Source: US State of Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Amy Blackburn as Hernando County Tax Collector. This appointment is effective November 1, 2024.
Amy Blackburn
Blackburn is the Hernando County Tax Collector-Elect. Previously, she served as the Chief Deputy of Finance Administration for the Hernando County Tax Collector. Blackburn earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from the University of Florida.
###
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
MIAMI – Yesterday afternoon, Darnell Mendez, 36, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, by U. S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg. Mendez and his girlfriend, Samantha Yi, previously pled guilty to federal offenses resulting from a long-term joint investigation by the Boynton Beach Police Department (BBPD), the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) following the death of a 10-month-old infant in Boynton Beach, Fla. who had ingested fentanyl. Yi is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2025, and faces a minimum mandatory sentence of at least twenty years in prison.
On March 31, 2022, PBSO responded to a 911 call of an infant in distress. The infant was transported to Bethesda Hospital East in Boynton Beach with her mother. On April 1, 2022, the baby was transferred to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. On April 5, 2022, the baby died. An autopsy conducted by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner determined that the baby’s death was caused by fentanyl intoxication and that her manner of death was a homicide.
The BBPD conducted a homicide investigation during which law enforcement recovered fentanyl at the baby’s home. The investigation determined that the baby’s mother and father were addicts and had been abusing fentanyl regularly in the kitchen of their apartment. The investigation also determined that the baby was teething and ingested fentanyl on March 31, 2022, while in the care of her mother, and while her father was at work. The mother was arrested by the BBPD and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child by culpable negligence.
DEA joined the investigation to identify the drug dealers that were responsible for the distribution of the fentanyl that killed the baby. Through data and information retrieved from the mother’s cellphone, law enforcement was able to identify Yi as the drug dealer. The investigation uncovered months of electronic communications exchanged between Yi and the mother involving drug transactions in which the mother was the customer. The investigation further determined that Yi’s boyfriend, Mendez was also involved in the distribution of fentanyl. Investigators were able to determine that on March 30, 2022, the mother met with Yi in Boynton Beach to purchase fentanyl, and that fentanyl was ingested by the baby resulting in her death.
As part of the joint investigation, DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), BBPD, and PBSO conducted an operation involving two undercover officers who purchased fentanyl from Yi and Mendez. The undercover operation culminated in the arrests of Yi and Mendez on March 6, at their residence in Lake Worth, where law enforcement discovered 14 firearms. As part of their pleas, Yi and Mendez admitted being felons unlawfully in possession of firearms.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA, Miami Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the ATF, Miami Field Division, Chief Joe DeGiulio of BBPD, and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of PBSO announced the sentencing.
The Office of State Attorney Dave Aronberg for the 15th Judicial Circuit – Palm Beach County provided invaluable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam McMichael and Shannon O’Shea Darsch are prosecuting the case.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-80041.
###
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NVIDIA will host a conference call on Wednesday, November 20, at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) to discuss its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended October 27, 2024.
The call will be webcast live (in listen-only mode) on investor.nvidia.com. The company’s prepared remarks will be followed by a question-and-answer session, which will be limited to questions from financial analysts and institutional investors.
Ahead of the call, NVIDIA will provide written commentary on its third-quarter results from its chief financial officer, Colette Kress. This material will be posted to investor.nvidia.com immediately after the company’s results are publicly announced at approximately 1:20 p.m. PT.
The webcast will be recorded and available for replay until the company’s conference call to discuss financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in accelerated computing.
| For further information, contact: | |
| Investor Relations | Corporate Communications |
| NVIDIA Corporation | NVIDIA Corporation |
| ir@nvidia.com | press@nvidia.com |
© 2024 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA and the NVIDIA logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
ACHESON, Alberta, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — North American Construction Group Ltd. (“NACG”) (TSX:NOA.TO/NYSE:NOA) today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. Unless otherwise indicated, financial figures are expressed in Canadian dollars and compared to the prior period ended September 30, 2023.
Third Quarter 2024 Highlights:
Joe Lambert, President and CEO, stated, “I would like to thank our operations team for their safe and efficient performance this quarter. The quarterly records set in Australia demonstrate both growth and operational excellence. The recent five-year contract award and the 25 trucks delivered from Fort McMurray have pushed this region to higher than 50% of our overall business and are further indicators of what will be an exciting 2025. In the oil sands region, we are in discussions with producers and expect to secure meaningful contracts in the near term, reaffirming strong client relationships and supporting our targets for next year.”
Consolidated Financial Highlights
| Three months ended | Nine months ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) | 2024 | 2023(iv) | 2024 | 2023(iv) | ||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 286,857 | $ | 196,881 | $ | 860,197 | $ | 636,398 | ||||||||
| Total combined revenue(i) | 367,155 | 274,757 | 1,042,591 | 875,666 | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 65,098 | 26,518 | 168,057 | 89,213 | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit margin(i) | 22.7 | % | 13.5 | % | 19.5 | % | 14.0 | % | ||||||||
| Combined gross profit(i) | 80,415 | 38,004 | 205,229 | 130,181 | ||||||||||||
| Combined gross profit margin(i)(ii) | 21.9 | % | 13.8 | % | 19.7 | % | 14.9 | % | ||||||||
| Operating income | 53,805 | 14,344 | 130,786 | 50,386 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA(i)(iii) | 106,384 | 59,371 | 286,516 | 195,827 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin(i)(iii) | 29.0 | % | 21.6 | % | 27.5 | % | 22.4 | % | ||||||||
| Net income | 13,901 | 11,387 | 39,277 | 45,495 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted net earnings(i) | 31,253 | 14,295 | 72,961 | 52,060 | ||||||||||||
| Cash provided by operating activities | 48,184 | 37,512 | 119,063 | 109,521 | ||||||||||||
| Cash provided by operating activities prior to change in working capital(i) | 79,838 | 41,666 | 222,641 | 134,646 | ||||||||||||
| Free cash flow(i) | 10,785 | 8,940 | (32,518 | ) | (21,817 | ) | ||||||||||
| Purchase of PPE | 61,812 | 39,295 | 203,772 | 114,210 | ||||||||||||
| Sustaining capital additions(i) | 21,127 | 42,290 | 118,317 | 127,792 | ||||||||||||
| Growth capital additions(i) | 21,437 | 1,727 | 60,987 | 4,475 | ||||||||||||
| Basic net income per share | $ | 0.52 | $ | 0.43 | $ | 1.47 | $ | 1.72 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EPS(i) | $ | 1.17 | $ | 0.54 | $ | 2.73 | $ | 1.96 | ||||||||
(i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
(ii)Combined gross profit margin is calculated using combined gross profit over total combined revenue.
(iii)Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated using adjusted EBITDA over total combined revenue.
(iv)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in accounting policy. See “Change in significant accounting policy – Basis of presentation”.
| Three months ended | Nine months ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows | ||||||||||||||||
| Cash provided by operating activities | $ | 48,184 | $ | 37,512 | $ | 119,063 | $ | 109,521 | ||||||||
| Cash used in investing activities | (60,221 | ) | (26,970 | ) | (198,919 | ) | (107,123 | ) | ||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate on changes in cash | 1,385 | (1,100 | ) | 508 | (1,462 | ) | ||||||||||
| Add back of growth and non-cash items included in the above figures: | ||||||||||||||||
| Growth capital additions(i)(ii) | 21,437 | 1,727 | 60,987 | 4,475 | ||||||||||||
| Capital additions financed by leases(i) | — | (2,229 | ) | (14,157 | ) | (27,228 | ) | |||||||||
| Free cash flow(i) | $ | 10,785 | $ | 8,940 | $ | (32,518 | ) | $ | (21,817 | ) | ||||||
(i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
(ii)Included above in Cash used in investing activities.
Declaration of Quarterly Dividend
On October 29, 2024, the NACG Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend (the “Dividend”) of twelve Canadian cents ($0.12) per common share, payable to common shareholders of record at the close of business on November 27, 2024. The Dividend will be paid on January 3, 2025, and is an eligible dividend for Canadian income tax purposes.
Financial Results for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024
Revenue for 2024 Q3 of $286.9 million represented an increase of approximately $90.0 million (or 46%) from 2023 Q3. The increase is primarily due to the inclusion of results from the MacKellar Group (“MacKellar”) following our acquisition on October 1, 2023.
The Heavy Equipment – Australia segment showed strong performance, driven by MacKellar’s Q3 results generated from stable operating conditions during the quarter. Equipment utilization of the MacKellar fleet for the quarter of 84% was similar to 2024 Q2 but generated higher revenue as growth assets commissioned late in the second quarter in Western Australia and Queensland provided full quarter contributions. The month of July was particularly strong with utilization being above the target of 85% while August and September averaged 82%. DGI Trading Pty Ltd. (“DGI”) posted lower revenue in the quarter due to timing of large component sales but continues to benefit from international demand for low-cost used components and major parts required by heavy equipment fleets in the mining industry.
The Heavy Equipment – Canada segment posted a decline in revenue compared to the prior year as equipment utilization was 51% for the quarter in comparison to 56% in 2023 Q3. Quarter over quarter, the decrease in revenue represented a 23% decrease and was primarily driven by changes in work scopes at the Fort Hills and Syncrude mines offset by increases in operating hours at the Millennium mine. Additionally, the prior year’s quarter benefited from higher utilization rates from NACG assets being operated at the gold mine in northern Ontario, a project that concluded in 2023 Q3. When comparing to 2024 Q2, top-line revenue achieved in the quarter was 8% higher on consistent operating conditions from July to September as well as increased work scopes at the Millennium mine.
Combined revenue of $367.2 million represented a $92.4 million (or 34%) increase from 2023 Q3. Our share of revenue generated in 2024 Q3 by joint ventures and affiliates was $80.3 million, compared to $77.9 million in 2023 Q3. The Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project, which completed another strong operational quarter, posted a 32% increase from scopes completed in the prior quarter and surpassed the 50% completion mark during the quarter. Mostly offsetting this variance was the completion of the gold mine project in northern Ontario which occurred in 2023 Q3.
Combined gross profit and margin of $80.4 million and 21.9% compares favorably to the $38.0 million and 13.8% posted in the prior quarter and was the compilation of strong operations across all business lines. In particular, consistent weather conditions in Australia resulted in productive operations and a 24.6% gross margin over the three months. In Canada, heavy equipment operations posted a 19.4% margin as operations stabilized from the first half of the year. The joint ventures posted a 19.1% margin, up from 14.7% in the prior quarter, as Nuna returned to profitable operations. The increases in margin were offset slightly within the Fargo joint ventures as additional costs were recognized in the quarter primarily related to project cost escalation.
Adjusted EBITDA and the associated margin of $106.4 million and 29.0% exceeded our 2023 Q3 results of $59.4 million and 21.6%, respectively. As mentioned above and despite lower revenue in the oil sands region, effective and efficient operation of the heavy equipment fleets in Australia and Canada generated a strong EBITDA margin. EBITDA margin for this quarter was more consistent with the first quarter and is reflective of the underlying consistent business of our heavy equipment fleets.
Depreciation of our Canadian and Australian heavy equipment fleets was 13.4% of revenue in the quarter. Depreciation as a percentage of revenue was 16.4% for the Heavy Equipment – Canada fleet which is higher than our historical average as increased customer demand for heavy equipment rentals has changed the revenue profile. The Heavy Equipment – Australia fleet, which averaged approximately 11.7% of revenue reflected both productive operations in the quarter as well as the depreciation of fair market values allocated upon purchase. On a combined basis, depreciation averaged 12.1% of combined revenue in the quarter as the lower capital intensity in Fargo and Nuna joint ventures modestly reduced the ratio.
General and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation) were $9.6 million, or 3.4% of revenue, compared to $6.9 million, or 3.5% of revenue in 2023 Q3. The increase in expenses reflects the acquisition of the MacKellar Group. Cash related interest expense for the quarter was $14.2 million at an average cost of debt of 6.5%, compared to $7.8 million at an average cost of debt of 7.1% in 2023 Q3, as rates posted by the Bank of Canada directly impact our Credit Facility and have a delayed impact on the rates for secured equipment-backed financing. Total interest expense was $15.0 million in the quarter, compared to $8.1 million in 2023 Q3 based on the debt financing incurred upon acquisition of the MacKellar Group on October 1, 2023.
Adjusted earnings per share (“EPS”) of $1.17 on adjusted net earnings of $31.3 million was up 117% from the prior year figure of $0.54, consistent with the adjusted EBIT performance which was up 144% quarter over quarter. As mentioned above, the step-changes in interest from the MacKellar acquisition offset EBIT performance with the effective income tax rates being comparable for both quarters. Weighted-average common shares for the third quarters of 2024 and 2023 were relatively stable at 26,823,124 and 26,700,303, respectively, net of shares classified as treasury shares.
For the quarter, free cash flow generation was $10.8 million, driven primarily by adjusted EBITDA of $106.4 million. After accounting for sustaining capital additions of $21.1 million, cash interest expense of $14.2 million, and cash taxes paid of $9.3 million, the positive cash flow generation reached $61.8 million. However, changes in working capital and increases in capital work in progress deferred approximately $45 million of cash flow to future quarters, and the accumulation of distributable profits in our joint ventures negatively impacted cash flow by $10 million. Sustaining capital expenditures were focused on routine maintenance of heavy equipment fleets in Australia and Canada, with Canadian expenditures being lower than previous periods due to reduced operating hours and a disciplined approach in preparation for winter work scopes.
2024 Strategic Focus Areas
Liquidity
Our current liquidity positions us well moving forward to fund organic growth and the required correlated working capital investments. Including equipment financing availability and factoring in the amended Credit Facility agreement, total available capital liquidity of $173.1 million includes total liquidity of $135.7 million and $20.0 million of unused finance lease borrowing availability as at September 30, 2024. Liquidity is primarily provided by the terms of our $485.7 million credit facility which allows for funds availability based on a trailing twelve-month EBITDA as defined in the agreement.
| September 30, 2024 |
December 31, 2023 |
|||||||
| Cash | $ | 77,670 | $ | 88,614 | ||||
| Credit Facility borrowing limit | 485,700 | 478,022 | ||||||
| Credit Facility drawn | (395,700 | ) | (317,488 | ) | ||||
| Letters of credit outstanding | (32,011 | ) | (31,272 | ) | ||||
| Cash liquidity(i) | $ | 135,659 | $ | 217,876 | ||||
| Finance lease borrowing limit | 350,000 | 350,000 | ||||||
| Other debt borrowing limit | 20,000 | 20,000 | ||||||
| Equipment financing drawn | (267,544 | ) | (220,466 | ) | ||||
| Guarantees provided to joint ventures | (65,008 | ) | (74,831 | ) | ||||
| Total capital liquidity(i) | $ | 173,107 | $ | 292,579 | ||||
(i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
NACG’s Outlook for 2024
The following table provides projected key measures for 2024. These measures are predicated on contracts currently in place, including expected renewals, and the heavy equipment fleet that we own and operate.
| Key measures | 2024 | |
| Combined revenue(i) | $1.4 – $1.5B | |
| Adjusted EBITDA(i) | $395 – $415M | |
| Sustaining capital(i) | $150 – $170M | |
| Adjusted EPS(i) | $3.95 – $4.15 | |
| Free cash flow(i) | $100 – $120M | |
| Capital allocation | ||
| Growth spending(i) | $85 – $95M | |
| Net debt leverage(i) | Targeting 2.1x |
(i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
Conference Call and Webcast
Management will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss our financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, tomorrow, Thursday, October 31, 2024, at 7:00 am Mountain Time (9:00 am Eastern Time).
The call can be accessed by dialing:
Toll free: 1-800-717-1738
Conference ID: 86919
A replay will be available through November 29, 2024, by dialing:
Toll Free: 1-888-660-6264
Conference ID: 86919
Playback Passcode: 86919
The 2024 Q3 earnings presentation for the webcast will be available for download on the company’s website at www.nacg.ca/presentations/
The live presentation and webcast can be accessed at:
https://onlinexperiences.com/scripts/Server.nxp?LASCmd=AI:4;F:QS!10100&ShowUUID=71BDBAD7-6AC1-4CF9-9CFF-5BBCBBDEF924
A replay will be available until November 29, 2024, using the link provided.
Basis of Presentation
We have prepared our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“US GAAP”). Unless otherwise specified, all dollar amounts discussed are in Canadian dollars. Please see the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, for further detail on the matters discussed in this release. In addition to the MD&A, please reference the dedicated 2024 Q3 Results Presentation for more information on our results and projections which can be found on our website under Investors – Presentations.
Change in significant accounting policy – Basis of presentation
During the first quarter of 2024, we changed our accounting policy for the elimination of our proportionate share of profit from downstream sales to affiliates and joint ventures to record through equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. Prior to this change, we eliminated our proportionate share of profit on downstream sales to affiliates and joint ventures through revenue and cost of sales. The change in accounting policy simplifies the presentation for downstream profit eliminations and has no cumulative impact on retained earnings. We have accounted for the change retrospectively in accordance with the requirements of US GAAP Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 250 by restating the comparative period. For details of retrospective changes, refer to note 16 in the Financial Statements.
Forward-Looking Information
The information provided in this release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “should” or similar expressions and include all information provided under the above heading “NACG’s Outlook”.
The material factors or assumptions used to develop the above forward-looking statements and the risks and uncertainties to which such forward-looking statements are subject, are highlighted in the MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements because of any number of factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond NACG’s control. Undue reliance should not be placed upon forward-looking statements and NACG undertakes no obligation, other than those required by applicable law, to update or revise those statements. For more complete information about NACG, please read our disclosure documents filed with the SEC and the CSA. These free documents can be obtained by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or on the CSA website at www.sedarplus.com.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release presents certain non-GAAP financial measures because management believes that they may be useful to investors in analyzing our business performance, leverage and liquidity. The non-GAAP financial measures we present include “adjusted EBIT”, “adjusted EBITDA”, “adjusted EBITDA margin”, “adjusted EPS”, “adjusted net earnings”, “capital additions”, “capital work in progress”, “cash provided by operating activities prior to change in working capital”, “combined gross profit”, “combined gross profit margin”, “equity investment EBIT”, “free cash flow”, “general and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation)”, “gross profit margin”, “growth capital”, “margin”, “net debt”, “sustaining capital”, “total capital liquidity”, “total combined revenue”, and “total debt”. A non-GAAP financial measure is defined by relevant regulatory authorities as a numerical measure of an issuer’s historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flow that is not specified, defined or determined under the issuer’s GAAP and that is not presented in an issuer’s financial statements. These non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning and therefore are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. They should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Each non-GAAP financial measure used in this press release is defined and reconciled to its most directly comparable GAAP measure in the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section of our Management’s Discussion and Analysis filed concurrently with this press release.
Reconciliation of total reported revenue to total combined revenue
| Three months ended | Nine months ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | 2024 | 2023(ii) | 2024 | 2023(ii) | ||||||||||||
| Revenue from wholly-owned entities per financial statements | $ | 286,857 | $ | 196,881 | $ | 860,197 | $ | 636,398 | ||||||||
| Share of revenue from investments in affiliates and joint ventures | 144,574 | 168,667 | 382,789 | 516,637 | ||||||||||||
| Elimination of joint venture subcontract revenue | (64,276 | ) | (90,791 | ) | (200,395 | ) | (277,369 | ) | ||||||||
| Total combined revenue(i) | $ | 367,155 | $ | 274,757 | $ | 1,042,591 | $ | 875,666 | ||||||||
(i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
(ii)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in accounting policy. See “Change in significant accounting policy – Basis of presentation”.
Reconciliation of reported gross profit to combined gross profit
| Three months ended | Nine months ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | 2024 |
2023(ii) | 2024 |
2023(ii) | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit from wholly-owned entities per financial statements | $ | 65,098 | $ | 26,518 | $ | 168,057 | $ | 89,213 | ||||||||
| Share of gross profit from investments in affiliates and joint ventures | 15,317 | 11,486 | 37,172 | 40,968 | ||||||||||||
| Combined gross profit(i) | $ | 80,415 | $ | 38,004 | $ | 205,229 | $ | 130,181 | ||||||||
(i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
(ii)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in accounting policy. See “Change in significant accounting policy – Basis of presentation”.
Reconciliation of net income to adjusted net earnings, adjusted EBIT, and adjusted EBITDA
| Three months ended | Nine months ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 13,901 | $ | 11,387 | $ | 39,277 | $ | 45,495 | ||||||||
| Adjustments: | ||||||||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on disposal of property, plant and equipment | 348 | (311 | ) | 641 | 189 | |||||||||||
| Write-down on assets held for sale | — | — | 4,181 | — | ||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation (benefit) expense | 1,332 | 5,583 | 3,081 | 16,324 | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent obligation from adjustments to estimates | 17,727 | — | 26,585 | — | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | — | 4,517 | — | ||||||||||||
| Acquisition costs | — | 1,161 | — | 1,161 | ||||||||||||
| Loss on equity investment customer bankruptcy claim settlement | — | — | — | 759 | ||||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on derivative financial instruments | 572 | (2,618 | ) | 845 | (6,979 | ) | ||||||||||
| Net unrealized loss (gain) on derivative financial instruments included in equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures | 1,836 | 572 | 2,806 | (649 | ) | |||||||||||
| Tax effect of the above items | (4,463 | ) | (1,479 | ) | (8,972 | ) | (4,240 | ) | ||||||||
| Adjusted net earnings(i) | 31,253 | 14,295 | 72,961 | 52,060 | ||||||||||||
| Adjustments: | ||||||||||||||||
| Tax effect of the above items | 4,463 | 1,479 | 8,972 | 4,240 | ||||||||||||
| Increase in fair value of contingent obligation from interest accretion expense | 4,262 | — | 12,360 | — | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 15,003 | 8,119 | 44,939 | 22,941 | ||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 6,768 | 1,733 | 16,325 | 11,892 | ||||||||||||
| Equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures(iii) | (4,428 | ) | (4,277 | ) | (9,545 | ) | (22,963 | ) | ||||||||
| Equity investment EBIT(i)(iii) | 4,365 | 3,983 | 7,152 | 23,307 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBIT(i) | 61,686 | 25,332 | 153,164 | 91,477 | ||||||||||||
| Adjustments: | ||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 38,662 | 28,884 | 122,844 | 90,239 | ||||||||||||
| Write-down on assets held for sale | — | — | (4,181 | ) | — | |||||||||||
| Equity investment depreciation and amortization(i) | 6,036 | 5,155 | 14,689 | 14,111 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA(i) | $ | 106,384 | $ | 59,371 | $ | 286,516 | $ | 195,827 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin(i)(ii) | 29.0 | % | 21.6 | % | 27.5 | % | 22.4 | % | ||||||||
(i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
(ii)Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated using adjusted EBITDA over total combined revenue.
(iii)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in presentation. See “Accounting Estimates, Pronouncements and Measures”.
Reconciliation of equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures to equity investment EBIT
| Three months ended | Nine months ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | 2024 | 2023(ii) | 2024 | 2023(ii) | ||||||||||||
| Equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures | $ | 4,428 | $ | 4,277 | $ | 9,545 | $ | 22,963 | ||||||||
| Adjustments: | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest (income) expense, net | (618 | ) | (742 | ) | (1,337 | ) | (915 | ) | ||||||||
| Income tax expense | 738 | 448 | (698 | ) | 1,294 | |||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on disposal of property, plant and equipment | (183 | ) | — | (358 | ) | (35 | ) | |||||||||
| Equity investment EBIT(i) | $ | 4,365 | $ | 3,983 | $ | 7,152 | $ | 23,307 | ||||||||
(i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
(ii)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in accounting policy. See “Change in significant accounting policy – Basis of presentation”.
About the Company
North American Construction Group Ltd. is a premier provider of heavy civil construction and mining services in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. For 70 years, NACG has provided services to the mining, resource and infrastructure construction markets.
For further information contact:
Jason Veenstra
Chief Financial Officer
North American Construction Group Ltd.
(780) 960-7171
IR@nacg.ca
www.nacg.ca
Interim Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Expressed in thousands of Canadian Dollars)
(Unaudited)
| September 30, 2024 |
December 31, 2023 |
|||||||
| Assets | ||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | 77,670 | $ | 88,614 | ||||
| Accounts receivable | 158,179 | 97,855 | ||||||
| Contract assets | 16,128 | 35,027 | ||||||
| Inventories | 77,150 | 64,962 | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and deposits | 8,477 | 7,402 | ||||||
| Assets held for sale | 7,355 | 1,340 | ||||||
| 344,959 | 295,200 | |||||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $474,655 (December 31, 2023 – $423,345) | 1,235,447 | 1,142,946 | ||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 13,404 | 12,782 | ||||||
| Investments in affiliates and joint ventures | 85,192 | 81,435 | ||||||
| Other assets | 5,082 | 7,144 | ||||||
| Intangible assets | 10,052 | 6,971 | ||||||
| Total assets | $ | 1,694,136 | $ | 1,546,478 | ||||
| Liabilities and shareholders’ equity | ||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 123,110 | $ | 146,190 | ||||
| Accrued liabilities | 47,724 | 72,225 | ||||||
| Contract liabilities | 300 | 59 | ||||||
| Current portion of long-term debt | 94,485 | 81,306 | ||||||
| Current portion of contingent obligations | 37,601 | 22,501 | ||||||
| Current portion of operating lease liabilities | 1,852 | 1,742 | ||||||
| 305,072 | 324,023 | |||||||
| Long-term debt | 723,487 | 611,313 | ||||||
| Contingent obligations | 101,752 | 93,356 | ||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | 12,010 | 11,307 | ||||||
| Other long-term obligations | 41,768 | 41,001 | ||||||
| Deferred tax liabilities | 118,133 | 108,824 | ||||||
| 1,302,222 | 1,189,824 | |||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | ||||||||
| Common shares (authorized – unlimited number of voting common shares; issued and outstanding – September 30, 2024 – 27,827,282 (December 31, 2023 – 27,827,282)) | 229,455 | 229,455 | ||||||
| Treasury shares (September 30, 2024 – 996,435 (December 31, 2023 – 1,090,187)) | (15,809 | ) | (16,165 | ) | ||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 22,524 | 20,739 | ||||||
| Retained earnings | 154,398 | 123,032 | ||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) | 1,346 | (407 | ) | |||||
| Shareholders’ equity | 391,914 | 356,654 | ||||||
| Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity | $ | 1,694,136 | $ | 1,546,478 | ||||
Interim Consolidated Statements of Operations and
Comprehensive Income
(Expressed in thousands of Canadian Dollars, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
| Three months ended | Nine months ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023(i) | 2024 | 2023(i) | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 286,857 | $ | 196,881 | $ | 860,197 | $ | 636,398 | ||||||||
| Cost of sales | 183,405 | 141,771 | 570,222 | 457,856 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation | 38,354 | 28,592 | 121,918 | 89,329 | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 65,098 | 26,518 | 168,057 | 89,213 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 10,945 | 12,485 | 36,630 | 38,638 | ||||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on disposal of property, plant and equipment | 348 | (311 | ) | 641 | 189 | |||||||||||
| Operating income | 53,805 | 14,344 | 130,786 | 50,386 | ||||||||||||
| Equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures | (4,428 | ) | (4,277 | ) | (9,545 | ) | (22,963 | ) | ||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 15,003 | 8,119 | 44,939 | 22,941 | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent obligations | 21,989 | — | 38,945 | — | ||||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on derivative financial instruments | 572 | (2,618 | ) | 845 | (6,979 | ) | ||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 20,669 | 13,120 | 55,602 | 57,387 | ||||||||||||
| Current income tax expense | 2,238 | 1,495 | 5,003 | 3,198 | ||||||||||||
| Deferred income tax expense | 4,530 | 238 | 11,322 | 8,694 | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 13,901 | $ | 11,387 | $ | 39,277 | $ | 45,495 | ||||||||
| Other comprehensive income | ||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized foreign currency translation (gain) loss | (1,115 | ) | 1,100 | (1,753 | ) | 1,462 | ||||||||||
| Comprehensive income | $ | 15,016 | $ | 10,287 | $ | 41,030 | $ | 44,033 | ||||||||
| Per share information | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic net income per share | $ | 0.52 | $ | 0.43 | $ | 1.47 | $ | 1.72 | ||||||||
| Diluted net income per share | $ | 0.47 | $ | 0.39 | $ | 1.32 | $ | 1.51 | ||||||||
(i)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in accounting policy. See “Accounting Estimates, Pronouncements and Measures”.
Source: International Monetary Fund
October 30, 2024
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded today the seventh and the eighth reviews under the extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), approved in April 2021, and a review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement, approved in July 2023, with Kenya.
The EFF/ECF arrangements aim to support Kenya’s program to address debt vulnerabilities while safeguarding resources for priority social and developmental needs; build resilience to shocks; improve governance and transparency; and support broader economic reforms to realize the country’s medium-term potential. The RSF arrangement aims to reinforce Kenya’s strong efforts to address climate-related challenges and catalyze further private climate finance.
The Executive Board’s decision allows for the immediate disbursements of SDR365.28 million (about US$485.8 million) under the EFF/ECF arrangements and SDR90.47 million (about US$120.3 million) under the RSF arrangement. In addition, following the resolution of exceptional financing needs earlier this year, the Board approved a reduction in the total access under the EFF/ECF arrangements from exceptional access, approved in January 2024 (see PR24/12), to within the normal access limits and a rebalancing of access toward the zero-interest ECF arrangement. Together with the recent changes to the IMF’s charges and surcharges policy, these adjustments would lower Kenya’s interest payments to the IMF.
Under the EFF/ECF arrangements, total IMF financial commitment stands at SDR2.714 billion (about US$3.61 billion), of which SDR2.343 billion (about US$3.12 billion) has been approved for disbursement. For the RSF arrangement, the corresponding amounts are SDR407.1 million (about US$541.3 million) and SDR135.70 million (about US$180.4 million), respectively.
In completing the reviews, the Executive Board recognized that the resolution of the exceptional external financing pressure earlier this year has revived market confidence, supporting shilling stabilization and facilitating faster buildup of reserves. However, the fiscal consolidation efforts have faced headwinds following a sizable tax revenue shortfall in FY2023/24 and withdrawal of the 2024 Finance Bill after widespread public protests. Nevertheless, the EFF/ECF program has delivered on reducing inflation, strengthening external buffers, and stabilizing the exchange rate. In addition, the Board approved waivers of non-observance for the end-December 2023 tax revenue and the end-June 2024 primary budget balance and tax revenue targets based on the corrective action taken through the passage of the Supplementary FY2024/25 Budget, which together with medium-term fiscal consolidation would help reduce debt vulnerabilities, a core objective of the program. The Board also completed review under the RSF arrangement and approved the disbursements associated with two reform measures implemented.
The Board emphasized that sustaining progress requires improving the quality of fiscal adjustment, addressing fiscal and financial sector vulnerabilities, advancing governance reforms, and implementing the structural agenda, including climate-related reforms. Continued efforts to support the vulnerable population, broadening the socio-political support for reforms, and ensuring agile policymaking will also be necessary.
At the conclusion of the Executive Board’s discussion, Ms. Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF and Acting Chair, made the following statement:
“Kenya’s economy remains resilient, with growth above the regional average, inflation decelerating, and external inflows supporting the shilling and a buildup of external buffers, despite a difficult socio-economic environment.
“The EFF/ECF and the RSF arrangements continue to support the authorities’ efforts to anchor macroeconomic stability, reduce debt vulnerabilities, promote reforms, and mitigate climate-related risks.
“Performance since the last reviews of these arrangements has weakened. While accumulation of foreign exchange reserves and inflation were better than expected, the fiscal performance fell significantly short of the targets. The revenue and export underperformances increased debt vulnerabilities. Implementation of several reforms was also delayed.
“In this context, a difficult adjustment path lies ahead. A credible fiscal consolidation strategy remains central to addressing debt vulnerabilities while protecting social and development spending. Reforms to make the tax regime more efficient, equitable, and progressive as well as strengthening accountability, transparency, and efficiency of public finances will help garner political and societal support for reforms. Clearly communicating the necessity and benefits of the reforms is paramount.
“Given the elevated risks around the fiscal strategy, policymaking needs to be agile. Contingency planning remains critical, with policies adapting to evolving outcomes to safeguard stability and ensure that program objectives continue to be met.
“The Central Bank of Kenya’s decisive actions have supported price stability and external sustainability, including through institutional changes to improve the functioning of the monetary policy operational framework and the money and foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate flexibility is vital to improve resilience to external shocks and competitiveness. Addressing banks’ deteriorating asset quality and emerging risks requires close monitoring and strengthened oversight.
“Fast-tracking key reforms would raise medium-term potential. In particular, addressing deficiencies in governance, anti-corruption frameworks, and AML/CFT, including leveraging the requested governance diagnostic, is essential for garnering public trust and enhancing policy credibility, and for attracting fresh investments, including finance to build climate resilience.”
|
Kenya: Selected Economic Indicators, 2021–2026 |
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Sources: Kenyan authorities; and IMF staff estimates and projections. 1 Based on fiscal year (i.e., 2025 represents fiscal year 2024/25, covering July 2024–June 2025). |
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PRESS OFFICER: Pavis Devahasadin
Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
Source: United States Institute of Peace
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will step down Tuesday, handing over leadership to his successor Shigeru Ishiba,…
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will step down Tuesday, handing over leadership to his successor Shigeru Ishiba, who is expected to formally take office later in the day. He says he plans to call a snap election for Oct. 27.
Kishida’s popularity ratings were precarious during most of his three-year term due to damaging corruption scandals that eventually led him to bow out.
At home, Kishida was seen as a leader without a vision who compromised with powerful conservative nationalists within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to stay in power. But he has won respect outside Japan, especially from the United States, for pushing bold changes in Japanese defense and security policies and for standing tougher against Russia and China.
Here is a lookback at Kishida’s leadership and his legacy:
After taking office in October 2021, Kishida made a number of major decisions, such as reversing Japan’s nuclear energy phase-out and pursuing a rapid military buildup. But he avoided controversial social issues related to gender and sexual diversity. As head of a smaller faction in the ruling party, his top priority appeared to be keeping a stable grip on power by avoiding clashes with members of the Liberal Democrats’ powerful conservative group, led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Abe’s assassination in July 2022 and subsequent major corruption scandals linked to Abe’s faction members left constantly in damage control mode, as his support ratings tumbled. Kishida himself narrowly escaped an explosives attack during a speech at a fishing port in western Japan’s Wakayama in April, 2023.
Investigations into Abe’s assassination led to revelations of the Liberal Democrats’ decades-long links to South Korea’s Unification Church. That was followed by a more damaging corruption scandal involving more than 80 LDP lawmakers, again mostly in Abe’s faction, involving illegal slush funds.
Several lawmakers, their aides and accountants were indicted in that scandal.
Kishida led internal probes and moved to reform and tighten political funding laws, but opposition lawmakers and voters viewed the measures as inadequate.
Public outrage over the slush funds scandal has caused the LDP to lose a few local elections this year and lawmakers within the party called for a fresh face to shake off the scandals in order to win the next national election.
Kishida ends his term as a kingmaker who could remain influential behind the scenes after he helped lift Ishiba to a come-from-behind victory in the party’s vote on Friday against staunch conservative Sanae Takaichi.
Kishida, who long served as foreign minister under Abe, has won respect for his national security and foreign policies that significantly deepened ties with the United States and other partners such as Australia, the U.K., South Korea and the Philippines, while elevating the country’s international profile.
In December 2022, Kishida’s government adopted a security and defense strategy involving a rapid buildup of Japan’s military power to acquire a “counter-strike” capability with long-range cruise missiles, a major break from Japan’s post-World War II self-defense-only principle.
Kishida’s government set a five-year goal to double Japan’s military spending to nearly 2% of GDP, eventually to about 10 trillion yen ($70 billion), making it the world’s third biggest spender after the United States and China. But it’s unclear how Japan will fund that spending and balance it against other urgent needs such as coping with the country’s shrinking population.
In December, Kishida substantially eased Japan’s weapons export rules, allowing licensing of Japanese-made PAC-3 missile interceptors to the United States and future foreign sales of fighter jets that Japan is developing with the U.K. and Italy.
Kishida quickly joined other G7 countries in sanctioning Russia and supporting Ukraine. He has repeatedly said “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” comparing the Russian invasion of Ukraine to China’s growing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region. He has worked on strengthening economic and security cooperation in the region.
“Although Kishida’s successes on foreign affairs were overshadowed by domestic political scandals involving his Liberal Democratic Party, as well as lackluster economic growth, he oversaw increases in Japan’s reputation and popularity in the region and globally, as well as the institutionalization of related partnership gains,” Mirna Galic, a senior policy analyst at the U.S. Institute of Peace, wrote in a recent article.
One of Kishida’s diplomatic successes was Japan’s improved ties with South Korea, especially in regional security and in ties with their mutual ally, the United Sates, due to shared concerns about China and North Korea.
Kishida, under pressure from Washington and with support from South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, helped mend ties between the two Asian neighbors that have suffered over Japan’s colonial-era legacy of colonialism and atrocities. Stable relations are key to the U.S.-led united front in the Pacific.
In April, Kishida made a state visit to Washington and spoke to Congress, stressing Japan’s determination to stand by America as a global partner. In 2023, President Joe Biden invited him to a trilateral summit at Camp David with Yoon where they agreed to strengthen their trilateral security framework.
When Kishida announced in August his plans to step down, Biden lauded Kishida’s leadership, saying he had helped take the U.S.-Japan alliance “to new heights.”
“Guided by unflinching courage and moral clarity, Prime Minister Kishida has transformed Japan’s role in the world,” Biden said in a statement. Kishida’s “courageous leadership will be remembered on both sides of the Pacific for decades to come,” he said.
Kishida also recently helped work out a deal with Beijing to lift a Chinese ban on imports of Japanese seafood that Beijing imposed due to Japan’s release of treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific from its wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Tensions over China’s military activity near Japanese water and airspace persist.
He also deepened ties with Southeast Asian countries, the Pacific Island nations as well as so-called Global South developing countries.
Kishida represents a constituency in Hiroshima and hosting a summit of the Group of Seven wealthy nations in the city in May 2023 was a highlight of his time in office aligned with his career goal of working toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
However, the G7 summit statement on nuclear disarmament defended the possession of nuclear weapons as a deterrence, disappointing and angering survivors of the U.S. 1945 atomic bomb attack.
Kishida says he adheres to Japan’s principles of not developing, possessing or allowing the deployment of nuclear weapons in its territory. Ishiba, a former defense minister, has advocated deepening a discussion among regional partners about the U.S. nuclear deterrence strategy.
Kishida espoused a “new capitalism” economic strategy calling for more equitable distribution of national wealth, an alternative to Abe’s heavy government spending and hyper-easy monetary policy. Neither policy has managed to get flagging growth back on track.
Kishida’s defense and childcare policies would require big spending and the wage hikes he supported failed to keep pace with price increases.
Government moves to try to reverse Japan’s falling birth rate involved mostly childcare allowances for married couples and didn’t address the problems of the growing number of young Japanese reluctant to marry and start families due to bleak job prospects, the high cost of living and a corporate culture that is unfriendly to working mothers.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
Source: US State of South Carolina
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of William Daniel Mayes, 54, of Aiken, S.C. on seven charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, S.C. Probation, Parole, and Pardon, and Homeland Security Investigations, all also members of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.
Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Mayes. Investigators state Mayes recorded a person without their consent and possessed files of child sexual abuse material.
Mayes was arrested on October 29, 2024. He is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to ten years imprisonment on each count; and two counts of voyeurism (§16-17-470(B)), a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment for a first offense on each count.
The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
* Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. “Pornography” can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.
Source: US State of South Carolina
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Christopher Lee Hagood, 45, of Anderson, S.C., on 10 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, also a member of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.
Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Hagood. Investigators state Hagood distributed files of child sexual abuse material.
Hagood was arrested on October 22, 2024. He is charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
* Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. “Pornography” can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason
Source: IMF – News in Russian
October 30, 2024
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded today the seventh and the eighth reviews under the extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), approved in April 2021, and a review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement, approved in July 2023, with Kenya.
The EFF/ECF arrangements aim to support Kenya’s program to address debt vulnerabilities while safeguarding resources for priority social and developmental needs; build resilience to shocks; improve governance and transparency; and support broader economic reforms to realize the country’s medium-term potential. The RSF arrangement aims to reinforce Kenya’s strong efforts to address climate-related challenges and catalyze further private climate finance.
The Executive Board’s decision allows for the immediate disbursements of SDR365.28 million (about US$485.8 million) under the EFF/ECF arrangements and SDR90.47 million (about US$120.3 million) under the RSF arrangement. In addition, following the resolution of exceptional financing needs earlier this year, the Board approved a reduction in the total access under the EFF/ECF arrangements from exceptional access, approved in January 2024 (see PR24/12), to within the normal access limits and a rebalancing of access toward the zero-interest ECF arrangement. Together with the recent changes to the IMF’s charges and surcharges policy, these adjustments would lower Kenya’s interest payments to the IMF.
Under the EFF/ECF arrangements, total IMF financial commitment stands at SDR2.714 billion (about US$3.61 billion), of which SDR2.343 billion (about US$3.12 billion) has been approved for disbursement. For the RSF arrangement, the corresponding amounts are SDR407.1 million (about US$541.3 million) and SDR135.70 million (about US$180.4 million), respectively.
In completing the reviews, the Executive Board recognized that the resolution of the exceptional external financing pressure earlier this year has revived market confidence, supporting shilling stabilization and facilitating faster buildup of reserves. However, the fiscal consolidation efforts have faced headwinds following a sizable tax revenue shortfall in FY2023/24 and withdrawal of the 2024 Finance Bill after widespread public protests. Nevertheless, the EFF/ECF program has delivered on reducing inflation, strengthening external buffers, and stabilizing the exchange rate. In addition, the Board approved waivers of non-observance for the end-December 2023 tax revenue and the end-June 2024 primary budget balance and tax revenue targets based on the corrective action taken through the passage of the Supplementary FY2024/25 Budget, which together with medium-term fiscal consolidation would help reduce debt vulnerabilities, a core objective of the program. The Board also completed review under the RSF arrangement and approved the disbursements associated with two reform measures implemented.
The Board emphasized that sustaining progress requires improving the quality of fiscal adjustment, addressing fiscal and financial sector vulnerabilities, advancing governance reforms, and implementing the structural agenda, including climate-related reforms. Continued efforts to support the vulnerable population, broadening the socio-political support for reforms, and ensuring agile policymaking will also be necessary.
At the conclusion of the Executive Board’s discussion, Ms. Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF and Acting Chair, made the following statement:
“Kenya’s economy remains resilient, with growth above the regional average, inflation decelerating, and external inflows supporting the shilling and a buildup of external buffers, despite a difficult socio-economic environment.
“The EFF/ECF and the RSF arrangements continue to support the authorities’ efforts to anchor macroeconomic stability, reduce debt vulnerabilities, promote reforms, and mitigate climate-related risks.
“Performance since the last reviews of these arrangements has weakened. While accumulation of foreign exchange reserves and inflation were better than expected, the fiscal performance fell significantly short of the targets. The revenue and export underperformances increased debt vulnerabilities. Implementation of several reforms was also delayed.
“In this context, a difficult adjustment path lies ahead. A credible fiscal consolidation strategy remains central to addressing debt vulnerabilities while protecting social and development spending. Reforms to make the tax regime more efficient, equitable, and progressive as well as strengthening accountability, transparency, and efficiency of public finances will help garner political and societal support for reforms. Clearly communicating the necessity and benefits of the reforms is paramount.
“Given the elevated risks around the fiscal strategy, policymaking needs to be agile. Contingency planning remains critical, with policies adapting to evolving outcomes to safeguard stability and ensure that program objectives continue to be met.
“The Central Bank of Kenya’s decisive actions have supported price stability and external sustainability, including through institutional changes to improve the functioning of the monetary policy operational framework and the money and foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate flexibility is vital to improve resilience to external shocks and competitiveness. Addressing banks’ deteriorating asset quality and emerging risks requires close monitoring and strengthened oversight.
“Fast-tracking key reforms would raise medium-term potential. In particular, addressing deficiencies in governance, anti-corruption frameworks, and AML/CFT, including leveraging the requested governance diagnostic, is essential for garnering public trust and enhancing policy credibility, and for attracting fresh investments, including finance to build climate resilience.”
|
Kenya: Selected Economic Indicators, 2021–2026 |
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Sources: Kenyan authorities; and IMF staff estimates and projections. 1 Based on fiscal year (i.e., 2025 represents fiscal year 2024/25, covering July 2024–June 2025). |
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PRESS OFFICER: Pavis Devahasadin
Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/10/30/pr-24398-kenya-imf-concludes-7th-and-8th-rev-under-the-eff-and-ecf-and-rev-under-rsf-arrangement
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
HOUSTON, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Superior Energy Services, Inc. (the “Company”) filed its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2024. In accordance with the Company’s Shareholders Agreement, it will host a conference call with shareholders on November 1, 2024.
For the third quarter of 2024, the Company reported net income from continuing operations of $21.9 million, or $1.09 per diluted share, with revenue of $197.3 million. This compares to net income from continuing operations of $29.5 million or $1.46 per diluted share, with revenue of $201.1 million, for the second quarter of 2024.
The Company’s Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure defined on page 4) was $57.8 million compared to $60.0 million for the second quarter of 2024. Refer to pages 11 and 12 for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP results.
Third Quarter 2024 Geographic Breakdown
U.S. land revenue was $36.0 million for the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 8% compared to revenue of $39.0 million for the second quarter of 2024. The decline in U.S. land revenue was primarily driven by decreased activity from our premium drill pipe and bottom hole accessories product lines within our Rentals segment, consistent with a reduced U.S. land rig count.
U.S. offshore revenue was $49.7 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 8% compared to revenue of $53.8 million in the second quarter of 2024. U.S. offshore revenue decreased primarily in our Well Services segments, with the most significant decline coming from our project-based completion services product line. U.S. Offshore revenue in the Rentals segment for the third quarter of 2024 was up $1.6 million versus the second quarter of 2024, despite approximately $1.0 million of revenue slipping to the fourth quarter of 2024 due to hurricane activity in September.
International revenue was $111.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 3% compared to revenue of $108.4 million in the second quarter of 2024. International revenue was up across both our Rentals and Well Services segments, with the increase being driven by our hydraulic snubbing and well control services product lines.
Third Quarter 2024 Segment Reporting
The Rentals segment revenue in the third quarter of 2024 was $97.9 million, a 2% decrease compared to revenue of $99.9 million in the second quarter of 2024, primarily driven by reduced activity in U.S. land and hurricane disruptions in the U.S. offshore market. In the third quarter of 2024, Rentals segment income from operations was $43.9 million as compared to $44.1 million in the second quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was $55.9 million, a decrease from $56.0 million in the second quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a non-GAAP measure defined on page 4) was 57%, a 1% increase from the second quarter of 2024.
The Well Services segment revenue in the third quarter of 2024 was $99.5 million, a 2% decrease compared to revenue of $101.2 million in the second quarter of 2024 and income from operations for the third quarter of 2024 was $3.8 million as compared to $10.7 million in the second quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2024 was $15.4 million with an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 16%, as compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $19.1 million with an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 19% in the second quarter of 2024. The Well Services segment sequential decline was primarily driven by lower activity in our project-based completion services product line.
Liquidity
As of September 30, 2024, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of approximately $380.6 million. As of September 30, 2024, our borrowing base, as defined in our credit agreement, was approximately $89.9 million, and we had $39.5 million in letters of credit outstanding which reduced the borrowing availability to $50.4 million. At September 30, 2024, we had no outstanding borrowings under our credit facility.
During the third quarter of 2024, we utilized an indirect foreign exchange mechanism known as a Blue Chip Swap. The transactions were completed at implied exchange rates that were approximately 63.0% higher than the official exchange rate, resulting in a loss of approximately $5.1 million during the third quarter of 2024.
During the third quarter of 2024, net cash from operating activities was $62.5 million. Free Cash Flow (a non-GAAP measure defined on page 4) for the third quarter of 2024 totaled $50.5 million as compared to $39.0 million for the second quarter of 2024. Refer to page 8 for a reconciliation of Free Cash Flow to Net Cash from Operating Activities.
Third quarter 2024 capital expenditures were $12.0 million. The Company expects total capital expenditures for 2024 to be approximately $100 to $110 million. Approximately 91% of total 2024 capital expenditures are targeted for the replacement of existing assets. Of the total estimated 2024 capital expenditures, approximately 68% is expected to be invested in the Rentals segment.
2024 Guidance
Our full year 2024 guidance remains consistent from the second quarter 2024 guidance. We expect 2024 revenue to come in at a range of $780 million to $840 million with 2024 Adjusted EBITDA expected to be in a range of $235 million to $265 million.
Conference Call Information
The Company’s management team will host a conference call on Friday, November 1, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The call will be available via live webcast in the “Events” section at ir.superiorenergy.com. To access via phone, participants can register for the call here, where they will be provided a phone number and access code. The call will be available for replay until November 1, 2025 on Superior’s website at ir.superiorenergy.com. If you are a shareholder and would like to submit a question, please email your question beforehand to Jamie Spexarth at ir@superiorenergy.com.
About Superior Energy Services
Superior Energy Services serves the drilling, completion and production-related needs of oil and gas companies worldwide through a diversified portfolio of specialized oilfield services and equipment that are used throughout the economic life cycle of oil and gas wells. For more information, visit: www.superiorenergy.com.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement Superior’s consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), the Company also uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin internally for financial and operational decision-making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. The Company also believes these non-GAAP measures provide investors useful information about operating results, enhance the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making. Non-GAAP financial measures are not recognized measures for financial statement presentation under U.S. GAAP and do not have standardized meanings and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other public companies. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin should be considered as supplements to, and not as substitutes for, or superior to, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) from continuing activities before net interest expense, income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation, amortization, accretion and depletion, restructuring and transaction expenses, adjusted for other gains and losses and other expenses, net, which management does not consider representative of our ongoing operations. We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA by segment as a percentage of segment revenues. For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, please see the tables under “―Superior Energy Services, Inc. and Subsidiaries Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA” and “—Superior Energy Services, Inc. and Subsidiaries Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA by Segment” included on pages 11 and 12 of this press release.
Free Cash Flow is defined as net cash from operating activities less payments for capital expenditures. Free Cash Flow is considered a non-GAAP financial measure under the SEC’s rules. Management believes, however, that Free Cash Flow is an important financial measure for use in evaluating the Company’s financial performance, as it measures our ability to generate additional cash from our business operations. Free Cash Flow should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, net income as a measure of our performance or net cash provided by operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. Additionally, our definition of Free Cash Flow is limited and does not represent residual cash flows available for discretionary expenditures due to the fact that the measure does not deduct the payments required for debt service and other obligations or payments made for business acquisitions. Therefore, we believe it is important to view Free Cash Flow as supplemental to our entire Statement of Cash Flows. Please see table under “—Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows” included on page 8 of this press release.
The Company is unable to provide a reconciliation of the forward-looking non-GAAP financial measure, Adjusted EBITDA, contained in this press release to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, net income, as the information necessary for a quantitative reconciliation of the forward-looking non-GAAP financial measure to its respective most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is not (and was not, when prepared) available to the Company without unreasonable efforts due to the inherent difficulty and impracticability of predicting certain amounts required by GAAP with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Net income includes the impact of depreciation, income taxes and certain other items that impact comparability between periods, which may be significant and are difficult to project with a reasonable degree of accuracy. In addition, we believe such reconciliation could imply a degree of precision that might be confusing or misleading to investors. The probable significance of providing this forward-looking non-GAAP financial measure without the directly comparable GAAP financial measure is that such GAAP financial measure may be materially different from the corresponding non-GAAP financial measure.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains, and future oral or written statements or press releases by the Company and its management may contain, certain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “targets,” “goals,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks”, “will,” “could,” “may” and “estimates,” variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements other than statements of historical fact regarding the Company’s financial position and results, financial performance, liquidity, market outlook, future capital needs, capital allocation plans, business strategies and other plans and objectives of our management for future operations and activities are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company’s management in light of its experience and prevailing circumstances on the date such statements are made. Such forward-looking statements, and the assumptions on which they are based, are inherently speculative and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to conditions in the oil and gas industry, U.S. and global market and economic conditions generally and macroeconomic conditions worldwide (including inflation, interest rates, supply chain disruptions and capital and credit markets conditions) and other uncertainties (such as the war in Ukraine and conflict in Israel and broader geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and eastern Europe) that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from such statements. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of uncertainties and factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.
While the Company believes that the assumptions concerning future events are reasonable, it cautions that there are inherent difficulties in predicting certain important factors that could impact the future performance or results of its business.
These forward-looking statements are also affected by the risk factors, forward-looking statements and challenges and uncertainties described in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and subsequent reports on Form 10-Qs and those set forth from time to time in the Company’s other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.superiorenergy.com. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
| SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
|||||||||||||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS |
|||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, | June 30, | September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Rentals | $ | 97,857 | $ | 99,851 | $ | 113,201 | $ | 305,799 | $ | 334,433 | |||||||||
| Well Services | 99,450 | 101,230 | 97,184 | 301,223 | 340,562 | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | 197,307 | 201,081 | 210,385 | 607,022 | 674,995 | ||||||||||||||
| Rentals | 35,227 | 36,596 | 37,769 | 109,589 | 109,258 | ||||||||||||||
| Well Services | 74,172 | 71,672 | 72,076 | 214,717 | 239,062 | ||||||||||||||
| Total cost of revenues | 109,399 | 108,268 | 109,845 | 324,306 | 348,320 | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion | 21,077 | 20,868 | 20,490 | 62,392 | 61,250 | ||||||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 33,458 | 33,404 | 30,089 | 101,837 | 92,256 | ||||||||||||||
| Restructuring and transaction expenses | 5,891 | – | – | 5,891 | 1,983 | ||||||||||||||
| Other gains, net | (133 | ) | (614 | ) | (4,073 | ) | (1,829 | ) | (5,424 | ) | |||||||||
| Income from operations | 27,615 | 39,155 | 54,034 | 114,425 | 176,610 | ||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income, net | 5,032 | 5,760 | 6,629 | 17,632 | 18,581 | ||||||||||||||
| Loss on Blue Chip Swaps | (5,113 | ) | – | (12,120 | ) | (5,113 | ) | (12,120 | ) | ||||||||||
| Other income (expense) | 979 | (2,082 | ) | (4,520 | ) | (2,916 | ) | (8,508 | ) | ||||||||||
| Income from continuing operations before income taxes | 28,513 | 42,833 | 44,023 | 124,028 | 174,563 | ||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | (6,597 | ) | (13,370 | ) | (11,403 | ) | (34,754 | ) | (44,615 | ) | |||||||||
| Net income from continuing operations | 21,916 | 29,463 | 32,620 | 89,274 | 129,948 | ||||||||||||||
| Income from discontinued operations, net of income tax | – | 1,896 | 128 | 1,896 | 408 | ||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 21,916 | $ | 31,359 | $ | 32,748 | $ | 91,170 | $ | 130,356 | |||||||||
| Income per share – basic: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net income from continuing operations | $ | 1.09 | $ | 1.46 | $ | 1.62 | $ | 4.43 | $ | 6.46 | |||||||||
| Income from discontinued operations, net of income tax | – | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.09 | 0.02 | ||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 1.09 | $ | 1.55 | $ | 1.63 | $ | 4.52 | $ | 6.48 | |||||||||
| Income per share – diluted | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net income from continuing operations | $ | 1.09 | $ | 1.46 | $ | 1.62 | $ | 4.42 | $ | 6.45 | |||||||||
| Income from discontinued operations, net of income tax | – | 0.09 | – | 0.10 | 0.02 | ||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 1.09 | $ | 1.55 | $ | 1.62 | $ | 4.52 | $ | 6.47 | |||||||||
| Weighted-average shares outstanding | |||||||||||||||||||
| Basic | 20,177 | 20,172 | 20,136 | 20,170 | 20,123 | ||||||||||||||
| Diluted | 20,186 | 20,183 | 20,159 | 20,182 | 20,144 | ||||||||||||||
| SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
|||||||
| CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS |
|||||||
| (in thousands, unaudited) | |||||||
| September 30, | December 31, | ||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| ASSETS | |||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 325,881 | $ | 391,684 | |||
| Accounts receivable, net | 200,106 | 276,868 | |||||
| Inventory | 70,293 | 74,995 | |||||
| Income taxes receivable | 13,383 | 10,542 | |||||
| Prepaid expenses | 23,363 | 18,614 | |||||
| Other current assets | 7,765 | 7,922 | |||||
| Total current assets | 640,791 | 780,625 | |||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net | 306,285 | 294,960 | |||||
| Note receivable | 72,694 | 69,005 | |||||
| Restricted cash | 54,707 | 85,444 | |||||
| Deferred tax assets | 59,555 | 67,241 | |||||
| Other assets, net | 42,319 | 43,718 | |||||
| Total assets | $ | 1,176,351 | $ | 1,340,993 | |||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | |||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 38,897 | $ | 38,214 | |||
| Accrued expenses | 106,203 | 103,782 | |||||
| Income taxes payable | 20,100 | 20,220 | |||||
| Decommissioning liability | 30,747 | 21,631 | |||||
| Total current liabilities | 195,947 | 183,847 | |||||
| Decommissioning liability | 140,030 | 148,652 | |||||
| Other liabilities | 38,599 | 47,583 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 374,576 | 380,082 | |||||
| Total equity | 801,775 | 960,911 | |||||
| Total liabilities and equity | $ | 1,176,351 | $ | 1,340,993 | |||
| SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||||||||||||||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS | |||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, | June 30, | September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 21,916 | $ | 31,359 | $ | 32,748 | $ | 91,170 | $ | 130,356 | |||||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash from operating activities: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion | 21,077 | 20,868 | 20,490 | 62,392 | 61,250 | ||||||||||||||
| Loss on Blue Chip Swaps | 5,113 | – | 12,120 | 5,113 | 12,120 | ||||||||||||||
| Washington State Tax Settlement | – | – | – | – | (27,068 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Decommissioning costs | (5,111 | ) | (143 | ) | (3,401 | ) | (5,684 | ) | (6,279 | ) | |||||||||
| Other non-cash items | (2,642 | ) | 4,205 | 566 | 4,798 | 23,357 | |||||||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | 22,162 | 17,487 | (10,112 | ) | 67,396 | (38,390 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Net cash from operating activities | 62,515 | 73,776 | 52,411 | 225,185 | 155,346 | ||||||||||||||
| Cash flows from investing activities | |||||||||||||||||||
| Payments for capital expenditures | (12,005 | ) | (34,744 | ) | (21,592 | ) | (67,447 | ) | (67,218 | ) | |||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of assets | 292 | 669 | 9,563 | 3,577 | 24,710 | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of Blue Chip Swap securities | 8,121 | – | 9,656 | 8,121 | 9,656 | ||||||||||||||
| Purchases of Blue Chip Swap securities | (13,234 | ) | – | (21,776 | ) | (13,234 | ) | (21,776 | ) | ||||||||||
| Net cash from investing activities | (16,826 | ) | (34,075 | ) | (24,149 | ) | (68,983 | ) | (54,628 | ) | |||||||||
| Cash flows from financing activities | |||||||||||||||||||
| Distributions to shareholders | – | – | – | (250,417 | ) | – | |||||||||||||
| Repurchase of shares | – | – | – | (962 | ) | – | |||||||||||||
| Other | (358 | ) | – | – | (1,363 | ) | (1,116 | ) | |||||||||||
| Net cash from financing activities | (358 | ) | – | – | (252,742 | ) | (1,116 | ) | |||||||||||
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | 45,331 | 39,701 | 28,262 | (96,540 | ) | 99,602 | |||||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period | 335,257 | 295,556 | 410,447 | 477,128 | 339,107 | ||||||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 380,588 | $ | 335,257 | $ | 438,709 | $ | 380,588 | $ | 438,709 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash from operating activities | $ | 62,515 | $ | 73,776 | $ | 52,411 | $ | 225,185 | $ | 155,346 | |||||||||
| Payments for capital expenditures | (12,005 | ) | (34,744 | ) | (21,592 | ) | (67,447 | ) | (67,218 | ) | |||||||||
| Free Cash Flow | $ | 50,510 | $ | 39,032 | $ | 30,819 | $ | 157,738 | $ | 88,128 | |||||||||
| Free Cash Flow is a Non-GAAP measure. See Non-GAAP Financial Measures for our definition of Free Cash Flow. | |||||||||||||||||||
| SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
|||||||||||||||||||
| REVENUE BY GEOGRAPHIC REGION BY SEGMENT |
|||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, | June 30, | September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| U.S. land | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rentals | $ | 28,934 | $ | 32,713 | $ | 37,478 | $ | 100,653 | $ | 127,341 | |||||||||
| Well Services | 7,027 | 6,242 | 8,223 | 20,735 | 20,384 | ||||||||||||||
| Total U.S. land | 35,961 | 38,955 | 45,701 | 121,388 | 147,725 | ||||||||||||||
| U.S. offshore | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rentals | 32,228 | 30,644 | 44,681 | 100,123 | 117,867 | ||||||||||||||
| Well Services | 17,489 | 23,125 | 14,459 | 69,486 | 54,185 | ||||||||||||||
| Total U.S. offshore | 49,717 | 53,769 | 59,140 | 169,609 | 172,052 | ||||||||||||||
| International | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rentals | 36,695 | 36,494 | 31,042 | 105,023 | 89,225 | ||||||||||||||
| Well Services | 74,934 | 71,863 | 74,502 | 211,002 | 265,993 | ||||||||||||||
| Total International | 111,629 | 108,357 | 105,544 | 316,025 | 355,218 | ||||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 197,307 | $ | 201,081 | $ | 210,385 | $ | 607,022 | $ | 674,995 | |||||||||
| SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||||||||||||||
| SEGMENT HIGHLIGHTS | |||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, | June 30, | September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Revenues | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rentals | $ | 97,857 | $ | 99,851 | $ | 113,201 | $ | 305,799 | $ | 334,433 | |||||||||
| Well Services | 99,450 | 101,230 | 97,184 | 301,223 | 340,562 | ||||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 197,307 | $ | 201,081 | $ | 210,385 | $ | 607,022 | $ | 674,995 | |||||||||
| Income (loss) from Operations | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rentals | $ | 43,856 | $ | 44,061 | $ | 56,253 | $ | 139,128 | $ | 167,373 | |||||||||
| Well Services | 3,789 | 10,686 | 10,581 | 27,867 | 50,860 | ||||||||||||||
| Corporate and other | (20,030 | ) | (15,592 | ) | (12,800 | ) | (52,570 | ) | (41,623 | ) | |||||||||
| Income from operations | $ | 27,615 | $ | 39,155 | $ | 54,034 | $ | 114,425 | $ | 176,610 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rentals | $ | 55,915 | $ | 56,023 | $ | 68,791 | $ | 174,959 | $ | 204,632 | |||||||||
| Well Services | 15,427 | 19,078 | 15,137 | 56,028 | 69,697 | ||||||||||||||
| Corporate and other | (13,576 | ) | (15,078 | ) | (12,125 | ) | (45,096 | ) | (37,207 | ) | |||||||||
| Total Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 57,766 | $ | 60,023 | $ | 71,803 | $ | 185,891 | $ | 237,122 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rentals | 57 | % | 56 | % | 61 | % | 57 | % | 61 | % | |||||||||
| Well Services | 16 | % | 19 | % | 16 | % | 19 | % | 20 | % | |||||||||
| Corporate and other | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||||||||||||||
| Total Adjusted EBITDA Margin | 29 | % | 30 | % | 34 | % | 31 | % | 35 | % | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA is a Non-GAAP measure. See Non-GAAP Financial Measures for our definition of Adjusted EBITDA and pages 11 and 12 for a reconciliation to income (loss) from operations. | |||||||||||||||||||
| SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
|||||||||||||||||||
| RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EBITDA |
|||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, | June 30, | September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Net income from continuing operations | $ | 21,916 | $ | 29,463 | $ | 32,620 | $ | 89,274 | $ | 129,948 | |||||||||
| Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion | 21,077 | 20,868 | 20,490 | 62,392 | 61,250 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest income, net | (5,032 | ) | (5,760 | ) | (6,629 | ) | (17,632 | ) | (18,581 | ) | |||||||||
| Income tax expense | 6,597 | 13,370 | 11,403 | 34,754 | 44,615 | ||||||||||||||
| Restructuring expenses and other adjustments (1) | 9,074 | – | (2,721 | ) | 9,074 | (738 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Loss on Blue Chip Swap Securities | 5,113 | – | 12,120 | 5,113 | 12,120 | ||||||||||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | (979 | ) | 2,082 | 4,520 | 2,916 | 8,508 | |||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 57,766 | $ | 60,023 | $ | 71,803 | $ | 185,891 | $ | 237,122 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA is a Non-GAAP measure. See Non-GAAP Financial Measures for our definition of Adjusted EBITDA. | |||||||||||||||||||
| (1) Restructuring expenses and other adjustments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 relate to costs associated with changes in our executive management and other restructuring costs. Adjustments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 relate to exit and disposal activities related to non-core businesses and other restructuring costs. | |||||||||||||||||||
| SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||||||||||||||
| RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EBITDA BY SEGMENT | |||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||
| September 30, | June 30, | September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Rentals | |||||||||||||||||||
| Income from operations | $ | 43,856 | $ | 44,061 | $ | 56,253 | $ | 139,128 | $ | 167,373 | |||||||||
| Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion | 12,059 | 11,962 | 12,538 | 35,831 | 37,259 | ||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 55,915 | $ | 56,023 | $ | 68,791 | $ | 174,959 | $ | 204,632 | |||||||||
| Well Services | |||||||||||||||||||
| Income from operations | $ | 3,789 | $ | 10,686 | $ | 10,581 | $ | 27,867 | $ | 50,860 | |||||||||
| Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion | 8,455 | 8,392 | 7,277 | 24,978 | 21,558 | ||||||||||||||
| Restructuring expenses and other adjustments(1) | 3,183 | – | (2,721 | ) | 3,183 | (2,721 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 15,427 | $ | 19,078 | $ | 15,137 | $ | 56,028 | $ | 69,697 | |||||||||
| Corporate | |||||||||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (20,030 | ) | $ | (15,592 | ) | $ | (12,800 | ) | $ | (52,570 | ) | $ | (41,623 | ) | ||||
| Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion | 563 | 514 | 675 | 1,583 | 2,433 | ||||||||||||||
| Restructuring expenses and other adjustments (1) | 5,891 | – | – | 5,891 | 1,983 | ||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (13,576 | ) | $ | (15,078 | ) | $ | (12,125 | ) | $ | (45,096 | ) | $ | (37,207 | ) | ||||
| Total | |||||||||||||||||||
| Income from operations | $ | 27,615 | $ | 39,155 | $ | 54,034 | $ | 114,425 | $ | 176,610 | |||||||||
| Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion | 21,077 | 20,868 | 20,490 | 62,392 | 61,250 | ||||||||||||||
| Restructuring expenses and other adjustments (1) | 9,074 | – | (2,721 | ) | 9,074 | (738 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 57,766 | $ | 60,023 | $ | 71,803 | $ | 185,891 | $ | 237,122 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA is a Non-GAAP measure. See Non-GAAP Financial Measures for our definition of Adjusted EBITDA. | |||||||||||||||||||
| (1) Restructuring expenses and other adjustments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 relate to costs associated with changes in our executive management and other restructuring costs. Adjustments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 relate to exit and disposal activities related to non-core businesses and other restructuring costs. | |||||||||||||||||||
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jamie Spexarth, Chief Financial Officer
1001 Louisiana St., Suite 2900
Houston, TX 77002
Investor Relations, ir@superiorenergy.com, (713) 654-2200
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Oxbridge Re (NASDAQ: OXBR) announced that it plans to hold a conference call on Wednesday November 13, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time to discuss results for the third quarter and nine months ending ended September 30, 2024. Financial results will be issued in a press release after the close of the market on the same day. Oxbridge Re’s management will host the conference call, followed by a question and answer period.
Interested parties can listen to the live presentation by dialing the listen-only number below.
| Date: November 13, 2024 |
| Time: 4:30 p.m. Eastern time |
| Listen-only toll-free number: 877 524-8416 |
| Listen-only international number: +1 412 902-1028 |
| Passcode (required): 13746519 |
Please call the conference telephone number 10 minutes before the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact InComm Conferencing at 201 493-6280 or 877 804-2066
A replay of the call will be available by telephone after 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on the same day of the call and via the Investor Information section of Oxbridge’s website at www.OxbridgeRe.com until November 26, 2024.
| Toll-free replay number: 877-660-6853 |
| International replay number: +1 201-612-7415 |
| Replay passcode: 13746519 |
About Oxbridge Re Holdings Limited
Oxbridge Re Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: OXBR, OXBRW) (“Oxbridge Re”) is headquartered in the Cayman Islands. The company offers tokenized Real-World Assets (“RWAs”) as tokenized reinsurance securities and reinsurance business solutions to property and casualty insurers, through its wholly owned subsidiaries SurancePlus Inc, Oxbridge Re NS, and Oxbridge Reinsurance Limited.
Insurance businesses in the Gulf Coast region of the United States purchase property and casualty reinsurance through our licensed reinsurers Oxbridge Reinsurance Limited and Oxbridge Re NS.
Our Web3-focused subsidiary, SurancePlus Inc. (“SurancePlus”), has developed the first “on-chain” reinsurance RWA of its kind to be sponsored by a subsidiary of a publicly traded company. By digitizing interests in reinsurance contracts as on-chain RWAs, SurancePlus has democratized the availability of reinsurance as an alternative investment to both U.S. and non-U.S. investors.
Company Contact:
Oxbridge Re Holdings Limited
Jay Madhu, CEO
+1 345-749-7570
jmadhu@oxbridgere.com
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Zio AT device, along with the Zio ECG Utilization Software (ZEUS) (K222389), enables the provision of ambulatory Mobile Cardiac Telemetry (MCT) monitoring service for non-critical care patients
FDA 510(k)-cleared enhancements will be available in 2025
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRTC), a leading digital health care company focused on creating trusted solutions that detect, predict, and prevent disease, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted clearance for its 510(k) submission related to design modifications and labeling updates for the Zio AT device. Zio AT remains commercially available on the market to ship to customers in the United States, and product enhancements subject to this 510(k) clearance will be available in 2025.
“This clearance is related to enhancements to our Zio AT product, including design features and labeling updates intended to address areas of concern specific to Zio AT that were noted in a 2023 FDA warning letter to the Company,” said Quentin Blackford, iRhythm President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe these features that were subject to this clearance advance our technology for the benefit of patients, physicians, and healthcare systems who rely on our Zio AT services. At all times, we remain committed to patient safety, physician trust in Zio AT’s clinical performance, service quality, and regulatory compliance.”
About the Zio AT System
The Zio AT device is a prescription-only outpatient cardiac telemetry device, commonly referred to as a mobile cardiac telemetry device, which is used for the provision of our mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) services. The Zio AT system consists of: the Zio AT patch, an ECG monitor that continuously records ECG data for up to 14 days; the wireless gateway that provides connectivity between the Zio AT patch and the Zio ECG Utilization Software (ZEUS) to transmit data during the wear period; and ZEUS, iRhythm’s deep-learning algorithm that analyzes cardiac events transmitted by the Zio AT patch and gateway. The Zio AT services provide event transmission reports during wear and a comprehensive end-of-wear report1-4 with preliminary findings to the treating medical professional for final clinical decisions. The Zio AT services are provided by iRhythm’s independent diagnostic testing facilities located in San Francisco, California, Deerfield, Illinois and Houston, Texas.
Zio Services’ Clinically Proven Performance
The value of the Zio service has been demonstrated in over 100 original scientific research manuscripts5. Zio AT’s patient-centered design enables high patient compliance and analyzable time with minimal noise or artifact6-8, and real-world data shows an impressive 98% patient compliance9, in part thanks to Zio AT’s zero required patient manipulations. Furthermore, physicians agree with the Zio service’s comprehensive end-of-wear report 99% of the time10-11.
About iRhythm Technologies, Inc.
iRhythm is a leading digital health care company that creates trusted solutions that detect, predict, and prevent disease. Combining wearable biosensors and cloud-based data analytics with powerful proprietary algorithms, iRhythm distills data from millions of heartbeats12 into clinically actionable information. Through a relentless focus on patient care, iRhythm’s vision is to deliver better data, better insights, and better health for all. To learn more about iRhythm, including its portfolio of Zio products and services, please visit irhythmtech.com.
Zio AT Indications For Use
The Zio AT device is intended to capture and transmit symptomatic and asymptomatic cardiac events and record continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) data for long-term monitoring. It is indicated for use on patients 18 years or older who may be asymptomatic or who may suffer from transient symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, light-headedness, pre-syncope, syncope, fatigue, or anxiety. It is not intended for use on critical care patients.
Contraindications
Investor Contact
Stephanie Zhadkevich
investors@irhythmtech.com
Media Contact
Kassandra Perry
irhythm@highwirepr.com
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
LIMERICK, Ireland, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — kneat.com, inc. (TSX: KSI) (OTC: KSIOF) (“Kneat” or the “Company”) a leader in digitizing and automating validation and quality processes, announced today that the Company will release its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, after TSX market close on November 6, 2024.
Eddie Ryan, Chief Executive Officer and Hugh Kavanagh, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call and Q&A for sell side analysts via webcast on November 7, 2024 at 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT).
Interested parties can register for the live webcast via the following link:
The third-quarter financial results will be available from the Financial Information section of the Investors page on the Kneat Solutions website, at: https://kneat.com/investors/
About Kneat
Kneat Solutions provides leading companies in highly regulated industries with unparalleled efficiency in validation and compliance through its digital validation platform Kneat Gx. We lead the industry in customer satisfaction with an unblemished record for retention and implementation, powered by our user-friendly design, expert support, and on-demand training academy. Kneat Gx is an industry-leading digital validation platform that enables highly regulated companies to manage any validation discipline from end-to-end. Kneat Gx is fully ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified, fully validated, and 21 CFR Part 11/Annex 11 compliant. Multiple independent customer studies show a 40% or more reduction in validation cycle times, nearly 20% faster speed to market, and 80% reduced changeover time. For more information visit www.kneat.com.
For further information:
Katie Keita, Investor Relations Lead, +902-706-9074, katie.keita@kneat.com
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPSS) (“CPS” or the “Company”) today announced that it will hold a conference call on Friday, November 1, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. ET to discuss its third quarter 2024 operating results.
Those wishing to participate can pre-register for the conference call at the following link https://register.vevent.com/register/BIaadcdbbe0a7849aa918eac85c86475ff. Registered participants will receive an email containing conference call details for dial-in options. To avoid delays, we encourage participants to dial into the conference call fifteen minutes ahead of the schedule start time. A replay will be available beginning two hours after conclusion of the call for 12 months via the Company’s website at https://ir.consumerportfolio.com/investor-relations.
About Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc.
Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. is an independent specialty finance company that provides indirect automobile financing to individuals with past credit problems or limited credit histories. We purchase retail installment sales contracts primarily from franchised automobile dealerships secured by late model used vehicles and, to a lesser extent, new vehicles. We fund these contract purchases on a long-term basis primarily through the securitization markets and service the contracts over their lives.
Investor Relations Contact
Danny Bharwani, Chief Financial Officer
949-753-6811
Source: United States Attorneys General
Gremex Shipping S.A. de C.V., a Mexican corporation that managed several ships, including the M/V Suhar, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in federal district court in Pensacola, Florida, for creating and providing false records to the U.S. Coast Guard to conceal its illegal discharge of oily bilge waste into the ocean, which is a felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
The charge stems from a Coast Guard investigation of the ship once it arrived in Pensacola on Aug. 25, 2023. The Suhar is a 7,602 gross ton Panamanian-flagged ocean-going bulk carrier that routinely hauled cement from Tampico, Mexico, to Pensacola. Since March 2021, day-to-day operation of the ship was undertaken by Gremex, which was responsible for hiring all crew, and ensuring compliance with all policies on protection of the environment in accordance with international regulations. After boarding the ship to determine compliance with all applicable laws, Coast Guard personnel determined that the vessel’s crew had regularly discharged untreated oily bilge water into sea in a manner that bypassed onboard pollution control equipment, and then falsified the ship’s oil record book to conceal these discharges.
As part of normal vessel operations, large ocean-going ships like the Suhar generate oily bilge water that periodically needs to be discharged for the vessel to operate safely. The United States and Panama are both parties to an international treaty known as MARPOL, which regulates and limits the at-sea discharge of oily bilge water. To satisfy these marine pollution requirements, vessels typically discharge oily bilge water after it has been processed through an oily water separator, a piece of onboard pollution control equipment which removes oil from bilge water prior to discharge. Ships are required to maintain an oil record book that documents all discharges of oily bilge water so authorities can monitor ships for compliance with these international requirements. Federal law requires that foreign ships arriving at U.S. ports maintain an accurate oil record book.
Consistent with a sentencing recommendation jointly proposed by the government and Gremex, the court sentenced the company to pay a $1.75 million fine, serve a four-year term of probation and commit to developing and implementing an environmental compliance plan that will be in effect during the time the company is on probation.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida made the announcement.
The Coast Guard’s Investigative Service investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Joel La Bissonniere of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Love for the Northern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
TORONTO, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII) (TSX:SII) (“Sprott”) announced today that it plans to release its third quarter results at 7:00 a.m. on November 6, 2024. Sprott will host an earnings webcast that morning at 10:00 a.m. to discuss the results. Sprott CEO, Whitney George, together with Sprott CFO, Kevin Hibbert and Sprott Asset Management CEO, John Ciampaglia, will host the webcast, which can be accessed as outlined below.
PLEASE NOTE: Research analysts who cover the company should register at:
https://register.vevent.com/register/BIecf4c3c925374bf19a6ce5051f64dd6d
Pre-registration is now open.
About Sprott
Sprott is a global asset manager focused on precious metals and critical materials investments. We are specialists. We believe our in-depth knowledge, experience and relationships separate us from the generalists. Our investment strategies include Exchange Listed Products, Managed Equities and Private Strategies. Sprott has offices in Toronto, New York, Connecticut and California. The company’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol (SII). For more information, please visit www.sprott.com.
Investor contact information: (416) 943-4394 or ir@sprott.com.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
NEWARK N.J. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced a total of $406 million in federal grants being awarded to New Jersey by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). EPA’s 2024 Clean Ports Program (CPP) is awarding the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority) $347 million total to execute their plan to implement alternative freight movement and zero-emissions options across the marine terminals operated by the Port Authority and its private sector partners in New York and New Jersey. The program will also award $55 million to the SeaStreak LLC to deploy high-speed zero-emission ferries for service between northern New Jersey and New York City, as well as for accompanying charging infrastructure and for training and workforce development. Additionally, the FRA is awarding $4 million to the Morristown & Erie Railway (ME) to provide more efficient and reliable freight rail operations along a nine-mile railway that runs from Morristown, New Jersey to Roseland, New Jersey.
Senator Booker wrote in support of the Port Authority’s and the Morristown & Erie Railway’s applications for these projects in May and July of this year, respectively.
The Port Authority’s “Catalyzing Change: Zero Emissions NY-NJ Port Projects for a Greener Future” plan is receiving $344 million to establish a sustainable zero emissions operation at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the largest container port on the East Coast and third largest in the country. The Port Authority’s Port Master Plan 2050 would commit to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The second grant of $3 million would fund a drayage truck movement study, increased community air monitoring, and the establishment of a Ports Community Advisory Council.
“EPA’s $347 million award to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to execute their ‘Catalyzing Change’ plan is a huge win for New Jersey, and a bold step toward a cleaner, more sustainable future,” said Senator Booker. “Investing in zero-emissions technologies and enhancing our freight operations will help us protect our environment and boost our regional economy. I am proud to have supported this award that will create jobs, improve air quality, protect our planet, and ensure that our supply chain remains efficient and resilient.”
“We appreciate the recognition and support from our government and community partners to ensure the critical work at the Port of New York and New Jersey is accomplished with an eye toward the future,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “This funding will reverberate well beyond the docks, allowing us to work together with nearby communities to ensure that the busiest port on the East Coast sets a new standard for collaboration, innovation, and sustainability.”
“We’re immensely grateful and thrilled to receive this significant funding from the EPA, allowing us to accelerate the deployment of zero-emission equipment across our port facilities,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “This award is a crucial step forward in our commitment to sustainability and will help us meet the Agency’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050. We are grateful for the EPA’s partnership as the Port Authority continues our aggressive pursuit of our climate agenda.”
“These extraordinary awards represent a significant step toward our community engagement and sustainability efforts, and we extend our sincere appreciation to all of the port partners who made it happen,” said Bethann Rooney, port director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “The cargo moved through the Port radiates out across the country, but it would not be possible without the collaboration of the port community. Our goal is to ensure that all stakeholders have a voice as we look to maximize the impact of every dollar to deliver cleaner air, new equipment, and a port that leads the way on sustainability and community engagement.”
“Ports are essential to moving and bringing us goods that we depend on, but they are also sources of air and climate pollution impacting the surrounding communities,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “By advancing zero-emission technologies, we are tackling air pollution head-on while creating good-paying jobs that support local economies and families. This tremendous investment demonstrates EPA’s commitment to environmental and climate justice, and economic opportunity while also ensuring that our port communities can breathe cleaner air.”
The grant money for the Morristown-Erie Railway will be awarded through the FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program. The project will replace five-track miles of 75-year-old lite-weight jointed rail and eight switches with 115-pound or larger rail in addition to other updates. These improvements will minimize derailments and reduce noise levels, and help the railway expand its operations to manage the increase of freight coming in from the Port of New York and New Jersey.
“This $4 million grant from the FRA’s CRISI program is a crucial investment in the Morristown & Erie Railway that will enhance the safety and efficiency of our freight operations,” said Senator Booker. “Upgrading our aging infrastructure will benefit freight rail workers and consumers from Morristown to Roseland who rely on these tracks. This project will create jobs, support the local economy, and ensure this railway remains safe and efficient for years to come.”
“We are pleased to have received Senator Booker’s support in receiving this $4MM CRISI grant toward a total $6MM project to replace rail switches and extend track on our rail line. It will enable us to continue providing environmentally superior rail freight service to our customers, facilitate customer growth and additional employment in our Morris and Essex County service territory,” said Morristown & Erie President Charles Jensen.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Maryland Ben Cardin
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen joined Governor Wes Moore today joined President Joseph R. Biden at the Port of Baltimore to celebrate more than $147 million in federal funding to create good-paying, clean jobs and to expedite decarbonization and electrification efforts at the Port. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the funding to the Port of Baltimore through its Clean Ports Program, created under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
“The Port of Baltimore is a vital economic engine for the state and a leader among the nation’s ports. As we work to improve the port, it is essential that we build for the future. The projects supported by the Clean Ports Program will help reduce emissions, improve air quality in the Baltimore region and create more clean energy jobs,” said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. “The Biden-Harris Administration’s bold investments in modernizing our infrastructure are driving our economy forward while enabling us to take on climate change in a meaningful way.”
“In Maryland, we aren’t going to choose between building a competitive state and a sustainable one -— we will do both at the same time,” said Gov. Moore. “In partnership with the Biden-Harris Administration, we are investing in the Port of Baltimore and electrifying the way to a greener, cleaner, and healthier future with a strong economy and good-paying jobs.”
The Port of Baltimore generates about 20,300 direct jobs, with more than 273,000 jobs overall linked to port activities. The funding will enable the Maryland Port Administration and its private partners to purchase 213 pieces of new zero-emission vehicles, equipment, and charging infrastructure that will replace old, inefficient, and polluting diesel combustion engines. The funding will also pay for capacity upgrades to the port’s electrical grid, which will help significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions with an estimated 35% decrease in carbon dioxide equivalency compared to 2020 levels.
“We fought to pass the Inflation Reduction Act to create good-paying jobs in our communities while tackling the climate crisis head-on, and today’s announcement shows these investments are being put to work,” said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen. “This new federal funding will support the Port of Baltimore’s transition to electric infrastructure as part of its plans to reduce emissions – both bolstering the port’s growth and improving air quality for nearby communities. These efforts will help strengthen Baltimore’s economy and create more local jobs for Marylanders.”
“The tremendous projects selected for these federal funding awards will improve air quality and combat climate change by dramatically diminishing the Port of Baltimore’s greenhouse gas and toxic pollutant emissions via installation of zero-emission cargo handling equipment and trucks, while also bolstering the Maryland Port Administration’s overall emissions reduction strategy. These extraordinary federal investments into our port are consistent with our collective duty to preserve the planet – while also continuing to uplift the Port of Baltimore’s workforce and surrounding communities in the transition to a zero-emissions facility,” said Congressman Kweisi Mfume. “As exemplified by this compelling announcement, the historic Inflation Reduction Act continues to tackle the climate crisis with fierce urgency right here in Baltimore.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda continues to leave no community behind and promote clean air and water in communities that have long borne the brunt of pollution,” said Congressman Steny Hoyer. “Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act that I brought to the House Floor as Majority Leader last Congress, the Port of Baltimore is getting the tools it needs to upgrade its equipment, improve electric charging infrastructure, and fight the climate crisis in a way that benefits Marylanders across the state. As Chair of the Regional Leadership Council, I appreciate Administrator Regan and the Biden-Harris Administration’s partnership as we continue to ensure the historic investments Democrats passed last Congress reach every community in America. We must continue to work together to strengthen the Port of Baltimore and ensure environmental justice for all Marylanders.”
“The Port of Baltimore is a critical hub for Maryland and our nation as a whole, supporting good-paying jobs, driving economic growth and keeping goods and resources moving. This investment will improve the health of our region’s environment and provide cleaner air for port workers and nearby communities – all while ensuring that the Port remains a thriving center of commerce for generations to come,” said Congressman John Sarbanes. “I appreciate the Biden-Harris Administration for its continued partnership to enhance clean energy and improve infrastructure in Maryland, and for its tireless efforts to advance environmental justice and create a greener, more sustainable future across the country.”
“This critical investment into the Port of Baltimore will not only keep us globally competitive, but will help mitigate pollution driving climate change,” said Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger. “The Port of Baltimore has always been at the forefront of efficiency and productivity and now we are leading the nation environmentally. I am proud to have supported this funding request and thank the Biden Administration for this strategic and responsible use of tax dollars.”
Federal grant funding will also support community engagement with neighborhoods such as Turner Station, Brooklyn, and Curtis Bay.
“These improvements will provide an immediate impact to the people who live and work around the Port of Baltimore and who have borne the brunt of transportation-related health impacts,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld. “Thanks to the EPA’s grants, the Port of Baltimore and its partners are accelerating their collective efforts to support Maryland’s climate goals of reaching net zero by 2045.”
Today’s announcement builds on the Biden Administration’s championship of the Port of Baltimore and the State of Maryland’s infrastructure needs, which includes the recent $30.9 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America award for Dundalk Marine Terminal Reconstruction of Berth 11 and the $7.5 million award for Curtis Creek Drawbridge Rehabilitation and Resiliency projects. The projects directly advance the federal government and State of Maryland’s partnership to recover and rebuild after the DALI struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
“The Maryland Port Administration is committed to integrating our overall mission of increasing cargo and generating jobs through the Port of Baltimore with forward-looking environmental and sustainability solutions,” said Maryland Port Administration Executive Director Jonathan Daniels. “Our customers and port partners are driven to change the way they do business to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonize, increase electrification throughout our marine terminals, and, most importantly, positively impact our near-port environmental justice communities.”
To learn more about the clean port project and its benefits, read the Port of Baltimore’s grant proposal.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Maryland Ben Cardin
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Congressmen Steny Hoyer and Dutch Ruppersberger (all D-Md.), today announced $7,556,842 in U.S. Department of Transportation awards to Carroll County Regional, Tipton and Martin State Airports for necessary upgrades to modernize their facilities and improve passenger comfort.
“The landmark infrastructure law enacted by President Biden in 2021 continues to invest in Maryland,” said Senator Cardin. “It recognized that our airports, both large and small, have aging and outdated facilities that require upgrades to meet the changing demands on our aviation system and keep it safe and competitive.”
“Our local airports are important transportation hubs that support our state’s economy, ensuring that travelers and goods get where they need to go. We fought for these investments to support the Carroll County Regional, Tipton, and Martin State airports in serving the growing needs of Maryland’s businesses, residents, and visitors,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris’ Investing in America agenda continues to deliver for Maryland’s airports and boost our economic competitiveness,” said Congressman Hoyer. “As Chair of the Regional Leadership Council, I have worked with House Democrats and top officials in the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that every community in America can see and feel the impact of the historic laws that Democrats passed in the 117th Congress. I was pleased to work with Team Maryland to secure these Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for Carroll County Regional Airport, Martin State Airport, and Tipton Airport, which will create good jobs and provide a more reliable air travel experience. Together, we will continue to lower costs, create jobs, and ensure our state’s economy works for all Marylanders.”
“The bipartisan infrastructure law continues to reap rewards for Maryland and Marylanders including this funding for local airports, which provide a critical connection to communities and economies throughout the region,” said Congressman Ruppersberger. “This is a strategic investment that will make our airports safer, more comfortable and convenient. I look forward to even more upgrades to our nation’s aging transportation infrastructure to come.”
The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airport Improvement Program and Airport Terminal Program.
The federal grants have been awarded as follows:
The Airport Improvement Program funds various types of airport infrastructure projects across the country, including repairs and upgrades to runways, taxiways, airport signage, lighting and markings – all while creating thousands of good-paying, local jobs. The members have consistently fought to provide funds for airports and terminal operators, including through the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process, which makes $3.35 billion available from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and an additional $532 million from the general fund for AIP projects.
The Airport Terminal Program was created in 2021 through the lawmakers’ efforts to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Funded at $1 billion in fiscal year 2024, the Airport Terminal Program supports safe, sustainable, and accessible airport terminals, on-airport rail access projects, and airport-owned airport traffic control towers.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MIAMI – On Oct. 29, five men, Carlos Manuel Velazquez Gomez, 43, David Martinez, 53, Juan Antonio Rivera Velasquez, 45, Onasis Lisandro Garcia, 49, and Richard John Sydney-Smith, 62, had their initial appearances on their respective federal criminal complaints which charge the defendants with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute over 150 kilograms of cocaine.
On Oct. 27, Sydney-Smith and Garcia were traveling on a boat 2 miles east of Port Everglades, when they were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard and found to be transporting over 150 kilograms of cocaine. The investigation further yielded the arrests of Rivera Velasquez, Velazquez Gomez, and Martinez on Oct. 28, who were waiting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for the cocaine delivery.
Pre-trial detention hearings have been scheduled in these matters for Nov. 1 and Nov. 4.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami, made the announcement.
HSI Miami investigated this case with invaluable assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Air and Marine Units. Assistant U.S. Attorney Latoya C. Brown is prosecuting it.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 24-mj-6500, 24-mj-6501, 24-mj-6502, 24-mj-6504, and 24-mj-6505.
###
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Justin Eric Lindsay, 29, of Phoenix, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge David G. Campbell to 42 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. On June 27, 2024, Lindsay pleaded guilty to two counts of Bank Robbery.
Between August 2023 and January 2024, Lindsay robbed six banks before he was arrested by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During two of the robberies, Lindsay falsely claimed he had a firearm.
This case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of Tempe Police Department, Mesa Police Department, and Task Force Officers from the Peoria Police Department and the Phoenix Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-24-00147-PHX-DGC
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-148_Lindsay
# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today after being identified in two separate federal investigations sharing videos and images of child pornography online.
Joseph L. Schutz, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 13 years and four months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Schutz to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration. Schutz will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.
On Oct. 24, 2023, Schutz pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography over the internet and one count of possessing child pornography.
An FBI task force officer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, posing undercover as an adult female, was conducting an investigation utilizing the Kik Messenger application in May 2020. The undercover officer joined multiple private groups dedicated to individuals interested in child pornography and whose members openly shared such material within the group. Schutz admitted that he received multiple videos and images of child pornography within one of these Kik groups, and also shared multiple videos and images of child pornography within the group.
On May 14, 2020, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Schutz’s residence. Investigators found 18 images of child erotica and eight images of child pornography on Schutz’s cell phone.
In July and August 2022, an FBI investigator in Texas communicated online with Schutz while conducting an undercover investigation. The undercover investigator posed as a 13-year-old female. Between July 28 and Aug. 1, 2022, Schutz invited the undercover investigator into a Kik group dedicated to the exchange of child pornography. During that time, Schutz admitted, he shared multiple videos of child pornography within the group.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on October 19, 2024, AVERY JULIEN (“JULIEN”), age 28, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). JULIEN faces up to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
According to court records, on September 14, 2022, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and New Orleans Police Department officers executed a search warrant at JULIEN’s New Orleans residence after learning that JULIEN may have committed a carjacking in Jefferson Parish. During the search of his residence, two firearms, a Sig Sauer Model P229, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a Sig Sauer Model P250, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, were located in JULIEN’s bedroom.
Federal law prohibits convicted felons, such as JULIEN, from possessing firearms. In 2018, JULIEN was convicted of felonies in two separate cases in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. JULIEN knew he had been convicted of these felonies at the time that he possessed the ammunition. United States District Judge, Brandon S. Long, will sentence JULIENon February 4, 2025.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the New Orleans Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Reed of the Public Integrity Unit.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NORFOLK, Va. – Four people have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed methamphetamine and other drugs in the Tidewater area. Two others have been sentenced to prison for providing firearms to one of the members of the drug trafficking conspiracy.
By the fall of 2021, Leonard Tromell Brooks, 41, of Virginia Beach, a previously convicted drug trafficker, was conspiring with Kyle Derek Dean, 33, and Katie Loren Harbor, 29, both of Norfolk, to traffic significant quantities of methamphetamine in the Tidewater area. By January 2022, Colin Thomas Costello, 35, of Virginia Beach, had joined the conspiracy.
On March 15, 2022, Dean transported Harbor so she could sell 3.41 grams of meth to an individual in Virginia Beach. On April 20, 2022, Dean sold 2.78 grams of meth to another individual in Norfolk.
On April 6, 2022, Costello sold 26.05 grams of meth, and on April 12, 2022, Costello sold 67.50 grams of meth. On April 22, 2022, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Costello in Virginia Beach. Prior to coming to a stop, Costello tossed 58.83 grams of meth from the vehicle’s window.
On April 20, 2022, and again on April 21, 2022, Brooks sold cocaine from a residence in Virginia Beach. Law enforcement learned that Brooks was expecting a shipment of meth from his Florida-based supplier to arrive in Virginia via train on April 22, 2022. They intercepted the courier and recovered five kilograms of 100% pure meth, commonly known as “ice” or “crystal” meth. On at least two previous occasions, Brooks ordered similar quantities of crystal meth for further distribution by Dean, Harbor, and Costello.
On April 22, 2022, law enforcement executed search warrants at residences affiliated with all four conspirators. From Brooks’ residence, investigators recovered 219 grams of cocaine, 7.9 ounces of marijuana, $26,388 in drug-trafficking proceeds, a .45 caliber handgun, and ammunition. From Dean and Harbor’s residence investigators recovered 3.07 grams of meth, a ledger showing amounts of money owed to Dean and Harbor, digital scales, and packaging materials, as well as another 4.12 grams of meth found on Dean’s person. From Costello’s residence investigators recovered 405 grams of meth, quantities of fentanyl and cocaine, packaging materials, scales, and 14 firearms.
As a previously convicted felon, Costello could not legally possess firearms. Jonathan Morrell Scott, 37, of Virginia Beach, straw purchased four firearms for Costello prior to April 22, 2022. On July 26, 2023, Scott pled guilty to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. On Dec. 12, 2023, Scott was sentenced to four months in prison.
Costello’s girlfriend, Amber Dawn Hendricks, 40, of Virginia Beach, purchased four firearms in the two months preceding the search, including two purchased just two days before the search, despite being a user of and addicted to meth. She kept those firearms in the residence she shared with Costello. Despite being prohibited from possessing firearms, she and Costello kept a total of 11 firearms in their bedroom at the residence. On May 7, 2024, Hendricks was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. On Oct. 2, 2024, Hendricks was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
On Jan. 26, 2023, Costello pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; manufacture, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance; and possessing, using, and carrying firearms in furtherance of and during and in relation to a drug-trafficking crime. Costello was sentenced today to 20 years in prison.
On Jan. 24, 2023, Dean pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. On June 15, 2023, Dean was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
On Jan. 12, 2023, Harbor pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. On June 1, 2023, Harbor was sentenced to nine years in prison.
On Jan. 10, 2023, Brooks pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; manufacture, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance; and possessing, using, and carrying firearms in furtherance of and during and in relation to a drug-trafficking crime. On May 12, 2023, Brooks was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division; James VanVliet, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C.; Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Mark Talbot, Chief of Norfolk Police; Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police; and Ramin Fatehi, Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin G. Bird and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham M. Stolle, an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney with the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:22-cr-126 (Brooks, Dean, Harbor, and Costello), 2:23-cr-48 (Hendricks), and 2:23-cr-51 (Scott).
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Andy Biggs (AZ-05)
Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced the Stop Woke Investing Act, legislation promoting corporate America’s return to the free exchange of ideas. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has broad power to dictate what shareholder proposals a public company must consider. Under the Harris-Biden regime, the SEC has severely limited the ability of companies to exclude radical ESG proposals, like requiring companies to conduct “racial equity audits” or to set mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, that are detrimental to a company’s financial responsibilities to their shareholders.
Actions from this Administration have forced companies to include controversial policies that are of little to no value to their business operations and accomplish nothing other than serving a woke social agenda. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have weaponized every aspect of the federal government to punish those who refuse to cower in the face of their radical priorities.
The legislation would:
“Woke activism shouldn’t be placed ahead of the profitability of a public company,” said Congressman Biggs.
“Businesses should not be enslaved to radical ESG priorities that pull attention away from their fiduciary responsibilities. Focusing on woke policies only serves to harm businesses, investors, and the American economy. Congress must continue fighting the weaponization of the Harris-Biden regime and its push to radicalize Americans’ day-to-day lives.
“I’m thankful for the support of my colleagues and for Senator Eric Schmitt’s (R-MO) leadership on this issue in the Senate.”
“Over the years activist investors have increasingly proposed shareholder resolutions to compel American companies to consider ESG-related priorities that have nothing to do with financial performance. The focus on ancillary environmental and social factors is putting businesses’ management at odds with their fiduciary duty to maximize financial returns to shareholders,” said Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform.
“That is why I am proud to support Rep. Biggs’s Stop Woke Investing Act, which would limit the amount of extraneous shareholder resolutions that can be included on a company’s proxy ballot. The shareholder resolutions submitted must also have a material effect on the financial performance of the company. This bill preserves the true meaning of fiduciary duty and ensures American companies can continue to focus on job creation, financial performance, and economic growth.”
Cosponsors of the Stop Woke Investing Act are: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), and Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO).
The legislation may be read here.
Breitbart covered the legislation here.
Source: United States Attorneys General 4
A federal grand jury in Minneapolis returned an 18-count indictment yesterday against 11 alleged members of the Lows — a violent Minneapolis street gang — for crimes including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy involving murder, attempted murder, gun trafficking, and drug trafficking.
“According to the indictment, these defendants are leaders, organizers, and members of the Lows street gang, a violent gang that allegedly committed multiple murders and attempted murders and trafficked in guns and drugs, including fentanyl,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Violent gangs that engage in bloody street wars and peddle deadly drugs endanger our communities. The Criminal Division, along with our local, state, and federal partners, is committed to holding violent criminals accountable, including by bringing racketeering charges.”
“The Lows are an exceptionally violent criminal street gang that has terrorized north Minneapolis for nearly 20 years. Through threats and violence — shootings and murders — the Lows have long sought to establish dominion over large swaths of our city,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger for the District of Minnesota. “My office will continue to respond to gang violence by treating it as the organized criminal activity it is. This indictment is an important step in dismantling a violent street gang that has devastated families and communities in north Minneapolis.”
“More than 100 people lose their lives to gun violence every day in the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Travis Riddle of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) St. Paul Field Division. “There will never be a time where this will be considered acceptable. Our ATF agents put forth solid investigative work in this case utilizing crime gun intelligence that without a doubt aided the case announced today. ATF is happy to work alongside each of our partners in this investigation, and we are grateful to the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Luger, and the entire team for taking up this challenging RICO case.”
“The charges in this indictment reflect our unwavering commitment to bringing violent criminals to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office. “For too long, the Lows have inflicted pain and spread fear in north Minneapolis. Together with our law enforcement partners, we are determined to remove this threat from our communities and help restore a sense of security to all who call this city home.”
“Today’s indictment provides a stark reminder that violence and drug trafficking go hand-in-hand,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven T. Bell of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division. “These were not victimless crimes. Communities were hurt. The DEA will continue its unwavering focus to remove threats of violence and hold accountable the individuals responsible for inflicting fear on the streets of Minneapolis.”
“The individuals named in this indictment allegedly engaged in homicide, and illegal drug and firearms trafficking, which created an atmosphere of terror and disrupted countless lives in this community,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Chicago Field Office. “These charges represent a pivotal milestone in our commitment to restore safety and uphold justice in the communities we serve. Working with their federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, IRS-CI special agents will continue to follow every financial trail to dismantle the networks fueling these criminal enterprises. We stand united against the violence and fear that street gangs have inflicted upon our communities in Minneapolis and elsewhere.”
“The Lows, and criminal organizations like them, wreak havoc on our communities, threatening the safety of our communities on a daily basis through their many acts of violence, murder, and narcotics and firearms trafficking,” said Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul. “HSI St. Paul will continue to foster a strong collaboration with our law enforcement partners to bring an end to the chaos these criminal organizations inflict on our local communities.”
“This multi-count indictment against ranking members of the Lows gang is an excellent example of multiple law enforcement agencies combining their expertise and resources to conduct investigations with the common goal of taking down violent leaders perpetuating street violence involving guns and narcotics,” said Inspector in Charge Bryan Musgrove of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Denver Division. “These RICO charges aim to remove these allegedly violent offenders from our community. U.S. Postal Inspectors are committed to continuing our work to dismantle drug trafficking operations to keep USPS customers and employees safe from greedy drug traffickers who favor profit over human lives.”
As alleged in this indictment, the defendants were members of the Lows criminal street gang, which has been in existence in Minneapolis since approximately 2004. The Lows are primarily active in the northside of Minneapolis. They allegedly traffic in firearms and narcotics, including fentanyl, and use threats, intimidation, and violence to protect their territory, reputation, illicit proceeds, and power.
The indictment charges that the defendants engaged in a pattern of racketeering — that is, unlawful acts of violence, gun trafficking, and narcotics trafficking — for the benefit of the Lows enterprise. These acts include seven alleged murders or attempted murders involving a total of ten victims.
The 11 defendants, all from Minneapolis, have been indicted for the following crimes:
Ashimiyu Alowonle II, 38, also known as Cash, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Timothy Callender III, 26, also known as Lil’ Tim, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Glenn Carter III, 23, also known as G5 and Bossman Carter, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Carter is charged with committing a murder on May 14, 2022, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.
Victor Collins, 22, also known as Vic, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; and possessing a firearm a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Collins is charged with committing a murder and an attempted murder on Feb. 27 as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.
Damari Douglas, 20, also known as Mari, is charged with RICO conspiracy, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a machine gun. Douglas is charged with committing a murder on Dec. 3, 2023, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.
Deontae Jackson, 35, also known as Leef, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Shannon Jackson, 32, also known as Shakedown, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking; and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jackson is charged with committing a murder on April 27, 2023, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.
Robert Knights Jr., 19, also known as CMB Rob and Lil’ Rob, is charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Albert Lucas V, 20, also known as Abk Sav, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Lucas is charged with committing multiple murders and an attempted murder on Feb. 27 and May 6, 2021, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.
Kaprice Richards, 23, also known as Kap, is charged with RICO conspiracy and using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death. Richards is charged with committing an attempted murder on May 29, 2022, and a murder on April 27, 2023, as racketeering acts in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.
Cartrelle Smith, 27, also known as Poo Moe, is charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
If convicted, the defendants face a range of penalties, including up to life in prison for racketeering conspiracy involving acts of murder, using a firearm to commit murder, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after the consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
ATF, FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, HSI, USPIS, Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Minnesota Department of Corrections are investigating the case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.
Trial Attorney Jared Engelking of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett S. Fields and David M. Classen for the District of Minnesota are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Business Highlights
Financial Highlights
| 3Q 2024 GAAP | 3Q 2024 Non-GAAP | |
| • Net sales | $212.4 million (+1% Q/Q, +23% Y/Y) | $212.4 million (+1% Q/Q, +23% Y/Y) |
| • Gross margin | 46.7% | 46.8% |
| • Operating margin | 11.5% | 16.1% |
| • Earnings per diluted ADS | $0.62 | $0.92 |
TAIPEI, Taiwan and MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) (“Silicon Motion,” the “Company” or “we”) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. For the third quarter of 2024, net sales (GAAP) increased sequentially to $212.4 million from $210.7 million in the second quarter of 2024. Net income (GAAP) decreased to $20.8 million, or $0.62 per diluted American Depositary Share of the Company (“ADS”) (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $30.8 million, or $0.91 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the second quarter of 2024.
For the third quarter of 2024, net income (non-GAAP) decreased to $31.0 million, or $0.92 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $32.5 million, or $0.96 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the second quarter of 2024.
All financial numbers are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.
Third Quarter of 2024 Review
“We continued to execute well in the third quarter of 2024, delivering revenue above the mid-point of our guided range and further expanding our gross margins,” said Wallace Kou, President and CEO of Silicon Motion. “Our eMMC and UFS controller revenue grew modestly, and our SSD controller revenue remained strong given continued growth in the OEM channel. We continue to outperform the market through new wins we secured this quarter with both NAND makers and module makers that we expect will ramp-up in 2025. We expect this trend to continue as we expand our product portfolio and deliver world-class controllers to the market.”
Key Financial Results
| (in millions, except percentages and per ADS amounts) | GAAP | Non-GAAP | ||||||||||||||||
| 3Q 2024 |
2Q 2024 |
3Q 2023 |
3Q 2024 |
2Q 2024 |
3Q 2023 |
|||||||||||||
| Revenue | $212.4 | $210.7 | $172.3 | $212.4 | $210.7 | $172.3 | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit | $99.3 | $96.8 | $73.1 | $99.3 | $96.8 | $73.3 | ||||||||||||
| Percent of revenue | 46.7% | 45.9% | 42.4% | 46.8% | 46.0% | 42.5% | ||||||||||||
| Operating expenses | $74.8 | $66.0 | $58.1 | $65.1 | $62.1 | $49.5 | ||||||||||||
| Operating income | $24.5 | $30.7 | $15.0 | $34.2 | $34.7 | $23.8 | ||||||||||||
| Percent of revenue | 11.5% | 14.6% | 8.7% | 16.1% | 16.5% | 13.8% | ||||||||||||
| Earnings per diluted ADS | $0.62 | $0.91 | $0.32 | $0.92 | $0.96 | $0.63 | ||||||||||||
Other Financial Information
| (in millions) | 3Q 2024 |
2Q 2024 |
3Q 2023 |
||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments—end of period | $368.6 | $343.6 | $350.3 | ||||||
| Routine capital expenditures | $7.4 | $6.3 | $6.3 | ||||||
| Dividend payments | $16.8 | $16.8 | — | ||||||
During the third quarter of 2024, we had $12.4 million of capital expenditures, including $7.4 million for the routine purchase of testing equipment, software, design tools and other items, and $5.0 million for building construction in Hsinchu.
Business Outlook
“Looking ahead, we expect to experience gains from greater outsourcing by our NAND flash maker partners, which should continue to deliver revenue and profitability growth for the company,” said Wallace Kou, President and CEO of Silicon Motion. “In the current quarter, we are introducing two key new controllers, including our first AI/enterprise server MonTitan controller and our first PCIe Gen 5.0 client SSD controller, placing Silicon Motion in an exceptionally strong position entering calendar 2025. While the seasonal holiday demand is expected to be more muted than in past years, we are confident that our highly differentiated controller solutions for PCs, smartphones and now enterprise-class storage controllers will further strengthen our market leadership position and will build on our foundation for strong, sustainable long-term growth.”
For the fourth quarter of 2024, management expects:
| ($ in millions) | GAAP | Non-GAAP Adjustment | Non-GAAP |
| Revenue | $191 to $202 -10% to -5% Q/Q -6% to 0% Y/Y |
— | $191 to $202 -10% to -5% Q/Q -6% to 0% Y/Y |
| Gross margin | 46.3% to 47.4% | Approximately $0.3* | 46.5 % to 47.5% |
| Operating margin | 8.0% to 9.9% | Approximately $13.4 to $14.4** | 15.6% to 16.6% |
* Projected gross margin (non-GAAP) excludes $0.3 million of stock-based compensation.
** Projected operating margin (non-GAAP) excludes $13.4 million to $14.4 million of stock-based compensation and dispute related expenses.
Conference Call & Webcast:
The Company’s management team will conduct a conference call at 8:00 am Eastern Time on October 31, 2024.
Conference Call Details
Participants must register in advance to join the conference call using the link provided below. Conference access information (including dial-in information and a unique access PIN) will be provided in the email received upon registration.
Participant Online Registration:
https://register.vevent.com/register/BI3e5d77077ee94ca9b9fd61325f52a0e9
A webcast of the call will be available on the Company’s website at www.siliconmotion.com.
Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the Company’s unaudited selected financial results calculated in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), the Company discloses certain non-GAAP financial measures that exclude stock-based compensation and other items, including gross profit (non-GAAP), gross margin (non-GAAP), operating expenses (non-GAAP), operating profit (non-GAAP), operating margin (non-GAAP), non-operating income (expense) (non-GAAP), net income (non-GAAP), and earnings per diluted ADS (non-GAAP). These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with or an alternative to GAAP and may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP measures used by other companies. We believe that these non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all the amounts associated with the Company’s results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP and that these measures should only be used to evaluate the Company’s results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We compensate for the limitations of our non-GAAP financial measures by relying upon GAAP results to gain a complete picture of our performance.
Our non-GAAP financial measures are provided to enhance the user’s overall understanding of our current financial performance and our prospects for the future. Specifically, we believe the non-GAAP results provide useful information to both management and investors as these non-GAAP results exclude certain expenses, gains and losses that we believe are not indicative of our core operating results and because they are consistent with the financial models and estimates published by many analysts who follow the Company. We use non-GAAP measures to evaluate the operating performance of our business, for comparison with our forecasts, and for benchmarking our performance externally against our competitors. Also, when evaluating potential acquisitions, we exclude the items described below from our consideration of the target’s performance and valuation. Since we find these measures to be useful, we believe that our investors benefit from seeing the results from management’s perspective in addition to seeing our GAAP results. We believe that these non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with the Company’s GAAP financials, provide useful information to investors by offering:
The following are explanations of each of the adjustments that we incorporate into our non-GAAP measures, as well as the reasons for excluding each of these individual items in our reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures:
Stock-based compensation expense consists of non-cash charges related to the fair value of restricted stock units awarded to employees. The Company believes that the exclusion of these non-cash charges provides for more accurate comparisons of our operating results to our peer companies due to the varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types. In addition, the Company believes it is useful to investors to understand the specific impact of share-based compensation on its operating results.
Restructuring charges relate to the restructuring of our underperforming product lines, principally the write-down of NAND flash, embedded DRAM and SSD inventory valuation and severance payments.
M&A transaction expenses consist of legal, financial advisory and other fees related to the transaction.
Dispute related expenses consist of legal, consultant, other fees and resolution related to the dispute.
Foreign exchange loss (gain) consists of translation gains and/or losses of non-US$ denominated current assets and current liabilities, as well as certain other balance sheet items which result from the appreciation or depreciation of non-US$ currencies against the US$. We do not use financial instruments to manage the impact on our operations from changes in foreign exchange rates, and because our operations are subject to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, we therefore exclude foreign exchange gains and losses when presenting non-GAAP financial measures.
Unrealized holding loss (gain) on investments relates to the net change in fair value of long-term investments.
| Silicon Motion Technology Corporation Consolidated Statements of Income (in thousands, except percentages and per ADS data, unaudited) |
|||||||||||||||
| For Three Months Ended | For the Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
| Sep. 30, | Jun. 30, | Sep. 30, | Sep. 30, | Sep. 30, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| ($) | ($) | ($) | ($) | ($) | |||||||||||
| Net Sales | 172,333 | 210,670 | 212,412 | 436,763 | 612,392 | ||||||||||
| Cost of sales | 99,193 | 113,893 | 113,142 | 254,897 | 331,227 | ||||||||||
| Gross profit | 73,140 | 96,777 | 99,270 | 181,866 | 281,165 | ||||||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||||||||
| Research & development | 41,740 | 50,788 | 58,486 | 117,926 | 163,666 | ||||||||||
| Sales & marketing | 6,862 | 6,777 | 7,009 | 20,715 | 20,090 | ||||||||||
| General & administrative | 8,939 | 7,215 | 9,315 | 20,323 | 23,003 | ||||||||||
| Loss from settlement of litigation | 591 | 1,250 | – | 591 | 1,250 | ||||||||||
| Operating income | 15,008 | 30,747 | 24,460 | 22,311 | 73,156 | ||||||||||
| Non-operating income (expense) | |||||||||||||||
| Interest income, net | 3,480 | 4,175 | 3,518 | 8,026 | 10,760 | ||||||||||
| Foreign exchange gain (loss), net | 569 | 245 | (488 | ) | 2,030 | 345 | |||||||||
| Unrealized holding gain(loss) on investments | (2,828 | ) | 1,855 | (602 | ) | 8,053 | (355 | ) | |||||||
| Subtotal | 1,221 | 6,275 | 2,428 | 18,109 | 10,750 | ||||||||||
| Income before income tax | 16,229 | 37,022 | 26,888 | 40,420 | 83,906 | ||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 5,642 | 6,201 | 6,045 | 8,639 | 16,226 | ||||||||||
| Net income | 10,587 | 30,821 | 20,843 | 31,781 | 67,680 | ||||||||||
| Earnings per basic ADS | 0.32 | 0.92 | 0.62 | 0.95 | 2.01 | ||||||||||
| Earnings per diluted ADS | 0.32 | 0.91 | 0.62 | 0.95 | 2.01 | ||||||||||
| Margin Analysis: | |||||||||||||||
| Gross margin | 42.4 | % | 45.9 | % | 46.7 | % | 41.6 | % | 45.9 | % | |||||
| Operating margin | 8.7 | % | 14.6 | % | 11.5 | % | 5.1 | % | 11.9 | % | |||||
| Net margin | 6.1 | % | 14.6 | % | 9.8 | % | 7.3 | % | 11.1 | % | |||||
| Additional Data: | |||||||||||||||
| Weighted avg. ADS equivalents | 33,413 | 33,684 | 33,687 | 33,332 | 33,627 | ||||||||||
| Diluted ADS equivalents | 33,471 | 33,697 | 33,700 | 33,431 | 33,691 | ||||||||||
| Silicon Motion Technology Corporation Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Operating Results (in thousands, except percentages and per ADS data, unaudited) |
|||||||||||||||
| For Three Months Ended | For the Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
| Sep. 30, | Jun. 30, | Sep. 30, | Sep. 30, | Sep. 30, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| ($) | ($) | ($) | ($) | ($) | |||||||||||
| Gross profit (GAAP) | 73,140 | 96,777 | 99,270 | 181,866 | 281,165 | ||||||||||
| Gross margin (GAAP) | 42.4 | % | 45.9 | % | 46.7 | % | 41.6 | % | 45.9 | % | |||||
| Stock-based compensation (A) | 94 | 14 | 63 | 300 | 149 | ||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 88 | 46 | – | 3,347 | 46 | ||||||||||
| Gross profit (non-GAAP) | 73,322 | 96,837 | 99,333 | 185,513 | 281,360 | ||||||||||
| Gross margin (non-GAAP) | 42.5 | % | 46.0 | % | 46.8 | % | 42.5 | % | 45.9 | % | |||||
| Operating expenses (GAAP) | 58,132 | 66,030 | 74,810 | 159,555 | 208,009 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation (A) | (3,751 | ) | (371 | ) | (3,595 | ) | (11,460 | ) | (7,059 | ) | |||||
| M&A transaction expenses | (708 | ) | – | – | (2,893 | ) | – | ||||||||
| Dispute related expenses | (3,495 | ) | (3,527 | ) | (6,076 | ) | (3,495 | ) | (11,135 | ) | |||||
| Restructuring charges | (661 | ) | – | – | (4,581 | ) | – | ||||||||
| Operating expenses (non-GAAP) | 49,517 | 62,132 | 65,139 | 137,126 | 189,815 | ||||||||||
| Operating profit (GAAP) | 15,008 | 30,747 | 24,460 | 22,311 | 73,156 | ||||||||||
| Operating margin (GAAP) | 8.7 | % | 14.6 | % | 11.5 | % | 5.1 | % | 11.9 | % | |||||
| Total adjustments to operating profit | 8,797 | 3,958 | 9,734 | 26,076 | 18,389 | ||||||||||
| Operating profit (non-GAAP) | 23,805 | 34,705 | 34,194 | 48,387 | 91,545 | ||||||||||
| Operating margin (non-GAAP) | 13.8 | % | 16.5 | % | 16.1 | % | 11.1 | % | 14.9 | % | |||||
| Non-operating income (expense) (GAAP) | 1,221 | 6,275 | 2,428 | 18,109 | 10,750 | ||||||||||
| Foreign exchange loss (gain), net | (569 | ) | (245 | ) | 488 | (2,030 | ) | (345 | ) | ||||||
| Unrealized holding loss (gain) on investments | 2,828 | (1,855 | ) | 602 | (8,053 | ) | 355 | ||||||||
| Non-operating income (expense) (non-GAAP) | 3,480 | 4,175 | 3,518 | 8,026 | 10,760 | ||||||||||
| Net income (GAAP) | 10,587 | 30,821 | 20,843 | 31,781 | 67,680 | ||||||||||
| Total pre-tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments | 11,056 | 1,858 | 10,824 | 15,993 | 18,399 | ||||||||||
| Income tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments | (584 | ) | (218 | ) | (649 | ) | (2,968 | ) | (1,014 | ) | |||||
| Net income (non-GAAP) | 21,059 | 32,461 | 31,018 | 44,806 | 85,065 | ||||||||||
| Earnings per diluted ADS (GAAP) | $0.32 | $0.91 | $0.62 | $0.95 | $2.01 | ||||||||||
| Earnings per diluted ADS (non-GAAP) | $0.63 | $0.96 | $0.92 | $1.33 | $2.52 | ||||||||||
| Shares used in computing earnings per diluted ADS (GAAP) | 33,471 | 33,697 | 33,700 | 33,431 | 33,691 | ||||||||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments | 128 | 18 | 109 | 136 | 52 | ||||||||||
| Shares used in computing earnings per diluted ADS (non-GAAP) | 33,599 | 33,715 | 33,809 | 33,567 | 33,743 | ||||||||||
| (A) Excludes stock-based compensation as follows: | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of sales | 94 | 14 | 63 | 300 | 149 | ||||||||||
| Research & development | 2,422 | 94 | 2,377 | 7,605 | 4,614 | ||||||||||
| Sales & marketing | 521 | 173 | 455 | 1,496 | 975 | ||||||||||
| General & administrative | 808 | 104 | 763 | 2,359 | 1,470 | ||||||||||
| Silicon Motion Technology Corporation Consolidated Balance Sheet (In thousands, unaudited) |
|||||||||
| Sep. 30, |
Jun. 30, |
Sep. 30, |
|||||||
| 2023 |
2024 |
2024 |
|||||||
| ($) |
($) |
($) |
|||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 295,385 | 289,175 | 313,924 | ||||||
| Accounts receivable (net) | 193,389 | 191,692 | 202,726 | ||||||
| Inventories | 199,003 | 240,811 | 214,574 | ||||||
| Refundable deposits – current | 49,445 | 51,036 | 51,102 | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 16,896 | 31,460 | 38,246 | ||||||
| Total current assets | 754,118 | 804,174 | 820,572 | ||||||
| Long-term investments | 17,023 | 17,301 | 16,878 | ||||||
| Property and equipment (net) | 162,107 | 179,550 | 181,983 | ||||||
| Other assets | 33,672 | 29,121 | 29,304 | ||||||
| Total assets | 966,920 | 1,030,146 | 1,048,737 | ||||||
| Accounts payable | 26,975 | 36,411 | 30,888 | ||||||
| Income tax payable | 26,279 | 14,103 | 14,444 | ||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 77,502 | 134,947 | 131,143 | ||||||
| Total current liabilities | 130,756 | 185,461 | 176,475 | ||||||
| Other liabilities | 62,112 | 60,182 | 62,673 | ||||||
| Total liabilities | 192,868 | 245,643 | 239,148 | ||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | 774,052 | 784,503 | 809,589 | ||||||
| Total liabilities & shareholders’ equity | 966,920 | 1,030,146 | 1,048,737 | ||||||
| Silicon Motion Technology Corporation Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands, unaudited) |
|||||||||||||||
| For Three Months Ended | For the Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
| Sep. 30, | Jun. 30, | Sep. 30, | Sep. 30, | Sep. 30, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| ($) | ($) | ($) | ($) | ($) | |||||||||||
| Net income | 10,587 | 30,821 | 20,843 | 31,781 | 67,680 | ||||||||||
| Depreciation & amortization | 8,043 | 5,802 | 6,664 | 19,032 | 18,075 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 3,845 | 385 | 3,658 | 11,760 | 7,208 | ||||||||||
| Investment losses (gain) & disposals | 3,135 | (1,855 | ) | 602 | (7,556 | ) | 355 | ||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities | 39,302 | (13,660 | ) | 22,280 | 52,910 | (9,967 | ) | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | 64,912 | 21,493 | 54,047 | 107,927 | 83,351 | ||||||||||
| Purchase of property & equipment | (17,052 | ) | (10,427 | ) | (12,436 | ) | (40,687 | ) | (33,612 | ) | |||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | (17,052 | ) | (10,427 | ) | (12,436 | ) | (40,687 | ) | (33,612 | ) | |||||
| Dividend payments | – | (16,820 | ) | (16,812 | ) | (15 | ) | (50,441 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | – | (16,820 | ) | (16,812 | ) | (15 | ) | (50,441 | ) | ||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash | 47,860 | (5,754 | ) | 24,799 | 67,225 | (702 | ) | ||||||||
| Effect of foreign exchange changes | (2,528 | ) | 86 | 186 | (3,977 | ) | 308 | ||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash—beginning of period | 304,971 | 349,279 | 343,611 | 287,055 | 368,990 | ||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash—end of period | 350,303 | 343,611 | 368,596 | 350,303 | 368,596 | ||||||||||
Shareholder Litigation
On August 31, 2023, a Silicon Motion ADS holder (the “Plaintiff”) filed a putative class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, captioned Water Island Event-Driven Fund v. MaxLinear, Inc., No. 23-cv-01607 (S.D. Cal.), asserting claims against MaxLinear and two of its officers (the “MaxLinear Defendants”) for alleged violations of (i) Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder and (ii) Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act, in connection with alleged false and misleading statements made by the MaxLinear Defendants between June 6, 2023 and July 26, 2023 concerning MaxLinear’s intent to consummate the merger agreement it had entered into with Silicon Motion. On August 28, 2024, the Court dismissed the complaint against the MaxLinear Defendants without prejudice for lack of standing. On September 18, 2024, the Plaintiff filed an amended complaint against the MaxLinear Defendants, and also added Silicon Motion and two of its officers (the “Silicon Motion Defendants”), asserting substantially similar claims under the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks compensatory damages, including interest, costs and expenses, and such other equitable or injunctive relief that the court deems appropriate. Motions to dismiss the amended complaint are expected to be fully briefed by February 2025. The Silicon Motion Defendants believe that the claims asserted against them are without merit and intend to defend themselves vigorously.
About Silicon Motion:
We are the global leader in supplying NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices. We supply more SSD controllers than any other company in the world for servers, PCs and other client devices and are the leading merchant supplier of eMMC and UFS embedded storage controllers used in smartphones, IoT devices and other applications. We also supply customized high-performance hyperscale data center and specialized industrial and automotive SSD solutions. Our customers include most of the NAND flash vendors, storage device module makers and leading OEMs. For further information on Silicon Motion, visit us at www.siliconmotion.com.
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. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual market trends or our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the unpredictable volume and timing of customer orders, which are not fixed by contract but vary on a purchase order basis; the loss of one or more key customers or the significant reduction, postponement, rescheduling or cancellation of orders from one or more customers; general economic conditions or conditions in the semiconductor or consumer electronics markets; the impact of inflation on our business and customer’s businesses and any effect this has on economic activity in the markets in which we operate; the functionalities and performance of our information technology (“IT”) systems, which are subject to cybersecurity threats and which support our critical operational activities, and any breaches of our IT systems or those of our customers, suppliers, partners and providers of third-party licensed technology; the effects on our business and our customer’s business taking into account the ongoing U.S.-China tariffs and trade disputes; the uncertainties associated with any future global or regional pandemic; the continuing tensions between Taiwan and China including enhanced military activities; decreases in the overall average selling prices of our products; changes in the relative sales mix of our products; changes in our cost of finished goods; supply chain disruptions that have affected us and our industry as well as other industries on a global basis; the payment, or non-payment, of cash dividends in the future at the discretion of our board of directors and any announced planned increases in such dividends; changes in our cost of finished goods; the availability, pricing, and timeliness of delivery of other components and raw materials used in the products we sell given the current raw material supply shortages being experienced in our industry; our customers’ sales outlook, purchasing patterns, and inventory adjustments based on consumer demands and general economic conditions; any potential impairment charges that may be incurred related to businesses previously acquired or divested in the future; our ability to successfully develop, introduce, and sell new or enhanced products in a timely manner; and the timing of new product announcements or introductions by us or by our competitors. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 2024. Other than as required under the securities laws, we do not intend, and do not undertake any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
TAIPEI, Taiwan and MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) (“Silicon Motion” or the “Company”), a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices, today announced, following a search process, that Jason Tsai, currently the Interim Chief Financial Officer and VP of Investor Relations and Finance of the Company, has been appointed the Chief Financial Officer, effective October 28, 2024. Mr. Tsai has served as our Interim CFO since April 25, 2024.
Wallace Kou, Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Motion, said, “Jason has made innumerable contributions to the strong performance of our finance team and the financial results of the Company in his previous roles as Interim CFO and VP of Investor Relations and Finance. After a six-month search, our Board unanimously resolved that with his long history with the Company and his in-depth knowledge of our business, our customers and our industry, Jason is the ideal choice to help align our long-term strategy with our strong financial performance and operational excellence in the years ahead.”
“I am excited for this opportunity to help Silicon Motion through its next chapter,” said Jason Tsai. “I believe that the Company is poised for significant growth as it extends its market leading position in its current markets and capitalize on its new and growing opportunities in the enterprise storage market.”
Jason has over 25 years of finance leadership experience in the semiconductor, hardware and software (SaaS) sectors. Prior to rejoining Silicon Motion last year, he held finance leadership positions at Zendesk and Synaptics and brings an extensive background in financial planning, treasury, capital markets, investor relations and strategic planning.
ABOUT SILICON MOTION:
We are the global leader in supplying NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices. We supply more SSD controllers than any other company in the world for servers, PCs and other client devices and are the leading merchant supplier of eMMC and UFS embedded storage controllers used in smartphones, IoT devices and other applications. We also supply customized high-performance hyperscale data center and specialized industrial and automotive SSD solutions. Our customers include most of the NAND flash vendors, storage device module makers and leading OEMs. For further information on Silicon Motion, visit us at www.siliconmotion.com.
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. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual market trends or our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the unpredictable volume and timing of customer orders, which are not fixed by contract but vary on a purchase order basis; the loss of one or more key customers or the significant reduction, postponement, rescheduling or cancellation of orders from one or more customers; general economic conditions or conditions in the semiconductor or consumer electronics markets; the impact of inflation on our business and customer’s businesses and any effect this has on economic activity in the markets in which we operate; the functionalities and performance of our information technology (“IT”) systems, which are subject to cybersecurity threats and which support our critical operational activities, and any breaches of our IT systems or those of our customers, suppliers, partners and providers of third-party licensed technology; the effects on our business and our customer’s business taking into account the ongoing U.S.-China tariffs and trade disputes; the uncertainties associated with any future global or regional pandemic; the continuing tensions between Taiwan and China including enhanced military activities; decreases in the overall average selling prices of our products; changes in the relative sales mix of our products; changes in our cost of finished goods; supply chain disruptions that have affected us and our industry as well as other industries on a global basis; the payment, or non-payment, of cash dividends in the future at the discretion of our board of directors and any announced planned increases in such dividends; changes in our cost of finished goods; the availability, pricing, and timeliness of delivery of other components and raw materials used in the products we sell given the current raw material supply shortages being experienced in our industry; our customers’ sales outlook, purchasing patterns, and inventory adjustments based on consumer demands and general economic conditions; any potential impairment charges that may be incurred related to businesses previously acquired or divested in the future; our ability to successfully develop, introduce, and sell new or enhanced products in a timely manner; and the timing of new product announcements or introductions by us or by our competitors. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 2024. Other than as required under the securities laws, we do not intend, and do not undertake any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release.
Investor Contact:
Tom Sepenzis
Senior Director of IR & Strategy
E-mail: tsepenzis@siliconmotion.com
Selina Hsieh
Investor Relations
ir@siliconmotion.com
Source: African Development Bank Group
The African Development Bank Group has approved a $75 million financing package to support Export Trading Group (ETG), a Mauritius-based conglomerate with extensive operations across Africa. ETG boasts a diverse portfolio spanning agricultural inputs, logistics, merchandising and processing, supply chain optimization, digital transformation, and energy.
This package includes a $65 million participation from the Bank’s own resources, along with $10 million in concessional co-financing from the Agri-Food Catalytic Financing Mechanism (ACFM) into ETGs Sustainable Linked Loan facility for financing its core value chain assets. The Agri-Food Catalytic Financing Mechanism is an internally managed Special Fund, capitalized by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, to build markets and mobilize finance for gender-oriented and underserved agri-SMEs in Africa.
Through participation in the Sustainable Linked Loan facility, the financing will be deployed to ETG’s core value chains in 14 countries, namely Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. This will support ETG’s processing and packaging facilities and warehouses and provide farmers with fertilizers and other agri-inputs. The Bank’s financing may be deployed to up to 28 African countries based on ETG’s emerging needs.
The Sustainable Linked Loan facility establishes annual sustainability key performance indicators and targets focused on decarbonization, reforestation, zero deforestation, farmer extension services, and gender empowerment with inherent direct financial consequences for non-compliance.
“The African Development Bank Group is thrilled to expand our work with Export Trade Group and support its commitment to strengthen women’s economic development in Africa. Access to finance and training in agriculture will contribute to food security and economic growth,” said Dr. Beth Dunford, Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.
ETG plans to engage 600,000 smallholder farmers by 2027, with a 25 percent target for women farmers. This includes training on sustainable farming and improved access to resources. The project is expected to boost exports from Bank regional member countries and enhance intra-regional trade, particularly within the Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development Community, and East African Community regional economic blocks.
The Bank’s investment in ETG capitalizes on the Group’s proven track record and resilience in agriculture, aiming to mobilize private sector financing into a critical yet underserved sector of the economy. ETG will manage the project, with oversight from the company’s Board of Directors and support from specialized departments within the Group.
The project aligns with the Bank’s ‘High 5’ priorities, specifically “Feed Africa,” “Integrate Africa,” and “Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa,” as well as the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033. It is expected to contribute to Africa’s agricultural transformation into a business-oriented and commercially viable sector, driving the continent’s food self-sufficiency.
“By partnering with ETG, the African Development Bank continues to champion strategic enterprises that operate across multiple countries, furthering its mission to support agricultural development and improve the livelihoods of millions across the continent. The decision to continue funding ETG is just not a financial transaction. It is a strategic collaboration with a purpose – a mission to transform African agriculture and a commitment to optimize the influence of their investments, “said Richard Ofori-Mante, Director of the Agricultural Finance and Rural Development Department at the Bank.
“By tying loan conditions to performance indicators related to sustainability, ETG is more likely to engage in activities that advance the Sustainable Development Goals. This alignment will drive better environmental, social, and governance outcomes. The transaction not only promotes sustainable practices within ETG’s operations but also influences its supply chain and partners, amplifying the impact on sustainable development,” Ofori-Mante added.
Source: African Development Bank Group
The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) has joined the Africa Investment Forum as a founding partner, marking a new phase in the Forum’s expansion and influence as a catalyst for mega investments into the continent.
The official announcement came during a breakfast meeting of heads of the Africa Investment Forum Founding Partner institutions, convened by the African Development Bank in Washington, DC on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s annual meetings. During the meeting, the partners examined and adopted a new strategic framework to govern the forum. The meeting took place on Friday 25 October.
In welcoming BADEA as a new partner, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said: “Since 2018, BADEA has been a steadfast supporter of the Africa Investment Forum, consistently contributing to the growth and success of this platform.”
The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 18 Arab countries. Its operations cover the entire Sub-Saharan African region.
BADEA group president Dr. Sidi Ould Tah said the main shareholders of his bank had been working on a new mechanism to support investment flows to Africa. The group has sovereign funds under management with assets in the trillions of dollars, of which they had pledged to channel a part for Africa’s infrastructure needs.
“The role of BADEA is to catalyse resources for Africa. BADEA will work with all the member countries of AIF to make this pledge a reality,” Tah said.
The addition of BADEA brings the AIF’s founding partners to nine: the African Development Bank, Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation, Africa50, Development Bank of Southern Africa, European Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and Trade and Development Bank.
Meeting of AIF founding partners in Washington, DC October 2024
Heads and representatives of each of the partners who attended the meeting included included Trade and Development Bank President and CEO Admassu Tadesse, Africa Finance Corporation’s CEO Samaila Zubairu, Africa50 President Alain Ebobissé, European Investment Bank Vice President Ambroise Fayolle, Hani Salem Sonbol Chief Executive Officer of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation representing Islamic Development Bank President Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, and Afreximbank’s Director for Export Development Oluranti Doherty, who represented its president.
Adesina also commended the founding partners for their energy, drive and momentum which he described as a testament to their confidence in the Forum.
The AIF’s Market Days events, held annually, have drawn sovereign and non-sovereign investors from around the world, enabling a shift in risk perception and fostering confidence in Africa’s investment landscape.
The platform has actively supported women-led businesses under its Women as Investment Champions pillar with examples such as Mobihealth International Ltd (Healthcare, Nigeria) which was supported to access grant and loan funding for feasibility studies and pan-African expansion.
From the African Development Bank, Senior Vice President Marie Laure Akin-Olugbade, Hassatou N’Sele Vice President for Finance and CFO, Beth Dunford, Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Nnenna Nwabufo, Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery and Kevin Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President, Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, also attended the meeting. The Senior Director of Syndications, the Africa Investment Forum and Client Solutions, Max Magor Ndiaye, and the Special Representative of President Adesina, Yacine Fall were also present.
The 2024 Market Days will take place from 4-6 December 2024 in Rabat, Morocco, under the theme: “Leveraging Innovative Partnerships for Scale.”