On Friday, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s shares declined -2.57% to $113.18.
Apple® declared that its Swift™ programming language is now open source. As an open source language, the broad community of talented developers — from app developers to educational institutions to enterprises — can contribute to new Swift features and optimizations and assist bring Swift to new computing platforms. Introduced in 2014, Swift is the fastest growing programming language in history and combines the performance and efficiency of compiled languages with the simplicity and interactivity of popular scripting languages. Apple also launched the Swift.org website with detailed information about Swift open source, counting technical documentation, community resources and links to download the Swift source code.
“By making Swift open source the entire developer community can contribute to the programming language and assist bring it to even more platforms,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Swift’s power and ease of use will inspire a new generation to get into coding, and with declaration they’ll be able to take their ideas anywhere, from mobile devices to the cloud.”
Swift is a powerful and intuitive programming language that gives developers the freedom and capabilities they need to create the next generation of cutting-edge software. Swift is easy to learn and use, even if you’ve never coded before, and it’s the first systems programming language that is as expressive and enjoyable as a scripting language. Designed for safety, Swift also eliminates entire categories of common programming errors.
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players to consumers, small and mid-sized businesses, education, and enterprise and government customers worldwide. The company also sells related software, services, accessories, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. It offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and Mac, a line of desktop and portable personal computers.
Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT)’s shares gained 2.66% to $26.25.
Mattel Inc. (MAT) proudly shares that the Barbie® brand spot “Imagine the Possibilities” was selected as one of the most iconic ads of 2015, based on this year’s YouTube Ads Leaderboard. The spot was voted the winner of the “#TheYouTubeAd That Restores Your Faith in Humanity category.”
The online film, entitled “Imagine the Possibilities,” launched a broader brand initiative that encourages parents to re-appraise the role Barbie has in a child’s life. The advertisement is true to the brand’s heritage and celebrates a young girl’s journey of self-discovery, imagination and storytelling. Having garnered over 40 million views, the piece has become a part of the cultural zeitgeist.
“We know that Barbie has a meaningful place in the lives of girls,” said Evelyn Mazzocco, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Barbie. “We are working together with BBDO to create an emotional connection with parents by reintroducing them to the wonderful benefits of imaginative play and storytelling with Barbie. We are thrilled with the response to this advertisement — this is just the starting of a new chapter for the Barbie brand.”
Mattel, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a range of toy products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: North America, International, and American Girl. It offers dolls and accessories, vehicles and play sets, and games and puzzles under the Mattel Girls & Boys brands, counting Barbie, Monster High, Disney Classics, Ever After High, Little Mommy, Polly Pocket, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, CARS, Disney Planes, BOOMco, Radica, Toy Story, Max Steel, WWE Wrestling, and Batman.
At the end of Friday’s trade, NCI Building Systems Inc (NYSE:NCS)‘s shares surged 7.00% to $12.23.
NCI Building Systems, Inc. (NCS) stated financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended November 1, 2015.
Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial and Operational Highlights:
- Sales rose 17.2% to $459.8 million, contrast to $392.4 million in last year’s fourth quarter, primarily driven by the acquisition of CENTRIA that closed in January 2015.
- Gross profit raised 32.3% to $123.6 million and gross margin expanded 310 basis points year-over-year to 26.9%.
- Net income per diluted common share was $0.25, which comprised of net charges of $0.06 for special items.
- Adjusted for special items, net income per diluted common share raised to $0.31 from $0.19 in last year’s fourth quarter.
- Fourth quarter 2015 sales raised to $459.8 million, or 17.2%, from $392.4 million in last year’s fourth quarter, due mainly to raised volumes across all three segments and the impact of the CENTRIA acquisition. The legacy single skin and insulated metal panel (IMP) product lines, in addition to the Buildings group, delivered strong results.
Gross profit raised 32.3% to $123.6 million from $93.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, while gross profit margin expanded 310 basis points to 26.9%, contrast to 23.8% in the preceding year period. The improved margin performance was driven largely by a combination of commercial discipline, effective supply chain initiatives and the impact of the operating leverage created by raised utilization.
Engineering, selling, general and administrative (ESG&A) expenses raised 13.5% to $76.4 million from $67.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 due largely to the CENTRIA acquisition and, to a lesser extent, raised incentive compensation. As a percentage of revenues, ESG&A expenses reduced about 60 basis points to 16.6% in the 2015 fourth quarter contrast to 17.2% in the preceding year’s period.
NCI Building Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets metal products for the nonresidential construction industry in North America. The company’s Metal Coil Coating segment engages in cleaning, treating, and painting various flat rolled metal coil materials in coil form, in addition to in slitting and/or embossing the metal, before the metal is fabricated for use by various industrial users.