| Press Release – For Immediate Release Lego Overtakes Ferrari as the World's Most Powerful Brand
Every year, leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance puts thousands of the world's top brands to the test. They are evaluated to determine which are the most powerful, and the most valuable. 'Everything is Awesome' for Lego Lego is the World's most powerful brand. It scores highly on a wide variety of measures on Brand Finance's Brand Strength Index such as familiarity, loyalty, promotion, staff satisfaction and corporate reputation. Lego is a uniquely creative and immersive toy; children love the ability to construct their own worlds that it provides. In a tech-saturated world, parents approve of the back-to-basics creativity it encourages and have a lingering nostalgia for the brand long after their own childhoods. The Lego Movie perfectly captured this cross-generational appeal. It was a critical and commercial success, taking nearly US$500m since its release a year ago. It has helped propel Lego from a well-loved, strong brand to the World's most powerful. Ferrari Stalls Lego has overtaken Ferrari, last year's most powerful brand. Ferrari remains a very strong brand but its power is slowly diminishing. It has now gone several years without an F1 title and last season struggled even to mount a challenge. The sheen of glory from its 1990s golden era is beginning to wear thin. Meanwhile the departure of Luca di Montezemolo heralds a slight change in strategy at Ferrari's road car division. Montezemolo kept a strict cap on production to maintain the exclusivity of the brand. Since his departure, Chairman Sergio Marchionne has suggested that this policy will be relaxed to boost revenues. Many Ferrari owners and aspiring owners are extremely brand-conscious, making the loss of the 'world's most powerful brand' accolade, which Ferrari has held for several years, a particularly heavy blow. Brand Finance CEO David Haigh comments, "Ferrari is still in a strong position and its brand value has actually increased 18% this year to $4.7 billion. The new strategy to capitalise on the brand will certainly drive short term value but over-exploitation risks lasting damage." The World's Most Powerful Brands
Apple Sets Another Record The power of a brand is just one component of Brand Finance's analysis. The company combines the information on a brand's strength with financial data, to calculate its commercial value. When brand values are calculated, Apple comes out on top. Though not quite on a par with Ferrari or Lego in terms of brand strength, Apple still has a very powerful brand. What sets it apart is ability to monetize that brand. Apple has a remarkable knack for using its brand to popularise and hence monetize existing technology, as it did so successfully first with the mp3 player, smart phone and later the tablet. Critics have been silenced by the success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Consumers have snapped latest models in their droves, helping Apple set records for quarterly profits ($18bn) and company value ($710bn). David Haigh continues, "The Apple brand is worth US$128 billion. That value is huge not just in its own terms but also as a proportion of Apple's record-breaking corporate valuation. It goes to show how valuable brands are as business assets and how important it is to manage them well." #FastestGrowingBrand Twitter is the fastest growing brand; it has almost tripled its brand value in a year, increasing from $1.5 billion in early 2014 to $4.4 billion now. Fellow tech giants Baidu and Facebook have also grown strongly, by 161% and 146% respectively. The three appear to be more effectively managing the transition to mobile advertising than other tech players such as Google, boosting expectations of the financial potential of their brands. Chipotle stands out among the many successes from the tech and telecoms sectors this year. Its brand value is up 124%. It is eating into McDonalds' market share by positioning itself as a healthier, tastier and more ethical alternative. McDonalds' iconic brand has lost $4bn in value this year. Brand values for hundreds of the world's top brands from all industries can be found on Brand Finance's website. The full Global 500 table can be found here and infographics, further insight and analysis in the Brand Finance Global 500 report. The World's Most Valuable Brands
Click here for the full table The World's Fastest Growing Brands
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Lego Overtakes Ferrari as the World's Most Powerful Brand
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Expert System: Edison incrementa TP a 3,43 Euro
Strong organic growth with acquisition upside |
Expert Systems has announced encouraging order growth, with US orders up 82% and annual subscription licensing up 92% y-o-y. In addition, the formation of the CY4Gate JV and acquisition of iSOCO assets are important steps forward in the implementation of the internationalisation and product expansion strategy. It is difficult to quantify the impact of these acquisitions at this stage and therefore we have not changed our earnings estimates, but the strategic benefits appear to be substantial. The €3m licensing agreement signed as part of the CY4Gate formation should also contribute significantly to short-term forecasts.
Growth in annual licensing key to shareholder return
Recurring licensing revenue is important in realising the high-margin revenue growth on which our valuation is reliant, so it is particularly encouraging to see such strong growth in annual subscriptions. It is still early days in terms of building a material, high-margin recurring revenue stream, but this high-order growth is an encouraging early indicator. Strong growth in the US is also positive as it is a significant potential market and it is therefore important for Expert System to demonstrate strong demand there.
Acquisitions used to accelerate growth
The acquisition of iSOCO assets and the formation of CY4Gate are strategically important transactions and should help to accelerate growth and strengthen Expert's position in the Spanish-speaking world and the defence market respectively. The iSOCO assets were acquired for c €2m and Expert's 30% share of CY4Gate was granted in exchange for technical services and licensing rights. CY4Gate also purchased €3m worth of licensing and services that will predominantly be recognised in FY14. We treat this as a contribution rather than incremental to existing forecasts, and therefore our revenue forecasts are unchanged.
Valuation: Licensing growth key catalyst
The costs of the iSOCO asset acquisition and formation of the CY4Gate JV have been incorporated into our model, but revenue and earnings forecasts remain unchanged. The DCF has also been brought out a year and therefore the base case DCF valuation increases from €3.23 (excluding ADmantX) to €3.43. However, the DCF sensitivity analysis (see page 3) is the most important valuation tool. The key catalysts for share price upside include growth in recurring licence revenue, normalisation of the tax rate, further acquisitions and an increase in indirect sales.
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Redazione del CorrieredelWeb.it
Press release: ITF welcomes shore leave progress
Please find this release attached and below.
Yours,
Sam Dawson
ITF
ITF welcomes shore leave progress
The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) has welcomed progress made at the ILO (International Labour Organization) last week on the issue of facilitating shore leave and the movement of seafarers joining or leaving vessels.
At the ILO in Geneva a tripartite meeting of employers, trade unions and governments agreed a common approach to improving ILO Convention 185 on seafarers' identity documents, in order to improve the welfare of seafarers, while at the same time assisting nations maintain their security. The recommendations now pass to the ILO governing body for study and a decision on their implementation.
ITF seafarers' section chair David Heindel explained: "ILO 185 has two key aims: to uphold security and allow the deserved and necessary passage of seafarers on shore leave and in transit. However, its take up has been underwhelming. These latest recommendations, which would bring seafarers' identity documents in line with e-passports, should help persuade states that ratification is sensible and in everyone's best interests."
He continued: "We hope that the major port and transit states will join us in reassuring the labour supplying states that their investment in seafarers' identity document technology will not be wasted, and the original ideals of the convention will be met."
ENDS
Further information
A statement from the Chamber of Shipping in support of the recommendations can be seen at www.ics-shipping.org/news/press-releases/2015/02/09/ics-hopes-for-progress-on-facilitation-of-shore-leave-and-movement-of-seafarers
This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and then delete it immediately. You should not copy it or use it for any purpose nor disclose its contents to any other person. Any views or opinions expressed within the email are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the ITF.
BIOFACH 2015: SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FROM NOVAMONT
NOVAMONT PRESENTS SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS AT BIOFACH
Novamont to present environmentally sustainable solutions for foodware, packaging and bioagriculture at BIOFACH 2015, the world's leading trade fair for organic food.
Preview of the first compostable yoghurt pot.
Novara, 11 February 2015 - Interest in organic food is growing all over the world and the 2015 edition of BIOFACH, the leading trade fair for organic food, which will take place from 11-14 February in Nuremberg, will welcome the leading players from a continuously expanding market.
More than just a label or a certification, 'organic' refers to quality and the responsible use of natural resources, the same resources that have always been at the heart of Novamont's research and innovation. At Biofach 2015 Novamont will present Mater-Bi® solutions aimed at reducing production of plastic waste and ensuring greater environmental, economic and social sustainability for the entire agri-food chain, and particularly for organic production.
Mater-Bi® is the range of bioplastics developed by Novamont which are biodegradable and compostable in compliance with European standards UNI EN 13432 and UNI EN 14995, guaranteeing performance equivalent to traditional plastics but using agriculturally-sourced, renewable resources. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions and cuts consumption of non-renewable energy and resources, completing a virtuous circle: raw materials of agricultural origin are returned to the earth through biodegradation or composting without emitting pollutants.
FOODWARE SOLUTIONS
The Mater-Bi® bioplastics range for the foodware sector includes plates, cups, cutlery, bowls, single-portion containers, drinking straws and ice cream cups and scoops that can be disposed of with organic waste and sent for composting by anaerobic digestion, reducing quantities of unsorted waste and significantly cutting back greenhouse gas emissions.
The range will include the first compostable yoghurt pot. Made using a thermoforming process with a grade of Mater-Bi® suitable for cold food, the pot is a further milestone for Novamont's R&D, which just a few months ago produced the first heat resistant compostable plate made from Mater-Bi®, made with a new grade of biopolymer.
The new bioplastics in the Mater-Bi® range contain a high proportion of renewable materials, can be composted, have been approved for contact with food and present similar moulding performance to polypropylene. They create extremely important opportunities in the sectors of food packaging and disposable catering tableware, opening the way for the development of even more sustainable solutions that guarantee entirely innovative mechanical, thermomechanical, production and aesthetic performance levels. As well as their high thermal resistance (up to 100° C), the first Mater-Bi® plates for hot food have superior mechanical characteristics, an attractive appearance and composting performance compliant with international standard EN 13432.
PACKAGING SOLUTIONS
A range of food packaging solutions will be on display at BIOFACH. These will include:
- bags for bread. First presentation of this solution made from paper with a window in transparent film: the whole bag can be disposed of together with organic waste;
- Mater-Bi® food packaging paper. Either extruded or combined with a thin layer of Mater-Bi®, the paper is water-repellent and resistant to oily substances. Food wrapping paper made from Mater-Bi® is ideal for packaging foodstuffs. It is available in various formats and the entire surface is suitable for personalisations;
- net for wrapping foods: this extruded Mater-Bi® netting is ideal for packaging fresh fruit and vegetables. It can also be disposed of directly with food waste and then sent for composting;
BIOAGRICULTURE SOLUTIONS
In the area of bioagriculture products, Novamont will be presenting mulching film, plant pots and pheromone dispensing hooks and lines. In agricultural mulching the plastic film is placed on the ground to retain moisture, prevent the growth of weeds and maintain a higher soil temperature. Mater-Bi®'s mulching film provides an agronomically and environmentally efficient alternative to traditional mulching film, because at the end of the crop cycle it does not need to be removed or disposed of. Thanks to its ability to biodegrade in the soil - certified "OK Biodegradable soil" - Mater-Bi® mulching film transforms into organic matter, water and carbon dioxide, without releasing harmful substances, thereby drastically minimising the environmental impact and allowing farmers to save time and resources.
All products made from Mater-Bi® guarantee:
- a C14 renewability percentage above the 50% threshold;
- cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions per kilo of product significantly lower than those of traditional plastics;
- recyclability according to the standards of national recycling consortiums;
- compliance with marine biodegradation standards;
- biodegradability in composting according to standard UNI EN 13432;
- sustainable biomass used in production.
Apart from its own stand at BIOFACH 2015 (hall 4, position 161), Novamont will also be manning a corner of the AIAB stand (hall 1, position 1-341b). It has a long history of collaboration with AIAB in research projects through its support for FIRAB. Novamont has also decided to use BIOFACH to promote its partnership with Slowfood, the prestigious international non-profit association committed to promoting good, clean and fair food for all 150 countries in the world.
A pack containing organic oranges, cardoon honey, Mater-Bi® granules and cardoon seeds has been created specially for BIOFACH together with the Slowfood organic presidium, Gargano Agrumi Consortium, Sabox, a producer of sustainable corrugated cardboard packaging, and the courier company, DHL.
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Novamont is the leading company in the development and production of materials and biochemicals through the integration of chemistry, the environment and agriculture. With 370 employees (approx. 20% employed in R&D), it registered a turnover of €136 million in 2013 and made continuous investments in research and development activities (6.2% of its 2013 turnover). It has a portfolio of around 1,000 patents. Headquartered in Novara, Novamont has a production facility in Terni and research laboratories in Novara, Terni and Piana di Monte Verna (CE). Novamont also has subsidiaries in Porto Torres (SS), Bottrighe (RO), Terni and Patrica (FR) and commercial offices in Germany, France and the United States. It operates through its own distributors in Benelux, Scandinavia, Denmark, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Novamont press office - press@novamont.com
tel. +39.0321.6996.11
mob. +39.340.1166.426
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