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Business

Essential Utilities reports progress on infrastructure projects to improve water, wastewater and natural gas service in 2020

Essential emphasizes need for ongoing infrastructure investment during United for Infrastructure Week

BRYN MAWR, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE: WTRG) recognizes United for Infrastructure 2020: A Week to Champion America’s Infrastructure (Sept. 14-21) by raising awareness of the country’s critical need for infrastructure improvements and reporting progress on its planned approximately $950 million capital investment in 2020 in the 10 states where the company provides water and wastewater service as Aqua and natural gas service as Peoples.

Essential has an immense responsibility to provide our customers safe and reliable utility services,” said Essential Chairman and CEO Christopher Franklin. “As we’ve continued to deliver water, wastewater and natural gas services amidst the challenges of COVID-19, we know that repairing and replacing aging infrastructure remains critical to our mission to protect the public health and strengthen communities.”

In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Infrastructure Report Card gave the United States a D+ for the state of its infrastructure.

Infrastructure projects are planned and taking place across Essential’s states in 2020, and some of this year’s projects are highlighted below.

Aqua Pennsylvania – Replacing aging water mains throughout Pennsylvania continues to be a large part of Aqua Pennsylvania’s capital project program this year. Aqua Pennsylvania plans to replace approximately 120 miles of aging water mains to improve distribution and reduce service interruptions caused by main breaks. Aqua Pennsylvania also broke ground on an $8 million, 14,700 square-foot laboratory to support the utility’s microbiologists and chemists who perform about 300,000 tests on 30,000 water samples each year.

Aqua Ohio – Aqua Ohio’s planned water and wastewater system improvements this year include completion of the Struthers water treatment plant modernization project and construction of a new Franklin County operations center. Aqua Ohio also began a project to rehabilitate the Ashtabula water treatment plant. The Ashtabula plant project, which Aqua Ohio expects to complete in 2021, includes an engineering master plan for the plant to address future expansion needs.

Aqua North Carolina – Aqua North Carolina has completed the installation of eight new water treatment systems so far this year with plans to install two more in 2020. Aqua North Carolina is also working on several wastewater projects to improve service and reliability including upgrade projects currently underway for three separate wastewater treatment plants in High Point, New Hanover County and Union County.

Aqua Illinois – Aqua Illinois has completed improvements to the Lake Vermilion dam, investing $20 million in this vital resource. Aqua Illinois is preparing for the future with an intensive study of the Joseph Donovan Regional Water Treatment Plant in the City of Kankakee.

Aqua Texas – Aqua Texas plans improvements to water and wastewater service for customers statewide this year. Projects include expansions of three wastewater treatment plants to serve the growing needs of communities in Chambers, Harris and Montgomery counties.

Aqua New Jersey – This year, Aqua New Jersey’s capital plans include upgrades and integrations to SCADA computer systems that monitor and control several wastewater plants to make operations more efficient and improve service for customers. These improvements will be completed in the fourth quarter. Plans also include improvements to drinking water treatment, including a new filtration system at a northwest New Jersey well.

Aqua Indiana – This year, Aqua Indiana’s capital project plans include an expansion of the Hendricks wastewater treatment plant to serve the growing needs of the Avon and Brownsburg communities and unincorporated areas of eastern Hendricks County. Aqua Indiana expects to begin construction this fall and expects to complete the Hendricks expansion project in the first half of 2022.

Aqua Virginia – This year, Aqua Virginia is installing water meters at two of its largest remaining unmetered systems, Lake Caroline in Caroline County and Captain’s Cove in Accomack County. The installation of water meters at these locations means customers pay only for water they use, while promoting conservation. Meters also enable Aqua to measure water losses from the distribution system and identify leaks in customers’ homes. These improvements will be completed in the fourth quarter.

Peoples – In addition to investments included in its long-term infrastructure improvement plan projects in Western Pennsylvania and Kentucky this year, Peoples began a 7-year project on a pipeline system known as Goodwin Tombaugh, which runs through Greene and Washington counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. The 300-mile pipeline replacement project will transform an old gathering system into a new modern distribution system. The Goodwin Tombaugh project will provide multiple benefits including a reduction of methane emissions and continued safe and reliable service to 1,600 residents.

About Aqua

Aqua’s water and wastewater utilities serve more than 3 million people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. Visit Aqua online at AquaAmerica.com, facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica, and twitter.com/MyAquaAmerica.

About Peoples

Peoples is a natural gas provider serving approximately 740,000 homes and businesses in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. The company’s mission is to improve the lives of its customers and to help build long-term economic growth for the regions it serves. For more information about Peoples, visit Peoples-Gas.com and follow Peoples on social media @peoplesnatgas.

About Essential

Essential is one of the largest publicly traded water, wastewater and natural gas providers in the U.S., serving approximately 5 million people across 10 states under the Aqua and Peoples brands. Essential is committed to excellence in proactive infrastructure investment, regulatory expertise, operational efficiency and environmental stewardship. The company recognizes the importance water and natural gas play in everyday life and is proud to deliver safe, reliable services that contribute to the quality of life in the communities it serves. For more information, visit http://www.essential.co.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which generally include words such as “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and similar expressions. The company can give no assurance that any actual or future results or events discussed in these statements will be achieved. Any forward-looking statements represent its views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from the statements contained in this release. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the capital to be invested by the water, wastewater and gas distribution divisions of the company. There are important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including the risks and uncertainties described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with the company’s business, please refer to the company’s annual, quarterly and other SEC filings. The company is not under any obligation — and expressly disclaims any such obligation — to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

WTRGG

Contacts

Gretchen Toner

Communications and Marketing

484.368.4816

Media@essential.co

Categories
Healthcare

Best’s Market Segment Report: COVID-19 taking its toll on Canada’s economy and insurance industry

OLDWICK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Canada’s property/casualty insurance industry thus far has fared better than their life counterparts amid the volatile economic and market dynamics created by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a AM Best report.

In its Best’s Market Segment Report, titled, “COVID-19 Taking Its Toll on Canada’s Economy and Insurance Industry,” AM Best states that the country’s overall insurance industry remains well-capitalized. However, for Canada’s life insurance industry, top-line growth has been materially affected, as consumers reacted to COVID-19-fueled economic strain, and agents and life insurance representatives transitioned with varying degrees of success to a digital sales environment. Life insurers’ operating earnings also have been impacted because of the market dynamics and asset valuations, and earnings likely will be pressured by the prolonged volatility in the equity markets and low interest rates, leading to lower fee-based revenue as well. In April, AM Best revised its outlook on Canada’s life insurance industry to negative, owing to the significant disruption to the financial markets caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. AM Best remains concerned about companies with higher exposures to commercial mortgage loans, particularly in the hotel and retail segments, as well as office space, given that many companies have been cautious in returning to an office environment.

Canada’s property/casualty companies continue to show that they have the ability to remain profitable and meet the challenges presented by COVID-19, on top of those presented by increasingly volatile weather and climate conditions, fire and seismic activity, as well as economic volatility and competitive and regulatory issues. The personal auto insurance line remains a soft spot, however, as performance deteriorated again in 2019, and experienced a 10-point rise in the loss and loss adjustment expense ratio, reversing two years of improvement. All auto lines remain exposed to loss frequency brought on by factors such as distracted driving and more miles driven. In addition, inflation and a continual increase in loss severity due to rising repair costs are still affecting the auto lines. Early indications are that frequency trends will be down significantly in 2020, as shelter-in-place requirements, business closures, and remote working arrangements have caused a steep decline in miles driven across the country. AM Best maintains a stable outlook on Canada’s property/casualty segment.

To access the full copy of this market segment report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=300880.

A video presentation on this market segment report with AM Best Financial Analyst Brian Lynch and Senior Financial Analyst Anthony McSwieney is available at http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=ambcanada920.

AM Best will present its annual Insurance Market Briefing – Canada as two complimentary webinars on Sept. 9-10, 2020. “AM Best’s Canadian Outlook: In the Shadow of COVID-19,” will be held on Sept. 9, from 2-3 p.m. (EDT), and “Canada 2020 Hot Topics Panel Discussion,” will be held on Sept. 10, from 2-3 p.m. (EDT). For more information and for registration, please go to http://www.ambest.com/conferences/imbcanada2020.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2020 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Contacts

Raymond Thomson, CPCU, ARe, ARM, AIAF
Director—P/C
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5621
raymond.thomson@ambest.com

Anthony McSwieney
Senior Financial Analyst—L/H
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5715
anthony.mcswieney@ambest.com

Ann Modica
Associate Director, Credit Rating Criteria,
Research and Analytics
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5209
ann.modica@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Manager, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Jim Peavy
Director, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644
james.peavy@ambest.com

Categories
Business

AM Best addresses COVID-19’s impact on Canadian insurers in market briefing

OLDWICK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AM Best’s Insurance Market Briefing – Canada will take place as two complimentary webinars on Sept. 9 and 10, 2020.

“AM Best’s Canadian Outlook: In the Shadow of COVID-19,” will be held on Sept. 9, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT). AM Best analysts will review the impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian insurance market and economy, including regulatory and monetary policies, the AM Best stress test results, innovation and other key issues and trends.

Panelists include:

  • Michael Adams, associate director, life/annuity, AM Best;
  • Ann Modica, associate director, economic & industry research, AM Best; and
  • Raymond Thomson, director, composite ratings, AM Best.

Register now at www.ambest.devs/webinars/can120.

“Canada 2020 Hot Topics Panel Discussion,” will be held on Sept. 10, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT). AM Best analysts and market experts will examine significant industry issues, including the impact of COVID-19, latest innovation trends and regulatory/accounting issues that will influence the Canadian insurance market.

Panelists include:

  • Sridhar Manyem, director, industry research, AM Best;
  • Gordon McLean, senior financial analyst, property/casualty, AM Best;
  • David Sloan, chief executive officer, Canada reinsurance solutions, AON; and.
  • Ron Stokes, partner, Ernst & Young.

Register now at www.ambest.com/webinars/can220.

Attendees can submit advance questions during registration or by emailing webinars@ambest.com. Playback will be available to registered viewers shortly after the event.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2020 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Contacts

Christopher Sharkey
Manager, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Jim Peavy
Director, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644
james.peavy@ambest.com

Categories
Business

Majesco positioned as a visionary in Gartner 2020 Magic Quadrant for Life Insurance Policy Administration Systems, North America

MORRISTOWN, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Majesco (NASDAQ: MJCO), a global provider of cloud insurance platform software for insurance business transformation, today announced that it has been once again positioned as a Visionary in the August 2020 Magic Quadrant for Life Insurance Policy Administration Systems, North America.

Per the report, which evaluates 11 vendors, “This Magic Quadrant provides a lens into the North American market for life insurance policy administration system (PASs) used by individual and group life and annuity (L&A) insurers.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated, business operating conditions can change dramatically overnight, and life insurance PASs and the infrastructure on which they operate must be scalable, secure and adaptable to change,” says Richard Natale, Senior Director Analyst and Rajesh Narayan, Senior Director Analyst in the report. “Life insurance CIOs should be evaluating their PASs now to determine the degree to which they enable, or are a barrier to, this type of resiliency in the face of disruption.”

The report notes that “in the next 12 to 18 months, life insurance IT budgets will be under pressure. CFOs and CEOs will look at discretionary budgets for convenient ways to cut expenses in an effort to preserve capital and cash, such as discretionary spending earmarked for digital innovation. However, the potential does exist where PAS modernization accelerates to address operational issues that have been uncovered due to the pandemic. This could also accelerate the need for a PAS modernization or replacement. Examples include:

  • Consumer behavior and a material shift to digital channels
  • Long-term changes in consumer demand for insurance products
  • Data and analytics needed to address changes in risk and actuarial models
  • A permanent shift to how and where people work
  • New uses for automation, such as touchless claims handling
  • Rapid response to a crisis with products such as parametric insurance
  • Potential governmental intervention and regulation”

Now more than ever, life insurance companies need a robust, cloud-based core insurance business platform that can satisfy the needs of today’s digital customer,” says Adam Elster, CEO of Majesco. “We’re honored to be named a Visionary by Gartner in the Magic Quadrant for Life Insurance Policy Administration Systems, North America. We remain committed to creating a future of insurance that is agile, nimble and fast. We are proud of the investments we’ve made this past year that we believe have strengthened our positioning on the Completeness of Vision axis. To us, this recognition reaffirms our commitment to creating an L&A and Group core system that will help our customers seamlessly transition to the future of insurance.”

Majesco L&A and Group Core Suite supports all individual, group and voluntary benefits on a single platform, recognizing that growing and retaining customers, regardless of where they originate, is critical to insurer’s growth strategies. The suite provides essential core system capabilities for policy, billing and claims. It brings a host of exciting, innovative capabilities to life, group and annuities insurance, such as an AI-powered group sales process to deliver digital RFP, an AI bot-driven conversational UX for navigation, and an always straight through processing approach to speed up transaction processing individually or across multiple points. The powerful design allows for rapid adaptation for new, innovative products or benefit plans, giving insurers the power, flexibility and speed needed to capture opportunities and create profitable growth.

Majesco L&A and Group Core Suite brings a strong, innovative solution to life, annuities, group and voluntary benefits insurance market that will digitally enable the business from traditional products to new parametric products in this new era of insurance,” stated Manish Shah, President and Chief Product Officer for Majesco. “In our opinion, our Visionary positioning in the Magic Quadrant for Life Insurance Policy Administration Systems, North America is a result of strong execution of the product vision and demonstrates our commitment to innovation and understanding of the emerging shift in new customer needs and expectations to help our customers gain market leadership with a new generation of customers.”

Gartner “Magic Quadrant for Life Insurance Policy Administration Systems, North America,” Richard Natale, Rajesh Narayan, 3 August 2020.

Gartner Disclaimer

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Majesco

Majesco (NASDAQ: MJCO) provides technology, expertise, and leadership that helps insurers modernize, innovate and connect to build the future of their business – and the future of insurance – at speed and scale. Our platforms connect people and businesses to insurance in ways that are innovative, hyper-relevant, compelling and personal. Over 200 insurance companies worldwide in P&C, L&A and Group Benefits are transforming their businesses by modernizing, optimizing or creating new business models with Majesco. Our market-leading solutions include CloudInsurer® P&C Core Suite (Policy, Billing, Claims); CloudInsurer® LifePlus Solutions (AdminPlus, AdvicePlus, IllustratePlus, DistributionPlus); CloudInsurer® L&A and Group Core Suite (Policy, Billing, Claims); Digital1st® Insurance with Digital1st® Engagement, Digital1st® EcoExchange and Digital1st® Platform – a cloud-native, microservices and open API platform; Distribution Management, Data and Analytics and an Enterprise Data Warehouse. For more details on Majesco, please visit www.majesco.com.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of management, are not guarantees of performance and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. These forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors, including those set forth in Majesco’s reports that it files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and which you should review, including those statements under “Item 1A – Risk Factors” in Majesco’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended by its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to: the adverse impact on economies around the world and our customers of the current COVID-19 pandemic; our ability to achieve increased market penetration for our product and service offerings and obtain new customers; our ability to raise future capital as needed; the growth prospects of the property & casualty and life & annuity insurance industry; the strength and potential of our technology platform and our ability to innovate and anticipate future customer needs; our ability to compete successfully against other providers and products; data privacy and cyber security risks; technological disruptions; our ability to successfully integrate our acquisitions and identify new acquisitions; the risk of loss of customers or strategic relationships; the success of our research and development investments; changes in economic conditions, political conditions and trade protection measures; regulatory and tax law changes; immigration risks; our ability to obtain, use or successfully integrate third-party licensed technology; key personnel risks; and litigation risks.

These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as predictions of future events and Majesco cannot assure you that the events or circumstances discussed or reflected in these statements will be achieved or will occur. If such forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. You should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by Majesco or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified timeframe, or at all. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this presentation. Majesco disclaims any obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

Contacts

Laura Tillotson

Director, Marketing Communications and Creative Services

+ 201 230 0752

laura.tillotson@majesco.com

Categories
Business

Movado Group, Inc. announces second quarter results

~ Second Quarter Net Sales of $88.5 million ~

~ Second Quarter Loss Per Share of ($0.28), or ($0.07) Excluding Restructuring Plan and Other Items ~

~ Ends Second Quarter with Cash of $170 million ~

~ Announces Licensing Partnership with Calvin Klein ~

PARAMUS, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Movado Group, Inc. (NYSE: MOV) today announced second quarter and six-month results for the period ended July 31, 2020.

Efraim Grinberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We remain focused on ensuring the safety and health of our employees, customers and the communities where we operate. In a quarter that was significantly impacted globally by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am proud of our team’s ability to build on our multi-year investments in our digital center of excellence and adapt to support our ongoing mission to put consumers first, allowing them to connect with our great brands, designs and platforms wherever and whenever they choose to shop. These efforts allowed us to capture strong online demand where our Movado brand generated a 130% increase in our own and third party ecommerce sales. In North America, we reopened our outlet stores in June and were encouraged by the improved sequential performance in July, despite reduced stores hours. We are also seeing encouraging demand in our domestic department store channel. In China, we had a 16% increase in sales for the quarter with trends continuing to accelerate and we had positive top line growth in France and Germany, despite our customers being closed for nearly half of the quarter.”

Mr. Grinberg continued, “The aggressive actions we took at the height of the pandemic have positioned us well to continue to navigate the current environment. We have implemented initiatives that are expected to generate $90 million in cost savings in this fiscal year and have strengthened our financial health as evidenced by our cash balance of $170 million after repaying $37 million on our revolver at quarter end. As we look to the remainder of the year, we continue to expect improving sales trends in the second half relative to the first half with improved profitability and we will continue to be disciplined and agile in managing the business given the continued uncertainty. The actions we have taken, combined with our strong liquidity, enable us to leverage our powerful portfolio of brands which will be further strengthened by the exciting new licensing partnership announced today to design and develop Calvin Klein timepieces and jewelry. As a result, we have confidence that we will emerge from this extraordinary period a stronger company that is even better positioned to deliver long-term shareholder value.”

Non-GAAP Items (See attached table for GAAP and Non-GAAP measures)

Second quarter fiscal 2021 results of operations included the following items:

  • Operating expenses include a $0.7 million pre-tax charge, or $0.5 million after tax, representing $0.02 per diluted share, associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets related to the acquisition of Olivia Burton;
  • $0.3 million pre-tax charge, or $0.2 million after tax, representing $0.01 per diluted share, associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets and deferred compensation related to the acquisition of MVMT;
  • $7.4 million pre-tax charge, or $5.0 million after tax, representing $0.22 per diluted share, related to corporate initiatives primarily in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
  • Other non-operating income includes a $1.3 million pre-tax gain, or $0.8 million after tax, representing $0.04 per diluted share, associated with the sale of a non-operating asset in Switzerland.

Second quarter Fiscal 2020 results of operations included the following items:

  • Operating expenses include a $0.7 million pre-tax charge, or $0.6 million after tax, representing $0.02 per diluted share, associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets related to Olivia Burton;
  • $1.1 million pre-tax charge, or $0.9 million after tax, representing $0.04 per diluted share, associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets and deferred compensation related to the acquisition of MVMT;
  • $0.3 million pre-tax gain, or $0.2 million after tax, representing $0.01 per diluted share, associated with the change in estimate of the remaining accrual for the fiscal 2018 cost saving initiatives; and
  • Other non-operating income includes a $13.6 million pre-tax benefit, or $10.4 million after tax, representing $0.44 per diluted share, associated with the remeasurement of the contingent consideration liability associated with the MVMT acquisition.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2021 (See attached table for GAAP and Non-GAAP measures)

  • Net sales decreased 43.9% to $88.5 million compared to $157.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Net sales on a constant dollar basis also decreased 43.9%.
  • Gross profit was $45.4 million, or 51.2% of sales, compared to $85.3 million, or 54.1% of sales, in the second quarter last year. The decrease in gross margin percentage was primarily the result of unfavorable changes in channel and product mix, decreased leverage on fixed costs due to decreased sales, and U.S. special tariff headwinds.
  • Operating expenses were $54.3 million compared to $76.6 million in the prior year period. For the second quarter of fiscal 2021, adjusted operating expenses were $45.9 million, which excludes the operating expense charges mentioned above in the Non-GAAP Items section. For the second quarter of fiscal 2020, adjusted operating expenses were $75.1 million, which excludes the operating expense charges mentioned above in the Non-GAAP Items section. The decrease in adjusted operating expenses was primarily due to the Company’s initiative to minimize all non-essential operating expenses such as certain marketing, selling and payroll related expenses.
  • Operating loss was $8.9 million compared to operating income of $8.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. Adjusted operating loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 was $0.6 million, which excludes the fiscal 2021 charges listed above in the Non-GAAP Items section, compared to adjusted operating income for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 of $10.3 million, which excludes the fiscal 2020 charges listed above in the Non-GAAP Items section.
  • The Company recorded a tax benefit of $1.6 million compared to a tax provision of $4.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. The Company recorded an adjusted tax provision in the second quarter of fiscal 2021 of $0.6 million compared to an adjusted tax provision of $1.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
  • Net loss was $6.6 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared to net income of $17.5 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 . Adjusted net loss for the fiscal 2021 period was $1.7 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, which excludes the second quarter fiscal 2021 net charges listed above in the Non-GAAP Items section after the associated tax effects. This compares to adjusted net income in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 of $8.3 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, which excludes the second quarter fiscal 2020 net charges listed above in the Non-GAAP Items section after the associated tax effects.

First Half Fiscal 2021 (See attached table for GAAP and Non-GAAP measures)

  • Net sales were $158.2 million compared to $304.4 million in the first six months of fiscal 2020, a decrease of 48.0% primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Net sales on a constant dollar basis decreased 47.8%.
  • Gross profit was $77.2 million, or 48.8% of sales, compared to $164.2 million, or 54.0% of sales in the same period last year. Adjusted gross profit for the first six months of fiscal 2021, which excludes $3.5 million in corporate initiative charges related to the impact to the business of the COVID-19 pandemic, was $80.8 million, or 51.0% of net sales. Adjusted gross profit for the first six months of fiscal 2020, which excludes $0.1 million in adjustments associated with the amortization of acquisition accounting adjustments related to the MVMT acquisition, was $164.4 million, or 54.0% of net sales. The decrease in adjusted gross margin percentage was primarily the result of decreased leverage on fixed costs due to decreased sales, unfavorable changes in channel and product mix, unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates and U.S. special tariff headwinds.
  • Operating expenses were $268.3 million as compared to $150.5 million in the first six months of last fiscal year. For the first six months of fiscal 2021, adjusted operating expenses were $99.0 million, which excludes $155.9 million in adjustments related to the impairment of goodwill and certain intangible assets, $11.1 million in corporate initiative charges related to the impact to the business from the COVID-19 pandemic, $1.4 million of expenses associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets related to Olivia Burton and $1.0 million in adjustments associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets and deferred compensation related to the MVMT acquisition. For the first six months of fiscal 2020, adjusted operating expenses were $146.9 million, which excludes $1.4 million of expenses associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets related to Olivia Burton and $2.5 million in adjustments associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets, accounting adjustments and deferred compensation related to the MVMT acquisition, partially offset by $0.3 million in adjustments associated with the change in estimate of the remaining accrual for the fiscal 2018 cost saving initiatives. The decrease in adjusted operating expenses was primarily due to the Company’s initiative to minimize all non-essential operating expenses such as certain marketing, selling and payroll related expenses.
  • Operating loss was $191.1 million compared to operating income of $13.8 million in the first six months of fiscal 2020. Adjusted operating loss for the first six months of fiscal 2021 was $18.2 million, which excludes the fiscal 2021 charges listed in the immediately preceding bullet, compared to adjusted operating income of $17.4 million in the first six months of fiscal 2020 which excludes the fiscal 2020 net charges listed in the immediately preceding bullet.
  • The Company recorded a tax benefit in the first six months of fiscal 2021 of $33.9 million as compared to a tax provision of $5.6 million in the first six months of last year. Based upon adjusted pre-tax income, the adjusted tax benefit was $4.3 million in the first half of fiscal 2021 compared to an adjusted tax provision of $3.1 million in the first half of fiscal 2020.
  • Net loss was $156.6 million, or $6.75 per diluted share, compared to net income of $21.4 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, in the first six months of fiscal 2020. Adjusted net loss for the first half of fiscal 2021 was $14.7 million, or $0.63 per diluted shares, which excludes $131.1 million, net of $24.9 million of tax, in adjustments related to the impairment of goodwill and certain intangible assets, $10.0 million, net of $4.6 million of tax, in corporate initiative charges related to the impact to the business from the COVID-19 pandemic, $1.1 million, net of $0.3 million of tax, of expenses associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets related to Olivia Burton and $0.6 million, net of $0.4 million of tax, in adjustments associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets and deferred compensation related to the MVMT acquisition, and $0.8 million, net of $0.5 million of tax, associated with a gain on the sale of a non-operating asset in Switzerland. This compares to adjusted net income for the first half of fiscal 2020 of $13.9 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, which excludes $1.1 million, net of $0.3 million of tax, of expenses associated with the amortization of acquired intangible assets related to Olivia Burton; $2.0 million, net of $0.6 million of tax, of expenses related to the amortization of acquired intangible assets, accounting adjustments and deferred compensation related to MVMT; $10.4 million, net of $3.3 million of tax, of gains associated with the remeasurement of the contingent consideration liability associated with the MVMT acquisition; and $0.2 million, net of $0.1 million of tax, of gains associated with the change in estimate of the remaining accrual for the fiscal 2018 cost saving initiatives.

Fiscal 2021 Outlook

Given the dynamic nature of the COVID-19 crisis and lack of visibility, the potential financial impact to the business cannot be reasonably estimated. The Company is not providing fiscal 2021 guidance.

Conference Call

The Company’s management will host a conference call and audio webcast to discuss its results today, August 27, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call may be accessed by dialing (877) 407-0784. Additionally, a live webcast of the call can be accessed at www.movadogroup.com. The webcast will be archived on the Company’s website approximately one hour after the conclusion of the call. Additionally, a telephonic re-play of the call will be available at 12:00 p.m. ET on August 27, 2020 until 11:59 p.m. ET on September 10, 2020 and can be accessed by dialing (844) 512-2921 and entering replay pin number 13708469.

Movado Group, Inc. designs, sources, and distributes MOVADO®, MVMT®, OLIVIA BURTON®, EBEL®, CONCORD®, COACH®, TOMMY HILFIGER®, HUGO BOSS®, LACOSTE®, SCUDERIA FERRARI®, REBECCA MINKOFF® and URI MINKOFF® watches worldwide, and operates Movado company stores in the United States and Canada.

In this release, the Company presents certain financial measures that are not calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). Specifically, the Company is presenting adjusted gross profit, adjusted gross margin, adjusted operating expenses and adjusted operating income, which are gross profit, gross margin, operating expenses and operating income, respectively, under GAAP, adjusted to eliminate the amortization of acquisition accounting adjustments related to the Olivia Burton and MVMT acquisitions, corporate initiatives and the impairment of goodwill and certain intangible assets. The Company is also presenting adjusted tax provision, which is the tax provision under GAAP, adjusted to eliminate the impact of charges for the Olivia Burton and MVMT acquisitions, corporate initiatives, the impairment of goodwill and certain intangible assets and the gain on sale of a non-operating asset. The Company believes these adjusted measures are useful because they give investors information about the Company’s financial performance without the effect of certain items that the Company believes are not characteristic of its usual operations. The Company is also presenting adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share and adjusted effective tax rate, which are net income, earnings per share and effective tax rate, respectively, under GAAP, adjusted to eliminate the after-tax impact of amortization of acquisition accounting adjustments related to the Olivia Burton and MVMT acquisitions, corporate initiatives, the impairment of goodwill and certain intangibles and the gain on sale of a non-operating asset. The Company believes that adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share and adjusted effective tax rate are useful measures of performance because they give investors information about the Company’s financial performance without the effect of certain items that the Company believes are not characteristic of its usual operations. Additionally, the Company is presenting constant currency information to provide a framework to assess how its business performed excluding the effects of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations in the current period. Comparisons of financial results on a constant dollar basis are calculated by translating each foreign currency at the same US dollar exchange rate as in effect for the prior-year period for both periods being compared. The Company believes this information is useful to investors to facilitate comparisons of operating results. These non-GAAP financial measures are designed to complement the GAAP financial information presented in this release. The non-GAAP financial measures presented should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP financial measures, and the methods of their calculation may differ substantially from similarly titled measures used by other companies.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “targets,” “goals,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should” and variations of such words and similar expressions. Similarly, statements in this press release that describe the Company’s business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals are also forward-looking statements. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements and levels of future dividends to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these statements. These risks and uncertainties may include, but are not limited to general economic and business conditions which may impact disposable income of consumers in the United States and the other significant markets (including Europe) where the Company’s products are sold, uncertainty regarding such economic and business conditions, trends in consumer debt levels and bad debt write-offs, general uncertainty related to possible terrorist attacks, natural disasters, pandemics, including the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and other diseases on travel and traffic in our retail stores and the stores of our wholesale customers, supply disruptions and delivery delays from our Chinese and other suppliers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, adverse impact on the Company’s wholesale customers and customer traffic in the Company’s stores as a result of increased uncertainty and economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the stability of the European Union (including the impact of the United Kingdom’s process to exit from the European Union), the stability of the United Kingdom after its exit from the European Union, and defaults on or downgrades of sovereign debt and the impact of any of those events on consumer spending, changes in consumer preferences and popularity of particular designs, new product development and introduction, decrease in mall traffic and increase in e-commerce, the ability of the Company to successfully implement its business strategies, competitive products and pricing, the impact of “smart” watches and other wearable tech products on the traditional watch market, seasonality, availability of alternative sources of supply in the case of the loss of any significant supplier or any supplier’s inability to fulfill the Company’s orders, the loss of or curtailed sales to significant customers, the Company’s dependence on key employees and officers, the ability to successfully integrate the operations of acquired businesses without disruption to other business activities, the possible impairment of acquired intangible assets including goodwill if the carrying value of any reporting unit were to exceed its fair value, volatility in reported earnings resulting from changes in the estimated fair value of contingent acquisition consideration, the continuation of the company’s major warehouse and distribution centers, the continuation of licensing arrangements with third parties, losses possible from pending or future litigation, the ability to secure and protect trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights, the ability to lease new stores on suitable terms in desired markets and to complete construction on a timely basis, the ability of the Company to successfully manage its expenses on a continuing basis, information systems failure or breaches of network security, the continued availability to the Company of financing and credit on favorable terms, business disruptions, and general risks associated with doing business outside the United States including, without limitation, import duties, tariffs (including retaliatory tariffs), quotas, political and economic stability, changes to existing laws or regulations, and success of hedging strategies with respect to currency exchange rate fluctuations, and the other factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements reflect the Company’s current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Be advised that developments subsequent to this press release are likely to cause these statements to become outdated with the passage of time. The Company assumes no duty to update its forward looking statements and this release shall not be construed to indicate the assumption by the Company of any duty to update its outlook in the future.

(Tables to follow)

MOVADO GROUP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

July 31,

July 31,

2020

2019

2020

2019

Net sales

$

88,538

$

157,816

$

158,204

$

304,365

Cost of sales

43,182

72,477

80,955

140,153

Gross profit

45,356

85,339

77,249

164,212

Operating expenses

54,272

76,563

112,409

150,462

Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets

155,919

Total operating expenses

54,272

76,563

268,328

150,462

Operating (loss)/income

(8,916

)

8,776

(191,079

)

13,750

Non-operating (expense)/income:
Gain on sale of a non-operating asset

1,317

1,317

Change in contingent consideration

13,627

13,627

Interest expense

(590

)

(225

)

(861

)

(449

)

Interest income

8

24

23

45

(Loss)/Income before income taxes

(8,181

)

22,202

(190,600

)

26,973

(Benefit)/Provision for income taxes

(1,559

)

4,741

(33,889

)

5,588

Net (loss)/income

(6,622

)

17,461

(156,711

)

21,385

Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

(7

)

(44

)

(103

)

(45

)

Net (loss)/income attributable to Movado Group, Inc.

$

(6,615

)

$

17,505

$

(156,608

)

$

21,430

Diluted Income Per Share Information
Net (loss)/income attributable to Movado Group, Inc.

$

(0.28

)

$

0.75

$

(6.75

)

$

0.92

Weighted diluted average shares outstanding

23,240

23,292

23,191

23,370

MOVADO GROUP, INC.
GAAP AND NON-GAAP MEASURES
(In thousands, except for percentage data)
(Unaudited)

As Reported

Three Months Ended

July 31,

% Change

2020

2019

Total net sales, as reported

$

88,538

$

157,816

-43.9

%

Total net sales, constant dollar basis

$

88,461

$

157,816

-43.9

%

As Reported

Six Months Ended

July 31,

% Change

2020

2019

Total net sales, as reported

$

158,204

$

304,365

-48.0

%

Total net sales, constant dollar basis

$

158,813

$

304,365

-47.8

%

MOVADO GROUP, INC.
GAAP AND NON-GAAP MEASURES
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

Net Sales

Gross Profit

Operating

(Loss)/Income

Pre-tax

(Loss)/Income

(Benefit)/Provision

for Income Taxes

Net

(Loss)/Income

Attributable to

Movado Group,

Inc.

Diluted EPS

Three Months Ended July 31, 2020
As Reported (GAAP)

$

88,538

$

45,356

$

(8,916

)

$

(8,181

)

$

(1,559

)

$

(6,615

)

$

(0.28

)

Olivia Burton Costs (1)

671

671

139

532

$

0.02

MVMT Costs (2)

284

284

108

176

$

0.01

Gain On Sale of a Non-Operating Asset (3)

(1,317

)

(474

)

(843

)

$

(0.04

)

Corporate Initiatives (4)

7,368

7,368

2,353

5,015

$

0.22

Adjusted Results (Non-GAAP)

$

88,538

$

45,356

$

(593

)

$

(1,175

)

$

567

$

(1,735

)

$

(0.07

)

Three Months Ended July 31, 2019
As Reported (GAAP)

$

157,816

$

85,339

$

8,776

$

22,202

$

4,741

$

17,505

$

0.75

Olivia Burton Costs (1)

690

690

131

559

0.02

MVMT Costs (2)

1,125

1,125

270

855

0.04

Change In Contingent Consideration (5)

(13,627

)

(3,270

)

(10,357

)

(0.44

)

Cost Savings Initiatives (6)

(320

)

(320

)

(77

)

(243

)

(0.01

)

Adjusted Results (Non-GAAP)

$

157,816

$

85,339

$

10,271

$

10,070

$

1,795

$

8,319

$

0.36

Net Sales Gross Profit Operating
(Loss)/Income
Pre-tax
(Loss)/Income
(Benefit)/Provision
for Income Taxes
Net
(Loss)/Income
Attributable to
Movado Group,
Inc.
Diluted EPS
Six Months Ended July 31, 2020
As Reported (GAAP)

$

158,204

$

77,249

$

(191,079

)

$

(190,600

)

$

(33,889

)

$

(156,608

)

$

(6.75

)

Olivia Burton Costs (1)

1,356

1,356

258

1,098

$

0.05

MVMT Costs (2)

981

981

373

608

$

0.03

Goodwill and Intangible Asset Impairment (7)

155,919

155,919

24,867

131,052

$

5.65

Gain On Sale of a Non-Operating Asset (3)

(1,317

)

(474

)

(843

)

$

(0.04

)

Corporate Initiatives (4)

3,508

14,608

14,608

4,592

10,016

$

0.43

Adjusted Results (Non-GAAP)

$

158,204

$

80,757

$

(18,215

)

$

(19,053

)

$

(4,273

)

$

(14,677

)

$

(0.63

)

Six Months Ended July 31, 2019
As Reported (GAAP)

$

304,365

$

164,212

$

13,750

$

26,973

$

5,588

$

21,430

$

0.92

Olivia Burton Costs (1)

1,402

1,402

266

1,136

0.05

MVMT Costs (2)

140

2,598

2,598

624

1,974

0.08

Change In Contingent Consideration (5)

(13,627

)

(3,270

)

(10,357

)

(0.44

)

Cost Savings Initiatives (6)

(320

)

(320

)

(77

)

(243

)

(0.01

)

Adjusted Results (Non-GAAP)

$

304,365

$

164,352

$

17,430

$

17,026

$

3,131

$

13,940

$

0.60

Contacts

ICR, Inc.

Rachel Schacter/Allison Malkin

203-682-8200

Read full story here

Categories
Business

CS Energy achieves 1 gigawatt installed of solar projects

National EPC energy firm, majority owned by funds managed by Ares Management Corporation, achieved significant milestone in August 2020

EDISON, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CS Energy, LLC, a leading integrated energy firm that designs and builds optimized projects in the solar, storage and emerging energy industries, announced today that it has reached a major milestone: completing the installation of 1 gigawatt of solar energy projects.


The 1 GW achievement puts CS Energy in a distinguished category. According to Solar Power World’s Top Solar Contractors* rankings, fewer than 10 EPCs have installed 1 GW of solar as of 2020, but with CS Energy’s consistent 20 percent annual growth rate, the milestone was reached quickly. The company closed 2018 with 650 MW of completed solar projects and ended 2019 with 820 MW. In 2020, CS Energy reached 1,000 MW, despite industry contractions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is an incredible milestone, and one only possible because of the hard work and dedication of our team,” shared Matthew Skidmore, CEO of CS Energy. “I am so proud of our talented workforce, which has completed CS Energy projects to the highest standards of quality and safety across the country. We’re excited to put our deep experience to work for our clients as we begin installing the next gigawatt.”

CS Energy has completed nearly 200 solar projects across 16 states, in a mix of utility-scale solar projects and energy storage projects. Much of the 1 GW has been completed in the last three years as the firm manages increasingly larger projects, such as a recent 29 MW solar project in New Jersey. The growth coincides with funds managed by the Infrastructure and Power strategy of Ares Management Corporation taking majority ownership of the company in 2018.

“We made a strategic investment in CS Energy knowing the firm had the capabilities to expand its impact on renewable energy projects across the country,” shared Keith Derman, Partner and Co-Head of Ares Infrastructure and Power. “We are thrilled that CS Energy has been able to achieve such a substantial milestone and consider it a testament to the company’s legacy of experience and reliability.”

The 1 GW accomplishment comes as CS Energy garners additional recognition from the solar industry. CS Energy was named the nation’s number-one commercial solar installer in 2019 by global research firm Wood Mackenzie. With more than 10 percent of the U.S. market share, CS Energy installed as much as the second- and third-ranked companies combined. In 2020, CS Energy once again made Solar Power World magazine’s annual list of Top Solar Contractors, ranking in the Top 10 for national EPCs, and as the #1 solar contractor in both New York and New Jersey.

Additionally, the company utilizes its expertise to lead a variety of solar industry subsectors. CS Energy is considered an expert in landfill solar installations, having installed more than 160 MW on top of closed capped landfills. CS Energy is also on the forefront of Solar + Storage projects: the company has installed more than 135 MWh of energy storage projects and is ranked as the #2 Solar + Storage installer in the nation by Solar Power World.

Starting with just 12 employees in 2004, the company has grown to a highly skilled team of more than 160 people. CS Energy began in the solar industry as part of The Conti Group, a construction and engineering firm that has been operating for more than 115 years. Building on the organic success in the solar industry, the group branched out into Conti Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Conti Group, in 2017. Conti Solar was majority acquired by funds managed by the Infrastructure and Power strategy of Ares Management Corporation in 2018 the company rebranded as CS Energy.

“CS Energy is thriving from the roots planted at The Conti Group—roots in skilled construction, quality customer service, and an educated leadership group. It’s been a pleasure to see CS Energy deliver on our shared vision of creating a nation-leading integrated energy company,” said Kurt Conti, Chairman of the Board of The Conti Group.

* https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020-top-solar-contractors/

About CS Energy

CS Energy is an industry-leading engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) energy firm that designs and builds optimized projects in solar, energy storage, and emerging energy industries. CS Energy’s attention to detail, flawless execution and highly talented workforce has enabled the company to successfully design and install over 1 GW of solar projects across the United States. CS Energy leverages strong relationships with solar developers, IPPs, utilities, off-takers, suppliers, and landowners to help our customers streamline the project development process, lower project costs, and create value for all stakeholders. Majority-owned by Ares Infrastructure and Power, CS Energy has an experienced and committed management team and the financial resources required to continue expanding its solar and energy storage business as a trusted and long-term partner.

About Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager operating integrated businesses across Credit, Private Equity and Real Estate. Ares Management’s investment groups collaborate to deliver innovative investment solutions and consistent and attractive investment returns for fund investors throughout market cycles. Ares Management’s global platform had approximately $165 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2020 with more than 1,300 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, pro forma for the acquisition of SSG Capital Holdings Limited which closed on July 1, 2020.

About Ares Infrastructure and Power

Ares Infrastructure and Power (“AIP”) strategy seeks to provide flexible capital for cash-generating assets across the climate infrastructure, natural gas generation, and energy transportation sectors. AIP leverages a broadly skilled and cohesive team of more than 25 investment professionals with deep domain experience and has deployed nearly $9 billion of capital in more than 200 different infrastructure and power assets and companies.

About The Conti Group

The Conti Group is a privately held group of companies spanning the construction, engineering, renewable energy, real estate, technology and biotech markets whose mission is to create positive impact and great value for customers, partners, employees, and society.

Contacts

CS Energy Media:
Dianaliz Santiago-Borcan

732.520.5143

dborcan@csenergy.com

Categories
Business

Many U.S. cities including New York, San Francisco, LA and major metros throughout Florida utilize Everbridge to mitigate the compounding threat from overlapping crises: COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires and hurricanes

Serving Eight of the Ten Largest U.S. Cities, and Over 3,700 Municipalities and Counties Across the Country, Everbridge Enables Local Governments to Execute Best Practices to Keep Citizens Safe and Informed Amid Critical Events

BURLINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG), the global leader in critical event management (CEM), today announced a number of major U.S. cities relying on the company’s platform to coordinate emergency response and safeguard the public from the combined threats posed by COVID-19, as well as wildfires in the western part of the country and hurricanes along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts.


State and local governments need to be proactive in their response and recovery to events impacting the public that range from severe weather, active shooter, and hazmat situations to occurrences such as heat advisories, rolling blackouts, large-scale gatherings, protests and construction projects. These events require information to be shared with residents, visitors and emergency personnel, over any device, providing the confidence that critical information like evacuation routes, lockdowns, or road closures reach recipients immediately.

“A critical part of any emergency response is the ability to disseminate accurate information in a timely manner. Our dedication to public messaging is at the forefront of our mission to connect with every individual we serve, providing them life-saving information before, during, and after an emergency,” said NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Deanne Criswell.

“Our partnership with Everbridge allows us to communicate effectively with New Yorkers during difficult times. This held true during COVID-19, where our Notify NYC team developed a text alert short code in both English and Spanish to provide individuals with a streamlined method of receiving critical information about the pandemic. This crucial messaging continued through heat emergencies and Tropical Storm Isaias. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Everbridge’s first-class team and remain committed to providing New Yorkers with the essential information they need no matter the challenge or emergency.”

In Hoboken, New Jersey, Isaias’s heavy winds downed trees and power lines, leaving more than one million people statewide without power. “Preparing for the summer hurricane season is challenging under normal conditions, but during a pandemic, it calls for unique measures,” said Ravi Bhalla, Mayor of Hoboken. “Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have reminded our residents of our commitment to sharing potentially life-saving information.”

Continued Mayor Bhalla, “With an unusually active hurricane season ahead of us, we’ve renewed that commitment. Our number one priority is keeping our people safe by providing them access to real-time public information when they need it most. Our partnership with Everbridge allows Hoboken to disseminate this information quickly and accurately, ensuring residents have access to vital data, whether it be about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, impending storms, or other threats to the city.”

Cities, counties and municipalities across the U.S. leverage the Everbridge Platform to execute the following six best practices for effectively communicating with citizens during a crisis:

  1. Deploy a population-wide opt-in means for the public to receive critical updates and information via their mobile device – provide communities with a quick and easy-to-implement, opt-in solution for citizens to text a keyword or zip-code to an established SMS short-code.
  2. Contribute to a risk data sharing network that connects the public sector with the private sector – enable government agencies, hospitals, universities, airports, and local businesses to share life-saving information to respond quicker to emergency situations.
  3. Leverage pre-established communications templates – empower government agencies to send more complex emergency notifications quickly and at scale to over 100 different modalities.
  4. Execute special/functional needs registries – identify at-risk citizens during an emergency to ensure high-priority individuals (i.e. nursing homes, hospitals) receive specialized care.
  5. Create incident zones by geographic location – trigger mobile emergency alerts from government authorities when an individual travels into, or returns back to, an area designated as an active critical event.
  6. Maximize outreach with robust database of contacts – to complement opt-in databases, emergency officials turn to the Everbridge Resident Connection database – a robust database of landline, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and cellular business and residential contacts to reach the greater population with more confidence.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact how municipalities navigate the public’s return to work, return to school, and return to public spaces, many cities now face the impact of an extremely active hurricane and wildfire season.

Current wildfires in areas grappling with the COVID-19 virus present unprecedented threats for firefighters, emergency managers and the public, particularly when it comes to evacuations. Cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, and counties including Sonoma and Lake, turn to the Everbridge Platform to warn residents of fire dangers and poor air quality. In Napa County, where the Hennessy Fire continues to threaten residents, the Office of Emergency Services relies on Everbridge to alert at-risk residents to evacuate their homes and take shelter, all while adhering to social distancing guidelines.

“As we head into wildfire season, we are focused on prepping the public to create an emergency plan and listen to authorities,” explained Soraya Sutherlin, Joint Information Center Manager for Alert SouthBay, an Everbridge customer and regional communications system shared by 13 California cities including Inglewood, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance. “People are reluctant to leave their homes to go to a shelter because of COVID-19 concerns, which are likely to increase. We encourage residents to find a trusted source for information; plan where they will go if they are afraid of staying in a shelter; and identify at least two ways to get out of their neighborhood and leave when they feel unsafe. Finally, ensure masks are part of any emergency kit, including hand sanitizers, wipes, and first aid supplies.”

As hurricane season continues, dozens of cities from Florida to Massachusetts rely on Everbridge to keep citizens informed and their employees updated on internal preparations, response, and recovery activities. Among the cities deploying Everbridge are Jacksonville FL; Charleston and Myrtle Beach, SC; Charlotte, NC; Norfolk, VA; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; Hoboken, NJ; and New York City, NY.

“Emergency Management and Public Health officials are working tirelessly around the clock since this pandemic broke out,” said Brian Toolan, Head of Government Strategy at Everbridge. “Everbridge salutes our first responder community and supports their daily mission with a global platform for cities to protect residents and mitigate the impact of multiple crises through the most comprehensive and scalable notification system, reaching diverse populations in multiple languages.”

To bolster Florida’s ongoing hurricane preparedness efforts, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) uses Everbridge to power AlertFlorida, distributing critical information to residents, businesses and visitors across the state. Video interviews with six Florida counties, as well as the city of Miami, document best practices for ensuring hurricane readiness, the benefits of mutual aid assistance across counties, coordinating safe evacuations for all residents, as well as the many use cases for a scalable mass notification platform.

Everbridge supports population-wide alerting in 11 countries across Europe, Asia, Oceania, The Middle East, Africa, and South America including Australia, Greece, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Singapore and Sweden. Everbridge’s population alerting capabilities also power the entire states of California, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, and Florida, as well as municipalities, counties and cities within 49 of the 50 United States, within all of Canada’s provinces, and throughout Europe and Asia, including deployments within multiple populous states in India.

About Everbridge

Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG) is a global software company that provides enterprise software applications that automate and accelerate organizations’ operational response to critical events in order to Keep People Safe and Businesses Running™. During public safety threats such as active shooter situations, terrorist attacks or severe weather conditions, as well as critical business events including IT outages, cyber-attacks or other incidents such as product recalls or supply-chain interruptions, over 5,300 global customers rely on the company’s Critical Event Management Platform to quickly and reliably aggregate and assess threat data, locate people at risk and responders able to assist, automate the execution of pre-defined communications processes through the secure delivery to over 100 different communication devices, and track progress on executing response plans. The company’s platform sent over 3.5 billion messages in 2019 and offers the ability to reach over 550 million people in more than 200 countries and territories, including the entire mobile populations on a country-wide scale in Australia, Greece, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Sweden, and a number of the largest states in India. The company’s critical communications and enterprise safety applications include Mass Notification, Incident Management, Safety Connection™, IT Alerting, Visual Command Center®, Public Warning, Crisis Management, Community Engagement™ and Secure Messaging. Everbridge serves 8 of the 10 largest U.S. cities, 9 of the 10 largest U.S.-based investment banks, 47 of the 50 busiest North American airports, 9 of the 10 largest global consulting firms, 8 of the 10 largest global auto makers, all 4 of the largest global accounting firms, 9 of the 10 largest U.S.-based health care providers, and 7 of the 10 largest technology companies in the world. Everbridge is based in Boston and Los Angeles with additional offices in Lansing, San Francisco, Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Bangalore, Kolkata, London, Munich, New York, Oslo, Singapore, Stockholm and Tilburg. For more information, visit www.everbridge.com, read the company blog, and follow on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated opportunity and trends for growth in our critical communications and enterprise safety applications and our overall business, our market opportunity, our expectations regarding sales of our products, our goal to maintain market leadership and extend the markets in which we compete for customers, and anticipated impact on financial results. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “believe,” “target,” “project,” “goals,” “estimate,” “potential,” “predict,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “intend,” variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: the ability of our products and services to perform as intended and meet our customers’ expectations; our ability to successfully integrate businesses and assets that we may acquire; our ability to attract new customers and retain and increase sales to existing customers; our ability to increase sales of our Mass Notification application and/or ability to increase sales of our other applications; developments in the market for targeted and contextually relevant critical communications or the associated regulatory environment; our estimates of market opportunity and forecasts of market growth may prove to be inaccurate; we have not been profitable on a consistent basis historically and may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future; the lengthy and unpredictable sales cycles for new customers; nature of our business exposes us to inherent liability risks; our ability to attract, integrate and retain qualified personnel; our ability to maintain successful relationships with our channel partners and technology partners; our ability to manage our growth effectively; our ability to respond to competitive pressures; potential liability related to privacy and security of personally identifiable information; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, and the other risks detailed in our risk factors discussed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including but not limited to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the SEC on February 28, 2020. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

All Everbridge products are trademarks of Everbridge, Inc. in the USA and other countries. All other product or company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts

Everbridge:
Jim Gatta

Media Relations

jim.gatta@everbridge.com
215-290-3799

Joshua Young

Investor Relations

joshua.young@everbridge.com
781-236-3695

Categories
Business

AM Best: Pandemic, economic issues dampen Chile insurance market (AM BestTV)

OLDWICK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In this episode of AMBestTV, Eli Sanchez, associate director, AM Best, said the rating agency’s negative market segment outlook on Chile’s insurance sector is based on declines in insurance activity, tied to the pandemic and longer-running economic issues. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=chileoutlook_english720 to view the entire program.

Sanchez addressed to what extent COVID-19 is affecting insurers in Chile.

“As of March 2020, there has been a 10% contraction in the overall insurance industry,” said Sanchez. “There was a contraction of around 1.8% last year. AM Best has seen declines, especially in the life side, related to annuities, some accident and health, as well as the property/casualty segment. Additionally, there has been lower economic activity. As of May, the monthly economic indicator contracted by approximately 15%. That puts a lot of pressure on underlying industries that use insurance as a way of protecting its relative assets.”

Chile is having economic problems that the pandemic has exacerbated. Sanchez spoke about how COVID-19 has affected insurers’ ability to grow.

“With lower global economic activity, there have been tensions, specifically commercial tensions between China and the United States. These countries are important partners for Chile. These tensions have created a lot of flight to quality, which have threaten the Chilean peso. In addition, with the tensions in trade, copper prices have come down. That limits a lot of the growth that could happen in the country, which in turn affects a lot that could happen in the demand for insurance.”

To view this video in Spanish, please go to http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=chileoutlook_spanish720.

To access the related market segment report, titled, “Market Segment Outlook: Chile Insurance,” please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=532765.

Recent AMBestTV coverage includes:

  • AM Best: Cyber Insurance Profitability Challenged by New Risks: AM Best analysts say standalone cyber insurance premiums are growing as companies reduce silent cyber risk: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=ambcyber720.
  • BDO Director: Companies Should Review Hurricane Response Plans: The COVID-19 pandemic adds a layer of complexity to hurricane response plans, said James MacDonnell, director of crisis management/ business continuity at BDO, an advisory firm: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=macdonnell820.
  • ITC Conference Expands to Month Long ‘Celebration of Insurtech Innovation’: InsureTech Connect is launching ‘ITC September to Remember’ leading up to its flagship global conference, said Mee-Jung Jang, president, InsureTech Connect: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=itc820.
  • Allianz: Docked Cruise Ships in Hurricane-Prone Areas Are ‘Hot Spots’ to Watch: Cruise ships grounded due to the pandemic are among risks requiring “constant vigilance,” said Andrew Kinsey, senior marine risk consultant, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=covidshipping820.

AM BestTV covers exclusive AM Best and insurance industry information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the insurance, reinsurance and related sectors daily. Sign up for alerts of episodes at www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View AM BestTV episodes at www.ambest.tv.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2020 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Contacts

Lee McDonald
Group Vice President, Publication and News Services
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5561
lee.mcdonald@ambest.com

Categories
Healthcare

MJH Life Sciences™ continues moving all live events to virtual through first quarter of 2021

Industry giant will continue to leverage its proprietary online virtual platform and technology through at least March 2021

CRANBURY, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#CME–MJH Life Sciences confirmed today that all conferences, satellite symposia, award programs and educational programming produced by the privately owned health care media company will take place in virtual format through March 2021.

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, MJH Life Sciences has adapted existing events and developed new programs to provide timely, critical health care information and education wherever clinicians are.

“Because of our state-of-the-art in-house studio and technology platforms, we were able to pivot successfully to virtual programming right from the start of the COVID-19 lockdown,” said Mike Hennessy Jr., president, and CEO of MJH Life Sciences. “Events and education are key pillars of how we deliver on our mission to help health care professionals improve quality of life. So, we have taken great care to ensure we are delivering the greatest value, content, and accessibility, all while remaining comfortable and safe. The further upside of our decision is that even more people will be able to experience our events and continuing education without having to decide whether travel is safe enough for them – plus it will help us deliver value to and continue to build our growing global presence.”

Since March, MJH has hosted more than 600 virtual events in various formats, with a combined attendance of over 200,000 health care professionals. Most recently, MJH produced the widely attended and highly rated “COVID-19: A Race for a Vaccine” webinar to help provide clarity and insight about current clinical trials and to address questions regarding distribution of potential COVID-19 vaccines.

The experience gained and lessons learned from producing hundreds of virtual events over the past 4+ months have resulted in knowledge and understanding that will help MJH continue to optimize and perfects its future events. Upcoming large-scale virtual events include Fetch dvm360® Conference, Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute’s 26th Annual National Conference, Physicians’ Education Resource® (PER®), Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium (CFS®), Miami Breast Cancer Conference®, and PTCE’s legacy Directions in Oncology Pharmacy and Directions in Pharmacy® spring conference series.

About MJH Life Sciences

MJH Life Sciences is the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels, providing health care professionals with the information and resources they need to optimize patient outcomes. MJH Life Sciences combines the reach and influence of its powerful portfolio of digital and print product lines, live events, educational programs and market research with the customization capabilities of a boutique firm. Clients include world-leading pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and biotech companies. For more information, visit https://www.mjhlifesciences.com/.

Contacts

MJH Life Sciences Media Contact
Alexandra Ventura, 609-716-7777, ext. 121

aventura@mjhlifesciences.com

Categories
Business

Clouds on the horizon for many U.S. homeowners: Overall delinquency rates beginning to climb, according to CoreLogic Loan performance insights report

  • Early-stage and adverse delinquency rates increased for the second consecutive month – high correlation to geographies most impacted by COVID-19
  • All 50 states logged year-over-year increases in overall delinquencies this May
  • Over 75% of U.S. metro areas experienced an increase in serious delinquency rates

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#Foreclosure–CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for May 2020. On a national level, 7.3% of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure). This represents a 3.7-percentage point increase in the overall delinquency rate compared to 3.6% in May 2019.


To gain an accurate view of the mortgage market and loan performance health, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency, including the share that transition from current to 30 days past due. In May 2020, the U.S. delinquency and transition rates, and their year-over-year changes, were as follows:

  • Early-Stage Delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due): 3%, up from 1.7% in May 2019.
  • Adverse Delinquency (60 to 89 days past due): 2.8%, up from 0.6% in May 2019.
  • Serious Delinquency (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 1.5%, up from 1.3% in May 2019. This is the first year-over-year increase in the serious delinquency rate since November 2010.
  • Foreclosure Inventory Rate (the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process): 0.3%, down from 0.4% in May 2019. This is the second consecutive month the U.S. foreclosure rate was at its lowest level for any month since at least January 1999.
  • Transition Rate (the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due): 2.2%, up from 0.8% in May 2019. By comparison, in January 2007 — just before the start of the financial crisis — the current- to 30-day transition rate was 1.2%, while it peaked in November 2008 at 2%.

In the months leading up to the pandemic, U.S. mortgage performance was showing signs of sustained improvement. The national unemployment rate matched a 50-year low in February, and overall delinquency had been on an impressive 27 consecutive-month decline. However, by May 2020 — just two months after the coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic — U.S. unemployment surged past 13%, leaving over 4 million homeowners (accounting for more than 8% of all mortgages) little choice but to enter a COVID-19 mortgage forbearance program.

“The national unemployment rate soared from a 50-year low in February 2020, to an 80-year high in April,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “With the sudden loss of income, many homeowners are struggling to stay on top of their mortgage loans, resulting in a jump in non-payment.”

Absent further government programs and support, CoreLogic forecasts the U.S. serious delinquency rate to quadruple by the end of 2021, pushing 3 million homeowners into serious delinquency.

“Government and industry relief programs have helped to cushion the initial financial blow of the pandemic for millions of U.S. homeowners,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “COVID-19 and the resulting pressures continue to influence the economic activity of many households. Barring additional intervention from the Federal and State governments, we are likely to see meaningful spikes in delinquencies over the short to medium term.”

All states logged increases in overall delinquency rates in May from a year earlier. New Jersey and Nevada, both still hot spots for the virus, experienced the largest overall delinquency gains with 6.4 percentage-point increases each in May, compared to one year earlier. New York again remained atop the list with a 6.1 percentage-point increase, while Florida experienced a gain of 5.8 percentage points.

On the metro level, nearly every U.S. metropolitan area posted at least a small annual increase in their overall delinquency rate, with tourism destinations such as Miami, Florida (up 9.2 percentage points), and Kahului, Hawaii (up 8.8 percentage points), posting two of the largest increases. Odessa, Texas — which has a local economy strongly tied to the oil industry — also logged a considerable increase, posting an annual gain of 9 percentage points.

Meanwhile, over 75% of all metro areas logged at least a small increase in their serious delinquency rate. Odessa, Texas, and Laredo, Texas, tied for largest increase with gains of 1.1 percentage points each. McAllen, Texas; Midland, Texas and Hattiesburg, Mississippi all followed with gains of 0.7 percentage-points each.

To learn more firsthand information about delinquency and foreclosure trends, join Dr. Frank Nothaft and other leading mortgage experts from CoreLogic during their virtual roundtable this Thursday, August 13, to discuss these various issues at hand. Register for the webinar today here.

The next CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report will be released on September 8, 2020, featuring data for June 2020. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Insights Blog: www.corelogic.com/insights.

Methodology

The data in The CoreLogic LPI report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through May 2020. The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. CoreLogic has approximately 75% coverage of U.S. foreclosure data.

Source: CoreLogic

The data provided is for use only by the primary recipient or the primary recipient’s publication or broadcast. This data may not be re-sold, republished or licensed to any other source, including publications and sources owned by the primary recipient’s parent company without prior written permission from CoreLogic. Any CoreLogic data used for publication or broadcast, in whole or in part, must be sourced as coming from CoreLogic, a data and analytics company. For use with broadcast or web content, the citation must directly accompany first reference of the data. If the data is illustrated with maps, charts, graphs or other visual elements, the CoreLogic logo must be included on screen or website. For questions, analysis or interpretation of the data, contact Allyse Sanchez at corelogic@ink-co.com. Data provided may not be modified without the prior written permission of CoreLogic. Do not use the data in any unlawful manner. This data is compiled from public records, contributory databases and proprietary analytics, and its accuracy is dependent upon these sources.

About CoreLogic

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), the leading provider of property insights and solutions, promotes a healthy housing market and thriving communities. Through its enhanced property data solutions, services and technologies, CoreLogic enables real estate professionals, financial institutions, insurance carriers, government agencies and other housing market participants to help millions of people find, buy and protect their homes. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.

CORELOGIC and the CoreLogic logo are trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts

Valerie Sheets

CoreLogic

newsmedia@corelogic.com