term investments. In addition, our available credit facility places our total liquidity at more than $68 million. As the seismic market takes on recovery, we believe our support and dedication to customers’ needs for new and existing technological products favor us. In full complement, our financial strength demonstrates a level of stability to customers that significantly de-risks their choice in using our technology. Together with expanding our technology footprint in our non-seismic business segment, we believe we are very well positioned for the future.”
Conference Call Information
Geospace Technologies will host a conference call to review its fiscal year 2018 second quarter and six month financial results on May 4, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9 a.m. Central). Participants can access the call at (877) 876-9177 (US) or (785) 424-1669 (International). Please reference the conference ID: GEOSQ218 prior to the start of the conference call. A replay will be available for approximately 60 days and may be accessed through the Investor tab of our website at www.geospace.com .
About Geospace Technologies
Geospace Technologies Corporation designs and manufactures instruments and equipment used by the oil and gas industry to acquire seismic data in order to locate, characterize and monitor hydrocarbon producing reservoirs. The company also designs and manufactures non-seismic products, including industrial products, offshore cables, thermal printing equipment and film.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “budget”, “forecast”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue”, “evaluating” or similar words. Statements that contain these words should be read carefully because they discuss our future expectations, contain projections of our future results of operations or of our financial position or state other forward-looking information. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements that we make regarding our expected operating results, the adoption and sale of our products in various geographic regions, anticipated levels of capital expenditures and the sources of funding therefore, and our strategy for growth, product development, market position, financial results and the provision of accounting reserves. These forward-looking statements reflect our current judgment about future events and trends based on the information currently available to us. However, there will likely be events in the future that we are not able to predict or control. The factors listed under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Such examples include, but are not limited to, decreases in commodity price levels, which could reduce demand for our products, the failure of our products to achieve market acceptance, despite substantial investment by us, our sensitivity to short term backlog, delayed or cancelled customer orders, product obsolescence resulting from poor industry conditions or new technologies, bad debt write-offs associated with customer accounts, lack of further orders for our OBX systems, failure of our non-seismic products to be adopted by the border and security perimeter market, and any negative impact from our restatement of our financial statements regarding current assets. The occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position, and actual events and results of operations may vary materially from our current expectations. We assume no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that we may make from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
GEOSPACE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended March 31,
2018
March 31,
2017
March 31,
2018
March 31,
2017
Revenue: Products $ 14,044 $ 14,775 $ 27,469 $ 25,072 Rental equipment 5,203 5,783 6,422 10,771 Total revenue 19,247 20,558 33,891 35,843 Cost of revenue: Products 14,205 18,799 27,448 33,635 Rental equipment 3,043 4,317 5,412 8,093 Total cost of revenue 17,248 23,116 32,860 41,728 Gross profit (loss) 1,999 (2,558 ) 1,031 (5,885 ) Operating expenses: Selling, general and administrative 4,785 5,026 9,914 10,120 Research and development 2,430 3,412 5,588 6,784 Bad debt expense (recovery) 6 64 356 (418 ) Total operating expenses 7,221 8,502 15,858 16,486 Loss from operations (5,222 ) (11,060 ) (14,827 ) (22,371 ) Other income (expense): Interest expense (127 ) (8 ) (191 ) (16 ) Interest income 279 137 542 268 Foreign exchange losses, net (306 ) (215 ) (349 ) (281 ) Other, net (29 ) (16 ) (54 ) (33 ) Total other expense, net (183 ) (102 ) (52 ) (62 ) Loss before income taxes (5,405 ) (11,162 ) (14,879 ) (22,433 ) Income tax expense (benefit) (676 ) 341 (670 ) 775 Net loss $ (4,729 ) $ (11,503 ) $ (14,209 ) $ (23,208 ) Loss per common share: Basic $ (0.36 ) $ (0.88 ) $ (1.07 ) $ (1.77 ) Diluted $ (0.36 ) $ (0.88 ) $ (1.07 ) $ (1.77 ) Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic 13,264,710 13,146,330 13,233,205 13,120,286 Diluted 13,264,710 13,146,330 13,233,205 13,120,286 GEOSPACE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands except share amounts)
(unaudited)
March 31, 2018
September 30,
2017
ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 14,179 $ 15,092 Short-term investments 26,462 36,137 Trade accounts receivable, net 12,530 9,435 Financing receivables 5,036 3,055 Income tax receivable 975 273 Inventories 21,834 20,752 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1,452 1,623 Total current assets 82,468 86,367 Rental equipment, net 19,704 16,462 Property, plant and equipment, net 35,750 37,399 Non-current inventories 48,846 55,935 Deferred income tax assets, net 317 259 Non-current financing receivables, net 6,166 8,195 Prepaid income taxes 48 450 Other assets 213 629 Total assets $ 193,512 $ 205,696 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable trade $ 4,922 $ 2,599 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 5,300 6,338 Deferred revenue 533 1,568 Total current liabilities 10,755 10,505 Deferred income tax liabilities 46 37 Total liabilities 10,801 10,542 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders’ equity: Preferred stock, 1,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding — — Common stock, $.01 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized, 13,578,916 and 13,438,316 shares issued and outstanding 136 134 Additional paid-in capital 85,103 83,733 Retained earnings 110,957 125,517 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (13,485 ) (14,230 ) Total stockholders’ equity 182,711 195,154 Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 193,512 $ 205,696 GEOSPACE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Six Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Cash flows from operating activities: Net loss $ (14,209 ) $ (23,208 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: Deferred income tax benefit (40 ) (14 ) Rental equipment depreciation 4,519 6,905 Property, plant and equipment depreciation 2,105 2,596 Accretion of discounts on short-term investments 24 30 Stock-based compensation expense 1,344 2,844 Bad debt expense (recovery) 356 (418 ) Inventory obsolescence expense 3,297 8,397 Gross profit from sale of used rental equipment (4,187 ) (1,531 ) Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment (25 ) — Realized loss on short-term investments 1 2 Effects of changes in operating assets and liabilities: Trade accounts receivable (2,943 ) 244 Income tax receivable (701 ) 12,831 Inventories (4,613 ) 1,176 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 179 39 Prepaid income taxes 49 778 Accounts payable trade 2,320 (12 ) Accrued expenses and other 89 (2,251 ) Deferred revenue 60 (11 ) Income tax payable — (117 ) Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (12,375 ) 8,280 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of property, plant and equipment (495 ) (343 ) Proceeds from sale of property and equipment 200 — Investment in rental equipment (1,643 ) (140 ) Proceeds from the sale of used rental equipment 3,904 2,439 Purchases of short-term investments (3,755 ) (5,251 ) Proceeds from the sale of short-term investments 13,321 3,814 Net cash provided by investing activities 11,532 519 Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from the exercise of stock options 19 50 Net cash provided by financing activities 19 50 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (89 ) 196 Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (913 ) 9,045 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of fiscal year 15,092 10,262 Cash and cash equivalents, end of fiscal period $ 14,179 $ 19,307 GEOSPACE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
SUMMARY OF SEGMENT REVENUE AND OPERATING LOSS
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Seismic segment revenue: Traditional exploration products $ 3,187 $ 3,637 $ 6,977 $ 6,207 Wireless exploration products 6,039 9,601 9,670 15,924 Reservoir products 2,061 706 2,679 1,219 11,287 13,944 19,326 23,350 Non-Seismic segment revenue: Industrial product revenue 4,711 3,301 8,387 6,380 Imaging product revenue 3,115 3,167 5,893 5,824 7,826 6,468 14,280 12,204 Corporate 134 146 285 289 Total revenue $ 19,247 $ 20,558 $ 33,891 $ 35,843 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Operating income (loss): Seismic segment $ (3,757 ) $ (9,156 ) $ (11,430 ) $ (18,609 ) Non-seismic segment 1,384 1,052 2,413 2,104 Corporate (2,849 ) (2,956 ) (5,810 ) (5,866 ) Total operating loss $ (5,222 ) $ (11,060 ) $ (14,827 ) $ (22,371 )
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503006789/en/
Geospace Technologies
Rick Wheeler, 713-986-4444
Fax: 713-986-4445
President and CEO
Source: Geospace Technologies | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/business-wire-geospace-technologies-reports-fiscal-year-2018-second-quarter-and-six-month-results.html |
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH) announced that James Woys has joined the Company as its executive vice president of health plan services. Jim will lead all of the enterprise’s health plan support functions that are centralized and regionalized. These operations contain approximately 7,500 employees and include information technology, claims processing, payment integrity and contact centers as well as Molina’s $3 billion pharmacy operation, national network operations and a variety of clinical-oriented services such as quality, risk adjustment and ancillary services.
Jim previously spent 30 years at Health Net where he most recently served as the executive vice president and chief financial and operating officer. There he was responsible for managing operations of the $20 billion enterprise with extensive experience overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, Marketplace and other government programs.
“Jim is a proven and seasoned executive with the experience to make him a significant addition to our executive leadership,” said Joe Zubretsky, president and chief executive officer of Molina Healthcare, Inc. “With Jim at the head of our centralized and regionalized health plan support teams, and Pam Sedmak leading our health plan P&Ls, we have assembled a winning executive lineup to execute the Company’s margin recovery and sustainability plan.”
Jim brings more than 35 years of health care experience to Molina. As executive vice president, CFO and COO at Health Net, Jim was successful managing more than $1 billion in general and administrative expenses across the Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial and Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs operating segments. Jim also served as Health Net’s president of government and specialty services where he helped reprocure contracts and grow three operating segments covering more than three million lives.
Jim earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and his master’s degree in business administration from Golden Gate University.
About Molina Healthcare
Molina Healthcare, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 company, provides managed health care services under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. Through its locally operated health plans, Molina Healthcare served approximately 4.1 million members as of March 31, 2018. For more information about Molina Healthcare, please visit our website at molinahealthcare.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180514005197/en/
Molina Healthcare, Inc.
Ryan Kubota, 562-506-9057
Investor Relations
or
Public Relations
Laura Murray, 562-506-9208
Source: Molina Healthcare, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/business-wire-james-woys-joins-molina-healthcare-as-executive-vice-president-of-health-plan-services.html |
Cryptocurrencies are 'troubling' as a payment mechanism: BofA's Catherine Bessant 10 Hours Ago Catherine Bessant, Bank of America global chief operations and technology officer, discusses what she thinks about the future of cryptocurrencies. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/10/cryptocurrencies-are-troubling-as-a-payment-mechanism-bofas-catherine-bessant.html |
Company Posts Best First Quarter Revenue in Corporate History
EAST HANOVER, NJ, May 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SilverSun Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSNT), a national provider of transformational business technology solutions and services, today announced its first quarter results for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
Financial Highlights for Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 As Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2017:
· Revenues increased to $9,310,074, rising 16.3% from $8,002,572.
· Software sales increased 80.3% to $1,635,061 from $906,905.
· Services revenues totaled $7,675,013, increasing 8.2% from $7,095,667.
Gross profit increased 16.3% to $3,940,738 as compared to $3,387,049. Gross margin was 42.3% of revenue, compared to 42.3% in 2017. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and share-based compensation (“EBITDA”) were $284,696, decreasing 46.8% from $535,417. Net income was $58,387, or $0.01 earnings per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $153,583, or $0.03 earnings per basic and diluted share.
As of March 31, 2018, the Company had $1,807,171 in cash; $3,024,865 in accounts receivable; $262,977 in long term debt; and total stockholders' equity of $4,339,247. The Company has a $1,000,000 line of credit with a commercial lender, and the outstanding balance on that line of credit is $0.
For more details on SilverSun's first quarter results, please refer to the Company's 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and accessible at www.sec.gov .
Commenting on the results, Mark Meller, Chairman and CEO of SilverSun, stated, “This was an excellent quarter for SilverSun. Our record first quarter revenue reflects the success of our various growth initiatives across all our platforms. We generated record quarterly sales of both our Sage Enterprise Management (formerly Sage X3) and Acumatica product offerings. Our inside sales team, selling product into our installed customer base, generated record quarterly revenue. Our proprietary Partner Success Program (“PSP”), which encourages smaller Sage Software channel partners to contractually align their customers with our sales organization, was successful in increasing the growth of our customer base by over 25% in the first quarter alone.
“In addition, our award-winning managed service provider generated revenue 21% higher than the first quarter of 2017. Finally, our Mapadoc EDI solution remains the solution of choice for users of Sage 100c, Sage Enterprise Management, and Acumatica. We are very confident about the continued upward trajectory of all our business lines.”
Meller continued, “Sales, marketing and general and administrative expenses all increased in the first quarter, as we continued to invest in the resources and infrastructure necessary to support a larger organization. This has had a temporary negative impact on profitability, but we have taken steps to more closely align our cost structure with our growth targets, and we expect to deliver on our target operating margins in the second quarter and beyond. All in all, we are extremely optimistic about our prospects for the balance of 2018, and look forward to continuing to deliver positive results for the benefit of all our stakeholders in the coming months and years ahead.”
About SilverSun Technologies, Inc.
We are a business application, technology and consulting company providing strategies and solutions to meet our clients' information, technology and business management needs. Our services and technologies enable customers to manage, protect and monetize their enterprise assets whether on-premise or in the "Cloud". As a value added reseller of business application software, we offer solutions for accounting and business management, financial reporting, Enterprise Resource Planning ("ERP"), Warehouse Management Systems, Customer Relationship Management, and Business Intelligence. Additionally, we have our own development staff building software solutions for Electronic Data Interchange, time and billing, and various ERP enhancements. Our value-added services focus on consulting and professional services, specialized programming, training, and technical support. We have a dedicated network services practice that provides managed services, hosting, business continuity, cloud, e-mail and web services. Our customers are nationwide, with concentrations in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, Chicago, Dallas, Arizona, Seattle, Greensboro, and Southern California.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding, among other things our plans, strategies and prospects -- both business and financial. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "will," "may," "intend," "estimated," and "potential," among others. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this news release include market conditions and those set forth in reports or documents that we file from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to SilverSun Technologies, Inc. or a person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary language.
SilverSun Technologies, Inc. Mark Meller 973-758-6108 [email protected]
Source:SilverSun Technologies, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/globe-newswire-silversun-technologies-reports-profitable-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
A U.S. appeals court in Manhattan on Monday will consider whether 60,000 women were properly added to a class arbitration accusing Sterling Jewelers Inc of discriminating against them in pay and promotions even though they did not opt in to the class.
Joseph Sellers of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll will ask a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to restore an arbitrator’s ruling that said the women could be included in a certified class, which a federal judge reversed in January. Ohio-based Sterling is represented by Gerald Maatman of Seyfarth Shaw.
To read the full story on WestlawNext Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2HOpAqB
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/employment-sterling/2nd-circuit-to-hear-latest-duel-in-long-running-sterling-jewelers-sex-bias-case-idUSL1N1SB1YL |
18 Hours Ago | 02:18
The planned summit between leaders of the U.S. and North Korea may be off for now, but the Trump administration could still walk away with lessons about "diplomatic craft trade," said a former American diplomat.
"I do hope the Trump administration has learned a little about diplomatic trade craft and the need to send lower level delegations to test the assumptions of whether North Korea's prepared to do the things we hope they were doing," Christopher Hill, formerly U.S. ambassador to South Korea under President George W. Bush , told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday.
The summit that was supposed to be held on June 12 in Singapore would have been the first face-to-face encounter between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. But T rump called it off on Thursday.
The cancellation probably came after "reality began to set in" that both countries had "excessive expectations" going into the meeting, said Hill.
North Korea had wanted sanction reliefs without giving up its nuclear capabilities, while the U.S. had hoped for the rogue nation to denuclearize and not pay anything for it, explained Hill, who is now chief advisor to the chancellor for global engagement and professor of the practice in diplomacy at the University of Denver.
Such a gap in expectations on both sides could have been avoided if the U.S. had gotten a better reading of North Korea's intentions, especially since Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un twice in the past few months, according to Hill.
"I'm not quite clear what happened with Mike Pompeo on his two trips , but it's pretty clear he did not get a basis for a summit that is a complete denuclearization deal and what I don't understand is the inability to have kind of put out in writing what it is they wanted from the summit, what is it we wanted from the summit," he said.
"So, I think this was kind of a first major issue for the Trump administration and I hope they can take some lessons from it," he added. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/25/us-ambassador-christopher-hill-lessons-from-canceled-trump-kim-summit.html |
Continued focus produces $3.3 million of free cash flow, increased gross margins and bookings growth of 5% as sales momentum continues
Avid signs amendment to its senior secured facility, reducing the interest rate and fees by a total of 1.25%, extending the term to May 2023 and increasing the facility by $35 million
Avid’s Board elects Peter Westley, representative of one of Avid’s largest shareholders, as Chairman
BURLINGTON, Mass., May 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avid ® (NASDAQ:AVID), the platform that powers media and entertainment, today announced its first quarter 2018 financial results and provided guidance for its second quarter of 2018. The Company also announced that it has entered into an amendment to its senior secured facility, and that Peter Westley has been elected as Chairman of its Board of Directors.
Highlights of First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Bookings excluding Greater China were $101.6 million, an increase of 5% year over year. Continued strong revenue growth from subscription and digital/ecommerce sales, with cloud-enabled software subscriptions now at nearly 100,000 at the end of the first quarter and up 40% year-over-year, and digital/e-commerce sales up 58% year-over-year. GAAP Revenue was $97.9 million, in line with guidance. GAAP Gross Margin was 57%. Non-GAAP Gross Margin was 59%, an improvement 300 basis points over the fourth quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was $6.3 million, in line with guidance. GAAP Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities was $5.4 million. Free Cash Flow was $3.3 million, up 82% over the prior year.
“During the first quarter, Avid generated positive free cash flow, made progress toward improving our gross margins and saw continued bookings growth,” said Jeff Rosica, Chief Executive Officer and President of Avid. “Our strategies are resonating with customers and users across the industry as we help them to address the significant changes in the media landscape. In particular, our cloud-based subscriptions and software tools for individual creatives and teams continued to generate good revenue growth last quarter.”
Rosica continued, “At our recent Avid Connect event and the NAB Show, the Company again demonstrated our rapid pace of innovation with another wave of introductions such as new tools and solutions for aspiring artists and creative professionals, and Avid’s first SaaS offering for media enterprises. We expect to achieve additional revenue and margin contributions starting in the second half of 2018 as we bring these new product releases to market during the coming months."
Amendment to Senior Secured Facility
On May 10, 2018, Avid entered into an amendment with Cerberus Business Finance, LLC, its senior lender, to extend the maturity of its current term loan to May 2023 and increase its term and revolving facilities by an aggregate of $35 million. In addition, under the terms of the amendment, the facility will be subject to a lower interest rate and annual fees, have a reduced principal amortization schedule and no longer include a springing repayment feature related to the maturity of the Company’s convertible notes in June 2020.
“We are pleased with our improved capital structure in which we increased the facility and reduced debt service, without incurring any fees,” said Brian E. Agle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Avid. “During the quarter, we successfully transitioned our financial reporting to the new revenue recognition standard ASC 606. As we look to the balance of 2018, the Avid team is focused on better harvesting our backlog and converting each quarter’s bookings to revenue and cash.”
Avid Board Elects Peter Westley as Chairman
Avid also announced today that Peter Westley has been elected Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Westley is a Partner at Blum Capital Partners, a significant long-term shareholder. He has 30 years of experience in financial services working with media and technology companies, and has served on Avid’s board since 2016 as an independent director.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to lead Avid’s Board and I’m enthusiastic about the Company’s prospects for achieving greater shareholder value through better operational execution and financial discipline, while continuing to strengthen our strategic position with customers through our software and platform strategy,” said Peter Westley. “Our board is grateful for Nancy Hawthorne’s ongoing, valuable contributions and positive influence on Avid, and I’m pleased that she’s been re-elected to a new three-year term. Her board leadership throughout the recent period of management transition was crucial.”
“Avid today enjoys a highly diverse board of directors with deep experience across media, technology and finance,” said Nancy Hawthorne. “As the company moves into building upon its recent transformation, operational excellence and driving shareholder value are of paramount importance. As chair of the nominating and governance committee, I believe Peter’s background and leadership will be highly aligned with these priorities. I will continue in my role as board member, and I am committed to helping steer Avid’s increasing focus on culture and workplace environment, along with its other priorities.”
Second Quarter 2018 Guidance
Avid’s second quarter 2018 financial guidance is provided in the table below. This guidance reflects the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard ASC 606 as of January 1, 2018.
(in $ millions) Q2 2018 Revenue $97 - $107 Adjusted EBITDA $4 - $10 All guidance presented by the Company is inherently uncertain and subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Avid’s actual future results of operations could differ materially from those shown in the table above. For a discussion of some of the key assumptions underlying the guidance, as well as the key risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements, please see “Forward Looking Statements” below as well as the Avid Technology Q1 2018 Business Update presentation posted on Avid’s Investor Relations website.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Avid includes non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, including Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, and non-GAAP Gross Profit and Margin. The Company also includes the operational metrics of bookings and revenue backlog in this release. Avid believes the non-GAAP financial measures and operational metrics provided in this release provide helpful information to investors with respect to evaluating the Company’s performance. Unless noted, all financial information is reported based on actual exchange rates. Definitions of the non-GAAP financial measures are included in our Form 8-K filed today. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures in this release to the Company's comparable GAAP financial measures for the periods presented are set forth below and are also included in the supplemental financial and operational data sheet available on our investor relations webpage at ir.avid.com , which also includes definitions of the operational metrics.
The earnings release also includes forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow. Reconciliations of these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures are not included in the earnings release due to the high variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections of some of the excluded information, together with some of the excluded information not being ascertainable or accessible at this time. As a result, the Company is unable to quantify certain amounts that would be required to be included in the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable efforts.
Conference Call
Avid will host a conference call to discuss its financial results for the first quarter 2018 on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The call will be open to the public and can be accessed by dialing 323-794-2093 and referencing confirmation code 5575970. You may also listen to the call on the Avid Investor Relations website. To listen via the website, go to the events tab at ir.avid.com for complete details prior to the start of the conference call. A replay of the call will also be available on the Avid Investor Relations website shortly after the completion of the call.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information provided in this press release, including the tables attached hereto, include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including projections and statements about our anticipated plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Among other things, this press release includes estimated results of operations for the second quarter ending June 30, 2018, which estimates are based on a variety of assumptions about key factors and metrics that will determine our future results of operations, including, for example, anticipated market uptake of new products and market-based cost inflation. Other forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements based upon or otherwise incorporating judgments or estimates relating to future performance such as future operating results and expenses; earnings; backlog; revenue backlog conversion rate; product mix and free cash flow; our future strategy and business plans; our product plans, including products under development, such as cloud and subscription based offerings; our ability to raise capital and our liquidity. The projected future results of operations, and the other forward-looking statements in this release, are based on current expectations as of the date of this release and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to the effect on our sales, operations and financial performance resulting from: our liquidity; our ability to execute our strategic plan, and meet customer needs; our ability to retain and hire key personnel; our ability to produce innovative products in response to changing market demand, particularly in the media industry; our ability to successfully accomplish our product development plans; competitive factors; history of losses; fluctuations in our revenue based on, among other things, our performance and risks in particular geographies or markets; our higher indebtedness and ability to service it and meet the obligations thereunder; restrictions in our credit facilities; our move to a subscription model and related effect on our revenues and ability to predict future revenues; elongated sales cycles; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; seasonal factors; adverse changes in economic conditions; variances in our revenue backlog and the realization thereof; and the possibility of legal proceedings adverse to our company. Moreover, the business may be adversely affected by future legislative, regulatory or other changes, including tax law changes, as well as other economic, business and/or competitive factors. The risks included above are not exhaustive. Other factors that could adversely affect our business and prospects are set forth in our public filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as to the date of this press release and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
About Avid
Avid delivers the most open and efficient media platform, connecting content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution, and consumption. Avid’s preeminent customer community uses Avid’s comprehensive tools and workflow solutions to create, distribute and monetize the most watched, loved and listened to media in the world—from prestigious and award-winning feature films to popular television shows, news programs and televised sporting events, and celebrated music recordings and live concerts. With the most flexible deployment and pricing options, Avid’s industry-leading solutions include Media Composer®, Pro Tools®, Avid NEXIS®, MediaCentral®, iNEWS®, AirSpeed®, Sibelius®, Avid VENUE™, Avid FastServe™, Maestro™, and PlayMaker™. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com , connect with Avid on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , YouTube , LinkedIn , or subscribe to Avid Blogs .
© 2018 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid, the Avid logo, Avid NEXIS, Avid FastServe, AirSpeed, iNews, Maestro, MediaCentral, Media Composer, NewsCutter, PlayMaker, Pro Tools, Avid VENUE, and Sibelius are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice.
AVID TECHNOLOGY, INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited - in thousands, except per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 Net revenues: Products $ 46,410 $ 51,006 Services 51,527 53,101 Total net revenues 97,937 104,107 Cost of revenues: Products 26,295 24,504 Services 13,985 14,094 Amortization of intangible assets 1,950 1,950 Total cost of revenues 42,230 40,548 Gross profit 55,707 63,559 Operating expenses: Research and development 15,685 18,888 Marketing and selling 26,132 25,811 General and administrative 13,955 14,431 Amortization of intangible assets 363 363 Restructuring costs, net 2,907 983 Total operating expenses 59,042 60,476 Operating (loss) income (3,335 ) 3,083 Interest and other expense, net (5,359 ) (4,846 ) Loss before income taxes (8,694 ) (1,763 ) Provision for income taxes 255 152 Net loss $ (8,949 ) $ (1,915 ) Net loss per common share - basic and diluted $ (0.22 ) $ (0.05 ) Weighted-average common shares outstanding - basic 41,404 40,772 Weighted-average common shares outstanding - diluted 41,404 40,772
AVID TECHNOLOGY, INC. Reconciliations of GAAP financial measures to Non-GAAP financial measures (unaudited - in thousands) Three Months Ended March 31, Non-GAAP revenue 2018 2017 GAAP revenue $ 97,937 $ 104,107 Amortization of acquired deferred revenue - - Non-GAAP revenue 97,937 104,107 Pre-2011 Revenue - 405 Elim PCS - 1,700 Non-GAAP Revenue w/o Pre-2011 and Elim 97,937 102,002 Non-GAAP gross profit GAAP gross profit 55,707 63,559 Amortization of intangible assets 1,950 1,950 Stock-based compensation 53 64 Non-GAAP gross profit 57,710 65,573 Pre-2011 Revenue - 405 Elim PCS - 1,700 Non-GAAP gross profit w/o Pre-2011 and Elim 57,710 63,468 Non-GAAP operating expenses GAAP operating expenses 59,042 60,476 Less Amortization of intangible assets (363 ) (363 ) Less Stock-based compensation (650 ) (1,347 ) Less Restructuring costs, net (2,907 ) (983 ) Less Restatement costs (227 ) (122 ) Less Acquisition, integration and other costs (82 ) (2 ) Less Efficiency program costs (75 ) (1,522 ) Non-GAAP operating expenses 54,738 56,137 Non-GAAP operating income GAAP operating (loss) income (3,335 ) 3,083 Amortization of intangible assets 2,313 2,313 Stock-based compensation 703 1,411 Restructuring costs, net 2,907 983 Restatement costs 227 122 Acquisition, integration and other costs 82 2 Efficiency program costs 75 1,522 Non-GAAP operating income 2,972 9,436 Adjusted EBITDA Non-GAAP operating income (from above) 2,972 9,436 Depreciation 3,361 3,570 Adjusted EBITDA 6,333 13,006 Adjusted EBITDA margin 6 % 12 % Pre-2011 Revenue - 405 Elim PCS - 1,700 Adjusted EBITDA w/o Pre-2011 and Elim 6,333 10,901 Adjusted EBITDA w/o Pre-2011 and Elim margin 6 % 11 % Adjusted free cash flow GAAP net cash provided by operating activities 5,370 3,534 Capital expenditures (2,080 ) (1,729 ) Free Cash Flow 3,290 1,805 Non-Operational / One-time Items Restructuring payments 2,435 3,294 Restatement payments 281 59 Acquisition, integration and other payments (17 ) 15 Efficiency program payments 116 1,585 Sub-Total Non-Operational / One-Time Items 2,815 4,953 Adjusted free cash flow $ 6,105 $ 6,758 Adjusted free cash flow conversion of adjusted EBITDA 96 % 52 % These non-GAAP measures reflect how Avid manages its businesses internally. Avid’s non-GAAP measures may vary from how other companies present non-GAAP measures. Non-GAAP financial measures are not based on a comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. This non-GAAP information supplements, and is not intended to represent a measure of performance in accordance with, disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP.
AVID TECHNOLOGY, INC. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited - in thousands) March 31, December 31, 2018 2017 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 48,016 $ 57,223 Restricted cash 8,500 - Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $1,268 and $11,142 at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 52,532 40,134 Inventories 32,887 38,421 Prepaid expenses 10,827 8,208 Contract assets 11,756 - Other current assets 8,259 10,341 Total current assets 172,777 154,327 Property and equipment, net 20,663 21,903 Intangible assets, net 11,370 13,682 Goodwill 32,643 32,643 Long-term deferred tax assets, net 1,354 1,318 Other long-term assets 11,974 10,811 Total assets $ 250,781 $ 234,684 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 28,077 $ 30,160 Accrued compensation and benefits 24,400 25,466 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 42,928 31,549 Income taxes payable 1,978 1,815 Short-term debt 5,883 5,906 Deferred revenues 89,420 121,184 Total current liabilities 192,686 216,080 Long-term debt 203,252 204,498 Long-term deferred revenues 16,953 73,429 Other long-term liabilities 9,520 9,247 Total liabilities 422,411 503,254 Stockholders' deficit: Common stock 423 423 Additional paid-in capital 1,032,842 1,035,808 Accumulated deficit (1,189,102 ) (1,284,703 ) Treasury stock at cost (14,515 ) (17,672 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (1,278 ) (2,426 ) Total stockholders' deficit (171,630 ) (268,570 ) Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit $ 250,781 $ 234,684
AVID TECHNOLOGY, INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited - in thousands) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 (1) Cash flows from operating activities: Net loss $ (8,949 ) $ (1,915 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 5,674 5,815 Provision (recovery) for doubtful accounts 57 (110 ) Stock-based compensation expense 703 1,411 Non-cash interest expense 3,546 3,131 Unrealized foreign currency transaction losses 1,323 1,722 Benefit from deferred taxes (2 ) (374 ) Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable 8,596 14 Inventories (482 ) 1,573 Prepaid expenses and other assets (396 ) (5,850 ) Accounts payable (2,112 ) 2,388 Accrued expenses, compensation and benefits and other liabilities (1,355 ) (1,773 ) Income taxes payable 190 164 Deferred revenue (1,423 ) (2,662 ) Net cash provided by operating activities 5,370 3,534 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchases of property and equipment (2,080 ) (1,729 ) Increase in other long-term assets (8 ) (7 ) Net cash used in investing activities (2,088 ) (1,736 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Repayment of debt (3,212 ) (1,250 ) Proceeds from the issuance of common stock under employee stock plans 6 2 Common stock repurchases for tax withholdings for net settlement of equity awards (497 ) (372 ) Net cash used in financing activities (3,703 ) (1,620 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash (5 ) 188 Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash (426 ) 366 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of the period 60,433 49,948 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of the period $ 60,007 $ 50,314 Supplemental information: Cash and cash equivalents $ 48,016 $ 47,014 Restricted cash 8,500 - Restricted cash included in other long-term assets 3,491 3,300 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the statement of cash flows $ 60,007 $ 50,314 (1) The Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 has been revised to reflect the adoption, on January 1, 2018, of ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. The Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows reflects the changes during the periods in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. Therefore, restricted cash activity is included with cash when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown.
AVID TECHNOLOGY, INC. Supplemental Revenue Information (unaudited - in millions) Backlog Disclosure for Quarter Ended March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 As Previously
Reported ASC 606
Adj. ** As
Adjusted March 31,
2018 Revenue Backlog* Deferred Revenue $ 194.6 $ (92.8 ) $ 101.8 $ 106.4 Other Backlog 341.5 (6.6 ) 334.9 328.6 Total Revenue Backlog $ 536.1 $ (99.4 ) $ 436.7 $ 435.0 The expected timing of recognition of revenue backlog as of March 31, 2018 is as follows: 2018 2019 2020 Thereafter Total Deferred Revenue $ 74.7 $ 20.3 $ 9.8 $ 1.6 $ 106.4 Backlog 99.6 98.6 66.3 64.1 328.6 Total Revenue Backlog $ 174.3 $ 118.9 $ 76.1 $ 65.7 $ 435.0 *A definition of Revenue Backlog is included in the supplemental financial and operational data sheet available on our investor relations webpage at ir.avid.com .
Note: current estimates could change based on a number of factors, including (i) the timing of delivery of products and services, (ii) customer cancellations or change order, (iii) changes in the estimated period of time Implied Maintenance Release PCS is provided to customers, including as a result of changes in business practices.
**In connection with the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers , on January 1, 2018, which requires more of our product sales to be recognized as revenue upon delivery rather than over an extended period of time, $99.4 million of the deferred revenue component of revenue backlog recorded as of December 31, 2017 was eliminated.
Investor Contact: Dean Ridlon Avid [email protected] (978) 640-3379 PR Contact: Jim Sheehan Avid [email protected] (978) 640-3152
Source:Avid Technology, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/globe-newswire-avid-technology-announces-q1-2018-results-and-issues-q2-2018-guidance.html |
April 30 (Reuters) - JERUSALEM PHARMACEUTICALS CO LTD :
* Q1 NET INCOME AFTER TAX $1.2 MILLION VERSUS $1.6 MILLION YEAR AGO
* Q1 SALES $8.4 MILLION VERSUS $8.4 MILLION YEAR AGO Source: ( bit.ly/2JCipOy ) Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-jerusalem-pharmaceuticals-q1-profi/brief-jerusalem-pharmaceuticals-q1-profit-falls-idUSL3N1S72IO |
May 10, 2018 / 7:49 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago Alstom signs $3 billion agreement with GE to exit energy joint ventures Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - French manufacturing group Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with General Electric ( GE.N ) to exit three joint ventures in return for a payment of 2.594 billion euros ($3.08 billion). The logo of Alstom is seen before a news conference to present the company's full year 2016/17 annual results in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
The three joint ventures, in grid, nuclear and renewable assets, were created as part of Alstom’s 12.35 billion euro sale of its energy business to General Electric in 2015.
“Alstom intends to exercise its options to sell its interests in the ‘Renewables’ and ‘Grid’ Joint Ventures in 2018,” the company announced in a statement.
The exercise of these options between September 4 and 10 would imply General Electric had exercised its option to acquire Alstom’s interest in the “nuclear” joint venture, it said.
The three joint ventures would be transferred to GE’s full ownership on Oct. 2, it said.
Siemens and Alstom agreed last September to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion to better withstand the international advance of China’s state-owned CRRC Corp Ltd ( 601766.SS ). | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alstom-m-a-generalelectric/alstom-signs-3-billion-agreement-with-ge-to-exit-energy-joint-ventures-idUSKBN1IB0UD |
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May 23 (Reuters) - American Homes 4 Rent:
* APPOINTS CHRISTOPHER LAU AS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER * LAU SUCCEEDS DIANA LAING, WHO RESIGNED AS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, EFFECTIVE JUNE 30, 2018 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-american-homes-4-rent-appoints-chr/brief-american-homes-4-rent-appoints-christopher-lau-as-chief-financial-officer-idUSASC0A3DI |
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