Connect with us
MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2024

Artificial Intelligence

ChampionX Reports Third Quarter 2021 Results

Published

on

  • Revenue of $818.8 million increased 9% sequentially
  • Net income attributable to ChampionX of $56.8 million; adjusted net income of $31.3 million
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $123.6 million
  • Cash from operating activities of $88.7 million and free cash flow of $67.3 million

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Oct. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  ChampionX Corporation (NASDAQ: CHX) (“ChampionX” or the “Company”) today announced third quarter of 2021 results. Revenue was $818.8 million, net income attributable to ChampionX was $56.8 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $123.6 million. Income before income taxes margin was 10.3%, and adjusted EBITDA margin was 15.1%. Cash provided by operating activities was $88.7 million, and free cash flow was $67.3 million.

CEO Commentary

“We could not be more proud of how remarkably well our organization continues to perform and adapt to the short-term supply chain and logistics bottlenecks that have emerged this year as global economic activity rebounds from pandemic levels. Our employees around the world have remained laser-focused on improving the lives of our customers and communities, and I want to thank each of them for their continued dedication and commitment,” ChampionX’s President and Chief Executive Officer Sivasankaran “Soma” Somasundaram said.

“During the third quarter of 2021, we once again delivered solid results driven by robust topline growth in each of our businesses. We generated revenue of $819 million, which increased 9% sequentially for the second consecutive quarter, driven by strong demand growth in both our international and North American markets. This solid topline growth demonstrates the strong organic growth potential and execution capabilities of our global business. We delivered net income attributable to ChampionX of $57 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $124 million, which represented a sequential increase of 17%. Our teams remained highly focused on executing well and delivered these strong third quarter results despite continued raw material and logistics inflation challenges, as evidenced by the 102 basis points sequential expansion in our adjusted EBITDA margin during the period.

“We continued to demonstrate our strong free cash flow profile as we generated free cash flow of $67 million. We further strengthened our balance sheet by repaying $97 million of debt during the third quarter, and we ended the period with $613 million of liquidity, including $254 million of cash and $359 million of available capacity on our revolving credit facility.

“We continue to deliver on merger integration synergies. We exited the third quarter at a $118 million cost-synergy annualized run-rate, and we fully expect to deliver the targeted annualized cost synergies of $125 million within 24 months of the merger closing.

“As we look to the fourth quarter, we expect our topline momentum to continue. We also expect volume improvements, price increase realization and cost synergy delivery to offset the continued raw material cost inflation, and we still anticipate exiting this year with a higher adjusted EBITDA margin rate than our 2020 exit rate. On a consolidated basis, in the fourth quarter we expect revenue to be between $820 million and $860 million, driven by our production-oriented businesses. We expect adjusted EBITDA of $130 million to $140 million.

“We are encouraged by the constructive demand tailwinds in our businesses, and we expect 2022 to be another year of positive growth across our portfolio. We are particularly excited about the margin expansion potential in the coming years as raw materials and other inflationary factors ease and our pricing realization and productivity efforts gain further traction. We are excited about our Scientific Aviation acquisition, which is well aligned with our energy transition priorities, and we are focused on expanding our emissions management portfolio to help our customers achieve their emissions reduction objectives. ChampionX has never been better positioned than we are today for the evolving energy industry, and I am honored to lead such a talented and motivated team.”

Production Chemical Technologies

Production Chemical Technologies revenue in the third quarter of 2021 was $487.7 million, an increase of $40.6 million, or 9%, sequentially, due to higher international volumes and continued sales increases in our North America business.

Segment operating profit was $45.7 million and adjusted segment EBITDA was $71.1 million. Segment operating profit margin was 9.4%, an increase of 179 basis points, sequentially, and adjusted segment EBITDA margin was 14.6%, an increase of 78 basis points, sequentially, in each case due to higher sales volumes and pricing, partially offset by certain raw materials inflation.

Production & Automation Technologies

Production & Automation Technologies revenue in the third quarter of 2021 was $204.5 million, an increase of $16.3 million, or 9%, sequentially, due to continued positive demand momentum for our shorter-cycle North American land-oriented product lines, and the acquisition of Scientific Aviation during the third quarter of 2021.

Revenue from digital products, which includes our Scientific Aviation acquisition, was $41.6 million in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of $9.2 million, or 28%, compared to $32.4 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Segment operating profit was $14.4 million, and adjusted segment EBITDA was $40.0 million. Segment operating profit margin was 7.0%, an increase of 51 basis points, sequentially, due to higher sales volumes. Adjusted segment EBITDA margin was 19.6%, a decrease of 59 basis points, sequentially, due to certain raw materials and logistics inflation.

Drilling Technologies

Drilling Technologies revenue in the third quarter of 2021 was $49.4 million, an increase of $11.8 million, or 31%, sequentially, due to the continued increase in North American and international land drilling activity.

Segment operating profit was $11.1 million, and adjusted segment EBITDA was $15.3 million. Segment operating profit margin was 22.6%, an increase of 1,227 basis points, sequentially, and adjusted segment EBITDA margin was 31.0%, an increase of 836 basis points, sequentially, in each case due to higher sales volumes and favorable product mix.

Reservoir Chemical Technologies

Reservoir Chemical Technologies revenue in the third quarter of 2021 was $38.2 million, an increase of $5.0 million, or 15%, sequentially, driven by higher U.S. volumes and direct sales to E&P companies.

Segment operating profit was $37.8 million, and adjusted segment EBITDA was $0.6 million. Segment operating profit reflects the net gain on the sale of our manufacturing plant in Corsicana of $39.9 million. Segment operating profit margin was 99.0%, as compared to a segment operating loss margin of 7.8% in the prior quarter. Adjusted segment EBITDA margin was 1.4%, an increase of 83 basis points, sequentially, due to higher sales volumes.

Other Business Highlights

  • During the third quarter, ChampionX completed the acquisition of Scientific Aviation, Inc., which is an industry leader in developing methods and technologies for fast, accurate, and cost-effective solutions for methane leak detection, emissions quantification and air quality research, helping customers to achieve their greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.
  • During the third quarter, ChampionX completed an investment in PingThings, Inc., which has developed an advanced sensor AI platform that enables its customers to manage tremendous volumes of time series data at scale, helping achieve their system reliability, decarbonization and capital efficiency goals. This investment aligns with our long-term strategic priority of accelerating digital revenue streams and expanding our digital offering to other industries by establishing relationships to leverage the digital ecosystem.
  • During the third quarter, ChampionX completed the sale of its Corsicana, Texas, chemical manufacturing plant. The sale is consistent with our ongoing initiatives to optimize our global supply chain and improve the cost structure in our Reservoir Chemical Technologies business for enhanced flexibility.
  • ChampionX has been named one of ALLY Energy’s Best Energy Workplaces in recognition of our continuous improvement culture, employee survey feedback, our suite of benefits programs, our continuing education and development programs, our flex-work and family-friendly programs, our D&I programs, including Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), as well as our community projects.
  • Production Chemical Technologies launched a novel paraffin dispersant used for successful paraffin prevention and remediation treatments. This technology has been rolled out and is being used by customers in the U.S. land market.
  • During the third quarter, Production & Automation Technologies won artificial lift and digital contracts with E&P operators in multiple international markets, including Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
  • Production & Automation Technologies was awarded a contract for 25 chemical injection skid systems by a leading E&P operator in the Permian Basin.
  • ChampionX’s Spotlight EDGE has received Microsoft’s “Azure Certified Device” and “Edge Managed” certifications. This device is the only Class 1 Division 2 and ATEX finished product featured in the Microsoft Azure Certified Device Catalog. Spotlight EDGE enables our customers to deploy a scalable and modular solution that optimizes cost, increases edge computing and analytics capabilities, and provides a fit-for-purpose solution to meet business requirements.
  • Last month, ChampionX Digital announced Compressor Leak Insights, a first of its kind offering for the midstream gas processing industry. This is the only Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Artificial Intelligence model used by midstream companies to detect leaks on reciprocating compressors. Our model detects 86% of compressor valve leaks experienced within a customer’s fleet and reduces catastrophic failures by 91%. This product offering was jointly developed with midstream leader, DCP Midstream, working with their DCP Tech Ventures business unit.
  • During the third quarter, 79% of Drilling Technologies revenue was generated from products that were less than three years old.
  • ChampionX was a finalist for World Oil’s Best Health, Safety, Environment / Sustainable Development – Onshore Award, recognizing internal processes, programs, and digital technologies that have helped lower our carbon footprint, as well as our water treatment and environmentally sustainable chemistries that are helping our customers lower their environmental impact.

Conference Call Details

ChampionX Corporation will host a conference call on Thursday, October 28, 2021, to discuss its third quarter 2021 financial results and outlook. The call will begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Presentation materials that supplement the conference call will be available on ChampionX’s website at investors.championx.com.

To listen to the call via a live webcast, please visit ChampionX’s website at investor.championx.com. The call will also be available for 30 days by dialing 1-888-424-8151 in the United States and Canada or 1-847-585-4422 for international calls. Please call approximately 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and reference ChampionX conference call number 9163658.

A replay of the conference call will be available on ChampionX’s website or at ChampionXThirdQuarter2021CallReplay. Enter passcode 50239455.

About Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to financial results determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), this news release presents non-GAAP financial measures. Management believes that adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income attributable to ChampionX and adjusted diluted earnings per share attributable to ChampionX, provide useful information to investors regarding the Company’s financial condition and results of operations because they reflect the core operating results of our businesses and help facilitate comparisons of operating performance across periods. In addition, free cash flow, free cash flow to adjusted EBITDA ratio, and free cash flow to revenue ratio are used by management to measure our ability to generate positive cash flow for debt reduction and to support our strategic objectives. Although management believes the aforementioned non-GAAP financial measures are good tools for internal use and the investment community in evaluating ChampionX’s overall financial performance, the foregoing non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is included in the accompanying financial tables.

This press release contains certain forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA. The Company has not provided projected net income attributable to ChampionX or a reconciliation of projected adjusted EBITDA. Management cannot predict with a reasonable degree of accuracy certain of the necessary components of net income attributable to ChampionX, such as depreciation and amortization expense. As such, a reconciliation of projected adjusted EBITDA to projected net income attributable to ChampionX is not available without unreasonable effort. The actual amount of depreciation and amortization, in particular, and other amounts excluded from adjusted EBITDA will have a significant impact on net income attributable to ChampionX.

About ChampionX

ChampionX is a global leader in chemistry solutions and highly engineered equipment and technologies that help companies drill for and produce oil and gas safely and efficiently around the world. ChampionX’s products provide efficient functioning throughout the lifecycle of a well with a focus on the production phase of wells. To learn more about ChampionX, visit our website at www.championX.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements relating to future actions and results, which are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements relate to, among other things, ChampionX’s market position and growth opportunities.  Forward-looking statements include statements related to ChampionX’s expectations regarding the performance of the business, financial results, liquidity and capital resources of ChampionX. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, changes in economic, competitive, strategic, technological, tax, regulatory or other factors that affect the operations of ChampionX’s businesses. You are encouraged to refer to the documents that ChampionX files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” in ChampionX’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and in ChampionX’s other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on ChampionX’s forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day they are made and ChampionX undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law.

Investor Contact: Byron Pope
[email protected] 
281-602-0094

Media Contact: John Breed
[email protected] 
281-403-5751

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (LOSS)
(UNAUDITED)

  Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
  September 30,   June 30,   September 30,   September 30,
(in thousands, except per share amounts) 2021   2021   2020   2021   2020
Revenue $ 818,785     $ 749,172     $ 633,526     $ 2,252,845       $ 1,193,874  
Cost of goods and services 623,162     569,167     505,066     1,714,885       950,845  
Gross profit 195,623     180,005     128,460     537,960       243,029  
Selling, general and administrative expense 135,089     152,341     122,156     430,908       330,956  
Goodwill and long-lived asset impairment                   657,251  
Interest expense, net 12,849     14,064     15,935     40,884       36,236  
Other (income) expense, net (36,876 )   2,251     1,663     (36,561 )     342  
Income (loss) before income taxes 84,561     11,349     (11,294 )   102,729       (781,756 )
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes 25,910     3,563     (3,962 )   32,255       (31,922 )
Net income (loss) 58,651     7,786     (7,332 )   70,474       (749,834 )
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest 1,823     536     582     624       1,453  
Net income (loss) attributable to ChampionX $ 56,828     $ 7,250     $ (7,914 )   $ 69,850       $ (751,287 )
                   
Earnings (loss) per share attributable to ChampionX:                  
Basic $ 0.28     $ 0.04     $ (0.04 )   $ 0.35       $ (5.73 )
Diluted $ 0.27     $ 0.03     $ (0.04 )   $ 0.34       $ (5.73 )
                   
Weighted-average shares outstanding:                  
Basic 201,852     201,467     199,809     201,329       131,064  
Diluted 208,545     208,541     199,809     208,173       131,064  

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)

(in thousands) September 30, 2021   December 31, 2020
ASSETS      
Cash and cash equivalents $ 253,855     $ 201,421  
Restricted cash 3,500      
Receivables, net 590,777     559,545  
Inventories, net 497,473     430,112  
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 72,123     74,767  
Total current assets 1,417,728     1,265,845  
       
Property, plant and equipment, net 780,686     854,536  
Goodwill 701,475     680,594  
Intangible assets, net 413,279     479,009  
Other non-current assets 189,834     195,792  
Total assets $ 3,503,002     $ 3,475,776  
       
LIABILITIES      
Current portion of long-term debt $ 26,850     $ 26,850  
Accounts payable 430,576     299,666  
Other current liabilities 299,253     296,044  
Total current liabilities 756,679     622,560  
       
Long-term debt 743,572     905,764  
Other long-term liabilities 290,999     334,877  
EQUITY      
ChampionX stockholders’ equity 1,726,997     1,625,971  
Noncontrolling interest (15,245 )   (13,396 )
Total liabilities and equity $ 3,503,002     $ 3,475,776  
               

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)

  Nine Months Ended September 30,
(in thousands) 2021   2020
Cash flows from operating activities:      
Net income (loss) $ 70,474     $ (749,834 )
Depreciation 113,213     101,434  
Amortization 65,592     47,827  
(Gain) loss on disposal of fixed assets (35,393 )   3,685  
Goodwill and long-lived asset impairment     657,251  
Receivables (35,435 )   91,204  
Inventories (74,641 )   62,225  
Accounts payable 130,607     (48,519 )
Leased assets (4,496 )   (7,799 )
Other 9,879     31,958  
Net cash provided by operating activities 239,800     189,432  
       
Cash flows from investing activities:      
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets 73,698     9,295  
Capital expenditures (67,027 )   (32,169 )
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired (9,957 )   57,588  
Purchase of investments (4,874 )    
Net cash (used for) provided by investing activities (8,160 )   34,714  
       
Cash flows from financing activities:      
Repayment of long-term debt (174,392 )   (206,713 )
Proceeds from long-term debt     125,000  
Debt issuance costs     (4,356 )
Other 677     (7,376 )
Net cash used for financing activities (173,715 )   (93,445 )
       
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash (1,991 )   5,471  
       
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash 55,934     136,172  
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 201,421     35,290  
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $ 257,355     $ 171,462  
               

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
BUSINESS SEGMENT DATA
(UNAUDITED)

  Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
  September 30,   June 30,   September 30,   September 30,
(in thousands) 2021   2021   2020   2021   2020
Segment revenue:                  
Production Chemical Technologies $ 487,670       $ 447,049       $ 410,151       $ 1,347,090       $ 546,153    
Production & Automation Technologies 204,473       188,173       136,921       559,491       457,141    
Drilling Technologies 49,415       37,589       15,715       121,998       92,618    
Reservoir Chemical Technologies 38,192       33,222       21,264       101,305       30,570    
Corporate and other 39,035       43,139       49,475       122,961       67,392    
Total revenue $ 818,785       $ 749,172       $ 633,526       $ 2,252,845       $ 1,193,874    
                   
Income (loss) before income taxes:                
Segment operating profit (loss):                  
Production Chemical Technologies $ 45,696       $ 33,871       $ 35,172       $ 109,924       $ 45,094    
Production & Automation Technologies 14,407       12,292       (7,454 )     32,061       (693,213 )  
Drilling Technologies 11,146       3,868       (5,127 )     21,400       2,421    
Reservoir Chemical Technologies 37,800       (2,594 )     (3,819 )     31,979       (6,630 )  
Total segment operating profit (loss) 109,049       47,437       18,772       195,364       (652,328 )  
Corporate and other 11,639       22,024       14,131       51,751       93,192    
Interest expense, net 12,849       14,064       15,935       40,884       36,236    
Income (loss) before income taxes $ 84,561       $ 11,349       $ (11,294 )     $ 102,729       $ (781,756 )  
                   
Operating profit margin / income (loss) before income taxes margin:                  
Production Chemical Technologies 9.4   %   7.6   %   8.6   %   8.2   %   8.3   %
Production & Automation Technologies 7.0   %   6.5   %   (5.4 ) %   5.7   %   (151.6 ) %
Drilling Technologies 22.6   %   10.3   %   (32.6 ) %   17.5   %   2.6   %
Reservoir Chemical Technologies 99.0   %   (7.8 ) %   (18.0 ) %   31.6   %   (21.7 ) %
ChampionX Consolidated 10.3   %   1.5   %   (1.8 ) %   4.6   %   (65.5 ) %
                   
Adjusted EBITDA                  
Production Chemical Technologies $ 71,116       $ 61,708       $ 71,505       $ 188,849       $ 93,936    
Production & Automation Technologies 39,987       37,903       24,995       113,402       79,518    
Drilling Technologies 15,297       8,494       (2,782 )     31,083       14,788    
Reservoir Chemical Technologies 550       202       (1,432 )     194       (1,746 )  
Corporate and other (3,397 )     (2,926 )     (5,464 )     (10,348 )     (11,955 )  
Adjusted EBITDA $ 123,553       $ 105,381       $ 86,822       $ 323,180       $ 174,541    
                   
Adjusted EBITDA margin                  
Production Chemical Technologies 14.6   %   13.8   %   17.4   %   14.0   %   17.2   %
Production & Automation Technologies 19.6   %   20.1   %   18.3   %   20.3   %   17.4   %
Drilling Technologies 31.0   %   22.6   %   (17.7 ) %   25.5   %   16.0   %
Reservoir Chemical Technologies 1.4   %   0.6   %   (6.7 ) %   0.2   %   (5.7 ) %
ChampionX Consolidated 15.1   %   14.1   %   13.7   %   14.3   %   14.6   %

CHAMPIONX CORPORATION
RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(UNAUDITED)

  Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
  September 30,   June 30,   September 30,   September 30,
(in thousands) 2021   2021   2020   2021   2020
Net income (loss) attributable to ChampionX $ 56,828     $ 7,250     $ (7,914 )   $ 69,850     $ (751,287 )
Pre-tax adjustments:                  
Gain on sale of Corsicana plant (39,876 )           (39,876 )    
Merger integration costs 4,227     12,665     8,411     29,082     18,020  
Acquisition-related adjustments (1) (3,512 )   (3,512 )   3,511     (10,536 )   9,342  
Acquisition costs         254     530     60,905  
Restructuring and other related charges 2,087     3,775     3,426     10,118     18,320  
Loss on extinguishment of debt 5,402     3,305         8,707      
Intellectual property defense 2,365     2,790     408     4,146     800  
Latin America tax matters (2,968 )           (2,968 )    
Separation and supplemental benefit costs     1,559     383     1,559     434  
Professional fees related to material weakness remediation (2)         940         5,728  
Goodwill and long-lived asset impairment (3)                 657,251  
Tax impact of adjustments 6,778     (4,322 )   (3,968 )   (160 )   (61,298 )
Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to ChampionX 31,331     23,510     5,451     70,452     (41,785 )
Tax impact of adjustments (6,778 )   4,322     3,968     160     61,298  
Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest 1,823     536     582     624     1,453  
Depreciation and amortization 58,418     59,386     64,848     178,805     149,261  
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes 25,910     3,563     (3,962 )   32,255     (31,922 )
Interest expense, net 12,849     14,064     15,935     40,884     36,236  
Adjusted EBITDA $ 123,553     $ 105,381     $ 86,822     $ 323,180     $ 174,541  
                                       

_______________________

(1)  Includes revenue associated with the amortization of a liability established as part of the Merger, representing unfavorable terms under the Cross Supply Agreement. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, in association with the Merger of legacy ChampionX, we recorded an increase to the fair value of inventory which is subsequently amortized to cost of sales over the period that the related product is sold.
(2)  Includes professional fees related to the remediation of material weaknesses identified during 2019.
(3) Represents charges for goodwill and long-lived asset impairments in our Production & Automation Technologies segment.

  Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
  September 30,   June 30,   September 30,   September 30,
(in thousands) 2021   2021   2020   2021   2020
Diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to ChampionX $ 0.27     $ 0.03     $ (0.04 )   $ 0.34     $ (5.73 )
Per share adjustments:                  
Gain on sale of Corsicana plant (0.19 )           (0.19 )    
Merger integration costs 0.02     0.06     0.04     0.14     0.15  
Acquisition-related adjustments (0.02 )   (0.02 )   0.02     (0.05 )   0.07  
Acquisition costs                 0.45  
Restructuring and other related charges 0.01     0.02     0.02     0.05     0.14  
Loss on extinguishment of debt 0.03     0.02         0.04      
Intellectual property defense 0.01     0.01         0.02     0.01  
Latin America tax matters (0.01 )           (0.01 )    
Separation and supplemental benefit costs     0.01         0.01      
Professional fees related to material weakness remediation and impairment analysis                 0.04  
Goodwill and long-lived asset impairment                 5.01  
Tax impact of adjustments 0.03     (0.02 )   (0.01 )   (0.01 )   (0.46 )
Adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to ChampionX $ 0.15     $ 0.11     $ 0.03     0.34     (0.32 )
                                   

Free Cash Flow

  Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
  September 30,   June 30,   September 30,   September 30,
(in thousands) 2021   2021   2020   2021   2020
Free Cash Flow                  
Cash provided by operating activities $ 88,662       $ 60,924       $ 111,399       $ 239,800       $ 189,432    
Less: Capital expenditures (21,347 )     (20,101 )     (12,847 )     (67,027 )     (32,169 )  
Free cash flow $ 67,315       $ 40,823       $ 98,552       $ 172,773       $ 157,263    
                   
Cash From Operating Activities to Revenue Ratio                  
Cash provided by operating activities $ 88,662       $ 60,924       $ 111,399       $ 239,800       $ 189,432    
Revenue $ 818,785       $ 749,172       $ 633,526       $ 2,252,845       $ 1,193,874    
                   
Cash from operating activities to revenue ratio 11   %   8   %   18   %   11   %   16   %
                   
Free Cash Flow to Revenue Ratio                  
Free cash flow $ 67,315       $ 40,823       $ 98,552       $ 172,773       $ 157,263    
Revenue $ 818,785       $ 749,172       $ 633,526       $ 2,252,845       $ 1,193,874    
                   
Free cash flow to revenue ratio 8   %   5   %   16   %   8   %   13   %
                   
Free Cash Flow to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio                  
Free cash flow $ 67,315       $ 40,823       $ 98,552       $ 172,773       $ 157,263    
Adjusted EBITDA $ 123,553       $ 105,381       $ 86,822       $ 323,180       $ 174,541    
                   
Free cash flow to adjusted EBITDA ratio 54   %   39   %   114   %   53   %   90   %

 

GlobeNewswire is one of the world's largest newswire distribution networks, specializing in the delivery of corporate press releases financial disclosures and multimedia content to the media, investment community, individual investors and the general public.

Artificial Intelligence

$10 million Artificial Intelligence Mathematical Olympiad Prize appoints further advisory committee members

Published

on

$10-million-artificial-intelligence-mathematical-olympiad-prize-appoints-further-advisory-committee-members

D. Sculley, Kevin Buzzard, Leo de Moura, Lester Mackey and Peter J. Liu appointed to the advisory committee for the Artificial Intelligence Mathematical Olympiad Prize.
LONDON, April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — XTX Markets’ newly created Artificial Intelligence Mathematical Olympiad Prize (‘AIMO Prize’) is a $10mn challenge fund designed to spur the creation of a publicly shared AI model capable of winning a gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

XTX Markets is delighted to announce the appointment of five further advisory committee members. This group brings great expertise in machine learning, including D. Sculley, the CEO of Kaggle; Lester Mackey, a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and a Macarthur Fellow; and Peter J. Liu, a research scientist at Google DeepMind.
Prolific mathematicians Kevin Buzzard, who achieved a perfect score in the International Mathematical Olympiad, and Leo De Moura who is the Chief Architect for Lean, the automated reasoning tool, also join the advisory group.
They join the existing advisory committee members Terence Tao and Timothy Gowers, both winners of the Fields Medal, as well as Dan Roberts, Geoff Smith and Po-Shen Loh.
The AIMO Advisory Committee will support the development of the AIMO Prize, including advising on appropriate protocols and technical aspects, and designing the various competitions and prizes.
Simon Coyle, Head of Philanthropy at XTX Markets, commented:
“We are thrilled to complete the AIMO Advisory Committee with the appointments of D., Kevin, Leo, Lester and Peter. Together, they have enormous experience in machine learning and automated reasoning and are already bringing expertise and wisdom to the AIMO Prize. We look forward to announcing the winners of the AIMO’s first Progress Prize soon, and then publicly sharing the AI models to support the open and collaborative development of AI.”
Further information on the AIMO Prize
There will be a grand prize of $5mn for the first publicly shared AI model to enter an AIMO approved competition and perform at a standard equivalent to a gold medal in the IMO. There will also be a series of progress prizes, totalling up to $5mn, for publicly shared AI models that achieve key milestones towards the grand prize.
The first AIMO approved competition opened to participants in April 2024 on the Kaggle competition platform. The first progress prize focuses on problems pitched at junior and high-school level maths competitions. There is a total prize pot of $1.048m for the first progress prize, of which at least $254k will be awarded in July 2024, There will be a presentation of progress held in Bath, England in July 2024, as part of the 65th IMO.
For more information on the AIMO Prize visit: https://aimoprize.com/ or the competition page on Kaggle: https://www.kaggle.com/competitions/ai-mathematical-olympiad-prize/
Advisory Committee member profiles:
D. Sculley
D. is the CEO at Kaggle. Prior to joining Kaggle, he was a director at Google Brain, leading research teams working on robust, responsible, reliable and efficient ML and AI. In his career in ML, he has worked on nearly every aspect of machine learning, and has led both product and research teams including those on some of the most challenging business problems. Some of his well-known work involves ML technical debt, ML education, ML robustness, production-critical ML, and ML for scientific applications such as protein design.
Kevin Buzzard
Kevin a professor of pure mathematics at Imperial College London, specialising in algebraic number theory. As well as his research and teaching, he has a wide range of interests, including being Deputy Head of Pure Mathematics, Co-Director of a CDT and the department’s outreach champion. He is currently focusing on formal proof verification, including being an active participant in the Lean community. From October 2024, he will be leading a project to formalise a 21st century proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem. Before joining Imperial, some 20 years ago, he was a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, where he had previously been named ‘Senior Wrangler’ (the highest scoring undergraduate mathematician). He was also a participant in the International Mathematical Olympiad, winning gold with a perfect score in 1987. He has been a visitor at the IAS in Princeton, a visiting lecturer at Harvard, has won several prizes both for research and teaching, and has given lectures all over the world.
Leo de Moura
Leo is a Senior Principal Applied Scientist in the Automated Reasoning Group at AWS. In his spare time, he dedicates himself to serving as the Chief Architect of the Lean FRO, a non-profit organization that he proudly co-founded alongside Sebastian Ullrich. He is also honoured to hold a position on the Board of Directors at the Lean FRO, where he actively contributes to its growth and development. Before joining AWS in 2023, he was a Senior Principal Researcher in the RiSE group at Microsoft Research, where he worked for 17 years starting in 2006. Prior to that, he worked as a Computer Scientist at SRI International. His research areas are automated reasoning, theorem proving, decision procedures, SAT and SMT. He is the main architect of several automated reasoning tools: Lean, Z3, Yices 1.0 and SAL. Leo’s work in automated reasoning has been acknowledged with a series of prestigious awards, including the CAV, Haifa, and Herbrand awards, as well as the Programming Languages Software Award by the ACM. Leo’s work has also been reported in the New York Times and many popular science magazines such as Wired, Quanta, and Nature News.
Lester Mackey
Lester Mackey is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, where he develops machine learning methods, models, and theory for large-scale learning tasks driven by applications from climate forecasting, healthcare, and the social good. Lester moved to Microsoft from Stanford University, where he was an assistant professor of Statistics and, by courtesy, of Computer Science. He earned his PhD in Computer Science and MA in Statistics from UC Berkeley and his BSE in Computer Science from Princeton University. He co-organized the second place team in the Netflix Prize competition for collaborative filtering; won the Prize4Life ALS disease progression prediction challenge; won prizes for temperature and precipitation forecasting in the yearlong real-time Subseasonal Climate Forecast Rodeo; and received best paper, outstanding paper, and best student paper awards from the ACM Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation, the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, and the International Conference on Machine Learning. He is a 2023 MacArthur Fellow, a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, an elected member of the COPSS Leadership Academy, and the recipient of the 2023 Ethel Newbold Prize.
Peter J. Liu
Peter J. Liu is a Research Scientist at Google DeepMind in the San Francisco Bay area, doing machine learning research with a specialisation in language models since 2015 starting in the Google Brain team. He has published and served as area chair in top machine learning and NLP conferences such as ICLR, ICML, NEURIPS, ACL and EMNLP. He also has extensive production experience, including launching the first deep learning model for Gmail Anti-Spam, and using neural network models to detect financial fraud for top banks. He has degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Toronto.
About XTX Markets:
XTX Markets is a leading financial technology firm which partners with counterparties, exchanges and e-trading venues globally to provide liquidity in the Equity, FX, Fixed Income and Commodity markets. XTX has over 200 employees based in London, Paris, New York, Mumbai, Yerevan and Singapore. XTX is consistently a top 5 liquidity provider globally in FX (Euromoney 2018-present) and is also the largest European equities (systematic internaliser) liquidity provider (Rosenblatt FY: 2020-2023).
The company’s corporate philanthropy focuses on STEM education and maximum impact giving (alongside an employee matching programme). Since 2017, XTX has donated over £100mn to charities and good causes, establishing it as a major donor in the UK and globally.
In a changing world XTX Markets is at the forefront of making financial markets fairer and more efficient for all.
 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/10-million-artificial-intelligence-mathematical-olympiad-prize-appoints-further-advisory-committee-members-302128542.html

Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence

Hikvision redefines urban mobility with AIoT-powered solutions at Intertraffic 2024

Published

on

hikvision-redefines-urban-mobility-with-aiot-powered-solutions-at-intertraffic-2024

HANGZHOU, China, April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Hikvision made a significant appearance at Intertraffic Amsterdam, the leading global trade fair for mobility and traffic technology. At the trade event, Hikvision unveiled a suite of traffic, transport, and parking management solutions and products powered by Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) technology, which promised to improve urban mobility, road safety, and operational efficacy.

Elevating urban traffic intelligence with AIoT
One highlight of the Hikvision stand was its intelligent urban traffic solution, which leveraged the power of AIoT to deliver comprehensive real-time monitoring, incident detection, and traffic control. This solution intelligently reshapes traffic dynamics, offering a more responsive and data-driven approach to enhance situational awareness and traffic management. Key innovations in the solution included:
Hikvision’s radar-video fusion camerasThese combine the range perception of radar with the visual perception of video. The 4 MP Radar and Video Vehicle Detector, for example, helps to enhance road safety by providing early warning of potential hazards in challenging situations such as blind spots at intersections and obstacles outside the visual range.Hikvision’s All-In-One Traffic SpotterThis stands out with its multifaceted design incorporating video, radar, and lighting technologies for heightened traffic violation detection. Its streamlined column design facilitates effortless installation.Hikvision’s Radar-Linked PTZ Camera This ensures consistent performance in adverse weather and lightening conditions, and minimizes false alarms with advanced deep-learning algorithms.Innovating parking management
Hikvision also introduced its parking management solutions. These combine extremely precise license plate recognition and intelligent barrier controls incorporating highly accurate radar sensors. This comprehensive approach enhances security, reduces the need for manual intervention, and streamlines traffic flow across parking areas. The Global Shutter CMOS* (GMOS) ANPR camera was a new addition to the lineup. Designed to seamlessly blend in the environment, it is tailored for the task of discreetly capturing license plates at parking facilities that prioritize subtlety.
Advancing public transportation safety and efficiency
Attendees also had the opportunity to explore Hikvision’s latest public transport solutions, integrating AI-driven analytics with advanced video security, on-site voice broadcasting, and centralized management for enhanced onboard security, improved passenger experience, and operational efficiency for buses and taxis. This included the Four-way monitoring system and the Panoramic Auxiliary System, both designed to reduce blind spots and provide high-definition imaging to improve driving safety.
“As ever, we are continually expanding our suite of technologies to enhance traffic safety and efficiency,” said Nick Wu, Project Product Director at Hikvision Europe. “Our commitment lies in minimizing the need for extensive roadside installations by incorporating comprehensive perception and robust AI within unified device frameworks. These innovations automate and streamline every aspect of traffic management, from violation detection to traffic flow monitoring, driving safety, and parking management.”
To find out more about Hikvision’s urban mobility products and solutions, please explore its official website.
Note: CMOS stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2398456/Hikvision_redefines_urban_mobility_AIoT_powered_solutions_Intertraffic_2024.jpgPhoto – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2398459/Hikvision_redefines_urban_mobility_AIoT_powered_solutions_Intertraffic_2024.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hikvision-redefines-urban-mobility-with-aiot-powered-solutions-at-intertraffic-2024-302128527.html

Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence

London Blockchain Conference Launches the No Future Campaign

Published

on

london-blockchain-conference-launches-the-no-future-campaign

LONDON, April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The London Blockchain Conference is excited to announce the launch of its ground-breaking, ‘No Future Campaign’. This initiative aims to create a strong narrative surrounding blockchain technology by challenging perceptions and sparking conversations. By creating this platform, the campaign aims to instil a fear of missing out (FOMO) sensation among the audience, positioning the London Blockchain Conference as a gateway to securing a stake in the future and unlocking the potential of blockchain technology.

With a bold and evocative narrative theme, the campaign will initially confront the audience with a jarring reality check of “NO FUTURE” and then resolve the statement “WITHOUT BLOCKCHAIN” to spark curiosity and engagement with the optimistic revelation that blockchain holds the key to a prosperous future.
The ‘No Future Campaign’ started on 17 April 2024 with the London Blockchain Conference creating and executing content on/with media platforms and partnerships:
Wharf Life inserts (17/04/2024) – Print and a digital advert/editorial-sponsored pieces.Animations being released on paid and organic channels in a 3-week campaign.Alex Stein, Conference Director said, “The No Future Campaign is a call for individuals, enterprises, and governments to recognise the importance and role of blockchain in shaping the future. Through the London Blockchain Conference, we aim to educate and inspire attendees to understand and harness the potential of blockchain technology.”
The three-day London Blockchain Conference at the ExCel will bring together politicians, business leaders, and innovators. The conference will be running from 21 – 23 May 2024 and will focus on disruptive and real-world applications of blockchain technology and the impact it is having on politics, emerging technologies, and enterprises.
For more information about the ‘No Future campaign’, visit the London Blockchain Conference website.
About the London Blockchain Conference
NETWORK. LEARN. ENGAGE. 
 At the London Blockchain Conference, we show how Blockchain will change the world and help people see another way to manage data, build scalable on-chain solutions and achieve great things. We do this by creating valuable, insightful, and engaging events that educate and inform, allowing you to connect and network to build strong business relationships. Our conference is the best avenue to see blockchain innovations, ecosystem announcements, product launches, technology updates, keynote speeches, panels, and fireside chats from blockchain leaders. Join us and experience it for yourself. 
 
 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/london-blockchain-conference-launches-the-no-future-campaign-302128526.html

Continue Reading

Trending