Month: April 2022

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ResMed Announces Participation in the 24th Annual Macquarie Australia Conference

SAN DIEGO, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ResMed (NYSE: RMD, ASX: RMD) today announced Brett Sandercock, chief financial officer, will present virtually at the Macquarie Australia Conference on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, beginning at approximately 8:45 a.m. (Australian Eastern Standard Time) via video webcast.

More information about this event, including access to the live webcast, may be accessed by visiting http://investor.resmed.com. The webcast replay will be available approximately 24 hours after the live webcast ends and will be accessible through August 1, 2022.

About ResMed
At ResMed (NYSE: RMD, ASX: RMD) we pioneer innovative solutions that treat and keep people out of the hospital, empowering them to live healthier, higher-quality lives. Our digital health technologies and cloud-connected medical devices transform care for people with sleep apnea, COPD, and other chronic diseases. Our comprehensive out-of-hospital software platforms support the professionals and caregivers who help people stay healthy in the home or care setting of their choice. By enabling better care, we improve quality of life, reduce the impact of chronic disease, and lower costs for consumers and healthcare systems in more than 140 countries. To learn more, visit ResMed.com and follow @ResMed.

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Amy Wakeham Jayme Rubenstein
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WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Reports First Quarter 2022 Results

Growth Compounds Across All Segments Increasing 2022 Outlook

PHOENIX, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (“WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: WSC), the North American leader in innovative flexible work space and portable storage solutions, today announced first quarter 2022 results and provided an update on operations and the current market environment, including the following highlights:

  • Growth in all segments with strong commercial execution resulted in first quarter revenue of $509 million, net income of $51 million, and Adjusted EBITDA of $192 million.
  • Closed three acquisitions year to date through April 2022 with robust pipeline for Q2 and Q3.
  • Generated $55 million of Free Cash Flow in the quarter and Free Cash Flow Margin of 13% over the last twelve months while investing for future growth.
  • Returned $77 million to shareholders by repurchasing 2.1 million shares and stock equivalents in the quarter, reducing economic share count by 3.8% over the last twelve months as of March 31, 20221.
  • Increased full-year 2022 Adjusted EBITDA outlook to $860 million to $900 million, representing 16% to 22% growth versus 2021.

Brad Soultz, Chief Executive Officer of WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings, commented “Our first quarter 2022 results exceeded our expectations across all segments and aspects of our business. Importantly, units on rent, pricing, and value added products and services (VAPS) are up year-over-year in all segments, and we expect to continue driving sequential improvements in these KPIs through 2022 and into 2023. Our NA Modular segment average units on rent (UOR) inflected positively and end of quarter UOR increased sequentially from December 31, 2021 by approximately 1,800 units, or 2%. Top line growth was driven by organic volume increases and acquisitions, along with sustained outperformance in rates. Average rental rate increased by 20% year-over-year, inclusive of VAPS, which represents over four years of sustained double-digit rate increases in our NA Modular segment. In NA Storage, average rental rate further accelerated, up 12% year-over-year, marking our first quarter of double digit rate growth. Average portable storage units on rent for the NA Storage and NA Modular segments combined increased approximately 32,000 units, or 27%, driven by organic growth and acquisitions.”

Soultz continued, “We entered Q2 with a record order backlog and broad-based end market strength. While we acknowledge other macroeconomic uncertainties, we expect robust demand to continue into 2023 given our order backlog, prospects for infrastructure investment, net positive inflationary environment, our own national account conversations, and the 14th month of ABI expansion, which is a strong leading indicator for our non-residential construction customers. I would like to express appreciation to both our team and our customers for their trust as we continue generating undeniable and accelerating commercial momentum, which is underpinned by a portfolio of idiosyncratic and highly predictable growth initiatives. We continue to supplement our organic momentum with smart, disciplined acquisitions, with three acquisitions year-to-date through April, and a robust pipeline looking forward. The compounding effect of these growth levers and our end market conviction causes us to increase our outlook for 2022, which inherently implies further acceleration to our run-rate heading into 2023. We are on track to achieve the ambitious three to five year milestones that we laid out at our November 8th Investor Day.”

Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands, except share data) 2022 2021
Revenue $ 508,894 $ 425,323
Consolidated net income $ 51,171 $ 4,447
Adjusted EBITDA2 $ 191,823 $ 163,585
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)2 37.7 % 38.5 %
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 145,527 $ 122,071
Free Cash Flow2 $ 54,624 $ 91,160
Fully Diluted Shares Outstanding 228,955,504 234,720,295
Free Cash Flow Margin (%)2 10.7 % 21.4 %
Return on Invested Capital2 11.3 % 10.3 %
Three Months Ended March 31,
Adjusted EBITDA by Segment (in thousands)2 2022 2021
NA Modular $ 103,948 $ 97,371
NA Storage 63,825 46,322
UK Storage 12,544 11,064
Tank and Pump 11,506 8,828
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA $ 191,823 $ 163,585

First Quarter 2022 Results2

Tim Boswell, President and Chief Financial Officer of WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings, commented “Our outstanding results in the first quarter reflect a continuation of the trends we saw exiting 2021. Our commercial momentum in particular is exceeding our own high expectations and we continue to invest accordingly. Leasing revenue increased $78 million or 25% year-over-year, driven by strength across all leasing KPIs and in all segments. Gross Profit Margin expanded by 227 basis points, led by our improved delivery and installation margins, which is indicative of our ability to pass through inflationary pressures. And we continue to ramp up resources, particularly in the areas of sales and direct labor, to support our growing demand backlog with total headcount up 12% year-over-year and up 3% sequentially from the fourth quarter. These factors resulted in Adjusted EBITDA of $192 million, representing a 17% increase year-over-year.”

Boswell continued, “Cash flow from operations continued to accelerate up 19% year-over-year to $146 million, and we reinvested aggressively based on the results we saw from our growth initiatives. We invested $91 million in Net Capex, which was demand-driven and focused on organic portable storage unit acquisition, modular refurbishments, and VAPS, leaving $55 million of Free Cash Flow during the quarter. Finally, we closed one acquisition during the quarter and another two transactions in April. And we returned $77 million to shareholders by repurchasing 2.1 million shares during the quarter. All of this is consistent with our long-term capital allocation and value creation frameworks.”

“Given the strong performance of the business year-to-date and our outlook for the remainder of the year, we are raising our guidance to $2.1B to $2.2B of revenue and $860 million to $900 million of Adjusted EBITDA. At the midpoints of these ranges, Adjusted EBITDA margin would expand approximately 200 basis points year-over-year and put us on an exciting run-rate heading into 2023. Regardless of the economic backdrop, we are focused on the levers within our control to grow our predictable reoccurring revenue streams, compound cash generation, and drive even higher returns on invested capital, and we expect outstanding results in the remainder of 2022.”

NA Modular

  • Revenue of $299.7 million increased by 12.6% year-over-year.
    • Average modular space monthly rental rate increased $147 year-over-year, or 19.9% to $884.
    • Average modular space units on rent increased 212 units year-over-year, or 0.3% to 85,007, consistent with our expectations for UOR inflection in the first half of 2022. Sequentially from December 31, 2021, modular space units on rent increased by approximately 1,800 units, or 2.1%. Excluding units acquired from acquisitions during the quarter, sequential modular space units on rent from December 31, 2021 increased by approximately 1,400 units, or 1.7%.
    • Value-Added Products and Services (VAPS) average monthly rate increased $57 year-over-year, or 29% to $251. For delivered units over the last twelve months, VAPS average monthly rate increased $70 year-over-year, or 21%, to $407.
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $103.9 million increased by 6.7% year-over-year. The transfer of the NA Modular portable storage fleet to the NA Storage segment in Q3 2021 represented a decline of about $5 million of revenue and EBITDA in Q1 2022, which has not been adjusted historically.

NA Storage

  • Revenue of $151.5 million increased by 40.5% year-over-year.
    • Average portable storage monthly rental rate increased $18 year-over-year, or 12.2% to $166.
    • Average portable storage units on rent increased by 46,516 units year-over-year, or 44.0% to 152,326. Of this increase, approximately 19,000 units on rent were driven by organic volume growth. The remainder of the increase was driven by the acquisition of approximately 15,500 average units on rent during Q3 and Q4 2021 and the transfer of approximately 12,000 units from NA Modular (legacy WillScot) into the NA Storage segment that was completed in Q3 2021.
    • Average modular space monthly rental rate increased $59 year-over-year, or 11.0%, to $594, and modular space average units on rent increased 2,120 year-over-year, or 12.9%, to 18,559.
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $63.8 million increased by 37.8% year-over-year. The transfer of the NA Modular portable storage fleet to the NA Storage segment in Q3 2021 represented an increase of about $5 million of revenue and EBITDA in Q1 2022, which has not been adjusted historically.

UK Storage

  • Revenue of $27.4 million increased 1.5% year-over-year, driven by continued strong price and volume trends partially offset by the impact of unfavorable foreign exchange rates, and Adjusted EBITDA of $12.5 million increased by 12.6%.

Tank and Pump

  • Revenue of $30.3 million increased 24.7% year-over-year, driven by tightening OEC utilization, and Adjusted EBITDA of $11.5 million increased by 30.7%.

Capitalization and Liquidity Update2

As of March 31, 2022

  • Repurchased 2.1 million shares of Common Stock and stock equivalents for $77 million in the first quarter 2022, contributing to a 3.8% reduction in our economic share count over the last twelve months. As of March 31, 2022, $879 million of the $1.0 billion share repurchase authorization remained.
  • $647 million of excess availability under the asset-based revolving credit facility, a flexible covenant structure, and accelerating free cash flow provide ample liquidity to fund multiple capital allocation priorities.
  • Weighted average interest rate is approximately 3.9% and annual cash interest expense based on the current debt structure is approximately $113 million.
  • No debt maturities prior to 2025.
  • Maintained leverage at 3.6x last-twelve-months Adjusted EBITDA of $769 million and maintaining our target range of 3.0x to 3.5x.

2022 Outlook 2, 3, 4

This guidance is subject to risks and uncertainties, including those described in “Forward-Looking Statements” below.

2021 Results Prior 2022 Outlook Current 2022 Outlook
Revenue $1,895 million $1,925 million – $2,025 million $2,100 million – $2,200 million
Adjusted EBITDA1,2 $740 million $810 million – $850 million $860 million – $900 million
Net CAPEX2,3 $237 million $225 million – $275 million $275 million – $325 million
1 – Assumes common shares outstanding plus treasury stock method from warrants outstanding as of 3/31/2021 versus 3/31/2022 and the closing stock price of $39.13 on 3/31/2022.
2 – Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Free Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow Margin, Net Income Excluding Gain/Loss from Warrants, and Return on Invested Capital are non-GAAP financial measures. Further information and reconciliations for these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable financial measure under generally accepted accounting principles in the US (“GAAP”) is included at the end of this press release.
3 – Information reconciling forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA and Net CAPEX to GAAP financial measures is unavailable to the Company without unreasonable effort and therefore no reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measures is provided.
4 – Net CAPEX is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please see the non-GAAP reconciliation tables included at the end of this press release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Free Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow Margin, Return on Invested Capital, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage, Net Income Excluding Gain/Loss from Warrants, and Net CAPEX. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) plus net interest (income) expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization adjusted to exclude certain non-cash items and the effect of what we consider transactions or events not related to our core business operations, including net currency gains and losses, goodwill and other impairment charges, restructuring costs, costs to integrate acquired companies, costs incurred related to transactions, non-cash charges for stock compensation plans, gains and losses resulting from changes in fair value and extinguishment of common stock warrant liabilities, and other discrete expenses. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue. Free Cash Flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities, less purchases of, and proceeds from, rental equipment and property, plant and equipment, which are all included in cash flows from investing activities. Free Cash Flow Margin is defined as Free Cash Flow divided by revenue. Return on Invested Capital is defined as adjusted earnings before interest and amortization divided by net assets. Adjusted earnings before interest and amortization is the sum of income (loss) before income tax expense, net interest (income) expense, amortization adjusted for non-cash items considered non-core to business operations including net currency (gains) losses, goodwill and other impairment charges, restructuring costs, costs to integrate acquired companies, non-cash charges for stock compensation plans, gains and losses resulting from changes in fair value and extinguishment of common stock warrant liabilities, and other discrete expenses, reduced by our estimated statutory tax rate. Given we are not a significant US taxpayer due to our current tax attributes, we include estimated taxes at our current statutory tax rate of approximately 25%. Net assets is total assets less goodwill and intangible assets, net and all non-interest bearing liabilities and is calculated as a five quarter average. Adjusted Gross Profit is defined as gross profit plus depreciation of rental equipment. Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage is defined as Adjusted Gross Profit divided by revenue. Net Income Excluding Gain/Loss from Warrants is defined as net income plus or minus the change in the fair value of the common stock warrant liability. Net CAPEX is defined as purchases of rental equipment and refurbishments and purchases of property, plant and equipment (collectively, “Total Capital Expenditures”), less proceeds from the sale of rental equipment and proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment (collectively, “Total Proceeds”), which are all included in cash flows from investing activities. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are useful to investors because they (i) allow investors to compare performance over various reporting periods on a consistent basis by removing from operating results the impact of items that do not reflect core operating performance; (ii) are used by our board of directors and management to assess our performance; (iii) may, subject to the limitations described below, enable investors to compare the performance of the Company to its competitors; (iv) provide additional tools for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends; and (v) align with definitions in our credit agreement. The Company believes that Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Margin are useful to investors because they allow investors to compare cash generation performance over various reporting periods and against peers. The Company believes that Return on Invested Capital provides information about the long-term health and profitability of the business relative to the Company’s cost of capital. The Company believes that Adjusted Gross Profit and Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage are useful to investors because they allow investors to assess gross profit excluding non-cash expenses, which provides useful information regarding our results of operations and assists in analyzing the underlying performance of our business. The Company believes that Net Income Excluding Gain/Loss from Warrants is useful to investors because it removes the impact of stock market volatility from our operational results. The Company believes that the presentation of Net CAPEX provides useful information to investors regarding the net capital invested into our rental fleet and plant, property and equipment each year to assist in analyzing the performance of our business. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, accordingly, should not be considered as an alternative to net income or cash flow from operating activities as an indicator of operating performance or liquidity. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as an alternative to, financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA and other non-GAAP financial measures differently, and therefore the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures may not be directly comparable to similarly-titled measures of other companies. For reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures used in this press release (except as explained below), see “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” included in this press release.

Information reconciling forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP financial measures is unavailable to the Company without unreasonable effort. We cannot provide reconciliations of forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP financial measures because certain items required for such reconciliations are outside of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, such as the provision for income taxes. Preparation of such reconciliations would require a forward-looking balance sheet, statement of income and statement of cash flow, prepared in accordance with GAAP, and such forward-looking financial statements are unavailable to the Company without unreasonable effort. Although we provide a range of Adjusted EBITDA that we believe will be achieved, we cannot accurately predict all the components of the Adjusted EBITDA calculation. The Company provides Adjusted EBITDA guidance because we believe that Adjusted EBITDA, when viewed with our results under GAAP, provides useful information for the reasons noted above.

Conference Call Information

WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings will host a conference call and webcast to discuss its first quarter 2022 results and outlook at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, April 28, 2022. The live call may be accessed by dialing (866) 374-5140, PIN: 33660311# (US/Canada toll-free) or (404) 400-0571, PIN: 33660311# (international) and asking to be connected to the WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings call. A live webcast will also be accessible via the “Events & Presentations” section of the Company’s investor relations website www.willscotmobilemini.com. Choose “Events” and select the information pertaining to the WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings First Quarter 2022 Conference Call. Additionally, there will be slides accompanying the webcast. Please allow at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary software. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, an audio webcast of the call will be available for 60 days on the Company’s investor relations website.

About WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings

WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “WSC.” Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the Company is a leading business services provider specializing in innovative flexible workspace and portable storage solutions. WillScot Mobile Mini services diverse end markets across all sectors of the economy from a network of approximately 280 branch locations and additional drop lots throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements (including the guidance/outlook contained herein) within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “shall,” “outlook” and variations of these words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. Certain of these forward-looking statements include statements relating to: robust demand continuing, our ability to continue acceleration of commercial momentum, our pipeline, further acceleration of our run rate, the timing of our achievement of our three to five year milestones, our ability to grow predictable reoccurring revenue streams, compound cash generation, drive higher returns on invested capital, and Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, they are predictions and we can give no assurance that any such forward-looking statement will materialize. Important factors that may affect actual results or outcomes include, among others, our ability to acquire and integrate new assets and operations; our ability to achieve planned synergies related to acquisitions; our ability to manage growth and execute our business plan; our estimates of the size of the markets for our products; the rate and degree of market acceptance of our products; the success of other competing modular space and portable storage solutions that exist or may become available; rising costs adversely affecting our profitability; potential litigation involving our Company; general economic and market conditions impacting demand for our products and services; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls; and such other risks and uncertainties described in the periodic reports we file with the SEC from time to time (including our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021), which are available through the SEC’s EDGAR system at www.sec.gov and on our website. Any forward-looking statement speaks only at the date which it is made, and the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

Additional information can be found on the company’s website at www.willscotmobilemini.com.

Contact Information
Investor Inquiries: Media Inquiries:
Nick Girardi Scott Junk
investors@willscotmobilemini.com scott.junk@willscotmobilemini.com
WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands, except share and per share data) 2022 2021
Revenues:
Leasing and services revenue:
Leasing $ 393,192 $ 315,662
Delivery and installation 100,331 83,504
Sales revenue:
New units 6,597 10,955
Rental units 8,774 15,202
Total revenues 508,894 425,323
Costs:
Costs of leasing and services:
Leasing 88,878 69,895
Delivery and installation 81,515 70,136
Costs of sales:
New units 4,326 7,109
Rental units 5,144 9,105
Depreciation of rental equipment 62,216 55,698
Gross profit 266,815 213,380
Expenses:
Selling, general and administrative 150,210 117,329
Other depreciation and amortization 19,604 18,324
Lease impairment expense and other related charges 263 1,253
Restructuring costs — 3,142
Currency losses, net 138 36
Other income, net (1,309 ) (1,988 )
Operating income 97,909 75,284
Interest expense 30,990 29,964
Fair value loss on common stock warrant liabilities — 27,207
Loss on extinguishment of debt — 3,185
Income before income tax 66,919 14,928
Income tax expense 15,748 10,481
Net income $ 51,171 $ 4,447
Earnings per share:
Basic $ 0.23 $ 0.02
Diluted $ 0.22 $ 0.02
Weighted average shares:
Basic 223,490,912 228,293,197
Diluted 228,955,504 234,720,295
Unaudited Segment Operating Data

Comparison of Three Months Ended March 31, 2022 and 2021
Three Months Ended March 31, 2022
(in thousands, except for units on rent and rates) NA Modular NA Storage UK Storage Tank and
Pump		 Total
Revenue $ 299,686 $ 151,484 $ 27,440 $ 30,284 $ 508,894
Gross profit $ 128,931 $ 105,130 $ 17,921 $ 14,833 $ 266,815
Adjusted EBITDA $ 103,948 $ 63,825 $ 12,544 $ 11,506 $ 191,823
Capital expenditures for rental equipment $ 57,577 $ 20,171 $ 9,615 $ 7,873 $ 95,236
Average modular space units on rent 85,007 18,559 8,453 — 112,019
Average modular space utilization rate 67.0 % 76.3 % 73.7 % — % 68.9 %
Average modular space monthly rental rate $ 884 $ 594 $ 428 $ — $ 802
Average portable storage units on rent 463 152,326 27,448 — 180,237
Average portable storage utilization rate 52.6 % 83.2 % 89.8 % — % 84.0 %
Average portable storage monthly rental rate $ 160 $ 166 $ 94 $ — $ 155
Average tank and pump solutions rental fleet utilization based on original equipment cost N/A N/A N/A 75.8 % 75.8 %
Three Months Ended March 31, 2021
(in thousands, except for units on rent and rates) NA Modular NA Storage UK Storage Tank and
Pump		 Total
Revenue $ 266,224 $ 107,748 $ 27,007 $ 24,344 $ 425,323
Gross profit $ 113,002 $ 72,619 $ 16,493 $ 11,266 $ 213,380
Adjusted EBITDA $ 97,371 $ 46,322 $ 11,064 $ 8,828 $ 163,585
Capital expenditures for rental equipment $ 39,135 $ 3,472 $ 6,770 $ 3,158 $ 52,535
Average modular space units on rent 84,795 16,439 9,115 — 110,349
Average modular space utilization rate 67.6 % 79.4 % 83.8 % — % 70.3 %
Average modular space monthly rental rate $ 737 $ 535 $ 404 $ — $ 679
Average portable storage units on rent 14,903 105,810 24,647 — 145,360
Average portable storage utilization rate 60.3 % 73.9 % 89.2 % — % 74.4 %
Average portable storage monthly rental rate $ 124 $ 148 $ 82 $ — $ 135
Average tank and pump solutions rental fleet utilization based on original equipment cost N/A N/A N/A 67.4 % 67.4 %
WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except share data) March 31, 2022
(Unaudited)		 December 31, 2021
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 11,321 $ 12,699
Trade receivables, net of allowances for credit losses at March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 of $49,258 and $47,629, respectively 403,153 399,887
Inventories 39,885 32,739
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 40,283 36,761
Assets held for sale 954 954
Total current assets 495,596 483,040
Rental equipment, net 3,164,084 3,080,981
Property, plant and equipment, net 315,402 312,178
Operating lease assets 241,132 247,064
Goodwill 1,177,288 1,178,806
Intangible assets, net 453,785 460,678
Other non-current assets 10,486 10,852
Total long-term assets 5,362,177 5,290,559
Total assets $ 5,857,773 $ 5,773,599
Liabilities and equity
Accounts payable $ 135,355 $ 118,271
Accrued expenses 102,938 100,195
Accrued employee benefits 44,634 68,414
Deferred revenue and customer deposits 172,907 159,639
Operating lease liabilities – current 53,646 53,005
Current portion of long-term debt 19,792 18,121
Total current liabilities 529,272 517,645
Long-term debt 2,790,842 2,694,319
Deferred tax liabilities 367,480 354,879
Operating lease liabilities – non-current 187,930 194,256
Other non-current liabilities 16,064 15,737
Long-term liabilities 3,362,316 3,259,191
Total liabilities 3,891,588 3,776,836
Commitments and contingencies
Preferred Stock: $0.0001 par, 1,000,000 shares authorized and zero shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 — —
Common Stock: $0.0001 par, 500,000,000 shares authorized and 223,174,389 and 223,939,527 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively 22 22
Additional paid-in-capital 3,536,906 3,616,902
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (30,824 ) (29,071 )
Accumulated deficit (1,539,919 ) (1,591,090 )
Total shareholders’ equity 1,966,185 1,996,763
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 5,857,773 $ 5,773,599

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to using GAAP financial measurements, we use certain non-GAAP financial information that we believe is important for purposes of comparison to prior periods and development of future projections and earnings growth prospects. This information is also used by management to measure the profitability of our ongoing operations and analyze our business performance and trends.

We evaluate business segment performance on Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure that excludes certain items as described in the reconciliation of our consolidated net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation below. We believe that evaluating segment performance excluding such items is meaningful because it provides insight with respect to intrinsic operating results of the Company.

We also regularly evaluate gross profit by segment to assist in the assessment of the operational performance of each operating segment. We consider Adjusted EBITDA to be the more important metric because it more fully captures the business performance of the segments, inclusive of indirect costs.

We also evaluate Free Cash Flow, a non-GAAP measure that provides useful information concerning cash flow available to fund our capital allocation alternatives.

Adjusted EBITDA

We define EBITDA as net income (loss) plus interest (income) expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization. Our adjusted EBITDA (“Adjusted EBITDA”) reflects the following further adjustments to EBITDA to exclude certain non-cash items and the effect of what we consider transactions or events not related to our core business operations:

  • Currency (gains) losses, net: on monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies other than the subsidiaries’ functional currency. Substantially all such currency gains (losses) are unrealized and attributable to financings due to and from affiliated companies.
  • Goodwill and other impairment charges related to non-cash costs associated with impairment charges to goodwill, other intangibles, rental fleet and property, plant and equipment.
  • Restructuring costs, lease impairment expense, and other related charges associated with restructuring plans designed to streamline operations and reduce costs including employee and lease termination costs.
  • Transaction costs including legal and professional fees and other transaction specific related costs.
  • Costs to integrate acquired companies, including outside professional fees, non-capitalized costs associated with system integrations, non-lease branch and fleet relocation expenses, employee training costs, and other costs required to realize cost or revenue synergies.
  • Non-cash charges for stock compensation plans.
  • Gains and losses resulting from changes in fair value and extinguishment of common stock warrant liabilities.
  • Other expense includes consulting expenses related to certain one-time projects, financing costs not classified as interest expense, and gains and losses on disposals of property, plant, and equipment.

Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider the measure in isolation or as a substitute for net income (loss), cash flow from operations or other methods of analyzing the Company’s results as reported under US GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

  • Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for our working capital needs;
  • Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our indebtedness;
  • Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our tax expense or the cash requirements to pay our taxes;
  • Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect historical cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
  • Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact on earnings or changes resulting from matters that we consider not to be indicative of our future operations;
  • although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and
  • other companies in our industry may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as discretionary cash available to reinvest in the growth of our business or as measures of cash that will be available to meet our obligations.

The following table provides an unaudited reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted EBITDA:

Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands) 2022 2021
Net income $ 51,171 $ 4,447
Income tax expense 15,748 10,481
Loss on extinguishment of debt — 3,185
Fair value loss on common stock warrant liabilities — 27,207
Interest expense 30,990 29,964
Depreciation and amortization 81,820 74,022
Currency losses, net 138 36
Restructuring costs, lease impairment expense and other related charges 263 4,395
Transaction costs 20 844
Integration costs 4,087 7,342
Stock compensation expense 6,395 3,514
Other 1,191 (1,852 )
Adjusted EBITDA $ 191,823 $ 163,585

Net Income Excluding Gain/Loss from Warrants

We define Net Income Excluding Gain/Loss from Warrants as net income plus or minus the impact of the change in the fair value of the common stock warrant liability. Management believes that the presentation of our financial statements excluding the impact of this mark-to-market adjustment provides useful information regarding our results of operations and assists in the review of the actual operating performance of our business.

The following table provides an unaudited reconciliation of Net income to Net Income Excluding Gain/Loss from Warrants:

Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands) 2022 2021
Net income $ 51,171 $ 4,447
Fair value loss on common stock warrant liabilities — 27,207
Net Income Excluding Gain/Loss from Warrants $ 51,171 $ 31,654

Adjusted EBITDA Margin

We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Revenue. Management believes that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA Margin provides useful information to investors regarding the performance of our business.

The following table provides an unaudited reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA Margin:

Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands) 2022 2021
Adjusted EBITDA (A) $ 191,823 $ 163,585
Revenue (B) 508,894 425,323
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (A/B) 37.7 % 38.5 %
Net Income (C) $ 51,171 $ 4,447
Net Income Margin % (C/B) 10.1 % 1.0 %

Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Margin

We define Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by operating activities, less purchases of, and proceeds from, rental equipment and property, plant and equipment, which are all included in cash flows from investing activities. Free Cash Flow Margin is defined as Free Cash Flow divided by Revenue. Management believes that the presentation of Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Margin provides useful information to investors concerning cash flow available to fund our capital allocation alternatives.

The following table provides an unaudited reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to Free Cash Flow.

Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands) 2022 2021
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 145,527 $ 122,071
Purchase of rental equipment and refurbishments (95,236 ) (52,535 )
Proceeds from sale of rental equipment 14,554 15,202
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (10,481 ) (7,307 )
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment 260 13,729
Free Cash Flow (A) $ 54,624 $ 91,160
Revenue (B) $ 508,894 $ 425,323
Free Cash Flow Margin (A/B) 10.7 % 21.4 %
Net cash provided by operating activities (D) $ 145,527 $ 122,071
Net cash provided by operating activities margin (D/B) 28.6 % 28.7 %

Adjusted Gross Profit and Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage

We define Adjusted Gross Profit as gross profit plus depreciation on rental equipment. Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage is defined as Adjusted Gross Profit divided by Revenue. Adjusted Gross Profit and Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage are not measurements of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to gross profit, gross profit percentage, or other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. In addition, our measurement of Adjusted Gross Profit and Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Our management believes that the presentation of Adjusted Gross Profit and Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage provides useful information to investors regarding our results of operations because it assists in analyzing the performance of our business.

The following table provides an unaudited reconciliation of gross profit to Adjusted Gross Profit and Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage.

Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands) 2022 2021
Revenue (A) $ 508,894 $ 425,323
Gross profit (B) $ 266,815 $ 213,380
Depreciation of rental equipment 62,216 55,698
Adjusted Gross Profit (C) $ 329,031 $ 269,078
Gross Profit Percentage (B/A) 52.4 % 50.2 %
Adjusted Gross Profit Percentage (C/A) 64.7 % 63.3 %

Net CAPEX

We define Net CAPEX as purchases of rental equipment and refurbishments and purchases of property, plant and equipment (collectively, “Total Capital Expenditures”), less proceeds from the sale of rental equipment and proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment (collectively, “Total Proceeds”), which are all included in cash flows from investing activities. Our management believes that the presentation of Net CAPEX provides useful information to investors regarding the net capital invested into our rental fleet and plant, property and equipment each year to assist in analyzing the performance of our business.

The following table provides an unaudited reconciliation of Net CAPEX:

Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands) 2022 2021
Total purchases of rental equipment and refurbishments $ (95,236 ) $ (52,535 )
Total proceeds from sale of rental equipment 14,554 15,202
Net CAPEX for Rental Equipment (80,682 ) (37,333 )
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (10,481 ) (7,307 )
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 260 13,729
Net CAPEX $ (90,903 ) $ (30,911 )

Return on Invested Capital

Return on Invested Capital is defined as adjusted earnings before interest and amortization divided by net assets. Adjusted earnings before interest and amortization is the sum of income (loss) before income tax expense, net interest (income) expense, amortization adjusted for non-cash items considered non-core to business operations including net currency (gains) losses, goodwill and other impairment charges, restructuring costs, costs to integrate acquired companies, non-cash charges for stock compensation plans, gains and losses resulting from changes in fair value and extinguishment of common stock warrant liabilities, and other discrete expenses, reduced by estimated taxes. Given we are not a significant US taxpayer due to our current tax attributes, we include estimated taxes at our current statutory tax rate of approximately 25%. Net assets is total assets less goodwill, and intangible assets, net and all non-interest bearing liabilities. Denominator is calculated as a five quarter average for annual metrics and two quarter average for quarterly metrics. The Company believes that Return on Invested Capital provides information about the long-term health and profitability of the business relative to the Company’s cost of capital.

The following table provides an unaudited reconciliation of Return on Invested Capital:

Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands) 2022 2021
Total Assets $ 5,857,773 $ 5,538,875
Less: Goodwill (1,177,288 ) (1,179,421 )
Less: Intangible assets, net (453,785 ) (481,199 )
Less: Total Liabilities (3,891,588 ) (3,532,986 )
Add: Long Term Debt 2,790,842 2,454,024
Net Assets excluding interest bearing debt and goodwill and intangibles 3,125,954 2,799,293
Average Invested Capital (A) $ 3,088,776 $ 2,824,904
Adjusted EBITDA $ 191,823 $ 163,585
Less: Depreciation (75,178 ) (66,237 )
Adjusted EBITA (B) $ 116,645 $ 97,348
Statutory Tax Rate (C) 25 % 25 %
Estimated Tax (B*C) $ 29,161 $ 24,337
Adjusted earnings before interest and amortization (D) $ 87,484 $ 73,011
ROIC (D/A), annualized 11.3 % 10.3 %
Operating income (E) $ 97,909 $ 75,284
Total Assets (F) $ 5,857,773 $ 5,538,875
Operating income / Total Assets (E/F) 6.7 % 5.4 %


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NATO must ensure Taiwan’s self-defense: U.K. foreign secretary

U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss highlighted the need to assist Taiwan and other democracies in the Indo-Pacific with self-defense to forestall threats in the region, as she spoke to diplomats in the United Kingdom on Wednesday.

“We need to pre-empt threats in the Indo-Pacific, working with our allies like Japan and Australia to ensure the Pacific is protected,” Truss said. “And we must ensure that democracies like Taiwan are able to defend themselves.”

Truss urged members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to “strengthen our collective defense,” ahead of the NATO summit scheduled to be held in Madrid on June 29-30, as she gave a speech on foreign policy during an Easter banquet event held annually at Mansion House.

Truss said that NATO must ensure that Ukraine, the Western Balkans, and countries like Moldova and Georgia have the resilience and the capabilities to maintain their sovereignty and freedom.

If Finland and Sweden choose to join NATO in response to Russia’s aggression, NATO must integrate them as soon as possible, she told the attendees at the banquet including U.K. government officials and foreign diplomats.

“NATO’s open-door policy is sacrosanct,” she said.

Truss also argued that NATO must “have a global outlook,” ready to tackle global threats, as she cited democracies in the Indo-Pacific like Taiwan as an example NATO must help by enhancing its self-defense capability.

Meanwhile, Truss said one of the lessons learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was that economy plays a growing role in security, adding that the economic sanctions the West has put on Russia showed that economic access to democracies is “no longer a given,” but has to be earned.

Truss singled out China, saying that all countries, including China, must play by the rules. “They will not continue to rise if they don’t play by the rules.”

Beijing has not condemned Russian aggression, while Russian exports to China rose by almost a third in the first quarter of this year, she said.

Truss said China is also commenting on who should or should not be a member of NATO, rapidly building a military capable of projecting power deep into areas of European strategic interest and has sought to coerce Lithuania — as the Eastern Europe country has enhanced its ties with Taiwan.

She said that the rise of China “isn’t inevitable.”

“China needs trade with the G7. We represent half of the global economy. And we have choices,” Truss said. “We have shown with Russia the kind of choices we’re prepared to make when international rules are violated.”

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Thursday expressed gratitude to Truss for her speech about Taiwan, saying that Taiwan would continue to deepen cooperation with the U.K. and like-minded countries to ensure security across the Taiwan Strait and a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Taiwan was determined to stand in full solidarity with democratic partners and carry on with enhancing its self-defense capability to deter aggression and expansion of authoritarian regimes for world peace and prosperity, MOFA added.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

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U.S. recognizes Taiwan’s efforts to improve trade secrets protections

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recognized Taiwan’s efforts to enhance trade secrets protections, while citing online piracy as an ongoing concern, in an annual report released Wednesday.

The 2022 Special 301 Report, which monitors intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement among U.S. trading partners, was the second to be published under the Biden administration by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

In the report, the USTR identified Taiwan, along with the European Union and Chile, as partners that have recently strengthened or are working to strengthen their trade secrets regimes.

While it did not cite any specific examples, Taiwan’s Legislature did recently amend a range of intellectual property laws as part of its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade pact.

The U.S. and Taiwan also met under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) framework in June 2021, to discuss “developments related to the enforcement of trade secrets protections, copyright legislation and digital piracy,” according to the report.

The report, however, identified Taiwan as one of 16 markets with “notable” levels of streaming content piracy through illicit streaming devices (ISDs) and illicit Internet Protocol Television (IPTC) service apps.

In addition to Taiwan, the other markets included China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Canada, and Brazil.

China was also named as a manufacturing hub for piracy devices.

Meanwhile, the USTR maintained China’s place on a “priority watch list” — along with Argentina, Chile, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela — of countries with major deficiencies in their IP protections.

Although China passed a number of legal reforms in 2021 to strengthen such protections, the report said, it has yet to address issues such as weak enforcement channels and a lack of transparency and judicial independence.

The USTR also urged China to provide “a level playing field” in the area of IP protections, to refrain from requiring or pressuring technology transfer to Chinese companies, and to open to foreign investment and “embrace open and market-oriented policies.”

According to the report, Washington will continue to monitor Beijing’s progress in implementing its commitments under the Phase One trade agreement that the two countries signed in January 2020.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

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Presidential Office slams local newspaper for slight against U.S. senator

any acquisition or investment projects by the Taiwanese authorities should go through professional assessment and be conducted according to law.

The spokesman added that the UDN’s report served no good to Taiwan’s relationship with the U.S.

In a separate statement, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said that the UDN report contained misleading information and would harm the partnership between Taiwan and the U.S.

Taiwan and the U.S. are close economic partners and bilateral trade and investment have been booming, MOFA noted, adding that such a relationship had contributed to Taiwan’s economy and the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.

MOFA urged the newspaper to uphold professionalism and provide accurate information to the public.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

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Taiwan shares close up on positive earnings reports by tech firms

Shares in Taiwan bounced back Thursday from a slump the previous session, with the bellwether electronics sector leading the rebound, after two major semiconductor suppliers reported strong second-quarter net profits, dealers said.

Despite the gains, turnover remained moderate, as investors were cautious ahead of next week’s policymaking meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has already kicked off an interest rate hike to tackle inflation, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 116.03 points, or 0.71 percent, at 16,419.38, after moving between 16,256.88 and 16,455.57. Turnover totaled NT$255.88 billion (US$8.67 billion).

The market opened up 0.29 percent, and buying soon accelerated, with the tech sector steaming ahead, led by contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) and smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc., which reported impressive first-quarter results on Wednesday, dealers said.

The electronics sector rose 1.06 percent, with the semiconductor sub-index ending up 1.39 percent, as investors ignored a lackluster finish of the tech-heavy Nasdaq index in the United States overnight.

“Investors seized on UMC and MediaTek’s first-quarter results to hunt bargains,” following the Taiex’s 2.05 percent drop on Wednesday, MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang said. “I suspect the buying came partly from government-led funds, which helped push up the entire index.”

UMC soared 9.23 percent to close at NT$48.50, after it reported a 24.2 percent growth in its first-quarter profit to a quarterly record of NT$19.81 billion, with earnings per share of NT$1.61.

The company also forecast continued growth of pricing power and sales in the second quarter, saying that strong demand for automotive electronics, industrial semiconductors and Internet chips will offset the weaker smartphone market.

MediaTek shares, meanwhile, ended 2.48 percent higher on Thursday at NT$828.00, after it reported a record first-quarter net profit of NT$33.26 billion, which was a quarterly increase of 10.7 percent, and an EPS of NT$21.02.

In its guidance, MediaTek said its second-quarter sales are expected to grow by a quarterly 3-10 percent and its 2022 revenue will increase by an annual 20 percent.

“The guidance by the two companies helped allay some worry among investors about demand, as the market has been bothered by the slowdown so far this year,” Tang said.

Among the other semiconductor heavyweights, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, rose 0.95 percent to close at NT$531.00, and display driver IC designer Novatek Microelectronics Corp. surged 5.23 percent to end at NT$382.50.

Also in the electronics sector, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. gained 1.50 percent to close at NT$101.50, while flat panel makers AU Optronics Corp. and Innolux Corp. soared 4.91 percent and 6.49 percent, respectively, to end at NT$17.10 and NT$13.95, on expectations that product prices will soon bottom out.

Many old economy stocks also saw gains, led by the food sector, which rose 1.89 percent on bargain hunting, dealers said.

Uni-President Enterprises Corp., one of the country’s leading food brands, climbed 1.49 percent to close at NT$68.30, and rival Wei-Chuan Foods Corp. surged 4.09 percent to end at NT$22.90. In the financial sector, Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank rose 1.25 percent to close at NT$48.75, and Yunata Financial Holding Co. gained 0.97 percent to end at NT$26.00.

The transportation sector, where several major shipping stocks are traded, failed to ride the upturn, however, falling 1.13 percent.

Evergreen Marine Corp., the largest container cargo shipper in Taiwan, lost 1.43 percent to close at NT$138.00, and rivals Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. and Wan Hai Lines Ltd. dropped 0.41 percent and 1.39 percent, respectively, to end at NT$120.50 and NT$142.00.

“Before the Fed concludes its two-day policymaking meeting (that starts May 3), caution is expected to prevail in the markets at home and abroad, amid worry over a hawkish U.S. central bank,” Tang said. “In Taiwan, the Taiex is expected to keep moving in a narrow range, between 16,300 and 16,500 points, before the Fed meeting concludes.”

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$15.85 billion worth of shares on the main board Thursday.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

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Clearspan Unveils Ping

Clearspan Ping, a portal to personalized communications, provides customizable features, security, privacy and control

DALLAS, Texas, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Clearspan on Wednesday unveiled Ping, a customizable communications and collaboration solution that delivers secure voice, video and messaging anywhere, anytime and on any device. Purpose-built to serve the world’s leading service providers and largest organizations, Clearspan Ping is designed to deliver unique user experiences with the security, privacy and control that large organizations require.

Ping is the latest addition to Clearspan’s lineup of scalable communication technologies and serves as a foundational component in its journey to personalized communications.

“At Clearspan, we’re committed to creating solutions that make it easier to create unique user experiences while retaining the security, privacy and controls that large organizations require,” said Bill Crank, Clearspan’s chief executive officer. “For decades, Clearspan has powered ubiquitous unified communications solutions that empower service providers and large organizations. Clearspan Ping is the next generation communications portal that enables personalized communications and will continue to digitally transform today’s modern workforce, no matter where they’re located.”

Ping’s modern user features include point-to-point and multiparty voice, video and messaging; screen and file sharing; team rooms that allow private space for collaboration; PSTN calling; and flexible access options including browser based, desktop, and mobile applications.

Ping sets itself apart with unique features:

  • Brandable: Ping is brandable for both service providers and organizations. There are no cobranding requirements, meaning Ping can truly reflect any organization.
  • Customizable: From easy integration of commonly used applications, such as call center agent control, faxing, and SMS texting, to cross platform messaging and IoT device monitoring, Ping is built to be customized. Additionally, Ping’s deployment model is flexible. Users can choose from Clearspan cloud, public cloud, private cloud, or premise-based hosting.
  • Secure: Ping is 100 percent private with end-to-end session encryption, allowing complete data sovereignty without data mining.

Ping will be available worldwide beginning Sunday, May 1. Ping has already been trialed by some of the United States’ largest universities and global tier one service providers. Interested parties can find more information about Ping and request a demonstration on www.ClearspanCloud.com.

About Clearspan  

Clearspan powers ubiquitous unified communications solutions that help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform the way they work. For over forty years, Clearspan has enabled service providers and large organizations with innovative solutions and operational efficiency at scale. Clearspan’s standards-based architecture uniquely delivers the carrier-grade reliability, scalability and security required – without sacrificing the flexibility to seamlessly integrate both modern and legacy business applications and environments. Learn more at www.ClearspanCloud.com.

Attachment

Kayla Ayres
Clearspan
(214) 378-7970
kayres@thepointgroup.com

 

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AELF FlightService Adds Fifth A330 to Fleet With Flexible Passenger-to-Cargo Configuration

AELF FlightService 9H-CFS

CHICAGO, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AELF FlightService announced today that its fifth Airbus 330-200 (registered as 9H-CFS) is officially on certificate, flying in passenger-to-freighter (PTF) configuration. The aircraft commenced its first commercial flight in PTF configuration on April 23, flying from Vietnam to the U.S.

The addition of 9H-CFS puts the group in a leading position among ACMI widebody charter operators in the world in terms of fleet size. Its five A330s are currently in PTF configuration, in which passenger seats have been removed and cargo nets have been installed to hold parcel freight in the upper deck, in addition to the standard freight capacity in the lower deck. The configuration is reversible in a matter of weeks, which the company plans to exercise this summer.

“As supply chain issues drag on, the addition of 9H-CFS is our commitment to fulfilling the need for capacity in the air cargo market in the short-term, while maximizing our flexibility to return to passenger service later this year,” said Joe Cirillo, Chief Operating Officer at AELF FlightService.

As AELF FlightService commences passenger flights this summer, it will do so with the addition of its sixth A330-200. This recently acquired aircraft is configured with a brand-new passenger interior accommodating 295 passengers. An additional three of the company’s A330s will also be converted back to passenger configuration by August. The A330 fleet will be operated by the company’s affiliate Maleth Aero.

“The flexibility of the configuration was a draw for us from the beginning,” said Lee Jones, President of Maleth Aero. “Anticipating an inevitable return of passenger demand and a time limit from EASA on the preighter exemption, we looked to the option that would provide a solution for our cargo customers but also allow us to adapt to the regulatory environment and the marketplace.”

The company has a history of adapting quickly. At the onset of the pandemic, AELF, Inc. expanded its core business as an aircraft lessor to meet the needs of an overwhelmed cargo market. In 2020, the company, together with European partners, led the acquisition of the controlling interest in Malta-based airline Maleth Aero, expanding the group’s offerings to charter and ACMI flights. With the acquisition mentioned above, the group now has a total of nine widebody aircraft in operation.

While the fleet will undergo transformation to passenger configuration this summer, the group is also exploring its options for a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) that will allow continued operation of the PTF configuration for one or more of its aircraft beyond the EASA preighter exemption deadline.

AELF FlightService offers a full spectrum of air freight and passenger services, including single charter flights and mid-term ACMI/wet and damp leases, as well as more traditional liquidity solutions such as long-term operating leases, sale and leasebacks, sale and wet leasebacks, among other services.

For more information, visit AELF-FlightService.com.

About AELF FlightService
AELF FlightService is a global aircraft leasing company providing finance, leasing and air charter solutions to the aviation industry. The company offers a full spectrum of services ranging from long-term operating leases to single charter flights and mid-term ACMI programs operated by widebody airline Maleth Aero, with which it shares common ownership. The group has offices in Chicago, Miami and Malta. Learn more at AELF-FlightService.com. For the latest updates, follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Contact:
Natalie Matthews
nmatthews@aelf-flightservice.com
312-319-4468

Related Images

Image 1: AELF FlightService 9H-CFS

AELF FlightService adds 9H-CFS to A330 Fleet

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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Cybersecurity Skills Gap Contributed to 80 Percent of Breaches According to New Fortinet Report

Fortinet Releases New Research on Key Concerns around the Cybersecurity Talent Shortage, Recruitment, Diversity, and Security Awareness

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

Sandra Wheatley, SVP Marketing, Threat Intelligence and Influencer Communications at Fortinet

“According to the Fortinet report released today, the skills gap isn’t just a talent shortage challenge, but it’s also severely impacting business, making it a top concern for executive leaders worldwide. Through Fortinet’s Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) and Training Institute programs, we are committed to tackling the challenges revealed in the report through various initiatives, including programs focused on cybersecurity certifications and recruiting more women into cyber. As part of this commitment, Fortinet has pledged to train 1 million professionals to increase cyber skills and awareness and make a dent in the skills gap by 2026.”

News Summary
Fortinet®, a global leader in broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions, today released its 2022 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report. The new global report reveals that the cybersecurity skills shortage continues to have multiple challenges and repercussions for organizations, including the occurrence of security breaches and subsequently loss of money. As a result, the skills gap remains a top concern for C-level executives and is increasingly becoming a board-level priority. The report also suggests ways the skills gap can be addressed, such as through training and certifications to increase employees’ education.

The Widespread Global Impact of the Cybersecurity Skills Shortage
According to (ISC)²’s 2021 Cyber Workforce Report, the global cybersecurity workforce needs to grow 65 percent to effectively defend organizations’ critical assets. While the number of professionals needed to fill the gap has decreased from 3.12 million down to 2.72 million in the past year, this is still a significant void that leaves organizations vulnerable.

Fortinet’s report demonstrates multiple risks resulting from the cybersecurity skills gap. Most notably, 8 in 10 organizations surveyed have suffered at least one breach they could attribute to a lack of cybersecurity skills or awareness. The survey also showed that globally 64 percent of organizations experienced breaches that resulted in loss of revenue, recovery costs and/or fines.

Given the increasing costs of breaches on organizations’ profits and reputation, cybersecurity is becoming more of a board level priority. Globally, 88 percent of organizations that have a board of directors reported that their board asks questions specifically about cybersecurity. And 76 percent of organizations have a board of directors who has recommended increases in IT and cybersecurity headcount.

Advancing Cybersecurity Skills Through Training and Certifications
Fortinet’s skills gap report demonstrated that training and certifications are critical ways organizations seek to further tackle the skills gap. The report revealed that 95 percent of leaders believe technology-focused certifications positively impact their role and their team, while 81 percent of leaders prefer to hire people with certifications. Additionally, 91 percent of respondents shared they are willing to pay for an employee to achieve cyber certifications. One major reason for certifications being highly regarded is due to their validation of increased cybersecurity knowledge and awareness.

In addition to valuing certifications, 87 percent of organizations have implemented a training program to increase cyber awareness. However, 52 percent of leaders believe their employees still lack necessary knowledge, which raises question around how effective their current security awareness programs are.

For organizations looking for security awareness training, Fortinet offers a Security Awareness and Training service through the award-winning Fortinet Training Institute. The service further protects organizations’ critical digital assets from cyber threats by building employee cybersecurity awareness. This service receives updates from Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence so that employees are learning and keeping up with the latest evolving cyberattack methods to prevent company breaches and risks from being introduced.

Addressing Recruitment and Retention Challenges with Diversity Commitments
A significant challenge for organizations has been finding and retaining the right people to fill critical security roles ranging from cloud security specialists to SOC analysts. The report found that 60 percent of leaders admit their organization struggles with recruitment and 52 percent struggle to retain talent.

Among hiring challenges is the recruitment of women, new college graduates and minorities. Globally, 7 out of 10 leaders see the recruitment of women and new graduates as a top hiring hurdle and 61 percent said hiring minorities has been challenging. As organizations look to build more capable and more diverse teams, 89 percent of global companies have explicit diversity goals as part of their hiring strategy according to the report. The report also demonstrated 75 percent of organizations have formal structures to specifically recruit more women and 59 percent have strategies in place to hire minorities. Additionally, 51 percent of organizations have efforts in place to hire more veterans.

About the Fortinet Skills Gap Survey:

  • The survey was conducted among more than 1200 IT and cybersecurity decision-makers from 29 different locations, including the U.S., France, Japan, Mexico and more.
  • Survey respondents came from a range of industries, including technology (28%), manufacturing (12%), and financial services (10%).

Additional Resources

About Fortinet
Fortinet makes possible a digital world that we can always trust through its mission to protect people, devices, and data everywhere. This is why the world’s largest enterprises, service providers, and government organizations choose Fortinet to securely accelerate their digital journey. The Fortinet Security Fabric platform delivers broad, integrated, and automated protections across the entire digital attack surface, securing critical devices, data, applications, and connections from the data center to the cloud to the home office. Ranking #1 in the most security appliances shipped worldwide, more than 565,000 customers trust Fortinet to protect their businesses. And the Fortinet NSE Training Institute, an initiative of Fortinet’s Training Advancement Agenda (TAA), provides one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry to make cyber training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, or FortiGuard Labs.

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Aerospike Unveils Database 6

First Real-time Data Platform to Deliver Native Support for JSON Document Models at Predictable Sub-Millisecond Performance at Unlimited Scale

  • Massively Parallel Secondary Indexes for Complex SQL Queries
  • Support for Large Document Data Models from Gigabyte to Petabyte Scale
  • New Batch API Support for Heavy Writes and Mixed Workloads

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aerospike Inc. announced today the general availability of Aerospike Database 6, a significant new release of the core engine that powers the popular Aerospike Real-time Data Platform. Aerospike Database 6 provides developers an environment that supports multiple programming models to build real-time applications with a predictable performance at any scale for which Aerospike is renowned.

Aerospike Database 6.0 is the first real-time database with native support for JSON document models at any scale. The release adds enhanced support for Java programming models, including JSONPath query support to store, search, and better manage complex data sets and workloads. Aerospike Database 6 allows the company to support large-scale data models in instances across the enterprise and positions the company to add Time Series, Graph, and more data models in future releases.

“Market leaders—the disruptors in their industries—build with Aerospike to meet the insatiable demand for instant experiences in the Right-Now Economy™,” said Subbu Iyer, CEO of Aerospike. “Our Real-time Data Platform, powered by Aerospike Database 6, delivers predictable sub-millisecond performance, low latency, and unlimited scale. And we do this at an affordable cost for many different data models across the enterprise. Companies that start with Aerospike future-proof their real-time data stack for ongoing growth and success.”

Analyst and Partner Praise

“There are two types of companies in today’s digitally transforming world. The ones that understand how to win in the moments that matter and those that don’t,” said Holger Mueller, Vice President, and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research. “The ones that do will realize that Aerospike Database 6 is the real-time engine they need to effectively compete with larger, complex data sets we’re now seeing in the enterprise.”

“Having implemented and operated one of the largest Customer Data Platforms on the Aerospike Real-time Data Platform for over five years, our team is looking forward to using the new batch and document storage features of the Aerospike Database 6.0,” said Amit Raj, Managing Consultant, Hoonartek. “These new capabilities, coupled with Aerospike’s superior capabilities for data ingestion, query, data consistency, and XDR replication, will promote business innovation with the market-leading reliability and performance that our customers expect from Aerospike.”

Highlights of the Aerospike Database 6:

  • Massively Parallel Secondary Indexes: Aerospike Database 6 offers massively parallel secondary indexes supporting partition and pagination queries. The new release gives secondary index queries the same speed and efficiency as primary indexes. Further, it supports SQL via Spark and Presto/Trino Connectors as plug-and-play integrations found on Aerospike Connect.
  • Large Scale Document Data Models: Aerospike Database 6 is the first and only real-time data platform to support JSON document data models that can deliver sub-millisecond performance at the gigabyte-to-petabyte scale. Aerospike Database 6, with JSON and JSONPath query support, adds the ability to store, search, query, and manage richer and more varied data from gigabyte to petabyte scale.
  • Efficient Batch Processing: Aerospike Database 6 enhanced batch API allows heavy read/writes and mixed workloads to reduce round-trip time and network traffic while improving parallelism for faster data ingestion and processing. The result is more efficient batch processing of data operations at any scale.
  • Federal Security Compliance: Aerospike Database 6 is FIPS 140-2 compliant, providing federal agencies the ability to deploy large-scale, mixed workload use cases securely.

Resources:

Learn more about The Aerospike Real-time Data Platform at Mission Now – The Aerospike 2022 Summit.

For more information about Aerospike, please visit www.aerospike.com or to join the team, see our employment opportunities around the globe.

About Aerospike
The Aerospike Real-time Data Platform enables organizations to act instantly across billions of transactions while reducing server footprint by up to 80 percent. The Aerospike multi-cloud platform powers real-time applications with predictable sub-millisecond performance up to petabyte-scale with five-nines uptime with globally distributed, strongly consistent data. Applications built on the Aerospike Real-time Data Platform fight fraud, provide recommendations that dramatically increase shopping cart size, enable global digital payments, and deliver hyper-personalized user experiences to tens of millions of customers. Customers such as Airtel, Criteo, Experian, Nielsen, PayPal, Snap, Wayfair, and Yahoo rely on Aerospike as their data foundation for the future. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, the company also has offices in London, Bangalore, and Tel Aviv.

Contact:

John Moran
Look Left Marketing
aerospike@lookleftmarketing.com

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