Monday, April 30, 2018

Schlumberger Announces First-Quarter 2018 Results


PARIS -Thursday, April 26th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

  • Revenue of $7.8 billion decreased 4% sequentially
  • Pretax operating income of $974 million decreased 16% sequentially
  • EPS was $0.38
  • Cash flow from operations was $568 million
(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) today reported results for the first quarter of 2018
 Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Paal Kibsgaard commented, “As forecast, our results in the first quarter of 2018 largely reflected transitory factors, with seasonal reductions in activity in the Northern Hemisphere and planned project startup costs including the equipment mobilization, reactivation, and redeployment associated with recent contract wins.

“The underlying international businesses started the year well, as business units in the Middle East, the North Sea, and Russia were all in line with our first-quarter activity expectations, while activity upsides in Asia were offset by continued weakness in Latin America and Africa.

“On land in North America, our Drilling services business continued to grow, driven by strong demand for horizontal drilling technologies. Revenue also increased due to the ramp-up of activity in Canada. The US land pressure pumping business, however, was impacted by weaker than expected activity as well as by softer pricing, inefficiency, rising supply chain costs, and rail logistical challenges. In spite of this, we continued to deploy available fracturing assets, including equipment from our newly acquired capacity. We expect the US land hydraulic fracturing market to improve during the second quarter, both in terms of pricing and in operational efficiency and, therefore, we are continuing with our aggressive fleet reactivation and recommissioning program.

“Overall, the first-quarter sequential revenue decline was led by the Cameron Group, which fell 7%, driven by seasonally lower project volumes and reduced product sales. Reservoir Characterization Group revenue decreased 5% sequentially due to the seasonal reduction in sales of SIS software and WesternGeco multiclient seismic licenses. Drilling Group and Production Group revenues were respectively 2% and 4% lower sequentially, also as a result of the seasonal reductions in activity in the Northern Hemisphere.

“Looking at the global oil market, the absence of global stock builds in the first quarter, supported by the OPEC- and Russia-led production cuts, confirm that the oil market is in balance. More importantly, after three consecutive years of dramatic underinvestment in global E&P spending, the worldwide production base has started to show the anticipated signs of weakness with noticeable year-over-year production declines appearing in several countries such as Angola, Norway, Mexico, Malaysia, China, and Indonesia. With Libya and Nigeria producing at near-full capacity, Venezuelan production in free fall, the potential of new sanctions against Iran, and rising geopolitical risks, the only major sources of short-term supply growth to address global production decline and strong worldwide demand are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Russia, and the US shale oil industry. However, production challenges in US shale are emerging that are linked to infill drilling well-to-well interference, the potential lower production of step-out drilling from Tier 1 acreage, and significant infrastructure constraints. It is, therefore, becoming increasingly likely that the industry will face growing supply challenges over the coming year and a significant increase in global E&P investment will be required to minimize the impending deficit.

“We remain optimistic about the outlook for sustainable activity growth in our global business over the course of 2018 and into 2019. This is driven by higher customer activity and our ability to capture a major share of the emerging opportunities as performance-based contracts and integrated projects continue to gain traction as the preferred business models for many of our customers. Recent contract awards, which include the major lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) contracts in Saudi Arabia, additional wins elsewhere in the Middle East and Latin America, and new projects in the US Delaware Basin, are examples of this market trend. Our increased R&E focus in recent years on systems innovation and design is now enabling us to create additional value for both our customers and Schlumberger on these projects. This is achieved by integrating a new generation of purpose-built hardware and software with our deep domain expertise and the latest advances in digital technologies.

“Therefore, we are excited about the outlook for Schlumberger. We are ready and primed to deliver superior growth, financial returns, and free cash flow in the coming years by building on the broadest technology offering and expertise in the industry, our unmatched scale and operational efficiency, strong capital discipline, and a clear desire to provide industry-leading cash returns to our shareholders.”

Other Events

During the quarter, Schlumberger repurchased 1.4 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $69.79 per share, for a total purchase price of $97 million.

On February 23, 2018, Schlumberger and Subsea 7 S.A. announced that they entered into exclusive negotiations to form a joint venture that builds on the success of Subsea Integration Alliance, which was established in 2015. The joint venture will be owned 50% by Subsea 7 and 50% by Schlumberger.

On April 18, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share of outstanding common stock, payable on July 13, 2018 to stockholders of record on June 6, 2018.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180420005288/en/

Contacts
Schlumberger Limited
Simon Farrant – Vice President of Investor Relations, Schlumberger Limited
Joy V. Domingo – Manager of Investor Relations, Schlumberger Limited
Office +1 (713) 375-3535
investor-relations@slb.com



American University of Technology (AUT) Signs a Strategic Partnership with Cambridge Assessment English to adopt C1 Advanced Cambridge English Qualifications

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -Monday, April 30th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

Under the patronage of Her Excellency Dr. Ghada Hinain, President, the American university of Technology (AUT) and Cambridge Assessment English signed a strategic partnership with Cambridge Assessment English to recognize Cambridge English C1 Advanced qualifications.

This step will allow students of the American University of Technology to gain prestigious Cambridge English certifications. The C1 Advanced level qualification is a valid for life high level qualification recognized by universities, employers and government bodies in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zeeland and other English-speaking countries. The qualification will allow students to pursue higher education opportunities in these countries, in addition to being able to enhance their employability globally.

"We are very pleased to sign this agreement, which has positive impact on both sides of the partnership," said AUT Vice President Dr. Fuad Hashwa. Cambridge Assessment English will allow our students to obtain additional qualifications, which in turn increase their chances on the job market locally and internationally.”

Ramiz Haddadin, the Regional Commercial Head for Central from Cambridge Assessment English explains that 'C1 Advanced qualification is one of the highest English language qualifications available globally. It indicates that students have achieved high levels in English language that will allow them to register for higher education in UK, Australia, New Zeeland and other English-speaking countries.’

Haddadin added: 'We thank AUT and our Partner GES Lebanon for all the efforts that they have put to make this partnership a reality. This recognition will grow our base in Lebanon and will allow us to provide more students with the best tools and knowledge they need in today’s world. As the leader in the English qualifications field with more than 5 million people taking our exams every year, we always seek to have strategic partners that will attract the right candidates with the right levels of English language skills to our network.’

Cambridge Assessment English is a department of the University of Cambridge. Cambridge English exams are taken by more than 5.5 million people a year, in over 170 countries. They are recognized by over 20,000 universities, employers, and governments around the world, a number which is rapidly increasing.

Contacts

Cambridge Assessment English

Omar Al-Sharif, +97144378077

mea@cambridgeenglish.org

http://aetoswire.com/news/american-university-of-technology-aut-signs-a-strategic-partnership-with-cambridge-assessment-english-to-adopt-c1-advanced-cambridge-english-qualifications/en

Alibaba Cloud Receives MySQL Corporate Contributor Award

The prestigious community recognizes the company’s contribution to open source


HANGZHOU, China-Thursday, April 26th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, has won the 2018 MySQL Community Awards: Corporate Contributor, which recognizes its contribution to the MySQL ecosystem, the world’s most popular open source database. The award, presented earlier this week at the Percona Live conference held in Santa Clara, California, is another accolade for the global cloud services provider.

The award recognized Alibaba Cloud’s contributions to the open source communities and its efforts to empower developers around the world in recent years. Today, more than one hundred thousand MySQL instances are running on ApsaraDB for RDS, Alibaba Cloud’s relational database services.

This is the second time Alibaba has received the coveted award from the MySQL community. In 2015, Alibaba Group became the first Asian company to be named a WebScaleSQL Contributor, alongside Facebook, Google, Twitter and LinkedIn. The award is a ‘from-the-community, by-the-community, and for-the-community’ initiative and winners are selected by an independent and diverse group of MySQL members.

“Alibaba Cloud authors AliSQL, a free and open source MySQL branch. They both take patches from various contributors, as well as providing Alibaba Cloud’s own at-scale patches for the MySQL server, which are innovative and disruptive. Alibaba Cloud has made an investment in MariaDB that will no doubt help in keeping the MySQL ecosystem competitive and thriving,” MySQL said in an official statement.

In March last year, Alibaba Cloud became a platinum sponsor of the MariaDB Foundation and a supporter of merging AliSQL patches into MariaDB. In September, Alibaba led a USD$27 million investment in MariaDB, to increase efforts in the development of open source database solutions and emerging technologies.

Hong TANG, Chief Architect of Alibaba Cloud, said: “As a longtime contributor to MySQL and other open source communities, Alibaba Cloud has fostered a culture that encourages our teams to voluntarily contribute to various open source projects, either by sharing experiences or helping others to solve problems. We believe this truly represents the essence of open source development, where everyone can build on each other’s knowledge as both a teacher and a student. By continuously contributing to bug-fixing and patch optimization for MySQL and other open source communities we can continue to make our technology inclusive.”

Since 2011, Alibaba Group has been actively involved in building open source communities, with the number of open source projects increasing every year. Currently, Alibaba has more than 150 on-going open source projects.

Alibaba Cloud has been an active participant in global open source communities. It became a gold member of the Cloud Foundry Foundation earlier this month, and joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) as a platinum member and The Linux Foundation as a gold member in 2017.

For more information about Alibaba Cloud’s open source projects, please click here.

About Alibaba Cloud

Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com), the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, is among the world’s top three IaaS providers according to Gartner, and the largest provider of public cloud services in China, according to IDC. Alibaba Cloud provides a comprehensive suite of cloud computing services to businesses worldwide, including merchants doing business on Alibaba Group marketplaces, start-ups, corporations and government organizations. Alibaba Cloud is the official Cloud Services Partner of the International Olympic Committee.



Contacts

Alibaba Group
Jowie Law, +86 136 2571 9035
yukman.lym@alibaba-inc.com
or
Alibaba Group
Yinan Qian, +86 186 0004 0770
yinan.qyn@alibaba-inc.com




Permalink : http://aetoswire.com/news/alibaba-cloud-receives-mysql-corporate-contributor-award/en

Sunday, April 29, 2018

One Million Dollars Donated to Educate Refugee Children in Asia and MENA Region

 Sharjah Ruler’s donation to a Malaysian charity to continue supporting displaced communities

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates-Sunday, April 29th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- A donation of USD 1 million has been given to strengthen the educational infrastructure for refugee and internally displaced children in Asia, Middle East and North Africa, at a time when according to UNHCR statistics, children represent about half of the displaced population globally.

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the United Arab Emirates Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah has extended the generous donation to a Malaysian Charity – Children for Dignity Foundation – to boost the delivery of the educational and support services they have been offering these marginalised communities in Asia and the MENA region for 20 years.

The foundation, which has managed to educate over 7,000 undocumented students and currently supports about 1,100, will benefit from the donation, in addition to the USD 136,000 prize they received on Thursday (April 26) as the winner of the Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support.

The award was established in 2017 by a prominent UAE-based humanitarian organisation, The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to highlight individuals or entities who implement pioneering and influential initiatives that have had a positive and tangible impact on refugees in these regions.

As a cultural pillar in the Arab region, Sharjah, the UAE’s third-largest emirate, believes that every nation must be built on the strong foundation of educated and empowered youth. This is reflected in its patronage and support of social development projects for refugees and people in need worldwide, led by the Big Heart Foundation under the vision and guidance of His Highness The Ruler of Sharjah and his wife Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi.

Further information about the Big Heart Foundation can be found on the foundation’s website: http://tbhf.ae.

Attached Photos:

1. SIARA Logo - Source: The Big Heart Foundation

2. A picture from the activities Dignity Foundation organizes for refugee children -Source: The Big Heart Foundation

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180429005047/en/

Contacts

National Network Communications (NNC)
Fadia Daouk, +971 52 617 2111

http://aetoswire.com/news/one-million-dollars-donated-to-educate-refugee-children-in-asia-and-mena-region/en

Rimini Street Launches New Solutions that Further Extend the Life and Value of Enterprise Software as a Foundation for Innovation

Company enables “Innovation by Extension” with launch of new mobility, analytics and security add-on solutions

LAS VEGAS-Wednesday, April 25th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a global provider of enterprise software products and services, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products, today announced the first offerings in a family of solutions designed to provide improved competitive advantage to organizations with mature and valuable enterprise software investments that can be used as a foundation for innovation. Rimini Street’s new solutions can enable an organization to quickly and cost-effectively modernize their current enterprise software with the latest desired features and capabilities, future-proof their technical platforms against yet-unknown technology changes, and secure their systems against a constantly evolving threat environment. Rimini Street’s new solutions enable organizations to leverage their existing systems as a solid foundation for an innovative hybrid IT strategy.

 “Innovation by Extension” Maximizes ROI and Accelerates Competitive Advantage

Organizations have invested significant money, labor and time in their current mission-critical enterprise software systems and want to maximize the ROI and extend the life of these investments while focusing new investments on innovations that can rapidly drive growth and competitive advantage. Rimini Street’s extensibility solutions are designed to help companies achieve these objectives by delivering cost effective, easy to deploy functional and technical capabilities to current, mature enterprise software systems, allowing CIOs to access and leverage innovation quickly without having to undertake costly, disruptive upgrades, cost-prohibitive replacements or wait potentially years for the vendor to deliver functionality that is needed now.

Rimini Street’s new family of extensibility solutions can also lay the foundation for an organizations’ hybrid IT strategy that combines existing, mature on-premise systems of record with systems of engagement that may include innovative cloud-based technologies. Innovation can be funded by savings that result from switching to Rimini Street’s award-winning support program.

Rimini Street’s first in a new family of extensibility solutions include the following:

Rimini Street Mobility – Allows users to quickly create and distribute a mobile application in days, delivering the fastest time to value and no business disruption. All existing processes, customizations and logic are fully usable, so no software release migrations or upgrades are required.
Rimini Street Analytics – Enables users to make better, faster decisions across the enterprise with a cost-effective, quick-to-deploy and easy to implement self-service business intelligence platform. Users can connect and analyze data from multiple sources to create their own custom reports and dashboards on the fly.
Rimini Street Advanced Database Security – A next-generation security solution that identifies and intercepts attempted exploits of database vulnerabilities before they reach their target, without requiring any changes to the database code. Rimini Street Advanced Database Security was launched in 2017.

“Customers in today’s IT landscape want to achieve more value out of their current enterprise software platform and seek options that help them modernize their platforms without the hassles of expensive and endless upgrades. Leaders also seek agility and a competitive advantage in achieving corporate goals. This new standard of software support helps them to achieve these goals, and allows customers to fully maximize their enterprise software investments with the very best ROI,” said R ‘Ray’ Wang, Principal Analyst and CEO of Constellation Research.

Mobility Solution Provides Business Agility and Quick Wins

Most organizations have business demand for mobilizing functions across the enterprise to support their digital transformation efforts, but are held back by the cost, time and effort required to develop and launch new mobile applications. In addition, many mobile solutions involve customized code which is not supported by the software vendor.

Rimini Street Mobility addresses these challenges by providing a best-of-breed mobility framework that is designed to allow end-users to quickly and easily create their own mobile capabilities. Rimini Street Mobility can lower the cost of mobilizing enterprise applications, and can reduce the time to develop and deliver new applications from potentially months to just days, delivering quick wins to the organization.

Cost Effective, Actionable Data Intelligence

Organizations are increasingly turning to analytics software to support the needs of their departmental end-users to have actionable data intelligence at their fingertips in real time. Their users require ease of use, compatibility with all their devices and the ability to simplify the data for reporting purposes. However, current options available from the enterprise software vendors can be expensive to license and time-consuming to implement, and often limited to a single data source. Rimini Street Analytics provides organizations and their end-users the ability to cost-effectively procure and rapidly install and access a business intelligence solution that lets them pull data from multiple data sources including enterprise applications, databases or cloud solutions.

Rimini Street Advanced Database Security

Also part of the extensibility solutions portfolio is Rimini Street Advanced Database Security. Launched in 2017 and available for Oracle, SAP, IBM and Microsoft databases under support contracts with Rimini Street, the product is a next-generation database security solution that protects databases from known and unknown vulnerabilities, faster and less expensive than traditional vendor security patches, through the use of modern virtual patching. The solution blocks attempted attacks before they reach the database without the need for regression testing or impacting production systems.

Rimini Street plans to continue to advance the scope and breadth of its extensibility solutions over time. In addition, the Company offers a deep portfolio of technical services which enable clients to further future-proof existing systems by addressing interoperability issues and avoid unnecessary upgrades of hardware, operating systems, databases, middleware and browsers.

“Rimini Street has been our trusted enterprise software support provider for more than eight years, and during this time we have not only received high quality, ultra-responsive support for our core platform, but have also saved significant budget in our total maintenance costs each and every year. But Rimini Street isn’t content to just resolve break/fix issues,” said Eric Robinson, CIO of Color Spot. “They added a new dimension by offering solutions which can quickly extend our ERP with needed mobility and analytics capabilities all without a costly upgrade. We look forward to exploring these new capabilities as we continue to modernize our operations and gain competitive edge.”

“Clients are looking for simple, affordable and streamlined solutions that work securely across their enterprise application portfolio, without having to upgrade or replace their current enterprise software investment just to reap the benefits of new, modern application capabilities and technologies,” said Seth A. Ravin, Rimini Street CEO. “Our solutions ensure that an organizations’ existing applications are modernized, its technology is protected against future changes, and its systems protected with innovative security solutions. Existing enterprise software investments can serve for many years as the foundation for a hybrid IT strategy that delivers competitive advantage through ‘Innovation by Extension’ – all supported by Rimini Street’s award-winning support program.”

Pricing and Availability

Rimini Street offers attractive packaged pricing and annual subscription-pricing for all of the extensibility solutions. Rimini Street Mobility, Rimini Street Analytics and Rimini Street Advanced Database Security are immediately available.

About Rimini Street, Inc.

Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI) is a global provider of enterprise software products and services, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products. The company has redefined enterprise software support services since 2005 with an innovative, award-winning program that enables licensees of IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and other enterprise software vendors to save up to 90 percent on total support costs. Clients can remain on their current software release without any required upgrades for a minimum of 15 years. Over 1,560 global Fortune 500, midmarket, public sector and other organizations from a broad range of industries currently rely on Rimini Street as their trusted, third-party support provider. To learn more, please visit https://www.riministreet.com, follow @riministreet on Twitter and find Rimini Street on Facebook and LinkedIn. (C-RMNI)

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this communication are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “may,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “continue,” “future,” “will,” “expect,” “outlook” or other similar words, phrases or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our first quarter and annual 2018 revenue guidance, industry, future events, future opportunities and growth initiatives, estimates of Rimini Street’s total addressable market, and projections of customer savings. These statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance, nor are these statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties regarding Rimini Street’s business, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changes in the business environment in which Rimini Street operates, including inflation and interest rates, and general financial, economic, regulatory and political conditions affecting the industry in which Rimini Street operates; adverse litigation developments or government inquiry; the final amount and timing of any refunds from Oracle related to our litigation; our ability to refinance existing debt on favorable terms; changes in taxes, laws and regulations; competitive product and pricing activity; difficulties of managing growth profitably; the loss of one or more members of Rimini Street’s management team; uncertainty as to the long-term value of RMNI common stock; and those discussed in Rimini Street’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 15, 2018 under the heading “Risk Factors,” as updated from time to time by Rimini Street’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings by Rimini Street with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There may be additional risks that Rimini Street presently knows or that Rimini Street currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements provide Rimini Street’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. Rimini Street anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Rimini Street’s assessments to change. However, while Rimini Street may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Rimini Street specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Rimini Street’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication.

© 2018 Rimini Street, Inc. All rights reserved. “Rimini Street” is a registered trademark of Rimini Street, Inc. in the United States and other countries, and Rimini Street, the Rimini Street logo, and combinations thereof, and other marks marked by TM are trademarks of Rimini Street, Inc. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, and unless otherwise specified, Rimini Street claims no affiliation, endorsement, or association with any such trademark holder or other companies referenced herein.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006173/en/

Contacts
Rimini Street, Inc.
Michelle McGlocklin, +1 925-523-8414
mmcglocklin@riministreet.com

Permalink : http://aetoswire.com/news/rimini-street-launches-new-solutions-that-further-extend-the-life-and-value-of-enterprise-software-as-a-foundation-for-innovation/en


Westinghouse AP1000® Plant to Load Fuel

Landmark milestone for Westinghouse technology


SANMEN, China -Thursday, April 26th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Westinghouse Electric Company, China State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) and CNNC Sanmen Nuclear Power Company Limited (SMNPC) announced today that the world’s first unit of AP1000 nuclear power plant located in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province, China, has received the fuel load permit from China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) and has commenced initial fuel loading.

“Today we have reached a tremendous milestone for Westinghouse and our AP1000 plant technology,” said José Emeterio Gutiérrez, Westinghouse president and chief executive officer. “This is the next major step in delivering the world’s first AP1000 plant to our customer and demonstrating the benefits of our advanced passive safety technology to the world.”

Sanmen Unit 1 has successfully completed all the necessary functional tests as well as technical, safety and Chinese regulatory reviews. The fuel load process will be followed by initial criticality, initial synchronization to the electrical grid, and conservative, step by step, power ascension testing, until all testing is safely and successfully completed at 100% power.

“This major project milestone marks the start of the final commissioning program for Sanmen Unit 1,” said David Durham, Westinghouse New Projects Business senior vice president. “I am confident that our teams will continue to operate at the highest levels – at Sanmen, as well as the Haiyang and Vogtle projects and in our ongoing support of the worldwide operating fleet.”

Commenting on Westinghouse’s partnership with the Chinese government and suppliers as key contributors to the successful delivery of clean energy, Gavin Liu, president – Asia Region stated, “Westinghouse is proud to be a partner in China’s forward-looking nuclear energy program, an effort that will provide clean-air electricity to power China’s economy. Through technology transfer, localization and infrastructure development, Westinghouse continues to collaborate with our Chinese partners and supports the development of China’s nuclear power industry.”

In 2007, Westinghouse successfully won the bid for China’s generation III+ nuclear power projects to build two units of AP1000 reactors in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province and two units in Haiyang, Shandong Province. The company has two additional units currently under construction at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Georgia.



View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180425005828/en/




Contacts

Westinghouse Electric Company
Sarah Cassella, +1 412-374-4744
Manager, External Communications
Email: cassels@westinghouse.com




Permalink : http://aetoswire.com/news/westinghouse-ap1000reg-plant-to-load-fuel/en

Al Zahia Celebrates Spring with Its First Annual ‘Open Market’

 More than 600 residents, visitors and retailers participated in the two-day community event, designed to promote human engagement and social well-being

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates-Sunday, April 29th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

Al Zahia, Sharjah’s premier lifestyle destination, celebrated spring with its first annual ‘Open market’ event, held at the community’s Trees Park. Designed to foster human engagement and social well-being, the ‘Open Market’ in Al Zahia was attended by over 600 residents, visitors and retailers.

During the two-day event, residents and visitors enjoyed savoury food items offered by local food trucks, live entertainment, and a host of children’s outdoor activities including face painting, arts and crafts, sports and entertainment.

“One of our key goals in Al Zahia is to foster human engagement in the community by offering fun, interactive family-friendly events that cement our footprint as Sharjah’s premier lifestyle destination. We are pleased with the impressive turnout at our first annual ‘Open Market’, and we look forward to welcome more families to our neighbourhoods and upcoming community events this year,” said Shadi Al Azzeh, Project Head, Al Zahia, at Majid Al Futtaim – Communities.

Al Zahia – owned by Sharjah Holding PJSC, a strategic partnership between Majid Al Futtaim - Properties and Sharjah Asset Management, strives to provide a quality family living experience by enabling residents to connect and celebrate life to its fullest, everyday. Al Zahia regularly holds community-inspired events that engage residents and visitors alike, such as outdoors movie nights with VOX Cinemas. As the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Majid Al Futtaim crafts human-centric destinations by bridging people, business and culture to create world class communities.

Disclaimer: All facts and figures in this release are accurate at the time of issuance.

About Al Zahia

Al Zahia – owned by Sharjah Holding and managed by Majid Al Futtaim Properties – is a milestone development that will help diversify the real estate sector of the Emirate of Sharjah. As Sharjah’s first integrated, mixed use gated community – rooted in the emirate’s values of family, community and culture – Al Zahia is on par with the high-quality, international building standards for which its developer, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, is known.

http://www.alzahia.ae/ 

https://twitter.com/al_zahia

https://www.facebook.com/AlZahiaCommunity

https://www.instagram.com/al_zahia

About Sharjah Holding JSC

Sharjah Holding, a strategic partnership between Majid Al Futtaim Properties and Sharjah Asset Management, is a community focused real estate developer. Sharjah Holding’s current focus is on the development and management of retail and mixed use projects in the Emirate of Sharjah. These include Matajer, a neighbourhood shopping centre concept, and Al Zahia, a major integrated mixed-use community.

Note to the Editor: The legal name of this company is “Majid Al Futtaim” and should not be shortened or replaced by an acronym to avoid confusion with another business entity.

Disclaimer: All facts and figures in this release are accurate at the time of issuance.

About Majid Al Futtaim

Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim is the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
A remarkable business success story, Majid Al Futtaim started from one man’s vision to transform the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure to create ‘great moments for everyone, every day’. It has since grown into one of the United Arab Emirates’ most respected and successful businesses spanning 15 international markets, employing 40,000 people and obtaining the highest credit rating (BBB) among privately-held corporates in the region.

Majid Al Futtaim owns and operates 23 shopping malls, 12 hotels and Four mixed-use communities, with further developments underway in the region. The shopping malls portfolio includes Mall of the Emirates, Mall of Egypt, City Centre malls, My City Centre neighbourhood centres, and four community malls which are in joint venture with the Government of Sharjah. The Company is the exclusive franchisee for Carrefour in 38 markets across Middle East, Africa and Asia, and operates a portfolio of more than 230 outlets in 14 countries.

Majid Al Futtaim operates more than 300 VOX Cinema screens and 32 Magic Planet family entertainment centres across the region, in addition to iconic leisure and entertainment facilities such as Ski Dubai, Orbi Dubai and Ski Egypt, among others. The Company is parent to the consumer finance company 'Najm', a Fashion and Home retail business representing international brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, ALLSAINTS, lululemon athletica, Crate & Barrel and Maisons du Monde; and a healthcare business that operates City Centre Clinics. In addition, Majid Al Futtaim operates Enova, a facility and energy management company, through a joint venture operation with Veolia, a global leader in optimised environment resource management. The Company also owns the rights to The LEGO Store and American Girl in the Middle East and operates in the food and beverage industry through a partnership with Gourmet Gulf.

www.majidalfuttaim.com

Please follow us on:

https://www.youtube.com/user/majidalfuttaim

https://twitter.com/majidalfuttaim

https://www.linkedin.com/company/majid-al-futtaim

https://www.facebook.com/MajidAlFuttaim

https://www.instagram.com/majidalfuttaim



Contacts

SAHARA Communications

Ghyna Kurdy, Senior Account Manager, +97143298996, +971501454324

g.kurdy@saharagcc.com / www.saharagcc.com

http://aetoswire.com/news/al-zahia-celebrates-spring-with-its-first-annual-lsquoopen-marketrsquo/en

Gemalto Enables Digitization of Hong Kong’s Octopus Card into Samsung Pay

Consumers in Hong Kong can now digitize their Octopus cards to pay for public transport, retail transactions and online shopping with designated Samsung mobile phones


AMSTERDAM-Sunday, April 29th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, announced that its Trusted Service Hub (TSH) is enabling the secure digitization of Octopus contactless smart cards into Samsung Pay. Named Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay, this new mobile payment service allows consumers to securely pay and travel by simply tapping their designated Samsung smartphones against an Octopus acceptance reader for payment or even door access.

Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay leverages Gemalto’s TSH to securely digitize Octopus cards into Samsung Pay, including the transfer of the balance and any associated loyalty programs. Consumers can also easily register their credit card details onto Samsung Pay, providing one more option to top up their digital Octopus cards when necessary.

The Octopus card is a contactless stored value smart card commonly used to pay for public transport and purchases at more than 80,000 touch-points in Hong Kong, including retail outlets, online shopping, recreational facilities, vending machines, and self-service kiosks. There are currently more than 34.5 million active Octopus cards and O! ePay accounts, which make more than 14.5 million transaction counts amounting to over HK$200 million daily.

“We are pleased to work with Gemalto again, given the trusted and success of our previous partnerships, and their sound understanding of the nature of our business,” said Mr Sunny Cheung, Chief Executive Officer of Octopus Holdings Limited. “This partnership has enabled us to be among the first contactless smart card payment system operator in the world to bring great convenience to consumers by allowing them to pay via their smartphones. We believe this service will resonate well with consumers seeking a payment method that is hassle-free and safe to use, providing them with more payment methods to choose from.”

“Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay delivers a convenient yet secure payment option for consumers in Hong Kong, and help the city realize its vision of transforming into a cashless society.” said Michael Au, senior vice president Banking and Payment in Asia for Gemalto, “Given its robustness, the TSH is already in use by various organizations such as banks and retailers wanting to offer secure mobile payment solutions to their customers. We hope that the success of Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay will spur other global operators to roll out mobile payment offerings that are easy to use and do not compromise on security.”

Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay is currently compatible with Samsung Galaxy Note8, S8+, S8, S9, S9+, A8+ and C Pro series including C5 Pro, C7 Pro and C9 Pro models.

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the global leader in digital security, with 2017 annual revenues of €3 billion and customers in over 180 countries. We bring trust to an increasingly connected world.

From secure software to biometrics and encryption, our technologies and services enable businesses and governments to authenticate identities and protect data so they stay safe and enable services in personal devices, connected objects, the cloud and in between.

Gemalto’s solutions are at the heart of modern life, from payment to enterprise security and the internet of things. We authenticate people, transactions and objects, encrypt data and create value for software – enabling our clients to deliver secure digital services for billions of individuals and things.

Our 15,000 employees operate out of 114 offices, 40 personalization and data centers, and 35 research and software development centers located in 47 countries.

For more information visit www.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.





View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180425005616/en/

Contacts

Gemalto media contacts:
Tauri Cox
North America
+1 512 257 3916
tauri.cox@gemalto.com
or
Sophie Dombres
Europe Middle East & Africa
+33 4 42 36 57 38
sophie.dombres@gemalto.com
or
Jaslin Huang
Asia Pacific
+65 6317 3005
jaslin.huang@gemalto.com
or
Enriqueta Sedano
Latin America
+52 5521221422
enriqueta.sedano@gemalto.com


Permalink : http://aetoswire.com/news/gemalto-enables-digitization-of-hong-kongrsquos-octopus-card-into-samsung-pay/en

Sharjah Holding Conducts Board of Director’s Meeting

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates-Thursday, April 26th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

Sharjah Holding, a strategic partnership between Sharjah Asset Management and Majid Al Futtaim Properties, held its Board of Directors meeting to discuss its plans to enhance the company's future financial performance the company’s administrative and financial reports, followed by decisions taken during its previous meeting, as well as other issues and topics related to the work of the company.

During the meeting, Board members discussed several topics including the company’s 2018 quarterly performance, the latest developments in Matajer markets and the Al Zahia community, as well as 2017 financial statements and auditors' reports. Agenda items also included discussion of new proposals, ideas and projects the company is pursuing and its role in the development of those projects.

HE Waleed Al Sayegh, Sharjah Holding Chairman said: “Today’s meeting was both important and vital and included many key items and points related to convening the general assembly meeting. We discussed the company’s 2018 balance sheet as well as other matters. All members of the Board of Directors interacted with these ideas and proposals, reflecting our seriousness and keenness towards enhancing the company’s performance, while achieving the highest levels of excellence and success in its various projects that add value to the Emirate of Sharjah. The most  important pillars of the company are quality and adherence to world-class and high-level standards.”

He added, “The discussions, topics and ideas put forward by the Board of Directors have been part of the company’s continuous pursuit of the highest standards of success, excellence and innovation, in line with the Government of Sharjah’s approach to growth and development, which continues to improve Sharjah’s economic and investment landscape,  achieving prosperity and entertainment for the people, in accordance with the directives of HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.”

The company’s board of directors praised the efforts and performance of its various sectors and projects, so far achieved, and applauded the new phases that were launched across various fields, sectors, businesses and projects. They also praised the performance and achievements of team members working on company projects.

The Board of Directors underscored that all Sharjah Holding projects are subject to deep and accurate studies, and represent a serious check on the extent and nature of the benefit of their implementation for the best interest of the society. The company has ambitious plans to enter into new project developments, which strengthen its leading position, especially since it has a long investment and planning history, and significantly serves the shareholders and the society.

Contacts

SAHARA Communications

Farah Al Obaidi, Head of Media Relations, +97143298996, +971503323158

farah@saharagcc.com / www.saharagcc.com

http://aetoswire.com/news/sharjah-holding-conducts-board-of-directorrsquos-meeting/en

Registration is Open for 2nd Solar Decathlon Middle East in 2020, With Prizes Totalling Over AED20 Million for the Two Competitions

Dubai, United Arab Emirates.-Sunday, April 29th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that registration is now open for the second Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME). SDME was created through an agreement between Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, DEWA, and US Department of Energy. Dubai will host the first two rounds of SDME; in November 2018, and in 2020. Prizes for the two rounds total over AED20 million (USD5.45 million).

The announcement was made at the Second International Workshop, which DEWA organised for the 21 teams from 36 universities in 15 countries participating in the first competition.

Shortlisted team for the first SDME include Team Spirit of the Union from Zayed University and the Petroleum Institute; Team Know-Howse from University of Sharjah, UAE and University of Ferrara, Italy; Team ORA from Heriot-Watt University in Dubai; Team NYUAD from New York University Abu Dhabi; Team Jeel from the American University in Dubai; Team Al Bayt Al Kamel from the American University of Ras Al Khaimah; Team UOW from University of Wollongong-Australia and University of Wollongong Dubai, Team Aqua Green from Ajman University from the UAE.

It also includes Team KSU from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia; Team SoLLite Salalah from Dhofar University in Oman; Team BaityKool from the University of Bordeaux, France, Amity University in the UAE, and An-Najah National University from Palestine; Team EFdeN from Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism, University Politehnica of Bucharest, and Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest, Romania and Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani Dubai Campus, UAE; Team FutureHAUS from Virginia Tech University in the USA; Team HAAB from University of Chieti-Pescara Gabriele D'Annunzio University of Pisa, and University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli in Italy; Team Sapienza from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Team VIRTUe from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands; Team TDIS from the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan; Team MizanHome from Universiti Teknologi and Universiti Sains Islam in Malaysia; Team Twist Box from the University of Belgrade, Serbia; Team Jordan from the University of Jordan, and Team Bgreen from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan.

Teams can register on www.solardecathlonme.com

Contacts

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority    

Ribal Dayekh / Mosaad Abdelrahman                                  

+971508057573, +97145151784      

Ribal.dayekh@dewa.gov.ae                                     

Mosaad.abdelrahman@dewa.gov.ae


Permalink : http://aetoswire.com/news/registration-is-open-for-2nd-solar-decathlon-middle-east-in-2020-with-prizes-totalling-over-aed20-million-for-the-two-competitions/en

AETOSWire Launches AW Audio Alerts for Journalists

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -Sunday, April 29th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

AETOSWire, the news distribution arm of News Services Group (NSG) and the exclusive representative of Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, in Middle East and North Africa, launches the first-of-its-kind AW Audio Alerts for journalists.

Sending press releases has never been made faster, easier, and more personalized with AETOSWire’s AW Audio Alerts.  Unlike emails and satellite feeds, the AW Audio Alerts comes in an audio format that highlights the day’s PRs.

Mr. Tony AbiHanna, President and CEO of NSG, AETOSWire, and Esmaa News, explained, “As a leader in news distribution, we always look for ways to innovate our services.  Considering that journalists have to go through hundreds if not thousands of news releases every day and make a quick decision on what to publish, we have developed a way to enable them to identify, access, post, and share PRs quickly and instantaneously.”

AW Audio Alerts are sent to journalists via a unique URL through their WhatsApp account or through SMS on their mobile number. The link will direct them instantly to the AW Audio Alerts’ interactive page that displays the audio play button and news briefs. With just one click of the button, they can listen to the audio of PR briefs that were published during the last 24 hours. 

And if they need to browse or download the full PR, they just have to click on the headline of the news brief that will automatically direct them to the newsroom on AETOSWire’s website.

The new platform will save journalists a tremendous amount of time in sorting and reading through all press releases and enable them to share the news easily anytime and anywhere even while they are on-the-go.

According to Mr. AbiHanna, “This endeavor not only seeks to assist journalists conveniently sift through daily press releases faster but also creates a higher chance for our clients’ PRs to get noticed and published.  It’s a win-win situation for both.”

This is just one of the new service offerings AETOSWire has in its pipeline that will be launched in the coming months.

For more information, please visit www.AETOSWire.com.

Contacts
AETOSWire

Zyra Tarrosa, Head of PR, +97145577007

pr@aetoswire.com

Permalink : http://aetoswire.com/news/aetoswire-launches-aw-audio-alerts-for-journalists/en

Friday, April 27, 2018

Gemalto First Quarter 2018 Revenue

 AMSTERDAM -Friday, April 27th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]

    First quarter revenue at €650 million, up +8% at constant exchange rates
    Double-digit revenue growth in Identity, IoT & Cybersecurity segment
    Slower rate of revenue decrease in Smartcards & Issuance segment
    2018 full year outlook confirmed
    On March 27, 2018 Thales launched its offer for all Gemalto shares

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 - GTO), the world leader in digital security today announces its revenue for the first quarter of 2018.
                                                     
Revenue (€ in millions)           First quarter 2018           First quarter 2017           Change at constant exchange rates
          Change at historical exchange rates
   
Identity, IoT & Cybersecurity           293           256           +24%           +15%    
Smartcards & Issuance           357           396           (2%)           (10%)    
Total           650           651           +8%           =    
                                                     
Philippe Vallée, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Gemalto grew well this quarter driven by a solid increase in the Identity, IoT & Cybersecurity segment that more than offset the anticipated revenue decrease in the Smartcards & Issuance segment.
During the quarter, commercial synergies with the newly acquired Identity Management business began to kick in and resulted in milestone wins in Governments. Gemalto also announced the launch of two ground-breaking laser-personalized innovations designed to significantly increase the security of passports and IDs. The Cybersecurity business grew well in Europe in anticipation of GDPR1 implementation and more broadly as organizations increase their focus on data privacy and data security. The IoT business posted an outstanding performance, as large deployments for connected health devices, smart payment and connected cars continue to reflect the growing adoption of IoT technology in industrial applications.
In parallel, Gemalto pursued its focus on profit margin in the Smartcards & Issuance segment adjusting its cost-base and business priorities to the market dynamics.
These evolutions, in line with our expectations, are a first step resulting from the strategic choices we have made for the Company. They provide us with a solid foundation to deliver on our 2018 objectives.
On March 27, Thales launched its offer for all Gemalto shares, an offer unanimously supported by Gemalto’s Board of Directors.”

_______________

1 General Data Protection Regulation

Basis of preparation of financial information

Segment information

The Identity, IoT & Cybersecurity segment comprises businesses associated with homeland security for governments (“Governments”), IoT connectivity for industrial applications (“IoT”) and cybersecurity for enterprises (“Cybersecurity”).

The Smartcards & Issuance segment comprises businesses mainly associated with removable SIM cards (“SIM”), payment cards (“Payment”) and their issuance services. The segment includes as well businesses associated to the digital transformation of smart cards (“Digital”) such as digital payment, digital banking, remote subscription management, embedded SIM/MIM and embedded secure elements. Patents business is also included in this segment.

Historical exchange rates and constant currency figures

The Company sells its products and services in a very large number of countries and is commonly remunerated in other currencies than the Euro. Fluctuations in these other currencies exchange rates against the Euro have in particular a translation impact on the reported Euro value of the Company revenues. Comparisons at constant exchange rates aim at eliminating the effect of currencies translation movements on the analysis of the Group revenue by translating prior-year revenues at the same average exchange rate as applied in the current year. Revenue variations are at constant exchange rates and include the impact of currencies variation hedging program, except where otherwise noted. All other figures in this press release are at historical exchange rates, except where otherwise noted.

Adjusted income statement and profit from operations (PFO) non-GAAP measure

The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and with section 2:362(9) of the Netherlands Civil Code.

To better assess its past and future performance, the Company also prepares an adjusted income statement where the key metric used to evaluate the business and make operating decisions over the period 2010 to 2018 is the profit from operations (PFO).

PFO is a non-GAAP measure defined as IFRS operating profit adjusted for (i) the amortization and impairment of intangibles resulting from acquisitions, (ii) restructuring and acquisition-related expenses, (iii) all equity-based compensation charges and associated costs; and (iv) fair value adjustments upon business acquisitions. These items are further explained as follows:

    Amortization, and impairment of intangibles resulting from acquisitions are defined as the amortization, and impairment expenses related to intangibles assets and goodwill recognized as part of the allocation of the excess purchase consideration over the share of net assets acquired.

    Restructuring and acquisitions-related expenses are defined as (i) restructuring expenses which are the costs incurred in connection with a restructuring as defined in accordance with the provisions of IAS 37 (e.g. sale or termination of a business, closure of a plant,…), and consequent costs; (ii) reorganization expenses defined as the costs incurred in connection with headcount reductions, consolidation of manufacturing and offices sites, as well as the rationalization and harmonization of the product and service portfolio and the integration of IT systems, consequent to a business combination; and (iii) transaction costs (such as fees paid as part of an acquisition process).

    Equity-based compensation charges are defined as (i) the discount granted to employees acquiring Gemalto shares under Gemalto Employee Stock Purchase plans; (ii) the amortization of the fair value of stock options and restricted share units granted by the Board of Directors to employees; and the related costs.
   
    Fair value adjustments over net assets acquired are defined as the reversal, in the income statement, of the fair value adjustments recognized as a result of a business combination, as prescribed by IFRS3R. Those adjustments are mainly associated with (i) the amortization expense related to the step-up of the acquired work-in-progress and finished goods assumed at their realizable value and (ii) the amortization of the cancelled commercial margin related to deferred revenue balance acquired.

These non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable IFRS measures and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS.

In the adjusted income statement, Operating Expenses are defined as the sum of Research and Engineering expenses, Sales and Marketing expenses, General and Administrative expenses, and Other income (expense) net.

EBITDA is defined as PFO plus depreciation and amortization expenses, excluding the above amortization and impairment of intangibles resulting from acquisitions.

Net debt and net cash

Net debt is a non IFRS measure defined as total borrowings net of cash and cash equivalents. Net cash is a non IFRS measure defined as cash and cash equivalents net of total borrowings.

All figures presented in this press release are unaudited.

Segment information

Gemalto posted revenue of €650 million, increasing by +8% at constant exchange rates, flat at historical exchange rates from the same period of last year. Excluding the €35 million contribution from the Identity Management Business, Gemalto’s revenue grew +3% at constant exchange rates. The Company’s return to top line growth is supported by strong revenue increase in the Identity, IoT & Cybersecurity segment.

Identity, IoT & Cybersecurity
                                         
€ in millions           First quarter 2018           First quarter 2017           Change at constant exchange rates
   
Revenue           293           256           +24%    
                                         
The identity, IoT & Cybersecurity segment’s revenue came in at €293 million, increasing +24% compared to the previous year. The backlog in this segment continued to increase driven by solid wins across the businesses.

In the first quarter, the Governments business posted very strong revenue growth compared with the same period of last year. The positive evolution was due to the contribution of the Identity Management Business and initial deliveries of its core solutions to Gemalto’s historical customers. In addition, a significant project using biometric technology was won in the banking sector. It will enable deployment of commercial biometric solutions on a large scale, increasing consumers’ protection in their day-to-day transactions. The increase in passport revenue was solid this quarter, driven by major customers in Europe and Asia while taking into account softer deliveries in the Middle East. Gemalto also announced the launch of two new laser-personalized innovations designed to further increase the security of official identity documents such as national ID cards and passports. The highly sophisticated enhancements are designed to counter forgery while remaining convenient for officials to verify document authenticity of legitimate card-holders. Overall, Gemalto is well positioned to seize the growing opportunities of this market.

The Cybersecurity business delivered a solid performance this quarter. This was driven by a growing number of deployments of encryption and key management software in Europe in anticipation of the May 2018 EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and more broadly as data privacy and data security continue to be a key focus for organizations in light of industry compliance standards such as the US health standard (HIPAA) or payment card standard (PCI-DSS).The software monetization sub-business also grew strongly supported by large projects in Europe and Asia. These developments largely offset the revenue decrease in the authentication sub-business line resulting from the ongoing shift in its product mix from hardware to software.

The IoT business posted an outstanding performance in the first quarter. The increase was driven by strong deliveries in Europe and Asia to large customers in a variety of key industrial sectors that extend Gemalto’s traditional strong foothold in the automotive market. In the field of connected health in particular, Gemalto’s products are playing a decisive role in enhanced medical workflow automation, better analytics for disease management and improved out-patient health monitoring. Security and scalability remain the key criteria for implementation of IoT applications, and new design wins recorded this quarter reflect Gemalto’s strong position across key industrial sectors and ability to cater to the sustained market demand.

Smartcards & Issuance
                                         
€ in millions           First quarter 2018           First quarter 2017           Change at constant exchange rates
   
Revenue           357           396           (2%)    
                                         
The Smartcards & Issuance segment posted revenue of €357 million, (2%) lower at constant exchange rates.

The payment business stabilized this quarter. Sales in Americas decreased by (5%) compared with (34%) in the first quarter of 2017, as the US EMV market continued to gradually normalize. Additionally, the CIS and Middle East regions posted strong performances on the back of large payment card deployments. The SIM business remained under pressure. SIM revenue declined this quarter as low profit-margin opportunities in South Asia were dismissed, in line with the stable profit margin objective set for this business. As part of the transition plan, Gemalto also decided this quarter to exit a specific low-end removable SIM market, cutting its dedicated resources and products for that market.

The Digital business recorded slightly lower revenue year-on-year as growth in mobile services were more than offset by a decrease in payment services. Connectivity solutions deployments increased in key sectors of the IoT market while the need for On Demand Connectivity (ODC) services is now gradually spreading to all regions and mobile network operators. In particular, Gemalto announced a partnership with Korea Telecom to provide its ODC solution and embedded SIM (eSIM) to automobile manufacturers enabling in-vehicle connected services. The revenue reduction in payment services partly resulted from the discontinuation of a business as part of the transition plan.

Thales combination

In December 2017 Thales and Gemalto reached an agreement on a recommended all-cash offer for all issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Gemalto. This offer was launched on March 27, 2018. We are working together with Thales towards achieving the regulatory and antitrust approvals required to complete the transaction. The transaction is expected to close shortly after Thales has secured all customary regulatory approvals and clearances, which is envisaged for the second half of 2018. More information on the Thales offer and the integration can be found on our website at Public Offer by Thales

2018 full year outlook confirmed

    Double digit revenue growth expected in the Identity, IoT & Cybersecurity segment

    Stable PFO margin expected in the Smartcards & Issuance segment

    Mid to High single digit growth in profit from operations expected at Gemalto level

Additional information

Below is a highlight of new contracts and achievements published by the Company in the first quarter of 2018
                 
Identity, IoT & Cybersecurity    
           
January 9, 2018                 Gemalto LTE-M wireless module earns AT&T certification expanding highly efficient cellular
connectivity for IoT devices
January 16, 2018                 Gemalto and Ponemon Institute Study: Big gaps emerge between countries on attitudes toward
data protection in the cloud
February 11, 2018                 Gemalto high speed passport readers for Cairo International Airport
February 27, 2018                 Gemalto enables swift and secure creation of trusted Digital Identities
March 21, 2018                 Gemalto unveils two new enhanced security features for ID documents
                 
                 
Smartcards & Issuance    
          
January 4, 2018                 Gemalto launches the first biometric EMV card for contactless payments
January 16, 2018                 Ghana speeds up EMV migration with PURE payment technology
January 31, 2018                 Gemalto’s Discovery Service boosts on-demand connectivity activation for consumer devices
worldwide
February 27, 2018                 Telefonica Deutschland selects Gemalto solution to deliver identity verification service
March 6, 2018                 Korea Telecom selects Gemalto to deliver out-of-box connectivity for connected cars
March 19, 2018                 Dai Nippon Printing chooses Gemalto’s biometric facial recognition solution to facilitate mobile
banking access in Japan
                 
Live Audio Webcast and Conference call

Gemalto first quarter 2018 revenue presentation will be webcast in English today at 3:00 PM Amsterdam and Paris time (2:00 PM London time and 9:00 AM New York time).

Audio webcast

A listen-only live audio webcast of the presentation and the Q&A session will be accessible here on our Investor Relations website via the link below:

Gemalto webcast

This webcast is compatible with Android and iOS terminals, including iPads. Questions will be taken by way of conference call.

Conference call

Investors and financial analysts wishing to ask questions should join the presentation by dialing:
(UK) +44 330 336 9411 or (US) +1 323 994 2085 or (FR) +33 1 7677 2257

PIN: 8903156

The accompanying presentation slide set that will be used during the conference call is available on Gemalto investor relations web site.
Replays of the presentation and Q&A session will be available in webcast format on our Investor Relations web site approximately 3 hours after the conclusion of the presentation. Replays will be available for one year.

Calendar

Gemalto N.V. will hold its 2018 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) on Friday, May 18, 2018 at 10:00 AM Amsterdam and Paris time at the Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Schiphol Boulevard 701, 1118 BN Schiphol, the Netherlands. This general meeting of shareholders will also be the general meeting where the Board of Directors explains the recommended cash offer from Thales S.A. as required pursuant to the Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids. The persons entitled to attend and cast votes at the AGM will be those who are recorded as having such rights after the close of trading on the relevant Euronext stock exchange on April 20, 2018 (the “Record Date”) in Gemalto’s shareholders register, or in a register of a financial institution affiliated to Euroclear France S.A., regardless of whether they are shareholders at the time of the AGM.
Publication of 2018 second quarter revenue and first semester earnings: August 31, 2018

Stock Exchange Listing

Gemalto N.V. is dual listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Paris, in the compartment A (Large Caps).
                 
Mnemonic:                 GTO
Exchange                 Dual listing on Euronext Amsterdam and Paris
Market of reference                 Euronext Amsterdam
ISIN Code                 NL0000400653
Reuters                 GTO.AS
Bloomberg                 GTO:NA
                 
Gemalto has also established a sponsored Level I American Depository Receipt (ADR) Program in the United States since November 2009. Each Gemalto ordinary share is represented by two ADRs. Gemalto’s ADRs trade in U.S. dollar and give access to the voting rights and to the dividends attached to the underlying Gemalto shares. The dividends are paid to investors in U.S. dollar, after being converted into U.S. dollar by the depository bank at the prevailing rate.
                 
Structure                 Sponsored Level I ADR
Exchange                 OTC
Ratio (ORD:DR)                 1:2
DR ISIN                 US36863N2080
DR CUSIP                 36863N 208
                 
This press release contains inside information as referred to in article 7 paragraph 1 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (Market Abuse Regulation).

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the global leader in digital security, with 2017 annual revenues of €3 billion and customers in over 180 countries. We bring trust to an increasingly connected world.

From secure software to biometrics and encryption, our technologies and services enable businesses and governments to authenticate identities and protect data so they stay safe and enable services in personal devices, connected objects, the cloud and in between.

Gemalto’s solutions are at the heart of modern life, from payment to enterprise security and the internet of things. We authenticate people, transactions and objects, encrypt data and create value for software – enabling our clients to deliver secure digital services for billions of individuals and things.

Our 15,000 employees operate out of 114 offices, 40 personalization and data centers, and 35 research and software development centers located in 47 countries.

For more information visit

www.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.

This communication does not constitute an offer to purchase or exchange or
the solicitation of an offer to sell or exchange any securities of Gemalto.

This communication contains certain statements that are neither reported financial results nor other historical information and other statements concerning Gemalto. These statements include financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, events, products and services and future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates" and similar expressions. These and other information and statements contained in this communication constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of applicable securities laws. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and security holders are cautioned that
forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Company, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by the forward-looking information and statements, and the Company cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the forward-looking statements contained in this communication include, but are not limited to: trends in wireless communication and mobile commerce markets; the Company's ability to develop new technology and the effects of competing technologies developed; effects of the intense competition in the Company's main markets; challenges to or loss of intellectual property rights; ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships in its major businesses; ability to develop and take advantage of new software, platforms and services; profitability of the expansion strategy; effects of acquisitions and investments; ability of the Company's to integrate acquired businesses, activities and companies according to expectations; ability of the Company to achieve the expected synergies from acquisitions; and changes in global, political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory forces. Moreover, neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this communication speak only as of the date of this communication and the Company or its representatives are under no duty, and do not undertake, to update any of the forward-looking statements after this date to conform such statements to actual results, to reflect the occurrence of anticipated results or otherwise except as required by applicable law or regulations.

Appendix

Revenue by region
                                                     
€ in millions           First quarter 2018           First quarter 2017           Year-on-year variation at
constant exchange rates
          Year-on-year variation at
historical exchange rates
   
EMEA           308           287           +10%           +7%    
Americas           221           222           +15%           =    
Asia           121           142           (5%)           (15%)    
Total revenue           650           651           +8%           =    
                                                     


View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180426006974/en/




Contacts
Gemalto
Investor Relations
Jean-Claude Deturche
Mr.: +33 6 2399 2141
jean-claude.deturche@gemalto.com
or
Corporate Communication
Isabelle Marand
Ms.: +33 6 1489 1817
isabelle.marand@gemalto.com
or
Media Relations Agency
Suzanne Bakker
Ms.: +31 6 1136 8659
suzanne.bakker@citigateff.nl

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