European planemaker Airbus on Friday joined a growing list of companies outlining the environmental impact of their products, as aviation aims to reshape itself after the coronavirus crisis. Major companies are under increasing pressure from investors and climate change activists to report the emissions that result when customers use their products, known as "Scope 3". Airbus says it is the first planemaker to do so.
Eritrean troops systematically killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in Ethiopia's Tigray region, Amnesty International says.The worst of the fighting took place in the northern city of Axum on November 28-29, with soldiers opening fire in the streets and conducting house-to-house raids in "a massacre that may amount to a crime against humanity," Amnesty said in a new report on Friday.
U.S. investment company Artisan Partners joined activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners on Friday in demanding that French food group Danone finds a new chief executive. Chairman and Chief Executive Emmanuel Faber has come under growing pressure as activist shareholders push for management changes to lift returns that have lagged those of some rivals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artisan, which has built a 3% stake in Danone, called for a split in the roles of CEO and chairman, also echoing Bluebell's demands.
Actors Jonathan Tucker and Riann Steele team up as agents in new sci-fi drama "Debris" - investigating mysterious wreckage falling from the sky. (Feb. 26)
Only two AFL players were paid more than $1 million by their clubs in 2020 and the average salary dropped by a six-figure sum because of the agreed reduction in payments caused by the coronavirus pandemic.AFL figures released on Friday showed the average pay for a primary listed player last year was $259,651; down from $363,430 in 2019.
ICUI earnings call for the period ending December 31, 2020.
CYTK earnings call for the period ending December 31, 2020.
Bilia has today concluded an agreement to acquire an authorized Porsche dealer who conducts sales and service operations for Porsche cars at two facilities in southern Sweden, Porsche Center Malmö and Porsche Center Helsingborg. The acquisition includes the properties where the business is conducted. The agreement is subject to approval by the Swedish competition authority. The business that is expected to be acquired, Ferdinand Holding AB, with associated operations and two real estate companies, reported for 2020 a turnover of about SEK 980 M and an operating profit of approximately SEK 60 M. The number of employees is about 40. Current owners, Gustav Lundh, Lars-Bertil Rantzow and Johan Persson, will continue to work in the company and run the business further after the change of ownership. The operation’s capital employed and agreed surplus values amount to about SEK 320 M. The takeover of the two real estate companies is made at a value of about SEK 130 M. The Bilia Group’s capital employed and net debt is estimated to increase, related to the acquisition, by about SEK 450 M. About 10 per cent of the purchase price will consist of own Bilia shares which will be valued to the average share price on Nasdaq ten days before paying the purchase price. Bilia currently holds 4,481,210 own shares. Bilia is expecting to take over the operations on 3 May 2021. Per Avander, Bilia’s Managing Director and CEO, comments:”I’m very happy to see Bilia in the future cooperate with the brand Porsche. Together with Porsche Sweden we will continue their successful growth journey and see opportunities for future expansion. We are already jointly evaluating further concrete business potential in the local area. We and Porsche Sweden have a consensus on the importance of a high customer satisfaction and professional advice on current and future sales. Furthermore, we are both happy and grateful that the current owners will continue to work with us at Bilia and share their experience and knowledge concerning Porsche. Thanks to this acquisition, in the future Bilia can offer customers an additional car brand in southern Sweden.” Gustav Lundh, Managing Director and current owner, comments:”We are proud and happy to have Bilia as new owner, as they attach great importance to both staff and customer satisfaction and is a company that shares our important core values. Bilia has great experience in the corporate market and has shown good results concerning the increasingly growing and important service market business, where our two Porsche Centers will have great benefit from Bilia’s experience and knowledge. We three owners will of course remain in the same roles in the company and will together with our employees and customers further develop the Porsche business in Skåne to the next level, and with Bilia’s support we have the best conditions to succeed! Raine Wermelin, Managing Director Porsche Sverige AB, comments:”From Porsche Sweden we look forward to working with Bilia, to continue to develop the Porsche business in both Malmö and Helsingborg. We see in this business exciting opportunities, where the good local customer relations and for Porsche specific experiences, can now be combined with the experience and competence Bilia has in areas such as service market and business sales.Porsche Sweden would like to thank Gustav Lundh, Lars-Bertil Rantzow and Johan Persson for dedicated and successful entrepreneurship in the Porsche business. We are grateful that this cooperation can continue, even if partly in new forms.” Gothenburg, February 26, 2021 Bilia AB (publ) For information please contact: Per Avander, Managing Director and CEO, +46 (0)10 497 70 00, per.avander@bilia.se Kristina Franzén, CFO, +46 (0)10 497 73 40, kristina.franzen@bilia.se This is information that Bilia AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, on February 26, 2021, at 08:30 CET. Facts about the Bilia Group Bilia is one of Europe’s largest car dealers with a leading position within service and sales of cars and transport vehicles. Bilia has about 140 facilities in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. Bilia sells cars of the brand Volvo, BMW, Toyota, Renault, Lexus, MINI, Dacia, Alpine and transport vehicles of the brand Renault, Toyota and Dacia. Bilia offers new and used cars, e-commerce, spare parts and store sales, service and repair workshops, tyres and car glass and financing, insurance, car washes, fuel stations and car dismantling under the same roof, which gives a unique customer offer. Bilia reported a turnover of about SEK 30 bn in 2020 and had about 4,700 employees. Attachment Bilia expands the number of brands through acquisitions of Porsche Center Malmö and Porsche Center Helsingborg
The number of shares and votes in Active Biotech has changed as a result of the recently completed rights issue. Today, the last trading day of the month, there are in total 217,854,720 shares and votes in Active Biotech. For further information, please contact:Hans Kolam, CFOTel: +46 (0)46 19 20 44E-mail: hans.kolam@activebiotech.com Active Biotech ABP.O. Box 724, SE-220 07 Lund, SwedenPhone +46 (0)46 19 20 00Fax +46 (0)46 19 11 00 Active Biotech is required to publish the information contained in this press release in accordance with the Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was provided to the media for publication at 08.30 am CET on February 26, 2021. Active BiotechActive Biotech AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: ACTI) is a biotechnology company that deploys its extensive knowledge base and portfolio of compounds to develop first-in-class immunomodulatory treatments for specialist oncology and immunology indications with a high unmet medical need and significant commercial potential. Following a portfolio refocus, the business model of Active Biotech aims to advance projects to the clinical development phase and then further develop the programs internally or pursue in partnership. Active Biotech currently holds three projects in its portfolio: Naptumomab, a targeted anti-cancer immunotherapy, partnered to NeoTX Therapeutics, is in a phase I/II clinical program in patients with advanced solid tumors. The small molecule immunomodulators, tasquinimod and laquinimod, both having a mode of actions that includes modulation of myeloid immune cell function, are targeted towards hematological malignancies and inflammatory eye disorders, respectively. Tasquinimod, is in clinical phase Ib/IIa for treatment of multiple myeloma. Laquinimod is advancing to phase II for treatment of non-infectious uveitis during second half of 2021. Please visit www.activebiotech.com for more information. Attachment 210226_number of shares and votes
Rueil Malmaison, 26 February 2021 VINCI Airports – Releases of London Gatwick Airport London Gatwick Airport, a 50.01% subsidiary of VINCI Airports, today released its full-year 2020 results, including the compliance certificate as at 31 December 2020 (which sets out the level of the financial covenants associated with the financial structure of Gatwick Funding Limited). The documents released can be found on the company's website: https://www.gatwickairport.com/business-community/about-gatwick/investor-relations/reports/ About VINCI VINCI is a global player in concessions and contracting, employing more than 217,000 people in some 100 countries. We design, finance, build and operate infrastructure and facilities that help improve daily life and mobility for all. Because we believe in all-round performance, above and beyond economic and financial results, we are committed to operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. And because our projects are in the public interest, we consider that reaching out to all our stakeholders and engaging in dialogue with them is essential in the conduct of our business activities. VINCI’s goal is to create long-term value for its customers, shareholders, employees, and partners and for society at large. www.vinci.com PRESS CONTACT VINCI Press Department Tel: +33 (0)1 47 16 31 82 media.relations@vinci.com Attachment CPVINCI_GATWICK FY2020_20210226_VA
Quadient appoints Laurent du Passage as Chief Financial Officer Laurent du Passage’s appointment is effective as of March 1st Laurent du Passage succeeds Christelle Villadary, who will remain with Quadient until March 31st to ensure the transition Paris, 26 February, 2021 Quadient (Euronext Paris: QDT), a leader in helping businesses create meaningful customer connections through digital and physical channels, today announces the appointment, as of March 1st, of Laurent du Passage as Chief Financial Officer. Laurent du Passage has been with Quadient since 2014, having held several positions, including that of Chief Financial Officer of Quadient’s Customer Experience Management business and Chief of Staff to the CEO. Most recently, Laurent du Passage was Quadient’s VP Controller. Laurent du Passage is taking over from Christelle Villadary, who made the decision to give a new direction to her career. Christelle Villadary will however stay with the Company until March 31st to ensure a smooth transition with Laurent du Passage in his new capacity as CFO. Geoffrey Godet, Chief Executive Officer of Quadient, commented: “I am very pleased to welcome Laurent to this new role. His in-depth knowledge of the Company, his current position as VP Controller, as well as his strong corporate and financial background made him a natural choice as Christelle’s successor. On behalf of Quadient, I would like to thank Christelle for her strong commitment and valuable contribution since her arrival. I wish her every success in her future career.” Biography Laurent du Passage joined Quadient in 2014 as Corporate Development Director of the Customer Experience Management business unit, before becoming Chief Financial Officer of that same unit. He was appointed Chief of Staff to Quadient’s CEO in 2019, then Quadient’s VP Controller in 2020. Before joining Quadient, Laurent du Passage spent 3 years with L.E.K. Consulting where he was providing strategic consulting for corporate and private equity funds. Laurent began his career in 2009 at Areva’s engineering business unit as analyst, working for the COO. Laurent du Passage is a French citizen and is a graduate from Ecole Centrale Paris and Université Paris-Dauphine. He also holds a Master of Science from Cambridge University. *** About Quadient®Quadient is the driving force behind the world’s most meaningful customer experiences. By focusing on four key solution areas including Customer Experience Management, Business Process Automation, Mail-Related Solutions, and Parcel Locker Solutions, Quadient helps simplify the connection between people and what matters. Quadient supports hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide in their quest to create relevant, personalized connections and achieve customer experience excellence. Quadient is listed in compartment B of Euronext Paris (QDT) and is part of the CAC® Mid & Small and EnterNext® Tech 40 indices. For more information about Quadient, visit https://invest.quadient.com/en-US. Contacts Laurent Sfaxi, Quadient+33 (0)1 45 36 61 39l.sfaxi@quadient.comfinancial-communication@quadient.com OPRG FinancialIsabelle Laurent / Fabrice Baron+33 (0)1 53 32 61 51 /+33 (0)1 53 32 61 27isabelle.laurent@oprgfinancial.fr fabrice.baron@oprgfinancial.fr Caroline Baude, Quadient+33 (0)1 45 36 31 82c.baude@quadient.com Attachment Quadient CFO appointment VA final
Participation notification by Blackrock Inc. Brussels, 26 February 2021, 08:30 CET - According to Belgian transparency legislation (Law of May 2, 2007), BlackRock Inc. (55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY, 10055, U.S.A.) recently sent to Solvay the following transparency notifications indicating that it crossed the threshold of 3%. Here is a summary of the moves: Date on which the threshold was crossedVoting rights after the transactionEquivalent financial instruments after the transactionTotalFebruary 19, 20212.98%0.12%3.11%February 22, 20213.06%0.12%3.19%February 23, 20212.99%0.11%3.10% The latest notification, dated February 25, 2021, contains the following information: Reason for the notification: acquisition or disposal of voting securities or voting rightsNotified by: BlackRock Inc. (55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY, 10055, U.S.A.)Date on which the threshold is crossed: February 23, 2021Threshold of direct voting rights crossed: 3% downwardsDenominator: 105,876,416Additional information: The disclosure obligation arose due to voting rights attached to shares for BlackRock, Inc. going below 3%. Transparency notifications and the full chain of controlled undertakings through which the holding is effectively held is available on the Investor Relations Section of Solvay's website. Attachments 20210226_transparency declaration Blackrock-EN Solvay_2021-02-23_Issuer_signed Solvay_2021-02-22_Issuer_signed Solvay_2021-02-19_Issuer_signed
Kidnappers have abducted schoolchildren in northwest Nigeria's Zamfara state, a spokesman for the state governor said on Friday, but declined to say how many people were taken or provide further details. A police spokesman for the state did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. This is the second such kidnapping in a little over a week in Nigeria's north, where a surge in armed militancy in the northwest has led to a widespread and worsening breakdown of security.
The worsening travel outlook and tighter restrictions brought in by countries over the last two months have threatened to ruin Europe's critical summer season and leave some carriers in need of another round of funding support, analysts warn. IAG said that the ongoing uncertainty and duration of COVID-19 meant that it could not provide a future profit forecast, illustrating the scale of the challenge for IAG's new boss Luis Gallego, who is six months into the job. UK-focused airlines were buoyed earlier this week when Britain laid out plans for travel markets to possibly reopen from mid-May, prompting a flood of bookings, but uncertainty remains over whether it will include IAG's long-haul routes.
Brexit, COVID-19 and overseas competition are challenging fintech's future, and Britain should act to stay competitive for the sector, a government-backed review said on Friday. Britain's departure from the European Union has cut the sector's access to the world's biggest single market, making the UK less attractive for fintechs wanting to expand cross-border. The review headed by Ron Kalifa, former CEO of payments fintech Worldpay, sets out a "strategy and delivery model" that includes a new billion pound start-up fund and fast-tracking work visas for hiring the best talent globally.
Sales stood at 1,488 million euros, up 8.8%, and EBITDA increased by 19.3% to 321 million euros, with a 21.6% margin.Excellent cash generation has reduced Net Debt/EBITDA leverage to 1.8x. The company is confident that 2021 will be very positive and expects to increase sales by 6% to 9%. 26 February 2021 – Fluidra, a global leader in pool and wellness equipment, closed 2020 with its best results ever. The company ended the year with sales of 1,488 million euros, up 8.8% and 11.0% on constant FX and perimeter compared to 2019, driven by the high demand in Residential Pool. Net profits stood at 96 million euros, more than 11 times higher than in 2019, when they were affected by merger related non-recurring expenses. EBITDA was up 19.3% to 321 million euros, well ahead of the 12% annualized guidance of our Strategic Plan. This positive operational performance is mainly due to our constant margin improvement initiatives of LEAN and VI, as well as cost synergies that came to 37 million euros, very well positioned to achieve the 2021 target of 40 million euros. Meanwhile, Cash Net Profit, a key proxy for Fluidra that excludes non-cash items and non-recurring expenses, was up by 56.1% to 166 million euros. This result has benefited from excellent operational leverage, the lower leverage and cost of debt. North America and Europe led the growth In terms of geographical areas, sales showed great progress in 2020, led by the Northern Hemisphere. North America registered an annual increase in sales of 17.2% on constant perimeter and FX compared with 2019, Southern Europe was up 3.8% and the Rest of Europe 25.0%, while the Rest of the World witnessed a mild 0.7% growth affected by weaker performance of Commercial Pool. In Q4, Southern Europe performed exceptionally well with a constant perimeter and FX increase in turnover of 23.2%, the Rest of Europe maintained its strong performance and grew by 23.7%, while North America grew by 19.7% and the Rest of the World by 7.4%. In terms of business units, Residential Pool experienced growth of 15.1% in the last quarter of the year, favored by the “stay-at-home” effect that benefited both the aftermarket a new construction. This performance more than offset the 10% fall in the Commercial Pool category. The Water Treatment business was up by 17.2% and Fluid Handling by 25%, favored by North America’s strong performance. Debt reduction The company’s strong cash generation—with Free Cash Flow rising by 52.2% to 152.3 million euros—led to a substantial reduction in net debt of 23%. This lower debt alongside the higher EBITDA brought the Net Debt/EBITDA leverage ratio to 1.8x, compared with 2.8x at the end of 2019, outperforming the long-term target set in the Strategic Plan. Positive outlook for 2021 The company has also announced its outlook for 2021. Fluidra expects to increase its sales on a constant FX by 6% to 9%, with the EBITDA margin as a percentage of Sales growing from 21.6% in 2020 to a range of 22.5% to 23%. The company is also forecasting an increase in Cash Net Profit of between 12% and 20%. “2020 results have been excellent, and the first months of 2021 suggest that this is going to be a very good year. Our industry is very resilient and the fundamentals of the business remain strong, so we are ready to continue with our growth, margin expansion and cash generation profile despite the volatile environment,” says Eloi Planes, Executive Chairman of Fluidra. About FluidraSpanish-listed multinational group Fluidra is a global leader in the pool and wellness equipment business and offers innovative products and services and IoT solutions. The company operates in more than 45 countries and its portfolio includes some of the industry’s best known brands, including Jandy®, AstralPool®, Polaris®, Cepex®, Zodiac®, CTX Professional®, and Gre®. For further information about Fluidra, please visit www.fluidra.com Press contact:Sarah Estébanez, sestebanez@tinkle.es, +34 636 62 80 41Xana Pena, xpena@tinkle.es, +34 674 73 47 82Laura Gil, lgil@tinkle.es, +34 673 631 814Carlos Jaramillo, cjaramillo@tinkle.es , +34 664 11 18 0 Attachment PR_Fluidra FY 2020_EN_vDEF
Videos obtained by Reuters showed streaks and bright sparks where the apparent space debris had burnt up. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the debris was from a Chinese Long March rocket. Reuters could not immediately independently confirm the reports."I thought it was a meteorite at first but later as it split, my mate and I began thinking it was space junk," said Jasper Nash, who filmed one of the videos. "It was very fascinating."A growing amount of broken satellites and spent rocket parts has raised concerns over congestion, which increases the risk of collisions in space that can cause serious damage to spacecraft.
Brexit, COVID-19 and overseas competition are challenging fintech's future, and Britain should act to stay competitive for the sector, a government-backed review said on Friday. Britain's departure from the European Union has cut the sector's access to the world's biggest single market, making the UK less attractive for fintechs wanting to expand cross-border. The review headed by Ron Kalifa, former CEO of payments fintech Worldpay, sets out a "strategy and delivery model" that includes a new billion pound start-up fund and fast-tracking work visas for hiring the best talent globally.
One of the first things Eddie Jones did when he took the England job was to get his forwards to play as England forwards should do. England’s forwards need to be nastier otherwise the consequences will start to add up.
A former client of accused Sydney conwoman Melissa Caddick has spoken out after the 49-year-old was confirmed dead on Friday.
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