Airbus board carried out management review amid compliance row: sources
PARIS (Reuters) - The board of Europe’s Airbus ordered out a private review of top management before backing Chief Executive Tom Enders to complete a sensitive compliance shake-up in the face of European corruption probes, two people familiar with the matter said.
The assessment of the group’s top executives was carried out over the summer and was commissioned to evaluate whether senior managers played any role that created risks for the company. No such evidence was discovered, the people said.
The move highlights efforts being taken by the board to restore stability after months of turmoil caused by external and internal investigations into suspect payments to intermediaries.
“The board carried out its own assessment of the senior management,” said one of the people.
Airbus had no immediate comment.
Enders told staff in a letter obtained by Reuters last week that he and legal counsel John Harrison had the board’s unanimous backing to “lead us through the process of bringing this issue to closure”.
Lattice Semi provides outlook at investor meeting; sees Q3 and Q4 revs below consensus (5.54)
- Co is providing a preliminary business outlook based on current expectations at the Company's analyst and investor meeting
- Q3
- Co issues downside guidance for Q3 (Sep), sees Q3 (Sep) revs of ~$91-93 mln vs. $94.08 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
- Gross margin percentage is expected to be ~56% plus or minus 2% on a non-GAAP basis
- Q4
- Co issues downside guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees Q4 (Dec) revs of ~$92-97 mln vs. $98.85 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
- GMs expected to be ~56% plus or minus 2% on a non-GAAP basis
- FY18
- Co issues guidance for FY18 (Dec), sees FY18 (Dec) revs of double digit annual growth, which is above current estimates of revs growth of ~7.3%
- The Company is targeting double-digit annual revenue growth
- Gross margin percentage at the mid-50% level
- EBITDA of ~$110-120 million
- Free cash flow of ~$80-100 million
- Debt reduction of ~$50-60 million
- Co issues guidance for FY18 (Dec), sees FY18 (Dec) revs of double digit annual growth, which is above current estimates of revs growth of ~7.3%
AIRBUS BOARD SAYS COOPERATING FULLLY WITH BRITAAIN'S SFO AND FRANCE'S PNF FINANCIAL POLICE
ITALY DEBT AGENCY (TESORO) SELLS TOTAL €7.49B VS. €6.0-7.5B INDICATED RANGE IN 2020, 20245 AND 2048 BTP BONDS
- Sells €4.0B vs. €3.5-4.0B indicated range in new 0.20% Oct 2020 BTP bonds; Avg Yield: 0.15% v 0.05% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.61x v 1.86x prior
- Sells €2.0B vs. €1.5-2.0B indicated range in 1.45% Nov 2024 BTP bonds; Avg Yield: 1.53% v 1.52% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.73x v 1.37x prior
- Sells €1.49B vs. €1.0-1.5B indicated range in 3.45% Mar 2048 BTP; Avg Yield: 3.33% v 3.32% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.39x v 1.71x prior
CVC Capital Partners, a European private equity group, and Téthys Invest are in exclusive talks to buy a majority stake in Sebia, a maker of instruments and reagents for in-vitro diagnostics.
The potential acquisition will give the company an enterprise value of around €2bn, a person with direct knowledge said.
The investors will buy the stake from Astorg and Montagu Private Equity.
Founded in 1967, Sebia is a global provider of clinical protein electrophoresis equipment and reagents, a technology used for in-vitro diagnostic testing.
The acquisition will sit within the strategic opportunities fund, which aims to invest in assets with up to a 14 per cent return threshold, lower than the typical private equity return of 20 per cent.
CVC could hold assets from between 8 to 12 years, which is longer than the typical four to six-year period in traditional private equity funds.
Large institutional investors have expressed appetite for such strategies because they are willing to accept lower returns in exchange for lower risk.
Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other large private equity investors are under a lot of pressure to deploy records amount of unspent capital.
Latest Piper Jaffray teen survey shows iPhone and Apple Watch continue to dominate
As it does towards the end of every year, Piper Jaffray today has released its Fall 2017 edition of “Taking Stock with Teens.” This survey aims to analyze what companies teen shoppers are most interested in, and every time, Apple is one of the top performers.
The latest survey released today and it shows the iPhone continue to rise in popularity among teens. This time around, 78 percent of teens surveyed claimed to own an iPhone, up from 76 percent during the last survey earlier this year, and 74 percent last year.
As far as purchase intent goes, some 82 percent of teens said their next smartphone will be an iPhone, which is the highest number Piper Jaffray has seen in any of its surveys and up from 81 percent earlier this year.
The Apple Watch isn’t nearly as popular as the iPhone among teens, but it’s growing. Just 12 percent of respondents claimed to have an Apple Watch, with 17 percent saying they plan to purchase one within the next six months. Last time around, 13 percent of teens had purchase intent while 10 percent already owned an Apple Watch.
As far as social media platforms go, Snapchat comes in at the top, ranking as the favorite of 47 percent of teens. Instagram follows with 24 percent and Facebook with 9 percent. Twitter and Pinterest round out the top 5 with 7 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Netflix ranks as the top video consumption service with 37 percent, while YouTube follows closely in second with 29 percent. In terms of music, 35 percent say they listen to Pandora while 49 percent say they opt for a platform such as Apple Music, Spotify, or YouTube.
Additional data from the Piper Jaffray report can be read here. It covers all segments of the market, ranging from the food industry to shopping and more. Does Piper Jaffray’s research correlate with what you see in the real world? Let us know what you think down in the comments.