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Category: Trade

  • MIL-OSI: Municipality Finance issues USD 20 million notes under its MTN programme

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Municipality Finance Plc
    Stock exchange release
    27 February 2025 at 10:00 am (EET)

    Municipality Finance issues USD 20 million notes under its MTN programme

    Municipality Finance Plc issues USD 20 million notes on 28 February 2025. The maturity date of the notes is 28 February 2035. MuniFin has a right, but no obligation, to redeem the notes early on 28 February 2027. The notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 5.305% per annum.

    The notes are issued under MuniFin’s EUR 50 billion programme for the issuance of debt instruments. The offering circular, the supplemental offering circular and the final terms of the notes are available in English on the company’s website at https://www.kuntarahoitus.fi/en/for-investors.

    MuniFin has applied for the notes to be admitted to trading on the Helsinki Stock Exchange maintained by Nasdaq Helsinki. The public trading is expected to commence on 28 February 2025.

    UBS Europe SE acts as the dealer for the issue of the notes.

    MUNICIPALITY FINANCE PLC

    Further information:

    Joakim Holmström
    Executive Vice President, Capital Markets and Sustainability
    tel. +358 50 444 3638

    MuniFin (Municipality Finance Plc) is one of Finland’s largest credit institutions. The company is owned by Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the State of Finland.
    The Group’s balance sheet total is over EUR 53 billion.

    MuniFin builds a better and more sustainable future with its customers. MuniFin’s customers include municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties, corporate entities under their control, and non-profit organisations nominated by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA). Lending is used for environmentally and socially responsible investment targets such as public transportation, sustainable buildings, hospitals and healthcare centres, schools and day care centres, and homes for people with special needs.

    MuniFin’s customers are domestic but the company operates in a completely global business environment. The company is an active Finnish bond issuer in international capital markets and the first Finnish green and social bond issuer. The funding is exclusively guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.

    Read more: https://www.kuntarahoitus.fi/en/

    Important Information

    The information contained herein is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into any such country or jurisdiction or otherwise in such circumstances in which the release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, any securities or other financial instruments in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

    This communication does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The notes have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or under the applicable securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI China: Beijing’s ZGC Forum to gather global innovators in March

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    The 2025 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) Annual Conference will be held March 27-31 in Beijing.
    The State Council-approved forum is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the China Association for Science and Technology and the Beijing Municipal People’s Government.
    Established in 2007, the ZGC Forum serves as a national platform for global exchange and collaboration in science and technological innovation. With its theme, “Innovation and Development,” the forum promotes the sharing of innovative ideas and development philosophies. It aims to facilitate discussions on emerging technologies, industry trends, innovation regulations and global governance to ensure scientific advances better serve humanity.
    This year’s forum theme is “New Quality Productive Forces and Global Science and Technology Cooperation.” The event will feature five key components: forum discussions, a technology trade exhibition, research announcements, innovation competitions and complementary activities.
    The program includes an opening ceremony, a plenary session, about 60 parallel forums, the Zhongguancun International Technology Trade Fair, the Zhongguancun International Frontier Technology Competition and sessions highlighting major scientific achievements. Supporting activities include cultural exchanges, science education programs and project showcases. The forum’s influence extends beyond the main conference, with related events scheduled throughout the year.
    The ZGC Forum has become a prominent stage for global science and technology cooperation in recent years, playing a vital role in China’s integration into the global innovation network. It underscores Beijing’s growing influence as a hub for scientific and technological innovation, attracting global attention and providing insights into the forefront of innovation.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI: IDEX Biometrics interim report for the fourth quarter and preliminary result for 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Oslo, Norway: IDEX Biometrics ASA’s interim report for the fourth quarter and preliminary result 2024 is attached to this notice, including the fourth quarter 2024 presentation.

    The report and presentation are available on the IDEX Biometrics website:

    www.idexbiometrics.com/investors

    Recent highlights 

    • Certification of IDEX PAY platform allowing manufacturers to certify and launch Biometric Payment Card programs with both Visa and Mastercard globally.
    • Reaching scale manufacturing quality among key partners, enabling them and us to go beyond pilot volumes.
    • IDEX Biometrics partner KONA I becomes first manufacturer certified by Mastercard for both PVC and metal biometric cards.
    • Access: Received an order from DigAware to deliver a biometric sensor solution to enhance their smart badges. DigAware’s new biometric ID badge incorporates RFID radios for emergency situations in environments such as schools, hospitals, and enterprises.
    • Payments: First commercial launch in Japan together with Life Card, subsidiary to AIFUL Japan’s third largest consumer finance company. Life Card’s commercial roll-out is targeted for the first half of 2025.
    • Streamlined global operations and progressed on cost efficiencies, aligning resources with key market priorities and further optimized our workforce.
    • Completed rights issue in November, allowing retail investors to participate at the same terms as shareholders participating in the September capital raise.

    Financial results Q4 2024

    • No product revenues in the fourth quarter.
    • Operating expenses excluding cost of products sold and bad debt provisions amounted to $2.4 million in the fourth quarter, below target at $2.5 million.
    • An accrual for loss on receivables from Zwipe AS amounting to $0.6 million has been included in the fourth quarter of 2024.
    • Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2024 was $2.1 million. The result includes net financial gain amounting to $2.4 million caused by value change of warrants and the derivative related to the convertible debt. Adjusted for these items, the result would have been a net loss of $4.6 million.
    • A non-cash impairment of goodwill amounting to $968 thousand was recorded in the fourth quarter.
    • Cash balance per 31 December 2024 at $2.0 million

    For further information contact: 
    Marianne Bøe, Head of Investor Relations, +47 91800186
    Kristian Flaten, CFO + 47 95092322
    E-mail: ir@idexbiometrics.com

     

    About IDEX Biometrics 

    IDEX Biometrics ASA (OSE: IDEX) is a global technology leader in fingerprint biometrics, offering authentication solutions across payments, access control, and digital identity. Our solutions bring convenience, security, peace of mind and seamless user experiences to the world. Built on patented and proprietary sensor technologies, integrated circuit designs, and software, our biometric solutions target card-based applications for payments and digital authentication. As an industry-enabler we partner with leading card manufacturers and technology companies to bring our solutions to market.

    For more information, visit www.idexbiometrics.com (http://www.idexbiometrics.com)

     

    Trademark Statement

    IDEX, TrustedBio, IDEX Biometrics and the IDEX logo are trademarks owned by IDEX Biometrics ASA. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.

     

    About this notice

    This notice was issued by Marianne Bøe, Head of Investor Relations, on 27 February 2025 at 08:00 CET on behalf of IDEX Biometrics ASA. The information shall be disclosed according to section 5‑6 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act (STA) and published in accordance with section 5‑12 of the STA.

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Development Asia: Building Sustainable Vaccine Manufacturing Practices in Lower-Resourced Settings

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    Vaccines are inherently labile biologicals that require complex manufacturing and handling processes. Vaccine manufacturing requires multiple considerations, such as technical expertise, production capabilities, market demand, and stringent regulatory requirements. Underpinning these considerations is the need for sustainable funding. Vaccine manufacturing is a capital-intensive endeavor with facilities and equipment costing up to $700 million. This excludes the costs of product development, licensing, regulatory, and overhead costs, clubbed with a significant risk of development failure and unprofitability. Because of the high investments needed, there are often conflicting interests between commercial drivers and public health needs. The COVAX manufacturing task force highlighted key prerequisites for vaccine manufacturing to address future pandemic responses. These include a wide range of efforts, including upgrading manufacturing facilities to international standards, expanding the vaccine manufacturing workforce and regulatory capabilities, and enabling technology transfer.

    Maintaining quality throughout the process of vaccine production to delivery is paramount. As it involves many upstream and downstream processes, vaccine manufacturing demands a robust quality management system to ensure an uninterrupted supply of raw materials, consumables, current Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant facilities, and state-of-the-art equipment. Optimizing the scale-up of production, validation, and prompt resolution of technical issues are important to address when expanding the production capacity. The complexity of production is further constrained by vaccine lability, with many vaccines requiring cold chain maintenance during transportation and storage, some at very low temperatures. In addition, supply chain networks for manufacturing and packaging processes spread across different countries add to the complexity of producing consistently good quality batches of these susceptible biological products.

    From an economic perspective, investing in or scaling up vaccine manufacturing capacity has limited utility without sustainable demand. Overall vaccine demand depends on several factors: i) private, public, and donor market demands; ii) disease prevalence; iii) vaccine effectiveness and safety; iv) trust in the government and health system; and v) social norms, such as social influence, vaccination decisions of peers and vaccine free-riding behavior. For example, Gavi, the Global Vaccine Alliance, provides data on forecasting vaccine demand to assist stakeholders in understanding the vaccine market needs. On the supply side, health systems must also have adequate facility readiness to effectively deliver the vaccines.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, expedited regulatory approvals were crucial for the rapid development, manufacturing, and delivery of vaccines. However, prior to the pandemic, fragmented regulatory requirements, complex quality control standards, and the lack of a central monitoring and coordinating system to manage capacity had hampered vaccine manufacturing efforts.

    Setting up sustainable vaccine manufacturing capabilities also depends on issues around intellectual property rights of the vaccines. The current Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) established by the World Trade Organization grants disproportionate market power to the bigger developers and manufacturers and leads to market oligopoly, further increasing the barrier of entry for smaller manufacturers. While technology transfer as a method of collaboration is proposed to improve efficiency in manufacturing, it requires extensive and transparent knowledge sharing and active support from the original manufacturers to reproduce the original vaccines with acceptable variations. This entire technology transfer process may take from 18 months up to 30 months as it involves a wide range of activities and expertise, including specialized skills, documentation, laboratory technicians, and regulation registration. In public health emergencies where it is essential to ramp up vaccine production, this timeline delays access to life-saving vaccines.

    Vaccine manufacturing also has a profound impact on the environment. Vaccine packaging material, which is essential for transport and storage, can raise costs including disposal expenses. There is a significant increase in glass, plastic, and rubber residues from vaccine containers as well. Combined with the added waste from the process of vaccination, such as needles and syringes that are often non-biodegradable, vaccine manufacturing greatly affects the environment.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: Azerion publishes Interim Unaudited Financial Results Q4 2024 and Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results Full Year 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Strong Platform performance driving profitability

    Highlights of FY and Q4 2024

    Our FY 2024 performance reflects the year long focus on efficiency and profitability driven by continued investment in the advertising platform: 

    • FY 2024 Revenues up 13% from € 486.7 million1 to € 551.2 million
    • FY 2024 Adjusted EBITDA up 21% YoY from € 62.2 million1 to € 75.1 million

    Specifically in Q4 2024, we focused on driving synergies and eliminating redundant costs in the advertising platform: 

    • Q4 2024 Adjusted EBITDA up 14% YoY from € 26.4 million to € 30.1 million 
    • Core segment Platform outperformed the group with Adjusted EBITDA up 15% from € 22.8 million in Q4 2023 to € 26.2 million in Q4 2024
    • Maintained Q4 2024 Revenues at € 168 million (-2%) while integrating and reorganising 2022 and 2023 acquisitions in order to phase out low margin revenues and focus on increased profitability

    At the same time we used the last quarter to strengthen our position through new partnerships, acquisitions and further financing:

    • Signed 90 new publishers and connected 3 additional SSPs and DSPs to expand our digital audiences across Europe and the Americas and further integrated our publisher monetisation tool OneFMS across regions.
    • Finalised the acquisition of Goldbach Austria GmbH, one of the foremost digital and linear advertising brokers in the DACH region providing Azerion with additional digital out of home footprint and an annual revenue run rate of over € 20 million.  
    • Entered new partnerships with Produpress in Belgium and Moneytizer in France to enrich the unique content and audiences that we make available for brands and agencies.
    • Successfully completed the placement of additional bonds for an amount of € 50 million under Azerion’s existing Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bond framework of € 300 million.

    In addition, we further invested in our platform’s multi-cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities:

    • Added Huawei as cloud partner alongside AWS and Google in our Azerion multi-cloud setup reducing our reliance on single cloud vendors and decreasing our total cost of ownership.
    • Migration of Eniro to the Azerion multi-cloud bringing them higher quality, lower latency service and annual cost savings of over € 1.5 million once fully implemented.
    • Deployed our latest version of AI enhanced creative performance benchmark and outcome intelligence tools helping our advertisers and our operators to better understand which ads work best for various audiences in different circumstances and allowing for machine optimisation of campaigns.

    1 (excluding the divested social card games portfolio)

    Selected KPIs

    Financial Results – Azerion Group N.V.

    in millions of €

      Q4 2024 Q4 2023 Growth FY 2024 FY 2023 Growth
                 
    Platform Segment            
    Advertising Platform 126.3 126.0 0% 412.3 348.6 18%
    AAA Game Distribution (e-commerce) 26.9 31.7 (15)% 85.0 88.8 (4)%
    Revenue 153.2 157.7 (3)% 497.3 437.4 14%
    Operating profit / (loss) 7.2 5.6 29% (1.7) (2.0) (15)%
    Adj. EBITDA 26.2 22.8 15% 62.4 53.2 17%
                 
    Premium Games Segment1)            
    Revenue  14.8 14.1 5% 53.9 77.6 (31)%
    Operating profit / (loss) (0.1) 0.5 (120)% (0.7) 74.8 (101)%
    Adj EBITDA 3.9 3.6 8% 12.7 18.7 (32)%
                 
    Group (excluding social card games)            
    Revenue 168.0 171.8 (2)% 551.2 486.7 13%
    Operating profit / (loss)  7.1 6.1 16% (2.4) (8.2) (71)%
    Adj. EBITDA  30.1 26.4 14% 75.1 62.2 21%
                 
    Group (including social card games)            
    Revenue 168.0 171.8 (2)% 551.2 515.0 7%
    Operating profit / (loss)  7.1 6.1 16% (2.4) 72.8 (103)%
    Adj. EBITDA 30.1 26.4 14% 75.1 71.9 5%

    1)2023 figures for Premium Games contain results of the social cards game portfolio that was divested in Q3 2023. For detailed split of Premium Games results please refer to respective section below.

      Q4 2024 Q4 2023   FY 2024 FY 2023  
    Adj. EBITDA Margin %            
    Platform 17% 15%   13% 12%  
    Premium Games 26% 26%   24% 24%  
    Group (excluding social card games) 18% 15%   14% 13%  
    Group 18% 15%   14% 14%  

    Message from the CEO 

    Q4 was a strong quarter for us, marked by a clear focus on profitability. By maintaining operational discipline and executing on our strategic priorities, we successfully met our full-year 2024 guidance. This achievement reflects our commitment to sustainable growth and value creation for our shareholders.Throughout the year, we have dedicated significant time and resources to building an ecosystem that truly supports European publishers. Our platform empowers them to create engaging content, monetize effectively, and manage their resources with greater predictability. By fostering a high-performance environment, we are enabling European publishers to thrive in an increasingly competitive digital landscape by giving them a truly European choice.

    Looking ahead, we continue to see AI as a major opportunity to drive further innovation and efficiency. Managing over 250,000 auctions per second gives us a unique vantage point to leverage data at scale. We have developed generative AI advertising solutions that enhance campaign performance, while our latest AI-powered creative performance benchmarks and outcome intelligence tools are delivering valuable insights to our partners. These advancements position us at the forefront of AI-driven advertising, helping our customers achieve better results with greater precision thanks to a long history of machine learning at the core of our platform.

    At the same time, we also see an increasing number of opportunities to accelerate our growth through strategic partnerships and acquisitions. We have built a strong pipeline of actionable opportunities and are well-positioned to execute on them. Stay tuned to hear more about our expansion through partnerships throughout this year, alongside the continued deployment of our AI platform.

    – Umut Akpinar

    Financial overview

    Revenue

    Q4 2024

    Revenue for the quarter amounted to € 168.0 million, down (2.2)% from € 171.8 million in Q4 2023, mainly driven by lower consumer spending in AAA game distribution. 

    FY 2024

    Revenue for FY 2024 amounted to € 551.2 million, up 13.3% from € 486.7 million in FY 2023 excluding the social card games portfolio divested in Q3 2023, mainly driven by higher advertising spend across the Platform Segment, particularly in Direct Sales and the integration of past acquisitions. 

    Revenue was up 7.0% from € 515.0 million in FY 2023 including the revenue from the social card games portfolio of € 28.3 million in FY 2023.

    Earnings 

    Q4 2024

    Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was € 30.1 million compared to € 26.4 million in Q4 2023, an increase of 14.0% driven by improved performance in both Platform and Premium Games segments. Platform increase was largely due to the mix of Advertising Platform Revenue, increased share of Direct Sales and an increasingly efficient delivery operation. The Premium Games result was driven by the ongoing strong performance of Habbo Hotel Origins and product development across social casino and other metaverse titles, as well as further consolidation and integration efforts resulting in improved operational performance.

    The operating profit for the quarter amounted to € 7.1 million, compared to a profit of € 6.1 million in Q4 2023, mainly due to the successful integration of acquisitions and the subsequent synergies and cost reductions that were realised in the Platform segment.

    FY 2024

    Adjusted EBITDA in FY 2024 was € 75.1 million compared to € 62.2 million in FY 2023 excluding the divested social card games portfolio, an increase of 20.7% driven by higher advertising spend across the Platform Segment and improved performance of Premium Games, specifically metaverse titles due to the release and ongoing strong performance of Habbo Hotel Origins and product development across the social casino titles, plus efficiencies from the integration of previous acquisitions.. 

    Adjusted EBITDA in FY 2024 was up 4.5% from € 71.9 million in FY 2023 including the contribution from the social card games portfolio of € 9.7 million in FY 2023.

    The operating loss in FY 2024 amounted to € (2.4) million, compared to € (8.2) million in FY 2023 (excluding gain on the sale and the result of the social card games portfolio of € 81.0 million), driven by increased Platform revenue and contribution from Direct sales, improved performance of Premium Games, specifically metaverse titles due to the release and ongoing success of Habbo Hotel Origins and product development across the social casino titles plus efficiencies from optimisation and consolidation efforts, and notwithstanding the one-off increase in operating expenses related to the settlement of a commercial dispute and renegotiation of contingent consideration terms for one of the acquisitions.

    Cash flow

    Q4 2024

    Cash flow from operating activities in Q4 2024 was an inflow of € 10.0 million, mainly due to strong operating profit after cancellation of non-cash items of € 22.5 million, offset by movements in net working capital reflecting an increase in trade and other payables of € 4.9 million and an increase in trade and other receivables of € (7.6) million, net € (8.3) million paid in interest and € (1.2) million paid in income tax. 

    Cash flow from investing activities was an outflow of € (18.2) million, due to payments for tangible and intangible assets of € (6.5) million and net cash outflow on acquisition of subsidiaries of € (11.7) million. 

    Cash flow from financing activities was an inflow of € 31.5 million, mainly due to net proceeds in the amount of € 34.5 million (net of transaction costs) from additional bonds placed under the existing Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bond framework offset by repayments of external borrowings and the principal portion of lease liabilities amounting in total to € (3.0) million.

    FY 2024

    Cash flow from operating activities in FY 2024 was an inflow of € 7.0 million, mainly due to strong operating profit after cancellation of non-cash items of € 52.6 million, offset by movements in net working capital reflecting a decrease in trade and other payables of € (32.5) million and a decrease in trade and other receivables of € 19.9 million, utilisation of provisions of € (3.1) million, net € (25.7) million paid on interest and € (4.2) million paid in income tax. 

    Cash flow from investing activities was an outflow of € (36.8) million, mainly due to payments for tangible and intangible assets of € (20.8) million and net cash outflow on acquisition of subsidiaries of € (27.7) million, partly offset by the receipt of net deferred consideration for the sale of social card games portfolio in amount of € 11.2 million. 

    Cash flow from financing activities was an inflow of € 80.9 million, mainly due to net proceeds in the amount of € 92.1 million (net of transaction costs), consisting of € 82.7 million from additional bonds placed under the existing Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bond framework and a Revolving Credit Facility of € 9.4 million, offset by repayments of external borrowings and the principal portion of lease liabilities amounting in total to € (11.0) million.

    Capex

    Azerion capitalises development costs related to the internal development of assets, a core activity to support innovation in its platform. These costs primarily relate to developers’ time devoted to the development of the platform, games and other new features. In Q4 2024 Azerion capitalised € 4.8 million, equivalent to 19.2% (Q4 2023: € 3.4 million, equivalent to 12.4%) of gross personnel costs excluding restructuring provision expense. In FY 2024 Azerion capitalised € 16.2 million, equivalent to 16.0% (FY 2023: € 17.5 million, equivalent of 16.2%) of gross personnel costs excluding restructuring provision expense.

    Financial position and borrowing 

    Net interest-bearing debt*) amounted to € 203.8 million as at 31 December 2024, mainly comprising the outstanding bond loan with a nominal value of € 265 million (part of a total € 300 million framework) and lease liabilities with a balance of € 19.4 million less the cash and cash equivalents position of € 90.6 million.

    *)As defined in the Terms & Conditions of the Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bonds ISIN: NO0013017657. Please also refer to the Definitions section and the notes of this Interim Report for more information.

    Platform Segment

    Our Platform segment includes our digital advertising activities, AAA Game Distribution (formerly referred to as e-commerce), Casual Game Distribution (being the operation and distribution of casual games) and Azerion Sports. The Platform segment generates Revenue mainly by displaying digital advertisements in both game and general content, as well as selling and distributing AAA games. Advertisers are serviced through two models: i) Direct sales, which involve a direct engagement between Azerion’s commercial teams and advertisers or their agencies in the placement of digital advertisements, and ii) Automated auction sales in which advertising inventory is purchased through the open market. Platform is also integrated with parts of our Premium Games segment, leveraging inter-segment synergies.

    Selected business highlights in Q4 2024 include:

    • Azerion rated as the leading advertising network in France by Médiamétrie in collaboration with NetRatings.
    • 90 new publishers signed and launched including tuttocampo.it and allermedia.se providing greater reach for digital advertising.
    • Eniro has deployed our Full Monetisation Solution which we are continuing to roll out across all our regions, including Italy in Q4 2024.
    • Azerion Intelligence launched enabling new demographic segments in the Azerion DMP.
    • Azerion DMP is now integrated with Magnite and OpenX SSPs and our audiences for CTV are available via Pubmatic SSP.
    • Launched Smart AI Curation in the Azerion Marketplace further improving the ability to create custom audiences.
    • Azerion Casual Games Distribution expanded its reach in Q4 by onboarding 40 new publishers, including third-party channels such as Samsung Instant Plays. By the end of the quarter, its casual games portfolio exceeded 21,000 titles, demonstrating steady year-over-year growth

    Platform – Selected Financial KPIs

    Financial results – Platform

    In millions of €

      Q4 2024 Q4 2023 FY 2024 FY 2023
    Advertising Platform 126.3 126.0 412.3 348.6
    AAA Game Distribution (formerly e-commerce) 26.9 31.7 85.0 88.8
    Total Revenue 153.2 157.7 497.3 437.4
    Operating profit / (loss) 7.2 5.6 (1.7) (2.0)
    Adj. EBITDA 26.2 22.8 62.4 53.2
             
    Revenue growth % – Advertising Platform 0.2%   18.3%  
    Revenue growth % – AAA Game Distribution  (15.1%)   (4.3%)  
    Total Revenue growth % (2.9%)   13.7%  
    Adjusted EBITDA growth / (decrease) % 14.9%   17.3%  
    Adjusted EBITDA margin % 17.1% 14.5% 12.5% 12.2%

    Total Platform Revenue of € 153.2 million in Q4 2024, compared to € 157.7 million in Q4 2023, a decrease of (2.9)% mainly due to lower revenues in our AAA Game distribution. Total Platform Revenue of € 497.3 million in FY 2024, an increase of 13.7% compared to € 437.4 million in FY 2023, mainly due to growth in advertising revenue from Direct sales.

    Advertising Platform Revenue of € 126.3 million in Q4 2024, almost flat compared to the € 126.0 million in Q4 2023, mostly the result of an offset between growth in the direct business and the integration of revenues from acquired businesses. In Q4 2024, Azerion’s Direct sales contributed approximately 70% of Platform advertising revenue, with the balance provided by Automated auction sales. FY 2024 Advertising Platform Revenue came to € 412.3 million, up 18.3% compared to € 348.6 m in 2023.

    In Q4 2024, AAA Game Distribution generated Revenue of € 26.9 million as compared to € 31.7 million in Q4 2023, a decrease of approximately (15.1)% due to fewer high-profile AAA game releases in Q4 2024 (for example Concord™ by PlayStation didn’t get the consumer traction Sony expected and was subsequently pulled from 3rd party distribution) and optimising towards profitability rather than revenue which meant that the business sold smaller but higher margin titles.  In Q4 2024, AAA Game Distribution Revenue represented 17.6% of total Platform Revenue, as compared to 20.1% in Q4 2023. 

    Total Platform Operating Profit of € 7.2 million in Q4 2024, compared to € 5.6 million in Q4 2023, a significant increase of 28.6% largely due to the successful integration of acquisitions and the subsequent synergies and cost reductions that were realised. Total Platform Operating Loss of € (1.7) million in FY 2024, compared to € (2.0) million in FY 2023, an improvement largely due the aforementioned results of our efforts to integrate acquisitions, create synergies and reduce costs throughout the year. 

    Total Platform Adjusted EBITDA of € 26.2 million in Q4 2024, compared to € 22.8 million in Q4 2023, an increase of 14.9% largely due to the mix of Advertising Platform Revenue, increased share of Direct Sales and an increasingly efficient delivery operation. Total Platform Adjusted EBITDA of € 62.4 million in FY 2024, compared to € 53.2 million in FY 2023, an increase of 17.3% mainly as a result of growth in advertising revenue from Direct sales and the integration of previous acquisitions.

    Advertising – Selected Operational KPIs

    Advertising – Operational KPIs

      Q4 2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024 Q4 2024
    Avg. Digital Ads Sold per Month (bn) 13.9 11.9 12.1 12.6 14.1
    Avg. Gross Revenue per Million Processed Ad Requests across the Azerion Platform (EUR)1) 34.5 25.4 29.0 23.4 24.3

    1)Average gross revenue per million processed ad requests across Azerion Platform is calculated by dividing gross advertising revenue (processed by Azerion’s advertising auction and monetisation platforms) by a million advertisement requests processed by Azerion’s advertising auction and monetisation platforms.

    Note: Both Advertising Operational KPIs now include data relating to the Hawk acquisition as of Q4 2023.

    The Average Digital Ads sold per Month increased to 14.1 billion in Q4 2024 from 13.9 billion in Q4 2023, an increase of 1.4%, reflecting the Platform’s demand side growth due to the integration of past acquisitions and the consolidation of Azerion’s monetisation technology into a single scalable media buying platform. 

    The Average Gross Revenue per Million Processed Ad Requests across the Azerion Platform in Q4 2024 was € 24.3, compared to € 34.5 in Q4 2023, a decline year on year as we onboarded several high volume but relatively low revenue publishing partners in Q4 2024.   

    Premium Games Segment

    Since the end of Q3 2023, the Premium Games segment has consisted of social casino games and metaverse games. Azerion completed the sale of its social card games portfolio to Playtika Holding Corp. on 28 August 2023 and its contribution to the Premium Games segment ceased at that date. The segment generates revenue mainly by offering users the ability to make in-game purchases for extra features and virtual goods to enhance their gameplay experience. This segment aims to stimulate social interaction among players and build communities, offering an extended value proposition to advertisers and generating cross-selling opportunities with the Platform segment. 

    Selected Q4 2024 business highlights

    • Habbo Origins revenue has continued to progress several months after its release demonstrating solid long term potential and we have released new features such as Boom, a new game within Habbo Origins, which is intended to increase user engagement.
    • ⁠New releases and packages for players of our Social Casino games such as dynamic bet sizes, bet roulette and Holiday themed collections.

    Premium Games – Selected Financial KPIs

    Financial results – Premium Games

    In millions of € 

      Q4 2024 Q4 2023 FY 2024 FY 2023
    Revenue (excluding social card games) 14.8 14.1 53.9 49.3
    Social card games portfolio – – – 28.3
    Total Revenue 14.8 14.1 53.9 77.6
    Operating profit / (loss) (excluding social card games) (0.1) 0.5 (0.7) (6.2)
    Social card games portfolio – – – 81.0
    Total Operating profit / (loss) (0.1) 0.5 (0.7) 74.8
    Adjusted EBITDA (excluding social card games) 3.9 3.6 12.7 9.0
    Social card games portfolio – – – 9.7
    Total Adjusted EBITDA 3.9 3.6 12.7 18.7
             
    Revenue growth % (excluding social card games) 5.0% – 9.3% –
    Adjusted EBITDA growth % (excluding social card games) 8.3% – 41.1% –
    Adjusted EBITDA margin % (excluding social card games) 26.4% 25.5% 23.6% 18.3%

    Revenue of € 14.8 million in Q4 2024, as compared to € 14.1 million in Q4 2023, an increase of 5.0%, mainly driven by the increased number of paying users in metaverse titles due to the ongoing strong performance of Habbo Hotel Origins combined with new Social Casinos sale features, improved discount strategies and increased partner user acquisition spend. Revenue was € 53.9 million in FY 2024, as compared to € 49.3 million in FY 2023 (excluding social card games), an increase of 9.3%, driven by social casino and metaverse performance and the factors previously described for Q4 2024, partly offset by the sale of Woozworld at the start of January 2024 (totaling € 1.7 million Revenue in FY 2023).

    Adjusted EBITDA of € 3.9 million in Q4 2024, compared to € 3.6 million in Q4 2023, an increase of 8.3%, mainly driven by improved performance from metaverse titles due to the ongoing strong performance of Habbo Hotel Origins, consolidation and integration efforts resulting in improved operational performance and product development across the social casino and other metaverse titles. Adjusted EBITDA of € 12.7 million in FY 2024, as compared to € 9.0 million (excluding social card games), an increase of 41.1% compared to FY 2023 reflecting the increased performance of our metaverse titles due to the launch of Habbo Hotel origins, consolidation and integration efforts resulting in improved operational performance and product development across the social casino and other metaverse titles offset by the shift in new user generation to mobile in Azerion’s social casino environment which has higher growth potential over time, but also higher transaction costs as compared to web.

    Operating Loss of € (0.1) million in Q4 2024, compared to Operating Profit of € 0.5 million in Q4 2023, mainly driven by end of year adjustments in depreciation and amortisation.

    Operating Loss of € (0.7) million in FY 2024, compared to € (6.2) million in FY 2023 (excluding social card games), an improvement once again reflecting the developments described for Adjusted EBITDA above.

    Premium Games – Selected Operational KPIs

    Premium Games – Operational KPIs

      Q4 2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024 Q4 2024
    Avg. Time in Game per Day (min) 95.0 87.0 81.0 84.7 89.3
    Avg. DAUs (thousands) 255.4 251.2 252.9 239.4 227.4
    Avg. ARPDAU (EUR) 0.47 0.42 0.53 0.57 0.59
    • The Average Time in Game per Day (min) decreased by (6)% in Q4 2024 to 89.3 minutes per day as compared to 95.0 minutes per day in Q4 2023 due to slightly shorter average game time in the newly released Habbo Origins title compared with the rest of the metaverse games.
    • The Average Daily Active Users (DAUs) decreased by (11)% in Q4 2024 to 227.4 compared to Q4 2023 of 255.4, mainly due to lower user acquisition spend and increased focus on greater engagement with higher paying users.  
    • The Average Revenue per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) increased by 26% in Q4 2024 to € 0.59 compared to Q4 2023 of € 0.47, driven by improved in-game sales mechanics in social casino, features and events. 

    Outlook

    With our Full Year 2024 Net Revenue at € 551 million, the closing of several partnerships in the last months of the year, our subsequent bond issue in December, and the opportunities we see for the coming year, our Full Year 2025 Net Revenue is expected to be in the range of approximately € 600 million to € 650 million, with annual growth thereafter in the medium term expected to be approximately 10%. 

    Adjusted EBITDA for full year 2025 is expected to be at least approximately € 85 million, with annual Adjusted EBITDA margin thereafter in the medium term expected to be in the range of approximately 14% to 16% through further integrations, synergies and scale effects.

    Other information

    Interest-bearing debt

    Interest-bearing debt

    in millions of €

      31 December 2024 31 December 2023
    Total non-current indebtedness 268.7 172.0
    Total current indebtedness 25.9 12.6
    Total financial indebtedness 294.6 184.6
    Deduct Zero interest-bearing loans (0.2) (0.1)
    Interest-bearing debt 294.4 184.5
    Less: Cash and cash equivalents (90.6) (40.3)
    Net Interest-bearing debt (Bond terms) 203.8 144.2

    References to bond terms in the table above refer to the terms as defined in the Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bonds ISIN: NO0013017657

    Reconciliation of Profit / (loss) for the period to Adjusted EBITDA  

    Reconciliation of Profit / (loss) for the period to Adjusted EBITDA – Q4

    in millions of €

      Q4
      2024 2023
      Azerion Group Premium Games Platform Other Azerion Group Premium Games Platform Other
    Profit / (loss) for the period 3.3       (7.2)      
    Income Tax expense (6.7)       (2.4)      
    Profit / (loss) before tax (3.4)       (9.6)      
    Net finance costs 11.0       15.7      
    Share in profit/(loss) of associate (0.5)       –      
    Operating profit / (loss) 7.1 (0.1) 7.2 – 6.1 0.5 5.6 –
    Depreciation & Amortisation 15.5 3.6 11.9 – 13.9 3.3 10.6 –
    Share in profit/(loss) of associate 0.5 – 0.5 – – – – –
    Other 4.1 1.2 2.9 – 1.7 (0.2) 1.9 –
    Acquisition expenses1) 2.8 (0.9) 3.7 – 3.9 (0.1) 4.0 –
    Restructuring 0.1 0.1 – – 0.8 0.1 0.7 –
    Adjusted EBITDA 30.1 3.9 26.2 – 26.4 3.6 22.8 –

    1)In the past, all changes to the fair value of liabilities for contingent considerations were adjusted out of EBITDA on the basis that these impacts were acquisition related. Management has decided to cease these adjustments where the consideration is contingent upon the achievement of financial targets, because these changes in fair value are offsetting opposite movements already included in the operational performance of the acquired entity. This change has been applied prospectively. 

    Reconciliation of Profit / (loss) for the period to Adjusted EBITDA – FY

    in millions of €

      FY
      2024 2023
      Azerion Group Premium Games Platform Other Azerion Group Premium Games Platform Other
    Profit / (loss) for the period (35.4)       25.1      
    Income Tax expense (6.0)       19.0      
    Profit / (loss) before tax (41.4)       44.1      
    Net finance costs 39.5       28.7      
    Share in profit/(loss) of associate (0.5)       –      
    Operating profit / (loss) (2.4) (0.7) (1.7) – 72.8 74.8 (2.0) –
    Depreciation & Amortisation 47.8 11.5 36.3 – 46.4 12.9 33.5 –
    Share in profit/(loss) of associate 0.5 – 0.5 – – – – –
    Social card games portfolio – – – – (72.6) (72.6) – –
    Other 5.7 1.5 4.2 – 3.2 0.7 2.5 –
    Acquisition expenses1) 22.2 – 22.2 – 14.4 1.1 13.3 –
    Restructuring 1.3 0.4 0.9 – 7.7 1.8 5.9 –
    Adjusted EBITDA 75.1 12.7 62.4 – 71.9 18.7 53.2 –

    1)In the past, all changes to the fair value of liabilities for contingent considerations were adjusted out of EBITDA on the basis that these impacts were acquisition related. Management has decided to cease these adjustments where the consideration is contingent upon the achievement of financial targets, because these changes in fair value are offsetting opposite movements already included in the operational performance of the acquired entity. This change has been applied prospectively. 

    Additional notes:

    Acquisition expenses for FY 2024 include € 7.7 million relating to:

    • € 4.8 million in Q2 2024 on one-off settlement of a commercial dispute and contingent consideration fair value loss (non-operational performance target) relating to a previous acquisition 
    • € 2.9 million in Q3 2024 on renegotiation of contingent consideration terms for one of the acquisitions.

    Operating expenses

    Breakdown of Operating expenses

    in millions of €

      Q4 FY
    2024 2023 2024 2023
    Personnel costs (20.2) (24.9) (86.2) (98.5)
    Includes:        
    Restructuring related expenses (0.1) (0.8) (1.3) (7.7)
    Acquisition related one-off items – – (1.7) –
             
    Other expenses (12.5) (8.7) (40.7) (37.3)
    Includes:        
    One-off settlement expenses – – (3.0) –
             
    Operating expenses (32.7) (33.6) (126.9) (135.8)

    Condensed consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

    Condensed consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

    In millions of €

      Q4 FY
      2024 2023 2024 2023
    Revenue 168.0 171.8 551.2 515.0
    Costs of services and materials (112.4) (117.9) (377.4) (332.3)
    Personnel costs (20.2) (24.9) (86.2) (98.5)
    Depreciation (3.0) (2.2) (9.0) (8.1)
    Amortisation (12.5) (11.7) (38.8) (38.3)
    Other gains and losses1) (0.3) (0.3) (1.5) 72.3
    Other expenses (12.5) (8.7) (40.7) (37.3)
    Operating profit / (loss) 7.1 6.1 (2.4) 72.8
             
    Finance income 3.1 1.0 7.0 8.5
    Finance costs (14.1) (16.7) (46.5) (37.2)
    Net Finance costs (11.0) (15.7) (39.5) (28.7)
             
    Share in profit/(loss) of associate 0.5 – 0.5 –
             
    Profit / (loss) before tax (3.4) (9.6) (41.4) 44.1
    Income tax expense 6.7 2.4 6.0 (19.0)
    Profit / (loss) for the period 3.3 (7.2) (35.4) 25.1
             
    Attributable to:        
    Owners of the company 3.3 (7.9) (36.7) 23.7
    Non-controlling interest – 0.7 1.3 1.4
             
    Exchange difference on translation of foreign operations (0.3) (0.3) 1.0 (0.6)
    Financial assets fair value through OCI 0.0 – (0.8) –
    Total other comprehensive income (0.3) (0.3) 0.2 (0.6)
    Total comprehensive income/(loss) 3.0 (7.5) (35.2) 24.5
             
    Attributable to:        
    Owners of the company 3.0 (8.2) (36.5) 23.1
    Non-controlling interest – 0.7 1.3 1.4

    1)Earn-out results have been reclassified from Other expenses to Other gains and losses

    Condensed consolidated statement of financial position

    Condensed consolidated statement of financial position

    in millions of €

      31 December 2024 31 December 2023
    Assets    
    Non-current assets 409.2 413.6
    Property, plant and equipment 24.3 17.0
    Goodwill 192.6 187.1
    Intangible assets 167.0 176.3
    Non-current financial assets 4.9 30.8
    Deferred tax asset 7.6 2.3
    Investment in joint venture and associate 12.8 0.1
         
    Current assets 299.6 238.4
    Trade and other receivables 208.4 196.7
    Current tax assets 0.6 1.4
    Cash and cash equivalents 90.6 40.3
    Total assets 708.8 652.0
         
    Equity    
    Share capital 1.2 1.2
    Share premium 143.6 140.2
    Legal reserve 33.2 27.7
    Share based payment reserve 12.6 12.7
    Currency translation reserve (1.0) (1.9)
    Fair value through OCI (0.8) –
    Retained earnings (117.1) (75.6)
    Shareholders’ equity 71.7 104.3
    Non-controlling interest 6.2 5.3
    Total equity 77.9 109.6
         
    Liabilities    
    Non-current liabilities 310.9 220.1
    Borrowings 256.0 161.9
    Lease liabilities 12.7 10.1
    Provisions 1.6 1.6
    Deferred tax liability 25.3 30.0
    Other non-current liability 15.3 16.5
         
    Current liabilities 320.0 322.3
    Borrowings 19.2 8.4
    Provisions 2.2 3.6
    Trade payables 136.9 142.0
    Accrued liabilities 97.5 112.7
    Current tax liabilities 14.0 13.4
    Lease liabilities 6.7 4.2
    Other current liabilities 43.5 38.0
    Total liabilities 630.9 542.4
    Total equity and liabilities 708.8 652.0

    Condensed consolidated statement of cash flow

    Condensed consolidated statement of cash flow

    In millions of €

      Q4 Q4 FY FY
      2024 2023 2024 2023
    Cash flows from operating activities        
    Operating profit / (loss) 7.1 6.1 (2.4) 72.8
    Adjustments for operating profit / (loss):        
    Depreciation and amortisation & Impairments 15.5 13.9 47.8 46.4
    Movements in provisions per profit and loss (0.1) 0.9 1.1 8.8
    Gain on sale of social card game portfolio – – – (72.6)
    Loss on sale of subsidiaries – 0.1 – 0.1
    Share-based payments expense – 0.1 0.4 0.8
    Adjustment for acquisitions and disposals presented under investing activities – – 5.7 (2.9)
             
    Changes in working capital items:         
    (Increase)/Decrease in trade and other receivables (7.6) (6.4) 19.9 12.2
    Increase (decrease) in trade payables and other payables 4.9 25.0 (32.5) 14.8
             
    Utilisation of provisions (0.3) (3.1) (3.1) (9.9)
    Interest received 0.2 0.3 1.1 0.3
    Interest paid (8.5) (3.2) (26.8) (17.2)
    Income tax paid (1.2) (2.7) (4.2) (3.7)
    Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities 10.0 31.0 7.0 49.9
             
    Cash flows from investing activities        
    Payments for property, plant and equipment (0.3) (0.1) (0.8) (1.5)
    Payments for intangibles (6.2) (3.7) (20.0) (23.3)
    Net cash outflow on acquisition of subsidiaries (11.7) (10.8) (27.7) (43.9)
    Net cash inflow/(outflow) from sale of business – – 11.2 66.0
    Distributions from equity method investees – – 0.5 –
    Net cash outflow on acquisition of securities and equity investments – – – (2.6)
    Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities (18.2) (14.6) (36.8) (5.3)
             
    Cash flows from financing activities        
    Proceeds from external borrowings 34.5 162.6 92.1 163.1
    Repayment of external borrowings (0.1) (200.7) (3.3) (204.3)
    Payment of principal portion of lease liabilities (2.9) (1.8) (7.7) (6.8)
    Early cancelation of lease liability – – – (1.5)
    Dividends paid to shareholders of non-controlling interests – – (0.2) (0.4)
    Costs related to the issuance of new bond – (3.5) – (3.5)
    Fees and costs related to the redemption of the old bond – (1.5) – (1.5)
    Other inflows (outflows) from financing activities – (0.5) – (0.5)
    Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities 31.5 (45.4) 80.9 (55.4)
             
    Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 23.3 (29.0) 51.1 (10.8)
    Effect of changes in exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents (1.0) 0.1 (0.8) 0.2
    Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 68.3 69.2 40.3 50.9
    Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 90.6 40.3 90.6 40.3

    Definitions

    Adjusted EBITDA represents Operating Profit / (Loss) excluding depreciation, amortisation, impairment of non-current assets, restructuring and acquisition related expenses and other items at management discretion, principally those assessed as extraordinary items or non-recurring items which are not in line with the ordinary course of business.

    Adjusted EBITDA Margin represents Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Revenue.

    Average gross revenue per million processed ad requests across Azerion Platform is calculated by dividing gross advertising revenue (processed by Azerion’s advertising auction and monetisation platforms) by a million advertisement requests processed by Azerion’s advertising  auction and monetisation platforms.

    Average time in game per day measures how many minutes per day, on average, the players of Premium Games spend in the games. This demonstrates their engagement with the games, which generates more opportunities to grow the ARPDAU.

    Average DAUs represents average daily active users, which is the number of distinct users per day averaged across the relevant period.

    ARPDAU represents Average Revenue per Daily Active User, which is revenue per period divided by days in the period divided by average daily active users in that period and represents average per user in-game purchases for the period.

    Financial Indebtedness represents as defined in the terms and conditions of the Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bonds ISIN: NO0013017657 any indebtedness in respect of:

    • monies borrowed or raised, including Market Loans;
    • the amount of any liability in respect of any Finance Leases;
    • receivables sold or discounted (other than any receivables to the extent they are sold on a non-recourse basis);
    • any amount raised under any other transaction (including any forward sale or purchase agreement) having the commercial effect of a borrowing;
    • any derivative transaction entered into in connection with protection against or benefit from fluctuation in any rate or price (and, when calculating the value of any derivative transaction, only the mark to market value shall be taken into account, provided that if any actual amount is due as a result of a termination or a close-out, such amount shall be used instead);
    • any counter indemnity obligation in respect of a guarantee, indemnity, bond, standby or documentary letter of credit or any other instrument issued by a bank or financial institution; and
    • (without double counting) any guarantee or other assurance against financial loss in respect of a type referred to in the above paragraphs (1)-(6).

    Net Interest-bearing debt as defined in the terms and conditions of the Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bonds ISIN: NO0013017657 means the aggregate interest-bearing Financial Indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents (including any cash from a Subsequent Bond Issue standing to the credit on the Proceeds Account or another escrow arrangement for the benefit of the Bondholders) of the Group in accordance with the Accounting Principles (for the avoidance of doubt, excluding any Bonds owned by the Issuer, guarantees, bank guarantees, Subordinated Loans, any claims subordinated pursuant to a subordination agreement on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Agent and interest-bearing Financial Indebtedness borrowed from any Group Company) as such terms are defined in the terms and conditions of the Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bonds ISIN: NO0013017657.

    Operating expenses are defined as the aggregate of personnel costs and other expenses as reported in the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income. More details on the reporting of cost by nature can be found in the published annual financial statements of 2023.

    Operating Profit / (Loss) represents revenue less costs of services and materials, operating expenses, depreciation and amortisation and other gains and losses.

    Disclaimer and Cautionary Statements

    This communication contains information that qualifies as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

    This communication may include forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Azerion to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. Words and expressions such as aims, ambition, anticipates, believes, could, estimates, expects, goals, intends, may, milestones, objectives, outlook, plans, projects, risks, schedules, seeks, should, target, will or other similar words or expressions are typically used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause the actual results, performance or events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this communication. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

    Any forward-looking statements reflect Azerion’s current views and assumptions based on information currently available to Azerion’s management. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and Azerion does not assume any obligation to update or revise such statements as a result of new information, future events or other information, except as required by law.

    The interim financial results of Azerion Group N.V. as included in this communication are required to be disclosed pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Senior Secured Callable Floating Rate Bonds ISIN: NO0013017657.

    This report has not been reviewed or audited by Azerion’s external auditor.

    Certain financial data included in this communication consist of alternative performance measures (“non-IFRS financial measures”), including Adjusted EBITDA. The non-IFRS financial measures, along with comparable IFRS measures, are used by Azerion’s management to evaluate the business performance and are useful to investors. They may not be comparable to similarly titled measures as presented by other companies, nor should they be considered as an alternative to the historical financial results or other indicators of Azerion Group N.V.’s cash flow based on IFRS. Even though the non-IFRS financial measures are used by management to assess Azerion Group N.V.’s financial position, financial results and liquidity and these types of measures are commonly used by investors, they have important limitations as analytical tools, and the recipients should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of Azerion Group N.V.’s financial position or results of operations as reported under IFRS.

    For all definitions and reconciliations of non-IFRS financial measures please also refer to www.azerion.com/investors.

    This report may contain forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures. The Company is unable to provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures to the most comparable IFRS financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile those non-IFRS financial measures to the most comparable IFRS financial measures is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of Azerion. Moreover, estimating such IFRS financial measures with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-IFRS financial measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable IFRS financial measure are calculated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Azerion Group N.V.’s consolidated financial statements.

    This communication does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities or any other financial instruments.

    Contact

    Investor Relations: ir@azerion.comMedia relations: press@azerion.com 

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: BW Offshore: Dividend information

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Dividend information

    Reference is made to the Q4 2024 Presentation released 27 February 2025.

    BW Offshore Limited (“BW Offshore”) provides the following key information relating to its cash dividend for Q4 2024.

    Cash dividend:
    Cash dividend amount: USD 0.14 per share

    Declared currency: USD

    Timeline:
    Date of approval: 26 February 2025

    Last day inclusive: 28 February 2025

    Ex-date: 3 March 2025

    Record date: 4 March 2025

    Dividend payment date and delivery of Dividend Shares to shareholders: On or about 11 March 2025

    This information is published in accordance with the requirements of the Continuing Obligations.

    IR@bwoffshore.com   www.bwoffshore.com

    About BW Offshore:
    BW Offshore engineers innovative floating production solutions. The Company has a fleet of 3 FPSOs with potential and ambition to grow. By leveraging four decades of offshore operations and project execution, the Company creates tailored offshore energy solutions for evolving markets world-wide. BW Offshore has around 1,100 employees and is publicly listed on the Oslo stock exchange.

    This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND, GARBARINO, NADLER, KEAN, GOLDMAN INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN, BICAMERAL LEGISLATION TO FIX WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM FUNDING SHORTFALL

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer

    Without Congressional Action, The WTCHP Will Have To Start Turning Away First Responders And Survivors, Cut Back Access To Care For Existing Enrollees By 2028

    Today, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and U.S. Representatives Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Dan Goldman (D-NY) joined advocates and survivors to introduce the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025. Representative Tom Kean (R-NJ) is also an original House cosponsor. 

    Despite recent congressional action, the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) continues to face an impending funding shortfall. As a result, by October 2028, the program will be forced to close enrollment to new 9/11 responders and survivors, and existing enrollees will face direct cuts to their care and be denied medical monitoring and treatment. 

    The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 would update the program’s outdated funding formula to ensure adequate funding until the program’s expiration in 2090. The bill would also increase funding for data collection on 9/11-related conditions and expand access to mental health care for program members. 

    “‘Never Forget’ does not mean just commemorating 9/11, it is a promise to always take care of our 9/11 first responders and survivors. That’s why we are introducing legislation to stop funding patches and make this healthcare program funded permanently: now and forever,” said Senator Schumer. “Our 9/11 heroes should not have to come down here year after year, month after month, pleading for the funding for the healthcare they have earned, deserve, and was promised to them. It’s time for America to put its money where its mouth is and prove to the heroes of 9/11 that we mean it when we say will Never Forget.”

    “Yet again, we are introducing a bill to fix a projected funding shortfall in the World Trade Center Health Program,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Thousands of Americans risked their lives to protect our country in its darkest hour, and it is now our responsibility as members of Congress to be there for them as they continue to battle the horrific health ramifications from that day and the many days after. Our bill updates the funding formula for the WTCHP so that no 9/11 hero has to worry about losing coverage year after year. It is beyond time to get this passed, and I look forward to working across the aisle to do so.” 

    “Today, alongside my House and Senate co-leads, responders, and survivors, I was proud to announce the reintroduction of the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act,” said Congressman Garbarino. “This legislation would ensure the World Trade Center Health Program has the resources it needs to continue providing care for those suffering from 9/11-related conditions. We made a promise to never forget, and today, we stood together to reaffirm our commitment to delivering on that promise.”

    “While over twenty years have passed since the 9/11attacks, so many of our heroic responders and survivors continue to carry with them the burden of that terrible day as they have fallen sick from the air surrounding Ground Zero,” said Congressman Nadler. “Congress must uphold the promise made to our first responders and survivors by fully funding the WTCHP to provide the injured and their families the aid they need and deserve. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025, which will address the funding shortfall to keep the program available for those who need it for years to come.”

    “Every New Yorker has been impacted by the profound loss and devastating pain from the September 11th attacks, including those like me who lived in Lower Manhattan at the time,” said Congressman Goldman. “We owe a permanent debt to the first responders and unwavering support for the survivors who continue to bear the physical and emotional scars. The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act will ensure that these heroes receive the health care they are owed. As representatives of New York, it is our bipartisan duty to guarantee that these American heroes receive the assistance they deserve from the federal government.”

    “Everyone remembers the dark day of 9/11, a day etched in history,” said Congressman Kean. “We honor all who ran toward danger, risking everything to help those in need. As an original cosponsor of the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025, I am committed to ensuring that the heroes and survivors of 9/11 receive the care and support they deserve. This bill corrects outdated funding formulas, expands mental health resources, and strengthens data collection to address the long-term health impacts of that tragic day. We have a responsibility to stand by those who sacrificed so much, and this legislation reaffirms that commitment.”

    In addition to Reps. Garbarino, Nadler, Goldman, and Kean the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 is cosponsored by Reps. Michael Lawler (R-NY), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), George Latimer (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Nick Langworthy (R-NY), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Pat Ryan (D-NY), Josh Riley (D-NY), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Nydia Valazquez (D-NY), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Tim Kennedy (D-NY), Grace Meng (D-NY), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

    “Cancer, COPD, Pulmonary Fibrosis and other serious respiratory illnesses are literally decimating the 9/11 Community from the toxic aftermath of 9/11,” said 9/11 advocate John Feal. “But we fail to mention the Toxic Redundancy in DC that continues to to take its toll on the deathly ill men & women, uniform and non uniform heroes and survivors who continue to travel over and over and over again to implore lawmakers to enact legislation again. The redundancy of traveling, the redundancy of being away from family, the redundancy of telling their stories, and the redundancy of me watching them die one by one. So one more time, no one last time we implore Congress to “ACT” now, so we can be left alone. The WTCHP is a lifeline for 140,000. $3 billion is a small ask for what we have been through dealing with our injuries, illnesses and most of all the redundancy we had to put up with for over two decades now. Together, today “WE” all have the opportunity “NOW” to stop the madness, the cruelty and redundancy!”

    “My name is Mariama James. I’m the daughter of two now late survivors dead of 9/11-related disease, the mom of three young survivors all with multiple WTC Health Program certifications, and I’m a health-impacted survivor myself,” said Mariama James, 9/11 survivor and advocate. “I stepped into this fight as a young woman, believing justice and care would swiftly follow the devastation of 9/11. Now, nearly 24 years later, I stand here still, imploring our leaders: fully and permanently fund the WTC Health Program. Time is not healing, it’s revealing the ongoing toll, and our commitment must match that reality.” 

    “Firefighters and officers are suffering from 9/11-related illnesses every day,” said Jim Brosi, President of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association. “Congress has a duty to uphold the promise made to first responders and ensure the WTCHP is fully funded for as long as our members need care. Access to treatment and medication is the least we can do for those who sacrificed their personal health to save the lives of countless victims.”

    “While it has been nearly 24 years since terrorists attacked our nation on 9/11, we still have daily reminders of the heavy price paid by the NYPD, FDNY, and first responders across this nation who willingly and selflessly answered the call to duty,” said NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) President Vincent Vallelong. “These brave men and women did not delay, they did not hesitate, and their actions in the weeks and months that followed September 11 gave our nation hope and the strength to rebuild.  The original Zadroga Act and the World Trade Center Health Program recognize our nation’s obligation to care for those first responders who sacrificed so much on that fateful day. The SBA is grateful for the continuing strong leadership of Sen. Gillibrand, Rep. Garbarino, Sen. Schumer, and the New York delegation in reintroducing the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act and ensuring Congress fulfills its obligation to fully fund this critical program.”

    ““We walked the halls of Congress in 2010 to enact the World Trade Center Health Program, and again in 2015 to reauthorize this vital program to ensure our nation took care of those suffering from 9/11-related chronic health conditions as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Attacks that left many Port Authority Police Officers with severe disabling and life-threatening illnesses contracted during the selfless performance of their duties in the World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery efforts,” said Frank Conti, President of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association. “The WTCHP is facing a significant funding gap that, if not addressed by Congress, will impact its ability to provide necessary care to our nation’s 9/11 responders and survivors, including the officers we represent. We thank Senator Gillibrand and Representatives Garbarino and Goldman for their support, and we stand with them in urging Congress to pass the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act now. This is not over…the sacrifice continues.”  

    “We fought for the enactment and near permanent reauthorization of the WTCHP as we view it as our obligation and duty to ensure that responders, who risked their lives to protect us, and survivors continue to receive the care that they deserve,” said Bill Johnson, Executive Director of the National Association of Police Organizations. “The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act honors that obligation and ensures the WTCHP is fully funded. We thank Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Garbarino for their leadership and stand with them in support of this legislation.”

    We have vowed to never forget our heroes and survivors of the horrific attacks of 911. Yet, here we stand today, fighting for them once more. The actions Elon Musk has taken against the World Trade Center Health program are as insulting as they are inhumane. Our heroes and survivors deserve the utmost respect and the best possible care. I would like to thank the New York and New Jersey Republican members of Congress, led by Congressman Garbarino, for having the courage to stand shoulder to shoulder with us. Their actions were instrumental in having President Trump rescind the termination of many of the program’s key providers. Standing here in solidarity, hopefully Congressman Garbarino can convince more of his colleagues to do the right thing and fully fund the World Trade Center Health Program. As stated earlier we will never forget, and we will never go away until all our heroes and survivors are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.” said Thomas Hart, President of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act and President of Local 94 International Union of Operating Engineers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Waimauku Automotive Launches TradeTyres

    Source: Press Release Service – Press Release/Statement:

    Headline: Waimauku Automotive Launches TradeTyres

    Waimauku, New Zealand – Feb 2025 – Waimauku Automotive, a well-established and trusted automotive service provider, is thrilled to announce the launch of its new online tyre retail platform. This exciting venture brings a vast selection of high-quality tyres at competitive prices directly to consumers, coupled with the reliable service Waimauku Automotive is known for.

    The post Waimauku Automotive Launches TradeTyres first appeared on PR.co.nz.

    – –

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: BW Offshore: Fourth quarter and full year results 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Fourth quarter and full year results 2024

    HIGHLIGHTS

    • Q4 EBITDA USD 72 million and 2024 EBITDA USD 318 million in line with guidance
    • Strong commercial performance with Q4 operating cashflow of USD 79 million and 2024 operating cashflow of USD 363 million
    • Robust balance sheet with an equity ratio 30.8% and USD 540 million in available liquidity
    • Q4 cash dividend raised to USD 0.14 per share
    • Increased cash flow in sight with Barossa FPSO on track for April sail-away
    • Full-year 2025 EBITDA guidance in the range of USD 220-250 million

    BW Offshore continues to progress the Barossa project according to schedule and well within the updated budget. As of end January 2025, construction and integration was 99% complete and commissioning at 85% completion. The vessel is currently being prepared for sail-away in late April. The FPSO is on track for first gas in mid-2025.

    For 2025, BW Offshore expects to report EBITDA in the range of USD 220 to 250 million. The EBITDA outlook reflects the firm backlog for BW Adolo and BW Catcher and the expected start of IFRS revenue recognition from BW Opal at full practical completion during the fourth quarter. Dayrate received for the BW Opal during the start-up and early production phase from mid-2025 will be amortised over the 15-year contract period. Contract negotiations for BW Pioneer are progressing well, however no guidance on EBITDA has been included beyond firm contract.

    The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD 0.14 per share. The shares will trade ex-dividend from 3 March 2025. Shareholders recorded in VPS following the close of trading on Oslo Børs on 4 March 2025, will be entitled to the distribution payable on or around 11 March 2025. The total dividend for 2024 amounts to USD 59.2 million, equal to 50% of net Income for the year.

    “We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet supported by consistent high commercial uptime and robust cash generation from the fleet with 2024 EBITDA above initial guidance. Our commitment to returning value to shareholders stands firm as reflected in the increased fourth-quarter dividend, and a total distribution for 2024 reflecting 50% of net profit for a second consecutive year,” said Marco Beenen, CEO of BW Offshore. “As BW Opal progresses to schedule and soon departs the yard in Singapore for the Barossa field, we are moving ahead with potential new FPSO projects that meet our selection criteria in a market with high tendering and FEED activity.”

    FINANCIALS
    EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2024 was USD 71.9 million (USD 83.2 million in Q3). The EBITDA reflects solid operational performance across the FPSO fleet. Third quarter EBITDA was higher due to the final contribution from engineering and design work on the Sakarya project.

    EBIT for the fourth quarter was USD 30.8 million (USD 37.6 million).

    Net financial items were positive at USD 19.4 million (negative USD 16.4 million), of which net interest expense amounted to USD 3.0 million (USD 4.3 million). Fourth quarter was impacted by the recognition of a valuation gain on the finance liability related to the Barossa project, due to changes in timing of future expected cash flows and a positive mark-to-market adjustment on interest rate hedges resulting from an increase in swap rates.

    The share of loss from equity-accounted investments was USD 9.5 million, including a valuation adjustment on the Barossa finance receivable related to changes in timing of future expected cash flows (loss of USD 5.7 million).

    Net profit for the fourth quarter increased significantly to USD 40.8 million (USD 13.0 million).

    Total equity as of 31 December 2024 was USD 1 246.6 million (USD 1 208.6 million). The equity ratio was 30.8% at the end of the quarter (29.6%).

    As a result of strong cash generation from the fleet and the sale of BW Energy shares in 2024, the Company was net cash positive by USD 74.4 million as of 31 December 2024 (USD 38.4 million net cash positive at the end of September).

    Available liquidity was USD 540 million, excluding consolidated cash from BW Ideol and including USD 233.8 million available under the corporate loan facility.

    FPSO OPERATIONS
    The FPSO fleet continued to deliver stable uptime in the quarter with a weighted average fleet uptime of 99.2% (98.9% in the third quarter).

    BW Adolo delivered strong commercial performance as fourth quarter production increased to 37,150 barrels per day (bbls/day), resulting in strong cash flow stemming from the tariff under the contract that generate USD 1.5/bbl for the first 20,000 bbls/day of production and USD 3/bbl for production beyond 20,000 bbls/day.

    Performance from BW Catcher and BW Pioneer was stable and consistent with high commercial uptime.

    FPSO PROJECTS
    In January, BW Offshore was selected to perform the pre-FEED study for the Bay du Nord FPSO project by Equinor. The project reflects BW Offshore’s expertise in floating production solutions for harsh environment conditions, and commitment to delivering sustainable and innovative solutions. The pre-FEED study will play an important role in supporting Equinor’s strategic goals for the Bay du Nord development.

    LOW CARBON ENERGY SOLUTIONS
    BW Offshore is committed to contribute to the energy transition by developing low-carbon offshore energy production solutions, by leveraging FPSO expertise to deliver low-carbon energy and expand into new sectors, focusing on low-emission oil and gas, CO2 transport, gas-to-power and floating ammonia to meet evolving energy demands. The Company maintains a disciplined approach with selective and diligent allocation of capital and a commitment to creating shareholder value.

    BW Offshore also owns 64% of BW Ideol. BW Ideol is a leader in offshore floating wind technology and co-development, with over 14 years of experience in the development of floating wind projects.

    In December, BW Ideol’s project partners, EDF Renewables and Maple Power, were awarded the Mediterranean Tender (AO6) floating offshore wind project in France. The 250-megawatt (MW) development will leverage BW Ideol’s proprietary Damping Pool® technology, a proven solution that optimises the stability and performance of floating wind turbines in challenging marine environments. A total of 12 floating foundations and turbines are planned to be installed at the site.

    OUTLOOK
    Growing energy demand continues to drive interest in developing new infrastructure-type FPSO projects with long production profiles, low break-even costs and focus on lower emissions. Increased project complexity, combined with higher construction costs, necessitates financial structures with significant day rate prepayments during the construction period for new lease and operate projects.

    Alternatively, oil and gas majors may finance and own FPSOs, relying on FPSO specialists for the design, construction and installation scope, combined with operation and maintenance services. BW Offshore is well positioned to offer both solutions.

    In recent years, the number of sanctioned FPSO projects have lagged market expectations. Consequently, there is a growing number of projects at various stages of maturity, reflecting a pent-up demand for FPSOs. Increased FEED and tendering activity is a function of this, and BW Offshore expects that a number of the FPSO projects the Company is engaging with will reach a final investment decision over the next 12 to 36 months. The market dynamics, combined with the high competence levels required for project execution, should enable better risk-reward and improved margins for FPSO companies going forward.

    BW Offshore continues to selectively evaluate new projects that meet required return targets, offer contracts with no residual value risk after firm period, and provide a financeable structure with strong national or investment-grade counterparties.

    BW Offshore expects that the fleet will continue to generate significant cash flows in the time ahead, supported by the USD 5.3 billion firm contract backlog at the end of December 2024.

    Please see attached the Q4 Presentation. The earnings tables are available at:

    https://www.bwoffshore.com/ir/

    BW Offshore will host a webcast of the financial results 09:00 (CET) today. The presentation will be given by CEO Marco Beenen and CFO Ståle Andreassen.

    Webcast information:
    You can follow the presentation via webcast with supporting slides and a Q&A module, available on:

    BW Offshore Limited – Q4 Presentation Webcast

    Please note, that if you follow the webcast via the above URL, you will experience a 30 second delay compared to the main conference call. The web page works best in an updated browser – Chrome is recommended.

    For further information, please contact:
    Ståle Andreassen, CFO, +47 91 71 86 55
    IR@bwoffshore.com or www.bwoffshore.com

    About BW Offshore:
    BW Offshore engineers innovative floating production solutions. The Company has a fleet of 3 FPSOs with potential and ambition to grow. By leveraging four decades of offshore operations and project execution, the Company creates tailored offshore energy solutions for evolving markets world-wide. BW Offshore has around 1,100 employees and is publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

    This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with the Minister of Trade and Industry of Timor-Leste

    Source: ASEAN

    Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with Minister of Trade and Industry of Timor-Leste Filipus Nino Pereira, in Johor, Malaysia, on the sidelines of the 31st ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Retreat. They discussed Timor Leste’s accession process to ASEAN, particularly under the pillar of ASEAN Economic Community.

    The post Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with the Minister of Trade and Industry of Timor-Leste appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: Unifiedpost delivers on strategic refocus and improves balance sheet strength

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press  release – Regulated information –  Inside inforrmation

    La Hulpe, Belgium – February 27, 2025, 7:00 a.m. CET – [REGULATED INFORMATION] Unifiedpost Group SA (Euronext: UPG) (Unifiedpost), a leading provider of integrated business communications solutions, presents its results for FY 2024. Unifedpost has executed its strategic priorities, including portfolio rationalisation, while improving its balance sheet strength and operational efficiencies.

    Strategic & Operational Highlights

    • Completed divestments of FitekIN/ONEA and Wholesale Identity Access Business
    • De-risked balance sheet through partial repayment of Francisco Partners’ senior facility loan by €95m
    • Significantly reduced net debt position by ~€ 73m at year-end
    • Enhanced governance structure with a strengthened Board and new CEO
    • Strategic partnerships delivering value creation across key markets

    FY 2024 Financial Highlights – Continuing operations1

    • Reported first contributions from income from client money2 amounting to €0,7m
    • Steady growth in Subscription and Transaction3 revenue of 8,2% y/y and 9,3% y/y, respectively
    • Digital service gross margin (incl. net income from client money) increased by 1,7%pts y/y to 59,7%
    • EBITDA (incl. net income from client money) improved to € -9,2m from € -11,0m in FY 2024

    FY 2025 Guidance (based on current reporting structure)

    • ~25% increase in Subscription revenue, with a gradual improvement expected throughout the year
    • FCF4 positive by year-end

    Commenting on the FY 2024 results, Nicolas de Beco, CEO, remarked: “2024 was marked by strategic refocusing and important structural changes. We have streamlined our business with the completed divestments of FitekIN/ONEA and the Wholesale Identify Access Business, the reduction of complexity and the de-risking of our balance sheet. While our financial performance reflects these necessary adjustments, this marks a key turning point – we have established a solid framework which allows us to move forward with greater clarity and direction. There is strong engagement from our customers, teams, and stakeholders.

    Looking to 2025, we have a clear roadmap and a strong commitment to execution. Our focus will be on selected geographies where e-invoicing regulations are expected to come into force within the next 12-18 months, strengthening strategic partnerships, and embedding payment solutions as a key upselling driver. At the same time, we remain committed to disciplined cost and cash management. As a SaaS business, accelerating growth remains a priority. We have set clear subscription revenue targets for the next 12 months, and with continued discipline, collaboration, and focus, we are well-placed to make progress on our objectives.”

    Key financial figures – Continuing operations1 (unless otherwise stated)

    (EUR thousands) FY 2024 FY 2023 Change (%)
    Group revenue and income from client money 84.273 94.169 -10,5%
    Digital service revenue 47.132 50.336 -6,4%
               Subscription 14.435 13.343 +8,2%
               Transaction 20.192 18.472 +9,3%
    • of which includes income from client money2
    		 723 – N/A
                Other 12.505 18.521 -32,5%
    Traditional communication service revenue 37.141 43.833 -15,3%
    Gross profit digital services (incl. net income from client money) 28.119 29.207 -3,7%
    Gross margin digital services 59,7% 58,0% +1,7%pts
    EBITDA (incl. net income from client money) (9.204) (11.032) 16,6%
    Profit/(loss) for the period (continuing and discontinuing operations)5 71.195 (83.146) N/A
    Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period6 14.525 22.534 -35,5%

    Portfolio rationalisation and value crystallisation

    Throughout 2024, Unifiedpost executed several strategic divestments of non-core assets that substantially strengthened its financial position while maintaining valuable commercial partnerships.

    In July, Unifiedpost completed the divestment of FitekIN/ONEA for €7,2m and announced the sale of 21 Grams to PostNord Strålfors, which remains subject to regulatory approval from the Swedish Competition Authority.

    In December, Unifiedpost completed the sale of its Wholesale Identity Access Business to Your.World B.V. for an aggregate equity purchase price projected between € 108,4m and € 116,1m, subject to the realisation of the earn-out condition. Unifiedpost has utilised part of the proceeds from the sale of the Wholesale Identity Access business to reduce its debt obligations to Francisco Partners Credit. Upon completion of the transaction, Unifiedpost repaid a principal amount of €75 million, along with accrued and due interest, bringing the total repayment to €94,8 million. The remaining balance is expected to be paid back within 2025.

    Looking ahead, Unifiedpost will continue to evaluate opportunities for divesting non-digital services as part of its strategic focus on core digital offerings and platform development.

    Digital services business

    Both subscription and transaction revenue reported steady growth of 8,2% and 9,3% y/y, respectively. Meanwhile, other revenue decreased from € 18,5m to € 12,5m, reflecting a higher base effect from one-off deals in Q4 2023, and the ending of low margin professional service contracts.

    The gross margin percentage increased by 1,7% pts y/y to 59,7%, driven by two key factors: (i) improvement in cost efficiencies, and (ii) income from client money.

    The income from client money, results from leveraging our network and upselling embedded payment services. Income from client money amounted to € 0,7m in 2024, with momentum building in the fourth quarter.

    Moving forward, Unifiedpost will focus on accelerating subscription revenue growth as a key performance indicator. This growth will primarily be driven by opportunities in core European geographies where regulatory requirements for e-invoicing and digital business communications are expected to come into force within the next 12-18 months. Unifiedpost is positioned to capitalise on these regulatory catalysts, particularly in Benelux, France and Germany, where mandatory e-invoicing requirements will create market opportunities.

    Furthermore, the European Commission’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) initiative represents a shift in digital reporting and e-invoicing requirements across the EU, creating additional momentum for digital adoption. This regulatory framework will require businesses to implement digital solutions for real-time transaction reporting and e-invoicing, aligning with Unifiedpost’s platform capabilities and market positioning.

    Traditional communication services business

    Traditional communication services revenue decreased as expected (€ 37,1m in FY 2024 compared to € 43,8m in FY 2023), driven by a continued shift towards digital solutions and a decrease in managed service volumes. This led to a corresponding reduction in gross profit of € 2,9m. Additionally, the gross margin percentage decreased by 3,0%pts to 23,9%.

    Execution of cost-saving plan 2023-2024

    Unifiedpost launched a cost-saving plan in 2023, resulting in an overall cost decrease of € 5,9m y/y and a decrease in cash outflows of € 6,9m y/y.

    • R&D expenses decreased from € 18,4m y/y to € 17,0m. The cash component within these costs decreased by € 3,2m, while non-cash expenses (amortisation) rose by € 1,8m.
    • G&A expenses decreased from € 34,0m y/y to € 30,9m. Expenses for 2024 included € 0,7m in non-recurring costs directly associated with legal and consultancy costs.
    • S&M expenses decreased from € 21,1m y/y to € 19,6m.

    Significantly reduced net debt position by ~€73m at year end

    As at December 31, 2024, the net debt position amounts to € 29,5m, a decrease of € 72,9m compared to December 31, 2023.
    At the end of 2024, Unifiedpost reported a financial position with cash and cash equivalents totalling € 14,5m, including € 1,2m of restricted cash.

    Management remains committed to achieving a positive free cash flow7 position by the end of 2025. 

    Statement from the external auditor

    We are currently finalising the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Our independent auditor has confirmed that its audit procedures in relation to the financial information for the year ended 31 December 2024 as included in this press release are substantially completed and have not revealed any material corrections required to be made to the financial information included in this press release. Should any material changes arise during the audit’s finalisation, an additional press release will be issued.

    Investors & Media webcast

    Management will host a live video webcast for analysts, investors and media today at 11:00 a.m. CET.

    To register and attend the webcast, please click here:

    https://unifiedpost-group-full-year-2024-financial-results.open-exchange.net/registration

    A full replay will be available after the webcast at: https://investors.unifiedpostgroup.com/

    Financial Calendar:

    • 17 April 2025: Publication of the Annual Report for 2024
    • 20 May 2025: General Shareholder Meeting
    • 23 May 2025: Publication of the Q1 2025 business update
    • 26 August 2025: Publication of the H1 2025 results (webcast)

    Contact

    Alex Nicoll
    Investor Relations
    Unifiedpost Group
    alex.nicoll@unifiedpost.com

    Consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income (unaudited)

    Thousands of Euro, except per share data   For the period ended 31 December
        2024 2023 (*)
           
    Digital services revenues   46.409 50.336
    Digital services cost of services   (18.874) (21,129)
    Digital services gross profit   27,535 29.207
           
    Traditional communication services revenues   37.141 43.833
    Traditional communication services cost of services   (28.282) (32,075)
    Traditional communication services gross profit   8.859 11.758
           
    Research and development expenses   (17.022) (18.414)
    General and administrative expenses   (30.924) (33.961)
    Selling and marketing expenses   (19.592) (21.074)
    Other income / (expenses) – net   (1.160) (72)
    Net impairment losses   – (39.000)
    Loss from operations   (32.305) (71.556)
           
    Net financial income from client money   584 –
    Financial income   268 62
    Financial expenses   (22.998) (15.441)
    Share of profit / (loss) of associates and joint ventures   146 (573)
    Gain upon losing control over a subsidiary   3,972 –
    Loss before tax   (50.333) (87.508)
           
    Corporate income tax   (846) (745)
    Deferred tax   152 243
    LOSS FOR THE PERIOD FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS   (51.027) (88.011)
           
    Net profit from discontinued operations   122.222 4.865
    PROFIT / (LOSS) FOR THE PERIOD   71.195 (83.146)
    Other comprehensive income / (loss):   (656) (15)
    Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss, net of tax:      
    Remeasurements of defined benefit pension obligations   (37) 123
    Items that will or may be reclassified to profit or loss, net of tax:      
    Exchange gains arising on translation of foreign operations   104 36
    Exchange losses arising on translation of foreign operations related to discontinued operations   (723) (174)
    TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE PROFIT / (LOSS) FOR THE PERIOD   70.539 (83.161)
    Total loss for the period is attributable to:      
    Owners of the parent   71,031 (83,899)
    Continuing operations   (51,191) (88,764)
    Discontinued operations   122,222 4,865
    Non-controlling interests   164 753
    Total comprehensive loss for the period is attributable to:      
    Owners of the parent   70,375 (83,914)
    Continuing operations   (51,124) (88,604)
    Discontinued operations   121,499 4,690
    Non-controlling interests   164 753
    Profit/(loss) per share attributable to the equity holders of the parent:      
    Basic   1,94 (2,32)
    Diluted   1,94 (2,32)
    Loss from continuing operations per share attributable to the equity holders of the parent:      
    Basic   (1,41) (2,46)
    Diluted   (1,41) (2,46)

    (*) The comparative figures for period ended 31 December 2023 have been restated to reflect the restatement of the profit and loss related to the discontinued operations in accordance with IFRS 5

    Consolidated statement of financial position (unaudited)

    Thousands of Euro   As at 31 December As at 31 December
        2024 2023
           
    ASSETS      
    Goodwill   92.048 113.069
    Other intangible assets   66.725 82.856
    Property and equipment   1.486 7.420
    Right-of-use-assets   9.391 9.734
    Investments in associates   2.400 1.493
    Deferred tax assets   39 776
    Other non-current assets   3.036 2.561
    Non-current assets   175.125 217.909
    Inventories   544 612
    Trade and other receivables   16.494 25.318
    Contingent consideration receivable   7.774 –
    Current tax assets   291 770
    Prepaid expenses   1.483 1.901
    Restricted cash related to client money8   75.798 3.789
    Cash and cash equivalents   14.525 22.534
    Current assets from continuing operations   116.909 54.924
    Assets classified as held for sale   31.250 5.145
    Current assets   148.159 60.069
    TOTAL ASSETS   323.284 277.978
           
    SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY AND LIABILITIES      
    Share capital   329.238 326.806
    Costs related to equity issuance   (16.029) (16.029)
    Share premium reserve   492 492
    Accumulated deficit   (164.603) (232.257)
    Reserve for share-based payments   175 1.831
    Other reserve   2.697 (1.581)
    Cumulative translation adjustment reserve   (4.470) (3.851)
    Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent   147.500 75.411
    Non-controlling interests   758 499
    Total shareholders’ equity   148.258 75.910
    Non-current loans and borrowings   29.010 110.517
    Liabilities associated with puttable non-controlling interests     200
    Non-current lease liabilities   6.376 6.193
    Non-current contract liabilities   387 4.430
    Deferred tax liabilities   1.463 4.636
    Non-current liabilities   37.236 125.976
    Current loans and borrowings   5.698 5.059
    Current liabilities associated with puttable non-controlling interests   3.980 7.560
    Current lease liabilities   3.232 3.547
    Trade and other payables   31.127 40.194
    Liabilities related to client money8   75.774 3.736
    Contract liabilities   5.330 13.487
    Current income tax liabilities   410 1.845
    Current liabilities from continuing operations   125.551 75.428
    Liabilities directly associated with assets classified as held for sale   12.239 664
    Current liabilities   137.790 76.092
    TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES   323.284 277.978

    Consolidated statement of changes in equity (unaudited)

    Thousands of Euro

     

    		  

     

     

     

    		 Share capital Costs related to equity issuance Share premium reserve Accumulated deficit Share based payments Other reserves Cumulative translation adjustment reserve Non-controlling interests Total equity
    Balance at 1 Jan 2024 326.806 (16.029) 492 (232.257) 1.831 (1.581) (3.851) 499 75.910
                         
    Result for the period   – – – 71.031 – – – 164 71.195
                         
    Other comprehensive income / (loss)   – – – (37) – – (619) – (656)
    Total comprehensive loss for the period   – – – 70.994 – – (619) 164 70.539
                         
    Conversion subscription rights   2.432 – – – (1.656) 1.656 – – 2.432
                         
    Current period profit AND OCI of NCI with put option   – – – – – 171 – (171) –
                         
    Changes in carrying value of liabilities associated with puttable NCI   – – – – – 280 – – 280
                         
    Acquisition of 20% of the shares in Unifiedpost d.o.o.   – – – (2.437) – 2.437 – – –
                         
    Release of NCI due to acquisition of 20% of the shares in Unifiedpost d.o.o.   – – – – – (266) – 266 –
                         
    Dividend payments   – – – (965) – – – – (965)
                         
    Other   – – – 62 – – – – 62
                         
    Balance at 31 Dec 2024 329.238 (16.029) 492 (164.603) 175 2.697 (4.470) 758 148.258
    Thousands of Euro

     

     

     

    		 Share capital Costs related to equity issuance Share premium reserve Accumulated deficit Share based payments Other reserves Cumulative translation adjustment reserve Non-controlling interests Total equity
    Balance at 1 Jan 2023 326.806 (16.029) 492 (148.497) 1.813 (2.864) (3.713) 281 158.290
                         
    Result for the period   – – – (83.899) – – – 753 (83.146)
                         
    Other comprehensive income / (loss)   – – – 123 – – (138) – (15)
    Total comprehensive loss for the period   – – – (83.776) – – (138) 753 (83.161)
                         
    Share-based payments   – – – – 18 – – – 18
                         
    Current period profit AND OCI of NCI with put option   – – – – – 535 – (535) –
                         
    Changes in carrying value of liabilities associated with puttable NCI   – – – – – 750 – – 750
                         
    Other   – – – 16 – (3) – – 13
                         
    Balance at 31 Dec 2023 326.806 (16.029) 492 (232.257) 1.831 (1.581) (3.851) 499 75.910

    Consolidated statement of cash flows (unaudited)

    Thousands of Euro For the period ended 31 December
        2024 2023
    CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES      
    Loss for the period   71.195 (83.146)
    Adjustments for:      
    • Amortisation and impairment of intangible fixed assets
    		   20.546 21.332
    • Impairment losses of goodwill
    		   – 38.574
    • Depreciation of property. plant & equipment
    		   1.041 1.489
    • Depreciation of right-of-use-assets
    		   4.129 4.429
    • Impairment of trade receivables
    		   (389) 335
    • Gain on disposal of fixed assets
    		   (15) (33)
    • Financial income
    		   (334) (174)
    • Financial expenses
    		   23.579 15.910
    • (Gain) realised upon losing control over subsidiaries
    		   (124.168) –
    • Loss of remeasurement at fair value less costs to sell for disposal groups
    		   6.342 –
    • Share of profit / (loss) of associate
    		   (146) 573
    • Income tax expense / (income)
    		   3.894 2.319
    • Deferred income tax expense
    		   (841) (1.387)
    • Share-based payment expense / own shares
    		   – 18
    Subtotal   4.833 238
           
    Changes in Working Capital      
    • (Increase) / decrease in trade receivables and contract assets
    		   (5.318)                         6.145
    • (Increase) / decrease in other current and non-current receivables
    		   (448) (61)
    • (Increase) / decrease in inventories
    		   (93) 209
    • Increase / (decrease) in trade and other liabilities
    		   9.420 7.729
    Cash generated from / (used in) operations   8.394 14.260
    Income taxes paid   (1.763) (3.222)
    Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities   6.631 11.038
           
    CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES      
    Payments made for the purchase of associate   (282) –
    Payments received for divestment of business   114.388 –
    Payments made for the purchase of intangibles and development expenses   (16.015) (16.372)
    Proceeds from the disposal of intangibles and development expenses   415 15
    Payments made for the purchase of property, plant & equipment   (247) (739)
    Proceeds from the disposal of property, plant & equipment   442 17
    Interest received   – 175
    Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities   98.701 (16.904)
           
    CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES      
    Conversion of subscription rights   2.432 –
    Proceeds from loans and borrowings   2.720 3.913
    Repayments of loans and borrowings – Francisco Partners   (75.000) –
    Repayments of loans and borrowings – other   (6.813) (6.367)
    Repayment of lease liabilities   (4.485) (4.524)
    Interest received   334 –
    Interest paid on loans and borrowings – Francisco Partners   (21.590) (3.286)
    Interest paid on loans and borrowings – other   (1.898) (1.295)
    Net cash provided by / (used in) financing activities   (104.300) (11.559)
    FX impact cash   (487) –
    Net increase / (decrease) in cash & cash equivalents   545 (17.425)
    Cash classified within current assets held for sale   (5.423) (74)
    Cash movement due to change in the consolidation range   (3.131) –
    Net increase/(decrease) in cash & cash equivalents, including cash classified within current assets held for sale   (8.009) (17.499)
    Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period   22.534 40.033
    Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period   14.525 22.534
           
           
           
               

    About Unifiedpost Group

    Unifiedpost is a leading SaaS company for SME business services built on “Documents”, “Identity” and “Payments”. Unifiedpost operates and develops a 100% SaaS-based platform for administrative and financial services that allows real-time and seamless connections between Unifiedpost’s customers, their suppliers, their customers, and other parties along the financial value chain. With its one-stop-shop solutions, Unifiedpost’s mission is to make administrative and financial processes simple and smart for its customers. For more information about Unifiedpost Group and its offerings, please visit our website: Unifiedpost Group | Global leaders in digital solutions

    Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements: The statements contained herein may include prospects, statements of future expectations, opinions, and other forward-looking statements in relation to the expected future performance of Unifiedpost Group and the markets in which it is active. Such forward-looking statements are based on management’s current views and assumptions regarding future events. By nature, they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that appear justified at the time at which they are made but may not turn out to be accurate. Actual results, performance or events may, therefore, differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, Unifiedpost Group does not undertake any obligation to update, clarify or correct any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in light of new information, future events or otherwise and disclaims any liability in respect hereto. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

    1 Excludes discontinued operations: Wholesale Identity Access Business and 21 Grams

    2 Money a company receives from or holds for, or on behalf of, a client (application IAS 7)

    3 Income from client money is a result of e-payment services and is included in digital services transaction revenue

    4 Free cash flow is defined as net income (i) plus non-cash items in the income statement, (ii) minus cash out for IFRS 16 adjustments, (iii) minus capital expenditure, (iv) minus reimbursement on loans and leasing for the reporting period

    5 Including capital gains from divested transactions

    6 Excluding restricted cash related to client money

    7 Free cash flow is defined as net income (i) plus non-cash items in the income statement, (ii) minus cash out for IFRS 16 adjustments, (iii) minus capital expenditure, (iv) minus reimbursement on loans and leasing for the reporting period

    8 The comparative figures 2023 have been restated to demonstrate the accounting policy related to client money.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gillibrand, Schumer, Garbarino, Nadler, Kean, Goldman Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation To Fix World Trade Center Health Program Funding Shortfall

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Kirsten Gillibrand
    Without Congressional Action, The WTCHP Will Have To Start Turning Away First Responders And Survivors, Cut Back Access To Care For Existing Enrollees By 2028
    Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Representatives Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Dan Goldman (D-NY) joined advocates and survivors to introduce the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025. Representative Tom Kean (R-NJ) is also an original House cosponsor. 
    Despite recent congressional action, the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) continues to face an impending funding shortfall. As a result, by October 2028, the program will be forced to close enrollment to new 9/11 responders and survivors, and existing enrollees will face direct cuts to their care and be denied medical monitoring and treatment. 
    The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 would update the program’s outdated funding formula to ensure adequate funding until the program’s expiration in 2090. The bill would also increase funding for data collection on 9/11-related conditions and expand access to mental health care for program members. 
    A full recording of the press conference is available here. 
    “Yet again, we are introducing a bill to fix a projected funding shortfall in the World Trade Center Health Program,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Thousands of Americans risked their lives to protect our country in its darkest hour, and it is now our responsibility as members of Congress to be there for them as they continue to battle the horrific health ramifications from that day and the many days after. Our bill updates the funding formula for the WTCHP so that no 9/11 hero has to worry about losing coverage year after year. It is beyond time to get this passed, and I look forward to working across the aisle to do so.” 
    “‘Never Forget’ does not mean just commemorating 9/11, it is a promise to always take care of our 9/11 first responders and survivors. That’s why we are introducing legislation to stop funding patches and make this healthcare program funded permanently: now and forever,” said Senator Schumer. “Our 9/11 heroes should not have to come down here year after year, month after month, pleading for the funding for the healthcare they have earned, deserve, and was promised to them. It’s time for America to put its money where its mouth is and prove to the heroes of 9/11 that we mean it when we say will Never Forget.”
    “Today, alongside my House and Senate co-leads, responders, and survivors, I was proud to announce the reintroduction of the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act,” said Congressman Garbarino. “This legislation would ensure the World Trade Center Health Program has the resources it needs to continue providing care for those suffering from 9/11-related conditions. We made a promise to never forget, and today, we stood together to reaffirm our commitment to delivering on that promise.”
    “While over twenty years have passed since the 9/11attacks, so many of our heroic responders and survivors continue to carry with them the burden of that terrible day as they have fallen sick from the air surrounding Ground Zero,” said Congressman Nadler. “Congress must uphold the promise made to our first responders and survivors by fully funding the WTCHP to provide the injured and their families the aid they need and deserve. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025, which will address the funding shortfall to keep the program available for those who need it for years to come.”
    “Every New Yorker has been impacted by the profound loss and devastating pain from the September 11th attacks, including those like me who lived in Lower Manhattan at the time,” said Congressman Goldman. “We owe a permanent debt to the first responders and unwavering support for the survivors who continue to bear the physical and emotional scars. The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act will ensure that these heroes receive the health care they are owed. As representatives of New York, it is our bipartisan duty to guarantee that these American heroes receive the assistance they deserve from the federal government.”
    “Everyone remembers the dark day of 9/11, a day etched in history,” said Congressman Kean. “We honor all who ran toward danger, risking everything to help those in need. As an original cosponsor of the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025, I am committed to ensuring that the heroes and survivors of 9/11 receive the care and support they deserve. This bill corrects outdated funding formulas, expands mental health resources, and strengthens data collection to address the long-term health impacts of that tragic day. We have a responsibility to stand by those who sacrificed so much, and this legislation reaffirms that commitment.”
    In addition to Reps. Garbarino, Nadler, Goldman, and Kean the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 is cosponsored by Reps. Michael Lawler (R-NY), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), George Latimer (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Nick Langworthy (R-NY), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Pat Ryan (D-NY), Josh Riley (D-NY), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Nydia Valazquez (D-NY), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Tim Kennedy (D-NY), Grace Meng (D-NY), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
    “Cancer, COPD, Pulmonary Fibrosis and other serious respiratory illnesses are literally decimating the 9/11 Community from the toxic aftermath of 9/11,” said 9/11 advocate John Feal. “But we fail to mention the Toxic Redundancy in DC that continues to to take its toll on the deathly ill men & women, uniform and non uniform heroes and survivors who continue to travel over and over and over again to implore lawmakers to enact legislation again. The redundancy of traveling, the redundancy of being away from family, the redundancy of telling their stories, and the redundancy of me watching them die one by one. So one more time, no one last time we implore Congress to “ACT” now, so we can be left alone. The WTCHP is a lifeline for 140,000. $3 billion is a small ask for what we have been through dealing with our injuries, illnesses and most of all the redundancy we had to put up with for over two decades now. Together, today “WE” all have the opportunity “NOW” to stop the madness, the cruelty and redundancy!”
    “My name is Mariama James. I’m the daughter of two now late survivors dead of 9/11-related disease, the mom of three young survivors all with multiple WTC Health Program certifications, and I’m a health-impacted survivor myself,” said Mariama James, 9/11 survivor and advocate. “I stepped into this fight as a young woman, believing justice and care would swiftly follow the devastation of 9/11. Now, nearly 24 years later, I stand here still, imploring our leaders: fully and permanently fund the WTC Health Program. Time is not healing, it’s revealing the ongoing toll, and our commitment must match that reality.” 
    “Firefighters and officers are suffering from 9/11-related illnesses every day,” said Jim Brosi, President of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association. “Congress has a duty to uphold the promise made to first responders and ensure the WTCHP is fully funded for as long as our members need care. Access to treatment and medication is the least we can do for those who sacrificed their personal health to save the lives of countless victims.”
    “While it has been nearly 24 years since terrorists attacked our nation on 9/11, we still have daily reminders of the heavy price paid by the NYPD, FDNY, and first responders across this nation who willingly and selflessly answered the call to duty,” said NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) President Vincent Vallelong. “These brave men and women did not delay, they did not hesitate, and their actions in the weeks and months that followed September 11 gave our nation hope and the strength to rebuild.  The original Zadroga Act and the World Trade Center Health Program recognize our nation’s obligation to care for those first responders who sacrificed so much on that fateful day. The SBA is grateful for the continuing strong leadership of Sen. Gillibrand, Rep. Garbarino, Sen. Schumer, and the New York delegation in reintroducing the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act and ensuring Congress fulfills its obligation to fully fund this critical program.”
    ““We walked the halls of Congress in 2010 to enact the World Trade Center Health Program, and again in 2015 to reauthorize this vital program to ensure our nation took care of those suffering from 9/11-related chronic health conditions as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Attacks that left many Port Authority Police Officers with severe disabling and life-threatening illnesses contracted during the selfless performance of their duties in the World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery efforts,” said Frank Conti, President of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association. “The WTCHP is facing a significant funding gap that, if not addressed by Congress, will impact its ability to provide necessary care to our nation’s 9/11 responders and survivors, including the officers we represent. We thank Senator Gillibrand and Representatives Garbarino and Goldman for their support, and we stand with them in urging Congress to pass the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act now. This is not over…the sacrifice continues.”  
    “We fought for the enactment and near permanent reauthorization of the WTCHP as we view it as our obligation and duty to ensure that responders, who risked their lives to protect us, and survivors continue to receive the care that they deserve,” said Bill Johnson, Executive Director of the National Association of Police Organizations. “The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act honors that obligation and ensures the WTCHP is fully funded. We thank Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Garbarino for their leadership and stand with them in support of this legislation.”
    We have vowed to never forget our heroes and survivors of the horrific attacks of 911. Yet, here we stand today, fighting for them once more. The actions Elon Musk has taken against the World Trade Center Health program are as insulting as they are inhumane. Our heroes and survivors deserve the utmost respect and the best possible care. I would like to thank the New York and New Jersey Republican members of Congress, led by Congressman Garbarino, for having the courage to stand shoulder to shoulder with us. Their actions were instrumental in having President Trump rescind the termination of many of the program’s key providers. Standing here in solidarity, hopefully Congressman Garbarino can convince more of his colleagues to do the right thing and fully fund the World Trade Center Health Program. As stated earlier we will never forget, and we will never go away until all our heroes and survivors are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.” said Thomas Hart, President of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act and President of Local 94 International Union of Operating Engineers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Education – Whitireia and WelTec connect with community at local events Te Rā o te Raukura and Waitangi Day in Porirua

    Source: Whitireia and WelTec

    Whitireia and WelTec have joined two Wellington events which focus on the wellbeing of local communities, celebrate culture and local talent, and commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
    The events, Te Rā o te Raukura in Waiwhetū, Lower Hutt (a Te Āti Awa and Āti Awa Toa FM event) and Waitangi Day in Porirua (a collaboration between Porirua City Council and Ngāti Toa Rangatira) both held annually, are important occasions in the calendar for local communities, with excellent turnouts, including record attendance this year at Waitangi Day in Porirua. The festivities include musical performances, food stands and artisanal stalls, with Whitireia and WelTec hosting an education stall at both.
    Te Rā o te Raukura, a whānau-oriented community cultural festival that focuses on social wellbeing, education, and health, provided a great opportunity for those enjoying the festivities to see firsthand some of the learning and support options at Whitireia and WelTec. Waitangi Day in Porirua is one of the largest celebrations of our nation’s day with an estimated 35,000 attendees this year, making it a fantastic event to connect with the local community and those who travelled from across the wider Wellington region to commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
    The Whitireia and WelTec stalls included interactive displays and showcased the learning journey, mahi (work) and projects completed by current ākonga (students) and graduates. These stories provided valuable insight into the impact of study, with highlights including a carpentry house model, samples of engineering projects, and a student-developed computer game, all demonstrating potential career paths for ākonga. Māori and Pasifika Trades Training and enrolments kaimahi (staff) alongside tutors from information technology, trades training, nursing, social work, construction, and engineering were able to talk through the pathway to gaining hands-on skills or study towards a qualification.
    Hinemoa Priest, Kaiwhakahaere Ngā Ara Me te Tautoko, Director Learner Pathways and Support at Whitireia and WelTec, explains that community connection is important. Positive education outcomes are an enormous contributor to economic and social wellbeing and the study options and support offered by Whitireia and WelTec can make a huge difference in the lives of learners, their families, and wider communities. “The exceptional support throughout a student’s study journey at Whitireia and WelTec and being able to study local and be close to home with whānau support, is an incredible advantage.”
    Plus, there is dedicated support for ākonga Māori at Whitireia and WelTec, with the Tamaiti Whāngai and Te Awarua teams on hand to support the success and participation of ākonga Māori. “Ākonga can walk in, have a hui, ask questions, and get wrap-around mentoring, pastoral, cultural and academic support. The teams also provide external advocacy to help learners navigate things like fees and accommodation”, says Hinemoa.
    Mark Oldershaw, Executive Director for Whitireia and WelTec says Te Rā o Te Raukura and Waitangi Day in Porirua are two wonderful events, both fostering community connection. “It is a privilege to reinforce Whitireia and WelTec’s commitment to providing vocational education, showcase our study options and be on hand to have conversations with those considering study and future work.”
    To enol with Whitireia and WelTec: visit https://www.whitireiaweltec.ac.nz/enrolment-information

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Hong Kong outlines plans to leverage strategic positioning, boost global connectivity

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will continue to leverage its strategic positioning as the “three centers and a hub” and make good use of the advantages of “one country, two systems,” the financial secretary of the HKSAR government said on Wednesday.
    While delivering the 2025-26 budget at the HKSAR’s Legislative Council, Paul Chan said it is imperative to do so, outlining a range of plans to inject new impetus into Hong Kong’s economy, consolidating and strengthening industries with clear advantages while actively nurturing and developing new industries.
    To reinforce Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center, Chan said the HKSAR government will introduce a series of measures across various fields, including the securities and derivatives market, fixed income and currency hub, as well as asset and wealth management center.
    The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited will put forward recommendations to enhance the issuance mechanism of structured products with a view to providing greater flexibility for product listing and trading, he said.
    The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is preparing to issue the third tranche of tokenized bonds, and will continue to encourage digital bonds issuances through the Digital Bond Grant Scheme, while actively exploring tokenizing traditional bonds issued, Chan said.
    To promote the connection of e-payment between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, the People’s Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are working closely to implement the linkage of faster payment systems of both places, with a view to providing round-the-clock real-time, small-value cross-boundary remittance service for residents in both places, said Chan, adding that the service is expected to be launched in mid-2025 at the soonest.
    To promote the construction of Hong Kong as an international trade center, Chan said that the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation will provide credit insurance for export services relating to multinational supply chain to render more comprehensive support to enterprises seeking to go global.
    Hong Kong will continue to leverage its role as a functional platform for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chan said, adding that Hong Kong will continue to further cultivate the ASEAN and Middle East markets, and explore opportunities in Central Asia, South Asia and North Africa.
    Chan reaffirmed that the HKSAR government will establish the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board this year to strengthen relevant research, promotion and manpower training to facilitate the sustainable development of the international maritime center.
    In addition, Hong Kong will help the home-developed C919 aircraft enter the global market, Chan said, noting that the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy will expand its training programs in this regard.
    To foster a talent hub, Chan said the HKSAR government will enhance the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals and the General Employment Policy by allowing young non-degree talents with professional and technical qualifications and experience to come to Hong Kong to join skilled trades facing manpower shortage.
    The HKSAR government will continue to attract more students, especially those from ASEAN and other countries under the BRI cooperation framework, to study in Hong Kong through various measures, including the Belt and Road Scholarship, he said. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Aged Care issues – Consumer NZ backs calls for court action against retirement village operators’ unfair contract terms

    Source: Consumer NZ

    Consumer NZ and the Retirement Village Residents Association are concerned retirement villages are ignoring warnings from the Commerce Commission about unfair terms in their contracts with residents. Both organisations are calling for the Commission to take further action.  

    Following complaints from Consumer NZ and the Retirement Village Residents Association (RVResidents), the Commerce Commission warned village operators some of their care claims and contract terms risked breaching the Fair Trading Act.  

    One term the Commission identified as potentially unfair allowed operators to charge residents for maintenance and repairs of chattels or fixtures within their units.  

    The Commission considered these terms likely to be unfair because the residents don’t have any ownership rights over their units, or the operator’s chattels, yet are expected to pay for maintenance and repairs.

    Despite the Commission’s warning, most of Metlifecare occupation right agreements (ORAs) still allow the operator to charge its residents for maintenance and repairs.  

    After this was brought to RVResidents attention, it recently lodged a further complaint with the Commission, asking it to take court action. Consumer backs this call.  

    Jon Duffy, Consumer NZ chief executive, says living in a village under an ORA isn’t the same as owning a home because residents have no ownership rights, and in most cases, aren’t entitled to any capital gains when their units are sold.

    “Even though residents don’t own the units, chattels or fixtures, they’re often responsible for the cost of maintenance, repairs and replacement of everything from heat pumps and blinds to light switches and power sockets.  

    “We think that’s completely unfair. Responsibility for repairing, replacing and maintaining operator-owned fixtures and chattels should fall on the retirement village.”

    Residents don’t want to make a fuss

    Di Sinclair, RVResidents national vice president and complaints coordinator, says the organisation receives ongoing complaints from Metlifecare residents about having to foot the bill for maintenance and repairs.

    “In one case, an elderly woman was charged $562 for a draft strip to close up a gap between her garage door and some uneven concrete outside.”

    Yet, according to Sinclair, under the Retirement Villages Code of Practice 2008, which sets out the obligations operators must meet, Metlifecare would be responsible for fixing the problem with the garage door, particularly as it was initially caused by the concrete beyond the woman’s villa.

    “The operator must keep the building and equipment in good working order. A garage door, particularly one attached to a unit, is part of that obligation,” Sinclair says.

    The resident fought the charge, and the operator backed down. It said it would pay half the repair cost and credited her account with $281. The resident reluctantly agreed to pay the reduced sum.

    “Residents are afraid of repercussions if they ‘make a fuss’, and they often feel they don’t have the emotional or physical strength to get into conflict with village management.

    “It’s not fair that they have to rely on advocates to enforce their rights,” says Sinclair.

    Consumer urges the Commission to hold retirement village operators to account

    RVResidents is asking the Commission to seek a court declaration that these terms are unfair.

    Consumer’s Jon Duffy agrees with Sinclair – residents shouldn’t have to get advocates involved to get a fair deal. ORA terms should be fair from the get-go, but often, they don’t meet the mark.

    “Unfortunately, there isn’t much residents can do if they think their village is relying on an unfair contract term – only the Commerce Commission can take action.  

    “This needs to change to ensure residents, and others facing unfair terms, are protected. In the meantime, we want to see the Commission give teeth to its warnings and take action to protect residents,” says Duffy.

    “We support RVResidents’ call to action and urge the Commission to hold operators to account.”

     

    Note

    Read the full article on Consumer’s website: How Metlifecare is ignoring the Commerce Commission’s warnings: https://consumernz.cmail19.com/t/i-l-fdrjtdk-ijjdkdttjk-t/

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scottish businesses sell to the world with £42 million lift

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Scottish businesses sell to the world with £42 million lift

    £42 million of export finance deals brokered with Scottish businesses over the last six months.

    • £42 million of export finance deals brokered with Scottish businesses since July
    • Boosting Scottish exports plays a vital role in growing the economy, a key part of the Plan for Change
    • Companies from a range of sectors including food and drink and offshore wind are benefitting from credit guarantees and insurance

    Businesses behind Scotland’s most emblematic exports have been able to grow thanks to £42 million in UK Export Finance (UKEF) deals brokered so far since the summer.

    Enabling companies such as Ferguson Whisky and manufacturer of fire and rescue vehicles Emergency One, which the government of Iraq has contracted to replace some of its fleet of fire engines, to expand to markets abroad helps to grow the economy and create jobs, delivering on the Plan for Change. 

    The latest Scottish business to benefit from support is Aberdeen-based First Tech – one of many offshore services firms in Scotland driving the energy transition and making the country a world-renowned centre of engineering skills. Scotland’s marine economy generated around £4.9 billion in 2022.

    UKEF is renewing a £12 million support package delivered with Virgin Money for First Tech subsidiary First Subsea, allowing it to continue its growth into the offshore wind market and provide UK-made products like cable protections systems, bend restrictor products or heavy lift connectors, across the globe.

    Minister Douglas Alexander will join UKEF representatives today at the ‘Made in Scotland’ roadshow, where he will encourage Scottish businesses to take advantage of the opportunities to sell abroad and hear first-hand about the support UKEF has provided.

    Minister for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander said:

    “Growing the economy is a key part of this UK Government’s Plan for Change, and we recognise the importance of boosting Scottish exports in achieving this.

    “We’re working hard to ensure that Scottish businesses have the support they need to sell to the world and grow, and the help that UK Export Finance provides is a crucial part of this.”

    Martin Suttie, First Tech Ltd Chairman said:

    “First Tech is very proud to be at the forefront of the energy transition story with our continued expertise in oil and gas being a launchpad to make meaningful developments in both the fixed and floating offshore wind market through First Subsea and also First Marine Solutions. 

    “Floating wind technology enables almost every country in the world to integrate floating wind renewable energy into their energy mix.  It is therefore vitally important that the industry continues to develop and prove large scale commercial developments if we are going to genuinely change the energy mix around the globe. The First Tech Group is excited to play an important part in making this transition happen.”

    UKEF is the UK government’s export credit agency, providing credit guarantees and insurance helping smaller businesses to overcome financial barriers to exporting.  Export credit is an integral part of the government trade support being promoted at the first ‘Made in Scotland, Sold to the World’ trade fair of 2025. 

    In 2021, Scotland’s exports were worth £50.1 billion, of which the majority – £33.5 billion – were goods.

    UKEF’s specialised trade finance offer sits alongside other sources of support from public organisations like the Export Support Service, UK Export Academy and British Business Bank, which can offer more general access to finance.

    Notes to editors:

    • UKEF is a UK government ministerial department and the nation’s export credit agency (ECA). UKEF helps exporters access working capital and manage the risk of not getting paid by offering a government guarantee. It supports companies of all sizes and multiple sectors across the UK.

    • UKEF works alongside other sources of public financing and business support in Scotland, including DBT Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, UK Infrastructure Bank, British Business Bank and Scottish National Investment Bank.

    • In 2024, Ferguson Whisky Limited secured a new £450,000 funding package from Virgin Money thanks to UKEF support. Ferguson can support investments in whisky and also organises distillery tours and other events.

    • Based in Cumnock, Emergency One is the UK’s leading manufacturer of fire and rescue vehicles. A UKEF loan has allowed the Iraqi government to purchase 31 Emergency One vehicles and deliver one of its biggest-ever investments into its emergency services. The vehicles will help to tackle the frequent fires which break out in Iraq, especially in the summer.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A middle power with ‘great and powerful friends’: Australia’s changing role in the region

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia, and Professor of International Relations, La Trobe University

    Debating Australia’s role in world politics is not always high on the political agenda. Elections here are more often fought on economic issues than foreign or defence policy. And while the major parties have different views on foreign policy, there tends to be bipartisanship on the central tenets of our strategic policy, including Australia’s alliance with the United States.

    In recent years, however, Australia has found itself wedged between two great powers: its security guarantor, the US, and its major trading partner, China. The increasing strategic competition between these two great powers, especially in Asia, has raised new questions about how Australia should manage these relationships and conceive of its role in the world.

    For some countries, having a prominent role on the global stage may be more obvious than for others. Wealthy states with large militaries and populations, for example, often play the part of “great powers”. These countries tend to make claims about their unique rights and responsibilities, such as having a greater say in multilateral institutions (like the United Nations) and the “rules” intended to govern international conduct.

    However, most of the world’s countries are not great powers. For a middle-sized nation like Australia, its role on the global stage is not necessarily static but determined by how our leaders balance national interests and values.

    These, in turn, are shaped by “material factors”, such as geography, population and economy size, natural resources, shared political ideals (for example, our belief in democratic institutions), norms and culture.

    In addition, a middle-sized country’s global role can change depending on how leaders perceive contemporary threats and challenges to their security.

    Australia as a ‘middle power’

    The National Defence Strategy released in 2024 describes Australia as an “influential middle power”. According to the strategy, this is demonstrated by several things:

    • our enduring democratic values
    • our history of safeguarding international rules and contributing to regional partnerships
    • the strong foundations of our economy
    • the strength of our partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.

    Whether Australia should be described as a “middle power”, though, has long been the subject of political debate. Since H.V. “Doc” Evatt, then-attorney general and minister for external affairs, used the term in 1945, it has been most often (but not always) associated with the Labor Party.

    Recent Coalition governments have been more reluctant to view Australia as “just” a middle power.

    Alexander Downer, the foreign minister in the Howard government, would occasionally use the term “pivotal power”. Pivotal powers, as one political analyst put it, are “destined to shape the contours of geopolitics in key regions of the world” due to their strategic location, economic power and political influence.

    Meanwhile, Julie Bishop, foreign minister in the Abbott and Turnbull administrations, preferred the term “top 20 country”, arguing this better reflected Australia’s standing and level of influence on the global stage.

    At the core of this historical debate is the extent to which a country like Australia can – and does – have influence in the region and globally.

    Middle powers have different characteristics from great or smaller powers. Size, geography and economic wealth affect the extent to which they can shape the world. As a result, middle powers often adopt certain types of actions or behaviours to enhance their influence.

    This concept, known as “middle power diplomacy”, has often been associated with Australia.

    There are a number of ways middle powers do this, such as by:

    • supporting adherence to international law and rules (because these can help restrain more powerful states from imposing their will on others)

    • encouraging cooperation through multilateralism (cooperation between multiple states)

    • finding creative new solutions to global problems, such as climate change

    • taking the diplomatic lead on specific, but important, issues.

    A liberal-democratic middle power, such as Australia, may also seek to promote its values internationally, including the respect for human rights, free and open trade, and the principles of democratic governance and accountability.

    Australia’s reliance on ‘great and powerful friends’

    In addition, middle powers often choose to align themselves with a bigger power to boost their influence even further.

    In Australia’s case, its strategic dependence on the United States developed, in part, by historical anxieties that faraway “great and powerful friends”, as former diplomat Allan Gyngell phrased it, might abandon it in a potentially hostile region.

    Prior to the second world war, Australia relied on its former colonial ruler, Britain, for its security. The Fall of Singapore in 1942, in which Japanese forces routed British and Australian troops defending the island, demonstrated the risks of our overdependence on a distant ally.

    In the aftermath of the war, Australia forged a new security alliance with a new global superpower, the United States, through the ANZUS Treaty. Yet, replacing one “great and powerful” but distant friend with another did not alleviate Australia’s abandonment anxieties.

    Since then, debates about Australia’s international role have largely focused on the extent to which it can – and should be – self-reliant in the context of the US alliance, or if it should pursue a more independent foreign policy.

    US domestic politics – particularly during President Donald Trump’s time in office – have also driven uncertainty about Washington’s reliability, as well as its commitment to Asia and the implications for allies like Australia.

    Despite such concerns, Australia’s relationship with the US is as strong and deeply entwined as it has ever been. In fact, it only got stronger during Trump’s first term. While Canberra has sought to deepen engagement with regional states it views as “like-minded”, such as Japan, South Korea and India, it has done so firmly in the context of its broader alliance with the United States.

    This, of course, is driven by the new anxieties over China’s rise as a major economic and military power in the region. In recent years, Beijing’s assertive and coercive behaviours in the region have made it the key national security threat facing Australia.

    This is a break from the past, when Australian leaders – both Labor and Liberal – broadly agreed that a “pragmatic approach” to engaging great powers meant Canberra would not have to “choose sides” between China and the US.

    In 2023, the Albanese government sought a détente of sorts with China, attempting to return to this pragmatic approach. But wariness of Beijing remains.

    Opponents to this strategy have called the government’s efforts to re-engage with China a “threat to Australian sovereignty, principles, and values”.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing in late 2023.

    An Indo-Pacific power?

    In the context of these new challenges presented by a rising China, Australia has increasingly leaned into becoming an “Indo-Pacific” power in recent years. There are a number of ways in which this shift is observable.

    First, Australia has been instrumental in encouraging the global adoption of this phrase, “Indo-Pacific”, as a new way of referring to the region. This is partly driven by the desire to maintain US leadership and presence in Australia’s neighbourhood. The US is a Pacific state, so this concept anchors the US in our region in a way that “Asia” does not.

    And when people used the term “Asia-Pacific” to talk about the region in the past, this had a primarily economic connotation. This is due to the importance of the
    Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the move towards free-trade agreements between Australia and other countries in the region.

    However, the US has become less economically engaged in the region in recent years, with a focus on rebuilding its own industrial base. India, the other major economy in Asia, has also been reluctant to sign up to multilateral, regional free-trade agreements. Neither are parties to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CP-TPP) or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreements.

    As such, the new term “Indo-Pacific” has become more of a security concept centred on the region’s waters. Generally, it is used to incorporate South, Southeast and Northeast Asia, Oceania (Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands) and the United States. By connecting the Indian (“Indo”) and the Pacific Oceans, it has become primarily a maritime strategic concept.

    The narratives usually associated with the Indo-Pacific also relate to the need to protect the international rules-based order, and freedom of navigation and overflight for ships and aircraft in the region. This, again, reflects the growing geopolitical anxieties about a rising China, particularly in the disputed South and East China seas and the Taiwan Strait.

    Australia does not have territorial or maritime claims in either sea, but we are nonetheless concerned about China’s efforts to undermine the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and what this might mean for the “rules-based order” more generally.

    The second way Australia is moving more towards becoming a regional power is in the narrowing of its core defence interests to an “inner ring” focused on the South Pacific and maritime Southeast Asia, and to a lesser extent, an “outer ring” in the broader Indo-Pacific and wider world. These geographical boundaries have consequences for how Australia views its international role.

    After nearly two decades of military engagement in the Middle East and Afghanistan, Australia is shifting its focus back on its home region. This reflects not just the limits of our military capabilities, but also new concerns about the changing balance of power in Asia.

    Third, Australia is increasingly focusing on a more strategic, narrower form of multilateralism. This, too, has been more centred on our region.

    Multilateralism has always been seen as an important part of middle power identity. Australia, for instance, played a key role in setting up institutions like the United Nations.

    However, this began to shift under recent Coalition governments. Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed scepticism about such institutions, criticising them as an “often ill-defined borderless global community” that promoted “negative globalism”.

    Under successive Coalition governments, Australia instead became a key player in two smaller groups of nations – the re-branded “Quad” in 2017 (along with Japan, the US and India) and AUKUS in 2021 (with the US and United Kingdom).

    Under the Albanese government, global multilateralism was reinstated as an important pillar of foreign policy. But Australia’s investment and involvement in these smaller groups has only deepened.

    Both AUKUS and the Quad demonstrate Australia’s changing role as a regional power in the Indo-Pacific. These groups offer Australia an opportunity to shape the regional security agenda by joining forces with other powerful states. They also provide a way of encouraging the US to maintain its presence and leadership in the region and to counterbalance China’s rise.

    As part of this, Australia has become a key proponent of what the Biden administration coined “integrated deterrence”.

    This is a central pillar of the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy that seeks to mobilise “like-minded” states – especially its regional allies such as Australia, Japan and South Korea – to form a regional coalition against rival states. This strategy reflects a growing awareness the US can’t provide security in Asia alone.

    The AUKUS security agreement, including the commitment to develop new nuclear-powered submarines for Australia, is a part of this strategy.

    Since the announcement of the submarine plan in 2021, both the procurement plan and the language that American and Australian leaders have been using suggest that Canberra is preparing to play a bigger security role in the region alongside the US.

    Time for a new ‘strategic imagination’?

    Has Australia’s shift to an Indo-Pacific regional power served it well?

    It has allowed the deepening of defence relationships with partners like Japan and India. And through its roles in the Quad and AUKUS, Australia has a seat at the table and is more visible in regional security discussions.

    But there are risks to a more assertive regional power stance. Australia could be viewed by its neighbours as too focused on military and not invested enough (or in the right way) in diplomacy or regional development. Australia’s overseas aid contribution, for example, has been declining for three decades.

    It is also unclear which other regional states are likely to participate in a US-led coalition if a real conflict with China ever broke out. The Quad and AUKUS groups may be viewed by others as exclusionary or contributing to increasing tensions in the region.

    How nuclear-powered submarines will “deter” potential adversaries is also yet to be clearly explained. These submarines could potentially entangle Australia in a regional conflict instead. Being able to clearly articulate and distinguish between Australian and US interests will remain vital for ensuring that future governments don’t “sleepwalk” into war.

    Finally, Australia’s advocacy of the “rules-based order” has left it – and the US – exposed to criticisms of hypocrisy and double standards, particularly with Washington’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

    In our recent book, Girt by Sea: Re-imagining Australian Security, Joanne Wallis and I argue that Australia needs to reconceptualise its role as a regional actor to

    …one which can develop a coherent security strategy by working with old and new allies and partners to shape the regional order in ways that ensure its security.

    The approach emphasises the need for all parts of our government to work in coordination to protect Australians from the range of complex conventional and unconventional challenges it faces (including climate change).

    Australia’s security and its international role should not be viewed through the lens of the “China threat” alone. Doing so is counter-productive, as many states in the region do not share the same perception about China.

    Instead, as Wallis and I wrote, Australia needs a “more comprehensive, nuanced and contingent understanding of the range of security opportunities and threats” we face.

    This is an edited extract from How Australian Democracy Works, a new collection of essays from The Conversation on all aspects of the country’s political landscape.

    Rebecca Strating receives funding from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    – ref. A middle power with ‘great and powerful friends’: Australia’s changing role in the region – https://theconversation.com/a-middle-power-with-great-and-powerful-friends-australias-changing-role-in-the-region-228897

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Votes to Confirm USTR Nominee

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
    Washington, D.C.–Today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Jamieson Greer to be United States Trade Representative (USTR) by a bipartisan vote of 56-43.  In remarks delivered on the Floor, U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) called on his Senate colleagues to support the nomination, highlighting Mr. Greer’s extensive trade experience and commitment to advancing a robust trade agenda that prioritizes American farmers, ranchers, workers and businesses. 

    As delivered:
    “I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the confirmation of Mr. Jamieson Greer, who is nominated to serve as the United States Trade Representative.
    “I think I ought to set a couple of facts straight about President Trump’s utilization of the various policies when he was President the first time. 
    “It was said that wages went down, prices went up and people were going to face terrible, dire consequences if he’s able to follow his trade policies again in this term.
    “The reality is that under President Trump, wages went up, jobs went up, unemployment went down, benefits went up, the economy grew dramatically and we had the strongest economy in our lifetimes because of the policies President Trump pursued.
    “So I don’t think people should let these politics of fear saying that everything President Trump does is going to hurt people convince them otherwise.
    “The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, created in 1962 by Congress, develops and coordinates U.S. international trade policy and oversees trade negotiations with other countries.
    “The U.S. Trade Representative—the role for which Mr. Greer is nominated—historically and statutorily serves as the United States’ principal advisor, negotiator and spokesperson on trade issues.
    “Mr. Greer is well-suited for these roles as demonstrated during his previous tenure as USTR Chief of Staff when he worked with both sides of the aisle in negotiating and securing congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which passed the Senate 89-10. 
    “Throughout the nomination process, Mr. Greer demonstrated his strong commitment to work with Congress in a bipartisan fashion to advance the interests of our farmers, ranchers, fishers and workers.
    “In particular, I applaud Mr. Greer’s commitment to open markets for our farmers and manufacturers by negotiating new agreements and enforcing existing ones. 
    “I fully welcome a return to a USTR that performs its statutory obligation of creating new opportunities for Americans.  And I look forward to USTR’s forthcoming reviews of foreign trade barriers that stymie U.S. investment and exports.
    “I urge my colleagues to join me, now, to advance Mr. Greer’s nomination.
    “It is critical to have a USTR at the helm of these investigations and to support the Administration’s return to an active and robust trade agenda that prioritizes American farmers, ranchers, workers and businesses.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Short-term Policy Responses to Geoeconomic Shocks in CESEE Countries

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    Speech by Alfred Kammer, Director, IMF European Department, Amsterdam, February 14, 2025

    February 26, 2025

    It is a great pleasure to open this session.

    Let me begin by setting the stage for what I hope will be an insightful discussion on short-term policy responses to geoeconomic shocks. I will focus on the Central, Eastern, and South Eastern European (CESEE) countries.

    The CESEE region experienced a respectable recovery last year with growth accelerating from 0.8 percent in 2023 to 2.5 percent in 2024.

    As expected, the composition of growth changed. Domestic demand (consumption and investment) rebounded, while net exports—which had been a key driver in 2023—turned into a drag.

    Supportive fiscal policies at both the national and EU level played a role alongside a strong labor market and disinflation aided by tight monetary policy.

    However, the growth momentum is weakening.

    Geoeconomic fragmentation, linked to both Russia’s war in Ukraine and trade policy uncertainty, is weighing on demand.

    In my remarks today, I will address three key questions:

    • How much can the CESEE region rely on domestic and external demand for a continuation of the cyclical recovery into 2025?
    • How well-prepared is the region to handle external demand challenges arising from geoeconomic fragmentation? And,
    • What can policymakers do in the short term?

    Let me start with the first question.

    How much can the CESEE region rely on domestic and external demand to support growth in 2025?

    Our baseline forecast assumes moderate growth in 2025 at around 3 percent, supported by some remaining pent-up demand.

    However, the cyclical recovery has largely run its course for three reasons.

    • First, the recovery in household spending is nearly complete. While strong wage and income growth initially supported consumption, momentum is fading as wage growth slows alongside inflation. Additionally, upward shift in uncertainty has also raised precautionary savings, dampening spending. This is unlikely to change anytime soon.
    • Second, business investment is not expected to accelerate further. Despite improved financing conditions from less restrictive monetary policy, firms remain cautious due to diminished growth expectations and uncertainty about trade policies and EU reforms.
    • Third, external demand remains weak, limiting the region’s ability to rely on exports for additional growth.

    Let me add two more observations:

    Not all CESEE countries face the same challenges.

    Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, will continue to benefit from remittances, EU support, and tourism revenues, offering them some insulation from external risks.

    However, others will be impacted by the effects of the strong nominal wage growth over the last few years.

    • For one, minimum wage increases are unlikely to be repeated. More broadly, household incomes will grow much more slowly in 2025 as wage negotiations follow inflation, which is slowing down.
    • In addition, like elsewhere, households have changed their savings behavior and are spending less out of their earned income, likely due to the lingering memory of recent income shocks and uncertainty about external developments.

    Taken together this means that with a few exceptions the region’s recovery momentum is weakening.

    Let me now turn to the second question.

    How well-prepared is the region to handle external demand challenges arising from geoeconomic fragmentation?

    The region faces three key vulnerabilities in the face of geoeconomic fragmentation:

    One, rising labor and high energy costs are eroding competitiveness.

    Two, high trade openness and deep integration into global value chains—once advantages during globalization—now heighten exposure to external demand shocks in times of de-globalization, and

    Three, there is limited room from returning to accommodative macroeconomic policies.

    Let me start with a word on cost competitiveness.

    Export growth has stalled across the region with net exports subtracting about ½ percentage point from GDP growth last year.

    Several adverse cost developments weigh now on CESEE’s competitiveness:

    • Energy costs in Europe remain significantly higher than in the US—nearly five times more for natural gas and more than double for electricity (CHART).
    • The level of labor costs is becoming a headwind. The real effective exchange rate (REER) relative to unit labor costs (CHART) has deteriorated for the region.
    • Additional wage increases and persistently higher energy prices could translate into higher production costs and, eventually, higher final prices—just as external demand conditions are weakening.

    These cost pressures have significant economic implications. If the REER continues to appreciate by 2 percentage points per year, as observed over the past five years, export growth could be dampened by approximately 0.6-0.8 percentage points per year.

     

    Beyond costs, the CESEE region’s integration into global value-chains and trade linkages create exposure to shifting trade dynamics.

    A recent IMF study shows that Chinese EV imports could have very large GDP effects on CESEE countries through the supply chain.

    For example, the estimated negative impact on Hungary and the Czech Republic from a shift to EVs is about 10 times larger than in advanced European economies, reducing GDP by 1.5 to 2.0 percent (cumulatively) over 5 years. For these countries and sectors to adjust, retaining cost competitiveness plays an important factor. 

    Now to the third question:

    What can policymakers do in the short term?

    After waves of external shocks, reducing uncertainty through clear communication is crucial. Governments should focus on reinforcing fundamentals, pursuing credible and sustainable macroeconomic policies, and building resilience.

    Fiscal consolidation is necessary, but it is not sufficient.

    Despite the recovery, fiscal balances have not improved (LHS) and long-term fiscal spending needs remain high [RHS]. They are mostly aging-related (health and pensions), security related (defense) and climate-related.

    An important discussion to be had is on the next EU budget, including on expenditures on European public goods, such as defense and the environment.

    Monetary policy needs to move cautiously in removing its restrictive stance.

    While weakening of external demand is likely to be disinflationary (barring sharp currency depreciations), inflation persistence remains a concern. This is especially the case in countries where inflation expectations remain above inflation targets (RHS) and where sustained wage growth is not supported by productivity gains.

    Growth-oriented reforms and moderation in public sector wage raises—serving as signals to the private sector—are key.

    Two observations on the role of central banks:

    • Effective communication is crucial. Given the uncertainty, central banks must clearly communicate policy intentions to steer expectations. To clarify policy responses sensitivity analyses or scenarios are useful.
    • Maintaining central bank independence is essential. Pressures on institutional independence have risen in several countries. Research shows that lower trust in central banks increases the costs of achieving price stability, a risk that the region cannot afford.

    And last but not least in terms of policy priorities, countries need to accelerate structural reforms, to raise their growth potential and strengthen economic resilience.

    We are currently undertaking new work on assessing national structural reform priorities across Europe. (This complements work on what can be done at the EU level).

    This work finds that the CESEE region lags behind its European and global peers in almost all areas (see chart).

    Governance and trade-related barriers are two areas where gaps are large. Similarly, credit and capital markets remain underdeveloped notwithstanding healthy banking sectors.

    These gaps limit growth potential but can be addressed with limited fiscal costs. Targeted reforms could unlock investment and long-term competitiveness gains.

    Thank you.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER:

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/02/26/022625-Alfred-Amsterdam

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Manipulated media: The weapon of the Right

    The re-election of Donald Trump is proof that the Right’s most powerful weapon is media manipulation, ensuring the public sphere is not engaged in rational debate, reports the Independent Australia.

    COMMENTARY: By Victoria Fielding

    I once heard someone say that when the Left and the Right became polarised — when they divorced from each other — the Left got all the institutions of truth including science, education, justice and democratic government.

    The Right got the institution of manipulation: the media. This statement hit me for six at the time because it seemed so clearly true.

    What was also immediately clear is that there was an obvious reason why the Left sided with the institutions of truth and the Right resorted to manipulation. It is because truth does not suit right-wing arguments.

    The existence of climate change does not suit fossil fuel billionaires. Evidence that wealth does not trickle down does not suit the capitalist class. The idea that diversity, equity and inclusion (yes, I put those words in that order on purpose) is better for everyone, rather than a discriminatory, hateful, destructive, divided unequal world is dangerous for the Right to admit.

    The Right’s embrace of the media institution also makes sense when you consider that the institutions of truth are difficult to buy, whereas billionaires can easily own manipulative media.

    Just ask Elon Musk, who bought Twitter and turned it into a political manipulation machine. Just ask Rupert Murdoch, who is currently engaged in a bitter family war to stop three of his children opposing him and his son Lachlan from using their “news” organisations as a form of political manipulation for right-wing interests.

    Right-wingers also know that truthful institutions only have one way of communicating their truths to the public: via the media. Once the media environment is manipulated, we enter a post-truth world.

    Experts derided as untrustworthy ‘elitists’
    This is the world where billionaire fossil fuel interests undermine climate action. It is where scientists create vaccines to save lives but the manipulated public refuses to take them. Where experts are derided as untrustworthy “elitists”.

    And it is where the whole idea of democratic government in the US has been overthrown to install an autocratic billionaire-enriching oligarchy led by an incompetent fool who calls himself the King.

    Once you recognise this manipulated media environment, you also understand that there is not — and never has been — such as thing as a rational public debate. Those engaged in the institutions of the Left — in science, education, justice and democratic government — seem mostly unwilling to accept this fact.

    Instead, they continue to believe if they just keep telling people the truth and communicating what they see as entirely rational arguments, the public will accept what they have to say.

    I think part of the reason that the Left refuses to accept that public debate is not rational and rather, is a manipulated bin fire of misleading information, including mis/disinformation and propaganda, is because they are not equipped to compete in this reality. What do those on the Left do with “post-truth”?

    They seem to just want to ignore it and hope it goes away.

    A perfect example of this misunderstanding of the post-truth world and the manipulated media environment’s impact on the public is this paper, by political science professors at the Australian National University Ian McAllister and Nicholas Biddle.

    Stunningly absolutist claim
    Their research sought to understand why polling at the start of the 2023 Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum showed widespread public support for the Voice but over the course of the campaign, this support dropped to the point where the Voice was defeated with 60 per cent voting “No” and 40 per cent, “Yes”.

    In presenting their study’s findings, the authors make the stunningly absolutist claim that:

    ‘…the public’s exposure to all forms of mass media – as we have measured it here – had no impact on the result’.

    A note is then attached to this finding with the caveat:

    ‘As noted earlier, given the data at hand we are unable to test the possibility that the content of the media being consumed resulted in a reinforcement of existing beliefs and partisanship rather than a conversion.’

    This caveat leaves a gaping hole in the finding by failing to account for how media reinforcing existing beliefs is an important media effect – as argued by Neil Gavin here. Since it was not measured, how can they possibly say there was no effect?

    Furthermore, the very premise of the author’s sweeping statement that media exposure had no impact on the result of the Referendum is based on two naive assumptions:

    • that voters were rational in their deliberations over the Referendum question; and
    • that the information environment voters were presented with was rational.

    Dual assumption of rationality
    This dual assumption of rationality – one that the authors interestingly admit is an assumption – is evidenced in their hypothesis which states:

    ‘Voters who did not follow the campaign in the mass media were more likely to move from a yes to a no vote compared to voters who did follow the campaign in the mass media.’

    This hypothesis, the authors explain, is premised on the assumption ‘that those with less information are more likely to opt for the status quo and cast a no vote’, and therefore that less exposure to media would change a vote from “Yes” to “No”. What this hypothesis assumes is that if a voter received more rational information in the media about the Referendum, that information would rationally drive their vote in the “Yes” direction. When their data disproved this hypothesis, the authors used this finding to claim that the media had no effect.

    To understand the reality of what happened in the Referendum debate, the word “rational” needs to be taken out of the equation and the word “manipulated” put in.

    We know, of course, that the Referendum was awash with manipulative information, which all supported the “No” campaign. For example, my study of News Corp’s Voice coverage — Australia’s largest and most influential news organisation — found that News Corp actively campaigned for the “No” proposition in concert with the “No” campaign, presenting content more like a political campaign than traditional journalism and commentary.

    A study by Queensland University of Technology’s Tim Graham analysed how the Voice Referendum was discussed on social media platform, X. Far from a rational debate, Graham identified that the “No” campaign and its supporters engaged in a participatory disinformation propaganda campaign, which became a “truth market” about the Voice.

    The ‘truth market’
    This “truth market” was described as drawing “Yes” campaigners into a debate about the truth of the Voice, sidetracking them from promoting their own cause.

    What such studies showed was that, far from McAllister and Biddle’s assumed rational information environment, the Voice Referendum public debate was awash with manipulation, propaganda, disinformation and fear-mongering.

    The “No” campaign that delivered this manipulation perfectly demonstrates how the Right uses media to undermine institutions of truth, to undermine facts and to undermine the rationality of democratic debates.

    The completely unfounded assumption that the more information a voter received about the Voice, the more likely they would vote “Yes”, reveals a misunderstanding of the reality of a manipulated public debate environment present across all types of media, from mainstream news to social media.

    It also wrongly treats voters like rational deliberative computers by assuming that the more information that goes in, the more they accept that information. This is far from the reality of how mediated communication affects the public.

    The reason the influence of media on individuals and collectives is, in reality, so difficult to measure and should never be bluntly described as having total effect or no effect, is that people are not rational when they consume media, and every individual processes information in their own unique and unconscious ways.

    One person can watch a manipulated piece of communication and accept it wholeheartedly, others can accept part of it and others reject it outright.

    Manipulation unknown
    No one piece of information determines how people vote and not every piece of information people consume does either. That’s the point of a manipulated media environment. People who are being manipulated do not know they are being manipulated.

    Importantly, when you ask individuals how their media consumption impacted on them, they of course do not know. The decisions people make based on the information they have ephemerally consumed — whether from the media, conversations, or a wide range of other information sources, are incredibly complex and irrational.

    Surely the re-election of Donald Trump for a second time, despite all the rational arguments against him, is proof that the manipulated media environment is an incredibly powerful weapon — a weapon the Right, globally, is clearly proficient at wielding.

    It is time those on the Left caught up and at least understood the reality they are working in.

    Dr Victoria Fielding is an Independent Australia columnist. This article was first published by the Independent Australia and is republished with the author’s permission.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: SEACOR Marine Announces Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SMHI) (the “Company” or “SEACOR Marine”), a leading provider of marine and support transportation services to offshore energy facilities worldwide, today announced results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024.

    SEACOR Marine’s consolidated operating revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $69.8 million, operating income was $10.6 million, and direct vessel profit (“DVP”)(1) was $23.1 million. This compares to consolidated operating revenues of $73.1 million, operating income of $22.6 million, and DVP of $29.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, and consolidated operating revenues of $68.9 million, operating loss of $6.5 million, and DVP of $16.0 million in the third quarter of 2024.

    Notable fourth quarter items include:

    • 4.5% decrease in revenues from the fourth quarter of 2023 and a 1.3% increase from the third quarter of 2024.
    • Average day rates of $18,901, a 4.8% increase from the fourth quarter of 2023, and flat from the third quarter of 2024.
    • 72% utilization, an increase from 71% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and from 67% in the third quarter of 2024.
    • DVP margin of 33.1%, a decrease from 40.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and an increase from 23.2% in the third quarter of 2024, due in part to $3.5 million of drydocking and major repairs during the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $8.3 million in the third quarter of 2024, all of which are expensed as incurred.
    • Refinancing of $328.7 million of principal indebtedness under multiple debt facilities, including $125.0 million previously due in 2026, into a single new credit facility due in the fourth quarter of 2029.
    • In connection with the refinancing, recognized a one-time loss of $31.9 million on debt extinguishment, of which $28.3 million was non-cash and primarily comprised of extinguishment of unamortized debt discounts.
    • Completed the sale of two anchor handling towing supply vessels (“AHTS”) for total proceeds of $22.5 million and a gain of $15.6 million, the proceeds of which will be used to partially fund the construction payments for two new PSVs.

    For the fourth quarter of 2024, net loss was $26.2 million ($0.94 loss per basic and diluted share). This compares to a net income for the fourth quarter of 2023 of $5.7 million ($0.21 earnings per basic share and $0.20 earnings per diluted share). Sequentially, the fourth quarter 2024 results compare to a net loss of $16.3 million ($0.59 loss per basic and diluted share) in the third quarter of 2024.

    Chief Executive Officer John Gellert commented:

    “The fourth quarter results reflect a substantial improvement in operating performance compared with the prior quarters of 2024. This performance improvement was due mostly to fewer out-of-service days for repairs and drydockings which translated into improved utilization across most segments. We also benefited from having all our premium liftboats available and employed most of the quarter and currently plan to commence the permanent repairs of one of our U.S. flag premium liftboats at the end of the third quarter of 2025, which should provide us the opportunity to maximize utilization on these liftboats as seasonal activity improves in the Gulf of America. During the quarter, we did see soft market conditions in the North Sea as well as customer delays in programmed activities in Mexico and the U.S.

    Looking at the rest of 2025, we continue to see a healthy level of inquiries across most of our international markets with the notable exception of the North Sea and Mexico, where regulatory or financial hurdles are subduing demand for oil and gas services. In the U.S., we see significant challenges for offshore wind in the near term, but the backlog of mandatory maintenance and decommissioning activity in the Gulf of America should ultimately lead to increased levels of activity on the shelf. Although we are not immune to the mid-cycle lull in offshore drilling activity worldwide, I remain optimistic that our fleet mix is well positioned to meet current demand expectations.

    As previously announced, during the fourth quarter we entered into a new senior secured term loan of up to $391.0 million with an affiliate of EnTrust Global, which significantly simplified our debt capital structure into a single credit facility maturing in 2029. Importantly, this new credit facility addressed $125.0 million of near-term maturities previously due in 2026 to The Carlyle Group, inclusive of $35.0 million of convertible debt, eliminating approximately 10% of dilution overhang on the Company’s common stock. It also provided us with up to $41.0 million of borrowing capacity to finance the construction of two new PSVs, which we ordered during the fourth quarter of 2024. We had to fully amortize all debt discounts and issuance costs on the refinanced debt, including the shipyard financing with affiliates of COSCO, generating a $31.9 million one-time loss, of which $28.3 million was non-cash, but, in my view, the benefits of the refinancing and its support for the Company’s order for two new PSVs far outweigh the one-time loss.

    I am particularly excited about this PSV order as we expand and complement our fleet of modern and fuel efficient PSVs. This is a continuation of our asset rotation strategy aimed at renewing our fleet with high-specification, environmentally efficient assets. The vessels are scheduled to deliver in the fourth quarter of 2026 and first quarter of 2027, respectively. We will partly fund this new construction program with the $22.5 million of proceeds from the sale of our last remaining AHTS vessels, marking our exit from the AHTS asset class effective January 2025.”
    _______________

    (1) Direct vessel profit (defined as operating revenues less operating costs and expenses, “DVP”) is the Company’s measure of segment profitability. DVP is a critical financial measure used by the Company to analyze and compare the operating performance of its regions, without regard to financing decisions (depreciation and interest expense for owned vessels vs. lease expense for lease vessels). DVP is also useful when comparing the Company’s global fleet performance against those of our competitors who may have differing fleet financing structures. DVP has material limitations as an analytical tool in that it does not reflect all of the costs associated with the ownership and operation of our fleet, and it should not be considered in isolation or used as a substitute for our results as reported under GAAP. See page 4 for reconciliation of DVP to GAAP Operating Income (Loss), its most comparable GAAP measure.
       

    SEACOR Marine provides global marine and support transportation services to offshore energy facilities worldwide. SEACOR Marine operates and manages a diverse fleet of offshore support vessels that deliver cargo and personnel to offshore installations, including offshore wind farms; assist offshore operations for production and storage facilities; provide construction, well work-over, offshore wind farm installation and decommissioning support; and carry and launch equipment used underwater in drilling and well installation, maintenance, inspection and repair. Additionally, SEACOR Marine’s vessels provide emergency response services and accommodations for technicians and specialists.

    Certain statements discussed in this release as well as in other reports, materials and oral statements that the Company releases from time to time to the public constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “believe,” “plan,” “target,” “forecast” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements concern management’s expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated economic performance and financial condition and other similar matters. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected by the management of the Company. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual events or results may differ significantly from these statements. Actual events or results are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control and are described in the Company’s filings with the SEC. It should be understood that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Given these risk factors, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which the forward-looking statement is based, except as required by law. It is advisable, however, to consult any further disclosures the Company makes on related subjects in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K (if any). These statements constitute the Company’s cautionary statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

    Please visit SEACOR Marine’s website at www.seacormarine.com for additional information.
    For all other requests, contact InvestorRelations@seacormarine.com

     
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (LOSS)
    (in thousands, except share data)
     
        Three Months Ended December 31,     Year ended December 31,  
        2024     2023     2024     2023  
    Operating Revenues   $ 69,808     $ 73,083     $ 271,361     $ 279,511  
    Costs and Expenses:                        
    Operating     46,726       43,269       197,252       159,650  
    Administrative and general     10,888       11,547       44,713       49,183  
    Lease expense     347       679       1,678       2,748  
    Depreciation and amortization     12,879       13,022       51,628       53,821  
          70,840       68,517       295,271       265,402  
    Gains on Asset Dispositions and Impairments, Net     11,624       18,057       13,481       21,409  
    Operating Income (Loss)     10,592       22,623       (10,429 )     35,518  
    Other Income (Expense):                        
    Interest income     372       222       1,768       1,444  
    Interest expense     (10,001 )     (10,444 )     (40,627 )     (37,504 )
    Loss on debt extinguishment     (31,923 )     —       (31,923 )     (2,004 )
    Derivative (losses) gains, net     (536 )     608       (908 )     608  
    Foreign currency gains (losses), net     1,308       (1,276 )     (1,049 )     (2,133 )
    Other, net     187       —       121       —  
          (40,593 )     (10,890 )     (72,618 )     (39,589 )
    (Loss) Income Before Income Tax (Benefit) Expense and Equity in Earnings of 50% or Less Owned Companies     (30,001 )     11,733       (83,047 )     (4,071 )
    Income Tax (Benefit) Expense     (2,345 )     6,378       (2,615 )     8,799  
    (Loss) Income Before Equity in Earnings of 50% or Less Owned Companies     (27,656 )     5,355       (80,432 )     (12,870 )
    Equity in Earnings of 50% or Less Owned Companies     1,430       374       2,308       3,556  
    Net (Loss) Income   $ (26,226 )   $ 5,729     $ (78,124 )   $ (9,314 )
                             
    Net (Loss) Earnings Per Share:                        
    Basic   $ (0.94 )   $ 0.21     $ (2.82 )   $ (0.34 )
    Diluted   $ (0.94 )   $ 0.20     $ (2.82 )   $ (0.34 )
    Weighted Average Common Stock and Warrants Outstanding:                        
    Basic     27,773,200       27,182,496       27,655,289       27,082,391  
    Diluted     27,773,200       28,400,684       27,655,289       27,082,391  
                                     
               
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (LOSS)
     (in thousands, except statistics and per share data)
               
              Three Months Ended
        Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024     Mar. 31, 2024     Dec. 31, 2023    
    Time Charter Statistics:                                
    Average Rates Per Day   $ 18,901     $ 18,879     $ 19,141     $ 19,042     $ 18,031    
    Fleet Utilization     72 %     67 %     69 %     62 %     71 %  
    Fleet Available Days (2)     4,870       5,026       4,994       5,005       5,170    
    Operating Revenues:                                
    Time charter   $ 66,095     $ 63,313     $ 65,649     $ 59,263     $ 66,498    
    Bareboat charter     364       372       364       364       368    
    Other marine services     3,349       5,231       3,854       3,143       6,217    
          69,808       68,916       69,867       62,770       73,083    
    Costs and Expenses:                                
    Operating:                                
    Personnel     20,365       21,940       21,566       21,670       22,080    
    Repairs and maintenance     10,433       9,945       10,244       9,763       7,604    
    Drydocking     2,467       6,068       6,210       6,706       2,561    
    Insurance and loss reserves     2,473       2,584       3,099       1,738       2,944    
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     4,884       6,574       3,966       4,523       3,683    
    Other     6,104       5,796       4,435       3,699       4,397    
          46,726       52,907       49,520       48,099       43,269    
    Direct Vessel Profit (1)     23,082       16,009       20,347       14,671       29,814    
    Other Costs and Expenses:                                
    Lease expense     347       364       486       481       679    
    Administrative and general     10,888       11,019       10,889       11,917       11,547    
    Depreciation and amortization     12,879       12,928       12,939       12,882       13,022    
          24,114       24,311       24,314       25,280       25,248    
    Gains (Losses) on Asset Dispositions and Impairments, Net     11,624       1,821       37       (1 )     18,057    
    Operating Income (Loss)     10,592       (6,481 )     (3,930 )     (10,610 )     22,623    
    Other Income (Expense):                                
    Interest income     372       358       445       593       222    
    Interest expense     (10,001 )     (10,127 )     (10,190 )     (10,309 )     (10,444 )  
    Derivative (losses) gains, net     (536 )     67       104       (543 )     608    
    Loss on debt extinguishment     (31,923 )     —       —       —       —    
    Foreign currency gains (losses), net     1,308       (1,717 )     (560 )     (80 )     (1,276 )  
    Other, net     187       29       —       (95 )     —    
          (40,593 )     (11,390 )     (10,201 )     (10,434 )     (10,890 )  
    (Loss) Income Before Income Tax (Benefit) Expense and Equity in Earnings (Losses) of 50% or Less Owned Companies     (30,001 )     (17,871 )     (14,131 )     (21,044 )     11,733    
    Income Tax (Benefit) Expense     (2,345 )     (513 )     (682 )     925       6,378    
    (Loss) Income Before Equity in Earnings (Losses) of 50% or Less Owned Companies     (27,656 )     (17,358 )     (13,449 )     (21,969 )     5,355    
    Equity in Earnings (Losses) of 50% or Less Owned Companies     1,430       1,012       966       (1,100 )     374    
    Net (Loss) Income   $ (26,226 )   $ (16,346 )   $ (12,483 )   $ (23,069 )   $ 5,729    
                                     
    Net (Loss) Earnings Per Share:                                
    Basic   $ (0.94 )   $ (0.59 )   $ (0.45 )   $ (0.84 )   $ 0.21    
    Diluted   $ (0.94 )   $ (0.59 )   $ (0.45 )   $ (0.84 )   $ 0.20    
    Weighted Average Common Stock and Warrants Outstanding:                                
    Basic     27,773       27,773       27,729       27,344       27,182    
    Diluted     27,773       27,773       27,729       27,344       28,401    
    Common Shares and Warrants Outstanding at Period End     28,950       28,950       28,941       28,906       28,489    

     _______________

    (1) See full description of footnote above.
    (2) Includes available days for a bareboat charter for one PSV, which has been excluded from days worked and average day rates.
       
         
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED DIRECT VESSEL PROFIT (“DVP”) BY SEGMENT
    (in thousands, except statistics)
         
        Three Months Ended
        Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024     Mar. 31, 2024     Dec. 31, 2023    
    United States, primarily Gulf of America                                
    Time Charter Statistics:                                
    Average rates per day worked   $ 26,116     $ 17,188     $ 22,356     $ 28,156     $ 22,584    
    Fleet utilization     45 %     42 %     37 %     27 %     50 %  
    Fleet available days     920       920       921       927       1,152    
    Out-of-service days for repairs, maintenance and drydockings     75       116       179       137       61    
    Out-of-service days for cold-stacked status (2)     184       175       127       182       254    
    Operating Revenues:                                
    Time charter   $ 10,744     $ 6,593     $ 7,697     $ 6,957     $ 12,929    
    Other marine services     1,114       1,188       480       1,026       5,346    
          11,858       7,781       8,177       7,983       18,275    
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                                
    Operating:                                
    Personnel     6,097       6,297       6,284       5,781       6,906    
    Repairs and maintenance     1,680       1,655       1,879       1,404       819    
    Drydocking     1,451       2,615       2,570       1,968       303    
    Insurance and loss reserves     854       799       943       396       1,297    
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     854       964       866       667       1,032    
    Other     229       225       226       (171 )     475    
          11,165       12,555       12,768       10,045       10,832    
    Direct Vessel Profit (Loss) (1)   $ 693     $ (4,774 )   $ (4,591 )   $ (2,062 )   $ 7,443    
    Other Costs and Expenses:                                
    Lease expense   $ 136     $ 140     $ 141     $ 138     $ 141    
    Depreciation and amortization     3,196       3,194       3,194       2,750       3,479    
                                     
    Africa and Europe                                
    Time Charter Statistics:                                
    Average rates per day worked   $ 16,895     $ 18,875     $ 18,580     $ 15,197     $ 15,233    
    Fleet utilization     73 %     77 %     74 %     76 %     82 %  
    Fleet available days     1,856       1,990       1,969       1,775       1,748    
    Out-of-service days for repairs, maintenance and drydockings     180       203       203       238       124    
    Out-of-service days for cold-stacked status     —       58       91       91       92    
    Operating Revenues:                                
    Time charter   $ 22,999     $ 28,809     $ 27,047     $ 20,555     $ 21,791    
    Other marine services     1,027       3,048       1,028       169       189    
          24,026       31,857       28,075       20,724       21,980    
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                                
    Operating:                                
    Personnel     5,654       6,083       4,969       5,181       6,007    
    Repairs and maintenance     3,712       3,455       3,161       3,209       2,807    
    Drydocking     835       681       1,226       2,032       1,298    
    Insurance and loss reserves     577       599       819       334       416    
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     2,226       2,514       1,170       1,287       623    
    Other     3,748       3,975       2,801       2,199       2,267    
          16,752       17,307       14,146       14,242       13,418    
    Direct Vessel Profit (1)   $ 7,274     $ 14,550     $ 13,929     $ 6,482     $ 8,562    
    Other Costs and Expenses:                                
    Lease expense   $ 82     $ 75     $ 172     $ 178     $ 289    
    Depreciation and amortization     4,477       4,540       4,565       3,915       3,747    

     _______________

    (1) See full description of footnote above.
    (2) Includes one liftboat and one FSV cold-stacked in this region as of December 31, 2024.
       
           
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
     UNAUDITED DIRECT VESSEL PROFIT (“DVP”) BY SEGMENT (continued)
    (in thousands, except statistics)
           
        Three Months Ended  
        Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024     Mar. 31, 2024     Dec. 31, 2023  
    Middle East and Asia                              
    Time Charter Statistics:                              
    Average rates per day worked   $ 17,337     $ 17,825     $ 17,083     $ 16,934     $ 17,590  
    Fleet utilization     88 %     71 %     82 %     71 %     69 %
    Fleet available days     1,266       1,288       1,296       1,365       1,461  
    Out-of-service days for repairs, maintenance and drydockings     30       229       168       224       360  
    Operating Revenues:                              
    Time charter   $ 19,385     $ 16,411     $ 18,073     $ 16,477     $ 17,729  
    Other marine services     635       375       619       350       539  
          20,020       16,786       18,692       16,827       18,268  
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                              
    Operating:                              
    Personnel     5,470       5,769       6,930       5,963       5,522  
    Repairs and maintenance     3,574       3,318       3,443       2,712       2,590  
    Drydocking     (226 )     832       707       1,483       624  
    Insurance and loss reserves     804       927       798       618       1,022  
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     840       1,043       1,103       1,198       1,242  
    Other     1,305       1,131       989       1,000       1,133  
          11,767       13,020       13,970       12,974       12,133  
    Direct Vessel Profit (1)   $ 8,253     $ 3,766     $ 4,722     $ 3,853     $ 6,135  
    Other Costs and Expenses:                              
    Lease expense   $ 72     $ 73     $ 71     $ 85     $ 158  
    Depreciation and amortization     3,272       3,261       3,247       3,496       3,643  
                                   
    Latin America                              
    Time Charter Statistics:                              
    Average rates per day worked   $ 21,390     $ 21,984     $ 22,437     $ 28,308     $ 20,745  
    Fleet utilization     73 %     63 %     71 %     58 %     84 %
    Fleet available days (2)     828       828       808       938       809  
    Out-of-service days for repairs, maintenance and drydockings     20       94       41       1       —  
    Operating Revenues:                              
    Time charter   $ 12,967     $ 11,500     $ 12,832     $ 15,274     $ 14,049  
    Bareboat charter     364       372       364       364       368  
    Other marine services     573       620       1,727       1,598       143  
          13,904       12,492       14,923       17,236       14,560  
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                              
    Operating:                              
    Personnel     3,144       3,791       3,383       4,745       3,645  
    Repairs and maintenance     1,467       1,517       1,761       2,438       1,388  
    Drydocking     407       1,940       1,707       1,223       336  
    Insurance and loss reserves     238       259       539       390       209  
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     964       2,053       827       1,371       786  
    Other     822       465       419       671       522  
          7,042       10,025       8,636       10,838       6,886  
    Direct Vessel Profit (1)   $ 6,862     $ 2,467     $ 6,287     $ 6,398     $ 7,674  
    Other Costs and Expenses:                              
    Lease expense   $ 57     $ 76     $ 102     $ 80     $ 91  
    Depreciation and amortization     1,934       1,933       1,933       2,721       2,153  

     _______________

    (1) See full description of footnote above.
    (2) Includes available days for a bareboat charter for one PSV, which has been excluded from days worked and average day rates.
       
         
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED PERFORMANCE BY VESSEL CLASS
    (in thousands, except statistics)
         
        Three Months Ended
        Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024     Mar. 31, 2024     Dec. 31, 2023    
    AHTS                                
    Time Charter Statistics:                                
    Average rates per day worked   $ 10,410     $ 10,316     $ 8,125     $ 8,538     $ 8,937    
    Fleet utilization     79 %     46 %     49 %     75 %     64 %  
    Fleet available days     178       334       364       364       368    
    Out-of-service days for repairs, maintenance and drydockings     28       87       29       —       41    
    Out-of-service days for cold-stacked status     —       58       91       91       92    
    Operating Revenues:                                
    Time charter   $ 1,465     $ 1,576     $ 1,459     $ 2,331     $ 2,102    
    Other marine services     —       13       219       —       6    
          1,465       1,589       1,678       2,331       2,108    
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                                
    Operating:                                
    Personnel   $ 595     $ 981     $ 1,045     $ 1,064     $ 944    
    Repairs and maintenance     128       239       465       220       612    
    Drydocking     5       436       280       68       58    
    Insurance and loss reserves     49       66       97       43       73    
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     25       90       69       616       375    
    Other     210       263       230       287       295    
          1,012       2,075       2,186       2,298       2,357    
    Other Costs and Expenses:                                
    Lease expense   $ 7     $ 4     $ 164     $ 171     $ 253    
    Depreciation and amortization     122       175       175       175       175    
                                     
    FSV                                
    Time Charter Statistics:                                
    Average rates per day worked   $ 13,643     $ 13,102     $ 12,978     $ 11,834     $ 11,841    
    Fleet utilization     72 %     81 %     80 %     72 %     74 %  
    Fleet available days     2,024       2,024       2,002       2,002       2,105    
    Out-of-service days for repairs, maintenance and drydockings     118       96       128       216       337    
    Out-of-service days for cold-stacked status     92       83       36       91       92    
    Operating Revenues:                                
    Time charter   $ 19,992     $ 21,606     $ 20,698     $ 17,081     $ 18,502    
    Other marine services     416       1,012       516       126       163    
          20,408       22,618       21,214       17,207       18,665    
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                                
    Operating:                                
    Personnel   $ 5,078     $ 5,637     $ 5,829     $ 5,649     $ 5,320    
    Repairs and maintenance     4,480       4,378       4,572       3,093       2,691    
    Drydocking     426       448       457       1,869       1,710    
    Insurance and loss reserves     422       532       546       277       507    
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     1,586       1,962       993       1,051       1,441    
    Other     2,456       2,238       1,850       1,649       1,632    
          14,448       15,195       14,247       13,588       13,301    
    Other Costs and Expenses:                                
    Depreciation and amortization   $ 4,746     $ 4,744     $ 4,746     $ 4,744     $ 4,879    
                                               
         
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED PERFORMANCE BY VESSEL CLASS (continued)
    (in thousands, except statistics)
         
        Three Months Ended
        Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024     Mar. 31, 2024     Dec. 31, 2023    
    PSV                                
    Time Charter Statistics:                                
    Average rates per day worked   $ 17,912     $ 21,819     $ 20,952     $ 19,133     $ 19,778    
    Fleet utilization     72 %     58 %     66 %     53 %     77 %  
    Fleet available days (1)     1,932       1,932       1,900       1,911       1,902    
    Out-of-service days for repairs, maintenance and drydockings     117       349       291       307       109    
    Operating Revenues:                                
    Time charter   $ 24,865     $ 24,488     $ 26,390     $ 19,390     $ 29,140    
    Bareboat charter     364       372       364       364       368    
    Other marine services     1,561       2,855       2,266       416       595    
          26,790       27,715       29,020       20,170       30,103    
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                                
    Operating:                                
    Personnel   $ 8,999     $ 9,360     $ 8,979     $ 8,850     $ 9,017    
    Repairs and maintenance     4,101       3,798       3,151       4,393       3,520    
    Drydocking     1,046       2,629       2,616       3,386       472    
    Insurance and loss reserves     618       636       1,037       395       690    
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     2,379       3,594       1,575       1,889       1,027    
    Other     2,566       2,821       1,850       1,395       1,922    
          19,709       22,838       19,208       20,308       16,648    
    Other Costs and Expenses:                                
    Lease expense   $ —     $ (3 )   $ 3     $ —     $ —    
    Depreciation and amortization     4,122       4,117       4,128       4,073       4,073    

     _______________

    (1) Includes available days for a bareboat charter for one PSV, which has been excluded from days worked and average day rates.
       
         
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED PERFORMANCE BY VESSEL CLASS (continued)
    (in thousands, except statistics)
         
        Three Months Ended
        Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024     Mar. 31, 2024     Dec. 31, 2023    
    Liftboats                                
    Time Charter Statistics:                                
    Average rates per day worked   $ 39,326     $ 36,423     $ 43,204     $ 53,506     $ 40,181    
    Fleet utilization     68 %     58 %     54 %     53 %     52 %  
    Fleet available days     736       736       728       728       795    
    Out-of-service days for repairs, maintenance and drydockings     41       109       143       78       60    
    Out-of-service days for cold-stacked status     92       92       91       91       162    
    Operating Revenues:                                
    Time charter   $ 19,773     $ 15,643     $ 17,102     $ 20,461     $ 16,754    
    Other marine services     1,177       1,142       666       1,772       4,666    
          20,950       16,785       17,768       22,233       21,420    
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                                
    Operating:                                
    Personnel   $ 5,678     $ 5,926     $ 6,842     $ 6,140     $ 5,316    
    Repairs and maintenance     1,722       1,531       2,054       2,035       769    
    Drydocking     990       2,555       2,857       1,383       321    
    Insurance and loss reserves     1,384       1,334       1,482       1,282       1,554    
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     894       928       1,329       967       838    
    Other     860       473       519       343       531    
          11,528       12,747       15,083       12,150       9,329    
    Other Costs and Expenses:                                
    Depreciation and amortization     3,866       3,866       3,865       3,866       3,867    
                                     
    Other Activity                                
    Operating Revenues:                                
    Other marine services   $ 195     $ 209     $ 187     $ 829     $ 787    
          195       209       187       829       787    
    Direct Costs and Expenses:                                
    Operating:                                
    Personnel   $ 15     $ 36     $ (1,129 )   $ (33 )   $ 1,483    
    Repairs and maintenance     2       (1 )     2       22       12    
    Insurance and loss reserves     —       16       (63 )     (259 )     120    
    Fuel, lubes and supplies     —       —       —       —       2    
    Other     12       1       (14 )     25       17    
          29       52       (1,204 )     (245 )     1,634    
    Other Costs and Expenses:                                
    Lease expense   $ 340     $ 363     $ 319     $ 310     $ 426    
    Depreciation and amortization     23       26       25       24       28    
                                               
     
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (in thousands)
     
        Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024     Mar. 31, 2024     Dec. 31, 2023    
    ASSETS                                
    Current Assets:                                
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 59,491     $ 35,601     $ 40,605     $ 59,593     $ 67,455    
    Restricted cash     16,649       2,263       2,255       2,566       16,676    
    Receivables:                                
    Trade, net of allowance for credit loss     69,888       76,497       70,770       58,272       63,728    
    Other     7,913       7,841       6,210       12,210       11,049    
    Tax receivable     1,601       983       983       983       983    
    Inventories     2,760       3,139       3,117       2,516       1,609    
    Prepaid expenses and other     4,406       4,840       5,659       3,425       2,686    
    Assets held for sale     10,943       —       500       500       500    
    Total current assets     173,651       131,164       130,099       140,065       164,686    
    Property and Equipment:                                
    Historical cost     900,414       921,445       921,443       919,139       918,823    
    Accumulated depreciation     (367,448 )     (362,604 )     (349,799 )     (337,001 )     (324,141 )  
          532,966       558,841       571,644       582,138       594,682    
    Construction in progress     11,904       11,935       11,518       13,410       10,362    
    Net property and equipment     544,870       570,776       583,162       595,548       605,044    
    Right-of-use asset – operating leases     3,436       3,575       3,683       3,988       4,291    
    Right-of-use asset – finance leases     36       19       28       29       37    
    Investments, at equity, and advances to 50% or less owned companies     3,541       2,046       2,641       3,122       4,125    
    Other assets     1,577       1,864       1,953       2,094       2,153    
    Total assets   $ 727,111     $ 709,444     $ 721,566     $ 744,846     $ 780,336    
    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY                                
    Current Liabilities:                                
    Current portion of operating lease liabilities   $ 606     $ 494     $ 861     $ 1,285     $ 1,591    
    Current portion of finance lease liabilities     17       17       26       33       35    
    Current portion of long-term debt     27,500       28,605       28,605       28,605       28,365    
    Accounts payable     29,236       22,744       17,790       23,453       27,562    
    Other current liabilities     27,683       28,808       23,795       21,067       19,533    
    Total current liabilities     85,042       80,668       71,077       74,443       77,086    
    Long-term operating lease liabilities     2,982       3,221       3,276       3,390       3,529    
    Long-term finance lease liabilities     20       4       5       —       6    
    Long-term debt     317,339       272,325       277,740       281,989       287,544    
    Deferred income taxes     22,037       26,802       30,083       33,873       35,718    
    Deferred gains and other liabilities     1,369       1,416       1,447       2,285       2,229    
    Total liabilities     428,789       384,436       383,628       395,980       406,112    
    Equity:                                
    SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. stockholders’ equity:                                
    Common stock     287       287       286       286       280    
    Additional paid-in capital     479,283       477,661       476,020       474,433       472,692    
    Accumulated deficit     (180,600 )     (154,374 )     (138,028 )     (125,609 )     (102,425 )  
    Shares held in treasury     (8,110 )     (8,110 )     (8,110 )     (8,071 )     (4,221 )  
    Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax     7,141       9,223       7,449       7,506       7,577    
          298,001       324,687       337,617       348,545       373,903    
    Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries     321       321       321       321       321    
    Total equity     298,322       325,008       337,938       348,866       374,224    
    Total liabilities and equity   $ 727,111     $ 709,444     $ 721,566     $ 744,846     $ 780,336    
     
               
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
    (in thousands)
               
              Three Months Ended
        Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024     Mar. 31, 2024     Dec. 31, 2023    
    Cash Flows from Operating Activities:                                
    Net (Loss) Income   $ (26,226 )   $ (16,346 )   $ (12,483 )   $ (23,069 )   $ 5,729    
    Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:                                
    Depreciation and amortization     12,879       12,928       12,939       12,882       13,022    
    Deferred financing costs amortization     254       298       297       295       279    
    Stock-based compensation expense     1,622       1,604       1,587       1,645       1,510    
    Debt discount amortization     1,799       2,061       1,993       1,926       1,862    
    Allowance for credit losses     59       101       39       3       266    
    (Gains) losses from equipment sales, retirements or impairments     (11,624 )     (1,821 )     (37 )     1       (18,057 )  
    Losses on debt extinguishment     28,252       —       —       —       —    
    Derivative losses (gains)     536       (67 )     (104 )     543       (608 )  
    Interest on finance lease     2       —       1       —       1    
    Settlements on derivative transactions, net     —       —       —       164       —    
    Currency (gains) losses     (1,308 )     1,717       560       80       1,276    
    Deferred income taxes     (4,766 )     (3,281 )     (3,790 )     (1,845 )     2,640    
    Equity (earnings) losses     (1,430 )     (1,012 )     (966 )     1,100       (374 )  
    Dividends received from equity investees     —       1,498       1,418       —       166    
    Changes in Operating Assets and Liabilities:                                
    Accounts receivables     5,448       (7,411 )     (6,928 )     4,291       (3,472 )  
    Other assets     1,338       1,032       (2,395 )     (1,290 )     733    
    Accounts payable and accrued liabilities     1,693       9,325       (4,378 )     (3,895 )     (6,456 )  
    Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities     8,528       626       (12,247 )     (7,169 )     (1,483 )  
    Cash Flows from Investing Activities:                                
    Purchases of property and equipment     (3,010 )     (210 )     (658 )     (3,416 )     (3,644 )  
    Proceeds from disposition of property and equipment     22,441       2,331       86       —       36,692    
    Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities     19,431       2,121       (572 )     (3,416 )     33,048    
    Cash Flows from Financing Activities:                                
    Payments on long-term debt     (2,479 )     (7,770 )     (6,533 )     (7,530 )     (6,173 )  
    Payments on debt extinguishment     (328,712 )     —       —       —       —    
    Payments on debt extinguishment cost     (3,671 )     —       —       —       —    
    Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt, net of debt discount and issue costs     345,192       —       —       —       87    
    Payments on finance leases     (13 )     (10 )     (9 )     (9 )     (9 )  
    Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net of issue costs     —       —       —       —       24    
    Proceeds from exercise of stock options and warrants     —       38       102       —       —    
    Tax withholdings on restricted stock vesting     —       —       (39 )     (3,850 )     —    
    Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities     10,317       (7,742 )     (6,479 )     (11,389 )     (6,071 )  
    Effects of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents     —       (1 )     (1 )     2       1    
    Net Change in Cash, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents     38,276       (4,996 )     (19,299 )     (21,972 )     25,495    
    Cash, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Period     37,864       42,860       62,159       84,131       58,636    
    Cash, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Period   $ 76,140     $ 37,864     $ 42,860     $ 62,159     $ 84,131    
     
     
    SEACOR MARINE HOLDINGS INC.
    UNAUDITED FLEET COUNTS
     
        Owned     Leased-in     Managed     Total  
    December 31, 2024                        
    AHTS     —       —       2       2  
    FSV     22       —       1       23  
    PSV     21       —       —       21  
    Liftboats     8       —       —       8  
          51       —       3       54  
    December 31, 2023                        
    AHTS     3       1       —       4  
    FSV     22       —       3       25  
    PSV     21       —       —       21  
    Liftboats     8       —       —       8  
          54       1       3       58  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Xbox reveals agenda for developers at GDC 2025 March 17-21

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Xbox reveals agenda for developers at GDC 2025 March 17-21

    As we gear up for the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2025, we couldn’t be more excited to meet up with our friends and colleagues in the industry and explore the many incredible new opportunities that await. This year, GDC takes place from March 17-21 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. We’ll host partner meetings, participate in conference sessions, and sponsor events like the IGF Awards and the ESA Foundation’s Nite to Unite. Attendees that come by the Xbox Lounge in Moscone South will have a chance to see the latest Xbox experience on PC, join a Q&A with an Xbox development expert, and learn about the opportunities and benefits of building with Xbox across PC, Cloud and Console.

    Xbox is expanding to any screen on any device, making it easier for anyone to play with the friends they want – whether they choose to play with Xbox console, PC, Smart TV or mobile. At GDC, we’re inviting game developers to go behind the scenes to better understand what it means for Xbox to be playable on any screen. We’re committed to empowering game developers to tap into that opportunity by building cross-capable games that take advantage of Xbox across devices. Our presence will reveal the many ways game developers can reach more players with Xbox and showcase success stories of developers who are maximizing the opportunity.

    Whether you’re an indie developer or a seasoned professional, Xbox speakers will be presenting insights for every stage of your development journey. Check out the full schedule below. If you will be engaging remotely, you can learn more by visiting our Game Development Resource Hub here and to learn more about AI for Gaming, check out our Gaming AI Resource Hub here.

    For us, GDC 2025 is as much about showcasing the Xbox developer experience as it is about fostering collaboration with partners and driving our gaming future, together. See you there!

    Monday, March 17

    UX Summit: UX Writing: A New(ish) Craft in Mobile Games
    Speaker: Patricia Gomez (King)
    Date: Monday, March 17
    Time: 9:30am – 10:30am
    Location: Room 2010, West Hall

    Community Management Summit: Social Media Microtalks: Authenticity from You and the Business “We”
    Speaker: Cindy Tran (Obsidian Entertainment), Antonio Cara (DeNA Corp.), Harper Jay MacIntyre (Double Fine Productions Inc), Livvy Hall (Xbox Game Studios Publishing), Megan Spurr (Microsoft)
    Date: Monday, March 17
    Time: 10:50am – 11:50am
    Location: Room 2014, West Hall

    Live Service Games Summit: Reinventing ‘Candy Crush Soda’ for the Next 10 years
    Speaker: Abigail Rindo (King), Paul Hellier (King)
    Date: Monday, March 17
    Time: 10:50am – 11:50am
    Location: Room 2006, West Hall

    Animation Summit: ‘Diablo 4’: Bringing to Life the Priestess of Hatred
     Speaker: Chad Waldschmidt (Blizzard Entertainment)
    Date: Monday, March 17
    Time: 3:50 pm – 4:20 pm
    Location: Room 2018, West Hall

    UX Summit: Making the World Playful: The Importance of Accessible Mobile Games
    Speaker:     Emilio Jeldrez (King)
    Date: Monday, March 17
    Time: 5:30pm – 6:00pm
    Location: Room 2010, West Hall

    Tuesday, March 18

    Live Service Games Summit: Mass Engagement Winning Strategies: The 15M Player Tournament of ‘Candy Crush Saga’
    Speaker: Margaux Diaz (King), Roberto Kusabbi (King)
    Date: Tuesday, March 18
    Time: 9:30am – 10:30am
    Location: Room 2006, West Hall

    Thriving Players Summit: Prosocial Design Workshop
    Speaker:     Natasha Miller (Blizzard Entertainment), Weszt Hart (Riot Games)
    Date: Tuesday, March 18
    Time: 9:30am – 11;50am
    Location: Room 3005, West Hall

    The Climate Crisis Workshop
    Speaker: Grant Shonkwiler (Shonkventures LLC), Trevin York (Dire Lark), Paula Angela Escuadra (Microsoft / Xbox), Jennifer Estaris (ustwo games), Arnaud Fayolle (Ubisoft)
    Date: Tuesday, March 18
    Time: 10:00am – 6:00pm
    Location: Room 204, South Hall

    Gaming Reimagined: Mobile’s Impact on Play Today (Presented by King)
    Speaker: Todd Green (King), Paula Ingvar (King), Peiwen Yao (Blizzard Entertainment)
    Date: Tuesday, March 18
    Time: 10:50am – 11:50am
    Location: Room 2000, West Hall

    Unpacking Anti-Toxicity Strategy in “Call of Duty” (Presented by Community Clubhouse)
    Speaker: Mark Frumkin (Modulate), Grant Cahill (Activision)
    Date: Tuesday, March 18
    Time: 2:40pm – 3:40pm
    Location: Esplanade 158, South Hall

    Live Service Games Summit: Game Designer’s Notebook
    Speakers: Marta Cortiñas (King), Kenny Dinkin (King)
    Time: 2:40pm – 3:40pm
    Location: Room 2006, West Hall

    Wednesday, March 19

    Opening a Billion Doors with Xbox (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: Leo Olebe (Microsoft), Chris Charla (Microsoft)
    Date: Wednesday, March 19
    Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
    Location: Room 3022, West Hall

    Accelerating Your Inner Loop with Visual Studio and GitHub Copilot AI (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: David Li (Microsoft), Michael Price (Microsoft)
    Date: Wednesday, March 19
    Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
    Location: GDC Industry Stage, Expo Floor, South Hall

    Grow Your Audience with the Updated Xbox Experience on PC (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker:     Tila Nguyen (Microsoft), Jose Rady (Microsoft)
    Date: Wednesday, March 19
    Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
    Location: GDC Industry Stage, Expo Floor, South Hall

    Make your Game Available ANYWHERE with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: Harrison Hoffman (Microsoft), Jordan Cohen (Microsoft)
    Date: Wednesday, March 19
    Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
    Location: Room 2000, West Hall

    Masterworking Systems: Lessons Learned from the Engineering of Season of Loot Reborn in ‘Diablo IV’
     Speaker: Patrick Ferland (Blizzard Entertainment)
    Date: Wednesday, March 19
    Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
    Location: Room 2006, West Hall

    Ask Game Lawyers Anything Roundtable Day 1
    Speaker: Ryan Black (DLA Piper (Canada) LLP), Brandon Huffman (Odin Law and Media), Angelo Alcid (Microsoft Corp.), Yan Perng (Netflix)
    Date: Wednesday, March 19
    Time: 3:30pm – 4:30pm
    Location: Room 308, South Hall

    Xbox Game Studios Panel: Scaling Cross-Platform Development Across Xbox and PC (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: Kate Rayner (Microsoft), Soren Hannibal Nielsen (Microsoft, Chuck Rozhon (Obsidion Entertainment), Chad Dawson (Double Fine Productions) Phil Cousins (Microsoft), Magnus Auvinen (Machine Games)
    Date: Wednesday, March 19
    Time: 3:30pm – 4:30pm
    Location: Room 2000, West Hall

    Thursday, March 20

    DirectX State of the Union: Raytracing and PIX Workflows (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: Claire Andrews (Microsoft), Austin Kinross (Microsoft)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 9:30am – 10:30am
    Location: Room 2009, West Hall

    VFX Storytelling: How “Hearthstone” Breathes Life Into Hundreds of Cards
    Speaker: Alex Cortes (Blizzard Entertainment)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm
    Location: Room 2006, West Hall

    Strategies for Indie Devs: How to Succeed with Xbox (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: James Lewis (Microsoft)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm
    Location: GDC Industry Stage, Expo Floor, South Hall

    G.A.N.G. Demo Derby: Sound Design
    Speaker: Nick Hartman (Sound Lab), Scott Gershin (Sound Lab), Charles Deenen (Source Sound Inc), Gary Miranda (Injected Senses Audio), Brian Farr (Blizzard Entertainment)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 12:15pm – 1:45pm
    Location: Room 3018, West Hall

    From Idea to Action: Lessons from a New Accessibility Initiative (Presented by The Entertainment Software Association)
    Speaker: Aubrey Quinn  (Entertainment Software Association), Paul Amadeus Lane  (Amadeus 4th Corp), Amy Lazarus  (Electronic Arts), Dara Monasch  (Google), Anna Waismeyer  (Microsoft/Xbox), Steven Evans  (Nintendo of America), David Tisserand  (Ubisoft)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 12:15pm – 1:15pm
    Location: GDC Main Stage, West Hall, Street Level

    Windows Productivity Tools for Game Developers (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: Demitrius Nelon (Microsoft), Kayla Cinnamon (Microsoft)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 12:15pm – 1:15pm
    Location: Room 2024, West Hall

    Securing the Joy of Gaming: Xbox’s Commitment to Gaming Security and Innovation (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: Temi Adebambo (Microsoft)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
    Location: GDC Industry Stage, Expo Floor, South Hall

    Xbox Play Anywhere Developer Roundtable (Presented by Microsoft)
    Speaker: Chris Charla (Microsoft)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
    Location: Room 2004, West Hall

    King: Enhancing Mobile Audio with Accessibility and Inclusion
    Speaker: Eduardo Broseta  (King)
    Date: Thursday, March 20
    Time: 2:30pm – 3:00pm
    Location: Room 3024, West Hall

    Friday, March 21

    Game Career Seminar: STR, DEX and INT: A Genre-Spanning Way to Think About Gameplay
    Speaker: Joseph Shely  (Blizzard Entertainment)
    Date: Friday, March 21
    Time: 11:50am – 12:20pm
    Location: Room 3005, West Hall

    Game Career Seminar: Killer Portfolio or Portfolio Killer Part 2: Portfolio Reviews
    Speakers:     Greg Foertsch  (Bit Reactor), Sarah LeBlanc  (Bit Reactor), Rembert Montald  (Lightspeed LA), David Yee  (Unannounced), Jeffrey Johnson  (inXile Entertainment), Jade Law  (Wardog Studios), Gaurav Mathur  (E-Line Media), Jessica Kutrakun  (Hypixel Studios), Inmar Salvatier  (Maxis), Jeff Parrott  (Blizzard), Daanish Syed  (Bit Reactor), David Johnson  (UndertoneFX), Jeff Skalski  (Yellow Brick Games)
    Date:     Friday, March 21
    Time:     2:00pm – 5:00pm
    Location:     Room 3000, West Hall

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: Element Reports Fourth Quarter and Record 2024 Financial Results; Reaffirms Full-Year 2025 Guidance

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Amounts in US$ unless otherwise noted
     
    • Record 2024 net revenue of $1.1 billion driving record adjusted operating income, adjusted earnings per share and adjusted free cash flow per share
    • Record performance in 2024 underpinned by an 18% year-over-year increase in services revenue, and a 9% year-over-year increase in net financing revenue associated with higher net earning assets
       
    • Strong performance allowed for acceleration of strategic investments to position us for future success while delivering full-year adjusted operating margins within guidance range
       
    • Robust client demand, strong and growing pipeline, and a high-recurring-revenue business model, combined with the benefits of investments made in 2024, to drive continued growth across key financial metrics
       
    • Reaffirming 2025 guidance for net revenue growth of 6.5 to 8.5%, positive adjusted operating leverage, and high single- to low double-digit growth in each of adjusted operating income, adjusted EPS, and adjusted free cash flow per share

    TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Element Fleet Management Corp. (TSX:EFN) (“Element” or the “Company”), the largest publicly traded, pure-play automotive fleet manager in the world, today announced financial and operating results for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and record results for full-year 2024.  The following table presents Element’s selected financial results.

      Q4 20241 Q3 20241 Q4 20231 QoQ YoY 2024   2023   YoY
    In US$ millions, except percentages and per share amount       % %     %
    Selected results – as reported                
    Net revenue 270.9   279.6   245.1   (3)% 11% 1,087.6   959.1   13%
    Pre-tax income 121.4   134.0   103.4   (9)% 17% 513.6   448.9   14%
    Pre-tax income margin 44.8 % 47.9 % 42.2 % (310) bps 260  bps 47.2 % 46.8 % 40  bps
    Earnings per share (EPS) [basic] 0.23   0.24   0.20   (1)% 3% 0.96   0.84   12%
    EPS [basic] [$CAD] 0.32   0.33   0.27   (3)% 19% 1.31   1.13   16%
    Adjusted results (excludes one-time strategic project costs in  2024)1                
    Adjusted net revenue2 270.9   279.6   245.1   (3)% 11% 1,087.6   959.1   13%
    Adjusted operating income (AOI)2 143.3   161.4   134.9   (11)% 6% 601.2   530.5   13%
    Adjusted operating margin2 52.9 % 57.7 % 55.0 % (480) bps (210) bps 55.3 % 55.3 % — bps
    Adjusted EPS2 [basic] 0.27   0.29   0.25   (7)% 8% 1.12   0.98   14%
    Adjusted EPS2[basic] [$CAD] 0.37   0.40   0.33   (8)% 12% 1.53   1.32   16%
    Other highlights:                
    Adjusted free cash flow per share2(FCF/sh) 0.30   0.36   0.29   (17)% 3% 1.38   1.24   11%
    Adjusted2 (FCF/sh) [$CAD] 0.41   0.49   0.40   (16)% 2% 1.89   1.67   13%
    Originations 1,498   1,716   1,490   (13)% 1% 6,732   6,340   6%
                               
    1. Strategic project costs totaled $20 million, of which $14 million was incurred in 2023 and $6 million in 2024, These costs were, attributable to leasing initiatives in Ireland, and were $2 million below planned investment as previously communicated. These costs for the quarterly periods in the above table were as follows: Q4 2023 ($11 million), Q3 2024 ($2 million), and Nil in Q4 2024. Additionally, Q3 2024 also included $7 million in acquisition-related costs, including severance, in connection with the Autofleet transaction.
    2. Adjusted results are non-GAAP or supplemental financial measures, which do not have any standard meaning prescribed by GAAP  under IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. For further information, please see the “IFRS to Non-GAAP Reconciliations” section in this earnings release. The Company uses “Adjusted Results” because it believes that they provide useful information to investors regarding its performance and results of operations.

    “In 2024, we continued to execute our global growth strategy that builds on our considerable business momentum, delivering record results and value to clients, team members, and our shareholders. At the core of our efforts is a digital-first mindset and an unwavering commitment to operational excellence and prioritizing client success,” said Laura Dottori-Attanasio, Chief Executive Officer of Element. “Our robust performance relative to our plan allowed us to accelerate strategic investments aimed at enhancing our client experience, modernizing operations through digitization and automation, and strengthening our teams and culture. We achieved this while delivering within our full-year adjusted operating margin guidance and exceeding other key financial metrics. With these investments, we are building a stronger, more agile, and more innovative foundation to lead in defining the future of mobility. 

    Dottori-Attanasio continued, “We expect expense growth to moderate considerably in 2025 as the acceleration and benefits of this year’s investments begin to materialize. By optimizing costs and driving operational efficiencies through digital innovation, our disciplined approach to strategic investing in the areas that are critical to client success positions us well to both deliver on our financial targets and sustain success well into the future.”

    Net revenue growth

    Element grew 2024 net revenue 13% over 2023 (“year-over-year”) to $1.1 billion led largely by double-digit services revenue growth and higher net financing revenue.

    Q4 2024 net revenue increased $26 million or 11% on a year-over-year basis led largely by robust services revenue growth.  Q4 2024 net revenue decreased $9 million or 3% from a record Q3 2024 led largely by lower net financing revenue, lower syndication revenue and seasonal factors impacting Gains on Sale (“GOS”). This was partly offset by higher services revenue quarter-over-quarter.

    Service revenue

    Element’s largely unlevered services revenue is the key pillar of its capital-light business model, which also improves the Company’s return on equity profile.

    2024 services revenue increased a strong 18% year-over-year to $596 million driven primarily by higher penetration and utilization rates of our service offerings from new and existing clients and higher origination volumes.

    Q4 2024 services revenue grew a robust 25% year-over-year and  10% quarter-over-quarter driven primarily by higher penetration and utilization rates.

    Net financing revenue

    2024 net financing revenue grew $38 million or 9% year-over-year led largely by higher net earning assets resulting from higher originations across all geographies. This increase was partly offset by higher funding costs, including higher interest expense largely associated with financing the redemptions of our preferred shares (previously recorded below the AOI line). GOS was largely unchanged year-over-year, as increased volumes of vehicles for sale continue to mitigate used vehicle price normalization.

    Q4 2024 net financing revenue increased $1 million or 1% year-over-year led largely by the same reasons cited in the full-year 2024 explanation above. This increase was partly offset by a year-over-year decrease in GOS, and higher funding costs. A higher volume of vehicles for sale was more than offset by a decrease in used vehicle pricing in Mexico and ANZ.

    Q4 2024 net financing revenue decreased $13 million or 11% from Q3 2024. This quarter-over-quarter decrease was materially led by seasonal factors affecting GOS and for the same reasons cited directly above. Lower net earning assets and higher interest expense associated with financing the redemption of our preferred shares on September 30, 2024, and the impact of incremental debt due to the acquisition of Autofleet also contributed to the decrease.

    Syndication volume

    The Company syndicated a record $3.5 billion of assets in 2024, an increase of $984 million or 40% from 2023, and $1.0 billion in Q4 2024 – $330 million or 47% higher than Q4 2023. This growth was largely associated with higher origination volume, the Company’s ongoing focus on its capital lighter model, and management of its tangible leverage.  Overall, investor demand remains robust.

    2024 syndication revenue decreased $3 million or 6% year-over-year led largely by the bulk syndication of a Canadian lease portfolio in December 2024 (the “Bulk Sale”) in the amount of $346 million (CAD$474 million). This Bulk Sale further diversified our funding sources. Initial sale and setup costs impacted yields. Yields were further impacted by the Company’s syndication mix and scheduled reduction in bonus depreciation driving lower net yields. Gross yield, which is a measure of the value and demand for our core syndication product, was relatively unchanged from 2023. For further information on the Bulk Sale, please refer to the Element announces new strategic funding relationship section in this press release.

    Q4 2024 syndication revenue decreased $7 million or 55% year-over-year for the same reasons cited above for the full year 2024, and $11 million or 64% quarter-over-quarter largely due to lower net yields and setup costs associated with the sale of the Canadian portfolio. 

    Adjusted operating income and adjusted operating margins

    AOI was a record $601 million in 2024, an increase of $71 million or 13% year-over-year. This resulted in adjusted EPS of $1.12 in 2024, which is a 14% increase year-over-year. 2024 adjusted operating margin was 55.3%, unchanged from last year and at the mid-point of the Company’s revised 2024 guidance range between 55.0 to 55.5%. Excluding Autofleet, adjusted operating margins would have expanded 30 basis points year-over-year to 55.6%.

    Q4 2024 AOI was $143 million, an increase of $8 million or 6% year-over-year. Q4 2024 adjusted operating margin was 52.9% influenced by accelerated strategic investments, seasonal factors impacting GOS, $3 million in Autofleet operating costs, and the impact of the bulk sale of a portfolio of Canadian leases, which the Company believes will benefit 2025 and beyond. Excluding Autofleet, Q4 2024 adjusted operating margin was 54.1%.  

    Q4 2024 AOI decreased $18 million or 11% quarter-over-quarter led largely by the same reasons cited in the preceding paragraph. 

    Originations

    Element originated $6.7 billion of assets in 2024, which is a $392 million or 6% increase year-over-year led by growth across all regions. 

    Q4 2024 originations of $1.5 billion increased $8 million or 1% year-over-year; however, originations decreased $218 million or 13% quarter-over-quarter led largely by seasonal factors including historically slower client order volume during the summer months.

    Order volumes increased significantly in the last four months of 2024, reaching a record monthly high in December. This momentum, bolstered by improvements made through our U.S. & Canada Leasing strategic initiative based in Ireland, is expected to drive solid origination volumes in the first half of 2025.

    The table below sets out the geographic distribution of Element’s originations for 2024 and 2023:

    (in US$000’s for stated values) December 31, 2024 December 31, 2023
      $ % $ %
    United States and Canada 5,206,339 77.34 % 4,850,411 76.50  %
    Mexico 1,035,249 15.38 % 1,028,165 16.22 %
    Australia and New Zealand 489,960 7.28 % 461,451 7.28 %
    Total 6,731,548 100.00 % 6,340,027 100.00 %
                 

    Adjusted free cash flow per share and returns to shareholders

    On an adjusted basis, Element generated $1.38 of adjusted free cash flow (“FCF”) per share in 2024; up 11% year-over-year driven by growth in net revenues and higher originations, while investing approximately $77 million in total capital investments during the year. In Q4 2024, Element accelerated approximately $47 million of tax payments to the Australian Tax Office relating to the 2025 to 2027 taxation years. The tax payments relate to cash tax timing benefits received due to temporary accelerated depreciation available during the pandemic, effectively providing the Company with a tax deferral. The accelerated payment allows for future adjusted free cash flow to better represent the cash taxes that would be paid in the normal course of operations during those future years. This acceleration of Australian cash taxes is excluded from adjusted free cash flow per share.

    Element returned $336 million of cash to shareholders through common share dividends, common share buybacks and preferred share redemptions in 2024.

    Common dividend and share repurchases

    On February 26, 2025, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) authorized and declared a quarterly cash dividend of CAD$0.13 per common share of Element for the first quarter of 2025. The dividend will be payable on April 15, 2025 to shareholders of record as at the close of business on March 31, 2025.

    The Company’s common dividends are designated to be eligible dividends for purposes of section 89(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

    In furtherance of the Company’s return of capital plan, Element renewed its normal course issuer bid (the “NCIB”) for its common shares. Under the NCIB, the Company has approval from the TSX to purchase up to 40,386,699 common shares during the period from November 20, 2024, to November 19, 2025. The Company intends to be more active under its NCIB in 2025. The actual number of the Company’s common shares, if any, that may be purchased under the NCIB, and the timing of any such purchases, will be determined by the Company, subject to applicable terms and limitations of the NCIB (including any automatic share purchase plan adopted in connection therewith). There cannot be any assurance as to how many common shares, if any, will ultimately be purchased pursuant to the NCIB. Any subsequent renewals of the NCIB will be in the discretion of the Company and subject to further TSX approval.

    During 2024, the Company purchased 630,657 Common Shares for cancellation under its normal course issuer bids, for an aggregate amount of approximately $11 million at a volume weighted average price of CAD$23.77 per Common Share. During Q4 2024, the Company purchased 175,357 Common Shares under its NCIB, for cancellation, for an aggregate amount of approximately $4 million at a volume weighted average price of CAD$28.51 per Common Share.  During January and February 2025, the Company purchased 1.1 million Common Shares under its latest NCIB, for cancellation, for an aggregate amount of approximately $22 million at a volume weighted average price of CAD $28.75 per Common Share.

    Element applies trade date accounting in determining the date on which the share repurchase is reflected in the consolidated financial statements. Trade date accounting is the date on which the Company commits itself to purchase the shares.

    Preparing Element for the future

    In 2024, Element was purposeful in accelerating strategic investments in support of future growth.  The Company prioritized initiatives that elevate the client experience, modernize operations through digitization and automation, strengthen its teams and culture, and emphasized these efforts through the acquisition of Autofleet. While pursuing these strategic advancements, the Company exercised operational discipline to ensure that financial targets were achieved, maintaining operating margins within its 2024 guidance range of 55.0 to 55.5%. The Company expects expense growth to moderate considerably in 2025 as the benefits of these investments begin to materialize.

    Notable achievements include:

    • Centralizing accountability for its U.S. and Canadian leasing operations in Ireland and establishing a strategic sourcing presence in Singapore, with these initiatives expected to generate between $30 – $45 million of run-rate net revenue, and between $22 – $37 million of run-rate adjusted operating income (“AOI”), by full-year 2028. Both units are fully operational with an expected payback period from the Company’s investments at less than 2.5 years. 
       
    • Acquiring Autofleet’s robust and highly scalable fleet optimization technology platform to substantially accelerate its digitization and automation initiatives, enhance the client experience and accelerate operational scalability, unlocking new growth and value creation potential.  The integration of Autofleet will enhance the Company’s position in the evolving mobility and vehicle connectivity landscape. Priorities include developing a Digital Driver Experience app, building a digital client reporting portal, and gradually migrating Element’s applications to Autofleet’s cloud and AI-based platform.
       
    • Launching an Acceleration Office, to fast-track and prioritize strategic initiatives like our holistic digital and data analytics transformation, and our expansion into both Insurance and the Small-to Medium-Sized Fleets space.
       
    • In January 2025, the Company expanded beyond its core by announcing a new Insurance Risk solution – a fully integrated insurance and risk management offering. This new service, launched in a strategic partnership with Hub International Limited (“HUB”), a leading global insurance brokerage and financial services firm servicing commercial fleets, is designed to transform how clients insure and manage commercial fleets. The new service bundles insurance coverage solutions, including accident management, subrogation, driver safety programs, and telematics, to deliver a seamless, vehicle life-cycle experience for clients.

    Guidance

    Full-year 2024 Guidance

    Element delivered full-year 2024 results within or above the high end of its previously provided guidance ranges on key metrics, with the exception of originations. The following table highlights our full-year 2024 guidance (as was updated alongside its Q2 2024 results release) compared to the full-year 2024 results.

    In US$, except per share amounts Full-year 2024 Guidance Full-year 2024 Actuals
    Net revenue $1.060 – $1.080 billion $1.088 billion
    YoY Growth 11-13 % 13%
    Adjusted operating margin1 55.0% – 55.5% 55.3%
    Adjusted operating income $575 – 595 million $601 million
    YoY Growth 8-12 % 13%
    Adjusted EPS [basic] $1.07 – $1.11 $1.12
    YoY Growth 9-13 % 14%
    Adjusted free cash flow per share $1.32 – 1.36 1.38
    YoY Growth 6-10 % 11%
    Originations $7.0 – 7.4 billion $6.7 billion
    YoY Growth 11-17 % 6%

     1. Excluding Autofleet, adjusted operating margin was 55.6% in 2024; representing adjusting operating margin expansion of 30 basis points year-over-year.     

    Certain year-over-year growth amounts shown in this table may not calculate exactly due to rounding.

    Full-year 2025 Guidance

    The Company expects to see continued growth in its client base and net revenue, driven by the ongoing transition to self-managed fleets and robust demand for its services and solutions. Strong order volumes over the last four months of 2024, bolstered by enhancements made through our U.S. and Canada leasing initiative in Ireland, is expected to drive solid originations volume in the first half of 2025. Originations are preceded by vehicle orders, which are binding commitments by clients to lease or purchase vehicles from Element.

    Element is committed to generating positive operating leverage in 2025, and expects to begin realizing the benefits of the investments undertaken in 2024.

    In US$, except per share amounts Full-year 2025 Initial  Guidance Full-year 2025 Guidance
    Net revenue 6.5 – 8.5% $1.160 – $1.185 billion
    Adjusted operating income High-single to low-double digit $645 – $670 million
    Adjusted operating margins   55.5 – 56.5%
    Adjusted EPS [basic] High-single to low-double digit $1.20 – $1.25
    Adjusted free cash flow per share High-single to low-double digit $1.48- $1.53
    Originations Low- to mid-single digit $6.9 – $7.1 billion

    The Company’s guidance for 2025 incorporates the effects of several anticipated revenue headwinds, including the depreciation of the Mexican Peso (the Company has assumed an MXN-to-USD exchange rate of 20.5:1), higher interest expenses due to increased local Peso funding in 2025, and financing the redemption of the preferred shares. In addition, the scheduled reduction in bonus depreciation in the U.S. is likely to impact syndication yields. We also anticipate that our 2025 effective tax rate will average between 24.5% to 26.5%.

    The above ranges are prior to any further material foreign exchange fluctuations, and any adverse impact related to changes in the trade agreements between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

    Simplified capital structure

    To further optimize the Company’s balance sheet and simplify its capital structure, the Company redeemed the following during 2024: (1) all of its 5,126,400 issued and outstanding 6.21% Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Shares Series C (the “Series C Shares”) on June 20, 2024, at a price of CAD$25.00 per Series C Share for an aggregate total amount of approximately US$91.2 million; (2) all of its 5,321,900 issued and outstanding 5.903% Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Shares Series E (the “Series E Shares”) on September 30, 2024, at a price of CAD$25.00 per Series E Share for an aggregate amount of US$95 million approximately; and (3) all of its remaining outstanding 4.25% Convertible Unsecured Subordinated Debentures due June 30, 2024 for consideration of approximately 14.6 million Common Shares, issued from Treasury and delivered to beneficial holders.

    Following the redemption of its Series E preferred shares, the Company no longer has any preferred shares outstanding.

    As at December 31, 2024, total Common Shares issued and outstanding were 404.5 million.

    Element announces new strategic funding relationship

    In December 2024, Element established a new strategic funding relationship with affiliates of Blackstone’s Infrastructure & Asset-Based Credit Group (“Blackstone”) involving a portfolio of Canadian fleet lease receivables valued at approximately $346 million (CAD$474 million). This initial transaction, which took place on December 20, 2024, has characteristics similar to that of a bulk syndication. Through this arrangement Element benefits from substantial derecognition of these finance lease receivables, diversifying and optimizing its funding profile, validating the high-quality of its asset origination platform, and supporting the Company’s continued growth. 

    This transaction further assists in diversifying the Company’s funding sources, reducing leverage and driving our capital lighter model. However, due to the initial sale, overall yield was negatively impacted by setup costs. These costs are not expected to recur in future transactions. Consequently, the Company expects higher syndication yields in 2025, while also benefiting from the derecognition of finance lease receivables that similar transactions would offer.

    Transitioning to debt-to-capital vs. tangible leverage ratio (“TLR”)

    In Q4 2024, in collaboration with its partners, the Company changed its banking covenants from TLR to debt-to-capital, which the Company believes is a more meaningful measure of its leverage. Commencing in Q4 2024, the Company will prioritize the reporting and management of debt-to-capital metrics, though TLR will be still disclosed this quarter for consistency. The bank covenants are set at 80% of debt-to-capital, and the Company targets a range between 73% to 77%. The Company remains committed to maintaining a strong investment grade balance sheet and will continue to monitor TLR as a key internal metric, but it will be of reduced importance as an operating constraint.

    At December 31, 2024, the Company’s debt-to-capital ratio was 74.1% (December 31, 2023 72%) and its TLR was 7.56:1 (December 31, 2023 5.99:1).

    Conference call and webcast

    A conference call to discuss these results will be held on Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

    The conference call and webcast can be accessed as follows:

    A taped recording of the conference call may be accessed through March 27, 2025 by dialing 1-855-669-9658 (Canada/U.S. Toll Free) or 1-412-317-0088 (International Toll) and entering the access code 3917835.

    IFRS to Non-GAAP Reconciliations, Non-GAAP Measures and Supplemental Information

    The Company’s audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB and the accounting policies we adopted in accordance with IFRS. These audited consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary to present fairly our financial position as at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the results of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows for the three- and 12-month periods-ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

    Non-GAAP and IFRS key annualized operating ratios and per share information of the operations of the Company:

        As at and for the three-month
     period ended    		 For the year ended
    (in US$000’s except ratios and per share amounts or unless otherwise noted)   December 31,
    2024    		 September 30,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023    		 December 31,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023
                 
    Key annualized operating ratios            
                 
    Leverage ratios            
    Financial leverage ratio P/(P+R)   74.1 %   74.3 %   72.4 %   74.1 %   72.4 %
    Tangible leverage ratio P/
    (R-K)    		   7.56     7.00     5.98     7.56     5.99  
    Average financial leverage ratio Q/(Q+V)   75.0 %   75.1 %   72.6 %   74.7 %   71.6 %
    Average tangible leverage ratio Q/(V-L)   7.60     6.80     5.75     6.72     5.53  
                 
    Other key operating ratios            
    Allowance for credit losses as a % of total finance receivables before allowance F/E   0.08 %   0.08 %   0.08 %   0.08 %   0.08 %
    Adjusted operating income on average net earning assets B/J   7.31 %   8.01 %   7.20 %   7.53 %   7.57 %
    Adjusted operating income on average tangible total equity of Element D/(V-L)   39.34 %   37.91 %   29.34 %   35.76 %   30.08 %
                 
    Per share information            
    Number of shares outstanding W   404,502     403,609     389,169     404,502     389,169  
    Weighted average number of shares outstanding [basic] X   404,578     403,609     389,115     396,880     390,297  
    Pro forma diluted average number of shares outstanding Y   404,726     403,768     404,068     404,164     405,242  
    Cumulative preferred share dividends during the period Z   —     1,434     4,418     7,222     17,625  
    Other effects of dilution on an adjusted operating income basis AA $ —   $ 0   $ 1,184   $ 2,412   $ 4,859  
    Net income per share [basic] (A-Z)/X $ 0.23   $ 0.24   $ 0.20   $ 0.96   $ 0.84  
    Net income per share [diluted]   $ 0.23   $ 0.24   $ 0.19   $ 0.95   $ 0.82  
                 
    Adjusted EPS [basic] (D1)/X $ 0.27   $ 0.29   $ 0.25   $ 1.12   $ 0.99  
    Adjusted EPS [diluted] (D1+AA)/Y $ 0.27   $ 0.29   $ 0.24   $ 1.10   $ 0.96  
                                     

    Management also uses a variety of both IFRS and non-GAAP and Supplemental Measures, and non-GAAP ratios to monitor and assess their operating performance. The Company uses these non-GAAP and Supplemental Financial Measures because they believe that they may provide useful information to investors regarding their performance and results of operations.

    The following table provides a reconciliation of certain IFRS to non-GAAP measures related to the operations of the Company and other supplemental information.

                                For the three-month period ended For the year ended
    (in US$000’s  except per share amounts or unless otherwise noted)   December 31,
    2024    		 September 30,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023    		 December 31,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023
    Reported results   US$ US$ US$ US$ US$
    Services income, net     161,461     146,903     129,657     595,540     502,659  
    Net financing revenue     103,453     116,090     102,211     449,130     410,853  
    Syndication revenue, net     5,976     16,643     13,261     42,890     45,587  
    Net revenue     270,890     279,636     245,129     1,087,560     959,099  
    Operating expenses     141,234     139,367     134,085     544,681     481,749  
    Operating income     129,656     140,269     111,044     542,879     477,350  
    Operating margin     47.9 %   50.2 %   45.3 %   49.9 %   49.8 %
    Total expenses     149,463     145,669     141,716     574,003     510,153  
    Income before income taxes     121,427     133,967     103,413     513,557     448,946  
    Net income     92,057     98,565     81,567     387,137     345,599  
    EPS [basic]   $ 0.23   $ 0.24   $ 0.20   $ 0.96   $ 0.84  
    EPS [diluted]   $ 0.23   $ 0.24   $ 0.19   $ 0.95   $ 0.82  
    Adjusting items            
    Impact of adjusting items on operating expenses:            
    Strategic initiatives costs – Salaries, wages, and benefits     —     4,633     5,329     5,593     5,329  
    Strategic initiatives costs – General and administrative expenses     —     4,283     5,437     7,806     8,342  
       Share-based compensation     13,687     12,242     12,346     43,435     36,429  
       Amortization of convertible debenture discount     —     —     772     1,517     3,038  
    Total impact of adjusting items on operating expenses     13,687     21,158     23,884     58,351     53,138  
    Total pre-tax impact of adjusting items     13,687     21,158     23,884     58,351     53,138  
    Total after-tax impact of adjusting items     10,265     15,667     17,667     43,763     27,478  
    Total impact of adjusting items on EPS [basic]     0.03     0.04     0.05     0.11     0.07  
    Total impact of adjusting items on EPS [diluted]     0.03     0.04     0.04     0.11     0.06  
                                     
                                For the three-month period ended For the year ended
    (in US$000’s  except per share amounts or unless otherwise noted)   December 31,
    2024    		 September 30,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023    		 December 31,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023
    Adjusted results   US$ US$ US$ US$ US$
    Adjusted net revenue     270,890     279,636     245,129     1,087,560     959,099  
    Adjusted operating expenses     127,547     118,209     110,201     486,330     428,611  
    Adjusted operating income     143,343     161,427     134,928     601,230     530,488  
    Adjusted operating margin     52.9 %   57.7 %   55.0 %   55.3 %   55.3 %
    Provision for income taxes     29,370     35,402     21,846     126,420     103,347  
    Adjustments:            
    Pre-tax income     5,481     6,213     8,184     22,465     21,153  
    Foreign tax rate differential and other     985     275     5,092     1,474     5,607  
    Provision for taxes applicable to adjusted results     35,836     41,890     35,122     150,359     130,107  
    Adjusted net income     107,507     119,537     99,806     450,871     400,381  
    Adjusted EPS [basic]   $ 0.27   $ 0.29   $ 0.25   $ 1.12   $ 0.98  
    Adjusted EPS [diluted]   $ 0.27   $ 0.29   $ 0.24   $ 1.10   $ 0.96  
                                     

    The following table summarizes key statement of financial position amounts for the periods presented.

    Selected statement of financial position amounts                           For the three-month period ended For the year ended
    (in US$000’s unless otherwise noted)   December 31,
    2024    		 September 30,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023    		 December 31,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023
        US$ US$ US$ US$ US$
    Total Finance receivables, before allowance for credit losses E 7,576,386   7,612,881   7,225,093   7,576,386   7,225,093  
    Allowance for credit losses F 6,168   6,069   5,539   6,168   5,539  
    Net investment in finance receivable G 4,968,294   5,251,679   4,964,175   4,968,294   4,964,175  
    Equipment under operating leases H 2,435,430   2,537,369   2,646,158   2,435,430   2,646,158  
    Net earning assets I=G+H 7,403,724   7,789,048   7,610,333   7,403,724   7,610,333  
    Average net earning assets J 7,848,023   8,059,992   7,494,361   7,980,144   7,008,655  
    Goodwill and intangible assets K 1,672,701   1,581,560   1,596,323   1,672,701   1,596,323  
    Average goodwill and intangible assets L 1,675,336   1,581,776   1,589,182   1,607,766   1,590,290  
    Borrowings M 8,463,789   8,472,130   8,018,132   8,463,789   8,018,132  
    Unsecured convertible debentures N —   —   127,816   —   127,816  
    Less: continuing involvement liability O (132,683 ) (125,225 ) (81,851 ) (132,683 ) (81,851 )
    Total debt P=M+N-O 8,331,106   8,346,905   8,064,097   8,331,106   8,064,097  
    Cash and restricted funds P1 408,621   337,247   350,637   408,621   350,637  
    Total net debt P2 = P-P1 7,922,485   8,009,658   7,713,460   7,922,485   7,713,460  
    Average debt Q 8,313,527   8,582,383   7,829,218   8,473,105   7,361,960  
    Total shareholders’ equity R 2,774,315   2,774,502   2,943,828   2,774,315   2,943,828  
    Preferred shares S —   —   181,077   —   181,077  
    Common shareholders’ equity T=R-S 2,774,315   2,774,502   2,762,751   2,774,315   2,762,751  
    Average common shareholders’ equity U 2,768,504   2,781,421   2,713,843   2,770,044   2,664,760  
    Average total shareholders’ equity V 2,768,504   2,843,024   2,949,789   2,868,593   2,921,281  
                           

    Throughout this press release, management uses the following terms and ratios which do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS and are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other organizations. Non-GAAP measures are reported in addition to, and should not be considered alternatives to, measures of performance according to IFRS.

    Adjusted operating expenses

    Adjusted operating expenses are equal to salaries, wages and benefits, general and administrative expenses, and depreciation and amortization less adjusting items impacting operating expenses. The following table reconciles the Company’s reported expenses to adjusted operating expenses.

                              For the three-month period ended For the year ended
    (in US$000’s except per share amounts or unless otherwise noted) December 31,
    2024    		 September 30,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023    		 December 31,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023
      US$ US$ US$ US$ US$
    Reported Expenses 149,463 145,669   141,716 574,003 510,153
    Less:          
    Amortization of intangible assets from acquisitions 7,819 6,970   6,971 28,734 27,912
    Loss (gain) on investments 410 (668 ) 660 588 492
    Operating expenses 141,234 139,367   134,085 544,681 481,749
    Less:          
      Amortization of convertible debenture discount — —   772 1,517 3,038
      Share-based compensation 13,687 12,242   12,346 43,435 36,429
      Strategic initiatives costs – Salaries, wages and benefits — 4,633   5,329 5,593 5,329
      Strategic initiatives costs – General and administrative expenses — 4,283   5,437 7,806 8,342
    Total adjustments 13,687 21,158   23,884 58,351 53,138
    Adjusted operating expenses 127,547 118,209   110,201 486,330 428,611
                 

    Adjusted operating income or Pre-tax adjusted operating income

    Adjusted operating income reflects net income or loss for the period adjusted for the amortization of debenture discount, share-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets from acquisitions, provision for or recovery of income taxes, loss or income on investments, and adjusting items from the table below.

    The following tables reconciles income before taxes to adjusted operating income.

                              For the three-month period ended For the year ended
    (in US$000’s except per share amounts or unless otherwise noted) December 31,
    2024    		 September 30,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023    		 December 31,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023
      US$ US$ US$ US$ US$
    Income before income taxes 121,427 133,967   103,413 513,557 448,946
    Adjustments:          
    Amortization of convertible debenture discount — —   772 1,517 3,038
    Share-based compensation 13,687 12,242   12,346 43,435 36,429
    Amortization of intangible assets from acquisition 7,819 6,970   6,971 28,734 27,912
    Loss (gain) on investments 410 (668 ) 660 588 492
    Adjusting Items:          
    Strategic initiatives costs – Salaries, wages and benefits — 4,633   5,329 5,593 5,329
    Strategic initiatives costs – General and administrative expenses — 4,283   5,437 7,806 8,342
    Total pre-tax impact of adjusting items — 8,916   10,766 13,399 13,671
    Adjusted operating income 143,343 161,427   134,928 601,230 530,488
                 

    Adjusted operating margin

    Adjusted operating margin is the adjusted operating income before taxes for the period divided by the net revenue for the period.

    After-tax adjusted operating income

    After-tax adjusted operating income reflects the adjusted operating income after the application of the Company’s effective tax rates.

    Adjusted net income

    Adjusted net income reflects reported net income less the after-tax impacts of adjusting items. The following table reconciles reported net income to adjusted net income.

                              For the three-month period ended For the year ended
    (in US$000’s except per share amounts or unless otherwise noted) December 31,
    2024    		 September 30,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023    		 December 31,
    2024    		 December 31,
    2023
      US$ US$ US$ US$ US$
    Net income 92,057   98,565   81,567   387,137   345,599  
    Amortization of convertible debenture discount —   —   772   1,517   3,038  
    Share-based compensation 13,687   12,242   12,346   43,435   36,429  
    Amortization of intangible assets from acquisition 7,819   6,970   6,971   28,734   27,912  
    Loss (gain) on investments 410   (668 ) 660   588   492  
    Strategic initiatives costs – Salaries, wages and benefits —   4,633   5,329   5,593   5,329  
    Strategic initiatives costs – General and administrative expenses —   4,283   5,437   7,806   8,342  
    Provision for income taxes 29,370   35,402   21,846   126,420   103,347  
    Provision for taxes applicable to adjusted results (35,836 ) (41,890 ) (35,122 ) (150,359 ) (130,107 )
    Adjusted net income 107,507   119,537   99,806   450,871   400,381  
                         

    After-tax adjusted operating income attributable to common shareholders

    After-tax adjusted operating income attributable to common shareholders is computed as after-tax adjusted operating income less the cumulative preferred share dividends for the period.

    About Element Fleet Management

    Element Fleet Management (TSX: EFN) is the largest publicly traded pure-play automotive fleet manager in the world. As a Purpose-driven company, we provide a full range of sustainable and intelligent mobility solutions to optimize and enhance fleet performance for our clients across North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Our services address every aspect of our clients’ fleet requirements, from vehicle acquisition, maintenance, route optimization, risk management, and remarketing, to advising on decarbonization efforts, integration of electric vehicles and managing the complexity of gradual fleet electrification. Clients benefit from Element’s expertise as one of the largest fleet solutions providers in its markets, offering economies of scale and insight used to reduce operating costs and enhance efficiency and performance. At Element, we maximize our clients’ fleet so they can focus on growing their business. For more information, please visit: https://www.elementfleet.com

    This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding Element and its business. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations and views of future events. In some cases the forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “potential”, “estimate”, “believe” or the negative of these terms, or other similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements, including, among others, statements regarding Element’s financial performance, enhancements to clients’ service experience and service levels; expectations regarding client and revenue retention trends; management of operating expenses; increases in efficiency; Element’s ability to achieve its sustainability objectives; Element achieving its digital platform ambitions; the Autofleet acquisition enabling the Company to scale its business more quickly, achieve operational efficiencies, increase client and shareholder value and unlock new revenues streams; EV strategy and capabilities; global EV adoption rates; dividend policy and the payment of future dividends; the costs and benefits of strategic initiatives; creation of value for all stakeholders; expectations regarding syndication; growth prospects and expected revenue growth; level of workforce engagement; improvements to magnitude and quality of earnings; executive hiring and retention; focus and discipline in investing; balance sheet management and plans and expectations with respect to leverage ratios;  and Element’s proposed share purchases, including the number of common shares to be repurchased, the timing thereof and TSX acceptance of the NCIB and any renewal thereof. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Element’s actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. Such risks and uncertainties include those regarding the fleet management and finance industries, economic factors, regulatory landscape and many other factors beyond the control of Element. A discussion of the material risks and assumptions associated with this outlook can be found in Element’s annual MD&A, and Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2023, each of which has been filed on SEDAR+ and can be accessed at www.sedarplus.ca. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Element undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Consumer warning as NSW Fair Trading odometer tampering crackdown fines 28 sellers in one month

    Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

    Published: 27 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading

    Used-car buyers are being urged to check a vehicle’s history before purchase after NSW Fair Trading issued 28 fines in a month and a man was sentenced to a nine-month intensive corrections order for unlicensed motor dealing and odometer tampering.

    During the crackdown, NSW Fair Trading issued 54 penalty notices in relation to car sales and repairs valued at more than $100,000. While more than half were for odometer interference, other offences included the non-supply of goods and services, and unlicensed vehicles and sales.

    Additionally, Andrew Rodney Leech pled guilty to operating without a motor dealer’s licence and odometer tampering. Between 2020 and 2022 Leech sold 16 vehicles while unlicensed, online with one car having an odometer that had been wound back by more than 200,000 kilometres. 

    Buyers of used vehicles are being urged to research the car’s history to ensure it has no outstanding finance, has not been written off in a crash, and has accurate odometer readings. 

    The NSW Government offers a free vehicle registration check where prospective buyers have access to a NSW-registered vehicle’s previous three annual odometer readings, as well as basic details like vehicle make, registration and insurance history.

    Across the motor vehicle industry in 2024, NSW Fair Trading took disciplinary action against 21 licensed motor vehicle dealers and repairers, resulting in 10 licence cancellations, 13 disqualifications including three permanent, and one suspension.

    For more information on consumer protections relating to purchasing a used vehicle visit the NSW Fair Trading website.

    To check registration, including odometer reading visit the website of Service NSW or the Service NSW App.

    Quotes to be attributed to Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong:

    “Odometer tampering is used by unscrupulous sellers to increase the value of a vehicle leaving the buyer with a vehicle which is not in the condition advertised, and likely to require repairs at cost and inconvenience to the buyer.

    “Sellers of used cars who reduce the number of kilometres displayed on the vehicle can be fined $1,100 per offence, and if taken to court can receive a penalty of up to $55,000 per offence.

    “Any buyer of a used car from any source, whether that be online like Facebook Marketplace or through a licenced car dealer, should do their homework including visiting the Service NSW website to run a free history check on the car they wish to purchase.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: McConnell Proud to Confirm Greer as U.S. Trade Representative

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding the confirmation of Jamieson Greer as the U.S. Trade Representative: 

    “Millions of American jobs – including the many thousands tied to auto manufacturing and bourbon production in Kentucky – depend on policies that preserve free and fair trade. I’m glad our nation’s Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, recognizes, as I do, the central role trade with our allies plays in America’s security and prosperity. The Senate has a constitutional prerogative over international trade policy, and I look forward to working closely with Jamieson to put American workers in the best possible position as he executes the President’s trade agenda.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets Tánaiste in Dublin

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets Tánaiste in Dublin

    The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP met with the Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris TD, this evening at Iveagh House, Dublin.

    Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP and the Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris TD.

    The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, and the Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris TD, met this evening [Wednesday 26 February] at Iveagh House, Dublin.

    The discussions marked the first official in-person engagement between the two following the formation of the new Irish Government.

    Speaking afterwards, the Secretary of State said:

    It was a pleasure to meet with the Tánaiste this evening in Dublin, to congratulate him in person, and wish him well in his new role. The UK’s relationship with Ireland is of great importance and I look forward to continuing to work closely with the Tánaiste, and the whole Irish Government, to further enhance the partnership between our two countries.

    We had a warm and productive discussion, focusing on the strength of the bilateral relationship, our shared commitment to the Good Friday Agreement, and the importance of upholding political stability in Northern Ireland. I also outlined the importance of the Northern Ireland Executive’s work to reform and modernise public services, an issue that is so important to people, as I set out in my speech at Ulster University last month.

    In addition, the Tánaiste and I discussed progress in discussions between our two governments in seeking an approach to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland that all communities can have confidence in.

    We agreed on the importance of a continuing strong and close relationship between the UK and Irish Governments as we work together on a range of issues. This will be reaffirmed by the first UK-Ireland Summit next month between the Prime Minister and Taoiseach.

    Updates to this page

    Published 26 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Compass Point and Sea Court Management Announce Strategic Partnership

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Compass Point Research & Trading, LLC (“Compass Point”), a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce its partnership with Sea Court Management (“Sea Court”), an alternative investment management firm. Founded by industry veterans James DeNaut, Steven Quamme, and Patrick English, Sea Court shares Compass Point’s deep sector expertise and strategic focus, enabling both firms to leverage their collective knowledge and relationships to deliver capital raising and tailored advisory solutions to its clients.

    Sea Court recently closed the Sea Court Opportunity Fund I (the “Fund”), with $50 million in committed capital. The Fund is designed to support a curated group of early-and mid-stage investments, and will leverage Compass Point’s investment banking, capital markets, and research capabilities.

    Burke Hayes, Chief Executive Officer, and Head of Investment Banking for Compass Point said, “We are excited to partner with the Sea Court team, as we see this as a unique opportunity to support innovative growth companies and their investors in the early-and-mid-stages of their lifecycle. Sea Court’s expertise identifying and investing in differentiated companies makes them an ideal partner for us”.

    Jim DeNaut, Chief Executive Officer of Sea Court said “We are thrilled about our partnership with Compass Point which will enhance our ability to provide trusted advice and full cycle capital to a broader set of platform companies and sectors. Compass Point shares our focus of bringing high quality innovative and disruptive solutions companies to an expanded group of investors”.

    Over the course of his career, Jim DeNaut has advised numerous M&A, capital markets, and asset management clients. Additionally, he has more than fifteen years of experience advising and allocating capital for a variety of institutions, family offices and endowments. Prior to forming Sea Court, from 2010 to 2022, Jim served as President and Chief Executive Officer, Senior Managing Director and Head of International Investment Banking at Nomura Securities International, Inc. He also served on the Board of Directors of Nomura Holdings America, Inc. Prior to Nomura, Jim served as Senior Managing Director, Head of Global Banking Americas, and Head of Corporate and Investment Banking, Americas (2000 to 2010) at Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Jim was a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley, Inc.

    Steven Quamme serves as Managing Partner of Sea Court. Prior to forming Sea Court, Steve was co-founder and President of Cartica Management, LLC, a $3 billion SEC-registered investment advisor focused exclusively on the emerging markets. Cartica’s institutional investor base included many of the world’s largest pension plans, university endowments, family offices and sovereign wealth funds. Prior to forming Cartica, Steve was the Chief Operating Officer of Breeden Partners, a $2 billion U.S. activist fund. Formerly, Steve was the founder and co-CEO of Milestone Merchant Partners (subsequently acquired by Houlihan Lokey), a full-service merchant bank that provided investment banking services and managed a series of private equity funds focused on the US and India.

    Patrick English serves as Managing Partner of Sea Court. Patrick has 25 years of experience in a broad range of professional capacities in the private equity, venture capital, real estate, hedge fund, and institutional securities industries. Prior to Sea Court, Patrick served as Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Three Mountain Capital, a discretionary global macro hedge fund that he co-founded. 

    About Compass Point

    Compass Point Research & Trading LLC is a leading full-service middle market investment bank. Our broad range of capabilities include public and private capital raising, corporate advisory services, fundamental research, Washington policy analysis and execution services. We provide innovative solutions for entrepreneurial businesses and their investors.

    Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Charleston, SC, New York, NY, and Orange County, CA, Compass Point is a member of FINRA and SIPC. For further information about Compass Point, please visit our website at www.compasspointllc.com.

    About Sea Court Management
    Sea Court Management is an alternative investment management firm that invests in early-and-mid-stage growth companies. Sea Court focuses on identifying and investing in companies with innovative technologies and businesses. Recent investments include companies in healthcare, life sciences, digital asset and technology sectors. www.seacourtcapital.com

    Media Contact:
    Christopher Nealon
    202.540.7315
    cnealon@compasspointllc.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Ormat Technologies Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2024 Financial Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    STRATEGIC PORTFOLIO EXPANSION SUPPORTS CONTINUED REVENUE AND ADJUSTED EBITDA GROWTH

    STRONG FULL-YEAR RESULTS REINFORCES ORMAT’S MOMENTUM, REMAINING ON PACE TO ACHIEVE GENERATING CAPACITY GOALS OF 2.6 TO 2.8 GW BY 2028

    HIGHLIGHTS

    • TOTAL REVENUES FOR THE FULL-YEAR INCREASED 6.1% COMPARED TO 2023, DRIVEN BY GROWTH IN ALL THREE SEGMENTS
    • FULL YEAR OPERATING INCOME AND ADJUSTED EBITDA IMPROVED 3.5% AND 14.3%, RESPECTIVELY
    • FOURTH QUARTER NET INCOME AND ADJUSTED NET INCOME IMPROVED BY 14.3% AND 7.7% YEAR-OVER-YEAR, RESPECTIVELY
    • ORMAT ANNOUNCES FULL YEAR 2025 OUTLOOK AND GROWTH EXPECTATIONS

    RENO, Nev., Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA) (the “Company” or “Ormat”), a leading renewable energy company, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.

    KEY FINANCIAL RESULTS

      Q4
    2024    		 Q4
    2023    		 Change (%) 12 months 2024 12 months 2023 Change (%)  
    GAAP Measures              
    Revenues ($ millions)              
    Electricity 180.1   183.9   (2.1)%   702.3   666.8   5.3%    
    Product 39.6   50.4   (21.4)%   139.7   133.8   4.4%    
    Energy Storage 11.0   7.0   56.7%   37.7   28.9   30.6%    
    Total Revenues 230.7   241.3   (4.4)%   879.7   829.4   6.1%    
    Gross Profit              
    73.6   78.5   (6.2)%   272.6   264.0   3.3%    
    Gross margin (%)              
    Electricity 34.9%   39.5%     34.6%   36.6%      
    Product 24.5%   12.6%     18.4%   13.4%      
    Energy Storage 9.5%   (8.9)%     10.9%   6.4%      
    Gross margin (%) 31.9%   32.5%     31.0%   31.8%      
                   
    Operating income ($ millions) 49.1   51.6   (4.9)%   172.5   166.6   3.5%    
    Net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders 40.8   35.7   14.3%   123.7   124.4   (0.5)%    
    Diluted EPS ($) 0.67   0.59   13.6%   2.04   2.08   (1.9)%    
                   
    Non-GAAP Measures              
    Adjusted Net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders 43.6   40.5   7.7%   133.7   121.9   9.7%    
    Adjusted Diluted EPS ($) 0.72   0.67   7.5%   2.20   2.05   7.3%    
    Adjusted EBITDA1($ millions) 145.5   139.0   4.6%   550.5   481.7   14.3%    

    “2024 was another successful year for Ormat and our growth trajectory, highlighted by a top-line improvement of 6.1%, translating into a 3.5% increase in operating income and a 14.3% increase in adjusted EBITDA, with solid growth performance across all three of our business segments,” said Doron Blachar, Chief Executive Officer of Ormat Technologies. “In 2024, we added 253MW of new capacity organically and through strategic, accretive M&A, with 133MW added to our Electricity segment and 120MW to our Energy Storage business.”

    “Within our Electricity segment, the Enel assets Ormat acquired at the beginning of the year have been immediately accretive and have played a key role in our year-over-year growth. Our performance was further supported by the Heber complex repowering project, the enhanced output at the Olkaria power plant, and the improved generation performance and pricing at the Puna power plant, helping to more than offset the impact of unplanned maintenance at Dixie Valley and the previously disclosed curtailments in the U.S.”

    “We continue to make great progress towards improving the revenue and margin profile of our Energy Storage business, positioning the segment to become a more stable and consistent factor in our consolidated growth. This strategic effort is reflected by the 56.7% and 30.6% increase in revenue on a quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year basis, respectively. We expect this improved performance to carry forward into 2025 as we begin to recognize the benefits of the recent CODs at our 80MW/320MWh Bottleneck and 20MW/20MWh Montague facilities, as well as the other Energy Storage projects in our development pipeline that are expected to come online later this year.”

    Blachar continued, “Looking ahead, we expect to benefit from the growing global demand for renewable power needed to support data centers and the transition to a cleaner energy future. We are currently in negotiations for approximately 250MW with hyper-scalers with favorable conditions for both new projects and expiring PPAs at rates exceeding $100 per MWh. To help ensure that we are well-positioned to meet the growing level of demand we have taken strategic actions to safe harbor, for PTC eligibility (pursuant to the current provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and related guidance), all geothermal projects with expected CODs through 2028, as well as the associated ITC benefits for all energy storage projects through 2026. This has strengthened our confidence in our trajectory, and we believe will help us remain on track to achieve our generating capacity goals of 2.6 to 2.8 GW by the end of 2028.”

    FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

    • Net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders for the fourth quarter and for the full year 2024 was $40.8 million and $123.7 million, respectively, an increase of 14.3% and a decrease of 0.5%, respectively, compared to last year. Diluted EPS for the fourth quarter and for the full year 2024 were $0.67 and $2.04 per share, respectively, an increase of 13.6% and a decrease of 1.9%, respectively, compared to last year.
    • Adjusted net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders and diluted EPS for the fourth quarter increased 7.7% and 7.5% compared to last year. Adjusted net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders and diluted EPS for the full year 2024 increased 9.7% and 7.3% compared to last year.
    • Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter and for the year was $145.5 million, and $550.5 million, respectively, an increase of 4.6% and 14.3%, respectively, compared to 2023. The year-over-year increase in Adjusted EBITDA was driven, in the Electricity segment, by the contribution of the acquired assets in the first quarter of 2024, the improved performance of the Olkaria complex in Kenya, higher pricing of our Puna power plant and the sale of tax benefits from newly built plants. In the Product segment, the increase was derived from the improved contracts’ margin and Energy Storage drove improved performance due to the contribution of the new assets as well as a legal settlement with a battery supplier, which we expect to continue to receive over the next 5 quarters, to compensate us for lost revenues as a result of battery non- supply.
    • Electricity segment revenues decreased by 2.1% for the fourth quarter and increased by 5.3% in the full year 2024, compared to 2023. The year-over-year decrease in fourth quarter revenue was driven by the partial outage at our Dixie Valley power plant, which returned to full operation in November 2024. Additionally, in the fourth quarter we experienced heavy curtailments mainly to our McGinness complex due to maintenance on the transmission line by the local grid operator. Full-year revenue growth was driven by the contribution of our acquired Enel assets, Heber complex repowering, and higher generation and pricing at Puna.
    • Product segment revenues decreased by 21.4% in the fourth quarter and increased by 4.4% in the full year 2024, largely due to the timing of revenue recognition. Gross margin increased from 12.6% in the fourth quarter 2023 to 24.5% in 2024 and from 13.4% in the full year 2023 to 18.4% in 2024.
    • Product segment backlog stands at a record of approximately $340.0 million as of February 25, 2025, and includes approximately $210.0 million from the recently signed Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for the development of the Te Mihi Stage 2 geothermal plant in New Zealand.
    • Energy Storage segment revenues increased 56.7% for the fourth quarter and 30.6% for the full year compared to 2023, supported by a total of 120MW/360 MWh of new capacity that started operation since the beginning of 2024 as well as new assets that came online during the second half of 2023.

    BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS:

    • Won a tender, in February 2025, issued by the Israeli Electricity Authority and was awarded two separate 15-year tolling agreements for two energy storage facilities. The facilities under the tolling agreements are expected to have a combined capacity of approximately 300MW/1200MWh and we will have 50% equity interest.
    • In February 2025, commenced commercial operations of the 35MW Ijen geothermal power plant in Indonesia, in which the Company holds a 49% equity interest.
    • Signed a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), in January 2025, with Calpine Energy Solutions for up to 15MW of carbon-free geothermal capacity at favorable terms that will replace the current lower price PPA with Southern California Edison for Mammoth 2 in the first quarter of 2027.
    • In December 2024, commenced commercial operations at the Montague energy storage facility to deliver 20MW/20MWh of energy storage capacity to the PJM market.
    • In October 2024, commenced commercial operations of the 80MW/320MWh Bottleneck Energy Storage facility in the Central Valley of California. The Bottleneck facility is the Company’s largest energy storage facility in its portfolio.

    2025 GUIDANCE TBU

    • Total revenues of between $935 million and $975 million.
    • Electricity segment revenues between $710 million and $725 million.
    • Product segment revenues of between $172 million and $187 million.
    • Energy Storage revenues of between $53 million and $63 million.
    • Adjusted EBITDA to be between $563 million and $593 million.
      • Adjusted EBITDA attributable to minority interest of approximately $23 million.

    The Company provides a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024. However, the Company does not provide guidance on net income and is unable to provide a reconciliation for its Adjusted EBITDA guidance range to net income without unreasonable efforts due to high variability and complexity with respect to estimating certain forward-looking amounts. These include impairments and disposition and acquisition of business interests, income tax expense, and other non-cash expenses and adjusting items that are excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA.

    DIVIDEND

    On February 26, 2025, the Company’s Board of Directors declared, approved, and authorized payment of a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share pursuant to the Company’s dividend policy. The dividend will be paid on March 26, 2025, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 12, 2025. In addition, the Company expects to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share in each of the next three quarters.

    CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS

    Ormat will host a conference call to discuss its financial results and other matters discussed in this press release on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET.

    Participants within the United States and Canada, please dial +1-800-715-9871, approximately 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. If you are calling outside of the United States and Canada, please dial +1-646-960-0440. The access code for the call is 9044930. Please request the “Ormat Technologies, Inc. call” when prompted by the conference call operator. The conference call will also be accompanied by a live webcast which will be hosted on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website.

    A replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call. To access the replay within the United States and Canada, please dial 1-800-770-2030. From outside of the United States and Canada, please dial +1-647-362-9199. Please use the replay access code 9044930. The webcast will also be archived on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website.

    ABOUT ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES

    With over five decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (“REG”), with robust plans to accelerate long-term growth in the energy storage market and to establish a leading position in the U.S. energy storage market. The Company owns, operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter – a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. The Company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed for utilities and developers worldwide, totaling approximately 3,400 MW of gross capacity. Ormat leveraged its core capabilities in the geothermal and REG industries and its global presence to expand the Company’s activity into energy storage services, solar Photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage plus Solar PV. Ormat’s current total generating portfolio is 1,538MW with a 1,248MW geothermal and solar generation portfolio that is spread globally in the U.S., Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Honduras, and Guadeloupe, and a 290MW energy storage portfolio that is located in the U.S.

    ORMAT’S SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

    Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as our projections of annual revenues, expenses and debt service coverage with respect to our debt securities, future capital expenditures, business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, development or operation of generation assets, market and industry developments and incentives and the growth of our business and operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words “may”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “projects”, “potential”, or “contemplate” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such words or expressions. These forward-looking statements generally relate to Ormat’s plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and are based upon its management’s current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Although we believe that our plans and objectives reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we may not achieve these plans or objectives. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties and other risks described under “Risk Factors” as described in Ormat’s most recent annual report, and in subsequent filings.

    These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and, except as legally required, we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations
    For the three and twelve month periods Ended December 31, 2024, and 2023

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,    		 Year Ended 
    December 31,
      2024   2023   2024   2023  
      (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
    Revenues:        
    Electricity 180,147   183,921   702,264   666,767  
    Product 39,643   50,432   139,661   133,763  
    Energy storage 10,951   6,987   37,729   28,894  
    Total revenues 230,741   241,340   879,654   829,424  
    Cost of revenues:        
    Electricity 117,340   111,201   459,526   422,549  
    Product 29,929   44,073   113,911   115,802  
    Energy storage 9,911   7,610   33,598   27,055  
    Total cost of revenues 157,180   162,884   607,035   565,406  
    Gross profit 73,561   78,456   272,619   264,018  
    Operating expenses:        
    Research and development expenses 1,391   2,452   6,501   7,215  
    Selling and marketing expenses 4,153   4,307   17,694   18,306  
    General and administrative expenses 19,583   18,654   80,119   68,179  
    Other operating income (3,125)   —   (9,375)   —  
    Impairment of long-lived assets —   —   1,280   —  
    Write-off of unsuccessful exploration activities and storage activities 2,474   1,415   3,930   3,733  
    Operating income 49,085   51,628   172,470   166,585  
    Other income (expense):        
    Interest income 1,389   2,363   7,883   11,983  
    Interest expense, net (34,525)   (25,803)   (134,031)   (98,881)  
    Derivatives and foreign currency transaction gains (losses) (4,319)   712   (4,187)   (3,278)  
    Income attributable to sale of tax benefits 20,020   18,676   73,054   61,157  
    Other non-operating income (expense), net 66   1,272   188   1,519  
    Income from operations before income tax and equity in earnings (losses) of investees 31,716   48,848   115,377   139,085  
    Income tax (provision) benefit 11,771   (8,188)   16,289   (5,983)  
    Equity in earnings (losses) of investees (862)   (1,827)   (425)   35  
    Net income 42,625   38,833   131,241   133,137  
    Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest (1,804)   (3,107)   (7,508)   (8,738)  
    Net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders 40,821   35,726   123,733   124,399  
    Earnings per share attributable to the Company’s stockholders:        
    Basic: 0.67   0.59   2.05   2.09  
    Diluted: 0.67   0.59   2.04   2.08  
    Weighted average number of shares used in computation of earnings per share attributable to the Company’s stockholders:        
    Basic 60,480   60,367   60,455   59,424  
    Diluted 60,770   60,505   60,790   59,762  
             

    ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
    For the Periods Ended December 31, 2024, and 2023

      December 31,
    2024    		   December 31,
    2023
    ASSETS
    Current assets:      
    Cash and cash equivalents 94,395     195,808  
    Restricted cash and cash equivalents (primarily related to VIEs) 111,377     91,962  
    Receivables:      
    Trade less allowance for credit losses of $224 and $90, respectively (primarily related to VIEs) 164,050     208,704  
    Other 50,792     44,530  
    Inventories 38,092     45,037  
    Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts 29,243     18,367  
    Prepaid expenses and other 59,173     41,595  
    Total current assets 547,122     646,003  
    Investment in an unconsolidated company 144,585     125,439  
    Deposits and other 75,383     44,631  
    Deferred income taxes 153,936     152,570  
    Property, plant and equipment, net ($3,271,248 and $2,802,920 related to VIEs, respectively) 3,501,886     2,998,949  
    Construction-in-process ($251,442 and $376,602 related to VIEs, respectively) 755,589     814,967  
    Operating leases right of use ($13,989 and $9,326 related to VIEs, respectively) 32,114     24,057  
    Finance leases right of use (none related to VIEs) 2,841     3,510  
    Intangible assets, net 301,745     307,609  
    Goodwill 151,023     90,544  
    Total assets 5,666,224     5,208,279  
           
    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
    Current liabilities:      
    Accounts payable and accrued expenses 234,334     214,518  
    Short term revolving credit lines with banks (full recourse) —     20,000  
    Commercial paper (less deferred financing costs of $23 and $29, respectively) 99,977     99,971  
    Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts 23,091     18,669  
    Current portion of long-term debt:      
    Limited and non-recourse (primarily related to VIEs):
    (primarily related to VIEs and less deferred financing costs of $8,473 and $7,889, respectively)    		 70,262     57,207  
    Full recourse 161,313     116,864  
    Financing Liability 4,093     5,141  
    Operating lease liabilities 3,633     3,329  
    Finance lease liabilities 1,375     1,313  
    Total current liabilities 598,078     537,012  
    Long-term debt, net of current portion:      
    Limited and non-recourse (primarily related to VIEs and less deferred financing costs of $8,849 and $7,889, respectively) 578,204     447,389  
    Full recourse (less deferred financing costs of $4,671 and $3,056, respectively) 822,828     698,187  
    Convertible senior notes (less deferred financing costs of $6,820 and $8,146, respectively) 469,617     423,104  
    LT Financing liability-Dixie 216,476     220,619  
    Operating lease liabilities 22,523     19,790  
    Finance lease liabilities 1,529     2,238  
    Liability associated with sale of tax benefits 152,292     184,612  
    Deferred income taxes 68,616     66,748  
    Liability for unrecognized tax benefits 6,272     8,673  
    Liabilities for severance pay 10,488     11,844  
    Asset retirement obligation 129,651     114,370  
    Other long-term liabilities 29,270     22,107  
    Total liabilities 3,105,844     2,756,693  
           
    Redeemable noncontrolling interest 9,448     10,599  
           
    Equity:      
    The Company’s stockholders’ equity:      
    Common stock, par value $0.001 per share; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 60,500,580 and 60,358,887 issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively 61     60  
    Additional paid-in capital 1,635,245     1,614,769  
    Treasury stock, at cost (258,667 shares held as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively) (17,964)     (17,964)  
    Retained earnings 814,518     719,894  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss (6,731)     (1,332)  
    Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Company’s stockholders 2,425,129     2,315,427  
    Noncontrolling interest 125,803     125,560  
    Total equity 2,550,932     2,440,987  
    Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interest and equity 5,666,224     5,208,279  

    ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
    For the three and twelve month period ended December 31, 2024 and 2023

    We calculate EBITDA as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion. We calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, adjusted for (i) mark-to-market gains or losses from accounting for derivatives not designated as hedging instruments; (ii) stock-based compensation, (iii) merger and acquisition transaction costs; (iv) gain or loss from extinguishment of liabilities; (v) costs related to a settlement agreement; (vi) non-cash impairment charges; (vii) write-off of unsuccessful exploration activities; and (viii) other unusual or non-recurring items. We adjust for these factors as they may be non-cash, unusual in nature and/or are not factors used by management for evaluating operating performance. We believe that presentation of these measures will enhance an investor’s ability to evaluate our financial and operating performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measurements of financial performance or liquidity under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP, and should not be considered as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or as a measure of liquidity or an alternative to net earnings as indicators of our operating performance or any other measures of performance derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our Board of Directors and senior management use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our financial performance. However, other companies in our industry may calculate EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do.

    The following table reconciles net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the three and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2024, and 2023:

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,    		   Year Ended December 31,
      2024     2023     2024     2023  
      (Dollars in thousands)   (Dollars in thousands)
    Net income 42,625     38,833     131,241     133,137  
    Adjusted for:              
    Interest expense, net (including amortization of deferred financing costs) 33,136     23,440     126,148     86,898  
    Income tax provision (benefit) (11,771)     8,188     (16,289)     5,983  
    Adjustment to investment in unconsolidated companies: our Proportionate share in interest expense, tax and depreciation and amortization in Sarulla and Ijen 4,964     5,243     17,637     16,069  
    Depreciation, amortization and accretion 68,907     59,331     259,151     221,415  
    EBITDA 137,861     135,035     517,888     463,502  
    Mark-to-market on derivative instruments (14)     (2,490)     856     (2,206)  
    Stock-based compensation 5,310     4,243     20,197     15,478  
    Impairment of long-lived assets —     —     1,280     —  
    Allowance for bad debts 13     —     355     —  
    Merger and acquisition transaction costs 570     816     1,949     1,234  
    Legal fees related to a settlement agreement with a third-party battery systems supplier (750)     —     4,000     —  
    Write-off of unsuccessful exploration and Storage activities 2,474     1,415     3,930     3,733  
    Adjusted EBITDA 145,464     139,019     550,455     481,741  

    ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC AND SUBSIDIARIES
    Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income attributable to the Company’s stockholders and Adjusted EPS
    For the Three and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2024, and 2023

    Adjusted Net Income attributable to the Company’s stockholders and Adjusted EPS are adjusted for one-time expense items that are not representative of our ongoing business and operations. The use of Adjusted Net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders and Adjusted EPS is intended to enhance the usefulness of our financial information by providing measures to assess the overall performance of our ongoing business.

    The following tables reconciles Net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders and Adjusted EPS for the three and twelve -month periods ended December 31, 2024, and 2023.

                   
      Three Months Ended December 31,   Twelve Months Ended December 31,
      2024     2023   2024   2023  
                   
    GAAP Net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders 40.8     35.7   123.7   124.4  
    Impact of changes in the Kenya Finance Act 2023 —     2.0   —   (7.4)  
    Tax asset write-off in Sarulla, our unconsolidated company 0.9     1.0   0.9   1.0  
    Impairment of long-lived assets —     —   1.0   —  
    Write-off of unsuccessful exploration activities and Storage activities 2.0     1.1   3.1   2.9  
    Merger and acquisition transaction costs 0.5     0.6   1.5   1.0  
    Allowance for bad debts 0.0     —   0.3   —  
    Legal fees related to a settlement agreement with a third-party battery supplier (0.6)     —   3.2   —  
    Adjusted Net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders 43.6     40.5   133.7   121.9  
    GAAP diluted EPS 0.67     0.59   2.04   2.08  
    Impact of changes in the Kenya Finance Act 2023 —     0.03   —   (0.12)  
    Tax asset write-off in Sarulla, our unconsolidated company 0.01     0.02   0.01   0.02  
    Impairment of long-lived assets         0.02    
    Write-off of unsuccessful exploration activities and Storage activities 0.03     0.02   0.05   0.05  
    Merger and acquisition transaction costs 0.01     0.01   0.03   0.02  
    Allowance for bad debts 0.00     —   0.00   —  
    Legal fees related to a settlement agreement with a third-party battery supplier (0.01)     —   0.05   —  
    Diluted Adjusted EPS ($) 0.72     0.67   2.20   2.05  
    Ormat Technologies Contact: Investor Relations Agency Contact:
    Smadar Lavi Joseph Caminiti or Josh Carroll
    VP Head of IR and ESG Planning & Reporting Alpha IR Group
    775-356-9029 (ext. 65726) 312-445-2870
    slavi@ormat.com ORA@alpha-ir.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: NVIDIA Announces Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Record quarterly revenue of $39.3 billion, up 12% from Q3 and up 78% from a year ago
    • Record quarterly Data Center revenue of $35.6 billion, up 16% from Q3 and up 93% from a year ago
    • Record full-year revenue of $130.5 billion, up 114%

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported revenue for the fourth quarter ended January 26, 2025, of $39.3 billion, up 12% from the previous quarter and up 78% from a year ago.

    For the quarter, GAAP earnings per diluted share was $0.89, up 14% from the previous quarter and up 82% from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share was $0.89, up 10% from the previous quarter and up 71% from a year ago.

    For fiscal 2025, revenue was $130.5 billion, up 114% from a year ago. GAAP earnings per diluted share was $2.94, up 147% from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share was $2.99, up 130% from a year ago.

    “Demand for Blackwell is amazing as reasoning AI adds another scaling law — increasing compute for training makes models smarter and increasing compute for long thinking makes the answer smarter,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.

    “We’ve successfully ramped up the massive-scale production of Blackwell AI supercomputers, achieving billions of dollars in sales in its first quarter. AI is advancing at light speed as agentic AI and physical AI set the stage for the next wave of AI to revolutionize the largest industries.”

    NVIDIA will pay its next quarterly cash dividend of $0.01 per share on April 2, 2025, to all shareholders of record on March 12, 2025.

    Q4 Fiscal 2025 Summary

    GAAP
    ($ in millions, except earnings
    per share)    		 Q4 FY25 Q3 FY25 Q4 FY24 Q/Q Y/Y
    Revenue $39,331 $35,082 $22,103 Up 12% Up 78%
    Gross margin 73.0% 74.6% 76.0% Down 1.6 pts Down 3.0 pts
    Operating expenses $4,689 $4,287 $3,176 Up 9% Up 48%
    Operating income $24,034 $21,869 $13,615 Up 10% Up 77%
    Net income $22,091 $19,309 $12,285 Up 14% Up 80%
    Diluted earnings per share* $0.89 $0.78 $0.49 Up 14% Up 82%
    Non-GAAP
    ($ in millions, except earnings
    per share)    		 Q4 FY25 Q3 FY25 Q4 FY24 Q/Q Y/Y
    Revenue $39,331 $35,082 $22,103 Up 12% Up 78%
    Gross margin 73.5% 75.0% 76.7% Down 1.5 pts Down 3.2 pts
    Operating expenses $3,378 $3,046 $2,210 Up 11% Up 53%
    Operating income $25,516 $23,276 $14,749 Up 10% Up 73%
    Net income $22,066 $20,010 $12,839 Up 10% Up 72%
    Diluted earnings per share* $0.89 $0.81 $0.52 Up 10% Up 71%


    Fiscal 2025 Summary

    GAAP
    ($ in millions, except earnings
    per share)    		 FY25 FY24 Y/Y
    Revenue $130,497 $60,922 Up 114%
    Gross margin 75.0% 72.7% Up 2.3 pts
    Operating expenses $16,405 $11,329 Up 45%
    Operating income $81,453 $32,972 Up 147%
    Net income $72,880 $29,760 Up 145%
    Diluted earnings per share* $2.94 $1.19 Up 147%
    Non-GAAP
    ($ in millions, except earnings
    per share)    		 FY25 FY24 Y/Y
    Revenue $130,497 $60,922 Up 114%
    Gross margin 75.5% 73.8% Up 1.7 pts
    Operating expenses $11,716 $7,825 Up 50%
    Operating income $86,789 $37,134 Up 134%
    Net income $74,265 $32,312 Up 130%
    Diluted earnings per share* $2.99 $1.30 Up 130%

    *All per share amounts presented herein have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the ten-for-one stock split, which was effective June 7, 2024.

    Outlook
    NVIDIA’s outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 is as follows:

    • Revenue is expected to be $43.0 billion, plus or minus 2%.
    • GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be 70.6% and 71.0%, respectively, plus or minus 50 basis points.
    • GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $5.2 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively.
    • GAAP and non-GAAP other income and expense are expected to be an income of approximately $400 million, excluding gains and losses from non-marketable and publicly-held equity securities.
    • GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates are expected to be 17.0%, plus or minus 1%, excluding any discrete items.

    Highlights

    NVIDIA achieved progress since its previous earnings announcement in these areas: 

    Data Center

    • Fourth-quarter revenue was a record $35.6 billion, up 16% from the previous quarter and up 93% from a year ago. Full-year revenue rose 142% to a record $115.2 billion.
    • Announced that NVIDIA will serve as a key technology partner for the $500 billion Stargate Project.
    • Revealed that cloud service providers AWS, CoreWeave, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) are bringing NVIDIA® GB200 systems to cloud regions around the world to meet surging customer demand for AI.
    • Partnered with AWS to make the NVIDIA DGX™ Cloud AI computing platform and NVIDIA NIM™ microservices available through AWS Marketplace.
    • Revealed that Cisco will integrate NVIDIA Spectrum-X™ into its networking portfolio to help enterprises build AI infrastructure.
    • Revealed that more than 75% of the systems on the TOP500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers are powered by NVIDIA technologies.
    • Announced a collaboration with Verizon to integrate NVIDIA AI Enterprise, NIM and accelerated computing with Verizon’s private 5G network to power a range of edge enterprise AI applications and services.
    • Unveiled partnerships with industry leaders including IQVIA, Illumina, Mayo Clinic and Arc Institute to advance genomics, drug discovery and healthcare.
    • Launched NVIDIA AI Blueprints and Llama Nemotron model families for building AI agents and released NVIDIA NIM microservices to safeguard applications for agentic AI.
    • Announced the opening of NVIDIA’s first R&D center in Vietnam.
    • Revealed that Siemens Healthineers has adopted MONAI Deploy for medical imaging AI.

    Gaming and AI PC

    • Fourth-quarter Gaming revenue was $2.5 billion, down 22% from the previous quarter and down 11% from a year ago. Full-year revenue rose 9% to $11.4 billion.
    • Announced new GeForce RTX™ 50 Series graphics cards and laptops powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, delivering breakthroughs in AI-driven rendering to gamers, creators and developers.
    • Launched GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards, delivering up to a 2x performance improvement over the prior generation.
    • Introduced NVIDIA DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation and image quality enhancements, with 75 games and apps supporting it at launch, and unveiled NVIDIA Reflex 2 technology, which can reduce PC latency by up to 75%.
    • Unveiled NVIDIA NIM microservices, AI Blueprints and the Llama Nemotron family of open models for RTX AI PCs to help developers and enthusiasts build AI agents and creative workflows.

    Professional Visualization

    • Fourth-quarter revenue was $511 million, up 5% from the previous quarter and up 10% from a year ago. Full-year revenue rose 21% to $1.9 billion.
    • Unveiled NVIDIA Project DIGITS, a personal AI supercomputer that provides AI researchers, data scientists and students worldwide with access to the power of the NVIDIA Grace™ Blackwell platform.
    • Announced generative AI models and blueprints that expand NVIDIA Omniverse™ integration further into physical AI applications, including robotics, autonomous vehicles and vision AI.
    • Introduced NVIDIA Media2, an AI-powered initiative transforming content creation, streaming and live media experiences, built on NIM and AI Blueprints.

    Automotive and Robotics

    • Fourth-quarter Automotive revenue was $570 million, up 27% from the previous quarter and up 103% from a year ago. Full-year revenue rose 55% to $1.7 billion.
    • Announced that Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, will build its next-generation vehicles on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin™ running the safety-certified NVIDIA DriveOS operating system.  
    • Partnered with Hyundai Motor Group to create safer, smarter vehicles, supercharge manufacturing and deploy cutting-edge robotics with NVIDIA AI and NVIDIA Omniverse.
    • Announced that the NVIDIA DriveOS safe autonomous driving operating system received ASIL-D functional safety certification and launched the NVIDIA DRIVE™ AI Systems Inspection Lab.
    • Launched NVIDIA Cosmos™, a platform comprising state-of-the-art generative world foundation models, to accelerate physical AI development, with adoption by leading robotics and automotive companies 1X, Agile Robots, Waabi, Uber and others.
    • Unveiled the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano™ Super, which delivers up to a 1.7x gain in generative AI performance.

    CFO Commentary
    Commentary on the quarter by Colette Kress, NVIDIA’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, is available at https://investor.nvidia.com.

    Conference Call and Webcast Information
    NVIDIA will conduct a conference call with analysts and investors to discuss its fourth quarter and fiscal 2025 financial results and current financial prospects today at 2 p.m. Pacific time (5 p.m. Eastern time). A live webcast (listen-only mode) of the conference call will be accessible at NVIDIA’s investor relations website, https://investor.nvidia.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay until NVIDIA’s conference call to discuss its financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2026.

    Non-GAAP Measures
    To supplement NVIDIA’s condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP, the company uses non-GAAP measures of certain components of financial performance. These non-GAAP measures include non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP other income (expense), net, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income, or earnings, per diluted share, and free cash flow. For NVIDIA’s investors to be better able to compare its current results with those of previous periods, the company has shown a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures. These reconciliations adjust the related GAAP financial measures to exclude stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related and other costs, other, gains from non-marketable and publicly-held equity securities, net, interest expense related to amortization of debt discount, and the associated tax impact of these items where applicable. Free cash flow is calculated as GAAP net cash provided by operating activities less both purchases related to property and equipment and intangible assets and principal payments on property and equipment and intangible assets. NVIDIA believes the presentation of its non-GAAP financial measures enhances the user’s overall understanding of the company’s historical financial performance. The presentation of the company’s non-GAAP financial measures is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the company’s financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the company’s non-GAAP measures may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies.

     NVIDIA CORPORATION 
      CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME 
     (In millions, except per share data) 
     (Unaudited) 
                       
          Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended
          January 26,   January 28,   January 26,   January 28,
            2025       2024       2025       2024  
                       
    Revenue $ 39,331     $ 22,103     $ 130,497     $ 60,922  
    Cost of revenue    10,608       5,312       32,639       16,621  
    Gross profit   28,723       16,791       97,858       44,301  
                       
    Operating expenses              
      Research and development     3,714       2,465       12,914       8,675  
      Sales, general and administrative   975       711       3,491       2,654  
        Total operating expenses   4,689       3,176       16,405       11,329  
                       
    Operating income   24,034       13,615       81,453       32,972  
      Interest income   511       294       1,786       866  
      Interest expense   (61 )     (63 )     (247 )     (257 )
      Other, net   733       260       1,034       237  
        Other income (expense), net   1,183       491       2,573       846  
                       
    Income before income tax   25,217       14,106       84,026       33,818  
    Income tax expense   3,126       1,821       11,146       4,058  
    Net income $ 22,091     $ 12,285     $ 72,880     $ 29,760  
                       
    Net income per share:              
      Basic $ 0.90     $ 0.51     $ 2.97     $ 1.21  
      Diluted $ 0.89     $ 0.49     $ 2.94     $ 1.19  
                       
    Weighted average shares used in per share computation:              
      Basic   24,489       24,660       24,555       24,690  
      Diluted   24,706       24,900       24,804       24,940  
    NVIDIA CORPORATION
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (In millions)
    (Unaudited)
                 
            January 26,   January 28,
            2025   2024
    ASSETS        
                 
    Current assets:        
      Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities   $ 43,210   $ 25,984
      Accounts receivable, net     23,065     9,999
      Inventories     10,080     5,282
      Prepaid expenses and other current assets     3,771     3,080
        Total current assets     80,126     44,345
                 
    Property and equipment, net     6,283     3,914
    Operating lease assets     1,793     1,346
    Goodwill     5,188     4,430
    Intangible assets, net     807     1,112
    Deferred income tax assets     10,979     6,081
    Other assets      6,425     4,500
        Total assets   $ 111,601   $ 65,728
                 
    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
                 
    Current liabilities:        
      Accounts payable   $ 6,310   $ 2,699
      Accrued and other current liabilities     11,737     6,682
      Short-term debt     –     1,250
        Total current liabilities     18,047     10,631
                 
    Long-term debt     8,463     8,459
    Long-term operating lease liabilities     1,519     1,119
    Other long-term liabilities     4,245     2,541
        Total liabilities     32,274     22,750
                 
    Shareholders’ equity     79,327     42,978
        Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 111,601   $ 65,728
     NVIDIA CORPORATION 
     CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS 
     (In millions) 
     (Unaudited) 
                     
          Three Months Ended     Twelve Months Ended 
         January 26,   January 28,   January 26,   January 28,
           2025       2024       2025       2024  
                      
    Cash flows from operating activities:              
    Net income $ 22,091     $ 12,285     $ 72,880     $ 29,760  
    Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash              
    provided by operating activities:              
      Stock-based compensation expense   1,321       993       4,737       3,549  
      Depreciation and amortization   543       387       1,864       1,508  
      Deferred income taxes   (598 )     (78 )     (4,477 )     (2,489 )
      Gains on non-marketable equity securities and publicly-held equity securities, net   (727 )     (260 )     (1,030 )     (238 )
      Other   (138 )     (109 )     (502 )     (278 )
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions:              
      Accounts receivable   (5,370 )     (1,690 )     (13,063 )     (6,172 )
      Inventories   (2,424 )     (503 )     (4,781 )     (98 )
      Prepaid expenses and other assets   331       (1,184 )     (395 )     (1,522 )
      Accounts payable   867       281       3,357       1,531  
      Accrued and other current liabilities   360       1,072       4,278       2,025  
      Other long-term liabilities   372       305       1,221       514  
    Net cash provided by operating activities   16,628       11,499       64,089       28,090  
                      
    Cash flows from investing activities:              
      Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities   1,710       1,731       11,195       9,732  
      Proceeds from sales of marketable securities   177       50       495       50  
      Proceeds from sales of non-marketable equity securities   –       –       171       1  
      Purchases of marketable securities   (7,010 )     (7,524 )     (26,575 )     (18,211 )
      Purchase related to property and equipment and intangible assets   (1,077 )     (253 )     (3,236 )     (1,069 )
      Purchases of non-marketable equity securities   (478 )     (113 )     (1,486 )     (862 )
      Acquisitions, net of cash acquired   (542 )     –       (1,007 )     (83 )
      Other   22       –       22       (124 )
    Net cash used in investing activities   (7,198 )     (6,109 )     (20,421 )     (10,566 )
                      
    Cash flows from financing activities:              
      Proceeds related to employee stock plans   –       –       490       403  
      Payments related to repurchases of common stock   (7,810 )     (2,660 )     (33,706 )     (9,533 )
      Payments related to tax on restricted stock units   (1,861 )     (841 )     (6,930 )     (2,783 )
      Repayment of debt   –       –       (1,250 )     (1,250 )
      Dividends paid   (245 )     (99 )     (834 )     (395 )
      Principal payments on property and equipment and intangible assets   (32 )     (29 )     (129 )     (74 )
      Other   –       –       –       (1 )
    Net cash used in financing activities   (9,948 )     (3,629 )     (42,359 )     (13,633 )
                      
    Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash   (518 )     1,761       1,309       3,891  
    Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period   9,107       5,519       7,280       3,389  
    Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period $ 8,589     $ 7,280     $ 8,589     $ 7,280  
                      
    Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:              
    Cash paid for income taxes, net $ 4,129     $ 1,874     $ 15,118     $ 6,549  
    Cash paid for interest $ 22     $ 26     $ 246     $ 252  
       NVIDIA CORPORATION 
       RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES 
       (In millions, except per share data) 
       (Unaudited) 
                         
             Three Months Ended      Twelve Months Ended 
            January 26,   October 27,   January 28,   January 26,   January 28,
              2025       2024       2024       2025       2024  
                             
      GAAP cost of revenue $ 10,608     $ 8,926     $ 5,312     $ 32,639     $ 16,621  
      GAAP gross profit $ 28,723     $ 26,156     $ 16,791     $ 97,858     $ 44,301  
        GAAP gross margin   73.0 %     74.6 %     76.0 %     75.0 %     72.7 %
        Acquisition-related and other costs (A)   118       116       119       472       477  
        Stock-based compensation expense (B)   53       50       45       178       141  
        Other (C)     –       –       4       (3 )     40  
      Non-GAAP cost of revenue $ 10,437     $ 8,759     $ 5,144     $ 31,992     $ 15,963  
      Non-GAAP gross profit $ 28,894     $ 26,322     $ 16,959     $ 98,505     $ 44,959  
        Non-GAAP gross margin   73.5 %     75.0 %     76.7 %     75.5 %     73.8 %
                             
      GAAP operating expenses $ 4,689     $ 4,287     $ 3,176     $ 16,405     $ 11,329  
        Stock-based compensation expense (B)     (1,268 )     (1,202 )     (948 )     (4,559 )     (3,408 )
        Acquisition-related and other costs (A)   (43 )     (39 )     (18 )     (130 )     (106 )
        Other (C)     –       –       –       –       10  
      Non-GAAP operating expenses $ 3,378     $ 3,046     $ 2,210     $ 11,716     $ 7,825  
                             
      GAAP operating income $ 24,034     $ 21,869     $ 13,615     $ 81,453     $ 32,972  
        Total impact of non-GAAP adjustments to operating income   1,482       1,407       1,134       5,336       4,162  
      Non-GAAP operating income $ 25,516     $ 23,276     $ 14,749     $ 86,789     $ 37,134  
                             
      GAAP other income (expense), net $ 1,183     $ 447     $ 491     $ 2,573     $ 846  
        Gains from non-marketable equity securities and publicly-held equity securities, net   (727 )     (37 )     (260 )     (1,030 )     (238 )
        Interest expense related to amortization of debt discount   1       1       1       4       4  
      Non-GAAP other income (expense), net $ 457     $ 411     $ 232     $ 1,547     $ 612  
                             
      GAAP net income $ 22,091     $ 19,309     $ 12,285     $ 72,880     $ 29,760  
        Total pre-tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments   756       1,371       875       4,310       3,928  
        Income tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments (D)   (781 )     (670 )     (321 )     (2,925 )     (1,376 )
      Non-GAAP net income  $ 22,066     $ 20,010     $ 12,839     $ 74,265     $ 32,312  
                             
      Diluted net income per share (E)                  
        GAAP   $ 0.89     $ 0.78     $ 0.49     $ 2.94     $ 1.19  
        Non-GAAP    $ 0.89     $ 0.81     $ 0.52     $ 2.99     $ 1.30  
                             
      Weighted average shares used in diluted net income per share computation (E)   24,706       24,774       24,900       24,804       24,936  
                             
      GAAP net cash provided by operating activities $ 16,628     $ 17,629     $ 11,499     $ 64,089     $ 28,090  
        Purchases related to property and equipment and intangible assets   (1,077 )     (813 )     (253 )     (3,236 )     (1,069 )
        Principal payments on property and equipment and intangible assets   (32 )     (29 )     (29 )     (129 )     (74 )
      Free cash flow   $ 15,519     $ 16,787     $ 11,217     $ 60,724     $ 26,947  
                             
       
                             
      (A) Acquisition-related and other costs are comprised of amortization of intangible assets, transaction costs, and certain compensation charges and are included in the following line items:
            Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended
            January 26,   October 27,   January 28,   January 26,   January 28,
              2025       2024       2024       2025       2024  
        Cost of revenue   $ 118     $ 116     $ 119     $ 472     $ 477  
        Research and development   $ 27     $ 23     $ 12     $ 79     $ 49  
        Sales, general and administrative   $ 16     $ 16     $ 6     $ 51     $ 57  
                             
      (B) Stock-based compensation consists of the following:      
            Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended
            January 26,   October 27,   January 28,   January 26,   January 28,
              2025       2024       2024       2025       2024  
        Cost of revenue   $ 53     $ 50     $ 45     $ 178     $ 141  
        Research and development   $ 955     $ 910     $ 706     $ 3,423     $ 2,532  
        Sales, general and administrative   $ 313     $ 292     $ 242     $ 1,136     $ 876  
                             
      (C) Other consists of IP-related costs and assets held for sale related adjustments
     
      (D) Income tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments, including the recognition of excess tax benefits or deficiencies related to stock-based compensation under GAAP accounting standard (ASU 2016-09).
                             
      (E) Reflects a ten-for-one stock split on June 7, 2024
     NVIDIA CORPORATION 
     RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP OUTLOOK 
         
         Q1 FY2026 Outlook 
        ($ in millions)
         
    GAAP gross margin   70.6 %
      Impact of stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related costs, and other costs   0.4 %
    Non-GAAP gross margin   71.0 %
         
    GAAP operating expenses $ 5,150  
      Stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related costs, and other costs   (1,550 )
    Non-GAAP operating expenses $ 3,600  
           

    About NVIDIA
    NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in accelerated computing.

    Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: AI advancing at light speed as agentic AI and physical AI set the stage for the next wave of AI to revolutionize the largest industries; expectations with respect to growth, performance and benefits of NVIDIA’s products, services and technologies, including Blackwell, and related trends and drivers; expectations with respect to supply and demand for NVIDIA’s products, services and technologies, including Blackwell, and related matters including inventory, production and distribution; expectations with respect to NVIDIA’s third party arrangements, including with its collaborators and partners; expectations with respect to technology developments and related trends and drivers; future NVIDIA cash dividends or other returns to stockholders; NVIDIA’s financial and business outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 and beyond; projected market growth and trends; expectations with respect to AI and related industries; and other statements that are not historical facts are risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic and political conditions; NVIDIA’s reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test NVIDIA’s products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of new products and technologies or enhancements to NVIDIA’s existing product and technologies; market acceptance of NVIDIA’s products or NVIDIA’s partners’ products; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of NVIDIA’s products or technologies when integrated into systems; and changes in applicable laws and regulations, as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the most recent reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company’s website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

    © 2025 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, GeForce RTX, NVIDIA Cosmos, NVIDIA Spectrum-X, NVIDIA DGX, NVIDIA DRIVE, NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin, NVIDIA Grace, NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano, NVIDIA NIM and NVIDIA Omniverse are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aabe86db-ce89-4434-b83c-495082979801

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: New Reed-backed Bill to Combat Crypto ATM Fraud

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    WASHINGTON, DC – With scams using crypto kiosks (also known as ‘crypto ATMs’ or ‘Bitcoin ATMs’) to steal from older Americans on the rise, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is stepping up efforts to help fight fraud and prevent criminal from preying on senior citizens.  Federal law enforcement officials have referred to these crypto kiosks as ‘payment portals for scammers.’
    Reed is teaming up with U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Peter Welch (D-VT) to introduce the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act (S. 710) to help prevent scammers from stealing Americans’ savings through cryptocurrency schemes.  The bill would improve fraud warnings on all crypto kiosks; make cryptocurrency ATM operators develop a comprehensive anti-fraud policy, which must be submitted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN); and protect new customers — who are most likely to be victims of fraud — by limiting initial transaction amounts, requiring  verbal confirmation of major transactions, and making victims of fraud eligible for refunds if they file a report within 30 days.
    “Crypto kiosk operators need to ensure their machines aren’t being used to victimize vulnerable citizens and launder money for illegal activities.  This bill takes commonsense steps to ensure the businesses that profit from these machines are doing their part to prevent fraud.  It’s a positive first step towards stopping the surge in crypto kiosk scams and cracking down on criminals,” said Senator Reed.  “We must also continue working to educate vulnerable populations, especially older Americans, to recognize and avoid crypto scams.”
    Today, there are over 30,000 crypto kiosks nationwide, which are largely unregulated.  Many of them are placed in locations such as gas stations, vape shops, and laundromats.  These entities are paid a monthly fee by the crypto kiosk owner to allow the crypto kiosk to be operated on site.  While crypto ATMs are touted by operators as an easy way to change cash into crypto, in reality, they have become a preferred payment platform for international criminal enterprises who utilize the machines to carry out millions of dollars’ worth of anonymous, irreversible fraud – especially against older Americans.
    The proposed federal legislation would replace a patchwork of state regulations with a uniform national standard that would defer to state regulations as long as they don’t weaken or conflict with federal law.
    The Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act, which is led by Senator Durbin, will require crypto ATM operators to warn consumers about scams and take reasonable steps to prevent fraud at their machines.  It will also put in place measures to limit the amount that new consumers lose when they do fall victim to scams and will give law enforcement new tools to track down scammers.
    Often, crypto scammers will contact elderly Americans, and using threats, intimidation, and fabricated backstories, try to coerce them into depositing large sums of money into the criminals’ crypto wallets via cryptocurrency ATMs.  According to data recently released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the amount consumers reported losing annually in this form of fraud increased nearly tenfold between 2020 and 2023—from $12 million to $114 million and topping $65 million in the first half of 2024.  In 2023, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received nearly 2,700 crypto ATM fraud complaints from individuals aged 60 and older—more than all other age groups combined.
    Specifically, the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act will:
    Require warnings about the risk of fraud: This bill would require cryptocurrency ATM operators to provide clear warnings to consumers about the risk of fraud, including warnings of common types of scams and that consumers should never send money to someone they have never met.
    Require operators to develop fraud prevention policies: For the first time, cryptocurrency ATM operators would be required to appoint a chief compliance officer and develop comprehensive anti-fraud policies, which must be submitted to the FinCEN Network.  Operators also would be required to provide live customer support during all operating hours.
    Special protections for first tim-users and new customers—who are most likely to be victims of fraud: New customers, defined as a customer within 14 days of their first transaction, would be protected by the following provisions:
    – Transaction limits of $2,000 per day, and $10,000 total over the first 14 days.
    – Full refunds for fraudulent transactions if the customer makes a report within 30 days.   
    – Requiring live, verbal confirmation for any transaction greater than $500.
    Require crypto ATM operators to register and disclose ATM locations: Cryptocurrency ATM operators would be required to register with the U.S. Treasury Department and to disclose and regularly update the locations of all their ATMs.  Operators also would be required to provide a point of contact to relevant regulators and law enforcement agencies.
    Require receipts and information sufficient to trace the transaction: Operators would be required to provide receipts for each transaction, including information sufficient to trace the transaction, such as the time, place, and amount of the transaction, and a transaction hash.  Receipts also would have to include contact information for relevant law enforcement and a link to the operator’s refund policy.
    The bill has earned the endorsement of Americans for Financial Reform, National Consumers League, Public Citizen, Better Markets, and the National Consumer Law Center on behalf of its low-income clients.
    To spot and avoid scams visit ftc.gov/scams. Report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –