On Friday, Shares of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE:POT), lost -0.98% to $32.32.
On April 30, Potash Corporation stated first-quarter earnings of $0.44 per share ($370 million), up from the $0.40 per share ($340 million) generated in 2014’s first quarter. Gross margin for the quarter of $667 million surpassed the $565 million total for the same period in 2014. Higher prices and lower per-tonne cost of goods sold in potash were the primary contributors, more than offsetting changes to Saskatchewan potash taxes and weaker nitrogen sales volumes.
Earnings before finance costs, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)2 of $731 million exceeded the total for 2014’s first quarter of $707 million, while cash from operating activities of $521 million during the first quarter was similar to the same period last year.
Income from its offshore investments contributed $33 million to its first-quarter earnings, well below the $100 million for the same period in 2014. This year’s total was comprised of equity earnings from Arab Potash Company (APC) and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM), while 2014’s total comprised of contributions from these two companies in addition to a $69 million special dividend from Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL).
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc., together with its auxiliaries, produces and sells fertilizers and related industrial and feed products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Potash, Nitrogen, and Phosphate. It mines and produces potash, which is primarily used as fertilizer.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT), inclined 0.64% to $78.53, during its last trading session.
Wal-Mart Canada has reached agreements to acquire one distribution centre, 12 store leases and one owned property formerly held by Target Canada, for an aggregate of about C$165m. The transactions are subject to the approval of the court in accordance with Target Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings and certain other customary conditions.
Walmart anticipates to invest a further about C$185m to renovate the 13 stores and distribution centre bringing Walmart’s total investment to about C$350m. Work on all locations is predictable to start within the next few months subject to all necessary approvals. Grand opening dates and specific details for each location will be confirmed over the coming months.
“Walmart is committed to the Canadian market, and this agreement assists us accelerate our growth plans ensuring more Canadians have access to our low prices,” said Dirk Van den Berghe, President and CEO of Walmart Canada. “The 13 stores attained are well situated, and we are excited to bring Walmart’s successful Supercentre offer to customers in these markets. We have served millions of loyal customers, and look forward to ongoing to serve them through our stores and growing e-commerce business.”
Walmart plans to hire about 3,400 new associates in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec and these projects are predictable to generate about 1,500 trade and construction jobs.
The acquisition of these 13 retail locations, one distribution centre and the investment commitment of about C$350m are in addition to the 29 Supercentre projects declared on February 11 of this year. The previous declaration covered an investment of C$340m for supercentres, expansion of our existing distribution network and e-commerce projects, bringing Walmart’s total investment to about C$690m.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. It operates discount stores, supermarkets, supercenters, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, home improvement stores, specialty electronics stores, restaurants, apparel stores, drug stores, and convenience stores, in addition to retail Websites, such as walmart.com and samsclub.com.
At the end of Friday’s trade, Shares of Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE:PEP), gained 1.47% to $96.55.
PepsiCo, declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7025 per share of PepsiCo common stock, a 7.3 percent enhance as compared to the comparable year-earlier period. The dividend is payable on June 30, 2015 to shareholders of record as of June 5, 2015. PepsiCo has paid successive quarterly cash dividends since 1965, and 2015 marks the company’s 43rd successive annual dividend enhance.
PepsiCo, Inc. operates as a food and beverage company worldwide. Its Frito-Lay North America segment offers Lay’s potato chips, Doritos tortilla chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Tostitos tortilla chips, branded dips, Ruffles potato chips, Fritos corn chips, and Santitas tortilla chips.
Finally, ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP), ended its last trade with 3.90% gain, and closed at $10.91.
ZIOPHARM Oncology, declared financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, and offered an update on the company’s recent activities.
Key Forthcoming Corporate Highlights
In January, ZIOPHARM and its partner, Intrexon Corporation, reached an exclusive license agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for programs and associated technologies related to the development of non-viral adoptive cellular therapies, counting CAR T, TCR and associated cell-based therapies. When combined with Intrexon’s technology suite and ZIOPHARM’s further clinical validation of the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System(R) (RTS(R)) gene switch, the resulting proprietary methods and technologies may assist realize the promise of genetically modified immune cells by tightly controlling expansion and activation in the body, thereby minimizing off-tissue effects and toxicity while maximizing therapeutic efficacy.
In March, ZIOPHARM and Intrexon declared an exclusive planned partnership and license agreement to develop and commercialize CAR T cancer therapies with Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Under the agreement, Merck will nominate targets of interest for which selected CAR-T products will be developed, and will lead pre-IND interactions, IND filing, clinical development and commercialization. Under the terms of the agreement, Intrexon will share equally all economic provisions of the partnership with ZIOPHARM, counting an upfront payment of $115 million. For the first two targets of interest selected by Merck Serono, Intrexon will receive research funding and is eligible to receive up to $826 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestones ($413 million per Product), in addition to tiered royalties on product sales. In addition, Intrexon is also eligible to receive further payments upon achievement of certain technology development milestones.
Under the agreement, Intrexon and ZIOPHARM have the opportunity to explore targets independently, granting Merck opt-in rights during clinical development.
ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a biotechnology company, employs gene expression, control, and cell technologies to deliver cell-based therapies for the treatment of cancer. Its synthetic immuno-oncology programs, in partnership with Intrexon Corporation and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, comprise chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) and other adoptive cell based approaches that use both non-viral and viral gene transfer methods for broad scalability.
DISCLAIMER:
This article is published by www.wsnewspublishers.com. The Content included in this article is just for informational purposes only. All information used in this article is believed to be from reliable sources, but we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, or reliability with respect to this article.
All visitors are advised to conduct their own independent research into individual stocks before making a purchase decision.
Information contained in this article contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, counting statements regarding the predictable continual growth of the market for the corporation’s products, the corporation’s ability to fund its capital requirement in the near term and in the long term; pricing pressures; etc.
Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, aims, assumptions, or future events or performance may be forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates, and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward looking statements may be identified through the use of such words as expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, or by statements indicating certain actions may, could, should/might occur.
