Outlook Therapeutics Reports Positive Safety Profile from NORSE THREE Open-Label Safety Study for ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™ (bevacizumab-vikg)

  • Positive safety profile in NORSE THREE open-label safety study reinforces previously reported safety data for ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™
    , an investigational ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab-vikg for the treatment of wet AMD

  • Topline efficacy and safety data from pivotal Phase 3 NORSE TWO study on target to report in calendar Q3 2021, followed by BLA submission by end of 2021

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., March 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Outlook Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: OTLK), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing the first FDA-approved ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab-vikg for use in retinal indications, today announced positive topline results from its NORSE THREE open-label safety study evaluating ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™ (bevacizumab-vikg) to treat retinal diseases.

Topline results from the open-label safety study demonstrated that ONS-5010 showed no unexpected safety trends and had a safety profile consistent with that of prior published data on the use of bevacizumab for ophthalmic conditions, such as the 2011 CATT study undertaken by the National Eye Institute. The safety endpoints for NORSE THREE were the frequency and incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events and an evaluation of changes in safety parameters. In the study, 20 out of 197 patients (10%) experienced an adverse event in the study eye that were most commonly associated with the injection procedure and not ONS-5010. There were no serious adverse events associated with treatment. Notably, there were zero cases of ocular inflammation, a concern that has emerged for other anti-VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) therapies to treat retinal conditions.

“The additional validation of the ONS-5010 safety profile seen in the results of this study, which match up favorably with historical data from prior studies of bevacizumab in ophthalmology, is very encouraging. ONS-5010 has the potential to be a valuable therapeutic addition to the clinical practice of retina physicians. I look forward to the topline data readout from the pivotal safety and efficacy study later this year,” said Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, Medical Advisor to Outlook Therapeutics.

NORSE THREE was conducted to ensure that an adequate number of patient exposures to ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™ are available for Outlook Therapeutics’ data package for its planned biologics license application (BLA) submission in the United States and for other global regulatory filings. The open-label study met its goal of ensuring that a sufficient number of individuals have now been treated with ONS-5010 by enrolling 197 treatment-naïve and previously treated subjects with a range of retinal diseases for which an anti-VEGF drug is a therapeutic option, including wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Subjects enrolled in the study received three monthly intravitreal doses of ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™.

Following the data readout of the pivotal safety and efficacy study (NORSE TWO) later this year, Outlook Therapeutics plans to submit a new BLA filing under the PHSA 351(a) regulatory pathway in the fourth quarter of calendar 2021. If the BLA is approved, it will result in 12 years of marketing exclusivity for ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™ as the first and only FDA-approved ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab-vikg to treat wet AMD.

Commercial launch planning for ONS-5010 has begun, including manufacturing, distribution, physician and patient outreach, and engagement with key opinion leaders and the payor community. With potential for an enhanced safety and cost-effectiveness profile, ONS-5010, if approved, is well positioned to become the first-line drug of choice in the United States for retinal indications and to be widely adopted by payors and clinicians worldwide in the $13.1 billion global anti-VEGF market.  

“We are very pleased with the positive safety profile demonstrated by ONS-5010 in this open-label safety study. This study provided us with the necessary number of patient exposures to ONS-5010 to complete our planned BLA submission for wet AMD later this year,” said Lawrence A. Kenyon, President, CEO and CFO of Outlook Therapeutics. “These results reinforce the positive safety profile seen in our earlier clinical experience trial. Moving forward, our team is now laser-focused on successfully completing our pivotal trial, NORSE TWO, and preparing the BLA after the data readout expected in the third quarter of this calendar year. On behalf of the Outlook Therapeutics team, we would like to thank the clinicians and patients who participated in this study, despite the disruptions of the pandemic.”

In addition to the clinical development plan evaluating ONS-5010 for wet AMD, Outlook Therapeutics has received agreements from the FDA on three Special Protocol Assessments (SPAs) for three additional registration clinical trials. These SPAs cover the protocols for a planned registration clinical trial evaluating ONS-5010 to treat BRVO (NORSE FOUR), and two planned registration clinical trials evaluating ONS-5010 for the treatment of DME (NORSE FIVE and NORSE SIX). Outlook Therapeutics expects to initiate registration clinical trials for ONS-5010 for DME and BRVO later in 2021.

About ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™ (bevacizumab-vikg)

ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™ (bevacizumab-vikg) is an investigational ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab-vikg under development to be administered as an intravitreal injection for the treatment of wet AMD and other retinal diseases. ONS-5010 is currently being evaluated in a pivotal registration clinical trial for wet AMD (NORSE TWO) and, if successful, is expected to be submitted to the FDA as a new BLA for this ophthalmic indication under the 351(a) regulatory pathway. Because no currently approved ophthalmic formulations of bevacizumab are available, clinicians wishing to treat retinal patients with bevacizumab use unapproved repackaged IV bevacizumab provided by compounding pharmacists, products that have known risks of contamination and inconsistent potency and availability.

ONS-5010 is a full-length, humanized anti-VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) recombinant monoclonal antibody (mAb) that inhibits VEGF and associated angiogenic activity. VEGF is a protein that promotes the growth of new abnormal blood vessels. With wet AMD, abnormally high levels of VEGF are secreted in the eye and can lead to vision loss. Anti-VEGF injection therapy blocks this growth. Since the advent of anti-VEGF therapy, it has become the standard-of-care treatment option within the retina community globally. 

If approved, ONS-5010 will be the first and only FDA-approved ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab-vikg to treat retinal diseases. Outlook Therapeutics currently intends to initiate registration trials for diabetic macular edema (DME) and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and to commercialize ONS-5010 in both vials and single-use pre-filled syringes. 

About Outlook Therapeutics, Inc.        

Outlook Therapeutics is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company working to develop ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA™ (bevacizumab-vikg) as the first FDA-approved ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab-vikg for use in retinal indications, including wet AMD, DME and BRVO. If ONS-5010 is approved, Outlook Therapeutics expects to commercialize it as the first and only FDA-approved ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab-vikg for use in treating retinal diseases in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Japan and other markets. Outlook Therapeutics expects to file ONS-5010 with the U.S. FDA as a new BLA under the PHSA 351(a) regulatory pathway. For more information, please visit www.outlooktherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts are “forward-looking statements,” including those relating to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “project,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “intend” or “continue,” the negative of terms like these or other comparable terminology, and other words or terms of similar meaning. These include statements about the timing of completion of, and pivotal safety and efficacy data from, NORSE 2, ONS-5010’s potential as the first FDA-approved ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab-vikg, including benefits therefrom to patients, payors and physicians, the timing of BLA submission and commercial launch of ONS-5010, and plans for regulatory approvals in other markets. Although Outlook Therapeutics believes that it has a reasonable basis for the forward-looking statements contained herein, they are based on current expectations about future events affecting Outlook Therapeutics and are subject to risks, uncertainties and factors relating to its operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond its control. These risk factors include those risks associated with developing pharmaceutical product candidates, risks of conducting clinical trials and risks in obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, as well as those risks detailed in Outlook Therapeutics’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which include the uncertainty of future impacts related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These risks may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements in this press release. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Outlook Therapeutics does not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law.

CONTACTS:

Media Inquiries:

Harriet Ullman
Assistant Vice President
LaVoie Health Science
T: 617-669-3082
[email protected]

Investor Inquiries:       
Jenene Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
JTC Team, LLC
T: 833.475.8247 
[email protected]



Acuity Brands Reports Fiscal 2021 Second-Quarter Results

Continued Fundamental Improvements Across the Business Despite Lower Volume Resulting From the Pandemic

  • Net Sales Declined 5.8% versus Prior Year
  • Gross Profit Margin Expansion of 170 Basis Points versus Prior Year
  • Outstanding Share Count Reduced By Approximately 9.6% Since May 2020
  • Acuity Brands Reaches Carbon Neutrality Across its Operations

ATLANTA, March 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) (the “Company”) a market-leading industrial technology company announced net sales of $776.6 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 ended February 28, 2021, a decrease of $47.6 million or 5.8 percent, as compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2020. Diluted earnings per share was $1.74, an increase of 20.8 percent over prior year and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $2.12 per share, an increase of 15.2 percent over prior year.

“I am very proud of our team for another quarter of solid performance. We continue to see signs of a modest recovery in the wider market, while our margin expansion reflects the hard work of our associates who continue to control costs in a more consistent and predictable way,” stated Neil Ashe, Chief Executive Officer of Acuity Brands. “Earlier this month, we advanced our sustainability journey and highlighted our ongoing commitment to the environment, our people, and our communities, with the announcement that we had achieved carbon neutrality in our operations.”

Gross profit of $336.7 million declined $7.2 million, or 2.1 percent, as compared to the prior year. Gross profit was 43.4 percent of net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, an increase of approximately 170 basis points from 41.7 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. The decline in gross profit was primarily due to the impact of lower sales volume, while the improvement in gross profit margin was the result of ongoing product and productivity improvements.

Operating profit of $91.0 million increased $9.6 million, or 11.8 percent as compared to prior year. Operating profit was 11.7 percent of net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, an increase of 180 basis points from 9.9 percent for the second quarter of fiscal 2020. The improvement in operating profit margin was largely driven by the improvement in gross profit margin and ongoing cost management.

Adjusted operating profit of $108.9 million increased $7.2 million, or 7.1 percent, for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 as compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit was 14.0 percent of net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, an increase of 170 basis points from 12.3 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2020.

Net income of $62.9 million increased $5.7 million, or 10.0 percent, as compared to prior year. Diluted earnings per share of $1.74 increased $0.30, or 20.8 percent, for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, as compared to $1.44 for the second quarter of fiscal 2020.

Adjusted net income of $76.7 million increased $3.6 million, or 4.9 percent, as compared to the prior year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.12 increased $0.28, or 15.2 percent, as compared to $1.84 for the second quarter of fiscal 2020.

Channel Performance

Net sales of $592.7 million in the Independent Sales Network and of $73.9 million in the Direct Sales Network were approximately flat as compared to prior year.

Retail sales of $43.0 million declined $13.8 million as compared to the prior year. This was primarily due to a strong year-over-year pre-pandemic comparison combined with a current-quarter customer inventory rebalancing.

Sales in Corporate Accounts of $26.7 million declined $28.1 million as compared to prior year. This reflects a decrease in shipments to larger retailers as they continued to defer nonessential renovations.

Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

Net cash from operating activities of $212.6 million was approximately flat, declining $2.1 million, or 1.0 percent for the first half of fiscal 2021 as compared to the prior year. During the first half of 2021, the Company repurchased 3.2 million shares of common stock for a total of $338.3 million at an average price of $104 per share. The Company had approximately 4.4 million shares remaining under its most recent authorization at the end of the second fiscal quarter of 2021. Since May of 2020, the Company has reduced the outstanding share count by approximately 10 percent.

Carbon Neutrality Statement

On March 22, 2021, the Company announced to associates that it had achieved 100 percent carbon neutrality in operations through a combination of carbon reduction and offsetting measures. The Company will continue to update the market on ongoing efforts through the EarthLIGHT report, in periodic company press releases and through the sustainability section of the Company website.

Outlook

A further discussion relating to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the economic recovery will take place on our fiscal 2021 second-quarter conference call.

Conference Call

As previously announced, Acuity Brands will hold a conference call today, March 31, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss its fiscal 2021 second-quarter results. Interested parties may access the call via the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at investors.acuitybrands.com to hear live or to hear a replay.

About Acuity Brands

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. The Company designs, manufactures, and brings to market products and services that make the world more brilliant, productive, and connected including building management systems, lighting, lighting controls, and location-aware applications. Acuity Brands achieves growth through the development of innovative new products and services.

Through the Acuity Business System, Acuity Brands achieves customer-focused efficiencies that allow the Company to increase market share and deliver superior returns. The Company looks to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals.

Acuity Brands is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company is powered by approximately 11,000 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuitybrands.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release includes the following non-generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) financial measures: “adjusted gross profit,” “adjusted gross profit margin,” “adjusted SD&A expenses,” “adjusted SD&A expenses as a percent of net sales,” “adjusted operating profit,” “adjusted operating profit margin,” “adjusted other expense,” “adjusted net income,” “adjusted diluted EPS,” and “free cash flow (“FCF”)”. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided to enhance the reader’s overall understanding of the Company’s current financial performance and prospects for the future. Specifically, management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors by excluding or adjusting items for acquisition-related items, amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based payment expense, impairment on investment, and special charges associated with continued efforts to streamline the organization and integrate recent acquisitions. FCF is provided to enhance the reader’s understanding of the Company’s ability to generate additional cash from its business. Management typically adjusts for these items for internal reviews of performance and uses the above non-GAAP measures for baseline comparative operational analysis, decision making, and other activities. Management believes these non-GAAP measures provide greater comparability and enhanced visibility into the Company’s results of operations as well as comparability with many of its peers, especially those companies focused more on technology and software. Non-GAAP financial measures included in this news release should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, results prepared in accordance with GAAP.

The most directly comparable GAAP measures for adjusted gross profit and adjusted gross profit margin are “gross profit” and “gross profit margin,” respectively, which include acquisition-related items. The most directly comparable GAAP measures for adjusted SD&A expenses and adjusted SD&A expenses as a percent of net sales are “SD&A expenses” and “SD&A expenses as a percent of net sales,” respectively, which include amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based payment expense, and acquisition-related items. The most directly comparable GAAP measures for adjusted operating profit and adjusted operating profit margin are “operating profit” and “operating profit margin,” respectively, which include the impact of acquisition-related items, amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based payment expense, and special charges. The most directly comparable GAAP measure for adjusted other expense is “other expense,” which includes an impairment of investment. The most directly comparable GAAP measures for adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS are “net income” and “diluted EPS,” respectively, which include the impact of acquisition-related items, amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based payment expense, an impairment of investment, and special charges. The most directly comparable GAAP measure for FCF is “net cash provided by operating activities.” A reconciliation of each measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is available in this news release. The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, have limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP financial measures. Our presentation of such measures, which may include adjustments to exclude unusual or non-recurring items, should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by other unusual or non-recurring items.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control. We caution you that the forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and that actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this press release. In addition, forward-looking statements are statements other than those of historical fact and may include statements relating to goals, plans, market conditions and projections regarding Acuity Brand’s strategy, and specifically include statements made in this press release regarding: continued signs of modest recovery in the wider market, our ongoing commitment to the environment, our people, and our communities and our intention to update the market on ongoing carbon neutrality efforts through the EarthLIGHT report. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “plan,” “seek,” “comfortable with,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe” or “continue” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. A number of important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from those contained in or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, filed on October 23, 2020 and those described from time to time in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which can be found at the SEC’s website www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of events, or otherwise.

ACUITY BRANDS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In millions, except share data)

  February 28, 2021   August 31, 2020
 
(unaudited)
   
ASSETS      
Current assets:      
Cash and cash equivalents $ 498.7     $ 560.7  
Accounts receivable, less reserve for doubtful accounts of $2.6 and $2.6, respectively 448.0     500.3  
Inventories 321.3     320.1  
Prepayments and other current assets 76.1     58.6  
Total current assets 1,344.1     1,439.7  
Property, plant, and equipment, net 262.0     270.5  
Operating lease right-of-use assets 63.3     63.4  
Goodwill 1,084.2     1,080.0  
Intangible assets, net 587.2     605.9  
Deferred income taxes 2.5     2.7  
Other long-term assets 16.9     29.5  
Total assets $ 3,360.2     $ 3,491.7  
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY      
Current liabilities:      
Accounts payable $ 321.5     $ 326.5  
Current maturities of debt 4.0     24.3  
Current operating lease liabilities 17.3     17.2  
Accrued compensation 91.4     85.4  
Other accrued liabilities 142.1     164.2  
Total current liabilities 576.3     617.6  
Long-term debt 494.0     376.8  
Long-term operating lease liabilities 52.2     56.8  
Accrued pension liabilities 68.0     91.6  
Deferred income taxes 95.5     94.9  
Self-insurance reserves 6.8     6.5  
Other long-term liabilities 134.9     120.0  
Total liabilities 1,427.7     1,364.2  
Stockholders’ equity:      
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; none issued      
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 53,985,970 and 53,885,165
issued, respectively
0.5     0.5  
Paid-in capital 977.8     963.6  
Retained earnings 2,635.9     2,523.3  
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (118.1 )   (132.7 )
Treasury stock, at cost — 18,244,813 and 15,012,449 shares, respectively (1,563.6 )   (1,227.2 )
Total stockholders’ equity 1,932.5     2,127.5  
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 3,360.2     $ 3,491.7  



ACUITY BRANDS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited)

(In millions, except per-share data)

  Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
  February 28,
2021
  February 29,
2020
  February 28,
2021
  February 29,
2020
Net sales $ 776.6     $ 824.2     $ 1,568.6     $ 1,658.9  
Cost of products sold 439.9     480.3     899.5     959.2  
Gross profit 336.7     343.9     669.1     699.7  
Selling, distribution, and administrative expenses 245.4     260.9     491.4     526.2  
Special charges 0.3     1.6     1.0     8.5  
Operating profit 91.0     81.4     176.7     165.0  
Other expense:              
Interest expense, net 6.6     5.7     11.5     14.0  
Miscellaneous expense, net 2.2     1.0     3.8     2.4  
Total other expense 8.8     6.7     15.3     16.4  
Income before income taxes 82.2     74.7     161.4     148.6  
Income tax expense 19.3     17.5     38.9     34.4  
Net income $ 62.9     $ 57.2     $ 122.5     $ 114.2  
               
Earnings per share:              
Basic earnings per share $ 1.75     $ 1.45     $ 3.32     $ 2.89  
Basic weighted average number of shares outstanding 36.0     39.5     36.9     39.5  
Diluted earnings per share $ 1.74     $ 1.44     $ 3.30     $ 2.88  
Diluted weighted average number of shares outstanding 36.2     39.7     37.1     39.7  
Dividends declared per share $ 0.13     $ 0.13     $ 0.26     $ 0.26  
               
Comprehensive income:              
Net income $ 62.9     $ 57.2     $ 122.5     $ 114.2  
Other comprehensive income (loss) items:              
Foreign currency translation adjustments 6.7     (3.7 )   11.3     (1.8 )
Defined benefit plans, net of tax 1.7     1.7     3.3     3.6  
Other comprehensive income (loss) items, net of tax 8.4     (2.0 )   14.6     1.8  
Comprehensive income $ 71.3     $ 55.2     $ 137.1     $ 116.0  



ACUITY BRANDS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)

(In millions)

  Six Months Ended
  February 28, 2021   February 29, 2020
Cash flows from operating activities:      
Net income $ 122.5     $ 114.2  
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities:      
Depreciation and amortization 50.0     49.8  
Share-based payment expense 15.2     24.7  
Asset impairment 4.0      
Accounts receivable 54.5     66.9  
Inventories (0.4 )   8.3  
Prepayments and other current assets (7.6 )   (4.0 )
Accounts payable (4.3 )   (12.3 )
Other (21.3 )   (32.9 )
Net cash provided by operating activities 212.6     214.7  
Cash flows from investing activities:      
Purchases of property, plant, and equipment (21.2 )   (24.9 )
Proceeds from sale of property, plant, and equipment 0.4     0.2  
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired     (302.9 )
Other investing activities (3.1 )   (1.9 )
Net cash used for investing activities (23.9 )   (329.5 )
Cash flows from financing activities:      
Issuance of long-term debt 493.9     400.0  
Repayments of long-term debt (397.1 )   (350.5 )
Repurchases of common stock (338.3 )    
Proceeds from stock option exercises and other 0.9     0.5  
Payments of taxes withheld on net settlement of equity awards (3.3 )   (4.7 )
Dividends paid (9.7 )   (10.4 )
Net cash (used for) provided by financing activities (253.6 )   34.9  
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 2.9     (0.5 )
Net change in cash and cash equivalents (62.0 )   (80.4 )
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 560.7     461.0  
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 498.7     $ 380.6  



ACUITY BRANDS, INC.

DISAGGREGATED NET SALES

(In millions)

The following table shows net sales by channel for the periods presented:

  Three Months Ended      
  February 28,
2021
  February 29,
2020
  Increase
(Decrease)
Percent
Change
Independent sales network $ 592.7     $ 596.9     $ (4.2 )   (0.7 )%
Direct sales network 73.9     73.3     0.6     0.8  % 
Retail sales 43.0     56.8     (13.8 )   (24.3 )%
Corporate accounts 26.7     54.8     (28.1 )   (51.3 )%
Other 40.3     42.4     (2.1 )   (5.0 )%
Total $ 776.6     $ 824.2     $ (47.6 )   (5.8 )%

  Six Months Ended      
  February 28,
2021
  February 29,
2020
  Increase
(Decrease)
Percent
Change
Independent sales network $ 1,192.2     $ 1,214.9     $ (22.7 )   (1.9 )%
Direct sales network 150.2     157.6     (7.4 )   (4.7 )%
Retail sales 98.0     110.2     (12.2 )   (11.1 )%
Corporate accounts 50.7     88.3     (37.6 )   (42.6 )%
Other 77.5     87.9     (10.4 )   (11.8 )%
Total $ 1,568.6     $ 1,658.9     $ (90.3 )   (5.4 )%



ACUITY BRANDS, INC.

Reconciliation of Non-U.S. GAAP Measures

The tables below reconcile certain GAAP financial measures to the corresponding non-GAAP measures:

(In millions except per share data) Three Months Ended          
  February 28,
2021
      February 29,
2020
      Increase
(Decrease)
Percent
Change
Net sales $ 776.6         $ 824.2         $ (47.6 ) (5.8 )%
                     
Gross profit (GAAP) $ 336.7         $ 343.9         $ (7.2 ) (2.1 )%
Percent of net sales     43.4  %       41.7  %   170    bps
Add-back: Acquisition-related items (1)         0.1            
Adjusted gross profit (Non-GAAP) $ 336.7         $ 344.0         $ (7.3 ) (2.1 )%
Percent of net sales     43.4  %       41.7  %   170   bps
                     
Selling, distribution, and administrative (SD&A) expenses (GAAP) $ 245.4         $ 260.9         $ (15.5 ) (5.9 )%
Percent of net sales     31.6  %       31.7  %   (10 ) bps
Less: Amortization of acquired intangible assets (10.1 )       (10.4 )          
Less: Share-based payment expense (7.5 )       (8.0 )          
Less: Acquisition-related items (1)         (0.2 )          
Adjusted SD&A expenses (Non-GAAP) $ 227.8         $ 242.3         $ (14.5 ) (6.0 )%
Percent of net sales     29.3  %       29.4  %   (10 ) bps
                     
Operating profit (GAAP) $ 91.0         $ 81.4         $ 9.6   11.8  %
Percent of net sales     11.7  %       9.9  %   180   bps
Add-back: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 10.1         10.4            
Add-back: Share-based payment expense 7.5         8.0            
Add-back: Acquisition-related items (1)         0.3            
Add-back: Special charges 0.3         1.6            
Adjusted operating profit (Non-GAAP) $ 108.9         $ 101.7         $ 7.2   7.1  %
Percent of net sales     14.0  %       12.3  %   170   bps
                     
Net income (GAAP) $ 62.9         $ 57.2         $ 5.7   10.0  %
Add-back: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 10.1         10.4            
Add-back: Share-based payment expense 7.5         8.0            
Add-back: Acquisition-related items (1)         0.3            
Add-back: Special charges 0.3         1.6            
Total pre-tax adjustments to net income 17.9         20.3            
Income tax effects (4.1 )       (4.4 )          
Adjusted net income (Non-GAAP) $ 76.7         $ 73.1         $ 3.6   4.9  %
                     
Diluted earnings per share (GAAP) $ 1.74         $ 1.44         $ 0.30   20.8  %
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (Non-GAAP) $ 2.12         $ 1.84         $ 0.28   15.2  %

(1) Acquisition-related items include profit in inventory and professional fees.

(In millions, except per share data) Six Months Ended          
  February 28,
2021
      February 29,
2020
      Increase
(Decrease)
Percent
Change
Net sales $ 1,568.6         $ 1,658.9         $ (90.3 ) (5.4 )%
                     
Gross profit (GAAP) $ 669.1         $ 699.7         $ (30.6 ) (4.4 )%
Percent of net sales     42.7  %       42.2  %   50    bps
Add-back: Acquisition-related items (1)         1.2            
Adjusted gross profit (Non-GAAP) $ 669.1         $ 700.9         $ (31.8 ) (4.5 )%
Percent of net sales     42.7  %       42.3  %   40    bps
                     
Selling, distribution, and administrative (SD&A) expenses (GAAP) $ 491.4         $ 526.2         $ (34.8 ) (6.6 )%
Percent of net sales     31.3  %       31.7  %   (40 ) bps
Less: Amortization of acquired intangible assets (20.2 )       (20.0 )          
Less: Share-based payment expense (15.2 )       (24.7 )          
Less: Acquisition-related items (1)         (1.3 )          
Adjusted SD&A expenses (Non-GAAP) $ 456.0         $ 480.2         $ (24.2 ) (5.0 )%
Percent of net sales     29.1  %       28.9  %   20    bps
                     
Operating profit (GAAP) $ 176.7         $ 165.0         $ 11.7   7.1  %
Percent of net sales     11.3  %       9.9  %   140    bps
Add-back: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 20.2         20.0            
Add-back: Share-based payment expense 15.2         24.7            
Add-back: Acquisition-related items (1)         2.5            
Add-back: Special charges 1.0         8.5            
Adjusted operating profit (Non-GAAP) $ 213.1         $ 220.7         $ (7.6 ) (3.4 )%
Percent of net sales     13.6  %       13.3  %   30    bps
                     
Other expense (income) (GAAP) $ 15.3         $ 16.4         $ (1.1 ) (6.7 )%
Less: Impairment of investment (4.0 )                  
Adjusted other expense (income) (Non-GAAP) $ 11.3         $ 16.4         $ (5.1 ) (31.1 )%
                     
Net income (GAAP) $ 122.5         $ 114.2         $ 8.3   7.3  %
Add-back: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 20.2         20.0            
Add-back: Share-based payment expense 15.2         24.7            
Add-back: Acquisition-related items (1)         2.5            
Add-back: Special charges 1.0         8.5            
Add-back: Impairment of investment 4.0                    
Total pre-tax adjustments to net income 40.4         55.7            
Income tax effect (9.3 )       (12.6 )          
Adjusted net income (Non-GAAP) $ 153.6         $ 157.3         $ (3.7 ) (2.4 )%
                     
Diluted earnings per share (GAAP) $ 3.30         $ 2.88         $ 0.42   14.6  %
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (Non-GAAP) $ 4.14         $ 3.97         $ 0.17   4.3  %

______________________________

(1) Acquisition-related items include profit in inventory and professional fees.

(In millions except per share data) Six Months Ended      
  February 28,
2021
  February 29,
2020
  Increase
(Decrease)
Percent
Change
Net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) $ 212.6     $ 214.7     $ (2.1 ) (1.0 )%
Less: Purchases of property, plant, and equipment (21.2 )   (24.9 )      
Free cash flow (Non-GAAP) $ 191.4     $ 189.8     $ 1.6   0.8  %

Investor Contact:

Charlotte McLaughlin
Vice President, Investor Relations
(404) 853-1456
[email protected]

Media Contact:

Candace Flippin Steele
Chief Communications Officer
[email protected]



Paysign Announces Launch of New Digital Banking Referral Program

Paysign Announces Launch of New Digital Banking Referral Program

Paysign Premier Now Available to Businesses as a Turnkey Solution

HENDERSON, Nev.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Paysign, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYS), a leading provider of prepaid card programs, digital banking services, and payment processing, today announced the launch of their Paysign Premier referral program, designed to give businesses easy, turnkey access to a digital banking solution for their payees. The referral program is available immediately with no startup costs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210331005243/en/

The Paysign Premier digital bank account is a “checkless” demand deposit account (DDA) with a personalized Visa® debit card. It offers accountholders access to their pay up to two days early, cash back rewards, real-time account info through a mobile app or web portal, and 24/7/365 bilingual customer care. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The Paysign Premier digital bank account is a “checkless” demand deposit account (DDA) with a personalized Visa® debit card. It offers accountholders access to their pay up to two days early, cash back rewards, real-time account info through a mobile app or web portal, and 24/7/365 bilingual customer care. (Graphic: Business Wire)

As a complement to their suite of tailored payment solutions, Paysign has packaged a turnkey version of their Premier digital bank account program to allow businesses to streamline their payments process and reduce costs without going through a lengthy program design and implementation. By offering digital banking as a benefit to their payees – whether employees, gig workers, vendors, or contractors – businesses can instantly add value and improve payee loyalty and satisfaction.

“Digital banking solutions have been gaining in popularity among businesses and consumers for the last decade,” said Mark Newcomer, co-founder and CEO of Paysign. “The COVID-19 pandemic has only sped up the trend. Now, more than ever, it pays for businesses to consider ways of streamlining their own payout practices, while offering a valuable financial service to their payees in the process. We’re excited that the new Premier referral program removes the barriers typically associated with getting a payments solution off the ground.”

The Paysign Premier digital bank account is a “checkless” demand deposit account (DDA) with a personalized Visa® debit card. It offers accountholders access to their pay up to two days early, cash back rewards, real-time account info through a mobile app or web portal, and 24/7/365 bilingual customer care.

Visit paysign.com/digitalbanking for more information about Paysign’s digital banking solutions for businesses, or email [email protected] to get started with the Premier referral program.

About Paysign

Paysign, Inc. is a leading provider of prepaid card programs and integrated payment processing services designed for businesses, consumers, and government institutions. Incorporated in 2001 and headquartered in southern Nevada, the company creates customized, innovative payment solutions for clients across all industries, including pharmaceutical, healthcare, hospitality, and retail. Built on the foundation of a reliable payments platform, Paysign’s end-to-end technologies securely enable digital payout solutions and facilitate the distribution of funds for donor compensation, copay assistance, customer incentives, employee rewards, travel expenses, per diem, as well as reimbursements and rebates. Paysign’s solutions lower administrative costs, streamline operations, increase revenues, accelerate product adoption, and improve customer, employee, and channel partner loyalty. To learn more, visit paysign.com.

Paysign Media Relations

Alicia Ches

Director, Marketing

702.749.7257

[email protected]


Paysign Investor Relations

888.522.4810

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Nevada

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Software Finance Consulting Banking Professional Services Technology Mobile/Wireless Security

MEDIA:

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The Paysign Premier digital bank account is a “checkless” demand deposit account (DDA) with a personalized Visa® debit card. It offers accountholders access to their pay up to two days early, cash back rewards, real-time account info through a mobile app or web portal, and 24/7/365 bilingual customer care. (Graphic: Business Wire)

QAD Announces Enhancements to QAD Adaptive ERP and Related Solutions Designed to Help Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises Manage Disruption

QAD Announces Enhancements to QAD Adaptive ERP and Related Solutions Designed to Help Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises Manage Disruption

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
QAD Inc. (Nasdaq: QADA) (Nasdaq: QADB), a leading provider of adaptive, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies, today announced the latest enhancements to QAD Adaptive ERP and other solutions in the QAD Adaptive Applications portfolio.

Global manufacturers face ever-increasing disruption caused by many factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, technology-driven innovation, changing consumer preferences and new and revised government regulations. To succeed in response to these unprecedented changes, manufacturers must quickly adapt by rethinking their business models and processes. QAD calls companies that can do this rapidly, Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises.

QAD Adaptive ERP and the QAD Adaptive Applications portfolio of solutions help Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises to become more:

  • Agile: An agile manufacturer is performance-oriented and has process mobility and system flexibility. It responds rapidly to internal and external business changes.
  • Intelligent: An intelligent manufacturer is connected, data-driven and optimized. It uses data to get real-time insights into operations, customers and the market environment.
  • Innovative: An innovative manufacturer is aware, dynamic and customer experience-focused. It effectively addresses business turbulence with new processes, services and products.

The latest release of QAD solutions includes new functionality and capabilities designed to help Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises leverage disruption and change by addressing five critical capabilities:

  • Effective Enterprise Management lets manufacturers operate from a trusted set of essential enterprise processes including integrated multi-currency, multi-GAAP and multi-entity financials, best practice purchasing, shared services, real-time data and flexible data analytics.
  • Digital Manufacturing allows manufacturers to leverage digital and advanced technologies to better communicate, analyze and use real-time information to meet cost and quality objectives.
  • Complete Customer Management delivers an outstanding customer experience that builds a company’s brand and helps acquire, sell to and retain customers with less effort and expense.
  • Integrated Supplier Management improves supplier collaboration and supply chain visibility allowing for faster response to changes in supply and demand.
  • Connected Supply Chain helps manufacturers effectively collaborate with supply chain partners and address the challenges associated with managing complex and ever-changing global supply chains.

“The latest release of QAD Adaptive ERP continues to add functionality to the Adaptive UX and the QAD Enterprise Platform while introducing enhancements in many additional areas, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Trade Management and Analytics,” said QAD CEO Anton Chilton. “We’ve also greatly enhanced our Integrated Supplier Management capabilities with the recent acquisition of Allocation Network. Manufacturers globally face unprecedented levels of supply chain disruption requiring 360-degree visibility and control of supply networks and supplier performance. This release delivers a variety of new capabilities, across all five of our adaptive manufacturing focus areas, specifically designed to increase user productivity and boost manufacturing and supply chain efficiency.”

In addition to the latest updates to QAD Adaptive ERP, which features the QAD Enterprise Platform and Adaptive UX, QAD has also enhanced related solutions in its Adaptive Applications portfolio, including QAD Dynasys DSCP (Digital Supply Chain Planning), QAD EQMS (Enterprise Quality Management System), and QAD Precision GTTE (Global Trade & Transportation Execution).

For details of the specific enhancements made to QAD Adaptive ERP and its related solutions, please visit the QAD Blog.

About QAD – Enabling the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise

QAD Inc. is a leading provider of adaptive, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies. Global manufacturers face ever-increasing disruption caused by technology-driven innovation and changing consumer preferences. In order to survive and thrive, manufacturers must be able to innovate and change business models at unprecedented rates of speed. QAD calls these companies Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises. QAD solutions help customers in the automotive, life sciences, consumer products, food and beverage, high tech and industrial manufacturing industries rapidly adapt to change and innovate for competitive advantage.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, QAD has 30 offices globally. Over 2,000 manufacturing companies have deployed QAD solutions, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), digital supply chain planning (DSCP), global trade and transportation execution (GTTE), quality management system (QMS) and strategic sourcing and supplier management, to become an Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise. To learn more, visit www.qad.com or call +1 805-566-6100.Find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

“QAD” is a registered trademark of QAD Inc. All other products or company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to Investors: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding projections of revenue, income and loss, capital expenditures, plans and objectives of management regarding the company’s business, future economic performance or any of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements are based on the company’s current expectations. Words such as “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “could,” “will likely result,” “estimates,” “intends,” “may,” “projects,” “should,” “would,” “might,” “plan” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic or other catastrophic events that may harm our business; adverse economic, market or geo-political conditions that may disrupt our business; our cloud service offerings, such as defects and disruptions in our services, our ability to properly manage our cloud service offerings, our reliance on third-party hosting and other service providers, and our exposure to liability and loss from security breaches; demand for the company’s products, including cloud service, licenses, services and maintenance; pressure to make concessions on our pricing and changes in our pricing models; protection of our intellectual property; dependence on third-party suppliers and other third-party relationships, such as sales, services and marketing channels; changes in our revenue, earnings, operating expenses and margins; the reliability of our financial forecasts and estimates of the costs and benefits of transactions; the ability to leverage changes in technology; defects in our software products and services; third-party opinions about the company; competition in our industry; the ability to recruit and retain key personnel; delays in sales; timely and effective integration of newly acquired businesses; economic conditions in our vertical markets and worldwide; exchange rate fluctuations; and the global political environment. For a more detailed description of the risk factors associated with the company and factors that may affect our forward-looking statements, please refer to the company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and, in particular, the section entitled “Risk Factors” therein, and in other periodic reports the company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission thereafter. Management does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.

QAD Inc.

Scott Matulis

Public Relations

818-451-8918

[email protected]

or

Evan Quinn

Analyst Relations

617-869-7335

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: California United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Other Manufacturing Technology Engineering Transport Software Manufacturing Internet Logistics/Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management Retail

MEDIA:

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Small and Mid-Sized Businesses Have New Alternative For Identity Access Management Security

Designed to affordably scale as a business grows, new tiered offering of the OptimalCloud IAM platform enhances customer usability, strengthens security and reduces I.T. service requests.

TAMPA, Fla., March 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced new tiered offerings of the award winning OptimalCloud™ platform. The new multi-tenant, cloud-based offerings are designed for small and mid-sized businesses and will be available beginning March 31, 2021 at www.TheOptimalCloud.com.

The new offerings tap the full power of the OptimalCloud platform, used by many Fortune 500 companies, giving SMBs access to identity access management features like SSO, MFA, Universal Directory, Lifecycle Management, Delegated Administration and Adaptive Authentication/Authorization. The OptimalCloud modular pricing now provides three different feature-rich plans giving customers ability to scale features in relation to their applications or user needs. Packages include Silver and Gold plans starting at just two dollars per user, per month. Complete pricing information can be found at www.optimalidm.com/pricing.

“Growing Optimal IdM over the years has been exciting, but to offer economical and robust feature plans to companies who may not be able to afford a full Identity Access Management solution has been a long-standing goal of ours,” said Larry Aucoin, Managing Partner and CTO of Optimal IdM. He continued, “It has always been our mission to help businesses strengthen their security posture with our enterprise grade technologies and experience.”

When it comes to security, more than half of all cyberattacks are committed against small-to-midsized businesses and 60 percent of them go out of business within six months of falling victim to a data breach or hack. So, it’s critical for SMBs to have access to easy-to-use, affordable, and effective security tools beginning with identity access management solutions.

The OptimalCloud balances security and usability for workforce and consumer clients who want easily integrated features, like SSO, to provide frictionless access to their local and online accounts — including email, project management, and customer relationship management software — without being burdened with complex passwords and login processes. In addition, the OptimalCloud helps reduce routine service requests, like password resets, that strain I.T. staffing resources.

With the OptimalCloud, businesses who need customer or workforce access management can mitigate risk when connecting to applications and systems and also provide a positive user experience while maintaining secure access to all the views and control’s necessary for uninterrupted day-to-day operations. Key features and benefits of the OptimalCloud include:

  • Affordable financial entry point for small and mid-sized businesses
  • Single-Sign On (SSO) to improve workforce and consumer user experience by allowing seamless access to all systems and applications, including third-party apps.
  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA) options, including behavioral biometric authentication which adds another level of network security.
  • Optimal Authenticator™ App for mobile devices making passwordless MFA easy with fingerprint or facial recognition.
  • More than eleven thousand application integrations available, simplifying set up and configuration.
  • 30-day free trial.
  • 24 x 7 x 365 support.
  • Guaranteed 99.9% uptime with a credit if not met.

More information about the OptimalCloud and Optimal IdM can be found at www.optimalidm.com.

About The OptimalCloud

The OptimalCloud platform is a fully featured, award winning, SSO Federation & IAM solution that provides a single point of authentication, policy management and auditing for a seamless end user experience. The OptimalCloud is deployed in workforce and consumer scenarios, used by some of the most recognizable companies on the globe, and used in some of the most secure environments in the world. The OptimalCloud is currently integrated with more than 11,000 applications.

About Optimal IdM

Optimal IdM is a global provider of innovative and affordable identity access management solutions. Optimal IdM partners with enterprise and small to mid-sized businesses to provide comprehensive and affordable IAM solutions that meet their specific security, usability, and scalability needs. Optimal IdM also offers its solutions as a managed service offering. Customers include Fortune 1000 companies from every industry as well as federal, state and local government agencies. Founded in 2005, Optimal IdM is privately held and has been profitable in every quarter since inception.

Optimal IdM has been named to the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Access Management, PCMag’s Best IAM Solutions list and received the CODiE Award for Best Identity & Access Security Solution. Visit www.optimalidm.com for more information.

 



Optimal IdM Contact:
Matt Pitchford
Director of Marketing
[email protected]

iMD Companies, Inc., Expands Operations for Cryptocurrency Farming in Silicon Slopes Near Lehi, Utah

Bay Area Operations Benchmark Test New Threadripper CPU Technology for Optimal Cryptocurrency Farming

San Mateo, CA, March 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

via NewMediaWire 
— iMD Companies, Inc. (OTC: ICBU), announced today that the company has launched another cryptocurrency farming operation in Silicon Slopes near Lehi, UT. This is in additional to our Phoenix, Sacramento, and San Francisco bay area operations. 

The company has also started discussions with a third party data center near Lehi, Utah that could potentially increase our cryptocurrency farming capacity by over 100X. We feel this would enable iMD to be one of the leading farming operations in the cryptocurrency market. 

Our engineering team in the bay area has been evaluating new Threadripper CPU technology to maximize our farming capacity for our in-house cryptocurrency farming production. We feel that we are able to maximize the computing power of each system to get the greatest results.

“We are so pleased with our progress with our team at iMD, We have been able to get results from our server technology far beyond what we have seen with others in our marketplace. We expect to set a standard for cryptocurrency farming with our advanced configuration server technology. This will enable each facility to get the maximum results for iMD,” stated Rick Wilson, CEO of iMD.

Follow iMD Companies, Inc. on on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/imd_inc

and on Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/imdcompaniesinc/


About iMD Companies, Inc.

iMD Companies. Inc. (OTC:ICBU) is a Florida Corporation. The company has been re-positioned to be a holding company for acquisitions and technology development in the financial, blockchain, and cryptocurrency markets. iMD’s goal is to combine the expertise of our team members to create a cohesive force, which will carry the company forward in the marketplace.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements that are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “scheduled,” “estimates” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and the company does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release.

Contact:

iMD Companies, Inc.

[email protected]

800-474-8996



Webnovel Kicks Off Its Largest Writing Contest to Tap North America for Further Growth

PR Newswire

SHENZHEN, China, March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Webnovel, the global online reading platform of China Literature (China Literature Limited 0772.HK), launches its writing contest Webnovel Spirity Awards (WSA 2021), targeting North America on March 31st. The competition will run throughout the year to encourage creative English online original works.

Winners will receive cash prizes of up to $20,000, as well as advertising resources to present their works on screens in Times Square in New York City. In cooperation with Tencent Pictures, the award-winning stories will also have the opportunity to receive further commercial development such as adaptation to other formats including film and TV drama.

The contest marks a new stage for China Literature in the cultivation of original works and IP incubation in overseas markets. It also demonstrates the company’s leading position in the global online reading market, and its ability to continually gain traction in the development of cultural products.

“Our strength is that we can help writers realize their works’ commercial values and offer them monetization opportunities without going through a lengthy publishing process that traditional publishers need,” said Sandra Chen, Head of Webnovel. “We hope to establish a mutually beneficial long-term relationship with writers in North America and build our platform into one of the most trusted in the writers’ community.”

Webnovel debuted its author promotion plan Webnovel Spirity Awards in the Philippines in 2019, aimed at discovering potential authors and supporting them with monetization resources and strategy. In 2020, Webnovel extended a similar contest to writers from all over the world, which received almost 8,000 works. Webnovel has now become home to more than 100,000 authors and 160,000 works, covering diverse content with more than 20 genres including romance, fantasy, sic-fi, realistic fiction, history and horror.

This year, the contest will focus on the North America market to help writers with great potential realize their writing dreams by offering professional writing skill training and promotional resources. Chen hopes to double the number of writers that contribute to Webnovel in the region to about 100,000 in one year.

To achieve this goal, China Literature has teamed up with Tencent Pictures to jointly promote Webnovel’s writing contest in an overseas market for the first time. As an owned subsidiary of Tencent (Tencent Holdings Ltd, 0700.HK), Tencent Pictures has created many successful films and TV dramas adapted from novels originally published on China Literature’s platform.

Tencent’s content business strategy, which places IP development at the core, has proven successful in the Chinese market. “We hope to build a similar platform and business ecosystem in the overseas market,” said Chen.

WSA 2021 will accept original English web novels in 7 main categories favored by local readers, including light novels, first loves, gaming, superheroes, reincarnation, werewolves and vampires, and royal romances. Novels will be judged by the contest organizer and reader representatives in three areas, including content quality, update frequency, and commercial value.


About Webnovel

Webnovel is a global online reading platform for all kinds of marvelous novels and comics. It daily updates serialized content, dedicating to micro-transactions and in-game-purchase mode, defining new trends in the online publishing industry. Webnovel also provides an ideal platform for authors to create their own stories. Webnovel has captured the heart of authors around the world and become the leading app for author monetization.


About China Literature Limited

China Literature is dedicated to building a deep and immersive intellectual property (“IP”) universe for the Mandarin-speaking world. It incubates original IPs from its online literature platform, which are subsequently adapted on a range of digital entertainment mediums, including comics, animation, film, TV series, web series and games. The virtual world created by these digital offerings become an inseparable part of a user’s daily life. China Literature creates and promotes IPs mainly through QQ Reading and Qidian, its leading online literature platforms, as well as New Classics Media, a renowned film and TV drama series production house in China. China Literature collaborates with Tencent, its shareholder and strategic partner, as well as other third-party partners to distribute and develop IP content and to enhance value of its IP. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had 9 million writers and 13.9 million literary works on its online reading platform. Many of the Company’s online literature works have been successfully adapted into animation, TV series, web series, film and games, including Joy of Life, Candle in the Tomb, Soul Land, The King’s Avatar and My Heroic Husband. China Literature’s rich and extensive content library as well as its unparalleled capability and resources to adapt IP into various entertainment formats is a significant competitive advantage that lies at the core of its business model. 

 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/webnovel-kicks-off-its-largest-writing-contest-to-tap-north-america-for-further-growth-301259541.html

SOURCE China Literature

Oneview Healthcare Launches First Cloud-based Care Experience Platform

Oneview Healthcare Launches First Cloud-based Care Experience Platform

Using Microsoft Azure technology, CXP Cloud Enterprise makes it easier for health systems to support personalized, whole person care

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oneview Healthcare (ASX.ONE), a global healthcare technology company, today announced the launch of CXP Cloud Enterprise for enhancing the patient care experience within health systems. Deployed on Microsoft Azure with Samsung tablets, this cloud-based platform helps health systems quickly adopt technology for engaging patients, reducing non-clinical demands on care teams and optimizing clinical and operational effectiveness.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210331005539/en/

Oneview Healthcare today launched CXP Cloud Enterprise for enhancing the patient care experience within health systems. (Photo: Business Wire)

Oneview Healthcare today launched CXP Cloud Enterprise for enhancing the patient care experience within health systems. (Photo: Business Wire)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, care teams have been under intense pressure while staff and patients have restricted access to family and friends. CXP Cloud Enterprise gives patients and their families the ability to communicate virtually with healthcare teams, along with access to education and health information. Oneview enables care teams to provide patients with access to unified information and applications on secure bedside devices that can drive more meaningful engagement, improved satisfaction, and better-quality outcomes.

“NYU Langone Health is committed to delivering the best possible care experience for our patients, including through virtual care,” said Nader Mherabi, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for NYU Langone Health. “COVID-19 strained resources and challenged most hospitals to examine how virtual pathways can enhance patient care. Oneview helped us build an in-patient virtual care platform, which has been instrumental during the pandemic and will continue to be key as we deliver a new level of patient engagement.”

NYU Langone Health initially implemented Oneview’s interactive patient engagement platform in 2017. Faced with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020, NYU Langone challenged Oneview to help roll out the virtual engagement platform rapidly across their facilities. Together, the organizations collaborated on the initial cloud-based version that enabled NYU Langone to implement key capabilities across 400 beds in weeks. Today’s introduction of CXP Cloud Enterprise delivers the full functionality and integration capabilities of the care experience platform in a faster, easier, more affordable cloud model.

Oneview’s CXP Cloud Enterprise provides full functionality on a secure, reliable cloud deployment with patient education, meal ordering, patient service requests, apps and digital services, virtual rounding, visitation, and translation services. This comprehensive platform provides better control and quality of care for both patients and care providers.

“Connecting patients with their families and care teams is at the heart of our mission,” said James Fitter, Chief Executive Officer for Oneview. “NYU Langone recognized that core value early and worked to address it. Being the first and only cloud-based care experience solution means health systems can rapidly implement the capabilities that meet their needs today while providing the agility, scalability and investment protection to grow as their health system changes. We are excited to know that CXP Cloud Enterprise will transform the hospital experience for patients, families and care teams.”

Key features of CXP Cloud Enterprise include:

  • Bedside telehealth consultations from offsite care team members
  • Rounding questionnaires and a digital work list
  • Clinician screencastingto help patients understand their condition, treatment and goals
  • Automated service requests help nurses reduce call button distractions
  • Targeted patient educational resources
  • Meal ordering customized for their dietary needs
  • On-demand entertainment
  • Video chat to connect with friends and family
  • Simple integration with current systems for a single, secure platform hosting the latest apps

“The need for accelerated solution development and implementation in healthcare has never been more important,” said Niall McDonagh, health sector director, Microsoft. “Microsoft Azure helps healthcare organizations scale into a fully integrated patient experience that is dynamic, flexible, comprehensive, and diverse.”

Available as a tiered product offering to meet individual hospital requirements, Oneview CXP Cloud Enterprise is available in the Azure Marketplace now. Please visit: info.oneviewhealthcare.com/next-generation.

About Oneview Healthcare

For healthcare systems who lead on exemplary care, Oneview Healthcare provides digital tools for patients, families, and caregivers to improve the care experience. Unifying a facility’s systems, content and services into one digital platform with dedicated devices at the point of care, Oneview helps deliver more control for patients and families, more time for care teams, and less complexity for executives and IT teams. Oneview is proud to partner with leading healthcare systems in the US, Australia, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, please visit www.oneviewhealthcare.com.

Heather Caouette

for Oneview Healthcare

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: Illinois United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Technology Hospitals Telecommunications Audio/Video Software Practice Management Internet Health Data Management

MEDIA:

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Oneview Healthcare today launched CXP Cloud Enterprise for enhancing the patient care experience within health systems. (Photo: Business Wire)

Vocera Smartbadge Receives FIPS 140-2 Certification

Vocera Smartbadge Receives FIPS 140-2 Certification

Wearable device meets security protocols for VA and DoD healthcare communications

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Vocera Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognized leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, today announced that it received FIPS 140-2 certification for the Vocera Smartbadge. Certificate #3865 validates that the Vocera Smartbadge Cryptographic Module meets government protocols required to support secure wireless communication in Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense healthcare facilities.

“Earning defense-grade security verification is an essential part of our mission to protect and connect care team members on the frontlines serving our veterans and service members,” said Dave Lively, vice president of product management at Vocera. “We are proud to earn FIPS certification for the Vocera Smartbadge and continue supporting healthcare workers across Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense as they provide efficient, safe and compassionate patient care.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, hands-free communication technology has been a lifeline for many healthcare workers, empowering them to get help and access resources without risking infection. The intelligent, voice-controlled Smartbadge can be worn and used under personal protective equipment (PPE), minimizing the risk of contamination and helping preserve valuable PPE. Care team members wearing a Smartbadge can initiate communication by simply saying, “OK, Vocera” followed by voice commands like “call infection control team,” or “call supply manager.” Clinicians can connect and collaborate with the right person or group completely hands-free, even in isolation, while scrubbed in, or wearing surgical gloves.

Purpose-built for healthcare, the durable Smartbadge can integrate with more than 150 clinical and operational systems, including electronic health records, nurse call systems, physiologic monitors, and more. The award-winning device combines hands-free calling capability of the Vocera Badge with smartphone functionality to provide meaningful, real-time information to nurses, doctors and other care team members. The 2.4” touchscreen enables clinicians to send secure text messages, receive prioritized clinical events, and read notifications with patient context to accelerate care and improve patient safety. Additionally, the Smartbadge has a dedicated panic button to help protect and connect healthcare staff in emergency situations.

The FIPS 140-2 certification program supports the federal agencies’ goals to modernize and standardize the adoption of innovative technology, while driving standards of security and excellence among vendor solutions. For more details about the certification of the Vocera Smartbadge, visit the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) website.

About Vocera

The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals, patients, and families while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency and humanize the healthcare experience. In 2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way care teams communicate. Today, Vocera offers the leading platform for improving clinical communication and workflow. More than 2,300 facilities worldwide, including nearly 1,900 hospitals and healthcare facilities, have selected our solutions. Care team members use our solutions to communicate and collaborate with co-workers by securely texting or calling, and to be notified of important alerts and alarms. They can choose the right device for their role or task, including smartphones or our hands-free, wearable Vocera Smartbadge and Vocera Badge. They can create a richer, more human connection for patients and their loved ones before, during, and after care using Vocera Ease applications. Interoperability between the Vocera Platform and more than 150 clinical and operational systems helps reduce alarm fatigue; speed up staff response times; and improve patient care, safety, and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera solutions are found in luxury hotels, aged care facilities, retail stores, schools, power facilities, libraries, and more. Vocera solutions make mobile workers safer and more effective by enabling them to connect instantly with other people and access resources or information quickly. Vocera has made the list of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America, and the Vocera Smartbadge was named to TIME’s list of the 100 Best Inventions of 2020. Learn more at www.vocera.com, and follow @VoceraComm and @VoceraEase on Twitter.

Vocera® and the Vocera logo are trademarks of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners.

Shanna Hearon

Vocera Communications, Inc.

669-999-3368

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America California

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Data Management Medical Supplies Practice Management Technology Health General Health Security Medical Devices Telecommunications Software Hospitals

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30 Million Reasons Why Poly is the Go-To for Crushing Your Calls

Poly’s lineup of professional-grade phones give you countless ways to crush a call from anywhere

PR Newswire

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Poly (NYSE: PLT) announced today that it has sold its 30 millionth IP phone, marking more than 20 years of beautifully engineered, future-proof voice devices trusted by those who are serious about quality audio and pro-grade communication. 

The milestone comes amid rapid changes in the marketplace, as businesses transition from on-premise based phone systems to the cloud, and amidst a global pandemic that has exponentially accelerated the adoption and usage of cloud-based services. Poly voice solutions continue to help IT service providers and customers adapt to how and where people work with a full suite of IP desk phones, wireless phones, USB speakerphones, conference phones, analog telephone adapters (ATAs), and installed audio.

Poly’s voice solutions feature some of the industry’s leading technology in audio innovation, including: smart multi-microphone arrays, HD Voice, Acoustic Fence, and NoiseBlock AI technologies. Poly recently announced its Poly Rove DECT IP phone, the first and only phone solution to exclusively feature built-in Microban antimicrobial product protection, designed to give frontline workers the confidence to collaborate in high-touch work settings.

Poly’s line of phones has consistently evolved over time, along with the way we choose to communicate at work. It all started with Polycom’s first-ever SoundStation conference phone, which can be found on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Poly’s iconic CCX Series is also the first business media phone of its kind to come with or without a handset, providing the option to be used with a headset or a speakerphone instead.

“Technology has changed drastically over time, but the need for high quality phone systems and the ability to connect are constant,” said John Lamarque, vice president and general manager of the voice collaboration and professional headset business unit at Poly. “Poly’s mission is to outfit any and every type of workspace with pro-grade audio technology and high-quality phones to meet your needs, wherever that may be, so you can focus on what matters most.”

For IT and business leaders, Poly voice solutions provide flexibility. Poly works with more than 60 platforms and service providers, including RingCentral, GoTo by LogMeIn, Vonage, Nextiva, Microsoft Teams, and 8×8, so IT and business leaders have the freedom to pick their partner of choice. Poly management solutions make deployments easy and help remotely troubleshoot an issue to its root cause, without requiring IT to travel beyond the cloud.

Poly is a long-time trusted provider of versatile phone solutions for a wide range of customers, from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organizations. Now more than ever, as organizations seek to solve the challenges of a hybrid workforce, Poly is leading the way with its innovative pro-grade phone solutions.

Poly’s latest phones are designed so you can command the conversation wherever you are:

  • Office Solutions – Paying homage to the original SoundStation conference phone, Poly has reimagined conference rooms around the world with the Trio C60, a smart conference phone that features expansion microphones for brilliant audio in large and open spaces. The Trio C60 easily pairs with Poly videoconferencing solutions and makes it easy to launch and join meetings, and also features Alexa for Business so you can join a meeting touch-free. Another device that’s simple to set up and easy to use in the office is the VVX Series, beautifully designed, IP desk phones that are compatible with almost any platform. The VVX Series features Acoustic Fence technology and blocks out unwanted background noise, so you can sound your best on every call.
  • Flexible Work Solutions – For those working from home, on the road or returning to the office, the Poly Sync Family of smart speakerphones are USB and Bluetooth enabled devices. These beautifully designed smart speakerphones with award-winning audio can be voice activated to join a meeting and are Zoom and Microsoft Teams certified.
  • Essential Workplace Solutions – For critical and essential workplaces, Poly offers the Poly Rove wireless DECT™ IP phones, the first and only phone solution to feature built-in antimicrobial protection from Microban. With Poly Rove, you have the freedom to move around warehouses and shift floors with the confidence to collaborate in high-touch work settings.

“Poly’s differentiated range of IP phone devices deliver one of the industry’s best audio experiences in the market,” said Alaa Saayed, ICT industry director at Frost & Sullivan. “Over time, the company has successfully invigorated its portfolio with the introduction of new desktop models; the delivery of advanced features and capabilities; the partnering with key call control providers; and the implementation of a rock solid endpoint management system that allows businesses to manage, provision and update Poly phones in a streamlined and simplified manner.”

For more information on Poly’s phone offerings, please visit https://www.poly.com/us/en/products/phones.

About Poly
Poly (NYSE: PLT) creates premium audio and video products so you can have your best meeting – anywhere, anytime, every time. Our headsets, video and audio-conferencing products, desk phones, analytics software and services are beautifully designed and engineered to connect people with incredible clarity. They’re pro-grade, easy to use and work seamlessly with all the best video and audio conferencing services. With Poly (Plantronics, Inc. – formerly Plantronics and Polycom), you’ll do more than just show up, you’ll stand out. For more information visit www.Poly.com.

Poly, the propeller design, and the Poly logo are trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. DECT™ is a trademark of ETSI. Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Poly Media Contact:

Shannon Shamoon

PR Manager
+1 (831) 201-9142
[email protected]

Investor Relations:

Mike Iburg

Vice President, IR
+1 (831) 458-7533
[email protected]

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SOURCE Poly