Market Newsdesk

DeWitt set to step down as chief human resources officer on June 2, 2025

GREEN BAY, Wis.
, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) (“Associated”) today announced that Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Angie DeWitt has announced her plans to retire after an exceptional 17-year career with the company.

Joining Associated Bank in 2008, DeWitt has been a key member of the bank’s executive leadership team, playing a pivotal role in shaping organizational success. She began her career in Finance and advanced to the position of CHRO in 2019.

“Angie’s career is a true success story, one that we proudly celebrate,” said President & CEO Andy Harmening. “She has been a trusted partner to me since day one. Her legacy is one of lasting impact, shaping not only the workforce we have today, but the foundation on which we’ll build for years to come.”

DeWitt’s contributions include streamlining financial processes; creating profitability reporting; implementing new processes and programs to recruit, develop and manage the company’s talent; navigating the executive compensation landscape; forming a culture team; and launching refreshed Core Values that guide the organization.

“I take great pride in the legacy I leave behind, particularly the work done to strengthen and transform the human resources function to be a strategic partner and support our organization’s talent needs,” said DeWitt. “It has been an incredible career, and I have truly enjoyed working alongside our fantastic HR team in support of colleagues, but I’m also looking forward to this next chapter and the opportunity to spend more time with my family. While I’m excited for what’s ahead, I’ll continue to support and cheer on the company as it continues its growth and success.”

DeWitt will remain with Associated for a period of time as an advisor to assure successful transition of her successor.

ABOUT ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP
Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) has total assets of $43 billion and is the largest bank holding company based in Wisconsin. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Associated is a leading Midwest banking franchise, offering a full range of financial products and services from nearly 200 banking locations serving more than 100 communities throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri. The company also operates loan production offices in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Texas. Associated Bank, N.A. is an Equal Housing Lender, Equal Opportunity Lender and Member FDIC. More information about Associated Banc-Corp is available at www.associatedbank.com.

Media Contact

Andrea Kozek

VP/Senior Manager, Associated Bank
920/491-7518
[email protected]

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SOURCE Associated Banc-Corp

Legacy copper networks are no longer the most viable means to deliver the high-speed connectivity that families and communities need to compete, thrive and grow in today’s world

CHARLOTTE, N.C.
, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, a group of leading telecommunications companies published a strategic paper outlining the advantages of fiber optic, wireless, satellite and coaxial cable technologies for connectivity as copper networks across the country continue to deteriorate and become obsolete. The paper, “Meeting the Needs of Rural Subscribers for Generations to Come,” is a collaborative effort among key players in the high-speed internet service ecosystem highlighting the urgency behind the expansion of broadband access and the need to phase out outdated, legacy copper networks.

Three broadband industry leaders—Calix Inc (NYSE: CALX), Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW), and Brightspeed—worked together to author the paper. Calix is a platform, cloud, and managed services company enabling broadband service providers to simplify their businesses, innovate for their subscribers, and grow value for their communities. Corning is a materials science innovator and a pioneer in next-generation fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions. Brightspeed, the nation’s third-largest fiber builder, is quickly empowering more homes and businesses with high-speed connectivity. Collectively, they have a decades-long legacy of making a positive impact on communities through their work with broadband service providers —particularly those communities left on the wrong side of the digital divide.

“Meeting the Needs of Rural Subscribers for Generations to Come” publishes at a critical moment when broadband infrastructure funding is at an all-time high due in major part to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program—the single largest broadband construction program in U.S. history. This historic level of funding creates an opportunity now – more than ever – to bring high-speed internet access to every community in America and close the digital divide.

These unprecedented levels of grant funding, coupled with providers’ own strategic investment, will help connect communities that have lacked quality options for high-speed connectivity as they historically have been served by aging copper networks. The overall goal – consistent with the national strategy for increasing U.S. competitiveness, is to provide these communities with access to alternative communications technology, especially fiber broadband network connectivity.

“Meeting the Needs of Rural Subscribers for Generations to Come” examines the most used communication technologies — copper, fiber, wireless, low Earth orbiting (“LEO”) satellite, and coaxial cable — and evaluates the ability of each to meet current and future application requirements and user needs. Readers will gain an understanding of the current limitations of copper and how other technologies are better positioned to meet and enable current and future communication technology needs.

“For decades, copper served Americans well — providing the lines of communication needed to reach our loved ones near and far. That was before the arrival of new applications and use cases that need higher speeds and more bandwidth,” said Tom Dailey, Brightspeed senior vice president, public policy, government affairs and regulatory. “Now, it’s time to invest in the technologies that will serve Americans for decades to come by providing the robust connectivity they need to connect to work, stream entertainment, learn, receive telehealth and government services, and fully participate in our hyper-connected world. Copper is the past; fiber, fixed wireless and satellite solutions are the future.”

“Subscribers everywhere are focused on having a great broadband experience—they want highly reliable connectivity that meets today’s needs, while ensuring they stay safe and protected from digital threats,” said Teresa McGaughey, vice president of global field and partner marketing at Calix. “Fiber optic networks provide unlimited connectivity, enabling subscribers to work, learn, and play from home without interruption—joining video calls while their children complete school projects online. These future-proof networks deliver seamless, secure productivity today and unlock a host of exciting possibilities to add managed services that will enable communities to further grow.”

“As more of our lives take place in the digital world, it’s critical to phase out copper networks built for the landline era and invest in future-ready technologies like optical fiber,” said Bob Whitman, vice president of global market development, carrier networks, for Corning Optical Communications. “With its virtually unlimited bandwidth, fiber can support not only today’s technologies like video streaming, telehealth and remote work, but also AI, machine learning, and cutting-edge applications that haven’t yet been imagined. As the inventors of low-loss optical fiber, Corning is helping operators everywhere build networks that will serve the needs of their customers for generations to come.”

The strategic paper finds that, while copper has historically been a foundational technology for voice and data services, its technical limitations make it poorly suited to meet today’s high-speed internet demands. In contrast, fiber optics offer faster speeds, high reliability, better security and lower maintenance costs. For hard-to-reach locations where fiber is not cost-effective, wireless options such as fixed wireless and low earth orbiting satellites serve as excellent substitutes, providing reliable and high-speed internet access.

About Calix, Inc.

Calix is a platform, cloud, and managed services company. Broadband service providers leverage Calix’s broadband platform, cloud, and managed services to simplify their operations, subscriber engagement, and services; innovate for their consumer, business, and municipal subscribers; and grow their value for members, investors, and the communities they serve.

Our end-to-end platform and managed services democratize the use of data—enabling our customers of any size to operate efficiently, acquire subscribers, and deliver exceptional experiences. Calix is dedicated to driving continuous improvement in partnership with our growing ecosystem to support the transformation of our customers and their communities.

About Corning Incorporated

Corning (www.corning.com) is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, with a 170-year track record of life-changing inventions. Corning applies its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics along with its deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop category-defining products that transform industries and enhance people’s lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in RD&E, a unique combination of material and process innovation, and deep, trust-based relationships with customers who are global leaders in their industries. Corning’s capabilities are versatile and synergistic, which allows the company to evolve to meet changing market needs, while also helping our customers capture new opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning’s markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, solar, semiconductors, and life sciences.

About Brightspeed

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. and with assets and associated operations in 20 states, Brightspeed provides broadband and telecommunications services through a network platform capable of serving more than 7.3 million homes and businesses. Our 4,000 employees are committed to building a future where more communities benefit from a more connected life, deploying a state-of-the-art fiber network and a customer experience that makes being connected as simple as it should be. For more information, please visit www.brightspeed.com.

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SOURCE Brightspeed

Enabling Cloud Data Center Operators to Overcome Memory Performance and Scaling Challenges in General-purpose Servers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.
, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL), a leader in data infrastructure semiconductor solutions, today announced the successful interoperability of the Marvell^® Structera™ portfolio of Compute Express Link® (CXL®) devices with AMD EPYC™ CPUs and 5^th Gen Intel Xeon platforms. This achievement underscores the commitment of Marvell to advancing an open and interoperable CXL ecosystem, addressing the growing demands for memory bandwidth and capacity in next-generation cloud data centers.

Marvell collaborated with AMD and Intel to extensively test Structera CXL products with AMD EPYC and 5^th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable platforms across various configurations, workloads, and operating conditions. The results demonstrated seamless interoperability, delivering stability, scalability, and high-performance memory expansion that cloud data center providers need for mass deployment.

This interoperability gives customers the flexibility to choose from a variety of CPU architectures, enabling deployment of CXL solutions across diverse hardware configurations. By leveraging the strengths of each platform for specific workloads and applications, customers can maximize their investment while maintaining seamless integration and consistent performance.

“CXL 2.0 represents the next generation of scalable infrastructure. The collaboration between AMD, Intel and Marvell will help enable the growth of an ecosystem for driving the benefits of CXL for customers everywhere,” said Will Chu, senior vice president and general manager, Custom Cloud Solutions at Marvell. “This successful interoperability showcases our ability to deliver innovative, high-performance solutions that redefine the efficiency, sustainability, and performance of cloud technology.”

“We are committed to advancing high-performance, scalable, and energy-efficient solutions to power next-generation data centers,” said Raghu Nambiar, corporate vice president, Data Center Ecosystems and Solutions, AMD. “Our deep technology partnership with Marvell combines the robust capabilities of AMD EPYC processors with Marvell’s CXL portfolio to help our customers unlock enhanced memory efficiency, greater flexibility, and reduced total cost of ownership—driving tangible benefits for business-critical workloads.” 

“Our collaboration and ongoing enablement activities with Marvell demonstrate our commitment to the CXL 2.0 standard, helping to ensure memory efficiency and seamless deployment across cloud-scale infrastructures,” stated Richelle Ahlvers, director, Ecosystem Enabling and Technology Initiatives, Intel.

Enabling Scalable and Efficient Data Center Architectures

The Structera product family, built on CXL 2.0, enables cloud service providers and server OEMs to dramatically increase the memory capacity and bandwidth of servers or add additional computing cores to improve the performance and capabilities of cloud servers efficiently and economically. Structera can also add computing cores for offloading memory-intensive applications such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, in-memory databases and high-performance computing. Key products within the Structera portfolio include: 

• Structera A: Near-memory accelerators featuring server-class Arm^® Neoverse^® V2 cores, DDR5 support, and up to 1.6 Tbps of memory bandwidth, optimized for high-bandwidth workloads such as deep learning recommendation models (DLRM).

• Structera X: Memory expansion controllers supporting DDR4 and DDR5 DIMMs, enabling the deployment of terabytes of memory capacity while optimizing both cost efficiency and power consumption.

The integration of CXL 2.0 technology enables cache coherency and memory pooling across devices, optimizing resource utilization, reducing the need for additional servers, and promoting sustainable data center architectures. 

About Marvell
To deliver the data infrastructure technology that connects the world, we’re building solutions on the most powerful foundation: our partnerships with our customers. Trusted by the world’s leading technology companies for over 25 years, we move, store, process and secure the world’s data with semiconductor solutions designed for our customers’ current needs and future ambitions. Through a process of deep collaboration and transparency, we’re ultimately changing the way tomorrow’s enterprise, cloud, automotive, and carrier architectures transform—for the better.

Marvell and the M logo are trademarks of Marvell or its affiliates. Please visit www.marvell.com for a complete list of Marvell trademarks. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, EPYC, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. 

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future events, results or achievements. Actual events, results or achievements may differ materially from those contemplated in this press release. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed by us from time to time with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and no person assumes any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information, contact:

[email protected]

 

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SOURCE Marvell

New funding supports scaling secure software development—from open source to AI—while boosting developer velocity and raising the bar on customer experience

PALO ALTO, Calif.
, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Endor Labs, the fastest-growing company in application security, today announced its oversubscribed $93 million Series B funding round led by DFJ Growth, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and existing backers including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, Dell Technologies Capital, Section 32, and Citi Ventures.

Endor Labs has achieved 30x Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) growth and 166% Net Revenue Retention (NRR) since its Series A just 18 months ago. The platform now protects more than 5 million applications and runs over 1 million scans each week for customers including OpenAI, Rubrik, People.ai, Observe.ai, Mysten Labs, and several global financial institutions.

“Developers’ increasing reliance on AI-generated code further complicates the challenge for security teams,” said Ramin Sayar, Venture Partner, DFJ Growth. “Endor Labs embraces this shift with their unparalleled expertise in rethinking security from the ground up – and outing risky AI-generated code and uniquely optimizing remediation strategies.”

Today’s Series B funding round will support the expansion of the Endor Labs’ AppSec platform that uses this context to power a new generation of AI agents that operate inside the software development lifecycle—not just alerting, but acting. The company today also announced its major expansion of its AppSec platform—purpose-built for the era of AI-generated code and “vibe coding.” Powered by agentic AI and the industry’s richest security dataset, the platform doesn’t just identify risks—it prioritizes them, proposes remediations, and can apply fixes automatically. The result: entire classes of threats are neutralized before they ever reach production. You can read more about it here.

“We are building for the scale required to secure this AI era and not letting intermediate market volatility diverge us from our big goals. Our marquee customers need an application security platform that supports the pace of development they are confronting with AI. It is an honor to be that platform, to do a raise proactively, at a time like this, and to get to work with such quality investors, who share our commitment to excellence and innovation,” said Varun Badhwar, co-founder and CEO of Endor Labs.

The funding is a testament to Endor Labs’ unique market position. It is built for a world where software is being written faster—and with less oversight—than ever before. With 62% of AI-generated solutions containing bugs or security vulnerabilities, and nearly 30% including critical weaknesses, traditional tools simply can’t keep up. Endor Labs addresses this head-on with a unique combination of deep technical analysis and intelligent automation.

For more information about the expanded AI platform, please visit: http://www.endorlabs.com/learn/meet-the-appsec-platform-built-for-the-ai-era

Going to RSA Conference? Come meet us there!

About Endor Labs

Endor Labs is building the application security platform for the software development revolution. From open source to AI-generated code, it helps teams identify, prioritize, and fix the vulnerabilities that actually matter—faster. With deep program analysis, automated remediation, and unmatched dataset coverage, Endor Labs empowers modern engineering and security teams to move fast without compromise.

Founded by Varun Badhwar and Dimitri Stiliadis, Endor Labs is backed by leading VCs including DFJ Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, and Dell Technologies Capital.

About DFJ Growth

DFJ Growth is a prominent investor in emerging technology leaders during their scaling phase of development. Founded in 2005, DFJ Growth partners with extraordinary, mission-driven entrepreneurs disrupting the status quo with game-changing innovations that become iconic companies. Our investments include Anaplan (NYSE: PLAN), Anduril, Box (NYSE: BOX), Cellares, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Neuralink, Patreon, Ring (Amazon), ScaleAI, SolarCity (Tesla), SpaceX, Stripe, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Twitter, Unity (NYSE: U), and xAI. DFJ Growth is a fearless investor and steadfast partner to founders who imagine the future and execute on their bold visions to define it.

Media Contact
Ray George
Story Changes Culture
650-922-3825
[email protected]

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SOURCE Endor Labs

TriFan 600 development continues to gain momentum as XTI Engineering Team meets all key Q1 objectives and announces Q2 2025 milestones

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.
, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — XTI Aerospace, Inc. (NASDAQ: XTIA) (“XTI”), a pioneer in xVTOL and powered-lift aircraft solutions, today released its key product and engineering milestones for Q2 2025. The milestones will set the stage for the reopening of pre-sales for the TriFan 600 later this year.

XTI remains on track in its development efforts which seek to redefine regional air travel through novel point-to-point flight solutions, with the TriFan 600 serving as its flagship xVTOL airplane. One of XTI’s Q2 milestones is the planned first flight of the next subscale model, code-named “Sparrow.” This unmanned 1:15 scale aircraft builds on the previous subscale model developed in 2023 and will continue validating vertical and transitional flight dynamics with its rotating ducted fans.

Q2 2025 Milestones

XTI aims to complete the following key product and engineering achievements in Q2 2025:

• Engine Supplier Selection – XTI expects to formalize its engine selection and announce its choice of engine supplier, particularly focusing on the twin turboshaft engines, one of the key aspects crucial to the aircraft’s performance.
• Drivetrain Supplier Selection – XTI will announce its lead supplier of the drivetrain, one of the most complex systems of the TriFan 600’s design.
• External Noise Phase I Assessment – In partnership with Continuum Dynamics, Inc., XTI will begin a detailed noise assessment of the TriFan 600, focusing on understanding and minimizing the environmental noise impact of the aircraft’s three ducted fans.
• FAA Technical Familiarization Briefings – As XTI continues the certification process with the FAA, the engineering team will support three more scheduled TriFan 600 technical familiarization meetings with FAA subject matter experts.
• Sparrow First Flight – The Sparrow 1:15 scale flying model will perform hover and transition maneuvers to assess and validate the latest aerodynamic configuration as compared to results of the “digital twin’s” computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis.

“This quarter’s engineering milestones highlight a clear path toward a mature aerodynamic design and performance that can provide game-changing aviation capabilities,” said Dave Ambrose, VP of Engineering at XTI. “We believe our subscale testing, supplier alignment, and FAA engagement are strengthening technical validation and compressing time to market.”

In addition to these technical milestones, XTI is preparing to launch its next subscale model, code-named “Kestrel,” later in 2025. That model will focus on further evaluating aerodynamics, flight controls, and performance characteristics, with an emphasis on flight control laws.

Looking Ahead: Pre-Sales and Future Deliveries

XTI plans to reintroduce aircraft pre-sales later in 2025, allowing fleet operators, business owners, EMS operators, and other prospective customers the opportunity to secure their place in line for future TriFan 600 deliveries.

Future Design Phases Leading to the TriFan 600’s Commercial Release:

1. Preliminary Design– During this phase, XTI will evaluate the overall design approach, ensuring that the top-level requirements are satisfied and that the project can move to detailed design and testing.
2. Critical Design – During this phase, XTI will work closely with suppliers to finalize the airplane’s detailed design and ensure requirements are met before proceeding to manufacturing, integration, and testing.
3. First Flight – The “first flight” marks the culmination of comprehensive ground testing of structures, systems and subsystems to a confidence level sufficient for the first crewed airborne flight test.
4. Type Certification –Upon successful completion of the FAA’s rigorous type certification process, which will include extensive ground and airborne testing, the FAA will issue XTI a type certificate for the TriFan 600’s design.

Scott Pomeroy, Chairman and CEO of XTI Aerospace, said, “By consistently delivering on our technical and programmatic commitments, we’re reducing risk, accelerating time to market, and positioning XTI to deliver real impact for our customers and to generate long-term value for our shareholders.”

About XTI Aerospace, Inc. 

XTI Aerospace (XTIAerospace.com) (Nasdaq: XTIA) is the parent company of XTI Aircraft Company, an aviation business based near Denver, Colorado, currently developing the TriFan 600, a fixed-wing business aircraft designed to have the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability of a helicopter, maximum cruising speeds of 311 mph and a range of 985 miles, creating an entirely new category – the xVTOL. Additionally, the Inpixon (inpixon.com) business unit of XTI Aerospace is a leader in real-time location systems (RTLS) technology with customers around the world who use the Company’s location intelligence solutions in factories and other industrial facilities to help optimize operations, increase productivity, and enhance safety. For more information about XTI, please visit XTIAerospace.com and follow the company on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including without limitation, statements about XTI’s ability to achieve anticipated milestones in the timeframes currently anticipated or at all, the products under development by XTI, the advantages of XTI’s technology, and XTI’s customers, plans and strategies are forward-looking statements.

Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words, including “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “target,” “projects,” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar expressions. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon estimates, forecasts, and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by XTI and its management, are inherently uncertain, and many factors may cause the actual results to differ materially from current expectations. XTI undertakes no obligation to revise any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that might subsequently arise. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the risk factors discussed from time to time in XTI’s filings with the SEC, including those factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in its most recent annual report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on April 15, 2025, and in subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC.

Contacts

General inquiries:

Email: [email protected] 
Web: https://xtiaerospace.com/contact/ 

Investor Relations:

Dave Gentry, CEO
RedChip Companies, Inc.
Phone: 1-407-644-4256
Email: [email protected] 

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SOURCE XTI Aerospace, Inc.

540 Homes Expected to be Powered by this Community Solar Project

TORONTO
, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – SolarBank Corporation (NASDAQ: SUUN) (Cboe CA: SUNN) (FSE: GY2) (“SolarBank” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its plans to develop a 4.584 MW DC ground-mount solar power project known as the Forest Hill Rd project (the “Project”) on a site located in upstate New York. With a secured site lease and interconnection study underway, the Project is another key addition to SolarBank’s expanding development pipeline—which exceeds one gigawatt—as well as the Company’s commitment to advancing community solar.

The Project will be eligible for the VDER rate compensation mechanism under NY Public Utility Commission case 15-E-0751. The year one average compensation is currently projected at $0.0971/kWh. The VDER (Value of Distributed Energy Resources) rate for solar projects in New York is the rate payable to the owner of the Project in return for the energy that is supplied to the grid.

Dr. Richard Lu, CEO of SolarBank Commented: “We continue to execute on our development pipeline of community solar projects. I also want to comment on the recent announcement of increased tariffs on south-east Asia solar cells and SolarBank’s plans to manage its supply chain. SolarBank has not been importing solar panels from any of the four countries that are subject to the tariffs announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce on April 21, 2025. As a result its present operations are not affected by this announcement. In addition, SolarBank has been exploring sourcing solar panels from other jurisdictions such as the Middle East and North America, where (domestic assembled) solar panels are becoming cost competitive with the panels imported from Asia. SolarBank also has significant development opportunities in Canada where solar panels are not subject to the same tariffs. Finally, I am expecting that electricity costs will increase in response to these tariffs which will further mitigate the financial impact on projects. Overall, SolarBank is well positioned to manage this risk.”

Assuming the Project’s interconnection study is successful, the Company will continue to work to complete the permitting process and secure the necessary financing for the construction of the Project. The Project is expected to be eligible for incentives under the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA“) NY-Sun Program. The Company is targeting incentives of up to $0.345/W DC for the Project. These incentives are a one time payment that are used to help support the financing required for the Project.

Once completed, the Project will be operated as a community solar project. Community solar is a group of solar panels with access to the local electricity grid. Once the panels are turned on and generating electricity, clean energy from the site feeds into the local power grid. Depending on the size and number of panels the project has, dozens or even hundreds of renters and homeowners can save money from the electricity that is generated by the project. By subscribing to a project, a homeowner earns credits on their electric bill every month from their portion of the solar that’s generated by the project, accessing the benefits of solar without installing panels on their home.

Solar Simplified handles all customer-facing activities for the Company’s community solar projects, allowing it to focus on developing and expanding its renewable energy portfolio. Solar Simplified’s expertise in acquisition, enrollment, and management ensures full project subscription and maximized revenue from day one. With a business model that aligns seamlessly with the Company’s, this partnership drives sustainable growth, enabling the Company to accelerate development, bring more projects online each year, and create greater value for its business and the communities served by the Company.

There are several risks associated with the development of the Project. The development of any project is subject to receipt of interconnection approval, receipt of a community solar contract, required permits, the continued availability of third-party financing arrangements for the Company and the risks associated with the construction of a solar power project. In addition, governments may revise, reduce or eliminate incentives and policy support schemes for solar power, which could result in future projects no longer being economic. Please refer to “Forward-Looking Statements” for additional discussion of the assumptions and risk factors associated with the Project and statements made in this press release.

About SolarBank Corporation

SolarBank Corporation is an independent renewable and clean energy project developer and owner focusing on distributed and community solar projects in Canada and the USA. The Company develops solar, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and EV Charging projects that sell electricity to utilities, commercial, industrial, municipal and residential off-takers. The Company maximizes returns via a diverse portfolio of projects across multiple leading North America markets including projects with utilities, host off-takers, community solar, and virtual net metering projects. The Company has a potential development pipeline of over one gigawatt and has developed renewable and clean energy projects with a combined capacity of over 100 megawatts built. To learn more about SolarBank, please visit www.solarbankcorp.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information ‎within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, “forward-looking ‎statements”) that relate to the Company’s current expectations and views of future events. ‎Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, ‎objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the ‎use of words or phrases such as “will likely result”, “are expected to”, “expects”, “will ‎continue”, “is anticipated”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimated”, “intends”, “plans”, “forecast”, ‎‎”projection”, “strategy”, “objective” and “outlook”) are not historical facts and may be ‎forward-looking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties ‎which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in ‎such forward-looking statements. In particular and without limitation, this news release ‎contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the Company’s expectations regarding its industry trends and overall market growth; the Company’s growth strategies the expected energy production from the solar power project mentioned in this press release; the number of homes expected to be powered; the receipt of interconnection approval, permits and financing to be able to construct the Project; the receipt of incentives for the Project; and the size of the Company’s development pipeline. No assurance ‎can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking ‎statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These ‎statements speak only as of the date of this news release.‎

Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of the experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In making the forward looking statements included in this news release, the Company has made various material assumptions, including but not limited to: obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals; that regulatory requirements will be maintained; general business and economic conditions; the Company’s ability to successfully execute its plans and intentions; the availability of financing on reasonable terms; the Company’s ability to attract and retain skilled staff; market competition; the products and services offered by the Company’s competitors; that the Company’s current good relationships with its service providers and other third parties will be maintained; and government subsidies and funding for renewable energy will continue as currently contemplated. Although the Company believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Whether actual results, performance or achievements will conform to the Company’s expectations and predictions is subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, including those listed under “Forward-‎Looking Statements” and “Risk ‎Factors” in the Company’s most recently completed Annual Information Form, and other public filings of the Company, which include: the Company may be adversely affected by volatile solar power market and industry conditions; the execution of the Company’s growth strategy depends upon the continued availability of third-party financing arrangements; the Company’s future success depends partly on its ability to expand the pipeline of its energy business in several key markets; governments may revise, reduce or eliminate incentives and policy support schemes for solar and battery storage power; general global economic conditions may have an adverse impact on our operating performance and results of operations; the Company’s project development and construction activities may not be successful; developing and operating solar projects exposes the Company to various risks; the Company faces a number of risks involving Power Purchase Agreements (“PPAs”) and project-level financing arrangements; any changes to the laws, regulations and policies that the Company is subject to may present technical, regulatory and economic barriers to the purchase and use of solar power; the markets in which the Company competes are highly competitive and evolving quickly; an anti-circumvention investigation could adversely affect the Company by potentially raising the prices of key supplies for the construction of solar power projects; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; a change in the Company’s effective tax rate can have a significant adverse impact on its business; seasonal variations in demand linked to construction cycles and weather conditions may influence the Company’s results of operations; the Company may be unable to generate sufficient cash flows or have access to external financing; the Company may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future; the Company is subject to risks from supply chain issues; risks related to inflation; unexpected warranty expenses that may not be adequately covered by the Company’s insurance policies; if the Company is unable to attract and retain key personnel, it may not be able to compete effectively in the renewable energy market; there are a limited number of purchasers of utility-scale quantities of electricity; compliance with environmental laws and regulations can be expensive; corporate responsibility may adversely impose additional costs; the future impact of any resurgence of COVID-19 on the Company is unknown at this time; the Company has limited insurance coverage; the Company will be reliant on information technology systems and may be subject to damaging cyberattacks; the Company may become subject to litigation; there is no guarantee on how the Company will use its available funds; the Company will continue to sell securities for cash to fund operations, capital expansion, mergers and acquisitions that will dilute the current shareholders; and future dilution as a result of financings.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any ‎forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or ‎otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it ‎is not possible for the Company to predict all of them, or assess the impact of each such ‎factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to ‎differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-‎looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by ‎this cautionary statement.‎

 

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SOURCE SolarBank Corporation

LEXINGTON, S.C.
, April 23, 2025  /PRNewswire/ —

Highlights for First Quarter 2025

• Net income of $3.997 million.
• Diluted EPS of $0.51 per common share.
• Total deposits were $1.726 billion and customer deposits (excluding brokered CDs) were $1.715 billion at March 31, 2025.  Customer deposit growth was $49.8 million during the quarter, a 12.1% annualized growth rate.
• Total loan growth of $31.4 million during the quarter, a 10.4% annualized growth rate.
• Net interest margin expansion, on a tax equivalent basis, of 13 basis points to 3.13% in the first quarter of 2025.
• Key credit quality metrics continue to be excellent with net recoveries, including overdrafts, during the first quarter of 2025 of $11 thousand; net loan recoveries, excluding overdrafts, during the quarter of $14 thousand; non-performing assets of 0.03%; and past due loans of 0.14% at March 31, 2025.
• Investment advisory revenue of $1.806 million.  Assets under management (AUM) were $892.8 million at March 31, 2025, compared to the December 31, 2024 AUM amount of $926.0 million.
• Mortgage line of business fee revenue of $759 thousand, which includes $755 thousand in gain-on-sale revenue.
• Cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, the 93^rd consecutive quarter of cash dividends paid to common shareholders.

Today, First Community Corporation (Nasdaq:  FCCO), the holding company for First Community Bank, announced earnings and discussed the results of operations and the company’s activities during the first quarter of 2025.

First Community reported net income for the first quarter of 2025 of $3.997 million with diluted earnings per common share of $0.51.  This compares to net income and diluted earnings per common share of $2.597 million and $0.34, respectively, year-over-year and $4.232 million and $0.55, respectively, on a linked quarter basis. 

Cash Dividend and Capital

The Board of Directors has approved a cash dividend for the first quarter of 2025 of $0.15 per common share.  This dividend is payable on May 20, 2025 to shareholders of record of the company’s common stock as of May 6, 2025.  First Community President and CEO, Mike Crapps commented, “The entire board is pleased that our performance enables the company to continue its cash dividend for the 93^rd consecutive quarter.” 

Each of the regulatory capital ratios for the bank exceed the well capitalized minimum levels currently required by regulatory statute.  At March 31, 2025, the bank’s regulatory capital ratios, Leverage, Tier I Risk Based and Total Risk Based, were 8.45%, 12.90%, and 13.99%, respectively.  This compares to the same ratios as of March 31, 2024 of 8.35%, 12.65%, and 13.71%, respectively. As of March 31, 2025, the bank’s Common Equity Tier One ratio was 12.90% compared to 12.65% at March 31, 2024.  The bank’s Tangible Common Equity to Tangible Assets ratio (TCE ratio) was 6.66% at March 31, 2025 unchanged from December 31, 2024 and compared to 6.32% as of March 31, 2024. 

Tangible Book Value (TBV) per share increased during the quarter to $17.56 per share at March 31, 2025, from $16.93 per share as of December 31, 2024, and $15.51 at March 31, 2024. 

Loan Portfolio Quality/Allowance for Credit Losses

The company’s asset quality remains excellent.  The non-performing assets (NPAs) were 0.03% of total assets at March 31, 2025, with $658 thousand in NPAs, which compares to 0.04% and $810 thousand at December 31, 2024.  The past due ratio for all loans was 0.14% at March 31, 2025, compared to 0.05% at December 31, 2024.  During the first quarter of 2025, the bank had net recoveries, including overdrafts, of $11 thousand and net loan recoveries, excluding overdrafts, of $14 thousand.  The ratio of classified loans plus OREO is 0.98% of total bank regulatory risk-based capital at March 31, 2025. 

As a community bank focused on local businesses, professionals, organizations, and individuals, the bank has no individual or industry concentrations.  In order to provide additional clarity to our commercial real estate exposure, the information below includes only non-owner occupied loans.  As of March 31, 2025:

In the office exposure noted above, there are only four loans where the collateral is an office building in excess of 50,000 square feet of rentable space.  These four loans represent $10.8 million in loan outstandings and have a weighted average loan-to-value of 35%. 

Balance Sheet

Total loans increased during the first quarter of 2025 by $31.4 million to $1.252 billion at March 31, 2025, compared to $1.221 billion at December 31, 2024, which is an annualized growth rate of 10.4%.  Commercial loan production was $53.6 million during the first quarter of 2025 with advances of unfunded commercial construction loans of $9.0 million during the quarter.  Loan payoffs and paydowns in the first quarter of 2025 were down approximately 30% compared to the same period in 2024.  First Community Bank President and CEO Ted Nissen noted, “Loan growth was strong in the first quarter of 2025 with production up 93% over the same period in 2024 and 62% over the fourth quarter of 2024.  This combined with lower payoffs and paydowns combined for a strong quarter in net loan growth.” 

The yield on the loan portfolio was 5.71% in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to 5.65% in the fourth quarter of 2024.  In the current interest environment, the pricing of new and renewed loans at rates higher than the average portfolio yield will result in further increases in the loan portfolio yield. 

Total deposits increased $49.8 million during the first quarter of 2025 to $1.726 billion at March 31, 2025 compared to $1.676 billion at December 31, 2024, which is an annualized growth rate of 12.1%.  Pure deposits, which are defined as total deposits less certificates of deposits, increased $38.6 million on a linked quarter basis to $1.414 billion at March 31, 2025, an annualized growth rate of 11.4%.  Securities sold under agreements to repurchase, which are related to customer cash management accounts or business sweep accounts, were $129.8 million at March 31, 2025, an increase of $26.7 million on a linked quarter basis, a 105.0% annualized growth rate.  The funding mix includes only $10.4 million in brokered CDs, no federal funds purchased, and no Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings. Costs of deposits decreased six basis points to 1.85% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 1.91% in the fourth quarter of 2024.  Cost of funds decreased 11 basis points on a linked quarter basis to 1.94% in the first quarter of 2025 from 2.05% in the fourth quarter of 2024.  Non-interest bearing deposits increased by $6.2 million on a linked quarter basis to $468.9 million or 27.2% of total deposits at March 31, 2025 and averaged $450.6 million in the first quarter of the year.  The average balance of all customer deposit accounts as of March 31, 2025 was $31,262, with the average balance for consumer accounts of $16,416 and for non-consumer accounts of $67,993. All of the above points to the granularity and the quality of the bank’s deposit franchise.  Mr. Nissen commented, “A strength of our bank has been and continues to be the value of our deposit franchise.  Of the $49.8 million in total deposit growth in the first quarter of 2025, $38.6 million of that was in pure deposits, which are more relationship based than the more price sensitive certificates of deposit. Further, during the quarter, we were able to reduce both cost of funds and cost of deposits due to this improved mix of deposit balances and the current interest rate environment.”   

The bank has other short-term investments, primarily interest bearing cash at the Federal Reserve Bank, of $173.2 million at March 31, 2025 compared to $123.5 million at December 31, 2024.  The investment portfolio was $495.7 million at March 31, 2025 compared to $491.7 million at December 31, 2024.  The yield increased to 3.42% during the first quarter of 2025 as compared to 3.40% in the fourth quarter of 2024.  The effective duration of the total investment portfolio is 3.2 at March 31, 2025.  Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (AOCL) was $23.0 million at March 31, 2025 compared to $25.5 million at December 31, 2024 due to a decrease in market interest rates.

Net Interest Income/Net Interest Margin

Net interest income was $14.4 million in the first quarter of 2025 compared to $13.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $12.1 million in the first quarter of 2024.  The net interest margin, on a taxable equivalent basis, was 3.13% for the first quarter of 2025 compared to 3.00% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 2.79% in the first quarter of 2024.  This margin expansion was driven by a combination of factors including improved loan portfolio yield, decreased cost of funds, and the growth in the loan portfolio. 

As previously disclosed, effective May 5, 2023, the company entered into a pay-fixed/receive-floating interest rate swap (the “Pay-Fixed Swap Agreement”) for a notional amount of $150.0 million that was designated as a fair value hedge to hedge the risk of changes in the fair value of the fixed rate loans included in the closed loan portfolio. This fair value hedge converts the hedged loans from a fixed rate to a synthetic floating SOFR rate. The Pay-Fixed Swap Agreement will mature on May 5, 2026 and the company will pay a fixed coupon rate of 3.58% while receiving the overnight SOFR rate.  This interest rate swap positively impacted interest on loans by $288 thousand during the first quarter of 2025.  Loan yields and net interest margin both benefitted from the interest rate swap with increases of 10 basis points and six basis points, respectively, during the first quarter of 2025. 

Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income for the first quarter of 2025 was $3.982 million, compared to $3.608 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $3.184 million in the first quarter of 2024.  As a note, non-interest income in the fourth quarter of 2024 was impacted by a loss on early extinguishment of debt in the amount of $229 thousand. 

Total production in the mortgage line of business in the first quarter of 2025 was $43.86 million which was comprised of $25.75 million in secondary market loans, $4.00 million in adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), and $14.11 million in construction loans.  Total fee revenue in the mortgage line of business was $759 thousand in the first quarter of 2025, which includes $755 thousand associated with the secondary market loans with a gain-on-sale margin of 2.93%.  This compares to production year-over-year of $36.64 million which was comprised of $13.07 million in secondary market loans, $9.66 million in ARMs, and $13.91 million in construction loans during the first quarter of 2024.  Fee revenue associated with the secondary market loans in the first quarter of 2024 was $418 thousand with a gain-on-sale margin of 3.20%. 

Revenue from the financial planning and investment advisory line of business was $1.806 million for the first quarter of 2025 compared to $1.720 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $1.358 million in the first quarter of 2024.  Assets Under Management (AUM) were $892.8 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $926.0 million at December 31, 2024 and $832.9 million at March 31, 2024. 

Mr. Nissen noted, “Our mortgage line of business is still experiencing the headwinds of a higher interest rate environment and low housing inventory; however, we are encouraged by recent trends including an increase in production year-over-year of 19.7%.  Our financial planning and investment advisory line of business continues to do well with net new asset growth from existing and new clients, even in the face of market volatility.”

Non-Interest Expense

Non-interest expense increased $928 thousand on a linked quarter basis to $12.754 million in the first quarter of 2025 from $11.826 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.  Salaries and Benefits expense was up $220 thousand on a linked quarter basis primarily due to higher payroll taxes which is typical earlier in the year as well as higher commissions in the financial planning and mortgage lines of business related to increased production on a linked quarter. Marketing and public relations expense was up $304 thousand on a linked quarter basis due to planned increased activity in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Marketing expenses, while planned and budgeted on an annual basis, can vary significantly between quarters depending on the needs of the company.  Other Expense was up $409 thousand in the first quarter of 2025 due primarily to higher professional fees including legal, audit, and accounting fees and more modest increases across various expense categories.

About First Community Corporation

First Community Corporation stock trades on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “FCCO” and is the holding company for First Community Bank, a local community bank based in the Midlands of South Carolina.  First Community Bank is a full-service commercial bank offering deposit and loan products and services, residential mortgage lending and financial planning/investment advisory services for businesses and consumers.  First Community serves customers in the Midlands, Aiken, Upstate and Piedmont Regions of South Carolina as well as Augusta, Georgia.  For more information, visit www.firstcommunitysc.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release and certain statements by our management may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to future plans, goals, projections and expectations, and are thus prospective. Forward looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipate”, “expects”, “intends”, “believes”, “may”, “likely”, “will”, “plans”, “positions”, “future”, “forward”, or other statements that indicate future periods.  Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Such risks, uncertainties and other factors, include, among others, the following: (1) competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions may increase significantly and have an effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; (2) the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations may be different than expected; (3) the rate of delinquencies and amounts of charge-offs, the level of allowance for credit loss, the rates of loan growth, or adverse changes in asset quality in our loan portfolio, which may result in increased credit risk-related losses and expenses; (4) changes in legislation, regulation, policies or administrative practices, whether by judicial, governmental, or legislative action; (5) adverse conditions in the stock market, the public debt markets and other capital markets (including changes in interest rate conditions) could continue to have a negative impact on the company; (6) changes in interest rates, which have and may continue to affect our deposit and funding costs, net income, prepayment penalty income, mortgage banking income, and other future cash flows, or the market value of our assets, including our investment securities; (7) technology and cybersecurity risks, including potential business disruptions, reputational risks, and financial losses, associated with potential attacks on or failures by our computer systems and computer systems of our vendors and other third parties; (8) elevated inflation which causes adverse risk to the overall economy, and could indirectly pose challenges to our customers and to our business; (9) any increases in FDIC assessment which has increased, and may continue to increase, our cost of doing business; (10) the adverse effects of events beyond our control that may have a destabilizing effect on financial markets and the economy, such as trade disputes, epidemics and pandemics, war or terrorist activities, essential utility outages, deterioration in the global economy, instability in the credit markets, disruptions in our customers’ supply chains or disruption in transportation; and (11) risks, uncertainties and other factors disclosed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, or in any of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC since the end of the fiscal year covered by our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, which are available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov).

Although we believe that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove to be inaccurate. We can give no assurance that the results contemplated in the forward-looking statements will be realized. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be construed as a representation by our company or any person that the future events, plans, or expectations contemplated by our company will be achieved. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

 

 

 

The tables below provide a reconciliation of non–GAAP measures to GAAP for the periods indicated:

Certain financial information presented above is determined by methods other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). These non-GAAP financial measures include “Tangible book value per common share,” “Tangible common shareholders’ equity to tangible assets,”  “Return on average tangible common equity,” and “Pre-tax, pre-provision earnings.” 

• “Tangible book value per common share” is defined as total equity reduced by recorded intangible assets divided by total common shares outstanding.
• “Tangible common shareholders’ equity to tangible assets” is defined as total common equity reduced by recorded intangible assets divided by total assets reduced by recorded intangible assets.
• “Return on average tangible common equity” is defined as net income on an annualized basis divided by average total equity reduced by average recorded intangible assets. 
• “Pre-tax, pre-provision earnings” is defined as net interest income plus non-interest income, reduced by non-interest expense.

Our management believes that these non-GAAP measures are useful because they enhance the ability of investors and management to evaluate and compare our operating results from period-to-period in a meaningful manner. Non-GAAP measures have limitations as analytical tools, and investors should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the company’s results as reported under GAAP.

 

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SOURCE First Community Corporation