NTPC Limited continues to demonstrate excellence in operations with an increasing trend in coal production from its captive mines. NTPC has produced 7.36 MMT of coal during the period April 2022 to August 2022 registering a robust growth of 62% compared to 4.55 MMT achieved during the same period last year.
With meticulous planning, resource mobilization, and regular monitoring, NTPC has achieved substantial growth even during the monsoon period, so far, and is hopeful of sustaining the growth that will help in ensuring uninterrupted, reliable and affordable power generation.
Further, NTPC has dispatched 7.52 MMT of coal from its captive mines as compared to 5.47 MMT of coal dispatched during the same period last year, registering a growth of 37%.
NTPC has taken various steps to augment the coal production from its coal mines. The engagement of high-capacity dumpers as well as an increase in the existing fleet size of excavators has allowed the operational mines to increase their production.
From a position of strength, Porsche continues to thrive: The Stuttgart based sports car manufacturer is benefiting from global demand trends for exclusive and electrified luxury vehicles.
For the full year 2022, the company targets revenues in the range of approximately 38 to 39 billion euros. At the same time, Porsche continues to focus on high-quality and exclusive products, electromobility and sustainability by combining its rich history and motorsport DNA with the future, redefining the concept of modern luxury.
Porsche is a global and iconic luxury brand. We are 100 percent sports car and 100 percent luxury, says Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, on Monday at its Capital Markets Day at the companys Research and Development Centre in Weissach. As an exclusive sports car manufacturer with the benefit of the economies of scale from our cooperation with Volkswagen Group, we are in the sweet spot of the luxury automotive industry. This results in structural growth opportunities for us.
With a passion for design, performance and the highest quality, Porsche is fulfilling the dreams of sports car fans around the world more than ever, he says. Blume announced that the product range would be expanded: We plan to add a new luxury, all-electric SUV model to our attractive portfolio, which will roll off the production line in Leipzig. This will further expand our position in the luxury automotive segment. We are targeting the higher margin segments in particular and aim to tap into new sales opportunities in this way.
Ambitious outlook
For the current fiscal year 2022, Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman and Member of the Executive Board responsible for Finance and IT, gives an ambitious outlook: Porsche is targeting revenues in the range of approximately 38 to 39 billion euros and a return on sales of approximately 17 to 18 percent. This is based on the expectation of continued positive currency tailwinds. Furthermore, the outlook is subject to assumptions including no deterioration in economic conditions or further disruptions in supply chains.
Porsche has further set itself the long-term ambition of achieving a return on sales of more than 20 percent. In this way, the company would like to consolidate its position as one of the most profitable car manufacturers in the world. Beyond our mid-term targets, we are aiming for further upside potential, especially when it comes to our profitability levels. Porsche can look to the future with optimism from an impressive luxury position, emphasizes Meschke.
Porsche, like its peers, has experienced supply chain issues over the past three years due to, for example, the Covid-19 pandemic, semiconductor shortage and the war in Ukraine. However, during this period Porsche benefited significantly from its strong relationship with the Volkswagen Group, its long-term relationships with its suppliers and, most importantly, its high degree of flexibility and ability to adapt to challenging situations. Meschke: We carefully monitor developments so that we are prepared to react and adapt as required.
Porsche is redefining modern luxury
The term modern luxury applies not only to the products, but to the entire company. Meschke: We see sustainability holistically: economically, ecologically and socially. It is important to us to assume responsibility and to be socially involved. A comprehensive understanding of sustainability is an integral part of Porsches strategy. In this regard, Porsche sets itself particularly ambitious goals, including its ambition that more than 80% of its delivered vehicles in 2030 will be BEVs. The next milestone on this path is to be the market launch of the all-electric Macan. In addition, Porsches ambition is to work towards a net carbon neutral value chain in 2030, including a net carbon neutral use phase for future BEV models. To this end, Porsche is systematically driving forward projects for the future.
The launch of a new Porsche model family always takes courage: stellar examples are the Cayenne (2002), Panamera (2009), Macan (2013), and most recently the first all-electric sports car, the Taycan (2019). Oliver Blume: The Taycan is 100 percent electric and 100 percent Porsche. This combination excites people. We are pushing ahead with our electric offensive: by the middle of the decade, we want to offer our 718 mid-engine sports car exclusively in all-electric form.
Structural growth opportunities
In executing its strategy, Porsche was able to achieve new milestones in 2021 – despite a very challenging environment characterized by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and semiconductor bottlenecks: delivering more than 300,000 vehicles and generating revenues of 33.1 billion euros. Both are historic highs for Porsche. Taycan deliveries alone more than doubled to 41,296 units in 2021. At the same time, Porsche has achieved high profitability: Porsche AGs group operating profit rose by 27 percent year-on-year to 5.3 billion euros (2020: 4.1 billion euros). This corresponded to a return on sales of 16 percent. The automotive EBITDA margin was 24.5 percent, and automotive net cash flow improved to almost 3.7 billion euros (2020: 2.2 billion euros).
According to expert studies, the luxury car market is expected to experience robust growth in the coming years, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in particular being the main growth drivers. Porsche is thus active in market segments that point towards a significant growth potential for the future.
We are very well positioned to benefit from these trends. Porsche is a leading player in the market for sporty SUVs and in the all-electric luxury car segment, says CFO Meschke. Although we are clearly positioned in the luxury automotive segment, we benefit from significant economies of scale, adds CEO Blume.
New customer groups in sight
Porsches portfolio is operating in a highly attractive environment: Demand for our vehicles is robust and the number of potential customers continues to grow” says Meschke. Across the globe, the company is well positioned: Europe, North America and China contribute roughly equally to total deliveries. For the future, Porsche anticipates that its clientele will include younger and more heterogeneous customers from the next generation. At the same time, the proportion of women in this customer group is likely to increase. In addition to Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the sports car manufacturer is focusing primarily on the USA and emerging markets for its geographical expansion.
Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Porsches current views about future events. The words will, target, aim, ambition, anticipate, assume, believe, estimate, expect, intend, may, can, could, plan, project, should and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If any of these risks and uncertainties materializes or if the assumptions underlying any of Porsches forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, the actual results may be materially different from those Porsche expresses or implies by such statements. Porsche does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements since they are based solely on the circumstances at the date of publication.
The forward-looking financial information set forth above is based on a number of assumptions, including no significant deterioration of economic conditions or the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Porsches main markets, no significant disruptions in the supply chain, especially relating to semiconductors, energy and materials parts and components, no material price increases of raw materials and no further escalation of the war in Ukraine. Such forward-looking financial information also assumes that in the second half of the fiscal year 2022 the euro remains weak against the currencies of Porsches main markets.
This press release also contains statements relating to certain of Porsches sustainability-related ambitions, including without limitation in relation to electrification of its vehicles and its ambition to work towards a net carbon neutral value chain, including a net carbon neutral use phase for future BEV models (including its ambition to procure green energy certificates to enable such net carbon neutral use phase). Emissions from cars delivered in previous years, before achieving net carbon neutrality, will not be included in the assessment of carbon neutrality. Such ambitions are subject to progress made in individual areas, such as technological advancements, market and regulatory developments and other matters that in certain cases cannot be influenced by Porsche, and therefore might not be achievable. In addition, offsets (including carbon reduction and carbon removal) are included in Porsches decarbonization ambitions.
Certain industry, market and competitive position data contained in this press release come from third party sources. Third party industry publications generally state that the information they contain originates from sources assumed to be reliable, but that the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed and that the calculations continued therein are based on assumptions. While Porsche believes that each of these publications has been prepared by a reputable source, neither Porsche nor any of its representatives have independently verified the market data and other information on which third parties have based their studies or make any representation or give any warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of such information. Accordingly, reliance should not be placed on any of the industry, market or competitive position data contained in this press release.
IMAGE CAPTION:
Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board responsible for Finance and IT of Porsche AG, l-r, 911 Targa 4 GTS, Annual Press Conference, 2022, Porsche AG
Panthera Growth Partners (PGP), a Singapore-based tech-focused growth investment firm, today announced the first close of its second Fund, having secured commitments for more than half of the target raise. The fund’s target has been set at USD 250 million, and is expected to be reached by end of this fiscal year. The fund will offer up to 100% of fund commitments in co-investment opportunities.
Shilpa Kulkarni, Founder and Managing Partner, Panthera Growth Fund
The Fund’s investment objective is to partner with next generation consumption and enterprise services businesses with vast growth potential. The Fund’s capital will be invested in companies that have achieved product market fit and are seeking to accelerate market growth. The Fund will deploy approx. USD20 million on average in 10-12 individual portfolio companies across India and Southeast Asia.
Backed by institutional investors from India, EU and USA, Fund II will seek to back entrepreneurs who typically employ market transformational ideas propelled by technology. Fund II has been formed to build upon the investment track record and philosophy of the firm by focusing upon investments in growth stage technology-enabled companies that are, or are poised to become, leaders in their respective markets.
Panthera was founded in 2021 and its Fund I, which raised $84 M from global institutional investors, is largely deployed across sector leading companies such as BigBasket, Pepperfry, Zivame, OfBusiness, etc.
Shilpa Kulkarni, Founder and Managing Partner, Panthera Growth Fund, said, “We are a growth equity investor focused on revenue-generating enterprises that are building scalable businesses having achieved product-market-fit. At Panthera, we believe that operating thought partners are as just as important as capital at this growth stage. With our teams’ experience of investing and operating companies in the startup ecosystem since more than two decades, we look to support entrepreneurs and management teams as they embark on an ambitious growth journey.”
About Panthera Growth Partners
Panthera Growth Partners is a sector specialist investment firm investing exclusively in cutting edge technology leveraged businesses. We are differentiated by our sector specialization, deep network of operational resources and industry relationships, systematic value creation process, and strong execution capability.
China’s major furniture product manufacturer Huisen Household International Group Ltd. (“Huisen Household” or “the Group”; stock code: 2127.HK) announced audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2021 (“the review period”) today.
During the review period, the revenue of the Group was RMB5,139 million representing an increase of approximately 31.9% as compared to the same period of 2020. The profit for the year was approximately RMB888 million, representing an increase of approximately 64.2% as compared to the same period of 2020, mainly due to the growth in sales driven by the increase in purchase orders and the increase in gross profit of approximately RMB355 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share of the Company was RMB0.29 for 2021 and RMB0.24 for FY2020.
Mr. Zengming, chairman and executive director said: “Although China and the world’s major economies, including developed countries such as Europe and the United States, were recovering gradually, the mutation of the COVID-19 has led to the recurrence of the pandemic and some parts of the world are still plagued by the pandemic, resulting in the closure or interruption of factory production. With the successful achievements in the prevention of pandemic in China, resumption of work and production were successfully sped up in various industries, which led the products manufactured in China to become more popular around the world. With the quantitative easing monetary policy of Europe and the United States, the real estate market of the developed economies, especially the United States, was thriving, which led to a surging growth of the furniture industry. China’s furniture exporters further attracted orders from countries around the world, ushering in an opportunity for a rapid growth.”
During the review period, the Group has been constantly uncovering the potential of our existing factories to raise the utilisation rate of our production capacity without relaxing the preventive measures adopted for the pandemic and continue to put effort to safeguard the lives and safety of our staff; on the other hand, the Group also accelerated the implementation of fundraising and investment projects. Although the Group was still affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in some provinces of China from time to time, various fundraising and investment projects still made a good start. The Group achieved significant growth in both production and sales in 2021.
Panel-type Furniture The Group’s panel-type furniture products include television cabinets, bookshelves, shelves, desks, and coffee tables. Panel-type furniture has always been the core revenue driver of the Group. During the review period, the revenue of panel-type furniture increased by 33.9%. The gross profit margin of panel-type furniture recorded a slight increment due to the higher gross profit margins from some of our newly launched products, as well as the increase in average selling prices for some of our existing products, which partially offset the impact of the depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi (“RMB”).
Upholstered Furniture Leveraging on our expertise and experience on product design and development as well as our business relationships with major overseas retail chains and furniture traders, we further expanded of its product offering in upholstered furniture to explore new markets. The Group’s upholstered furniture mainly includes sofas. During REVIEW PERIOD, the revenue of upholstered furniture increased by 19.4%. The gross profit margins for both FY2020 and the review period remained relatively stable, certain products with high gross profit margin recorded higher sales.
Outdoor/Sport-type Furniture This includes outdoor recreational furniture, sports and recreational equipment. Sports and recreational equipment mainly include table tennis tables and pool tables. During the review period, the revenue from sport-type furniture amounted to approximately RMB154 million, representing a decrease of approximately 3.1% from FY2020. The gross profit margin increased from approximately 28.0% for FY2020 to 29.3% for the review period, which was mainly due to the increase in the average selling prices of certain products and cessation of production and selling of outdoor recreation furniture with low gross profit margin in the review period.
Revenue generated from sales to the United States is still the most significant among all the geographical locations. The revenue derived from the sales of furniture product with the United States as the delivery destination increased by 32.3% during the review period compared to FY2020 and the sales ratio to our total revenue increased from 67.1% for FY2020 to 67.3% for the review period, representing an increase of 0.2%, which was mainly due to the increase in furniture demand driven by the growth in the real estate market in the United States. Sales in China increased by 13.8%, which was mainly due to the policy adopted by the Group for the expansion of sales to mainland China customers during the review period. The revenue generated from sales to Malaysia, Vietnam, and Canada as delivery destination also achieved higher growth during FY2021 as compared to FY2020, mainly due to the Group’s efforts to expand sales outside the United States.
A stable and long-term business relationship is fundamental to the Group’s success. The Group has strategically prioritised orders placed by the major customers. The Group has maintained a long-term relationship with each of top five customers in particular, the Group has established a direct and stable long-term business relationship with Walmart Group since 2012. As a result, the sales of the top 5 customers during the review period have recorded an increase of approximately 33.4% compared to FY2020, and the revenue from the top five customers of the Group accounted for approximately 86.8% of the total revenue for the review period, representing an increase of approximately 0.9% from approximately 85.9% for FY2020.
The Group always attaches great importance to the improvement of independent research and development capabilities and continues to expand its sales in ODM to increase the dependence of our customers and the competitiveness of the Group. As for the OEM, we strictly follow the specifications and requirements provided by our customers. During the review period, sales from ODM increased by approximately 35.9% compared to FY2020 and accounted for approximately 82.5% of the total revenue with an increase of approximately 2.5% from FY2020. The remaining were arisen from OEM business with an increase of approximately 15.4% while its proportion accounted for the total revenue decreased to approximately 17.5% compared to FY2020.
For the expansion of the smart furniture business. On 16 June 2021, the Group has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Jiangxi University of Science and Technology to further enhance the cooperation in relation to the research and development of smart furniture, including but not limited to professional and technical personnel training provided by Jiangxi University to the staff of the Group and the establishment of the Smart Furniture Research Institute to focus on the research and development of smart furniture and prefabricated decoration.
Looking ahead, with the gradual increase in vaccination rate against COVID-19 in various countries and the accumulation of experience in the prevention and control of the pandemic, coupled with the development of the economic level of different countries and the improvement of disposable income per capita and living conditions, the willingness to consume furniture will continue to grow. Specifically, there is a stable demand for furniture from the developed countries and regions, such as Europe, America, Japan and South Korea, as their degree of urbanisation is high, the consumption power of their resident is strong, leading to a higher living standard from these end customers and a huge demand for renovation of obsoleted homes and furniture for rental home; for countries with an emerging market, the demand for furniture is increasing with the expansion of housing demand due to the advancing progress of urbanisation and the increase in the size of the urban population.
About Huisen Household International Group Limited
We are a manufacturer of furniture products in the PRC with a primary focus on the manufacture and sales of panel furniture by way of ODM. Over 80 % of our revenue from our furniture products was generated from our ODM business and the remaining was generated from our OEM business. All of the products we produced for sales were not under our own brands. Our vertically integrated business model allows us to combine our in-house product design and development expertise with our integrated manufacturing platform, providing full range services covering product design and development, manufacture and sales of panel furniture, and securing stable supply of our principal production materials, i.e., particleboards and steel tubes by manufacturing them on our own.
New food scale-up facility and PEI Potato Industry Market Diversification and Recovery Plan will help producers and agri-food businesses expand and diversify markets
March 11, 2022 · Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island · Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
Prince Edward Island is home to a strong and vibrant food economy, built on the Island’s natural resources and an innovative value-added food manufacturing sector. As market and consumer demands evolve, PEI’s agri-food industry continues to adapt and grow through increased automation, strategic collaboration, and market diversification. The Government of Canada is taking steps to ensure farmers and agri-food businesses are ready to expand and diversify by investing in facilities and infrastructure they need to compete on the world stage.
Strengthening the food innovation ecosystem and the PEI potato sector
Today, Heath MacDonald, Member of Parliament for Malpeque, announced a federal investment of $2.7 million for two projects to support recovery and growth in PEI’s food ecosystem. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for ACOA.
The Government of Canada is contributing $2 million through Canada’s Jobs and Growth Fund to Central Property Management Inc. (CPM) to transform an existing building in Borden-Carleton into a multi-tenant, food scale-up facility certified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), called Food Works. This new incubator space will strengthen the innovation ecosystem in PEI, create new jobs and be a catalyst for growth in the food sector.
A further contribution of $700,000 through ACOA’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program will support the PEI Potato Industry Market Diversification and Recovery Plan. The investment will bring together PEI’s Food Island Partnership and the PEI Potato Board to strengthen the PEI potato brand while focusing on product safety and quality. The plan will also support market diversification to reach new markets.
Today’s announcement demonstrates the Government of Canada’s commitment to the food industry in Atlantic Canada, supporting growth and job opportunities in rural communities, and working with innovative Atlantic Canadian organizations to boost Canada’s global competitiveness.
