Category: Trade

MIL-OSI China: China, Kenya join hands on path to modernization

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

NAIROBI, April 28 — For centuries, China and Kenya have shared a history of exchanges and cooperation. Last week, their relationship entered a new stage as Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Kenyan President William Ruto in Beijing, agreeing to elevate bilateral ties to a China-Kenya community with a shared future in the new era.

Xi called on the two sides to enhance regular policy communication, build connectivity at a higher level, promote sustainable trade, explore diversified financial integration, carry forward the friendship forged through generations, and be leaders in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

SKILLS TRAINING

Linet Wambui Kihoro, a 27-year-old railway safety engineer, works among tracks and equipment at the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative. A graduate of Beijing Jiaotong University, Kihoro now applies her expertise to maintain the daily operation of Kenya’s railways.

In January 2024, Xi replied to a letter from Kenyan students and alumni of Beijing Jiaotong University, including Kihoro.

President Xi encouraged the Kenyan students to learn professional knowledge well, continue the traditional friendship and devote themselves to bilateral cooperation, she said.

“The China-Kenya community with a shared future in the new era is not only a cooperation intention at the governmental level, but is also reflected in various aspects such as people-to-people connectivity, youth exchanges and cultural mutual learning,” she said.

According to a joint statement released on Thursday, China and Kenya pledged to strengthen cooperation in such areas as industry, agriculture, higher education, vocational education and human resource training.

An increasing number of young people, like Kihoro, are benefiting from China-Africa cooperation in education and capacity building. From the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway to the Swak Dam, the Nairobi Expressway and the Garissa Solar Power Plant, high-quality Belt and Road projects have not only improved the daily lives of Kenyans but also provided opportunities to learn new skills and knowledge.

James Karimi Njuguna, a Kenyan engineer, participated in the upgrading of the Olkaria I power plant, Africa’s first geothermal plant, which had been struggling with corroded pipelines and outdated technology. “Chinese companies revitalized the geothermal fields by optimizing turbine structures and well layouts,” Njuguna said. “It was a technological revolution. They modernized the equipment, hired local employees and provided professional training, cultivating a new generation of technical experts in Kenya.”

A report by the Kenya-China Economic and Trade Association showed that between 2022 and 2023, Chinese enterprises employed more than 60,000 local workers in Kenya, with a localization rate exceeding 90 percent. This not only increased local employment but also contributed to transforming the technological landscape.

AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION

In Matangi Tisa Village in Kenya’s Nakuru County, home to Kenya’s first demonstration village for China-Africa agricultural development and poverty reduction, people are busy planting tomatoes with the help of Chinese experts.

For years, local tomato farming had been plagued by bacterial wilt, but villagers are hopeful of a bountiful harvest this season.

When the Chinese and Kenyan presidents met during the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing last year, Xi said “the two sides should closely synergize the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with Kenya Vision 2030, build an East African connectivity hub and industrial belt, and strengthen cooperation in such areas as digital economy, new energy, economy, trade, poverty reduction and agriculture development.”

Among the 10 partnership actions announced by Xi at the 2024 FOCAC Summit is the partnership action for agriculture and livelihoods. Under this initiative, China has committed to building 100,000 mu (about 6,670 hectares) of standardized agricultural demonstration areas, sending 500 agricultural experts, and establishing a China-Africa agricultural science and technology innovation alliance.

These commitments are injecting fresh momentum into Africa’s efforts toward agricultural modernization and poverty alleviation.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, President Ruto praised China’s success in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, calling China’s experience highly relevant for African countries still grappling with poverty. He expressed hope to leverage Chinese expertise to advance Kenya’s agricultural modernization and industrialization.

In Kenya’s Siaya County, 69-year-old farmer Peter Onyango was watching the clear waters flow through newly dug irrigation channels, eagerly anticipating a good harvest. Built by a Chinese company along the lower reaches of the Nzoia River, this irrigation project, the largest of its kind in Kenya, has significantly boosted local irrigation capacity.

Officially operational in April, the canal is expected to enhance food security. When visiting the project in January, Ruto said that the new infrastructure would play a major role in advancing Kenya’s economic transformation by boosting agricultural productivity.

STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC TIES

Rains in April have breathed new life into the rolling tea plantations of western Kenya. Near the C22 highway built by a Chinese company, several tea processing factories are working at full speed.

A few years ago, the road was little more than a muddy dirt track, often becoming impassable during the rainy season. “Truck wheels would get stuck, and sometimes water would seep into the tea boxes, ruining the harvest,” recalled driver John Murambi.

Since the road was upgraded to a paved highway, Murambi can now make multiple deliveries a day, which has greatly increased his income. “We no longer have to worry about tea spoiling on the road,” he said.

At the nearby Kipkebe Tea Factory, General Manager Silas Njibwakale said that since the completion of the road upgrading, transportation losses have dropped from about a quarter of total production to nearly zero. A once-impassable route has now become a major artery supporting local communities.

Across Kenya, Chinese-built roads, railways and ports are helping break transportation bottlenecks for key exports like tea, coffee, flowers and avocados, allowing these goods to reach global markets more quickly and reliably.

Thousands of miles away in Changsha, central China, the permanent exhibition hall of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo at Gaoqiao Grand Market is bustling with visitors. Launched by President Xi during the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the expo has become a vital platform showcasing African goods.

Huang Zinan, who specializes in China-Africa trade, said her company has recently imported a batch of Kenyan avocados and is now negotiating with a local tea brand to feature the fruit as a premium ingredient. Initially focused on Kenyan flowers, she now plans to expand her business to more “African treasures.”

“Products from Africa are gaining increasing recognition and popularity in China,” Huang said. “I hope to build not just a trade bridge, but also a bridge of culture and friendship across the seas.” Through something as simple as an avocado or a fresh flower, she hopes to tell the story of win-win cooperation between China, Kenya and the wider African continent.

MIL OSI China News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: GBank Financial Holdings Inc. Announces Uplisting to Nasdaq Capital Market

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

LAS VEGAS, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GBank Financial Holdings Inc. (the “Company”) (OTCQX: GBFH), the parent company of GBank (the “Bank”), announced today that its shares of common stock have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market and are expected to commence trading on April 30, 2025, under the ticker symbol “GBFH.” The Company’s shares will continue to trade on the OTCQX until trading on Nasdaq commences. Shareholders are not required to take any action as a result of the uplisting, and the Company’s ticker symbol “GBFH” will remain unchanged.

Edward M. Nigro, Executive Chairman, added, “Trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market culminates our efforts to provide shareholders with liquidity and consequential share value—thank you for believing in us and supporting us these many years—we look forward to many more.”

T. Ryan Sullivan, President and CEO of GBank Financial Holdings Inc., stated, “Our Nasdaq uplisting is more than a milestone—this moment affirms the strength of our strategy, the determination of our team, and the trust our shareholders have placed in us.”

Click here to learn more about GBank Financial Holdings Inc.

Notice Regarding Disclosures and Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, any statements related to the listing, uplisting or trading of the Company’s common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “will,” “believes,” “estimates,” “potential,” “target,” or “continue,” and variations or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: changes in general economic conditions; potential recessionary impacts; market fluctuations; increased competition for deposits; regulatory changes affecting the banking industry; interest rate fluctuations; inflationary pressures; political instability; cybersecurity threats; severe weather or natural disasters; and the development and adoption of emerging technologies.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that the results contemplated will be achieved. Due to these and other risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update them to reflect new information or future events, except as required by law. All forward-looking statements included in the press release are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Source: GBank Financial Holdings Inc.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Govt vocational education reforms will cause massive disruption

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi is warning that the Government’s decision to adopt a new model for the vocational education and training sector will lead to massive disruptions and instability in an already fatigued sector.

“The NZCTU remains fundamentally opposed to these reforms, which will create further disruption across the sector and come off the back of a period of disruption and change in the sector over the past five years,” said NZCTU Acting President Rachel Mackintosh.

“We are concerned by the impacts that another several years of change processes will have on the sector, learners, and industries.

“Our major concern regarding the model that the Government is adopting is the risk of the creation of new private agencies competing for public funding within the sector; this model has not served New Zealand well in the past.

“Profit motives drive instability in education, and it is not a good use of resources to have multiple agencies competing for funding as they must focus attention on securing funding at the expense of focusing on delivery for learners.

“The whole process for these reforms has been flawed. There is no reason why the consultation needed to have such a narrow scope, excluding critical stakeholders, and key subject matter experts.

“The Minister’s insistence on pushing ahead with these poorly thought through reforms is likely to create several more years of instability in the sector, and more uncertainty for learners, industries, and the vocational education and training workforce,” said Mackintosh.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Unions launch campaign to ban engineered stone

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi has today launched a campaign to ban the import, supply, and use of engineered stone in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“We are urging the Government to do the right thing and save workers’ lives by banning engineered stone, an extremely dangerous product that causes the fatal lung disease silicosis”, said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff.

“Engineered stone is the asbestos of our times. It is not an essential product and there are many safe alternatives already in the market.

“Silicosis is a debilitating disease that cannot be cured. The evidence is clear that the only solution is to stop workers from being required to process engineered stone, which exposes them to the dangerous silica dust.

“Brooke van Velden has the power to save workers’ lives. All she needs to do is follow Australia’s example and implement a total ban.

“There is broad support for this campaign. Last year the CTU joined with 18 other organisations, including public health experts and health and safety specialists, and called on the Minister to act.

“Aotearoa has a terrible record when it comes to work-associated deaths. The Government has the opportunity to help turn that around by banning engineered stone. It’s time they stepped up on behalf of Kiwi workers,” said Wagstaff.

The NZCTU have today launched a public petition calling on the Minister to implement a full ban on the import, supply, and use of engineered stone.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Mark Cameron drafts bill to stop banking wokery and protect rural borrowers

Source: ACT Party

ACT Rural Communities spokesperson Mark Cameron has drafted a bill to scrap the red tape forcing banks and financial institutions to make climate-related disclosures, by repealing Part 7A of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.

“Rural and regional New Zealanders are being hammered by banking wokery that judges businesses on political fashion rather than commercial sense,” says Mr Cameron.

“Farmers are already seeing discrimination creeping into interest rates based on perceived emissions. They fear they’ll be the next to be ‘debanked’, not because of financial risk, but because they don’t fit the agenda of the suit-and-tie bigwigs. We’ve already seen it happening to essential industries like mining and service stations.

“These rules are the ultimate virtue signal that only ACT opposed back in 2021. They reduce banking competition and force significant costs on lenders – and therefore borrowers – for absolutely no environmental gain.

“This week I wrote to the Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs, raising concerns about the harmful impact these regulations have on borrowers, banking competition, and economic growth, and encouraging him to adopt my proposal as a Government Bill.

“The Bill I’ve drafted sends two clear messages to the banks. First, they will no longer win political favour by making ideological lending decisions, and they can be confident that they won’t be punished for sticking to their core role of serving customers. Second, for those banks that have fallen under ideological capture, it’s a signal to get back to basics – or risk losing customers to competitors who understand what banking is really about.

“For government and the regulators of banks, it’s about getting back to basics too. The role of financial regulation is to ensure the sound functioning of financial markets in a way that promotes trust, efficiency, and stability. The climate-disclosure requirements are a departure from this limited function into social engineering.

“It’s also unnecessary. We already have an Emissions Trading Scheme that makes these woke rules completely redundant – emissions are capped and the cost of carbon is already factored into investment and production decisions.

“So while the disclosure requirements haven’t reduced a single gram of global emissions, they do put pressure on the banks by waving a stick at the banks, tacitly saying ‘if we don’t like who you’re lending to we’ll hit you’. That is part of what’s driving this madness and why ACT believes markets, not ministers should decide where investment is directed.

“The answer to woke lending practices is not more red tape, it’s getting rid of the existing stuff that’s causing it in the first place.

“We’ll win the war on banking wokery by letting better ideas and businesses compete against out-of-touch lenders. Piling on additional heavy-handed regulations risks scaring off new entrants to the market, further entrenching the power of the big players. If we want to force their hand, the market is best placed to do it.”

Mark Cameron’s letter to the Minister can be read here.

A copy of the Financial Markets Conduct (Repeal of Climate-related Disclosure Requirements) Amendment Bill can be read here.

The climate-related disclosure requirements were introduced by Labour in 2021 through the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK researchers access more quantum and space Horizon funding
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

Press release

UK researchers access more quantum and space Horizon funding

EU Commissioner visits London as UK researchers and businesses get access to more Horizon Europe funding calls for quantum and space research
Minister for EU Relations today welcomes EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič ahead of his first official visit to the United Kingdom.

Visit comes as UK researchers and businesses benefit from wider access to Horizon Europe funding calls for quantum and space research, which will help drive sector and economic growth and deliver our Plan for Change.

New backing from the world’s largest programme of research collaboration, worth c.£80 billion, builds on high-potential tech areas like AI, telecoms and high-performance computing

Minister for EU Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, today welcomes EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, Maroš Šefčovič, ahead of his first official visit to the United Kingdom under this government (Tuesday, 29 April 2025).

Commissioner Šefčovič’s visit follows the recent engagement with European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen last week, providing a significant opportunity to review the progress of ongoing discussions between the UK and the European Union. This engagement is a key step in the lead-up to the UK-EU Summit scheduled for next month.

This visit comes as UK scientists, researchers and businesses working on the latest innovations in quantum and space technologies have now been given access to more Horizon Europe funding, under the new 2025 Horizon Europe Work Programme published last week (Friday 25 April).

Access to Horizon Europe funding, and the opportunities for international collaboration that Horizon presents, will be an important boost to these two sectors which are at the cutting edge of new opportunities for economic growth, helping to drive the Government’s Plan for Change.

These are technologies that will be instrumental to the future of the economy: quantum computing alone is projected to deliver $5-10 billion of benefits globally over the next 3-5 years, while since 2015 the UK has attracted more private investment in space than any other country outside of the United States.

During his visit in the UK, the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, alongside the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Nick Thomas-Symonds, will meet professors at Imperial College London who have benefited from Horizon funding for their projects.

Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds will co-chair the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee with Commissioner Šefčovič, who is also scheduled to meet with the Secretaries of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Northern Ireland Office.

Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations), Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, said:

In just under a month, the United Kingdom will host the UK-EU Summit here in London. Today provides an opportunity to take stock of negotiations and the progress made. We are fully aligned in our ambitions to build a safer, more secure, and prosperous future for people across the UK and Europe.

We will always act in the national interest as we work towards a strong and durable strategic partnership with our European partners, unlocking new opportunities for British citizens and businesses.

UK Science Minister Lord Vallance said:

Thanks to this welcome news, the opportunities for British researchers and businesses working in quantum, space, and beyond are only set to grow.

They now have greater access to one of the world’s foremost vehicles for R&D funding, and an even bigger chance to build the international ties which we know are critical to advancing knowledge, tackling the world’s biggest challenges, and delivering the economic growth that is at the heart of this Government’s Plan for Change.

I want innovators up and down the UK to seize the moment that stands before them. Horizon’s doors are open to you, and we have support available to help you. Now is the time to bid for funding, build consortia, and take your work to the next level.

The UK gained access to the vast majority (95%+) of Horizon funding calls, when we associated to the programme in 2024, with some very limited exceptions on some emerging technologies.

Today’s breakthrough comes after a period of constructive collaboration between UK and EU teams and means that more British experts working on space and quantum can now confidently bid for a share of the c.£80 billion that is available through Horizon overall.

They can also build consortia with research partners across Europe, and beyond in Canada, Switzerland, and more. This includes complete access to all Horizon Europe quantum funding calls.

Horizon also offers a huge opportunity to businesses and researchers focusing on other cutting-edge technologies, like AI, telecoms, and high-performance computing, including through access to cutting-edge computing resources through EuroHPC. Recent UK-EU engagement has ensured that the UK retains open access to all calls in these areas.

The Horizon Europe programme is an innovation powerhouse –spending over €380 billion on R&D in 20231 – and fostering deep and high-quality links between the continent’s brightest minds, and the UK’s, will be critical if we are to seize the promise for science and tech innovations to support the Government’s Missions to grow the economy, fix the NHS and improve health outcomes and deliver clean energy under the Plan for Change. Innovative and high-potential sectors like space and quantum will be instrumental to rebuilding the foundations of the economy, and kickstarting growth.

Greater access to Horizon is a win for the UK, given the growing importance of space and quantum to the economy and society. The UK space sector already employs 52,000 people and generates an of £18.9 billion each year.

Meanwhile new innovations in quantum – harnessing the unique properties of subatomic particles to process information and solve problems – are already unlocking breakthroughs in healthcare, logistics, financial services and more. On top of this, experts working in fields like AI, high performance computing, and future telecoms continue to enjoy valuable Horizon access, as well as a vast number of other sectors including food and agritech, digital, industry and more.

British researchers having access to more Horizon science funding calls also further emphasises the value of the UK’s participation in the EU’s Copernicus Earth Observation programme.

Furthermore, the UK and EU have a strong shared commitment to developing assured and independent European access to space: work which forms a key part of the UK’s own ambitions for space launch. With plans for the first launches from SaxaVord in the Shetland Islands later this year, the UK is a leading international partner and cooperator in Europe’s space ambitions and it is encouraging that British researchers will be able to access calls that help to further Europe’s ambition.

There is no time to lose for businesses, researchers, and scientists working in quantum, space and beyond to take advantage of this news, because new Horizon funding calls open in the coming weeks. New space and industry calls open from Thursday 22 May, and digital calls open from Tuesday 10 June.

Notes to editors

Since 2024, the government has provided extensive assistance to our R&D communities to maximise their chances of applying and succeeding in Horizon Europe. In addition to concrete funding initiatives, such as Pump Priming, we recently piloted brokerage visits to Italy, Germany and Spain for UK innovators and researchers looking to build Horizon consortia. Last month, more than 500 of the UK’s leading researchers, businesspeople and scientists gathered at London’s Oval for a Showcase event sharing insight on opportunities available through Horizon. Further information, including practical support on how to apply, is available on the Horizon Hub website. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) also host regular events that help guide businesses and researchers through the opportunities on offer and the application process. We will continue to review the needs of the UK R&D community in order to offer support and facilitate access to Horizon Europe opportunities.

Potential applicants can find Horizon Europe calls (funding opportunities) open to UK-based applicants using the European Commission’s funding and tender opportunities portal.

More information on how to submit applications are available on the European Commission’s website. The pre-publication of the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme can be found here.

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Published 29 April 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Statement by Minister Todd McClay following the March 2025 Pastoral Sector Group meeting

Source: New Zealand Government

The Pastoral Sector Group (PSG) has held its first meeting, discussing farm emissions.
The group consists of Agriculture, Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts, and Chairs and CEOs from: Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, Dairy NZ, Deer Industry New Zealand, Federated Farmers, and the Meat Industry Association.
Pasture Sector
Sector representatives contributed perspectives on the current state of the industry and a desire to work constructively toward a positive outcome for the rural sector.
They underlined the significant eﬀort made by farmers to date.
They stressed the need for any consideration of emissions reduction to be based upon science and to be solutions driven.
They stressed the need to revise the domestic methane target based on the principle of no additional warming.
They stressed the need for any solutions to be aﬀordable for farmers; and for the need to avoid imposing costs upon industry and government.
They voiced concerns about the eﬀects afforestation was having on the pastoral sector and welcomed the Government’s recent announcement to restrict farm to forest conversions.
They raised concerns about the negative impact that a price on agricultural emissions would have on production.
They stressed the need for certainty and time for the primary sector.
Government
Ministers reiterated that this group was to allow the sector to provide their views to government directly and to engage in a respectful dialogue.
Ministers thanked the primary sector for their significant contribution to New Zealand, and in particular, the importance of a strong primary sector to the New Zealand economy.
They stressed that the PSG was an opportunity to talk openly and that it was not a decision-making body.
The members of the group agreed that New Zealand farmers are among the world’s most carbon-eﬃcient food producers and were willing to do their part for New Zealand’s overall commitment to reduce emissions.
Ministers confirmed the following:

That the Government has removed agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
That the Government has disbanded He Waka Eka Noa.
That the Government is committed to a split gas approach.
That the Government commissioned an independent scientific review on the role of biogenic methane against additional warming.
That the Government will pass legislation this year to implement its decision of 4 December 2024 to restrict full farm to forest conversions.
That the Government is committed to meeting New Zealand’s climate obligations without closing down farms or sending jobs and production overseas.
That all decisions in respect to farm emissions will be informed by accepted science.
That the Government is mindful of the impact of costs related to emissions reduction on farmers; and the implications that cost could have for production.
That a revised 2050 biogenic methane target will be set this year.
That the Government is committed to the use of science and innovation to reduce emissions, not reducing on farm production.
That it is for New Zealand to decide how to reduce emissions.
That New Zealand has climate change obligations under some trade agreements and that the Government will be guided by domestic considerations and interests including those of New Zealand producers and the economy.
The Government currently has a plan that shows New Zealand can meet its obligations while growing the economy and without closing down farms or sending production or jobs overseas.
That the Government will continue to build confidence in the primary sector.

The PSG will meet again next month.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: Five Star Bancorp Announces First Quarter 2025 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Five Star Bancorp (Nasdaq: FSBC) (“Five Star” or the “Company”), a holding company that operates through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, Five Star Bank (the “Bank”), today reported net income of $13.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to $13.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and $10.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

First Quarter Highlights

Performance and operating highlights for the Company for the periods noted below included the following:

	Three months ended
(in thousands, except per share and share data)	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			March 31, 2024
Return on average assets (“ROAA”)		1.30	%		1.31	%		1.22	%
Return on average equity (“ROAE”)		13.28	%		13.48	%		14.84	%
Pre-tax income	$	18,391		$	19,367		$	14,961
Pre-tax, pre-provision income⁽¹⁾	$	20,291		$	20,667		$	15,861
Net income	$	13,111		$	13,317		$	10,631
Basic earnings per common share	$	0.62		$	0.63		$	0.62
Diluted earnings per common share	$	0.62		$	0.63		$	0.62
Weighted average basic common shares outstanding		21,209,881			21,182,143			17,190,867
Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding		21,253,588			21,235,318			17,272,994
Shares outstanding at end of period		21,329,235			21,319,083			17,353,251

⁽¹⁾ See the section entitled “Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)” for a reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure.

James E. Beckwith, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“The strength of Five Star Bank’s first quarter 2025 financial results is emblematic of a reputation built on an unwavering commitment to customers and community partners who rely on our speed to serve and certainty of execution for their own successes. This differentiated customer experience has created great demand for our services and seized market opportunities in San Francisco. As we continue to grow our presence, we now have 31 San Francisco Bay Area employees. As of March 31, 2025 our San Francisco Bay Area operations had $379.8 million in total deposits.

At the Company level, total loans held for investment increased by $89.1 million, or 2.52% (10.09% when annualized). Total deposits increased by $178.4 million, or 5.01% (20.05% when annualized), with wholesale deposits increasing by $130.0 million, or 23.21%, and non-wholesale deposits increasing by $48.4 million, or 1.61%. Short-term borrowings remained at zero as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024. Net interest margin increased by nine basis points to 3.45% and our efficiency ratio increased to 42.58%, as compared to 41.21% for the fourth quarter of 2024, while cost of funds decreased nine basis points to 2.56%.

In the first quarter of 2025, we were pleased to declare another cash dividend of $0.20 per share. We were also pleased to have been ranked third among best-performing banks in the nation by S&P Global Market Intelligence (among banks with assets between $3 billion and $10 billion).

As we execute on the expansion of industry verticals and our presence in new geographies to meet customer demand, we expect the ongoing acceleration of our growth to benefit our customers, employees, and shareholders. We also expect our demonstrated ability to adapt to changing economic conditions to serve us well into the future as we remain vigilant and focused on disciplined business practices. We thank our employees for their outstanding commitment to ensuring Five Star Bank remains a safe, trusted, and steadfast banking partner.”

Financial highlights during the quarter included the following:

The San Francisco Bay Area team increased from 27 to 31 employees who generated deposit balances totaling $379.8 million at March 31, 2025, an increase of $87.4 million from December 31, 2024.
Cash and cash equivalents were $452.6 million, representing 12.11% of total deposits at March 31, 2025, as compared to 9.90% at December 31, 2024.
Total deposits increased by $178.4 million, or 5.01%, during the three months ended March 31, 2025, due to increases in both non-wholesale and wholesale deposits, which the Company defines as brokered deposits and California Time Deposit Program deposits. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, non-wholesale deposits increased by $48.4 million, or 1.61%, and wholesale deposits increased by $130.0 million, or 23.21%.
The Company had no short-term borrowings at March 31, 2025 or December 31, 2024.
Consistent, disciplined management of expenses contributed to our efficiency ratio of 42.58% for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to 41.21% for the three months ended December 31, 2024.
For the three months ended March 31, 2025, net interest margin was 3.45%, as compared to 3.36% for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 3.14% for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The effective Federal Funds rate was 4.33% as of March 31, 2025, remaining constant from December 31, 2024 and decreasing from 5.33% at March 31, 2024.
Other comprehensive income was $0.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025. Unrealized losses, net of tax effect, on available-for-sale securities were $11.6 million as of March 31, 2025. Total carrying value of held-to-maturity and available-for-sale securities represented 0.06% and 2.35% of total interest-earning assets, respectively, as of March 31, 2025.
The Company’s common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 11.00% and 11.02% as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. The Bank continues to meet all requirements to be considered “well-capitalized” under applicable regulatory guidelines.
Loan and deposit growth in the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2025 was as follows:

(in thousands)	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		$ Change		% Change
Loans held for investment	$	3,621,819	$	3,532,686	$	89,133	2.52	%
Non-interest-bearing deposits		933,652		922,629		11,023	1.19	%
Interest-bearing deposits		2,802,702		2,635,365		167,337	6.35	%

(in thousands)	March 31, 2025		March 31, 2024		$ Change		% Change
Loans held for investment	$	3,621,819	$	3,104,130	$	517,689	16.68	%
Non-interest-bearing deposits		933,652		817,388		116,264	14.22	%
Interest-bearing deposits		2,802,702		2,138,384		664,318	31.07	%

The ratio of nonperforming loans to loans held for investment at period end remained at 0.05% from December 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025.
The Company’s Board of Directors declared on January 16, 2025, and the Company subsequently paid, a cash dividend of $0.20 per share during the three months ended March 31, 2025. The Company’s Board of Directors subsequently declared another cash dividend of $0.20 per share on April 17, 2025, which the Company expects to pay on May 12, 2025 to shareholders of record as of May 5, 2025.

Summary Results

Three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to three months ended December 31, 2024

The Company’s net income was $13.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to $13.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024. Net interest income increased by $0.5 million, primarily due to a decrease in interest expense due to lower average rates on deposits, partially offset by a decrease in interest income driven by lower balances and yields on interest-earning deposits in banks, as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2024. The provision for credit losses increased by $0.6 million, reflecting adjustments to expectations for credit losses based on economic trends and forecasts in the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended December 31, 2024. Non-interest income decreased by $0.3 million, primarily due to a reduction in income received on equity investments in venture-backed funds during the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2024. Non-interest expense increased by $0.6 million, primarily related to an increase in salaries and employee benefits, partially offset by decreases in advertising, promotional, and other operating expenses during the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2024.

Three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to three months ended March 31, 2024

The Company’s net income was $13.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to $10.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Net interest income increased by $7.2 million, primarily due to an increase in interest income driven by a higher balance of loans with higher yields, partially offset by an increase in interest expense due to larger average deposit balances, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The provision for credit losses increased by $1.0 million, relating to loan growth and adjustments to expectations for credit losses based on economic trends and forecasts during the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Non-interest income decreased by $0.5 million, primarily due to a reduction in income received on equity investments in venture-backed funds during the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Non-interest expense increased by $2.3 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, with an increase in salaries and employee benefits related to increased headcount as the leading driver.

The following is a summary of the components of the Company’s operating results and performance ratios for the periods indicated:

	Three months ended
(in thousands, except per share data)	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			$ Change			% Change
Selected operating data:
Net interest income	$	33,977		$	33,489		$	488		1.46	%
Provision for credit losses		1,900			1,300			600		46.15	%
Non-interest income		1,359			1,666			(307	)	(18.43	)%
Non-interest expense		15,045			14,488			557		3.84	%
Pre-tax income		18,391			19,367			(976	)	(5.04	)%
Provision for income taxes		5,280			6,050			(770	)	(12.73	)%
Net income	$	13,111		$	13,317		$	(206	)	(1.55	)%
Earnings per common share:
Basic	$	0.62		$	0.63		$	(0.01	)	(1.59	)%
Diluted	$	0.62		$	0.63		$	(0.01	)	(1.59	)%
Performance and other financial ratios:
ROAA		1.30	%		1.31	%
ROAE		13.28	%		13.48	%
Net interest margin		3.45	%		3.36	%
Cost of funds		2.56	%		2.65	%
Efficiency ratio		42.58	%		41.21	%

	Three months ended
(in thousands, except per share data)	March 31, 2025			March 31, 2024			$ Change			% Change
Selected operating data:
Net interest income	$	33,977		$	26,744		$	7,233		27.05	%
Provision for credit losses		1,900			900			1,000		111.11	%
Non-interest income		1,359			1,833			(474	)	(25.86	)%
Non-interest expense		15,045			12,716			2,329		18.32	%
Pre-tax income		18,391			14,961			3,430		22.93	%
Provision for income taxes		5,280			4,330			950		21.94	%
Net income	$	13,111		$	10,631		$	2,480		23.33	%
Earnings per common share:
Basic	$	0.62		$	0.62		$	—		—	%
Diluted	$	0.62		$	0.62		$	—		—	%
Performance and other financial ratios:
ROAA		1.30	%		1.22	%
ROAE		13.28	%		14.84	%
Net interest margin		3.45	%		3.14	%
Cost of funds		2.56	%		2.62	%
Efficiency ratio		42.58	%		44.50	%

Balance Sheet Summary

(in thousands)	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		$ Change			% Change
Selected financial condition data:
Total assets	$	4,245,057	$	4,053,278	$	191,779		4.73	%
Cash and cash equivalents		452,571		352,343		100,228		28.45	%
Total loans held for investment		3,621,819		3,532,686		89,133		2.52	%
Total investments		99,696		100,914		(1,218	)	(1.21	)%
Total liabilities		3,838,606		3,656,654		181,952		4.98	%
Total deposits		3,736,354		3,557,994		178,360		5.01	%
Subordinated notes, net		73,932		73,895		37		0.05	%
Total shareholders’ equity		406,451		396,624		9,827		2.48	%

Insured and collateralized deposits were approximately $2.5 billion, representing 67.55% of total deposits as of March 31, 2025, as compared to 66.92% as of December 31, 2024. Net uninsured and uncollateralized deposits were approximately $1.2 billion as of March 31, 2025, remaining constant from December 31, 2024.
Non-wholesale deposit accounts constituted 81.53% of total deposits as of March 31, 2025, as compared to 84.26% at December 31, 2024. Deposit relationships of greater than $5 million represented 60.87% of total deposits, as compared to 61.13% as of December 31, 2024, and had an average age of approximately 8.80 years as of March 31, 2025, as compared to 9.28 years as of December 31, 2024.
Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2025 were $452.6 million, representing 12.11% of total deposits at March 31, 2025, as compared to 9.90% as of December 31, 2024.
Total liquidity (consisting of cash and cash equivalents and unused and immediately available borrowing capacity as set forth below) was approximately $2.0 billion as of March 31, 2025, as compared to $1.9 billion at December 31, 2024.

	March 31, 2025
(in thousands)	Line of Credit		Letters of Credit Issued		Borrowings		Available
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (“FHLB”) advances	$	1,276,072	$	731,500	$	—	$	544,572
Federal Reserve Discount Window		856,366		—		—		856,366
Correspondent bank lines of credit		175,000		—		—		175,000
Cash and cash equivalents		—		—		—		452,571
Total	$	2,307,438	$	731,500	$	—	$	2,028,509

The increase in total assets from December 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025 was primarily due to a $100.2 million increase in cash and cash equivalents and an $89.1 million increase in total loans held for investment. The $100.2 million increase in cash and cash equivalents primarily resulted from net cash inflows related to financing and operating activities of $174.1 million and $15.5 million, respectively, partially offset by net cash outflows related to investing activities of $89.3 million. The $89.1 million increase in total loans held for investment between December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2025 was a result of $259.3 million in loan originations and advances, partially offset by $65.6 million and $104.6 million in loan payoffs and paydowns, respectively. The $89.1 million increase in total loans held for investment included $19.8 million in purchases of loans within the consumer concentration of the loan portfolio.

The increase in total liabilities from December 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025 was primarily due to an increase in interest-bearing deposits of $167.3 million. The increase in interest-bearing deposits was largely due to increases in time and money market deposits of $131.2 million and $52.2 million, respectively.

The increase in total shareholders’ equity from December 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025 was primarily a result of net income recognized of $13.1 million and a $0.7 million increase in accumulated other comprehensive income, partially offset by $4.3 million in cash dividends paid during the period.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

The following is a summary of the components of net interest income for the periods indicated:

	Three months ended
(in thousands)	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			$ Change			% Change
Interest and fee income	$	57,087		$	57,745		$	(658	)	(1.14	)%
Interest expense		23,110			24,256			(1,146	)	(4.72	)%
Net interest income	$	33,977		$	33,489		$	488		1.46	%
Net interest margin		3.45	%		3.36	%

	Three months ended
(in thousands)	March 31, 2025			March 31, 2024			$ Change			% Change
Interest and fee income	$	57,087		$	47,541		$	9,546		20.08	%
Interest expense		23,110			20,797			2,313		11.12	%
Net interest income	$	33,977		$	26,744		$	7,233		27.05	%
Net interest margin		3.45	%		3.14	%

The following table shows the components of net interest income and net interest margin for the quarterly periods indicated:

	Three months ended
	March 31, 2025						December 31, 2024						March 31, 2024
(in thousands)	Average Balance		Interest Income/ Expense		Yield/ Rate		Average Balance		Interest Income/ Expense		Yield/ Rate		Average Balance		Interest Income/ Expense		Yield/ Rate
Assets
Interest-earning deposits in banks	$	328,571	$	3,575	4.41	%	$	363,828	$	4,335	4.74	%	$	233,002	$	3,102	5.35	%
Investment securities		100,474		581	2.34	%		103,930		607	2.33	%		109,177		653	2.41	%
Loans held for investment and sale		3,567,992		52,931	6.02	%		3,498,109		52,803	6.01	%		3,082,290		43,786	5.71	%
Total interest-earning assets		3,997,037		57,087	5.79	%		3,965,867		57,745	5.79	%		3,424,469		47,541	5.58	%
Interest receivable and other assets, net		93,543						91,736						93,983
Total assets	$	4,090,580					$	4,057,603					$	3,518,452

Liabilities and shareholders’ equity
Interest-bearing transaction accounts	$	303,822	$	1,112	1.48	%	$	298,518	$	1,249	1.66	%	$	300,325	$	1,126	1.51	%
Savings accounts		123,599		772	2.53	%		127,298		887	2.77	%		124,561		861	2.78	%
Money market accounts		1,540,879		12,435	3.27	%		1,596,116		13,520	3.37	%		1,410,264		12,155	3.47	%
Time accounts		706,528		7,629	4.38	%		617,596		7,438	4.79	%		429,586		5,369	5.03	%
Subordinated notes and other borrowings		73,908		1,162	6.37	%		73,872		1,162	6.25	%		82,775		1,286	6.25	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities		2,748,736		23,110	3.41	%		2,713,400		24,256	3.56	%		2,347,511		20,797	3.56	%
Demand accounts		910,954						921,881						842,105
Interest payable and other liabilities		30,389						29,234						40,730
Shareholders’ equity		400,501						393,088						288,106
Total liabilities & shareholders’ equity	$	4,090,580					$	4,057,603					$	3,518,452

Net interest spread					2.38	%					2.23	%					2.02	%
Net interest income/margin			$	33,977	3.45	%			$	33,489	3.36	%			$	26,744	3.14	%

Net interest income during the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased $0.5 million, or 1.46%, to $34.0 million compared to $33.5 million during the three months ended December 31, 2024. Net interest margin totaled 3.45% for the three months ended March 31, 2025, an increase of nine basis points compared to the prior quarter. The increase in net interest income is primarily attributable to a $1.1 million decrease in interest expense, driven by a 15 basis point decrease in the average rate on interest-bearing deposits compared to the prior quarter. The decrease in interest expense was partially offset by a $0.7 million decrease in interest income, primarily due to a $35.3 million, or 9.69%, decrease in the average balance of interest-earning deposits in banks, combined with a 33 basis point decrease in the average yield on interest-earning deposits in banks.

As compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, net interest income increased $7.2 million, or 27.05%, to $34.0 million from $26.7 million. Net interest margin totaled 3.45% for the three months ended March 31, 2025, an increase of 31 basis points compared to the same quarter of the prior year. The increase in net interest income is primarily attributable to an additional $9.1 million in loan interest income due to a $485.7 million, or 15.76%, increase in the average balance of loans and a 31 basis point improvement in the average yield on loans during the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the same quarter of the prior year. The increase in interest income was partially offset by a $2.4 million increase in deposit interest expense compared to the same quarter of the prior year. The increase in deposit interest expense is primarily attributable to a $478.9 million, or 15.42%, increase in the average balance of deposits and a five basis point increase in the average cost of deposits during the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the same quarter of the prior year.

Loans by Type

The following table provides loan balances, excluding deferred loan fees, by type as of March 31, 2025:

(in thousands)
Real estate:
Commercial	$	2,941,201
Commercial land and development		3,556
Commercial construction		113,002
Residential construction		5,747
Residential		34,053
Farmland		43,643
Commercial:
Secured		170,525
Unsecured		34,970
Consumer and other		277,093
Net deferred loan fees		(1,971	)
Total loans held for investment	$	3,621,819

Interest-bearing Deposits

The following table provides interest-bearing deposit balances by type as of March 31, 2025:

(in thousands)
Interest-bearing transaction accounts	$	295,633
Money market accounts		1,577,473
Savings accounts		128,210
Time accounts		801,386
Total interest-bearing deposits	$	2,802,702

Asset Quality

Allowance for Credit Losses

At March 31, 2025, the Company’s allowance for credit losses was $39.2 million, as compared to $37.8 million at December 31, 2024. The $1.4 million increase in the allowance is due to a $2.2 million provision for credit losses recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2025, partially offset by net charge-offs mainly attributable to commercial and industrial loans of $0.7 million, during the same period.

The Company’s ratio of nonperforming loans to loans held for investment remained at 0.05% from December 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025. Loans designated as watch decreased from $123.4 million to $112.0 million between December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2025. Loans designated as substandard increased from $2.6 million to $3.7 million between December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2025. There were no loans with doubtful risk grades at March 31, 2025 or December 31, 2024.

A summary of the allowance for credit losses by loan class is as follows:

	March 31, 2025				December 31, 2024
(in thousands)	Amount		% of Total		Amount		% of Total
Real estate:
Commercial	$	27,027	68.91	%	$	25,864	68.44	%
Commercial land and development		70	0.18	%		78	0.21	%
Commercial construction		2,227	5.68	%		2,268	6.00	%
Residential construction		78	0.20	%		64	0.17	%
Residential		279	0.71	%		270	0.71	%
Farmland		598	1.52	%		607	1.61	%
		30,279	77.20	%		29,151	77.14	%
Commercial:
Secured		5,905	15.05	%		5,866	15.52	%
Unsecured		403	1.03	%		278	0.74	%
		6,308	16.08	%		6,144	16.26	%
Consumer and other		2,637	6.72	%		2,496	6.60	%
Total allowance for credit losses	$	39,224	100.00	%	$	37,791	100.00	%

The ratio of allowance for credit losses to loans held for investment was 1.08% at March 31, 2025, as compared to 1.07% at December 31, 2024.

Non-interest Income

The following table presents the key components of non-interest income for the periods indicated:

	Three months ended
(in thousands)	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		$ Change			% Change
Service charges on deposit accounts	$	215	$	179	$	36		20.11	%
Gain on sale of loans		125		150		(25	)	(16.67	)%
Loan-related fees		448		400		48		12.00	%
FHLB stock dividends		331		332		(1	)	(0.30	)%
Earnings on bank-owned life insurance		161		182		(21	)	(11.54	)%
Other income		79		423		(344	)	(81.32	)%
Total non-interest income	$	1,359	$	1,666	$	(307	)	(18.43	)%

Service charges on deposit accounts. The increase resulted primarily from individually immaterial increases in fees earned for services and products to support deposit accounts including, but not limited to, service charges, check order fees, and debit card income.

Gain on sale of loans. The decrease resulted from a decline in the volume and effective yield of loans sold. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, approximately $1.7 million of loans were sold with an effective yield of 7.24%, as compared to approximately $2.0 million of loans sold with an effective yield of 7.60% during the three months ended December 31, 2024.

Other income. The decrease resulted primarily from $0.3 million of income received on equity investments in venture-backed funds during the three months ended December 31, 2024 which did not reoccur during the three months ended March 31, 2025.

The following table presents the key components of non-interest income for the periods indicated:

	Three months ended
(in thousands)	March 31, 2025		March 31, 2024		$ Change			% Change
Service charges on deposit accounts	$	215	$	188	$	27		14.36	%
Gain on sale of loans		125		369		(244	)	(66.12	)%
Loan-related fees		448		429		19		4.43	%
FHLB stock dividends		331		332		(1	)	(0.30	)%
Earnings on bank-owned life insurance		161		142		19		13.38	%
Other income		79		373		(294	)	(78.82	)%
Total non-interest income	$	1,359	$	1,833	$	(474	)	(25.86	)%

Gain on sale of loans. The decrease related primarily to an overall decline in the volume of loans sold, partially offset by an improvement in the effective yield of loans sold. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, approximately $1.7 million of loans were sold with an effective yield of 7.24%, as compared to approximately $5.2 million of loans sold with an effective yield of 7.08% during the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Other income. The decrease related primarily to $0.3 million of income received on equity investments in venture-backed funds during the three months ended March 31, 2024, which did not reoccur during the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Non-interest Expense

The following table presents the key components of non-interest expense for the periods indicated:

	Three months ended
(in thousands)	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		$ Change			% Change
Salaries and employee benefits	$	9,134	$	8,360	$	774		9.26	%
Occupancy and equipment		637		649		(12	)	(1.85	)%
Data processing and software		1,457		1,369		88		6.43	%
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance		455		440		15		3.41	%
Professional services		913		774		139		17.96	%
Advertising and promotional		522		752		(230	)	(30.59	)%
Loan-related expenses		319		321		(2	)	(0.62	)%
Other operating expenses		1,608		1,823		(215	)	(11.79	)%
Total non-interest expense	$	15,045	$	14,488	$	557		3.84	%

Salaries and employee benefits. The increase related primarily to: (i) a $0.9 million increase in salaries, benefits, and bonus expense; and (ii) a $0.3 million decrease in loan origination costs due to fewer loan originations, net of purchased consumer loans. The increase was partially offset by a $0.5 million decrease in commissions expense due to fewer loan originations, net of purchased consumer loans, period-over-period.

Professional services. The increase was primarily due to $0.1 million in fees paid for compensation consulting services, which did not occur in the three months ended December 31, 2024.

Advertising and promotional. The decrease related primarily to a $0.1 million decrease in expenses related to sponsored events and partnerships and $0.1 million decrease related to business development expenses.

Other operating expenses. The decrease was primarily due to a $0.1 million decrease in director expenses, such as conferences and meetings, combined with individually immaterial decreases in expenses related to operations, including administrative and operational expenses.

The following table presents the key components of non-interest expense for the periods indicated:

	Three months ended
(in thousands)	March 31, 2025		March 31, 2024		$ Change		% Change
Salaries and employee benefits	$	9,134	$	7,577	$	1,557	20.55	%
Occupancy and equipment		637		626		11	1.76	%
Data processing and software		1,457		1,157		300	25.93	%
FDIC insurance		455		400		55	13.75	%
Professional services		913		707		206	29.14	%
Advertising and promotional		522		460		62	13.48	%
Loan-related expenses		319		297		22	7.41	%
Other operating expenses		1,608		1,492		116	7.77	%
Total non-interest expense	$	15,045	$	12,716	$	2,329	18.32	%

Salaries and employee benefits. The increase related primarily to: (i) a $1.6 million increase in salaries, benefits, and bonus expense, mainly related to a 13.19% increase in headcount between March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2025; and (ii) a $0.1 million increase in commissions paid. This increase was partially offset by a $0.2 million increase in loan origination costs due to a greater number of loan originations, net of purchased consumer loans, period-over-period.

Data processing and software. The increase was primarily due to: (i) increased usage of our digital banking platform; (ii) higher transaction volumes related to the increased number of loan and deposit accounts; and (iii) an increased number of licenses required for new users on our loan origination and documentation system.

Professional services. The increase was primarily due to $0.1 million in fees paid for compensation consulting services and $0.1 million in consulting services relating to operations in San Francisco, neither of which occurred in the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Other operating expenses. The increase was primarily due to individually immaterial increases in expenses related to operations, including administrative and operational expenses such as travel, subscriptions, and professional association memberships.

Provision for Income Taxes

Three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to three months ended December 31, 2024

Provision for income taxes decreased to $5.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 from $6.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, which was primarily due to: (i) a slight decline in taxable income recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2025; and (ii) a $0.6 million provision to return true-up recorded during the three months ended December 31, 2024 related primarily to the timing of recognition of low income housing tax credits, which did not reoccur during the three months ended March 31, 2025. The effective tax rates were 28.71% and 31.24% for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.

Three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to three months ended March 31, 2024

Provision for income taxes increased by $1.0 million, or 21.94%, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in taxable income. The effective tax rates were 28.71% and 28.94% for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024, respectively.

Webcast Details

Five Star Bancorp will host a live webcast for analysts and investors on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM ET (10:00 AM PT) to discuss its first quarter financial results. To view the live webcast, visit the “News & Events” section of the Company’s website under “Events” at https://investors.fivestarbank.com/news-events/events. The webcast will be archived on the Company’s website for a period of 90 days.

About Five Star Bancorp

Five Star is a bank holding company headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California. Five Star operates through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, Five Star Bank. The Bank has eight branches in Northern California.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent plans, estimates, objectives, goals, guidelines, expectations, intentions, projections, and statements of the Company’s beliefs concerning future events, business plans, objectives, expected operating results, and the assumptions upon which those statements are based. Forward-looking statements include without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate, or imply future results, performance, or achievements, and are typically identified with words such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “aim,” “intend,” “plan,” or words or phases of similar meaning. The Company cautions that the forward-looking statements are based largely on the Company’s expectations and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on factors which are, in many instances, beyond the Company’s control. Such forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions (some of which may be beyond the Company’s control) and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which change over time, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict their occurrence or how they will affect the Company. If one or more of the factors affecting the Company’s forward-looking information and statements proves incorrect, then the Company’s actual results, performance, or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking information and statements contained in this press release. Therefore, the Company cautions you not to place undue reliance on the Company’s forward-looking information and statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 under the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

The Company disclaims any duty to revise or update the forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting the forward-looking statements, except as specifically required by law.

Condensed Financial Data (Unaudited)

	Three months ended
(in thousands, except per share and share data)	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			March 31, 2024
Revenue and Expense Data
Interest and fee income	$	57,087		$	57,745		$	47,541
Interest expense		23,110			24,256			20,797
Net interest income		33,977			33,489			26,744
Provision for credit losses		1,900			1,300			900
Net interest income after provision		32,077			32,189			25,844
Non-interest income:
Service charges on deposit accounts		215			179			188
Gain on sale of loans		125			150			369
Loan-related fees		448			400			429
FHLB stock dividends		331			332			332
Earnings on bank-owned life insurance		161			182			142
Other income		79			423			373
Total non-interest income		1,359			1,666			1,833
Non-interest expense:
Salaries and employee benefits		9,134			8,360			7,577
Occupancy and equipment		637			649			626
Data processing and software		1,457			1,369			1,157
FDIC insurance		455			440			400
Professional services		913			774			707
Advertising and promotional		522			752			460
Loan-related expenses		319			321			297
Other operating expenses		1,608			1,823			1,492
Total non-interest expense		15,045			14,488			12,716
Income before provision for income taxes		18,391			19,367			14,961
Provision for income taxes		5,280			6,050			4,330
Net income	$	13,111		$	13,317		$	10,631

Comprehensive Income
Net income	$	13,111		$	13,317		$	10,631
Net unrealized holding gain (loss) on securities available-for-sale during the period		1,030			(3,747	)		(955	)
Less: Income tax expense (benefit) related to other comprehensive income (loss)		305			(1,108	)		(282	)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		725			(2,639	)		(673	)
Total comprehensive income	$	13,836		$	10,678		$	9,958

Share and Per Share Data
Earnings per common share:
Basic	$	0.62		$	0.63		$	0.62
Diluted		0.62			0.63			0.62
Book value per share		19.06			18.60			16.86
Tangible book value per share⁽¹⁾		19.06			18.60			16.86
Weighted average basic common shares outstanding		21,209,881			21,182,143			17,190,867
Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding		21,253,588			21,235,318			17,272,994
Shares outstanding at end of period		21,329,235			21,319,083			17,353,251

Selected Financial Ratios
ROAA		1.30	%		1.31	%		1.22	%
ROAE		13.28	%		13.48	%		14.84	%
Net interest margin		3.45	%		3.36	%		3.14	%
Loan to deposit⁽²⁾		97.01	%		99.38	%		105.37	%

_{⁽¹⁾ See the section entitled “Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)” for a reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure.
⁽²⁾ Loan balance in loan to deposit ratio is total loans held for investment and sale at period end. Deposit balance in loan to deposit ratio is total deposits at period end.}

(in thousands)	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			March 31, 2024
Balance Sheet Data
Cash and due from financial institutions	$	42,473		$	33,882		$	29,750
Interest-bearing deposits in banks		410,098			318,461			155,575
Time deposits in banks		4,024			4,121			5,878
Securities – available-for-sale, at fair value		97,111			98,194			105,006
Securities – held-to-maturity, at amortized cost		2,585			2,720			3,000
Loans held for sale		2,669			3,247			10,243
Loans held for investment		3,621,819			3,532,686			3,104,130
Allowance for credit losses		(39,224	)		(37,791	)		(34,653	)
Loans held for investment, net of allowance for credit losses		3,582,595			3,494,895			3,069,477
FHLB stock		15,000			15,000			15,000
Operating leases, right-of-use asset		5,944			6,245			6,932
Premises and equipment, net		1,524			1,584			1,569
Bank-owned life insurance		23,246			19,375			18,872
Interest receivable and other assets		57,788			55,554			55,058
Total assets	$	4,245,057		$	4,053,278		$	3,476,360

Non-interest-bearing deposits	$	933,652		$	922,629		$	817,388
Interest-bearing deposits		2,802,702			2,635,365			2,138,384
Total deposits		3,736,354			3,557,994			2,955,772
Subordinated notes, net		73,932			73,895			73,786
Other borrowings		—			—			120,000
Operating lease liability		6,591			6,857			7,320
Interest payable and other liabilities		21,729			17,908			26,902
Total liabilities		3,838,606			3,656,654			3,183,780

Common stock		302,788			302,531			220,804
Retained earnings		115,309			106,464			84,216
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of taxes		(11,646	)		(12,371	)		(12,440	)
Total shareholders’ equity		406,451			396,624			292,580
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	4,245,057		$	4,053,278		$	3,476,360

Quarterly Average Balance Data
Average loans held for investment and sale	$	3,567,992		$	3,498,109		$	3,082,290
Average interest-earning assets		3,997,037			3,965,867			3,424,469
Average total assets		4,090,580			4,057,603			3,518,452
Average deposits		3,585,782			3,561,409			3,106,841
Average total equity		400,501			393,088			288,106

Credit Quality
Allowance for credit losses to nonperforming loans		2,222.32	%		2,101.78	%		1,806.73	%
Nonperforming loans to loans held for investment		0.05	%		0.05	%		0.06	%
Nonperforming assets to total assets		0.04	%		0.05	%		0.06	%
Nonperforming loans plus performing loan modifications to loans held for investment		0.05	%		0.05	%		0.06	%

Capital Ratios
Total shareholders’ equity to total assets		9.57	%		9.79	%		8.42	%
Tangible shareholders’ equity to tangible assets⁽¹⁾		9.57	%		9.79	%		8.42	%
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets)		13.97	%		13.99	%		12.34	%
Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)		11.00	%		11.02	%		9.13	%
Common equity Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)		11.00	%		11.02	%		9.13	%
Tier 1 leverage ratio		10.17	%		10.05	%		8.63	%

_{⁽¹⁾ See the section entitled “Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)” for a reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure.}

Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)

The Company uses financial information in its analysis of the Company’s performance that is not in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to management and investors that is supplementary to the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows computed in accordance with GAAP. However, the Company acknowledges that its non-GAAP financial measures have a number of limitations. As such, investors should not view these disclosures as a substitute for results determined in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, these non-GAAP measures are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP financial measures that other banking companies use. Other banking companies may use names similar to those the Company uses for the non-GAAP financial measures the Company discloses, but may calculate them differently. Investors should understand how the Company and other companies each calculate their non-GAAP financial measures when making comparisons.

Tangible shareholders’ equity to tangible assets is defined as total equity less goodwill and other intangible assets, divided by total assets less goodwill and other intangible assets. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is total shareholders’ equity to total assets. Management believes that tangible shareholders’ equity to tangible assets is a useful financial measure because it enables management, investors, and others to assess the Company’s financial health based on tangible capital. We had no goodwill or other intangible assets at the end of any period indicated. As a result, tangible shareholders’ equity to tangible assets is the same as total shareholders’ equity to total assets at the end of each of the periods indicated.

Tangible book value per share is defined as total shareholders’ equity less goodwill and other intangible assets, divided by the outstanding number of common shares at the end of the period. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is book value per share. Management believes that tangible book value per share is a useful financial measure because it enables management, investors, and others to assess the Company’s value and use of equity. We had no goodwill or other intangible assets at the end of any period indicated. As a result, tangible book value per share is the same as book value per share at the end of each of the periods indicated.

Pre-tax, pre-provision income is defined as pre-tax income plus provision for credit losses. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is pre-tax income. Management believes that pre-tax, pre-provision income is a useful financial measure because it enables management, investors, and others to assess the Company’s ability to generate operating profit and capital.

The following reconciliation table provides a more detailed analysis of this non-GAAP financial measure:

	Three months ended
(in thousands)	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		March 31, 2024
Pre-tax, pre-provision income
Pre-tax income	$	18,391	$	19,367	$	14,961
Add: provision for credit losses		1,900		1,300		900
Pre-tax, pre-provision income	$	20,291	$	20,667	$	15,861

Investor Contact:
Heather C. Luck, Chief Financial Officer
Five Star Bancorp
(916) 626-5008
hluck@fivestarbank.com

Media Contact:
Shelley R. Wetton, Chief Marketing Officer
Five Star Bancorp
(916) 284-7827
swetton@fivestarbank.com

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: WTT Press Conference Introduces New Concept for Competitive Trading’s Future
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The World Trading Tournament (WTT) officially launched with a press conference and networking event at Sol 40 @ The Met, introducing an innovative concept that gamifies financial trading through an esports-inspired tournament structure.

WTT’s Vision for a Connected Trading Ecosystem

The evening began with an engaging welcome speech by Mr. Arthur, CEO of WTT, who shared the vision behind WTT: a platform designed to democratize access to trading and reimagine it as a community-driven sport. “We believe trading is more than numbers and screens. It’s strategy, discipline, and skill. Now, it’s a tournament anyone can join,” said Mr. Arthur.

A panel discussion followed, featuring industry leaders from the financial and fintech sectors:
- Mr. Ariff Bunaya, Head of Official Channel (SEA Region), WikiFX
- Mr. Wags Ng, CEO, The Firm Capital
- Mr. Zamrim Bin Arifin, Regional Partner, AIMS Group
Business Background with WTT

The panel explored trends in financial gamification, the evolving mindset of traders, and the need for innovation in empowering both retail and professional traders. Their support further emphasized the potential of WTT to shape the future of competitive trading.

WTT’s mission is to become the world’s most influential trading ecosystem, offering transparent challenges, real rewards, and opportunities for continuous development. The platform aims to inspire and support a global trading community through fair competition and educational resources.

The event also highlighted strategic collaborations with WikiFX, The Firm Capital, and AIMS Group, which will help scale WTT’s visibility across Asia and beyond.

Following the press conference, a networking event provided attendees with an opportunity to connect over refreshments, music, and lively discussions. Three lucky draw winners received exclusive entries to the WTT main tournament.

Supported by key partners WikiFX, The Firm Capital, and AIMS Group, the World Trading Tournament is poised to reshape the competitive trading landscape. As witnessed at the event, this marks just the beginning of a new era in trading. Further announcements will follow.

Media Contact:
Clement Metz
admin@worldtradingtournament.com
World Trading Tournament

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f3c74e6b-6d5a-4fd8-b502-35eabb848549

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/85be50ce-1cb5-400c-8419-d201b6223ab2

The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: What Canada can learn from China on effectively engaging with Africa

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Isaac Odoom, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Carleton University

Canada’s recent launch of a new Africa Strategy comes at a moment of profound geopolitical change and growing shifts in global development co-operation.

As the western-led order and development model faces increasing scrutiny, countries like China are expanding their reach in Africa by linking development co-operation with commercial and strategic interests.

These approaches resonate with many African governments, while others raise concerns, prompting an important question: How well does Canada’s new strategy respond to these concerns?

Read more:
Canada’s Africa strategy is a landmark moment for Canada-Africa relations, but still needs work

Urgent need to diversify

Canada’s pivot toward deeper engagement with Africa is timely. With ongoing tariff threats from the United States and a tense relationship with China, the need to diversify economic partnerships has become urgent.

Africa’s fast-growing population, expanding middle class and continent-wide integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offer real opportunities for commercial engagement.

While historic, Canada’s new Africa Strategy would benefit from a clearer alignment between Africa’s economic prospects and Canada’s domestic economic challenges, such as labour shortages and trade diversification. Without a stronger economic dimension, Canada risks being perceived as all talk and little commitment.

That said, Canada’s emphasis on “mutually beneficial partnerships” — echoing China’s language on Africa — is notable, especially as western donors pull back. However, without a coherent development focus, this principle may be viewed as transactional rather than strategic.

The strategy provides a foundation to build from, but it enters a competitive arena. To build meaningful partnerships in Africa, Canada will need a more focused approach grounded in robust market research, sharper priorities and an informed understanding of Africa’s political and economic realities as well as its geopolitical context.

As a researcher focused on Africa-China relations, I see important lessons Canada can draw from China’s engagement in Africa.

Cautious Canada vs. confident China

Over the past two decades, China has become Africa’s largest trading partner, with trade volumes reaching US$295 billion in 2024.

Backed by state financing, Chinese firms have built roads, ports, railways, dams and telecom infrastructure across the continent. This presence is no accident: for the past 30 years, every Chinese foreign minister’s first trip abroad has been to Africa.

Canada’s footprint, by contrast, remains modest. Canada’s merchandise trade with Africa was about $15 billion in 2024. Canada aspires to become a serious economic partner, but its commercial presence in Africa has been limited.

Notably, while China is often criticized in western media, its image in Africa is more positive. Many African leaders and citizens see China as a pragmatic partner that delivers visible infrastructure and investment.

China’s positioning as a fellow developing country also contrasts sharply with western models that often carry patronizing overtones. China’s readiness to finance large-scale projects in Africa with limited political strings attached has earned good will, even as concerns rightly persist about transparency, debt and governance.

Emphasizing Canada’s differences

Canada should take these dynamics seriously. The narrative of “countering China” in Africa, often promoted by western governments, is ineffective. It overlooks African agency, reduces the continent to a site of great power rivalry and fails to acknowledge that African governments are actively pursuing their choice of partners, instead of a single partner of choice.

Rather than compete with China, Canada can be different. While Chinese infrastructure projects often align with African priorities, my own work on Chinese engagement in Ghana’s energy projects shows that these projects are often negotiated behind closed doors, with few accountability mechanisms and scant transparency in financing. These gaps create space for Canada to offer a distinct and credible alternative.

Canada’s approach can be different, but it should be no less strategic. It may not match China in scale, but it can offer commercial partnerships rooted in transparency, accountability and collaboration with partners, including those from China.

Many African governments and civil society entities are calling for exactly this kind of engagement, particularly as citizens demand greater scrutiny over foreign investment. By focusing on responsible business practices, labour standards, environmental safeguards and good governance, Canada can develop a values-based model of economic engagement.

Despite this potential, Canada’s new Africa Strategy lacks financial commitment. Canada’s 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy was backed by a $2.3 billion envelope. The Africa Strategy’s success will ultimately depend on its ability to mobilize concrete resources and sustained engagement.

The strategy rightly points to Africa’s economic potential, but stronger links to Canada’s domestic priorities, such as a workforce strategy, a trade road map and implementation tools, would enhance its impact.

References to the AfCFTA are promising, but Canadian businesses need clearer guidance and support. Realizing the strategy’s goals will require measurable targets, dedicated programming and sustained investment.

A different kind of engagement

Canada’s past engagement in Africa has been rooted in diplomacy, development co-operation and peacekeeping. These remain valuable, but today’s African leaders are also seeking trade, investment and private-sector partnerships.

To become a trusted economic partner, Canada should engage with purpose by introducing targeted financing tools — such as credit lines or investment guarantees — to help Canadian businesses manage risk and seize opportunities aligned with AfCFTA.

Read more:
African countries could unlock billions in local and global trade – what’s working and what’s not

It should also focus on strategic sectors where it already has strengths, like clean energy, health innovation, fintech, agri-business and infrastructure.

By investing in robust research and in dialogue with the African diaspora, business leaders and governance institutions, Canada strengthens commercial ties while prioritizing transparency, accountability and collaboration. Co-operation in innovation (for example, joint research on climate-smart agriculture or vaccines) could also yield benefits for both sides.

In an increasing multipolar environment, Africa is not waiting for Canada. It’s assessing and comparing competing external partners. Canada’s ability to position itself as a viable alternative depends not on replicating China’s scale, but on seeing Africa as a true partner and offering mutual partnerships that appeal to Africans and Canadian alike.

The new Africa Strategy sets an important tone for renewed engagement, but its success will depend on real investment and implementation, which so far lacks dedicated funding. Filling these gaps should be the next step, regardless of who wins Monday’s election.

Isaac Odoom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What Canada can learn from China on effectively engaging with Africa – https://theconversation.com/what-canada-can-learn-from-china-on-effectively-engaging-with-africa-252894

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Vesicor Therapeutics, Inc. and Black Hawk Acquisition Corporation Enter into a Business Combination Agreement to Create a Biotechnology Company Advancing p53-based Cancer Therapeutics Delivered Via Microvesicles
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
- Transaction Values Vesicor at a Pre-money Equity Value of $70 million
- Business Combination is Expected to be Completed in the Fourth Quarter of 2025
DANVILLE, Calif., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Black Hawk Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: BKHAU, BKHA, BKHAR), a special purpose acquisition company, (“Black Hawk”) announced the signing of a Business Combination Agreement (“BCA”) on April 26, 2025, with Vesicor Therapeutics, Inc. (“Vesicor”, “Vesicor Therapeutics” or “the Company”), a California-based early development stage biotechnology corporation focused on the development of p53-based cancer therapeutics delivered via precision-engineered microvesicles.

Vesicor Overview

Vesicor was founded in 2008 in San Gabriel, California by Luo Feng, Ph.D. The Company is an early development stage biotechnology company focused on the development of p53-based cancer therapeutics delivered via precision-engineered microvesicles.

The Company’s first product candidate is ecm-RV/p53. This is a genetically engineered cellular microvesicle (“ecm”) non-viral nanoparticle RNA vesicle (“RV”) that is loaded with in vitro transcribed p53 mRNA. Although Vesicor’s ecm-RV/p53 drug candidate is unapproved for use in Japan and the United States, it has been administered to multiple patients in Tokyo, Japan since 2018 under the Japan Medical Practitioner’s Act, also known as Advanced Medical Care B. This mechanism allows unapproved drugs to be used under a physician’s discretion. The Company’s drug candidate has been used in multiple patients with advanced breast, pancreatic, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer. Vesicor believes that its ecm-RV/p53 drug candidate has broad therapeutic potential across a range of solid tumors. The Company intends to begin preclinical testing in the U.S., submit an investigational new drug (“IND”) application to the FDA and then to begin clinical trials, which efforts are expected to commence in 2026.

Mr. Kent Kaufman, Chief Executive Officer of Black Hawk, stated: “Our aim is to identify a company with solid potential to disrupt an entire industry, a talented and credentialed executive team with a proven track record, and good prospects for future growth. We believe that we have found these qualities in Vesicor. We look forward to completing this transaction and working with Vesicor’s management team to help them thrive as a public company while they continue to grow.”

“Our mission is to transform the lives of cancer patients and their families. We are focused on completing preclinical testing in the United States, submitting our IND to the FDA and beginning Phase 1 clinical trials,” stated Luo Feng, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vesicor Therapeutics.

“We are excited to partner with Kent and the rest of the Black Hawk team to bring Vesicor to the public markets. We believe that this transaction, if completed, will help facilitate access to the capital markets and will accelerate the validation and deployment of our ecm-RV/p53 drug candidate,” stated Oded Levy, Board Director of Vesicor Therapeutics.

Key Transaction Terms

Under the terms of the BCA, Black Hawk’s wholly-owned subsidiary, BH Merger Sub, Inc., will merge with Vesicor, resulting in Vesicor being the wholly owned subsidiary of Black Hawk, who will continue to be the listed company on the Nasdaq Stock Market and change its name to Vesicor Therapeutics (the “Business Combination” and the transactions in connection with the Business Combination collectively, the “Transaction”). At the effective time of the Transaction, Vesicor’s shareholders and management will receive the right to receive a number of shares of Black Hawk’s common stock equal to the consideration ratio as further specified in the BCA. The shares held by certain Vesicor’s shareholders will be subject to lock-up agreements for a period of six (6) months following the closing of the Transaction, subject to certain exceptions.

The Transaction values Vesicor at a pre-money equity value of $70 million. Existing Vesicor shareholders and management will not receive any cash proceeds as part of the transaction and will roll over 100% of their equity into the combined company.

The Transaction, which has been approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both Black Hawk and Vesicor, is subject to regulatory approvals, the approvals by the shareholders of Black Hawk and Vesicor, respectively, and the satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions, including, among others, a Form S-4 registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, of which the proxy statement/prospectus forms a part, being declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the approval by Nasdaq of the listing application of the combined company. The Business Combination is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2025.

The description of the Business Combination contained herein is only a summary and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Business Combination Agreement relating to the Business Combination and attachments thereto. A more detailed description of the Transaction and a copy of the Business Combination Agreement will be included in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Black Hawk with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Advisors

Celine & Partners, P.L.L.C. and Ogier Global (Cayman) Limited are serving as legal advisors to Black Hawk. PW Richter PLC is serving as a legal advisor to Vesicor.

About Black Hawk Acquisition Corporation

Black Hawk Acquisition Corporation is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses.

Participants in the Solicitation

Black Hawk Acquisition Corporation, and its respective directors, executive officers, employees and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the holders of Black Hawk’s common stock in respect of the proposed Transaction. Information about Black Hawk’s directors, executive officers and their ownership of Black Hawk’s common stock is currently set forth in Black Hawk’s prospectus related to its initial public offering dated March 22, 2024, as modified or supplemented by any Form 10-K, Form 3 or Form 4 filed with the SEC since the date of such filing. Other information regarding the interests of the participants in the proxy solicitation will be included in a registration statement on Form S-4 (as may be amended from time to time) that will include a proxy statement and a registration statement/preliminary prospectus (the “Registration Statement”) pertaining to the proposed Transaction when it becomes available. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated below.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the Transaction and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Black Hawk or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Important Information about the Proposed Business Combination and Where to Find It

In connection with the Transaction, Black Hawk will file relevant materials with the SEC, including the Registration Statement. Promptly after the Registration Statement is declared effective, the proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to all Black Hawk shareholders entitled to vote at the special meeting relating to the Transaction. Before making any voting decision, securities holders of Black Hawk are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the Transaction as they become available because they will contain important information about the Transaction and the parties to the Transaction.

Contacts/Information. Stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus, and other documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC through Black Hawk through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to the contacts mentioned below.

Black Hawk Acquisition Corporation
Kent Louis Kaufman
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
kent@bhspac.com
Tel: +1(915) 217-4482

Vesicor Therapeutics, Inc.
Luo Feng, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
lfeng@vesicor.com

Forward-Looking Statements.

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Black Hawk’s and Vesicor’s actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “might” and “continues,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Black Hawk’s and Vesicor’s expectations with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the Business Combination, the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the Business Combination and the timing of the completion of the Business Combination. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Black Hawk, Vesicor and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement relating to the proposed Business Combination; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Black Hawk or Vesicor following the announcement of the Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein; (3) the inability to complete the Business Combination, including due to failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of the Black Hawk or other conditions to closing in the Business Combination Agreement; (4) delays in obtaining or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals required to complete the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement; (5) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement or could otherwise cause the transaction to fail to close; (6) the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the post-acquisition company’s ordinary shares on Nasdaq following the Business Combination; (7) the risk that the Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the Business Combination; (8) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; (9) costs related to the Business Combination; (10) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (11) the possibility that Vesicor or the combined company, i.e., PubCo, may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (12) other risks and uncertainties to be identified in the Registration Statement filed by PubCo (when available) relating to the Business Combination, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, and in other filings with the SEC made by the Black Hawk and Vesicor. Black Hawk and Vesicor caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Black Hawk and Vesicor caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Neither Black Hawk nor Vesicor undertakes or accepts any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, subject to applicable law. The information contained in any website referenced herein is not, and shall not be deemed to be, part of or incorporated into this press release.

The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: Brown & Brown, Inc. announces first quarter 2025 results, including total revenues of $1.4 billion, an increase of 11.6%; Organic Revenue growth of 6.5%; diluted net income per share of $1.15; Diluted Net Income Per Share – Adjusted of $1.29; and a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) (the “Company”) announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter 2025.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2025 under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) were $1.4 billion, increasing $146 million, or 11.6%, compared to the first quarter of the prior year, with commissions and fees increasing by 12.0% and Organic Revenue increasing by 6.5%. Income before income taxes was $427 million, increasing 17.3% from the first quarter of the prior year with Income Before Income Taxes Margin increasing to 30.4% from 28.9%. EBITDAC – Adjusted was $535 million, increasing 14.8% from the first quarter of the prior year with EBITDAC Margin – Adjusted increasing to 38.1% from 37.0%. Net income attributable to the Company was $331 million, increasing $38 million, or 13.0%, and diluted net income per share increased to $1.15, or 12.7%, with Diluted Net Income Per Share – Adjusted increasing to $1.29, or 13.2%, each as compared to the first quarter of the prior year.

J. Powell Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Company, noted, “We continue to execute our plan and are pleased with our performance for the quarter.”

In addition, the Company today announced that the Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share. The dividend is payable on May 21, 2025, to shareholders of record on May 12, 2025.

Reconciliation of Commissions and Fees
to Organic Revenue
(in millions, unaudited)

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024
Commissions and fees	$	1,385		$	1,237
Profit-sharing contingent commissions		(43	)		(46	)
Core commissions and fees	$	1,342		$	1,191
Acquisitions		(79	)
Dispositions					(3	)
Foreign Currency Translation					(2	)
Organic Revenue	$	1,263		$	1,186
Organic Revenue growth	$	77
Organic Revenue growth %		6.5	%

See information regarding non-GAAP measures presented later in this press release.

Reconciliation of Diluted Net Income Per Share to
Diluted Net Income Per Share – Adjusted
(unaudited)

	Three Months Ended March 31,						Change
	2025			2024			$			%
Diluted net income per share	$	1.15		$	1.02		$	0.13			12.7	%
Change in estimated acquisition earn-out payables		(0.01	)		(0.01	)		—
(Gain)/loss on disposal		—			0.01			(0.01	)
Amortization		0.15			0.12			0.03
Diluted Net Income Per Share – Adjusted	$	1.29		$	1.14		$	0.15			13.2	%

See information regarding non-GAAP measures presented later in this press release.

Reconciliation of Income Before Income Taxes to EBITDAC and
EBITDAC – Adjusted and Income Before Income Taxes Margin⁽¹⁾to
EBITDAC Margin and EBITDAC Margin – Adjusted
(in millions, unaudited)

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024
Total revenues	$	1,404		$	1,258
Income before income taxes	$	427		$	364
Income Before Income Taxes Margin⁽¹⁾		30.4	%		28.9	%
Amortization		53			43
Depreciation		11			11
Interest		46			48
Change in estimated acquisition earn-out payables		(4	)		(2	)
EBITDAC	$	533		$	464
EBITDAC Margin		38.0	%		36.9	%
(Gain)/loss on disposal		2			2
EBITDAC – Adjusted	$	535		$	466
EBITDAC Margin – Adjusted		38.1	%		37.0	%

(1) “Income Before Income Taxes Margin” is defined as income before income taxes divided by total revenues.

See information regarding non-GAAP measures presented later in this press release.

Brown & Brown, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income
(in millions, except per share data; unaudited)

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024
REVENUES
Commissions and fees	$	1,385		$	1,237
Investment and other income		19			21
Total revenues		1,404			1,258
EXPENSES
Employee compensation and benefits		683			631
Other operating expenses		186			161
Loss on disposal		2			2
Amortization		53			43
Depreciation		11			11
Interest		46			48
Change in estimated acquisition earn-out payables		(4	)		(2	)
Total expenses		977			894
Income before income taxes		427			364
Income taxes		93			71
Net income before non-controlling interests		334			293
Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests		3			—
Net income attributable to the Company	$	331		$	293
Net income per share:
Basic	$	1.16		$	1.03
Diluted	$	1.15		$	1.02
Weighted average number of shares outstanding:
Basic		283			281
Diluted		285			283

Brown & Brown, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in millions, except per share data, unaudited)

	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	669		$	675
Fiduciary cash		1,771			1,827
Commission, fees, and other receivables		1,083			895
Fiduciary receivables		1,136			1,116
Reinsurance recoverable		447			1,527
Prepaid reinsurance premiums		480			520
Other current assets		331			364
Total current assets		5,917			6,924
Fixed assets, net		327			319
Operating lease assets		197			200
Goodwill		8,111			7,970
Amortizable intangible assets, net		1,821			1,814
Other assets		387			385
Total assets	$	16,760		$	17,612
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Fiduciary liabilities	$	2,907		$	2,943
Losses and loss adjustment reserve		462			1,543
Unearned premiums		542			577
Accounts payable		481			373
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		463			653
Current portion of long-term debt		75			225
Total current liabilities		4,930			6,314
Long-term debt less unamortized discount and debt issuance costs		3,731			3,599
Operating lease liabilities		186			189
Deferred income taxes, net		701			711
Other liabilities		371			362
Equity:
Common stock, par value $0.10 per share; authorized 560 shares; issued 306 shares and outstanding 287 shares at 2025, issued 306 shares and outstanding 286 shares at 2024, respectively		31			31
Additional paid-in capital		1,107			1,118
Treasury stock, at cost 20 shares at 2025 and 2024		(748	)		(748	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		15			(109	)
Non-controlling interests		20			17
Retained earnings		6,416			6,128
Total equity		6,841			6,437
Total liabilities and equity	$	16,760		$	17,612

Brown & Brown, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in millions, unaudited)

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income before non-controlling interests	$	334		$	293
Adjustments to reconcile net income before non-controlling interests to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization		53			43
Depreciation		11			11
Non-cash stock-based compensation		29			29
Change in estimated acquisition earn-out payables		(4	)		(2	)
Deferred income taxes		(10	)		(1	)
Net loss on sales/disposals of investments, businesses, fixed assets and customer accounts		2			2
Payments on acquisition earn-outs in excess of original estimated payables		—			(13	)
Other		2			—
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect from acquisitions and divestitures:
Commissions, fees and other receivables (increase)/decrease		(180	)		(142	)
Reinsurance recoverable (increase)/decrease		1,080			60
Prepaid reinsurance premiums (increase)/decrease		40			33
Other assets (increase)/decrease		35			—
Losses and loss adjustment reserve increase/(decrease)		(1,081	)		(59	)
Unearned premiums increase/(decrease)		(35	)		25
Accounts payable increase/(decrease)		126			(86	)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities increase/(decrease)		(195	)		(186	)
Other liabilities increase/(decrease)		6			6
Net cash provided by operating activities		213			13
Cash flows from investing activities:
Additions to fixed assets		(17	)		(13	)
Payments for businesses acquired, net of cash acquired		(67	)		(76	)
Proceeds from sales of businesses, fixed assets and customer accounts		9			—
Other investing activities		(4	)		1
Net cash used in investing activities		(79	)		(88	)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Fiduciary receivables and liabilities, net		(90	)		(26	)
Payments on acquisition earn-outs		(26	)		(39	)
Payments on long-term debt		(169	)		(13	)
Borrowings on revolving credit facility		150			150
Payments on revolving credit facility		—			(50	)
Repurchase shares to fund tax withholdings for non-cash stock-based compensation		(40	)		(54	)
Cash dividends paid		(43	)		(38	)
Other financing activities		—			3
Net cash used in financing activities		(218	)		(67	)
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes in cash and cash equivalents inclusive of fiduciary cash		22			(11	)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents inclusive of fiduciary cash		(62	)		(153	)
Cash and cash equivalents inclusive of fiduciary cash at beginning of period		2,502			2,303
Cash and cash equivalents inclusive of fiduciary cash at end of period	$	2,440		$	2,150

Conference call, webcast and slide presentation

A conference call to discuss the results of the first quarter of 2025 will be held on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 8:00 AM (EDT). The Company may refer to a slide presentation during its conference call. You can access the webcast and the slides from the “Investor Relations” section of the Company’s website at bbrown.com.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) is a leading insurance brokerage firm providing enhanced customer-centric risk management solutions since 1939. With a global presence spanning 500+ locations and a team of more than 17,000 professionals, we are dedicated to delivering scalable, innovative strategies for our customers at every step of their growth journey. Learn more at bbrown.com.

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain certain statements relating to future results which are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimate,” “plan” and “continue” or similar words. We have based these statements on our current expectations about potential future events. Although we believe the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of our knowledge of our business, a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements, whether oral or written, made by us or on our behalf. Many of these factors have previously been identified in filings or statements made by us or on our behalf. Important factors which could cause our actual results to differ, possibly materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to the following items: the Company’s determination as it finalizes its financial results for the first quarter of 2025 that its financial results differ from the current preliminary unaudited numbers set forth herein; the inability to hire, retain and develop qualified employees, as well as the loss of any of our executive officers or other key employees; a cybersecurity attack or any other interruption in information technology and/or data security that may impact our operations or the operations of third parties that support us; acquisition-related risks that could negatively affect the success of our growth strategy, including the possibility that we may not be able to successfully identify suitable acquisition candidates, complete acquisitions, successfully integrate acquired businesses into our operations and expand into new markets; risks related to our international operations, which may result in additional risks or require more management time and expense than our domestic operations to achieve or maintain profitability; the requirement for additional resources and time to adequately respond to dynamics resulting from rapid technological change; the loss of or significant change to any of our insurance company or intermediary relationships, which could result in loss of capacity to write business, additional expense, loss of market share or material decrease in our commissions; the effect of natural disasters on our profit-sharing contingent commissions, insurer capacity or claims expenses within our captive insurance facilities; adverse economic conditions, political conditions, outbreaks of war, disasters, or regulatory changes in states or countries where we have a concentration of our business; the inability to maintain our culture or a significant change in management, management philosophy or our business strategy; fluctuations in our commission revenue as a result of factors outside of our control; the effects of significant or sustained inflation or higher interest rates; claims expense resulting from the limited underwriting risk associated with our participation in capitalized captive insurance facilities; risks associated with our automobile and recreational vehicle dealer services (“F&I”) businesses; changes in, or the termination of, certain programs administered by the U.S. federal government from which we derive revenues; the limitations of our system of disclosure and internal controls and procedures in preventing errors or fraud, or in informing management of all material information in a timely manner; our reliance on vendors and other third parties to perform key functions of our business operations and provide services to our customers; the significant control certain shareholders have; changes in data privacy and protection laws and regulations or any failure to comply with such laws and regulations; improper disclosure of confidential information; our ability to comply with non-U.S. laws, regulations and policies; the potential adverse effect of certain actual or potential claims, regulatory actions or proceedings on our businesses, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity; uncertainty in our business practices and compensation arrangements with insurance carriers due to potential changes in regulations; regulatory changes that could reduce our profitability or growth by increasing compliance costs, technology compliance, restricting the products or services we may sell, the markets we may enter, the methods by which we may sell our products and services, or the prices we may charge for our services and the form of compensation we may accept from our customers, carriers and third-parties; increasing scrutiny and changing laws and expectations from regulators, investors and customers with respect to our environmental, social and governance practices and disclosure; a decrease in demand for liability insurance as a result of tort reform legislation; our failure to comply with any covenants contained in our debt agreements; the possibility that covenants in our debt agreements could prevent us from engaging in certain potentially beneficial activities; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; a downgrade to our corporate credit rating, the credit ratings of our outstanding debt or other market speculation; changes in the U.S.-based credit markets that might adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition; changes in current U.S. or global economic conditions, including an extended slowdown in the markets in which we operate; disintermediation within the insurance industry, including increased competition from insurance companies, technology companies and the financial services industry, as well as the shift away from traditional insurance markets; conditions that result in reduced insurer capacity; quarterly and annual variations in our commissions that result from the timing of policy renewals and the net effect of new and lost business production; intangible asset risk, including the possibility that our goodwill may become impaired in the future; changes in our accounting estimates and assumptions; future pandemics, epidemics or outbreaks of infectious diseases, and the resulting governmental and societal responses; other risks and uncertainties as may be detailed from time to time in our public announcements and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings; and other factors that the Company may not have currently identified or quantified. Assumptions as to any of the foregoing, and all statements, are not based upon historical fact, but rather reflect our current expectations concerning future results and events. Forward-looking statements that we make or that are made by others on our behalf are based upon a knowledge of our business and the environment in which we operate, but because of the factors listed above, among others, actual results may differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Consequently, these cautionary statements qualify all of the forward-looking statements we make herein. We cannot assure you that the results or developments anticipated by us will be realized, or even if substantially realized, that those results or developments will result in the expected consequences for us or affect us, our business or our operations in the way we expect. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur or of which the Company hereafter becomes aware.

Non-GAAP supplemental financial information
This press release contains references to “non-GAAP financial measures” as defined in SEC Regulation G, consisting of Organic Revenue, EBITDAC, EBITDAC Margin, EBITDAC – Adjusted, EBITDAC Margin – Adjusted and Diluted Net Income Per Share – Adjusted. We present these measures because we believe such information is of interest to the investment community and because we believe it provides additional meaningful methods to evaluate the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent on a GAAP basis due to the impact of certain items that have a high degree of variability, that we believe are not indicative of ongoing performance and that are not easily comparable from period to period. This non-GAAP financial information should be considered in addition to, not in lieu of, the Company’s consolidated income statements and balance sheets as of the relevant date. Consistent with Regulation G, a description of such information is provided below and a reconciliation of such items to GAAP information can be found within this press release as well as in our periodic filings with the SEC.

We view Organic Revenue and Organic Revenue growth as important indicators when assessing and evaluating our performance on a consolidated basis and for each of our three segments, because it allows us to determine a comparable, but non-GAAP, measurement of revenue growth that is associated with the revenue sources that were a part of our business in both the current and prior year and that are expected to continue in the future. In addition, we believe Diluted Net Income Per Share – Adjusted provides a meaningful representation of our operating performance and improves the comparability of our results between periods by excluding the impact of the change in estimated acquisition earn-out payables, the impact of amortization of intangible assets and certain other non-recurring or infrequently occurring items. We also view EBITDAC, EBITDAC – Adjusted, EBITDAC Margin and EBITDAC Margin – Adjusted as important indicators when assessing and evaluating our performance, as they present more comparable measurements of our operating margins in a meaningful and consistent manner. As disclosed in our most recent proxy statement, we use Organic Revenue growth, Diluted Net Income Per Share – Adjusted and EBITDAC Margin – Adjusted as key performance metrics for our short-term and long-term incentive compensation plans for executive officers and other key employees.

Non-GAAP Revenue Measures

Organic Revenue is our core commissions and fees less: (i) the core commissions and fees earned for the first 12 months by newly acquired operations; (ii) divested business (core commissions and fees generated from offices, books of business or niches sold or terminated during the comparable period); and (iii) Foreign Currency Translation (as defined below). The term “core commissions and fees” excludes profit-sharing contingent commissions and therefore represents the revenues earned directly from specific insurance policies sold and specific fee-based services rendered. Organic Revenue can be expressed as a dollar amount or a percentage rate when describing Organic Revenue growth.

Non-GAAP Earnings Measures

EBITDAC is defined as income before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and the change in estimated acquisition earn-out payables.
EBITDAC Margin is defined as EBITDAC divided by total revenues.
EBITDAC – Adjusted is defined as EBITDAC, excluding (gain)/loss on disposal (as defined below).
EBITDAC Margin – Adjusted is defined as EBITDAC – Adjusted divided by total revenues.
Diluted Net Income Per Share – Adjusted is defined as diluted net income per share, excluding the after-tax impact of (i) the change in estimated acquisition earn-out payables, (ii) (gain)/loss on disposal, (as defined below) and (iii) amortization.

Definitions Related to Certain Components of Non-GAAP Measures

“Foreign Currency Translation” means the period-over-period impact of foreign currency translation, which is calculated by applying current-year foreign exchange rates to the various functional currencies in our business to our reporting currency of US dollars for the same period in the prior year.
“(Gain)/loss on disposal,” a caption on our consolidated statements of income which reflects net proceeds received as compared to net book value related to sales of books of business and other divestiture transactions, such as the disposal of a business through sale or closure.

Our industry peers may provide similar supplemental non-GAAP information with respect to one or more of these measures, although they may not use the same or comparable terminology and may not make identical adjustments and, therefore comparability may be limited. This supplemental non-GAAP financial information should be considered in addition to, and not in lieu of, the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

For more information:

R. Andrew Watts
Chief Financial Officer
(386) 239-5770

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: CVR Energy Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

First quarter net loss attributable to CVR Energy stockholders of $123 million; EBITDA loss of $61 million; adjusted EBITDA of $24 million
First quarter loss per diluted share of $1.22 and adjusted loss per diluted share of 58 cents
CVR Energy will not pay a cash dividend for the first quarter of 2025
CVR Partners announced a cash distribution of $2.26 per common unit

SUGAR LAND, Texas, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CVI, “CVR Energy” or the “Company”) today announced first quarter 2025 net loss attributable to CVR Energy stockholders of $123 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, compared to first quarter 2024 net income attributable to CVR Energy stockholders of $82 million, or 81 cents per diluted share. Adjusted loss for the first quarter of 2025 was 58 cents per diluted share, compared to adjusted earnings per diluted share of 4 cents in the first quarter of 2024. Net loss for the first quarter of 2025 was $105 million, compared to net income of $90 million in the first quarter of 2024. First quarter 2025 EBITDA loss was $61 million, compared to first quarter 2024 EBITDA of $203 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2025 was $24 million, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $99 million in the first quarter of 2024.

“CVR Energy’s 2025 first quarter earnings results for its refining business were impacted by planned and unplanned downtime at the Coffeyville refinery,” said Dave Lamp, CVR Energy’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the turnaround at Coffeyville now completed, we are well-positioned for the upcoming driving season, and we currently have no planned turnarounds at either refinery until 2027.

“CVR Partners achieved solid operating results for the first quarter of 2025, with a combined ammonia production rate of 101 percent,” Lamp said. “CVR Partners was pleased to declare a first quarter 2025 cash distribution of $2.26 per common unit.”

Petroleum Segment

The Petroleum Segment reported a first quarter 2025 net loss of $160 million and EBITDA loss of $119 million, compared to net income of $127 million and EBITDA of $171 million for the first quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA loss for the Petroleum Segment was $30 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $67 million for the first quarter of 2024.

Combined total throughput for the first quarter of 2025 was approximately 120,000 barrels per day (“bpd”) compared to approximately 196,000 bpd of combined total throughput for the first quarter of 2024. The decrease in throughput was primarily due to the turnaround at the Coffeyville, Kansas, refinery during the first quarter of 2025.

Refining margin for the first quarter of 2025 was $(5) million, or (42) cents per total throughput barrel, compared to $290 million, or $16.29 per total throughput barrel, during the same period in 2024. Included in our first quarter 2025 refining margin were unfavorable mark-to-market impacts on our outstanding Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) obligation of $112 million, favorable unrealized derivative impacts of $3 million primarily related to Canadian crude oil positions, and favorable inventory valuation impacts of $20 million. Excluding these items, adjusted refining margin for the first quarter of 2025 was $7.72 per barrel, compared to an adjusted refining margin per barrel of $10.46 for the first quarter of 2024. The decrease in adjusted refining margin per barrel was primarily due to a decrease in the Group 3 2-1-1 crack spread.

Renewables Segment

Effective beginning with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and due to the prominence of the renewables business relative to the Company’s overall 2024 performance, we revised our reportable segments to reflect a new reportable segment: Renewables. The Renewables Segment includes the operations of the renewable diesel unit and renewable feedstock pretreater at the refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.

The Renewables Segment reported first quarter 2025 net income of less than $1 million and EBITDA of $6 million, compared to net loss of $10 million and EBITDA loss of $4 million for the first quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA for the Renewables Segment was $3 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to adjusted EBITDA loss of $5 million for the first quarter of 2024.

Total vegetable oil throughput for the first quarter of 2025 was approximately 156,000 gallons per day (“gpd”), compared to approximately 76,000 gpd for the first quarter of 2024.

Renewables margin was $16 million, or $1.13 per vegetable oil throughput gallon, for the first quarter of 2025 compared to $4 million, or 65 cents per vegetable oil throughput gallon, for the first quarter of 2024. Factors contributing to our first quarter 2025 renewables margin were higher net sales of $33 million resulting from increased production and sales volumes in the current period coupled with increased D4 RIN and LCFS credit prices, partially offset by a decrease in average CARB ULSD prices of 26 cents per gallon. Higher net sales were partially offset by higher cost of sales of $22 million due to an increase in throughput and production volumes.

Nitrogen Fertilizer Segment

The Nitrogen Fertilizer Segment reported net income of $27 million and EBITDA of $53 million on net sales of $143 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to net income of $13 million and EBITDA of $40 million on net sales of $128 million for the first quarter of 2024.

Production at CVR Partners, LP’s (“CVR Partners”) fertilizer facilities increased compared to the first quarter of 2024, producing a combined 216,000 tons of ammonia during the first quarter of 2025, of which 64,000 net tons were available for sale while the rest was upgraded to other fertilizer products, including 348,000 tons of urea ammonia nitrate (“UAN”). During the first quarter of 2024, the fertilizer facilities produced a combined 193,000 tons of ammonia, of which 60,000 net tons were available for sale while the remainder was upgraded to other fertilizer products, including 305,000 tons of UAN.

For the first quarter 2025, average realized gate prices for ammonia showed an increase compared to the prior year, up 5 percent to $554 per ton, and UAN was down 4 percent over the prior year to $256 per ton. Average realized gate prices for ammonia and UAN were $528 and $267 per ton, respectively, for the first quarter of 2024.

Corporate and Other

The Company reported an income tax benefit of $49 million, or 31.8 percent of loss before income taxes, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to an income tax expense of $17 million, or 15.9 percent of income before income taxes, for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The decrease in income tax expense was primarily due to a decrease in overall pretax earnings while the change in the effective tax rate was primarily due to changes in pretax earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest and the impact of federal and state tax credits and incentives in relation to overall pretax earnings.

Cash, Debt and Dividend

Consolidated cash and cash equivalents were $695 million at March 31, 2025, a decrease of $292 million from December 31, 2024. Consolidated total debt and finance lease obligations were $1.9 billion at March 31, 2025, including $570 million held by the Nitrogen Fertilizer Segment.

CVR Energy will not pay a cash dividend for the first quarter of 2025.

Today, CVR Partners announced that the Board of Directors of its general partner declared a first quarter 2025 cash distribution of $2.26 per common unit, which will be paid on May 19, 2025, to common unitholders of record as of May 12, 2025.

First Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call

CVR Energy previously announced that it will host its first quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call on Tuesday, April 29, at 1 p.m. Eastern. The Earnings Conference Call may also include discussion of Company developments, forward-looking information and other material information about business and financial matters.

The first quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call will be webcast live and can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of CVR Energy’s website at www.CVREnergy.com. For investors or analysts who want to participate during the call, the dial-in number is (877) 407-8291. The webcast will be archived and available for 14 days at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/uxpz7jf5. A repeat of the call also can be accessed for 14 days by dialing (877) 660-6853, conference ID 13752979.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain 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. Statements concerning current estimates, expectations and projections about future results, performance, prospects, opportunities, plans, actions and events and other statements, concerns, or matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements,” as that term is defined under the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future: continued safe and reliable operations; drivers of our results; EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA; impacts of planned and unplanned downtime; our position for the upcoming driving season; timing of turnarounds and impacts thereof on our results; asset utilization, capture, production volume, throughput, product yield and crude oil gathering rates, including the factors impacting same; cash flow generation; operating income and net sales, including the factors impacting same; refining margin; crack spreads, including the drivers thereof; impact of costs to comply with the RFS and revaluation of our RFS liability; inventory levels and valuation impacts; derivative gains and losses and the drivers thereof; renewable feedstocks; production rates and operations capabilities of our renewable diesel unit, including the ability to return to hydrocarbon service; demand trends; RIN generation levels; benefits of our corporate transformation to segregate our renewables business; access to capital and new partnerships; RIN pricing, including its impact on performance and the Company’s ability to offset the impact thereof; LCFS credit and CARB ULSD pricing; carbon capture and decarbonization initiatives; demand for refined products; ammonia and UAN pricing; global fertilizer industry conditions; grain prices; crop inventory levels; crop and planting levels; production levels and utilization at our nitrogen fertilizer facilities; nitrogen fertilizer sales volumes; ability to and levels to which we upgrade ammonia to other fertilizer products, including UAN; income tax expense and benefits, including the drivers thereof; pretax earnings and our effective tax rate; the availability and impact of tax credits and incentives; use of proceeds under our debt instruments; debt levels; cash and cash equivalent levels; dividends and distributions, including the timing, payment and amount (if any) thereof; direct operating expenses, capital expenditures, depreciation and amortization; turnaround expense; cash reserves; labor supply shortages, difficulties, disputes or strikes, including the impact thereof; and other matters. You can generally identify forward-looking statements by our use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “explore,” “evaluate,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “seek,” “should,” or “will,” or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Investors are cautioned that various factors may affect these forward-looking statements, including (among others) the health and economic effects of any pandemic, demand for fossil fuels and price volatility of crude oil, other feedstocks and refined products; the ability of Company to pay cash dividends and of CVR Partners to make cash distributions; potential operating hazards; costs of compliance with existing or new laws and regulations and potential liabilities arising therefrom; impacts of the planting season on CVR Partners; our controlling shareholder’s intention regarding ownership of our common stock or CVR Partners’ common units; general economic and business conditions; political disturbances, geopolitical instability and tensions; existing and future laws, rulings, policies and regulations, including the reinterpretation or amplification thereof by regulators, and including but not limited to those relating to the environment, climate change, and/or the production, transportation, or storage of hazardous chemicals, materials, or substances, like ammonia; political uncertainty and impacts to the oil and gas industry and the United States economy generally as a result of actions taken by a new administration, including the imposition of tariffs or changes in climate or other energy laws, rules, regulations, or policies; impacts of plant outages; potential operating hazards from accidents, fires, severe weather, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, or other natural disasters; and other risks. For additional discussion of risk factors which may affect our results, please see the risk factors and other disclosures included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings. These and other risks may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made only as of the date hereof. CVR Energy disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.

About CVR Energy, Inc.
Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, CVR Energy is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in the renewable fuels and petroleum refining and marketing business, as well as in the nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing business through its interest in CVR Partners. CVR Energy subsidiaries serve as the general partner and own 37 percent of the common units of CVR Partners.

Investors and others should note that CVR Energy may announce material information using SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts and the Investor Relations page of its website. CVR Energy may use these channels to distribute material information about the Company and to communicate important information about the Company, corporate initiatives and other matters. Information that CVR Energy posts on its website could be deemed material; therefore, CVR Energy encourages investors, the media, its customers, business partners and others interested in the Company to review the information posted on its website.

Contact Information:

Investor Relations
Richard Roberts
(281) 207-3205
InvestorRelations@CVREnergy.com

Media Relations
Brandee Stephens
(281) 207-3516
MediaRelations@CVREnergy.com

Non-GAAP Measures

Our management uses certain non-GAAP performance measures, and reconciliations to those measures, to evaluate current and past performance and prospects for the future to supplement our financial information presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). These non-GAAP financial measures are important factors in assessing our operating results and profitability and include the performance and liquidity measures defined below.

As a result of continuing volatile market conditions and the impacts certain non-cash items may have on the evaluation of our operations and results, the Company began disclosing the Adjusted Refining Margin non-GAAP measure, as defined below, in the second quarter of 2024. We believe the presentation of this non-GAAP measure is meaningful to compare our operating results between periods and better aligns with our peer companies. All prior periods presented have been conformed to the definition below.

The following are non-GAAP measures we present for the periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024:

EBITDA – Consolidated net income (loss) before (i) interest expense, net, (ii) income tax expense (benefit) and (iii) depreciation and amortization expense.

Petroleum EBITDA, Renewables EBITDA, and Nitrogen Fertilizer EBITDA – Segment net income (loss) before segment (i) interest expense, net, (ii) income tax expense (benefit), and (iii) depreciation and amortization.

Refining Margin – The difference between our Petroleum Segment net sales and cost of materials and other.

Adjusted Refining Margin – Refining Margin adjusted for certain significant noncash items and items that management believes are not attributable to or indicative of our underlying operational results of the period or that may obscure results and trends we deem useful.

Refining Margin and Adjusted Refining Margin, per Throughput Barrel – Refining Margin and Adjusted Refining Margin divided by the total throughput barrels during the period, which is calculated as total throughput barrels per day times the number of days in the period.

Direct Operating Expenses per Throughput Barrel – Direct operating expenses for our Petroleum Segment divided by total throughput barrels for the period, which is calculated as total throughput barrels per day times the number of days in the period.

Renewables Margin – The difference between our Renewables Segment net sales and cost of materials and other.

Adjusted Renewables Margin – Renewables Margin adjusted for certain significant noncash items and items that management believes are not attributable to or indicative of our underlying operational results of the period or that may obscure results and trends we deem useful.

Renewables Margin and Adjusted Renewables Margin, per Vegetable Oil Throughput Gallon – Renewables Margin and Adjusted Renewables Margin divided by the total vegetable oil throughput gallons for the period, which is calculated as total vegetable oil throughput gallons per day times the number of days in the period.

Direct Operating Expenses per Vegetable Oil Throughput Gallon – Direct operating expenses for our Renewables Segment divided by total vegetable oil throughput gallons for the period, which is calculated as total vegetable oil throughput gallons per day times the number of days in the period.

Adjusted EBITDA, Petroleum Adjusted EBITDA, Renewables Adjusted EBITDA, and Nitrogen Fertilizer Adjusted EBITDA – EBITDA, Petroleum EBITDA, Renewables EBITDA, and Nitrogen Fertilizer EBITDA adjusted for certain significant non-cash items and items that management believes are not attributable to or indicative of our underlying operational results of the period or that may obscure results and trends we deem useful.

Adjusted Earnings (Loss) per Share – Earnings (loss) per share adjusted for certain significant non-cash items and items that management believes are not attributable to or indicative of our on-going operations or that may obscure our underlying results and trends.

Free Cash Flow – Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less capital expenditures and capitalized turnaround expenditures.

We present these measures because we believe they may help investors, analysts, lenders and ratings agencies analyze our results of operations and liquidity in conjunction with our U.S. GAAP results, including but not limited to our operating performance as compared to other publicly traded companies in the refining and fertilizer industries, without regard to historical cost basis or financing methods and our ability to incur and service debt and fund capital expenditures. Non-GAAP measures have important limitations as analytical tools, because they exclude some, but not all, items that affect net earnings and operating income. These measures should not be considered substitutes for their most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures. See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” included herein for reconciliation of these amounts. Due to rounding, numbers presented within this section may not add or equal to numbers or totals presented elsewhere within this document.

Factors Affecting Comparability of Our Financial Results

Petroleum Segment

Our results of operations for the periods presented may not be comparable with prior periods or to our results of operations in the future due to capitalized expenditures as part of planned turnarounds. Total capitalized expenditures were $166 million and $39 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

CVR Energy, Inc.
(all information in this release is unaudited)

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions, except per share data)		2025			2024
Net sales	$	1,646		$	1,863
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of materials and other		1,517			1,463
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)		154			164
Depreciation and amortization		66			75
Cost of sales		1,737			1,702
Selling, general and administrative expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)		37			36
Depreciation and amortization		2			1
Loss on asset disposal		1			1
Operating (loss) income		(131	)		123
Other (expense) income:
Interest expense, net		(25	)		(20	)
Other income, net		2			4
(Loss) income before income tax benefit		(154	)		107
Income tax (benefit) expense		(49	)		17
Net (loss) income		(105	)		90
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest		18			8
Net (loss) income attributable to CVR Energy stockholders	$	(123	)	$	82

Basic and diluted (loss) earnings per share	$	(1.22	)	$	0.81
Dividends declared per share	$	—		$	0.50

Adjusted (loss) earnings per share *	$	(0.58	)	$	0.04
EBITDA *	$	(61	)	$	203
Adjusted EBITDA *	$	24		$	99

Weighted-average common shares outstanding – basic and diluted		100.5			100.5

_______________
* See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” section below.

Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Data

(in millions)	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024
Cash and cash equivalents	$	695	$	987
Working capital (inclusive of cash and cash equivalents)		395		726
Total assets		4,251		4,263
Total debt and finance lease obligations, including current portion		1,918		1,919
Total liabilities		3,480		3,375
Total CVR stockholders’ equity		580		703

Selected Consolidated Cash Flow Data

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)		2025			2024
Net cash used in:
Operating activities	$	(195	)	$	177
Investing activities		(82	)		(55	)
Financing activities		(15	)		(664	)
Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	$	(292	)	$	(542	)

Free cash flow *	$	(285	)	$	121

_______________
* See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” section below.

Selected Segment Data

	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2025										2024
(in millions)	Petroleum			Renewables		Nitrogen Fertilizer		Consolidated			Petroleum		Renewables			Nitrogen Fertilizer		Consolidated
Net sales	$	1,477		$	66	$	143	$	1,646		$	1,722	$	33		$	128	$	1,863
Operating (loss) income		(161	)		—		35		(131	)		118		(10	)		20		123
Net (loss) income		(160	)		—		27		(105	)		127		(10	)		13		90
EBITDA *		(119	)		6		53		(61	)		171		(4	)		40		203

Capital expenditures ⁽¹⁾
Maintenance	$	41		$	—	$	4	$	45		$	22	$	1		$	5	$	30
Growth		8			—		2		10			14		7			—		21
Total capital expenditures	$	49		$	—	$	6	$	55		$	36	$	8		$	5	$	51

_______________
* See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” section below.
(1) Capital expenditures are shown exclusive of capitalized turnaround expenditures.

Selected Balance Sheet Data

	March 31, 2025								December 31, 2024
(in millions)	Petroleum		Renewables		Nitrogen Fertilizer		Consolidated		Petroleum		Renewables		Nitrogen Fertilizer		Consolidated
Cash and cash equivalents ⁽¹⁾	$	434	$	20	$	122	$	695	$	735	$	13	$	91	$	987
Total assets		3,297		422		1,014		4,251		3,288		420		1,019		4,263
Total debt and finance lease obligations, including current portion ⁽²⁾		352		—		570		1,918		354		—		569		1,919

_______________
(1) Corporate cash and cash equivalents consisted of $119 million and $148 million at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
(2) Corporate total debt and finance lease obligations, including current portion consisted of $996 million and $996 million at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.

Petroleum Segment

Key Operating Metrics per Total Throughput Barrel

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)		2025			2024
Refining margin *	$	(0.42	)	$	16.29
Adjusted refining margin *		7.72			10.46
Direct operating expenses *		8.58			5.78

_______________
* See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” section below.

Refining Throughput and Production Data by Refinery

Throughput Data	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in bpd)		2025	2024
Coffeyville
Gathered crude		26,728	62,405
Other domestic		12,348	45,925
Canadian		640	9,532
Condensate		—	7,700
Other feedstocks and blendstocks		6,330	12,569
Wynnewood
Gathered crude		58,420	43,059
Other domestic		573	—
Condensate		10,152	10,262
Other feedstocks and blendstocks		5,186	4,340
Total throughput		120,377	195,792

Production Data	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in bpd)		2025		2024
Coffeyville
Gasoline		18,940		72,723
Distillate		20,233		56,007
Other liquid products		6,324		4,554
Solids		1,321		4,980
Wynnewood
Gasoline		39,740		31,984
Distillate		24,948		19,166
Other liquid products		5,058		5,563
Solids		11		6
Total production		116,575		194,983

Crude utilization ⁽¹⁾		52.7	%	86.6	%
Light product yield (as % of crude throughput) ⁽²⁾		95.4	%	100.6	%
Liquid volume yield (as % of total throughput) ⁽³⁾		95.7	%	97.0	%
Distillate yield (as % of crude throughput) ⁽⁴⁾		41.5	%	42.0	%

_______________
(1) Total Gathered crude, Other domestic, Canadian, and Condensate throughput (collectively, “Total Crude Throughput”) divided by consolidated crude oil throughput capacity of 206,500 bpd.
(2) Total Gasoline and Distillate divided by Total Crude Throughput.
(3) Total Gasoline, Distillate, and Other liquid products divided by total throughput.
(4) Total Distillate divided by Total Crude Throughput.

Key Market Indicators

	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2025			2024
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) NYMEX	$	71.42		$	76.91
Crude Oil Differentials to WTI:
Brent		3.56			4.85
WCS (heavy sour)		(12.45	)		(16.91	)
Condensate		(0.64	)		(0.83	)
Midland Cushing		1.10			1.59
NYMEX Crack Spreads:
Gasoline		16.83			22.55
Heating Oil		28.46			36.87
NYMEX 2-1-1 Crack Spread		22.64			29.71
PADD II Group 3 Product Basis:
Gasoline		(2.81	)		(9.97	)
Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel		(7.19	)		(10.35	)
PADD II Group 3 Product Crack Spread:
Gasoline		14.02			12.58
Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel		21.27			26.51
PADD II Group 3 2-1-1		17.65			19.55

Renewables Segment

Key Operating Metrics per Vegetable Oil Throughput Gallon

	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2025		2024
Renewables margin *	$	1.13	$	0.65
Adjusted renewables margin *		0.94		0.47
Direct operating expenses *		0.48		0.84

_______________
* See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” section below.

Renewables Throughput and Production Data

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in gallons per day)		2025		2024
Throughput Data
Corn Oil		19,503		31,295
Soybean Oil		136,440		44,362

Production Data
Renewable diesel		144,189		62,594

Renewable utilization ⁽¹⁾		61.9	%	30.0	%
Renewable diesel yield (as % of corn and soybean oil throughput)		92.5	%	82.7	%

_______________
(1) Total corn and soybean oil throughput divided by total renewable throughput capacity of 252,000 gallons per day.

Key Market Indicators

	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2025		2024
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean oil (dollars per pound)	$	0.44	$	0.47
Midwest crude corn oil (dollars per pound)		0.47		0.55
CARB ULSD (dollars per gallon)		2.41		2.66
NYMEX ULSD (dollars per gallon)		2.38		2.71
California LCFS (dollars per metric ton)		66.12		63.53
Biodiesel RINs (dollars per RIN)		0.79		0.58

Nitrogen Fertilizer Segment

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(percent of capacity utilization)		2025		2024
Ammonia utilization rate ⁽¹⁾		101	%	90	%

_______________
(1) Reflects our ammonia utilization rate on a consolidated basis. Utilization is an important measure used by management to assess operational output at each of CVR Partners’ facilities. Utilization is calculated as actual tons produced divided by capacity. We present our utilization for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 and take into account the impact of our current turnaround cycles on any specific period. Additionally, we present utilization solely on ammonia production rather than each nitrogen product as it provides a comparative baseline against industry peers and eliminates the disparity of plant configurations for upgrade of ammonia into other nitrogen products. With our efforts being primarily focused on ammonia upgrade capabilities, this measure provides a meaningful view of how well we operate.

Sales and Production Data

	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2025		2024
Consolidated sales volumes (thousands of tons):
Ammonia		60		70
UAN		336		284

Consolidated product pricing at gate (dollars per ton): ⁽¹⁾
Ammonia	$	554	$	528
UAN		256		267

Consolidated production volume (thousands of tons):
Ammonia (gross produced) ⁽²⁾		216		193
Ammonia (net available for sale) ⁽²⁾		64		60
UAN		348		305

Feedstock:
Petroleum coke used in production (thousands of tons)		131		128
Petroleum coke used in production (dollars per ton)	$	42.43	$	75.71
Natural gas used in production (thousands of MMBtus) ⁽³⁾		2,159		2,148
Natural gas used in production (dollars per MMBtu) ⁽³⁾	$	4.62	$	3.10
Natural gas in cost of materials and other (thousands of MMBtus) ⁽³⁾		1,605		1,765
Natural gas in cost of materials and other (dollars per MMBtu) ⁽³⁾	$	4.63	$	3.49

_______________
(1) Product pricing at gate represents sales less freight revenue divided by product sales volume in tons and is shown in order to provide a pricing measure that is comparable across the fertilizer industry.
(2) Gross tons produced for ammonia represent total ammonia produced, including ammonia produced that was upgraded into other fertilizer products. Net tons available for sale represent ammonia available for sale that was not upgraded into other fertilizer products.
(3) The feedstock natural gas shown above does not include natural gas used for fuel. The cost of fuel natural gas is included in direct operating expense.

Key Market Indicators

	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2025		2024
Ammonia — Southern plains (dollars per ton)	$	562	$	567
Ammonia — Corn belt (dollars per ton)		618		598
UAN — Corn belt (dollars per ton)		324		292

Natural gas NYMEX (dollars per MMBtu)	$	3.87	$	2.10

Q2 2025 Outlook

The table below summarizes our outlook for certain operational statistics and financial information for the second quarter of 2025. See “Forward-Looking Statements” above.

	Q2 2025
	Low			High
Petroleum
Total throughput (bpd)		160,000			180,000
Crude utilization ⁽¹⁾		82	%		90	%
Direct operating expenses (in millions) ⁽²⁾	$	105		$	115
Turnaround (in millions) ⁽³⁾		15			20

Renewables
Total throughput (in millions of gallons)		16			20
Renewable utilization ⁽⁴⁾		70	%		87	%
Direct operating expenses (in millions) ⁽²⁾	$	8		$	10

Nitrogen Fertilizer
Ammonia utilization rate		93	%		97	%
Direct operating expenses (in millions) ⁽²⁾	$	57		$	62

Capital Expenditures (in millions) ⁽³⁾
Petroleum	$	35		$	40
Renewables		2			4
Nitrogen Fertilizer		18			22
Other		1			3
Total capital expenditures	$	56		$	69

_______________
(1) Represents crude oil throughput divided by consolidated crude oil throughput capacity of 206,500 bpd.
(2) Direct operating expenses are shown exclusive of depreciation and amortization, turnaround expenses, and inventory valuation impacts.
(3) Turnaround and capital expenditures are disclosed on an accrual basis.
(4) Represents renewable feedstock throughput divided by total renewable throughput capacity of 252,000 gallons per day.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

Reconciliation of Net (Loss) Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)		2025			2024
Net (loss) income	$	(105	)	$	90
Interest expense, net		25			20
Income tax (benefit) expense		(49	)		17
Depreciation and amortization		68			76
EBITDA		(61	)		203
Adjustments:
Revaluation of RFS liability, unfavorable (favorable)		112			(91	)
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives, net		(3	)		24
Inventory valuation impacts, favorable		(24	)		(37	)
Adjusted EBITDA	$	24		$	99

Reconciliation of Basic and Diluted (Loss) Earnings per Share to Adjusted (Loss) Earnings per Share

	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2025			2024
Basic and diluted (loss) earnings per share	$	(1.22	)	$	0.81
Adjustments: ⁽¹⁾
Revaluation of RFS liability, unfavorable (favorable)		0.84			(0.67	)
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives, net		(0.03	)		0.18
Inventory valuation impacts, favorable		(0.17	)		(0.28	)
Adjusted (loss) earnings per share	$	(0.58	)	$	0.04

_______________
(1) Amounts are shown after-tax, using the Company’s marginal tax rate, and are presented on a per share basis using the weighted average shares outstanding for each period.

Reconciliation of Net Cash (Used In) Provided By Operating Activities to Free Cash Flow

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)		2025			2024
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities	$	(195	)	$	177
Less:
Capital expenditures		(51	)		(47	)
Capitalized turnaround expenditures		(43	)		(12	)
Return of equity method investment		4			3
Free cash flow	$	(285	)	$	121

Reconciliation of Petroleum Segment Net (Loss) Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)		2025			2024
Petroleum net (loss) income	$	(160	)	$	127
Interest (income) expense, net		—			(4	)
Depreciation and amortization		41			48
Petroleum EBITDA		(119	)		171
Adjustments:
Revaluation of RFS liability, unfavorable (favorable)		112			(91	)
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives, net		(3	)		24
Inventory valuation impacts, favorable ⁽¹⁾		(20	)		(37	)
Petroleum Adjusted EBITDA	$	(30	)	$	67

Reconciliation of Petroleum Segment Gross (Loss) Profit to Refining Margin and Adjusted Refining Margin

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)		2025			2024
Net sales	$	1,477		$	1,722
Less:
Cost of materials and other		(1,482	)		(1,432	)
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)		(93	)		(103	)
Depreciation and amortization		(41	)		(48	)
Gross (loss) profit		(139	)		139
Add:
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)		93			103
Depreciation and amortization		41			48
Refining margin		(5	)		290
Adjustments:
Revaluation of RFS liability, unfavorable (favorable)		112			(91	)
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives, net		(3	)		24
Inventory valuation impacts, favorable ⁽¹⁾		(20	)		(37	)
Adjusted refining margin	$	84		$	186

Total throughput barrels per day		120,377			195,792
Days in the period		90			91
Total throughput barrels		10,833,969			17,817,099

Refining margin per total throughput barrel	$	(0.42	)	$	16.29
Adjusted refining margin per total throughput barrel		7.72			10.46
Direct operating expenses per total throughput barrel		8.58			5.78

_______________
(1) The Petroleum Segment’s basis for determining inventory value under GAAP is First-In, First-Out (“FIFO”). Changes in crude oil prices can cause fluctuations in the inventory valuation of crude oil, work in process and finished goods, thereby resulting in a favorable inventory valuation impact when crude oil prices increase and an unfavorable inventory valuation impact when crude oil prices decrease. The inventory valuation impact is calculated based upon inventory values at the beginning of the accounting period and at the end of the accounting period.

Reconciliation of Renewables Segment Net Income (Loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)		2025			2024
Renewables net income (loss)	$	—		$	(10	)
Depreciation and amortization		6			6
Renewables EBITDA		6			(4	)
Adjustments:
Inventory valuation impacts, favorable ⁽¹⁾		(3	)		(1	)
Renewables Adjusted EBITDA	$	3		$	(5	)

Reconciliation of Renewables Segment Gross Profit (Loss) to Renewables Margin and Adjusted Renewables Margin

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions, except throughput data)		2025			2024
Net sales	$	66		$	33
Less:
Cost of materials and other		50			29
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)		6			5
Depreciation and amortization		6			6
Gross profit (loss)		4			(7	)
Add:
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)		6			5
Depreciation and amortization		6			6
Renewables margin		16			4
Inventory valuation impacts, favorable ⁽¹⁾		(3	)		(1	)
Adjusted renewables margin	$	13		$	3

Total vegetable oil throughput gallons per day		155,943			75,657
Days in the period		90			91
Total vegetable oil throughput gallons		14,034,826			6,884,761

Renewables margin per vegetable oil throughput gallon	$	1.13		$	0.65
Adjusted renewables margin per vegetable oil throughput gallon		0.94			0.47
Direct operating expenses per vegetable oil throughput gallon		0.48			0.84

_______________
(1) The Renewables Segment’s basis for determining inventory value under GAAP is FIFO. Changes in renewable diesel and renewable feedstock prices can cause fluctuations in the inventory valuation of renewable diesel, work in process and finished goods, thereby resulting in a favorable inventory valuation impact when renewable diesel prices increase and an unfavorable inventory valuation impact when renewable diesel prices decrease. The inventory valuation impact is calculated based upon inventory values at the beginning of the accounting period and at the end of the accounting period.

Reconciliation of Nitrogen Fertilizer Segment Net Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)		2025		2024
Nitrogen Fertilizer net income	$	27	$	13
Interest expense, net		8		8
Depreciation and amortization		18		19
Nitrogen Fertilizer EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA	$	53	$	40

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: Powell Max Limited Announces 2024 Audited Financial Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

HONG KONG, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Powell Max Limited (Nasdaq: PMAX) (the “Company” or “Powell Max”), a financial communications services provider headquartered in Hong Kong, today announced the audited financial results of the Company and its subsidiary for the financial year ended December 31, 2024.

Overview:

Revenue was HK$36.5 million (US$4.7 million) for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing a decrease of 25.7% for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Net loss was HK$18.1 million (US$2.3 million) for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared with the profit for the year of HK$7.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Financial Results for the year ended December 31, 2024

Revenue. Revenue decreased by 25.7% from HK$49.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to HK$36.5 million (US$4.7 million) for the year ended December 31, 2024, which was mainly due to the decrease in both the revenue from corporate financial communications services and IPO financial printing services.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 1.28 times from HK$10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to HK$24.9 million (US$3.2 million) for the year ended December 31, 2024, which was mainly due to the incurrence of issuance expenses (which consisted of professional fee and related expenses relating to the equity line of credit under standby equity purchase agreement entered into with YA II PN, Ltd. on November 21, 2024), an increase in professional services fees and an increase in employee benefits expense.

Selling and distribution expenses. Selling and distribution expenses increased by 55.6% from HK$4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to HK$7.0 million (US$0.9 million) for the year ended December 31, 2024, which was mainly due to an increase in the number of staff in our sales team and an increase in other expenses on business development and marketing. In light of the reduction of capital market activities in Hong Kong, we have allocated extra resources on sales and marketing with the view to maintain our market presence.

Net loss. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2024 was HK$18.1 million (US$2.3 million), as compared with the profit for the year of HK$7.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Basic and diluted loss per share. Basic and diluted loss per share was HK$1.37 (US$0.18) per ordinary share for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to a basic and diluted earning per share of HK$0.56 per ordinary share for the year ended December 31, 2023.

About Powell Max Limited

Powell Max Limited is a financial communications services provider headquartered in Hong Kong. The Company engages in the provision of financial communications services that support capital market compliance and transaction needs for corporate clients and their advisors in Hong Kong. Its financial communications services cover a full range of financial printing, corporate reporting, communications and language support services from inception to completion, including typesetting, proofreading, translation, design, printing, electronic reporting, newspaper placement and distribution. The Company’s clients consist of domestic and international companies listed in Hong Kong, together with companies who are seeking to list in Hong Kong, as well as their advisors.

Exchange Rate Information

The Company is a holding company with operations conducted in Hong Kong through JAN Financial Press Limited and Miracle Media Production Limited (which was acquired after the reporting period), its direct wholly-owned operating subsidiaries. The operating subsidiaries’ reporting currency is Hong Kong dollars. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Hong Kong dollars to United States Dollars in this press release were calculated the noon middle rate of US$1 — HK$7.7677, as published in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on December 31, 2024, respectively. No representation is made that the HK$ amount represents or could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into US$ at that rate, or at any other rate.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Words such as “will,” future,” “expects,” “believes,” and “intends,” or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Rounding Amounts and Percentages

Certain amounts and percentages included in this press release have been rounded for ease of presentation. Percentage figures included in this press release have not in all cases been calculated on the basis of such rounded figures, but on the basis of such amounts prior to rounding.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

Company Info:

Powell Max Limited
Investor Relations
ir@janfp.com
(852) 2158 2888

POWELL MAX LIMITED AND ITS SUBSIDIARY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION

	As of December 31
	2023			2024
	HK$			HK$			US$
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment		5,819,230			4,253,686			547,612
Total non-current assets		5,819,230			4,253,686			547,612

Current assets
Trade and other receivables		13,510,032			16,096,160			2,072,191
Cash and bank balances		3,660,213			42,222,014			5,435,588
Total current assets		17,170,245			58,318,174			7,507,779

Total assets		22,989,475			62,571,860			8,055,391

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		27,376,032			12,990,458			1,672,368
Contract liabilities		1,524,761			1,310,435			168,703
Bank borrowings		4,767,829			3,845,863			495,110
Lease liabilities		3,361,230			1,376,122			177,159
Derivative		—			6,756,516			869,822
Convertible promissory notes		—			13,860,647			1,784,395
Total current liabilities		37,029,852			40,140,041			5,167,557

Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables		150,000			150,000			19,311
Lease liabilities		1,122,591			1,014,182			130,564
Total non-current liabilities		1,272,591			1,164,182			149,875

Total liabilities		38,302,443			41,304,223			5,317,432

Equity attributable to owners of the Company
Share capital		9,750			11,457			1,475
Accumulated losses		(15,680,728	)		(33,754,822	)		(4,345,537	)
Reserves		358,010			55,011,002			7,082,021
Total equity		(15,312,968	)		21,267,637			2,737,959

Total liabilities and equity		22,989,475			62,571,860			8,055,391

POWELL MAX LIMITED AND ITS SUBSIDIARY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

	Year ended December 31,
	2022			2023			2024
	HK$			HK$			HK$			US$
Revenue		37,772,821			49,121,839			36,461,260			4,693,958
Cost of sales		(22,217,680	)		(25,238,821	)		(22,081,030	)		(2,842,673	)
Gross profit		15,555,141			23,883,018			14,380,230			1,851,285

Other income and gain		1,851,815			54,116			1,952,986			251,425
General and administrative expenses		(10,723,611	)		(10,862,255	)		(24,854,036	)		(3,199,665	)
Selling and distribution expenses		(5,250,421	)		(4,530,134	)		(7,049,538	)		(907,545	)
Allowance of expected credit loss – trade receivables		(841,051	)		(914,788	)		(488,640	)		(62,908	)

Profit/(Loss) from operations		591,873			7,629,957			(16,058,998	)		(2,067,408	)
Finance costs		(690,476	)		(550,714	)		(2,015,096	)		(259,418	)

(Loss)/Profit before income tax		(98,603	)		7,079,243			(18,074,094	)		(2,326,826	)
Income tax expense		—			—			—			—
(Loss)/Profit for the year		(98,603	)		7,079,243			(18,074,094	)		(2,326,826	)

Other comprehensive (loss)/income:
Exchange differences on foreign currency translations		25,138			(47,378	)		48,424			6,234
Total comprehensive (loss)/income for the year		(73,465	)		7,031,865			(18,025,670	)		(2,320,592	)

(Loss)/Earnings per share attributable to owners of the Company
Basic and diluted		(0.01	)		0.56			(1.37	)		(0.18	)

Weighted average number of ordinary shares
Basic and diluted		12,500,000			12,500,000			13,178,314			13,178,314

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: Crane Harbor Acquisition Corp. Completes $220 Million Initial Public Offering

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

PHILADELPHIA, PA, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Crane Harbor Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:CHACU) (the “Company”) today announced the closing of its initial public offering of 22,000,000 units, which includes 2,000,000 units issued pursuant to the exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option. The offering was priced at $10.00 per unit, resulting in gross proceeds of $220,000,000. Of the proceeds received from the consummation of the initial public offering (including the exercise of the over-allotment option) and a simultaneous private placement of units, $220,000,000 was placed in the Company’s trust account for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders.

The Company’s units began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) on April 25, 2025 under the ticker symbol “CHACU.” Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company and one right to receive one tenth (1/10) of a Class A ordinary share upon the consummation of the Company’s initial business combination. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and rights are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “CHAC” and “CHACR,” respectively.

The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The Company may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business or industry or at any stage of its corporate evolution. The Company’s primary focus, however, will be to identify companies in the technology, real assets, and energy sectors. The Company’s management team is led by Jonathan Z. Cohen, its Chairman of the Board of Directors, Edward E. Cohen, Vice Chairman, William Fradin, Chief Executive Officer, Tom Elliott, Chief Financial Officer, and Jeffrey Brotman, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

Cohen & Company Capital Markets, a division of J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC, acted as the sole lead book-running manager for the offering. JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC acted as joint book-running manager. Stevens & Lee, P.C. served as legal counsel to the Company, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to the underwriters.

A registration statement relating to the securities was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 24, 2025. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Contact Information:

Crane Harbor Acquisition Corp.
craneharbor@hepcollc.com

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Plantro Ltd. Announces Extension of Tender Offer to Acquire up to 15% of Class A Limited Voting Shares of Information Services Corporation

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Plantro Ltd. (“Plantro”) today announced that it is extending its ongoing all-cash tender offer (the “Tender Offer”) to acquire up to 2,777,242 class A limited voting shares (the “Class A Shares”) in the capital of Information Services Corporation (TSX: ISC) (“ISC” or the “Company”).

Pursuant to the extension, the terms of which are set out in a notice of variation and extension dated April 28, 2025 (the “Notice of Variation and Extension”), Plantro has extended the expiry date of the Tender Offer to 5:00pm (Eastern Time) on May 5, 2025, unless further varied, extended, or withdrawn in accordance with the terms of the Tender Offer (the “Expiry Time”).

Shareholders of ISC who have already validly deposited and not withdrawn their Class A Shares are not required to take any further action to accept the Tender Offer. No Class A Shares will be taken up and paid for by Plantro pursuant to the Tender Offer until after the Expiry Time.

All other terms of the Tender Offer remain unchanged. Details of the Tender Offer, including instructions for tendering Class A Shares, are included in the amended and restated offer dated April 14, 2025 (the “Offer Document”), as amended by the Notice of Variation and Extension (the Notice of Variation and Extension together with the Offer Document and the amended and restated letter of transmittal dated April 14, 2025, the “Offer Documents”). The Notice of Variation and Extension will be filed and made available on ISC’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Shareholders of ISC should carefully read the Offer Documents prior to making a decision with respect to the Tender Offer.

About Plantro
Plantro is a privately held company, with an established track record of making successful investments in undervalued and high quality legal, financial, and information services businesses.

Shareholder Questions
Shareholders of ISC who have questions with respect to the Tender Offer, or who need assistance in depositing their Class A Shares, please contact the depositary or the information agent for the Tender Offer at the contact details below:

Depositary: Odyssey Trust Company
Toll Free (US & Canada): 1-888-290-1175
Calls (All Regions): 587-885-0960
Email: corp.actions@odysseytrust.com

Information Agent: Carson Proxy
North America Toll Free: 1-800-530-5189
Local and Text: 416-751-2066
Email: info@carsonproxy.com

Information in Support of Public Broadcast Exemption Under Canadian Law
Plantro is relying on the exemption under section 9.2(4) of National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations to make this public broadcast solicitation. The following information is provided in accordance with corporate and securities laws applicable to public broadcast solicitations.

This solicitation is being made by Plantro, and not by or on behalf of management of ISC. The information agent will receive a fee of up to $250,000 for its services as information agent under the Tender Offer, plus ancillary payments and disbursements. Based upon publicly available information, ISC’s registered and head office is located at 300 – 10 Research Drive, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 7J7, Canada. Plantro is soliciting proxies in reliance upon the public broadcast exemption to the solicitation requirements under applicable Canadian corporate and securities laws, conveyed by way of public broadcast, including press release, speech or publication, and by any other manner permitted under applicable Canadian securities laws. In addition, this solicitation may be made by mail, telephone, facsimile, email or other electronic means as well as by newspaper or other media advertising and in person by representatives of Plantro. All costs incurred for such solicitation will be borne by Plantro.

Subject to the terms of the Offer Documents, a registered shareholder who has given a proxy under the terms of the amended and restated letter of transmittal may, prior to its Class A Shares being taken up and paid for under the Tender Offer, revoke the proxy by instrument in writing, including a proxy bearing a later date. The instrument revoking the proxy must be deposited at the registered office of ISC at least 48 hours, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, preceding the date of the meeting or an adjournment or postponement thereof, or with the Chair of the meeting on the day of the meeting, or in any other manner permitted by law, provided that, in each circumstance, a copy of such revocation has been delivered to the depositary, at its principal office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada prior to the Class A Shares relating to such proxy having been taken up and paid for under the Tender Offer.

Subject to the terms of the Offer Documents, a non-registered shareholder may revoke a form of proxy or voting instruction form given to an intermediary at any time by written notice to the intermediary in accordance with the instructions given to the non-registered shareholder by its intermediary. Non-registered shareholders should contact their broker for assistance in ensuring that forms of proxies or voting instructions previously given to an intermediary are properly revoked.

None of Plantro nor, to its knowledge, any of its associates or affiliates, has any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction since the commencement of ISC’s most recently completed financial year, or in any proposed transaction which has materially affected or will materially affect ISC or any of its subsidiaries. None of Plantro nor, to its knowledge, any of its associates or affiliates, has any material interest, direct or indirect, by way of beneficial ownership of securities or otherwise, in any matter to be acted upon at any upcoming shareholders’ meeting, other than as set out herein and in the Offer Documents.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release may contain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Specifically, certain statements contained in this press release, including without limitation statements regarding the Tender Offer, taking up and paying for Class A Shares deposited under the Tender Offer, and the expiry of the Tender Offer, contain “forward-looking information” and are prospective in nature. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as “plans”, “targets”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “an opportunity exists”, “is positioned”, “estimates”, “intends”, “assumes”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate” or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “will” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking statements.

Statements containing forward-looking information are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future outcomes expressed or implied by the statements containing forward-looking information.

Although Plantro believes that the expectations reflected in statements containing forward-looking information herein made by it (and not, for greater certainty, any forward-looking statements attributable to the Company) are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in formulating the forward-looking information contained herein include the assumption that the business and economic conditions affecting the Company’s operations will continue substantially in the current state, including, without limitation, with respect to industry conditions, general levels of economic activity, continuity and availability of personnel, local and international laws and regulations, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates, inflation, taxes, that there will be no unplanned material changes to the Company’s operations, and that the Company’s public disclosure record is accurate in all material respects and is not misleading (including by omission).

Plantro cautions that the foregoing list of material factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. While these factors and assumptions are considered by Plantro to be appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances as of the date of this press release, they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Plantro and there is no assurance that they will prove correct.

Important facts that could cause outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information include, among other things, actions taken by the Company in respect of the Tender Offer, the content of subsequent public disclosures by the Company, the failure to satisfy the conditions to the Tender Offer, general economic conditions, legislative or regulatory changes and changes in capital or securities markets. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the opinions, estimates or assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results or future events might vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Although Plantro has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other risk factors not presently known to Plantro or that Plantro presently believes are not material that could also cause actual results or future events to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking information.

Statements containing forward-looking information in this press release are based on Plantro’s beliefs and opinions at the time the statements are made, and there should be no expectation that such forward-looking information will be updated or supplemented as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, and Plantro disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by applicable law. All of the forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Honoring Creative Leadership in Colorado: Gov. Polis Announces 2025 Governor’s Creative Leadership Awards

Source: US State of Colorado

To be presented at the Colorado Creative Industries Summit in Grand Junction, May 2

DENVER — Today, the Polis Administration and the Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced the 2025 recipients of the Governor’s Creative Leadership Awards to recognize Coloradans who have demonstrated a significant commitment to the state’s creative landscape through civic leadership and volunteerism.

“In Colorado, we celebrate the arts as a key economic driver, job creator, and important contributor to our thriving culture. The arts commemorate who we were, celebrate who we are, and shape who we want to be,” said Gov. Polis. “We are grateful to the recipients announced today for their work to continually elevate this important part of Colorado’s culture and economy.”

The Governor’s Creative Leadership awards will be presented on Friday, May 2, at the Colorado Creative Industries Summit at the Grand Junction Convention Center in Grand Junction, Colorado. The awards luncheon will also feature a keynote address by Theo Edmunds, Culture Futurist®, and poetry readings by Wendy Videlock, Western Slope Poet Laureate, and Rize Simmons, Poetry Out Loud State Champion. Press interested in attending and covering the awards luncheon should contact Libby Barbee at libby.barbee@state.co.us or Emma Acheson at emma.acheson@state.co.us.

“The arts and creative industries thrive in Colorado because every year, people and communities across the state promote and celebrate their many contributions to our way of life and our economy. We are thrilled to recognize the incredible contributions of the recipients announced today. Congratulations!” said OEDIT Executive Director Eve Lieberman.

Three categories of Creative Leadership Awards are presented to community members who have demonstrated a significant commitment to Colorado’s creative landscape through advocacy, vision, collaboration, or innovation: Arts and Community Action, Arts and Advocacy, and Arts and Creative Placemaking.

This year’s awards were created by local Grand Junction artist, Roni Schwinn. Schwinn was born and raised in Western Colorado, and is the owner of Working Artists Gallery & Studio in downtown Grand Junction. Her stained glass works presented to the recipients on May 2 will depict iconic Colorado landscapes from around the state.

“Arts and creativity play a critical role in community development and cultural identity,” said CCI Director, Josh Blanchard. “These outstanding artists and arts leaders work to support the growth of the creative economy, establish and maintain public creative spaces, and champion the arts as critical to healthy communities. Their leadership and commitment make Colorado better, a place where arts and culture are for everyone.”

The 2025 Creative Leadership Award recipients include the following (photos available by request):

Dana Valdez Maestas

Arts and Community Action Award: Presented to individuals that have demonstrated selfless service, inspired others to take action or catalyze change in their community using the arts.

Dana Valdez Maestas is a sixth-generation resident of the San Luis Valley and southern Colorado. She is a Latina business owner and art consultant at Jacales Fine Art, a gallery in San Luis, Colorado. Also a freelance journalist, Maestas is the author of Images of America: San Luis, a pictorial history book. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communications and Marketing from the University of Colorado. Her writings have appeared in numerous publications and newspapers including the Colorado Springs Gazette, Muse, Santa Fe Circle, Valley Courier, Taos News, Costilla County Free Press and La Sierra. She is a grant writer for several San Luis Valley nonprofits, and Adams State University.

Maestas partnered with Social Practice Arts Resident Shelby Head and the Land Rights Council to co-produce and document seven land grant heirs’ personal stories concerning the historic use rights to La Sierra (formerly the Taylor Ranch), the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant. She co-authored and produced “The Miracle of San Acacio”, a historical play, worked with elementary students to create an ABC book on San Luis, and worked on a school curriculum project, “Preserving the Hispano Farm”. Currently Maestas is working on a Traditional & Folk Arts project to document and record the elders of the Rio Culebra Villages within the Culebra Watershed. Maestas has been a community advocate for the past 30 years, founding and spearheading art projects such as the Summer Arts Network, San Luis Performing Arts Series, Escultura San Luis, and ARTscape Sculpture Program in Alamosa, CO. She has also sat on several boards, namely the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area, Colorado Arts Consortium, Soul Players of the Valley, and Adobe de Oro Concilio de Artes.

Andy Sanchez

Arts and Advocacy Award: Honors individuals who work to advance economically vibrant, healthy, and equitable communities by ensuring that arts, culture and the creative industries and its workforce are valued and supported through policy, research, civic engagement, professional services and access.

As a Pueblo, Colorado native, Andy Sanchez is an advocate for arts and culture in Colorado committed to furthering everyone’s access to quality of life through such advocacy. His past work for both the University of Colorado and Colorado State University systems and his post-graduate study in fine art and business supports his work in art administration now. His work as the CEO of the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center for the last three years and his board service there for nearly six years prior has been alongside a team that also recognizes the needs of the greater community that surrounds it. Sanchez and the team oversee an accredited American Alliance of Museums arts campus that has over 84,000 square feet inclusive of an award-winning Children’s STEAM Museum, galleries, theatre, conference space, and educational programming that includes the practice of dance, performance, and the visual arts. His focus through his advocacy and work is to bolster the growth of Colorado arts and culture responsibly, yet with impactful results that leave it better prepared for our future and the next group of collaborators in the arts. All with stakeholders that support and steward resources sustainably while always encouraging innovation and quality of work to come.

Cindy and David Starr

Arts and Creative Placemaking Award: Honors individuals who use the arts to envision new futures through activities such as activating a public space, animating a community or sparking redevelopment.

Cindy and David Starr have significantly impacted the cultural scene in Cedaredge, Colorado, a town of 2,400 residents, and beyond on the Western Slope of Colorado.

Cindy brought the Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center (GMAEC) to fruition after gathering a group of like-minded citizens from different backgrounds together in 2017 and working to open the center by June 2018. Cindy served as President of the Board of Directors for six years, a time in which GMAEC saw tremendous growth in programming, membership and reputation. It has grown into a campus, after securing a nearby auto repair garage that has been renovated into art and pottery studios. The campus is connected by a newly-acquired parking lot. Cindy recently retired from her presidency position, but remains on the board as past president and is very active at the center in various roles.

David is a professional musician and guitar store owner who has lived in Cedaredge for 24 years. He has singlehandedly changed the music scene in Cedaredge and the Surface Creek Valley through his musical advocacy and concert promotion. David was involved with the Art Center from the very beginning, overseeing the renovation of the 1904 historic Main Street building in Cedaredge. David created an outdoor venue in 2020, that allows 300-400 enthusiastic patrons to enjoy concerts every Friday night throughout the summer months. He also serves on the Board of Directors and continues to give generously of his resources and time. His 50+ years in the music business has been a valuable asset to the center.

Cindy and David Starr’s love of the community and the people extends beyond the Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center. Their generous contributions continue to improve the vitality and quality of life of Cedaredge.

About Colorado Creative Industries

Colorado Creative Industries is a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Established to capitalize on the immense potential for our creative sector to enhance economic growth in Colorado, the mission of Colorado Creative Industries is to promote, support and expand the creative industries to drive Colorado’s economy, grow jobs and enhance our quality of life. For more information, visit oedit.colorado.gov/colorado-creative-industries.

About the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) works to empower all to thrive in Colorado’s economy. Under the leadership of the Governor and in collaboration with economic development partners across the state, we foster a thriving business environment through funding and financial programs, training, consulting and informational resources across industries and regions. We promote economic growth and long-term job creation by recruiting, retaining, and expanding Colorado businesses and providing programs that support entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes at every stage of growth. Our goal is to protect what makes our state a great place to live, work, start a business, raise a family, visit and retire—and make it accessible to everyone. Learn more about OEDIT.

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MIL OSI USA News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Financial News: Discrete auction held for VTBR securities

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

Vtbr

VTB JSC

As of 14:05:00 the current price was 106.98 rubles. (Deviation – 22.97%).

There was an increase of 20.00% or more within 10 consecutive minutes of the current share price from the closing price of the previous trading day (87 rubles).

In the Main Trading Mode T, a discrete auction (DA) will be held from 14:09:00.

In other non-addressed trading modes during the DA period, trading is conducted in accordance with the established regulations.

End of DA and resumption of trading at 14:39:00.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

HTTPS: //VVV. MOEX.K.M.M.

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Afreximbank launches US$3 Billion Revolving Intra-African Oil Import Financing Programme
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

CAIRO, Egypt, April 28, 2025/APO Group/ —

To address Africa’s persistent reliance on imported refined petroleum products, which accounted for an amount of US$30billion annually in petroleum import costs due to inadequate refining, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has launched a US$3 Billion Revolving Intra-African Oil Trade Financing Programme to finance the purchase of refined petroleum products by African and Caribbean oil buyers.

As a revolving facility, we expect it to finance about US$10 billion to US$14 billion of Intra-African petroleum imports. This programme seeks to leverage the growing refining capacity that Afreximbank has helped establish across the continent, while aligning with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which includes facilitating intra-African trade, promoting industrialisation, and creating jobs on the continent.

By deploying innovative trade finance and supply chain solutions tailored to key stakeholders’ needs in terms of tenure, price format and logistics requirements, this initiative supports Afreximbank’s strategic goals of advancing energy security, strengthening regional value chains, and fostering economic resilience within the continent and the Caribbean.

Afreximbank is the largest financier of the Dangote refinery which commenced operations in January 2024 and is also supporting the financing of the 200,000 bpd Lobito Refinery development, building on the progress made on the 60,000 bpd Cabinda Refinery, which it also supported. In addition, the Bank has financed the refurbishment of the 210,000 bpd Port Harcourt Refinery, and recently approved financing in support of the development of Bua Refinery and Azikel Refinery, all in Nigeria. Through these investments, and the continual trade finance support for Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR), Cote d’Ivoire, Afreximbank is on its way to creating over 1.3 million bpd refining capacity and helping to convert the Gulf of Guinea from an exporter of crude oil into an important refining hub for the continent and the world.

Key products to be traded under the programme are refined petroleum products including but not limited to Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), Jet Fuel, and Kerosene. The eligible exporters are refineries operating in Africa.

The US$3 billion Revolving Intra-African Oil Import Financing Programme is intended to mainly provide critical trade finance to oil traders (both African and international), banks, and Governments – represented by their Ministry of Finance or Ministry of Petroleum Resources/Energy – and state-owned enterprises mandated to import refined petroleum products, who seek to source refined products from African Refineries for onward consumption within the continent and export opportunities as may be applicable. Afreximbank, affiliated trading entity ATDC Minerals (ATMIN) will also participate actively in the trading and financing activities of the leading African oil trading companies with long term relationship with Afreximbank who are also expected to support this effort.

An approved applicant will be able to request utilization under the Global Limit within allocated sub-limits upon KYC clearance and satisfactory completion of conditions precedent as follows:
- Issuance/Confirmation of Letters of Credit or any acceptable trade instrument with refineries in Africa as beneficiaries
- Discounting of Letters of Credit or any acceptable trade instrument to the benefit of refineries in Africa
- Prepayment and direct advances to eligible refineries in Africa
Commenting on the launch, Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank, said that the programme “would galvanise efforts towards making the Gulf of Guinea a key refining hub. Whilst the programme will have a direct impact on the volume of the refined petroleum products produced and consumed in Africa, it will also have a multiplier effect on the downstream petroleum value chain as it will catalyse critical investments in shipping and marine logistics for intra and extra African trade of crude oil and refined products. The multiplier effect will also be seen in marine cargo insurance and other ancillary businesses within the sector. We want to see an increased proportion of the about 4 mbpd of crude oil produced in the Gulf of Guinea refined in Africa.”

Also commenting on the initiative, His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, said:

“This programme is a clear demonstration of Africa’s resolve to take charge of its own energy future. We commend Afreximbank for this timely intervention, which stands to benefit African countries like Malawi by reducing import dependency, strengthening regional supply chains, and keeping more value within the continent. Most importantly, it will deliver real impact to our citizens by ensuring more stable and affordable access to refined petroleum products, which are essential to Malawians’ daily life and economic productivity.”

MIL OSI Africa –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Afreximbank announces specialized African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) training to empower African businesses

Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

CAIRO, Egypt, April 28, 2025/APO Group/ —

To enable African businesses to fully capitalise on the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has announced a specialized training program designed to equip enterprises with a deep understanding of the agreement’s commercial implications and transformative potential.

Scheduled to take place in Abuja, Nigeria, from June 30 to July 2, 2025, the training program is designed to provide businesses with practical policy-relevant insights into the AfCFTA’s evolving regulatory and institutional landscape. It will help participants interpret key treaty instruments, ensuring compliance with new trade rules while enhancing their knowledge of regional integration and operational mechanisms. Additionally, the program will serve as a crucial platform for guiding both prospective and existing exporters on new trade developments, equipping them with the tools to navigate tariff and non-tariff barriers across the continent.

Conceived and implemented by Afreximbank in collaboration with the American University in Cairo (AUC) and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the training is expected to attract a diverse range of participants, including African corporates engaged in import and export activities, Trade Support Institutions such as Trade Promotion Organizations and Chambers of Commerce, Investment Promotion Agencies, Export Trading Companies, Financial Institutions, and the broader foreign trade community.

Participants will also benefit from tailored presentations on key Afreximbank products and initiatives that support the AfCFTA’s implementation, including the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), Africa Trade Gateway (ATG), and various trade finance solutions.

Addressing critical knowledge gaps to unlock AfCFTA’s potential

Reflecting on the significance of the program, Dr. Yemi Kale, Group Chief Economist & Managing Director of Research at Afreximbank, emphasized that while the AfCFTA holds immense potential for Africa’s economic growth, its success hinges on the ability of businesses to fully understand and operationalize its provisions. However, limited understanding of its technical and operational aspects has prevented many businesses from fully leveraging its benefits.

“The AfCFTA is not just a policy framework—it is a catalyst for a structural shift in Africa’s economic landscape,” said Dr. Kale. “However, many African businesses are still grappling with limited awareness of the agreement’s technical provisions, trade protocols, and strategic benefits. This knowledge deficit has constrained their ability to compete effectively, expand their market reach, and optimize value chains across the continent.”

He further explained that without a solid grasp of the AfCFTA’s tariff schedules, rules of origin, customs cooperation, and dispute resolution mechanisms, even the most competitive enterprises risk missing out on critical growth opportunities.

“This training is about more than compliance; it is about empowerment. It equips participants not only to meet regulatory requirements but also to develop export strategies, diversify markets, and improve competitiveness.”

Tsotetsi Makong, Director Coordination and Programmes at the AfCFTA Secretariat, reinforced this point, stating:

“This training program will help African businesses seeking export opportunities overcome key challenges, including understanding African markets in depth, navigating market rules and compliance requirements, and optimizing cross-border product transportation. To fully harness the AfCFTA’s potential, it is essential to address these barriers and build the capacity of African companies to transition from local production for domestic consumption to a model that supports exports across the continent and beyond.”

He further highlighted Afreximbank’s commitment to the AfCFTA’s full implementation, stressing that by developing the necessary competencies and industrial capacity, all African nations can maximize the benefits of a single market. He called on both public and private sector stakeholders to deepen their understanding of the agreement’s operationalization to drive sustainable economic growth.

Afreximbank’s role in advancing the AfCFTA

As a key partner to the African Union in the implementation of the AfCFTA, Afreximbank has spearheaded multiple initiatives that enhance intra- and extra-African trade and investment. Leveraging the expertise of its Trade Intelligence Solutions Unit and Human Resources and Learning Department, the Bank serves as the anchor institution for the AfCFTA Training Program, ensuring that African businesses are well-equipped to thrive in the new trade environment. The upcoming training is the second edition and will also mark a milestone as one of the first major events hosted at the recently launched Afreximbank African Trade Centre (AATC) in Abuja. Purposely designed as a strategic hub for trade facilitation, investment promotion, and business collaboration, the AATC features state-of-the-art conference facilities, premium hospitality services, and a dynamic environment conducive to learning and networking .

By equipping African businesses with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the AfCFTA, Afreximbank continues to play a pivotal role in unlocking Africa’s vast trade potential and driving economic transformation across the continent.

MIL OSI Africa –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Bahrain formally accepts Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

Source: World Trade Organization

DG Okonjo-Iweala said: “I thank Bahrain for adding its support to WTO members’ efforts to preserve global fish stocks and the livelihoods that depend on them. The submission of Bahrain’s acceptance brings us a step closer to the entry into force of this historic Agreement that will benefit people, oceans and the planet. I encourage other governments to ratify the Agreement swiftly – only 14 more acceptances are needed for it to become part of the WTO framework!”

Ambassador Abdulla said: “The Kingdom of Bahrain is pleased to deposit its instrument of acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. This step reaffirms Bahrain’s support for the multilateral trading system and its continued engagement in international efforts to promote the sustainable use of marine resources.

As a country with a long-standing maritime heritage, Bahrain attaches particular importance to the preservation of ocean ecosystems and the fair governance of global fisheries. The ratification of this agreement is also aligned with the Kingdom’s broader commitment to sustainable development and economic diversification, as set out in Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

We commend the collective efforts of WTO members in concluding this agreement and look forward to continued cooperation toward its entry into force and effective implementation.”

For the Agreement to enter into force, formal acceptances from two-thirds of WTO members are required – representing a total of 111 members. The full list of WTO members which have deposited their instruments of acceptance is available here.

At the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) held in Geneva in June 2022, ministers adopted by consensus the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, setting new, binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. The Agreement prohibits subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, for fishing overfished stocks, and for fishing on the unregulated high seas. Ministers also recognized the needs of developing economies and least-developed countries by establishing a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to help them implement the new obligations if they have formally accepted the Agreement.

WTO members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiating on outstanding fisheries subsidies issues with a view to further strengthening the Agreement’s disciplines.

Information for members on how to accept the Protocol of Amendment can be found here.

Share

MIL OSI Economics –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Secret Benefits Review [2025] Is SecretBenefits.com the Best Sugar Daddy Site?
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

New York City, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Secret Benefits is a popular sugar daddy website that connects wealthy benefactors with attractive, goal-driven partners. Known for its user-friendly design, privacy features, and verified profiles, SecretBenefits.com makes sugar dating simple and secure in 2025.

SecretBenefits continues to offer a safe and respectful environment for everyone who is navigating the sugar dating landscape. The platform has mutual benefits for both the sugar babies and sugar daddies. With upgraded features and security measures that promote the authenticity and trust of its users, Secret Benefits has shattered all the doubts about whether it is a sugar dating website or just a scam.

⇒ Why Wait? Join The Best Sugar Dating Site for Free!

SecretBenefits.com is praised for its transparent and flexible credit system, real people verified profiles, and a login process that’s easy, fast, and reliable, and with the Secret Benefits app coming soon, mobile convenience is also going to become an integral part of this sugar dating website.

These announcements follow months of monitoring and analyzing the causes of common sugar dating scams and frauds, followed by proactive safety measures that help the users of Secret Benefits avoid sugar daddy scams. As this method of modern dating gains traction, Secret Benefits offers real users, real profiles, and real boundaries, making it the only platform you can trust for your sugar dating experience.

⇒ Sign Up on Secret Benefits – Discreet & Secure

Why SecretBenefits.com Is a Secure and Trustworthy Sugar Dating Site in 2025

Secret Benefits creates a trusted network between individuals who want to build meaningful and mutually beneficial sugar-dating relationships.

However, since the sugar dating landscape is heavily dependent on online platforms, it is often plagued by scams, fake profiles, and unclear intentions, and one of the reasons behind them is scam websites. SecretBenefits.com stands out as a 100% reliable and transparent platform for those individuals who want to engage in sugar dating.

This 2025 report marks a turning point for the sugar dating niche.

With SecretBenefits, users can now benefit from its safe and secure features, such as enhanced identity verification protocols, search filters, and a modern user dashboard that makes this website very easy to use.

⇒ Join Secret Benefits Today and Start Connecting

Let’s break down what makes Secret Benefits the top most reliable sugar dating site in 2025.

1. Transparent and Flexible Credit System

A flexible credit system allows users of Secret Benefits to have complete freedom in tailoring their sugar dating course in a way they wish. It is very different from traditional subscription-based models that charge recurring fees. SecretBenefits.com accommodates the wants and needs of sugar daddies and sugar babies by offering a credit-based system. This allows users to pay only for the features they use, providing more freedom and control.

The Key Benefits of the Flexible Credit System Are:
- No monthly subscriptions – alter your profile as you progress in time
- No hidden costs – spend only when you initiate a conversation
- Transparent usage – the credit activity will be tracked very clearly in your account
The flexible credit system is an attractive feature for users who are tired of overpriced dating websites and their memberships.

2. Real People, Verified Profiles

One of the best features of SecretBenefits.com that makes it a legit and secure sugar dating website, as emphasized in its 2025 report, is that it has 100% verified profiles. Secret Benefits has implemented multiple layers of security and is moving towards a multi-step verification process for users, merging simple verification methods like email checks and phones with photo validation and biometric matching. All of these measures solidify the authenticity of Secret Benefits and ensure that users are real people seeking genuine sugar relationships and arrangements.

The Secret Benefits verification tools include:
- Photo validation processes
- Manually approved profiles
- In-house monitoring team to review reported users
By verifying both the identities of sugar daddies and sugar babies, Secret Benefits ensures that only real and verified users are allowed to join.

Users feel safe knowing that Secret Benefits will keep fraudsters off the app, creating a trustworthy platform for the sugar dating community.

⇒ Start Your Sugar Dating Journey on Secret Benefits

3. SecretBenefits Login: Easy, Fast, and Secure

Logging into SecretBenefits.com is as simple as it is secure.

The login credentials used by Secret Benefits identifies each profile separately, such as by username and password. These enable users to verify their identity if they want to log in to their online accounts.

New users can sign up within minutes, and returning members enjoy the security of their accounts and passwords from multi-device compatibility and smart authentication layers. Secret Benefits is an online platform that includes the personal data of the sugar dating community, which is why there is a dire need for secure login credentials.

Digital profiles exist for sugar babies as well as sugar daddies, and they hold sensitive information like their names, date of birth, mailing addresses, email addresses, and banking details.

Secret Benefits offers an easy, fast, and secure login experience via:
- Two-factor authentication
- Password reset protocols
- Secure browsing with HTTPS encryption
SecretBenefits.com protects all of its accounts with a streamlined interface so that logging in, exploring profiles, and communicating is as enjoyable as it is secure.

4. Design and User Interface: Sleek and User-Centric

SecretBenefits.com’s new design update in 2025 has made the site even more modern. User-centric design is very important as it directly influences the credibility and reliability of the sugar dating website. Websites that prioritize user needs create a platform that is not just intuitive but also functional.

So, whether you’re accessing SecretBenefits.com from a desktop or mobile, the interface will always appear to be responsive and clean. SecretBenefits places its users at the center of its website design and development. By combining strategic processes, Secret Benefits ensures that the users never feel overwhelmed and that every design element, from the dashboard to the profile grid and messaging features, is optimized for their ease of use.

⇒ Find a Mutually Beneficial Relationship with Secret Benefits

5. Secret Benefits App: Coming Soon

While Secret Benefits is fully accessible via a mobile browser and offers a better reach with its website, it is also a versatile platform. Those members of the sugar dating community who want personalized experiences will benefit from the mobile app that will help them customize their experience as per their needs.

However, it has been confirmed in the 2025 report that a Secret Benefits App is in the development phase and expected to launch later this year.

The features that you can expect from the SecretBenefits.com app are:
- Swipe-style browsing
- Push notifications for messages
- Integrated video calling
- Biometric login support
This highly anticipated app will work even faster than the website and perform actions quicker than the website SecretBenefits.com. It is expected to improve on-the-go connectivity and convenience for both sugar daddies and sugar babies.

⇒ Join Thousands Using Secret Benefits for Sugar Dating

User Reviews: What SecretBenefits Members Are Saying in 2025

Secret Benefits reviews have continuously shown a strong satisfaction rate from sugar babies and sugar daddies. Here are some testimonials received by SecretsBenefits in 2025:

“I had high expectations from the beginning. Joined SecretBenefits in January 2025 and I wasn’t surprised to see how real most of the profiles are. I connected with someone in less two weeks!” – Rebecca from Atlanta.

“I travel very often, and one platform isn’t enough to connect with sugar dating community members from all over the world. But that’s not the case with SecretBenefits.com! It gives me amazing access to people all over the world and it is also reliable and safe.” – Sarah from Los Angeles.

“Compared to other sites I’ve used, SecretBenefits.com is worth every credit. You really do meet real sugar daddies here.” – Claire from Chicago.

Of course, every website has occasional critiques, and SecretBenefits.com was no exception.

Some users noted that the regional availability was limited and that there were delays in customer support. However, SecretBenefits has promptly addressed all of these issues in its new report, and hence, all the users of the sugar community are now promised more efficient responses and a better and more modern user experience. SecretBenefits.com is also expanding its reach into new markets to add versatility and more features to the website for the sugar dating community.

⇒ Explore Verified Sugar Daddy Matches on Secret Benefits

Is SecretBenefits.com a Trustworthy Sugar Dating Website or a Scam?

After reading about the countless sugar daddy scams that revolve around Instagram, Snapchat, and other platforms on the internet, it’s natural to wonder if you can ever actually find a real sugar daddy online, and if so, where?

There is only one answer to that: secretbenefits.com!

SecretBenefits.com has eradicated all the possibilities of sketchy DMs from strangers on social media, thus bypassing fake sugar daddies and protecting its users from their scams. SecretBenefits.com is a legitimate and dedicated sugar dating platform that builds genuine connections between consenting adults. The reason why SecretBenefits.com is such an authentic and reliable website in the sugar dating world is that it clearly outlines terms of use, ensures profile verification, and reinforces messaging systems built into the platform to provide a safer, much more reliable, and structured environment, which is very much professional and different as compared to random apps or messaging platforms.

So, is SecretBenefits.com a scam? Absolutely not!

It’s a trusted website used by thousands of real sugar babies and sugar daddies who want a transparent approach to mutually beneficial relationships.

⇒ Meet Real Sugar Daddies and Babies on Secret Benefits

What Makes SecretBenefits Different from Sugar Daddy Scams?

Secretbenefits.com never lets its users wander to third-party apps to communicate. The website encourages communication through its internal messaging system, thus reducing the need to switch to WhatsApp or Telegram. This is because these messaging apps are often a breeding ground for scammers in the sugar dating world. SecretBenefits.com also has a photo verification process, which helps you steer clear of catfishers who commonly use stock photos or stolen identities, just like they do on social media platforms.

Most importantly, secretbenefits applies the same rules of discrimination on itself just like it does with the rest of the users. SecretBenefits.com will never ask for your banking information, nor will it facilitate payments between users. If someone on the site is asking you for money, you must immediately block and report them, as SecretBenefits.com has all the mechanisms necessary to deal with such cases promptly.

⇒ Get Instant Access to Secret Benefits – Sign Up Free

Real Users. Real Profiles. Real Boundaries.

Another reason why so many users in the sugar dating world rely on SecretBenefits.com is that the entire platform is built on boundaries and mutual respect.

Sugar dating isn’t for everyone, but SecretBenefits.com makes this kind of relationship easier, even for amateurs. Those who join secret benefits are very clear about what they’re seeking, and the platforms allow them to showcase their needs and requirements on their own terms. This reduces confusion and friction between the users and cuts through the awkward small talk.

Sugar babies can boost their profiles with detailed bios, preference filters, and a safe and secure management system that gives them the power to initiate conversations without any threat of scams or phishing. Sugar daddies, on the other hand, also benefit from a respectful environment where they can find companions who will have as much value for authenticity as they have.

⇒ Unlock Exclusive Connections on Secret Benefits

Can You Trust SecretBenefits?

Yes. SecretBenefits.com is a 100% trustworthy sugar dating website.

If you’re serious about sugar dating, SecretBenefits.com is one of the safest places to start.

It is true that no platform can eliminate scams and risk 100%. However, SecretBenefits.com has taken multiple steps to eliminate the risks of fraud or scams and to build a reputable community.

Still doubtful? Explore secretbenefits.com yourself. It is easy to get started. Just create a free profile, browse anonymously, and take your time navigating the safe and secure environment of sugar dating.

SecretBenefits.com Demographics and User Insights

Secret Benefits has achieved significant growth in both user base and engagement rates. According to internal analytics released in the report, 70% of users created profiles as sugar babies, 30% created profiles as sugar daddies, and every month, there are 17 000 000 visits per month, and over 2 million messages are exchanged monthly.

The reason why SecretBenefits.com is growing at such an appreciable rate is because it is a safe and simple platform that brings authenticity and reliability to the sugar dating experience.

⇒ Browse Verified Profiles on Secret Benefits Now

Secret Benefits Login, Support, and Help Desk

If you ever face login problems, SecretBenefits offers fast support. The help desk now operates 24/7. So whenever you have any password resets, account recovery, or profile visibility concerns, reach out to the team, and your concerns will be addressed within hours.

The most common login-related concerns that users of SecretBenefits.com face include the following:
- Forgotten password retrieval
- Email verification delays
- Account review/approval timelines.
However, the website platform and user experience have been dramatically improved, and in 2025, the login support at SecretBenefits.com will be more straightforward than ever.

⇒ Create Your Free Secret Benefits Profile Now

How SecretBenefits.com Works

Secret Benefits connects sugar daddies and sugar babies via a safe, secure, user-friendly platform. Both sugar daddies and sugar babies can explore each other’s profiles. The platform operates as a credit-based platform and is available throughout the US, UK, Australia, and Canada. Here is how to get started;
1. Sign up by verifying your email.
2. Create a profile and upload your photos.
3. If you are a sugar daddy, purchase credits ($0.29-0.59 each) to unlock messaging and photo features.
4. After that you can initiate conversations and enjoy other features using credits.
5. Chat, set expectations, and meet IRL if both parties are comfortable.
⇒ Message Attractive Members on Secret Benefits Today

How SecretBenefits.com Protects Your Privacy

In 2025, online privacy is more important than ever. But it is compromised in more than one way in the sugar dating world when scammers enter the field.

Secret Benefits has adopted many high-standard privacy practices that eradicate any chances of scams or fraud and guarantee complete protection to its online sugar dating users. Here is what is included in the privacy practices.
- No public display of sensitive information
- Users can choose what images are shown (public vs. private galleries)
- Location-hiding features are available
- No third-party data sharing.
Is SecretBenefits.com Legit in 2025?

Yes. Secret Benefits is a real sugar dating website that has millions of users worldwide. It is 100% legit and authentic.

According to recent reviews and user feedback, Secret Benefits has come out to be a safe and reliable online platform where sugar daddies and sugar babies chat and get to know each other. After the initial conversation takes place and they are both comfortable with each other’s company, both parties can meet in real life based on mutual consent and respect.

⇒ Find a Successful Partner on Secret Benefits

Final Thoughts: Is SecretBenefits Worth It in 2025?

The 2025 report solidifies the fact that SecretBenefits.com is the most premium and trustworthy sugar dating platform. Its credit system is fair. Its user base trusts the platform 100%. And its security features are top-tier and foolproof.

For anyone looking to explore sugar dating in a safe and secure environment, SecretBenefits is the best place to start.

Media Contact

Company: Secret Benefits

Email: support@secretbenefits.com

Address: 3711 Taylor Street, New York, NY 10011

URL: https:/secretbenefits.com

Phone: +1 9146236465

Content Accuracy Disclaimer
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The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Fisheries – a priority at the EU-UK summit on 19 May 2025 – P-001609/2025

Source: European Parliament

Priority question for written answer P-001609/2025/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 144
Wouter Beke (PPE)

Fisheries is a fundamental theme of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom. The agreement establishes a detailed framework for reciprocal access to maritime resources. There is a transitional period from 2021 to 2026, during which both parties have full access to each other’s exclusive economic zone and, for specific fish stocks, partial access to the six to twelve nautical miles zone. As part of Brexit arrangements, the EU had to accept a transfer of 25% of EU quotas for that period. As from 2026, access to UK waters is to be determined through annual negotiations on a renewed level and under new conditions. This is creating considerable uncertainty for the fishing industry in Belgium, among other countries, which is highly dependent on access to UK waters – over 50% for all fish species and up to 70% for sole, which, last year, accounted for 44% of value creation by the fleet.

Does the Commission regard fisheries as a priority on the negotiating agenda for the EU-UK summit on 19 May 2025?

Submitted: 23.4.2025

Last updated: 28 April 2025

MIL OSI Europe News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Exclusion of the ceramics sector from cost offsets under the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the single market distortions caused by the allocation of free allowances – E-001557/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001557/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Roberto Vannacci (PfE)

The Italian[1] and European ceramics sectors are very energy-intensive and do not currently have technologically and economically feasible alternatives to natural gas.

Exports alone account for 82 % of the total turnover of the Italian ceramics industry, exposing this sector to competition from non-EU countries that have less restrictive environment- and climate-related regulations.

The current Emissions Trading System does not reflect the ceramic tile production process as a whole, as it allocates free allowances to this sector on the basis of just one product benchmark (‘spray-dried powders’). This state of affairs penalises plants which manufacture these powders themselves as it compels them to buy additional emission allowances, thereby driving up their costs and putting them at a disadvantage vis-a-vis third country exporters. Furthermore, the ETS does not account for energy that is generated by means of combined heat and power (CHP) systems, which are more efficient and produce fewer emissions.

While the Commission has determined that sectors like steel, paper and aluminium[2] can benefit from carbon emission (‘carbon leakage’) cost offsets, the ceramics industry has been excluded from this arrangement even though it has a high trade intensity (in excess of 40 %) and a carbon leakage indicator above the 0.2 threshold set by Directive 2003/87/EC.

In the light of the above:

1.Will the Commission revise the free allowance allocation system by taking the entire ceramics production cycle into account along with energy-efficient technologies like CHP systems?

2.Given the evolution of energy prices, will the Commission limit itself to applying the criteria laid down by Directive 2003/87/EC, thus allowing the ceramics sector to benefit from carbon emission cost offsets?

Submitted: 16.4.2025

[1] https://confindustriaceramica.it/w/riformare-il-sistema-ets.

[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020XC0925%2801%29.
Last updated: 28 April 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh Calls for Infrastructure Boost, Sustainable Practices in the Fisheries Sector at Coastal States Fisheries Meet 2025 in Mumbai

Source: Government of India

Posted On: 28 APR 2025 6:38PM by PIB Mumbai

Mumbai, 28 April 2025

While inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for key fisheries projects worth Rs. 255 crores at the Coastal States Fisheries Meet in Mumbai today, Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh highlighted the creation of the Regional Fisheries Council, progress under schemes like the Blue Revolution, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund and emphasized on tapping India’s vast marine resources. The coastal States Fisheries Meet saw extensive participation from across all coastal states and UTs across the country. The event was graced by Ministers of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel and Shri George Kurian. Dignitaries attending the event also included Shri Nitesh Neelam Narayan Rane, Minister of Fisheries, Government of Maharashtra, Raghavjibhai Patel, Minister of Fisheries, Government of Gujarat, Shri. Nilkanth Halarnkar, Minister of Fisheries, Government of Goa, Shri Mankala S Vaidya, Minister of Fisheries, Government of Karnataka, along with officials from the Department of Fisheries, State Fisheries Departments, ICAR Institutes and Bay of Bengal Programme (BoBP).

In his address, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh, emphasized on developing infrastructure in Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, enhancing value addition in exports, promoting conservation measures in the fisheries sector while discouraging harmful fishing practices. Key initiatives including deploying artificial reefs, creating climate-resilient villages, providing safety transponders, sanctioning Kisan Credit Cards, and supporting women’s empowerment through mariculture and seaweed farming, underlining the importance of Centre-State cooperation for the sector’s growth were also outlined by the Union Minister.

Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, said that the significant progress made under the Blue Revolution and PMMSY, as lead to India becoming the second-largest fish producer globally. The substantial investments made in infrastructure and livelihoods through schemes like PMMSY and PMMKSY, which have led to a doubling of fish production and a rise in exports were also highlighted by him. Prof. Baghel spoke about the role of innovative farming methods, development of digital platforms, and empowerment of women in the sector. He stressed the need for continued cooperation between the Centre and states to promote sustainable practices, enhance marine culture, and position the fisheries sector as a key contributor to the national economy.

Shri George Kurian, laid emphasis on the need for strong collaboration between the Centre and States in advancing the fisheries sector. Highlighting the Blue Revolution and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of the “blue chakra” symbolizing the ocean economy’s vast potential, the Minister of State noted that various departmental initiatives have strengthened the sector, improved nutrition and is driving economic growth for nearly 3 crore people in the country. He also highlighted that in future fisheries resources within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone will be harnessed and seaweed farming will be further promoted. expanding artificial reef deployment, distributing 1 lakh safety transponders to fishermen, and developing 100 climate-resilient coastal villages was also outlined.

Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, MoFAH&D, stated that the Indian fisheries sector has grown significantly with a 9.8% growth since 2014-15. He said that the underutilized potential of India’s 11,000 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone, particularly the untapped tuna resources in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep need to be harnessed. Dr. Likhi stressed the need for enhanced infrastructure, including the development of smart harbours and the amendment of the Marine Fisheries Regulation Act to address the modern infrastructural challenges. Issues of expanding mariculture activities like seaweed farming and cage culture, enhancing security measures through biometric IDs and transponders, and state governments to utilize the extended PMMSY funding for further sectoral growth were also highlighted by him.

The Coastal States Fisheries Meet 2025 featured key technical sessions including Strengthening Marine Fisheries Governance: Integrating Marine Fisheries Regulation Acts (MFRAs), Monitoring, Control & Surveillance (MCS), and Sea-Safety; Model Mariculture SOPs; Standard Operating Procedure of the Vessel Communication and Support System (VCSS); Export Promotion – Processing, Value Chain & Quality Improvements; and Promotion of Traceability and Certification in Marine Capture Fisheries.

This meeting provided a crucial platform for the Fisheries Ministers of all coastal states and Union Territories, along with government officials and key fisheries stakeholders, to engage in meaningful and constructive dialogue. It served as an important opportunity for the participants to share insights on the successes and advancements made by various coastal states in the fisheries sector, highlighting best practices and innovative solutions that have been implemented so far. The discussions focused not only on the achievements but also on the persistent challenges faced by the sector, such as infrastructure gaps, resource management issues, and the need for modernized fishing techniques. The focus was on strengthening fisheries governance, enhancing infrastructure, fostering innovation, and improving market linkages, all of which contributed to increased productivity, enhanced livelihoods, and sustained economic growth in coastal regions.

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PIB Mumbai | AA/ NJ/ DR

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CFS urges public not to consume batch of imported sunflower seed product suspected to be contaminated with aflatoxin

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

CFS urges public not to consume batch of imported sunflower seed product suspected to be contaminated with aflatoxinBrand: Tovano
Place of origin: Bulgaria
Net weight: 700g
Best before date: November 30, 2025
Batch number: 346704-038
Importer: Chef’s Garden Limited
Retailer: Feather & BoneIssued at HKT 20:35

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LegCo to continue Second Reading debate on Appropriation Bill 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

LegCo to continue Second Reading debate on Appropriation Bill 2025
     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (April 30) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Second Reading debate on the Appropriation Bill 2025 will continue and Government officials will speak on the Bill. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bill and its report is adopted by the Council, the Bill will be set down for the Third Reading.

     The Second Reading debates on the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2025 and the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions) Bill 2025 will also resume. If the Bills are supported by Members and receive their Second Reading, they will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bills and their reports are adopted by the Council, the Bills will be set down for the Third Reading.

     Meanwhile, the Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Trade Unions (Amendment) Bill 2025 will be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. The Second Reading debates on the Bills will be adjourned.

During the meeting, Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, all of which require written replies.

The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hkIssued at HKT 18:50

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: India and Bhutan hold 6th Joint Group of Customs (JGC) Meeting in Thimphu, Bhutan, on 24th-25th April 2025

Source: Government of India

India and Bhutan hold 6th Joint Group of Customs (JGC) Meeting in Thimphu, Bhutan, on 24th-25th April 2025

India and Bhutan reaffirm shared commitment to strengthen Customs cooperation, enhancing trade facilitation, and ensuring secure and efficient border management

Posted On: 28 APR 2025 5:13PM by PIB Delhi

The 6th Joint Group of Customs (JGC) Meeting between India and Bhutan was held on 24th-25th April 2025 in Thimphu, Bhutan. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Surjit Bhujabal, Special Secretary and Member (Customs), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Government of India, and Mr. Sonam Jamtsho, Director General, Department of Revenue and Customs, Ministry of Finance, Royal Government of Bhutan.

India is Bhutan’s top trade partner both as an import source and as an export destination accounting for about 80% of Bhutan’s overall trade. Trade with Bhutan through the land Customs Stations is significant as Bhutan is a land-locked country. The India-Bhutan Joint Group of Customs meetings are held annually to discuss issues relating to re-defining and re-engineering of Customs procedures, promote Customs cooperation and Cross-border trade facilitation with alignment to global best practices. There are 10 Land Customs Stations along the India-Bhutan Border in the States of West Bengal (6) and Assam (4).

The 6th JGC meeting discussed a host of bilateral issues for enhancing trade and transit between the two countries. The automation and digitisation of transit processes, Coordinated Border Management (CBM), pre-arrival exchange of Customs data, Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) and movement of transit cargo under Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) were discussed, among others. The meeting concluded on an optimistic note.

Bhutanese side extended their sincere thanks to CBIC for their continued support, especially recognising the capacity-building workshop titled ‘Advancing India Bhutan Trade and Economic Partnership’, held from 29th July to 1st August, 2024, which played a vital role in easing export processes and addressing trade-related concerns. India proposed extending capacity building programmes in the areas of Risk Management System (RMS), Authorised Economic Operator (AEO), Food Safety Standards besides need-based capacity building for importers and exporters from the Bhutanese side.

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening Customs cooperation, enhancing trade facilitation, and ensuring secure and efficient border management.

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NB/KMN

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth Joins Schatz, Murray, Colleagues in Condemning Labor Department’s Cancellation of Funding to Address Child Labor, Human Trafficking Worldwide

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
April 23, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Patty Murray (D-WA) and 10 Senate Democratic colleagues in condemning the Trump Administration’s cuts to federal funding that for decades helped address child labor, forced labor and human trafficking globally.
“These cuts are inconsistent with bipartisan laws passed by Congress providing federal funds to combat child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and enforce labor standards in over 40 countries,” the Senators wrote in a letter to Labor Secretary Lori M. Chavez-DeRemer. “Cancelling all existing cooperative agreements will only harm American workers, lower international labor standards, and hurt children.”
The Senators continued, “ILAB grants level the playing field for American workers and ensure businesses cannot profit from labor abuses by stopping the problems at their source. Offshoring work will only drive down wages, incentivize abusive labor practices abroad, and take jobs away from hard working Americans. For example, the President and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has said that the cancellation of ILAB contracts will harm both their consumers and 3.5 million American workers. The only winners here will be the multinational corporations who want cheap labor, and our adversaries that benefit from these practices.”
“We ask that you live up to your comments and urge you to take immediate steps to protect children, American workers, and other vulnerable populations by using funds Congress appropriated for ILAB for that purpose,” the Senators concluded.
Along with Duckworth, Schatz and Murray, the letter was co-signed by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
The full text of the letter is available on Senator Duckworth’s website and below.
Dear Secretary Chavez-DeRemer:
We write to express our serious concerns about the Department of Labor (DOL)’s decision to terminate all existing cooperative agreements at the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). DOL and the United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Service have announced the cancellation of $577 million in cooperative agreements. These cuts are inconsistent with bipartisan laws passed by Congress providing federal funds to combat child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and enforce labor standards in over 40 countries. We note that the Trump Administration identifies labor practices, including failures by foreign governments to protect internationally recognized worker rights, as a foreign trade barrier in the recently issued National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. Cancelling all existing cooperative agreements will only harm American workers, lower international labor standards, and hurt children.
ILAB was created by President Truman after World War II. Since its creation, it has served at the forefront of global efforts to eliminate child labor. Under international standards, child labor applies to work below the minimum age established under national legislation—usually 14 or 15 years old— and includes slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, illicit activities, and hazardous work that is likely to harm health or safety. Global estimates from the International Labor Organization (ILO) indicate that there are 160 million children between 5-17 years old in child labor, roughly half of them in hazardous conditions.
ILAB also works to combat forced labor and human trafficking – serious violations of human rights. According to the most recent figures available, there are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world, with women and girls disproportionately affected. Additionally, the ILO estimated that 24.9 million people around the globe were in forced labor as of 2016. Victims are rarely able to seek help for various reasons, due to language barriers, poverty, or unstable immigration status. Furthermore, ILAB plays a key role in addressing China’s use of slave labor as a member of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Critically, the findings from ILAB and ILAB funds provided by Congress have led to improved adherence to international labor standards that support American workers. Since 2019, ILAB has invested in eliminating the roughly 1.56 million instances of child labor violations in the production of cocoa in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire—countries that produce cocoa for chocolate bought by American consumers, as well as nearly 60 percent of the world’s cocoa each year. Recently, DOL’s November 2024 framework of action included improving access to quality education, as well as technical and vocational training, strengthening social services and social protection, and empowering women, youth and workers in cocoa-growing communities. Uzbekistan was pushed to address forced labor and child labor in the cotton sector, which unfairly competes with American cotton growers and exporters. Argentina’s government and private sector built technical assistance programs developed by DOL in the blueberry sector, ensuring that children and teenagers had access to child care and enrichment programs. In Honduras, one DOL cooperative agreement disbursed more than $13 million to fight child labor and other exploitation, resulting in more than 6,000 children enrolling in educational programs, aiding more than 1,800 families, and helping train around 500 inspectors on child labor exploitation and other labor laws.
Unfortunately, your actions will prevent this work from continuing. A few of the contracts that have been eliminated by you and DOGE include the “Global Better Work Program (I)” and “Better Work Global (II)” in Haiti, Jordan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam to establish strong labor enforcement and transparency; “Supporting Safe and Inclusive Work Environments in Lesotho” to stop violence against women; “Research, Innovation and Strategic Engagement Project (RISE-global)” in Brazil, Colombia, Cote D’Ivoire, Indonesia, and Guatemala to educate workers on their rights and how to protect them; and “Promoting Safe and Healthy Workplaces in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador” to improve worker safety and discourage migration to the United States. The cancellation of these contracts is neither efficient nor puts America’s interests first. Instead, we believe it will cause devastating, widespread harm to our most vulnerable populations, and put American workers at a disadvantage.
Additionally, we are concerned about the economic impacts of this decision. One of the major missions of ILAB is to enforce the labor provisions in U.S. trade agreements. ILAB grants level the playing field for American workers and ensure businesses cannot profit from labor abuses by stopping the problems at their source. Offshoring work will only drive down wages, incentivize abusive labor practices abroad, and take jobs away from hard working Americans. For example, the President and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has said that the cancellation of ILAB contracts will harm both their consumers and 3.5 million American workers. The only winners here will be the multinational corporations who want cheap labor, and our adversaries that benefit from these practices.
In your confirmation hearing on February 19th, you testified to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions that we must protect children from labor exploitation. You said this in response to questions from members on both sides of the aisle. We ask that you live up to your comments and urge you to take immediate steps to protect children, American workers, and other vulnerable populations by using funds Congress appropriated for ILAB for that purpose.
Sincerely,
-30-

MIL OSI USA News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: April 28th, 2025 Heinrich, Luján Blast Trump Admin’s Attacks on Head Start, Demand RFK Jr. Immediately Unfreeze Head Start Funding & Reverse Firings of Early Childhood Education Workers

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), one of only two Head Start graduates to serve in the Senate, sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to demand the Trump Administration stop its attacks on Head Start programs. In their letter, Heinrich and Luján reminded Secretary Kennedy of his legal obligation to administer Head Start, and demanded that HHS immediately unfreeze Head Start funding, reverse the mass firing of Head Start workers, and stop gutting offices that ensure high-quality early childhood education services are available for thousands of children and families in New Mexico and nationwide.

In New Mexico, Head Start and early Head Start programs serve 8,800 children living below the poverty line, including 271 children experiencing homelessness, and 139 children in foster care in 2022.

“We write to express our strong opposition to the actions you have taken to directly attack and undermine the federal Head Start program. Since day one, this Administration has taken unacceptable actions to withhold and delay funding, fire Head Start staff, and gut high-quality services for children. Already this year, this Administration has withheld almost $1 billion in federal grant funding from Head Start programs, a 37 percent decrease compared to the amount of funding awarded during the same period last year,” the senators wrote in a letter to Secretary Kennedy. “It is abundantly clear that these actions are part of a broader effort to ultimately eliminate the program altogether, as the Administration reportedly plans to do in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.”

The senators detailed how the program plays an instrumental role in supporting kids and families across the country, writing: “Head Start provides early childhood education and comprehensive health and social services to nearly 800,000 young children every year in communities across this country, and employs about 250,000 dedicated staff. Head Start is a critical source of child care for working families, particularly in rural and Tribal communities, where Head Start programs are often the only option for high-quality child care services. Head Start programs ensure children receive appropriate health and dental care, nutrition support, and referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support.”

“You even acknowledged the value of Head Start following a recent visit to a Virginia Head Start center,” the senators wrote, contrasting that statement of support with the Trump administration’s actions. “However, as a result of your actions to withhold and delay funding and undermine the administration of this vital program, Head Start centers are in serious jeopardy and have already had their day to day operations impacted. Programs are increasingly worried that they will not be able to make payroll, pay rent, and remain open to serve the hundreds of thousands of children and families who depend on their services in communities across the nation.”

“Since the very start of this Administration, Head Start programs have been under attack,” the senators wrote, detailing office closures and funds that were frozen for Head Start grants across the country. “At one point, the National Head Start Association reported 37 programs serving nearly 15,000 children across the country could not access their federal funding. Head Start programs operate with thin margins and on short-term budgets from HHS, and without any communication from the Administration about the status of funding, programs were forced to temporarily close or to lay off staff.”

The senators underscored how the gutting of Head Start offices and the firing of staff who keep the federal program running puts the entire program in jeopardy, “On April 1st, you abruptly closed five of the ten regional offices that help local grantees administer Head Start programs in 22 states. This left hundreds of programs without dedicated points of contact to address mission critical issues like approving grant renewals and modifications, investigating child health and safety incidents, and providing training and technical assistance to ensure high-quality services for children. While some grantees were assigned a new program specialist, we understand many have not been receiving responses to their inquiries. This is on top of the estimated 97 Office of Head Start central office staff that were terminated due to their probationary status and the recent reduction in force. You promised ‘radical transparency’ as Secretary, yet it is unclear how these actions will improve Head Start programs, and you and your staff refuse to respond to basic inquiries and requests for information.”

Importantly, the senators noted that if Head Start funding is kept frozen by the Trump Administration, many more programs could be forced to close.

“Head Start grantees are still waiting on payments and grant renewals from the Office of Head Start, including programs whose grants end on April 30th, 2025. These notices should have gone out by now, yet we are concerned to hear programs report they have received little to no correspondence regarding their grant renewals,” the senators continued, detailing how local HeadStart programs are receiving no notice for the path forward for grant funding. “Additionally, because we started fiscal year 2025 under a short-term continuing resolution, as is usual, some grantees have only received partial funding for the first few months of the year. But with a full year funding bill in place, these grantees should have received full funding by now, yet some are reporting that they have not received the full amount of their grants and will run out of funds this month or next. On Wednesday, April 16th, the delays in Head Start funding led to the closure of Head Start centers serving more than 400 children in Sunnyside, Washington.”

“The Administration has a legal and moral obligation to disburse Head Start funds to programs and to uphold the program’s promise to provide high-quality early education services to low income children and families across this country,” the senators stated. “There is no justifiable reason for the delay in funding we have seen over the last two months, and you have refused to offer any kind of explanation.”

The senators concluded by warning that eliminating Head Start would be devastating, demanding answers on the Trump Administration’s actions, and demanding the reversal of these actions: “[W]e urge you to immediately reinstate fired staff across all Offices of HeadStart, and cease all actions to delay the awarding and disbursement of funding to Head Start programs across this country.”

Community leaders in New Mexico are weighing in on the grave consequences of the Trump Administration’s continuous assault on Head Start for children’s futures:

“As a Head Start Leader for over 40 years, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative impact Head Start has on children, families, and communities. Eliminating Head Start would be nothing less than a national tragedy. It would be a direct attack on the country’s most vulnerable children and families – those who have the least and need the most.” said Patricia Grovey Evans, President of New Mexico Head Start Association.

“Defunding the Head Start program would be a grave injustice to young Zuni children, who depend on this vital resource to embark on their educational journey steeped in cultural identity and moral values. Early childhood education is not merely about teaching; it lays the foundation for self-awareness and community connection that will guide them throughout their lives. Cutting this crucial funding threatens to strip away their opportunity to nurture the skills and cultural heritage essential for their growth and future success,” said Anthony Sanchez, Head Councilman for Zuni Tribe.

“Jemez Pueblo’s Walatowa Head Start Language Immersion Program offers a unique and valuable community-based education delivered solely in our Towa language. Education of our youngest community members is important and to have that education provided in our native language is of the utmost importance. As Native people, it was vital that our Head Start program incorporated the Pueblo’s vibrant traditional calendar through art, music and dance while also incorporating other subjects like math and science. Walatowa Head Start Language Immersion Program serves as a model for other tribal Head Start programs who wish to teach the children in their native language. Our community worked for over a decade to make this education culturally responsive and if funding for Head Start were to disappear, so would our community’s work. We cannot allow this to happen,” said Carnell Chosa, First Lieutenant Governor of Jemez Pueblo.

“As someone working on the front lines of early childhood education in New Mexico, I am deeply alarmed by the proposed cuts to Head Start in President Trump’s leaked budget. At the Now Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children (NMAEYC), we see firsthand how essential this program is especially for families in our rural and underserved communities. Head Start has been a cornerstone for opportunity and stability for low-income families for 60 years. Eliminating this program would jeopardize early learning, health, and nutrition services for more than 150,000 children across the country, including thousands here in New Mexico. Head Start is not just a program- it’s a lifeline. Gutting this critical funding, would harm our most vulnerable children, undermine family stability, and set our state back for generations. Continued investment in Head Start is not optional – it’s essential to ensuring that every New Mexico child, regardless of zip code, has a fair shot at success,” said Alicia B. Borrego, MBA, Executive Director of New Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children.

“Head Start has been a massively important force in changing the game for young children. The science tells us that 85% of brain development happens before age 5, so this is a common sense investment, and one that has contributed to decades of American prosperity,” said Kate Noble, President and CEO of Growing Up New Mexico.

“Thanks to my experience working as a Head Start teacher in Santa Fe, I’ve seen firsthand how the Head Start Program change lives – giving our youngest leaners the solid foundation they need to succeed in school and beyond. Cutting this program would mean turning our backs on the children who need us most. This program isn’t just early education; it’s lifeblood for families who are doing their best with so little. Taking it away would break something sacred in our community.” said Deyanira Contreras, Director of Kids Campus at SFCC.

Alongside Heinrich and Luján, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tim Kaine (D-Minn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Maine), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).

The full text of the letter is here and below:

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

We write to express our strong opposition to the actions you have taken to directly attack and undermine the federal Head Start program. Since day one, this Administration has taken unacceptable actions to withhold and delay funding, fire Head Start staff, and gut high-quality services for children. Already this year, this Administration has withheld almost $1 billion in federal grant funding from Head Start programs, a 37 percent decrease compared to the amount of funding awarded during the same period last year. It is abundantly clear that these actions are part of a broader effort to ultimately eliminate the program altogether, as the Administration reportedly plans to do in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.

Head Start provides early childhood education and comprehensive health and social services to nearly 800,000 young children every year in communities across this country, and employs about 250,000 dedicated staff. Head Start is a critical source of child care for working families, particularly in rural and Tribal communities, where Head Start programs are often the only option for high-quality child care services. HeadStart programs ensure children receive appropriate health and dental care, nutrition support, and referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support.

You even acknowledged the value of Head Start following a recent visit to a Virginia Head Start center, where you said, “I had a very inspiring tour. I saw a devoted staff and a lot of happy children. They are getting the kind of education and socialization they need, and they are also getting a couple of meals a day.”

However, as a result of your actions to withhold and delay funding and undermine the administration of this vital program, Head Start centers are in serious jeopardy and have already had their day to day operations impacted. Programs are increasingly worried that they will not be able to make payroll, pay rent, and remain open to serve the hundreds of thousands of children and families who depend on their services in communities across the nation.

Since the very start of this Administration, Head Start programs have been under attack. On January 27th, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo (M-25-13) that suddenly froze the disbursement of grant funding for federal programs and services government-wide, including Head Start. Despite the Administration’s clarification that Head Start programs would not be the target of the funding freeze, many Head Startprograms across the country were unable to draw down their grant funds through the Payment Management System (PMS) for weeks. At one point, the National Head StartAssociation reported 37 programs serving nearly 15,000 children across the country could not access their federal funding. Head Start programs operate with thin margins and on short-term budgets from HHS, and without any communication from the Administration about the status of funding, programs were forced to temporarily close or to lay off staff. In Wisconsin, the National Centers for Learning Excellence, which serves more than 200 children and their families, shut down for a week and laid off staff due to the funding freeze.

On April 1st, you abruptly closed five of the ten regional offices that help local grantees administer Head Start programs in 22 states. This left hundreds of programs without dedicated points of contact to address mission critical issues like approving grant renewals and modifications, investigating child health and safety incidents, and providing training and technical assistance to ensure high-quality services for children. While some grantees were assigned a new program specialist, we understand many have not been receiving responses to their inquiries. This is on top of the estimated 97 Office of Head Start central office staff that were terminated due to their probationary status and the recent reduction in force. You promised “radical transparency” as Secretary, yet it is unclear how these actions will improve Head Start programs, and you and your staff refuse to respond to basic inquiries and requests for information.

On March 14th, 2025, the Office of Head Start (OHS) notified all Head Start programs that “the use of federal funding for any training and technical assistance or other program expenditures that promote or take part in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives” will not be approved and that any questions should be directed to regional offices. Programs have not received any guidance for what would be considered “DEI” but this policy is potentially in direct conflict with statutory and regulatory program requirements, such as providing culturally and linguistically appropriate instructional services for English learners. Many programs cannot direct questions to regional staff, as half of regional offices were abruptly closed, and as unprecedented actions are being taken to delay and withhold funding, Head Start programs have been intentionally left with little to no guidance.

Head Start programs are now arbitrarily required to provide justifications for each draw down of funds that is necessary to operate their programs, despite already receiving a federal grant award for these purposes. As of April 14th, Head Startprograms have reportedly received correspondence from an email address “defendthespend@hhs.gov” requiring programs to submit a “specific description of why the funds are necessary and why they are aligned to the award” before programs can have funding disbursed. It has been reported that political appointees must sign off on every draw down of funds. This creates an illusion of improving oversight but only serves to add unnecessary red tape by requiring the manual sign off on hundreds of thousands of individual actions annually across the Department based on two to three sentence justifications. Already some grantees have reported delays in receiving funds, and have reported that furloughs or closures are imminent if funds are not released. For an administration that purports to value local autonomy and efficiency in federally funded programs, your actions have achieved the exact opposite.

Finally, Head Start grantees are still waiting on payments and grant renewals from the Office of Head Start, including programs whose grants end on April 30th, 2025. These notices should have gone out by now, yet we are concerned to hear programs report they have received little to no correspondence regarding their grant renewals. Additionally, because we started fiscal year 2025 under a short-term continuing resolution, as is usual, some grantees have only received partial funding for the first few months of the year. But with a full year funding bill in place, these grantees should have received full funding by now, yet some are reporting that they have not received the full amount of their grants and will run out of funds this month or next. On Wednesday, April 16th, the delays in Head Start funding led to the closure of Head Start centers serving more than 400 children in Sunnyside, Washington.

The Administration has a legal and moral obligation to disburse Head Start funds to programs and to uphold the program’s promise to provide high-quality early education services to low income children and families across this country. The fiscal year 2025 appropriations act provided $12.3 billion for Head Start, the same as the fiscal year 2024 level. The Head Start Act includes an explicit formula for how appropriated funds should be allocated. There is no justifiable reason for the delay in funding we have seen over the last two months, and you have refused to offer any kind of explanation. However, this week leaked fiscal year 2026 budget documents indicated the Office of Management and Budget was directing the Department, consistent with the Administration’s proposal to eliminate Head Start in fiscal year 2026, to “ensure to the extent allowable FY2025 funds are available to close out the program.” If this explains any of the delay in awarding fiscal year 2025 funding, we want to be clear, no funds were provided in fiscal year 2025 to “close out the program,” and it would be wholly unacceptable and likely illegal if the Department tries to carry out this directive.

Finally, the leaked budget documents provided a justification, albeit brief, for eliminating Head Start in fiscal year 2026 that makes this Administration’s priorities clear and puts the Department’s actions over the last several months in context. The Administration argues that eliminating Head Start, “is consistent with the Administration’s goals of returning education to the States and increasing parental choice.” It is shocking to see an argument that eliminating a program that provides comprehensive early childhood care and education to 800,000 children and their families would increase parental choice. It is particularly concerning to see that argument in the context of the significant delay in awarding fiscal year 2025 appropriated funds and what that indicates about the intent behind the Department’s actions. We believe it is obvious that eliminating Head Start would be detrimental to hundreds of thousands of children and families. Similarly, we believe it is obvious that delaying funding like we have seen over the last two months, forcing Head Startprograms to close, and leaving families to scramble to find quality, affordable alternatives puts the education and well-being of some of the most vulnerable young children in America at risk. In our view, that is unacceptable.

Therefore, we urge you to immediately reinstate fired staff across all Offices of HeadStart, and cease all actions to delay the awarding and disbursement of funding to HeadStart programs across this country.

Please provide us with a written response to the questions below no later than 10 days from receipt:

1. Will you reinstate the staff who administer Head Start programs and reopen the closed regional offices responsible for overseeing Head Start programs in 22 states?

a) When is HHS going to share information on the reorganization plan for the consolidation of the regional offices?

b) Please provide the contact information for each program specialist designated to the 22 states who lost their regional office.

c) Who is responsible for ensuring there are no delays or lapses in funding, nor any disruptions to Head Start program operations now that these states do not have a regional office?

2. How many employees at the Offices of Head Start have been terminated, including the five regional offices and the central office?

a) Which officials at HHS were involved in the staffing reduction decisions for OHS and what planning, if any, was undertaken prior to these reductions? Please describe the events that unfolded and name each office that was involved in the decision. Further, please name the official(s) who approved the staffing reductions.

3. Can you confirm that the Administration will distribute all Head Start funds appropriated by Congress to Head Start programs in FY 25, as required by the HeadStart Act?

4. Please provide a list of all grantees with 5-year Head Start grant renewals that startbetween now and the end of the fiscal year: May 1st, June 1st, July 1st, August 1st, and September 1st.

a) Will any funding be delayed for grantees that are due to receive their annual funding on May 1st or beyond?

5. Why are funding awards delayed for grantees that received partial awards during the first continuing resolution for FY25?

a) When can HHS guarantee that all funds will be awarded for partially funded Head Start programs?

6. What is the “Tier 2” department for review that is delaying drawn down for HeadStart programs in the Payment Management System?

a) When should programs expect to receive their funds?

b) Please provide all communication that went to Head Start grantees on the new review process.

7. What guidance and clarifications have been provided to Head Start grantees on DEI expenditures?

a) How is HHS evaluating Head Start programs’ expenditures and grant awards for DEI?

b) What justifications are being used to prohibit DEI?

MIL OSI USA News –

April 29, 2025

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