On Wednesday, Shares of Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE:BTU), gained 1.74% to $4.69.
Peabody Energy Corporation, declared that Allen Capdeboscq has been promoted to Senior Vice President – Corporate Development reporting to Group Executive and Chief Development Officer Christopher J. Hagedorn. Capdeboscq formerly served as Vice President – Financial and Capital Planning.
The appointment is consistent with Peabody’s heightened focus on asset sales and portfolio optimization. Capdeboscq will be focused on value-adding transactions involving the divestitures, non-core asset sales, joint ventures, minority interests, mergers and acquisitions.
Capdeboscq joined Peabody in 2006 as Vice President – Corporate Business Development and was named Vice President – Financial and Capital Planning in 2012. He formerly worked for A.G. Edwards in its investment banking energy group and for Shell Exploration and Production Company as a process and project engineer.
Peabody Energy Corporation offers mining of coal. The company operates through Western U.S. Mining, Midwestern U.S. Mining, Australian Mining, Trading and Brokerage, and Corporate and Other segments. It is involved in mining and sale of thermal coal to electric utilities and metallurgical coal for industrial customers.
Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV), gained 0.94% to $6.45, during its last trading session.
Ambev, declared its results for the 2015 first quarter. The following operating and financial information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in nominal Reais and prepared according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and should be read together with our quarterly financial information for the three-month period ended March 31, 2015 filed with the CVM and presented to the SEC.
Operating and Financial Highlights
- Top line performance: Net revenues raised 14.5% in the 1Q15, driven by solid top line growth in all of our operations (Brazil +10.7%, Central America and the Caribbean +26.4%, LAS +27.8% and Canada +6.0%). This performance is explained by (i) a volume growth of 0.4%, with positive contributions in Brazil Beer (+0.4%), Central America and the Caribbean (+22.6%) and Canada (+1.4%), partially offset by a decline in Brazil CSD & NANC (-2.2%) and LAS (-1.4%); coupled with (ii) Net Revenue per hectoliter (NR/hl) enhance of 14.0%, driven by our revenue administration initiatives, the benefit of premium mix and the raised weight of direct distribution in Brazil.
- Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): Our COGS raised 15.1%, whereas on a per hectoliter basis, costs raised 14.6%, influenced by inflationary pressures in Brazil and Argentina, unfavorable currency hedges, product mix and higher depreciation, partially offset by the benefit of procurement savings initiatives and better commodities hedges.
- Selling, General & Administrative (SG&A) expenses: SG&A expenses (not taking into account depreciation and amortization) were up 11.9% in the quarter, mainly as a result of double digits growth of distribution expenses, driven by inflation and the raised weight of direct distribution in Brazil. Regarding sales & marketing expenses, we continue to invest behind our brands but started to benefit from the higher comparable base related to the investments associated with the 2014 FIFA World Cup event.
- EBITDA, Gross margin and EBITDA margin: Normalized EBITDA reached R$ 5,073 million (+21.1%) as our Normalized EBITDA margin expanded 260 basis points to 47.1%. Gross margin was -10 basis points down to 66.4%.
Ambev S.A., through its auxiliaries, produces, distributes, and sells beer, draft beer, soft drinks, other non-alcoholic beverages, malt, and food in the Americas. The company operates through Latin America North, Latin America South, and Canada segments.
At the end of Wednesday’s trade, Shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), declined -0.55% to $57.66.
Comcast Corporation, declared it will offer residential multi-gigabit broadband service to more than 2.4 million customers across several markets in the Greater Chicago Region starting later this month. Gigabit Pro is a symmetrical, 2 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) service that will be delivered via a fiber-to-the-home solution. It will be offered broadly across the region to customers in Illinois and Northwest Indiana and will be the fastest residential Internet speed in the country.
Gigabit Pro will be accessible to any home within close proximity of Comcast’s fiber network and will require an installation of professional-grade equipment. The company has fiber at the core of its network and, for the past decade, it has been extending it deeper into neighborhoods and closer to homes. To date, Comcast has built out more than 145,000 route miles of fiber across its service area, counting Chicago and other markets in Illinois and Northwest Indiana, to serve residential communities with a fiber-to-the-home solution.
In addition, Comcast plans to offer a multi-gigabit fiber service through its Xfinity Communities program that serves residents living in multi-dwelling units such as apartment complexes. Comcast has been delivering multi-gig (up to 10 Gbps) Ethernet service to businesses in the region since 2011. The company presently serves more than 1.5 million businesses nationwide.
Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Cable Communications, Cable Networks, Broadcast Television, Filmed Entertainment, and Theme Parks segments. The Cable Communications segment offers video, high-speed Internet, and voice services to residential and business customers under the XFINITY brand name.
Finally, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN), ended its last trade with -8.03% gain, and closed at $155.01.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and Synageva BioPharma Corp. (Nasdaq:GEVA) declared that they have reached a definitive agreement following which Alexion will acquire Synageva for consideration of $115 in cash and 0.6581 Alexion shares, for each share of Synageva, implying a total per share value of $230 based on the nine day volume-weighted average closing price of Alexion stock through May 5, 2015. The acquisition strengthens Alexion’s global leadership in developing and commercializing transformative therapies for patients with devastating and rare diseases.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies’ Boards of Directors, and is valued at about $8.4 billion net of Synageva’s cash. The transaction is predictable to accelerate and diversify Alexion’s growing revenues, and Alexion anticipates to achieve annual cost synergies starting this year and growing to at least $150 million in 2017. In addition, the transaction is predictable to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share in 2018.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes life-transforming therapeutic products. It offers Soliris (eculizumab), a therapeutic product to treat paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a genetic blood disorder; and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a genetic disease.
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