MLB4S - Part 2

We’re Not Worried About HashiCorp’s (NASDAQ:HCP) Cash Burn

by admin on February 1, 2023 in Money Service Business

There’s no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you’d have done very well indeed. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.

So should HashiCorp (NASDAQ:HCP) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its ‘cash runway’.

Check out our latest analysis for HashiCorp

How Long Is HashiCorp’s Cash Runway?

A company’s cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. As at October 2022, HashiCorp had cash of US$1.3b and no debt. Importantly, its cash burn was US$101m over the trailing twelve months. That means it had a cash runway of very many years as of October 2022. Importantly, though, analysts think that HashiCorp will reach cashflow breakeven before then. If that happens, then the length of its cash runway, today, would become a moot point. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

debt-equity-history-analysis — NasdaqGS:HCP Debt to Equity History January 27th 2023

How Well Is HashiCorp Growing?

HashiCorp actually ramped up its cash burn by a whopping 64% in the last year, which shows it is boosting investment in the business. While that certainly gives us pause for thought, we take a lot of comfort in the strong annual revenue growth of 53%. Considering the factors above, the company doesn’t fare badly when it comes to

CGI and Laurentian Bank of Canada extend business partnership

by admin on February 1, 2023 in Core Business Services

Stock Market Symbols
GIB (NYSE)
GIB.A (TSX)
www.cgi.com/newsroom

CGI to expand delivery of banking transformation services over the next five years

MONTRÉAL, Jan. 30, 2023 /CNW Telbec/ – CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) announces today a five-year contract extension with the Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSX: LB) (the “Bank”). Under the new agreement, CGI will help the Laurentian Bank of Canada manage its digital transformation process, while supporting its efforts to improve and simplify the end-user experience for both external and internal customers.

“CGI values its long-standing business partnership with the Laurentian Bank of Canada, which began more than two decades ago,” says Michael Godin, CGI Senior Vice-President, Greater Montréal. “This agreement will enable the Laurentian Bank of Canada to leverage CGI’s institutional knowledge and critical application management services to strengthen operational efficiencies and deliver a better customer experience.”

Over the term of the agreement, both organizations will contribute towards a co-innovation fund, designed to help the Bank leverage CGI’s business and technology services, to deliver an enhanced end-user experience.

“Our new arrangement with CGI enables us to take a more flexible approach to maintaining some of our core business systems and managing resources,” says Beel Yaqub, Executive Vice-President and Chief Information Technology Officer, Laurentian Bank of Canada. “We are also excited to work with CGI to collaborate on opportunities to introduce further innovation into our ecosystem, as we enhance our customers’ digital experience.”

CGI is a valued partner to the banking and capital markets industry by helping financial institutions improve end-to-end customer experience through digital strategies, channels and technologies – successfully executing transformative projects and ensuring market growth for clients as they take the lead in new digital territories. For more, visit CGI.com.

About CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI is among

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Acquired by Quantbot Technologies LP

by admin on February 1, 2023 in Corporate Business Services

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU – Get Rating) by 445.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,223 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $3,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

→ Cash Holders STILL Aren’t Taking Steps to Prepare (From Investor Place Media)

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth $6,875,000. Commerce Bank boosted its position in TransUnion by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 11,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Markel Corp boosted its position in TransUnion by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Markel Corp now owns 99,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in TransUnion by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 391,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,325,000 after acquiring an additional 37,000 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in TransUnion by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 221,144 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,156,000 after acquiring an additional 36,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of TransUnion stock opened at $70.04 on Friday. TransUnion has

A self-made millionaire shares 8 money secrets rich people know that ‘most of us don’t’

by admin on January 31, 2023 in Money Service Business

It took me 20 years of trial and error before I achieved a multimillion-dollar net worth. Now, at 64, I draw income from the 18 companies I started and the 12,000 apartment units I own.

But I wish I had known sooner how ultra wealthy people think about money. I’ve built relationships with many millionaires over the course of my investing career, and have spent years observing their habits.

Here are eight money secrets they know that most of us don’t:

1. They don’t diversify their investments right away.

It’s generally good practice to diversify your portfolio by investing in a mix of different stocks, funds and other investments.

But as the wealthiest people build their net worth, they often go all-in on their own projects, and then diversify as they start earning more.

Elon Musk, for example, bet the $22 million he made selling his first company, an online business directory called Zip2, entirely on his next business, an online banking service called X.com.

After X.com merged with PayPal, he made $180 million off PayPal’s sale to eBay. That gave him the cash to invest in Tesla, SpaceX and other ventures.

2. They know that debt is for businesses, not people.

As I built my net worth, I did not accumulate debt on non-essential purchases like designer clothes or luxurious homes.

Even if I could afford the bills, I didn’t want to waste money paying interest. Instead, I wanted to put everything I was earning into generating more money. For me, that putting my income into my business.

I also paid cash for my homes, and I have never accumulated interest on a credit card.

In some cases, if you’re trying to build a business, debt can help you earn money by giving you access to income-generating assets

Opinion: Let’s take inspiration from women executives who call it quits to climb the corporate ladder

by admin on January 31, 2023 in Corporate Business Services

Joanna Rotenberg, the Group Head of BMO Wealth Management at BMO Financial Group, at her home In Creemore, Ont., on June 26, 2020.Cole Burston/COLE BURSTON/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Female executives are showing Bay Street who’s boss.

Laura Dottori-Attanasio, head of personal and business banking at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, is the latest female executive to ascend to the CEO role – by quitting her current job.

Although she spent nearly a decade being groomed for the top job at CIBC, it appears the brass ring remained out of her reach. But instead of moping about her stunted succession at the bank, Ms. Dottori-Attanasio got a better offer.

She’ll become Element Fleet Management Corp.’s CEO in May. Women across corporate Canada, who are fed up with being passed over for promotions, should be inspired by her refusal to settle for anything less than a C-suite job.

Ms. Dottori-Attanasio is in good company. Other Bay Street women have also shown such gumption in recent years.

Last year, Deborah Orida left her job as a senior managing director and chief sustainability officer at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to become CEO of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

Joanna Rotenberg left her job as head of Bank of Montreal’s wealth management division in 2021 to join the U.S. executive team at Fidelity Investments as president of its multitrillion-dollar personal investing division.

Rania Llewellyn resigned from her role as executive vice-president in charge of the Bank of Nova Scotia’s global business payments to become CEO of Laurentian Bank of Canada in 2020. Born in Kuwait to an Egyptian father and Jordanian mother, Ms. Llewellyn’s get-up-and-go enabled her to smash a glass ceiling for women of colour in banking.

And south of the border, Thasunda Brown Duckett, who did the same for Black

razorpay: Razorpay’s forex service to help founders transfer funding to India

by admin on January 30, 2023 in Money Service Business

Digital payments platform Razorpay has launched a foreign-exchange service, to help startup founders transfer the venture funding raised globally back to Indian bank accounts at competitive exchange rates, while automating the compliance process in line with Indian regulations.

This is the second cross-border offering from Razorpay, which also allows small businesses to accept international payments from foreign customers.

The launch of the new product comes at a time when the regulator stopped Razorpay from onboarding new merchants on its payment gateway product in December last year, and was asked to submit a system audit report as a part of the final authorisation process for its payment-aggregator licence. It had received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India for its payment aggregator licence in July last year. Other payment entities Paytm, PayU and Cashfree too have been stopped from onboarding new merchants.

Over the past months, Razorpay has been actively trying to diversify its revenue from the core payment offerings. Its lending and neo-banking businesses – Razorpay Capital and Razorpay X – already contribute 25% to its overall revenue. The share of revenue for these products is expected to grow to 40% in the next 12 months.

According to Razorpay’s chief business officer, Rahul Kothari, the forex offering under the company’s digital banking proposition, Razorpay X, would help startup founders reduce the time taken to bring back their funds to almost 48 hours from up to two months in some cases.

“We talk to our business users regularly to understand the problems they face and realised the processes around bringing back funding money to India were broken. New-age businesses were facing challenges in terms of documentation, finding the paperwork complicated. In some cases, it took two months to complete the process for businesses, with fear of penalty from the

Danaher Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results

by admin on January 30, 2023 in Core Business Services

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) (the “Company”) today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year 2022. All results in this release reflect only continuing operations unless otherwise noted. Net earnings refers to net earnings attributable to common shareholders.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2022, net earnings were $2.2 billion, or $2.99 per diluted common share which represents a 25.0% year-over-year increase from the comparable 2021 period. Non-GAAP adjusted diluted net earnings per common share were $2.87 which represents a 6.5% increase over the comparable 2021 period.

Revenues increased 2.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2022 to $8.4 billion. Non-GAAP core revenue growth was 7.5%, including 7.5% non-GAAP base business core revenue growth.

For the full year 2022, net earnings were $7.1 billion, or $9.66 per diluted common share which represents a 13.5% year-over-year increase. Non-GAAP adjusted diluted net earnings per common share for the year were $10.95, which represents a 9.0% increase over the comparable 2021 amount.

Revenues for the full year 2022 increased 7.0% to $31.5 billion. Non-GAAP core revenue growth was 9.5%, including 8.0% non-GAAP base business core revenue growth.

Operating cash flow for the full year 2022 was $8.5 billion and non-GAAP free cash flow was $7.4 billion.

The Company provides forecasted sales only on a non-GAAP basis because of the difficulty in estimating the other components of GAAP revenue, such as currency translation, acquisitions and divested product lines.

Starting with the first quarter 2023, the Company will revise its definition of base business core growth to exclude revenues related to COVID-19 testing, vaccines and therapeutics, in addition to the exclusion of currency translation, acquisitions and divested product lines.

For the first quarter 2023, the Company anticipates that

Langley City draft budget proposes 10 to 12 per cent tax increases

by admin on January 30, 2023 in Corporate Business Services

A preliminary draft budget for Langley City would require residential tax increases of 10 to 12 per cent resulting in an average hike of $192 a year for multi-family buildings, and a $379 average increase for single family homes, including utility rate increases.

Those estimates are contained in a report by Director of Corporate Services Darrin Leite, to be presented to council at the Monday, Jan. 30 meeting.

As well, Leite estimates average business property taxes would rise 12 per cent — if they saw their assessment go up 18 per cent — and the average light industrial property tax increase would rise the same, if their assessed value rose 35 per cent.

”This rate maintains a competitive ratio between residential and business class properties, ensuring Langley City remains an attractive municipality to locate a business,” the report stated.

In his report, Leite said Langley City, like other local governments, is feeling the effects of downloading by other levels of government.

“The City is struggling with its ability to address social issues like homelessness where individuals suffering from mental health and substance abuse concerns are evident,” Leite advised.

“Historically, social welfare has been a provincial mandate however, municipalities are now facing the effects of this growing issue.”

Profit-sharing from the Cascades Casino in Langley will be a “significant funding source” for capital projects, bringing in a projected $7.5 million this year.

Rehabilitation of the Fraser Highway One-way section is one of the biggest planned capital projects, costing $18.2 million over two years, including utility replacements, running hydro lines underground, and upgrades to the streetscape, including the replanting of boulevard trees.

Preparing for the arrival of SkyTrain will see the City borrow $15 million this year “to fund strategic property acquisitions.”

READ ALSO: More firefighters endorsed by Langley City council

CIOs step up to fill plus-size leadership roles

by admin on January 29, 2023 in Core Business Services

With a career path that wound through R&D, product development, advanced supply chain, and technology, Praveen Jonnala is well positioned to lead a global IT organization as well as take the reins of operations and other core business functions.

Jonnala stepped in as CIO at network infrastructure provider CommScope two years ago after more than a dozen years spent at the company in various roles leading business and technology transformation. Today, Jonnala also commands much of the traditional COO portfolio — an expanded set of responsibilities that work given his track record of understanding business needs and translating them into high-impact digital solutions.

CommScope

“Whether you hold an official title or not, we’re now in this era where technology leaders can’t just operate doing a bunch of technology stuff,” says Jonnala, CommScope’s senior vice president and CIO. “There’s greater appreciation from business leaders that technology is what’s driving efficiencies, disrupting products, and underpinning new revenue models. There’s a natural pull to look at CIOs now not just for running data centers and applications, but to be a transformative catalyst for the business.”

While it’s common for others in the C-suite to take on so-called plus-roles, the CIO has historically worn multiple hats without the benefit or glory of a formal title marking their expanded terrain. The successful shift to remote work and accelerated digital transformation during the pandemic years elevated CIOs’ stature, earning trust and recognition from business leaders that was absent in the past. With technology now a pervasive enabler of all aspects of the business, CIOs have the end-to-end visibility and cross-functional insights that other executives lack, not to mention oversight of key enterprise assets such as data and analytics.

“We always had business leaders take on other roles, but the CIO

Canadian sanctions against Iranian company don’t cover board member with business interest in B.C.

by admin on January 29, 2023 in Corporate Business Services

An Iranian businessman who owns shares and sits on the board of a private Tehran-based company that has been sanctioned by Canada for co-ordinating the transport of weapons to Russia has a registered company in British Columbia, The Fifth Estate has learned.

In the latest corporate records filed in Iran’s official journal, Mohammad Bagher Nahvi is listed as deputy chair of Safiran Airport Services.

The cargo and commercial airline is one of five entities sanctioned by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) last November for what the federal government says is their role in the Iranian regime’s “gross and systematic human rights violations and actions that continue to threaten international peace and security.”

GAC alleges that Safiran “co-ordinated Russian military flights between Iran and Russia, through which the Iranian regime transferred lethal Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Safiran Airport Services in September 2022 for coordinating “Russian military flights between Iran and Russia, including those associated with transporting Iranian UAVs, personnel, and related equipment from Iran to Russia.”

Nahvi is also listed on the boards of other Iranian companies that appear to be part of the same Safiran group, including Safiran Freight and Cargo Services, which continues to advertise shipping services to Canada online. According to Iranian corporate governance rules, only shareholders of private companies can be members of the board, although they are not required to disclose the number of shares they own.

The Canadian sanctions on Safiran Airport Services do not extend beyond the corporate entity to company officers and directors or their families.

Critics say listing only the company limits the effectiveness of the sanctions.

“From a financial warfare point of view, it makes sense that when you go after an entity, you go after the executives, you go after the