Fintech PR
Lufax Releases First ESG Report Highlighting Commitment to Inclusive Finance
Lufax Holding Ltd (“Lufax” or the “Company”) (NYSE: LU), a leading technology-empowered personal financial services platform in China, today released its first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report. The report highlights the Company’s long-term commitment to inclusive finance, improving access to financial services for small and micro business owners, alleviating rural poverty, supporting the real economy and other societal benefits through FinTech innovations.
The report provides a look at the Company’s ESG performance for 2020 and offers a comprehensive overview of its commitment to making retail borrowing and wealth management easier, safer and more efficient. Of the many areas covered in the report, a few to highlight include achievements in corporate governance, providing inclusive financing to small and micro businesses, strengthening consumer protections, contributing to poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, and promoting green finance.
“In this report, we present our sustainability achievements and express our determination to developing long-term value,” said Guangheng Ji, Chairman of Lufax Holding. “Looking ahead, Lufax Holding will continue to stay ahead of the curve and capture emerging opportunities. With positive financial services as the starting point, we will innovate and drive forward. We will bolster inclusive finance, support the wider economy, fulfil our corporate responsibilities and create our own sustainability path.”
“Our goal is to become a best-practice benchmark for compliance and governance among overseas-listed Chinese companies,” commented Ji.
Among the many focus areas addressed in the ESG report, key highlights from the past year include the following:
Providing inclusive financing to small and micro businesses
Small and micro businesses contribute significantly to economic and social development. However, they usually face financing difficulties in their development process, especially in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges across the world. Making retail borrowing easier, safer, and more efficient is at the very core of Lufax’s mission. As part of the Company’s commitment to providing convenient financial services for small and micro business owners, in 2020 Lufax’s retail credit facilitation platform subsidiary Ping An Puhui (“Puhui”) set up a special loan channel during the pandemic to provide affected companies and individuals with loans for small and micro businesses. This initiative eased issues caused by capital shortages and limited loan channels due to the pandemic.
As of 2020, Lufax has helped more than 1.24 million small and micro businesses and provided inclusive finance for 2.76 million people. By the end of the year, Lufax’s total inclusive credit reached RMB 564.961 billion, with its balance of inclusive credit loans reaching RMB 545.149 billion.
Supporting public welfare and revitalizing the rural economy
As underscored in the ESG report, Lufax is committed to alleviating poverty by offering products and services tailored to empower vulnerable groups for long-term rural revitalization. Lufax’s subsidiary Puhui has launched innovative projects to improve access to financing for vulnerable groups in less developed regions. Initiatives on improving rural women’s employment and entrepreneurship include a program providing preferential agricultural loans to female entrepreneurs in less developed regions. Puhui also founded a special “Mom’s Sewing” program that provides sewing machines, production materials and social connections to help local women in Liangshan prefecture monetize traditional handicrafts. Puhui also focused on rural revitalization in its preferential agricultural loans project that provides diversified, affordable, and convenient loan services for rural entrepreneurs. Additionally, Puhui encourages rural revitalization through its “New Farmers for Poverty Alleviation” project, which targets younger talented farmers who want to return to and build their hometowns by starting businesses. Under this program, Puhui offers emerging agricultural technology to support sustainable development. These projects have injected new momentum into rural economic and industrial development in impoverished areas and support rural revitalization.
At present, Puhui has agricultural and rural initiatives in 13 provinces and cities, covering planting, animal husbandry, forestry, fishery and other specialties. By the end of 2020, Puhui had provided assistance funds worth more than RMB 123 million to nearly 300 rural cooperatives and entrepreneurs, directly supporting more than 800 financially distressed households.
Moreover, Lufax and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) jointly launched “Big Country, Small Towns”, a poverty alleviation plan designed to raise the industrial development level of villages and towns to improve local public welfare and income levels. By combining the customer resource advantages gathered by Lufax’s online wealth management platform with the public smart financial system, the Company has created a series of measures to alleviate poverty, improve local career prospects for younger generations, and improve environmental protection.
Alongside local industries, Lufax has identified a path for people to rise out of poverty and obtain wealth by developing an “Industry + Ecology” sustainable development model that lays a solid foundation for reducing poverty. By focusing on initiatives that provide affordable financing to rural communities instead of donations, Lufax is investing in long-term rural development and sustainability.
Developing green finance to support carbon neutrality
To support national and international carbon neutrality goals, Lufax has also set up a green finance office to drive its business in a greener way, support the development of green finance and create a low-carbon model for financial institutions. As highlighted in the ESG report, Lufax will continue to support the development of green finance by improving access to green financial products and services as well as introducing more green funds and net worth products like the ESG-related products jointly offered with “Lu Funds.” Online financial services like Lufax’s “Wealth Cloud” can offer a lower carbon footprint future for financial services. With its paperless system, “Wealth Cloud” already has saved 64.884 tons of paper compared to traditional brick and mortar systems. By continuing to replace traditional offline marketing approaches with environmentally conscious cloud-based alternatives, Lufax hopes to continue its pursuit of green finance and operations.
Enhancing financial service quality through technology
Lufax has built a thriving and professional team providing services for small and micro business owners and individuals with financing needs all over the country by combining online and offline services. In addition, the Lufax service team also helps customers improve their financial knowledge in key areas such as financing, planning, compliance of financial products, and avoiding investment traps.
Lufax has leveraged its artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to improve customer experience and protect consumer rights and interests with an AI-backed customer service platform. Customers may submit their requests and inquiries to both AI robots and human agents over the phone, online or on the mobile app. The AI customer service offers access to financial education and customer service around-the-clock and has achieved an intelligent recognition rate of 99.8% and customer satisfaction rate of 93%, helping to quickly resolve customer issues or inquiries. With the support of the AI customer service platform, Lufax customer service agents have also achieved a high level of customer satisfaction, with an answering rate of 98% and an on-the-spot settlement rate of 95%.
Lufax Holding’s ESG report is formulated in accordance with the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Guide of the Main Board Listing Rules of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“HKEx”) and the Global Reporting Initiative sustainability reporting standards (GRI Standards). To learn more about Lufax’s ESG efforts and to view the report in full, please visit https://ir.lufaxholding.com/files/doc_downloads/2021/2021-9-18-ESG.pdf
OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Royal Canadian Mint (the “Mint”) announces its financial results for the third quarter of 2024 that provide insight into its activities, the markets influencing its businesses and its expectations for the next 12 months.
“As the markets continue to change, the Mint is proving its ability to seize on new opportunities thanks to its diversified structure and flexible business strategy” said Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.
The financial results should be read in conjunction with the Mint’s annual report available at www.mint.ca . All monetary amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.
Financial and Operational Highlights
- The financial results for the third quarter of 2024 were ahead of target and higher than 2023 levels. Higher gold market pricing and foreign circulation volumes combined with lower fixed costs were the main drivers for the quarter over quarter increase. These increases were partially offset by lower than expected bullion volumes from the continued soft demand in the global bullion market. The Mint expects to meet its financial goals for 2024, as set out in its 2024-2028 Corporate Plan, the Mint’s Leadership team continues to actively monitor its status.
- Consolidated revenue decreased to $252.7 million in 2024 (2023 – $360.6 million).
Revenue from the Precious Metals business decreased to $217.6 million in 2024
(2023 – $328.4 million):- Gold bullion volumes decreased 38% quarter over quarter to 106.1 thousand ounces (2023 – 170.1 thousand ounces) while silver bullion volumes decreased 20% to 2.7 million ounces (2023 – 3.4 million ounces).
- Gold and silver market prices increased quarter over quarter by 27% and 23%, respectively.
- Sales of numismatic products decreased 12% quarter over quarter mainly due to the high demand in 2023 for the Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign products.
- Revenue from the Circulation business increased to $35.1 million in 2024
(2023 – $32.2 million):- Revenue from the Foreign Circulation business increased 77% quarter over quarter, a reflection of higher volumes produced and shipped in 2024 as compared to 2023.
- Revenue from Canadian coin circulation products and services decreased 12% quarter over quarter as fewer coins were required to replenish inventories, combined with lower program fees in accordance with the memorandum of understanding with the Department of Finance.
- Overall, operating expenses decreased 27% quarter over quarter to $28.3 million (2023 – $36.0 million) mainly due to planned reductions in consulting and workforce expenses.
Consolidated results and financial performance
(in millions)
|
13 weeks ended |
39 weeks ended |
|||||||||||
|
Change |
Change |
|||||||||||
|
September |
September |
$ |
% |
September |
September 30, 2023 |
$ |
% |
|||||
|
Revenue |
$ |
252.7 |
$ 360.6 |
(107.9) |
(30) |
$ 861.2 |
$ 1,841.8 |
(980.6) |
(53) |
|||
|
Profit (loss) for the period |
$ |
5.7 |
$ (5.8) |
11.5 |
(198) |
$ 24.1 |
$ 15.0 |
9.1 |
61 |
|||
|
Profit (loss) before |
$ |
1.4 |
$ (8.7) |
10.1 |
(116) |
$ 12.3 |
$ 23.4 |
(11.1) |
(47) |
|||
|
Profit (loss) before |
0.6 % |
(2.4) % |
1.4 % |
1.3 % |
||||||||
|
(1) Profit (loss) before income tax and other items is a non-GAAP financial measure. A reconciliation from profit for the period to profit before income tax and other items is included on page 13 of the Mint’s 2024 Third Quarter Report. |
|
(2) Profit (loss) before income tax and other items margin is a non-GAAP financial measure and its calculation is based on profit before income tax and other items. |
|
As at |
||||||||||
|
September 28, 2024 |
December 31, 2023 |
$ Change |
% Change |
|||||||
|
Cash |
$ |
58.4 |
$ |
59.8 |
(1.4) |
(2) |
||||
|
Inventories |
$ |
71.5 |
$ |
68.8 |
2.7 |
4 |
||||
|
Capital assets |
$ |
174.2 |
$ |
173.0 |
1.2 |
1 |
||||
|
Total assets |
$ |
376.8 |
$ |
380.4 |
(3.6) |
(1) |
||||
|
Working capital |
$ |
99.2 |
$ |
97.8 |
1.4 |
1 |
||||
As part of its enterprise risk management program, the Mint continues to actively monitor its global supply chain and logistics networks in support of its continued operations. Despite its best efforts, the Mint expects changes in the macro-economic environment and other external events around the globe to continue to impact its performance in 2024. The Mint continues to mitigate potential risks as they arise through its enterprise risk management process.
To read more of the Mint’s Third Quarter Report for 2024, please visit www.mint.ca.
About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada’s circulation coins. The Mint is one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, producing award-winning collector coins, market-leading bullion products, as well as Canada’s prestigious military and civilian honours. As an established London and COMEX Good Delivery refiner, the Mint also offers a full spectrum of best-in-class gold and silver refining services. As an organization that strives to take better care of the environment, to cultivate safe and inclusive workplaces and to make a positive impact on the communities where it operates, the Mint integrates environmental, social and governance practices in every aspect of its operations.
For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca. Follow the Mint on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
This Earnings Release contains non-GAAP financial measures that are clearly denoted where presented. Non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and might not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other corporations reporting under IFRS.
This Earnings Release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management’s expectations regarding the Mint’s objectives, plans, strategies, future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “plans”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “believes”, “estimates”, “intends”, and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not facts, but only estimates regarding expected growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities (assumptions). While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on available information, they may prove to be incorrect. These estimates of future results are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what the Mint expects. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, those risks and uncertainties set forth in the Risks to Performance section of the Management Discussion and Analysis in the Mint’s 2023 annual report, as well as in Note 9 – Financial Instruments and Financial Risk Management to the Mint’s Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2023. The forward-looking statements included in this Earnings Release are made only as of November 20, 2024 and the Mint does not undertake to publicly update these statements to reflect new information, future events or changes in circumstances or for any other reason after this date.
For more information, please contact: Alex Reeves, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, Tel: (613) 884-6370, [email protected]
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/royal-canadian-mint-reports-profits-and-performance-for-q3-2024-302314428.html
Fintech PR
OIVE and ViniPortugal celebrate closing of joint campaign that reached 100 million consumers
MADRID and PORTO, Portugal, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — For three years, A Shared Passion showed European consumers the quality and unparalleled versatility of Iberian wines. The program reached over 100 million consumers with advertising in airports, train stations, press trips, digital content, and other actions with opinion leaders.
The wine interprofessionals of Spain (OIVE) and Portugal (ViniPortugal) celebrated the closing of their ambitious joint campaign A Shared Passion with flagship events in Madrid and Porto. The closing event in Spain took place in Madrid’s iconic Calle Alcalá, while in Portugal, the World of Wine (WOW) in Porto was the perfect setting to present the achievements of the international collaboration. Both ceremonies were very well received by the press and the wine sector, highlighting the impact of the promotional actions that reached more than 79.2 million travelers in key transport infrastructures.
The campaign included 22 study trips, taking 150 specialized journalists to explore the world of wine in both countries and generating publications that reached nearly 15 million European consumers.
On social media, the A Shared Passion profile on Instagram exceeded 15,000 followers, consolidating its presence in the digital sphere. In addition, exclusive activities such as workshops and VIP dinners contributed significantly to this initiative’s global impact.
The final events were honored by the presence of opinion leaders, such as Masters of Wine Pedro Ballesteros and Dirceu Vianna Júnior, who moderated round tables with the presidents of OIVE, Fernando Ezquerro, and ViniPortugal, Frederico Falcão. The conference concluded with masterclasses that highlighted Spain and Portugal’s extraordinary oenological diversity, reinforcing the relevance of the sector in the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of both countries.
With funding from the European Union, A Shared Passion highlighted not only the quality and authenticity of Iberian wines but also their strategic role in the sustainable development of numerous municipalities. This initiative underlines the passion with which Spanish and Portuguese wines are made, reflecting their rich traditions and commitment to the future.
For more information: www.asharedpassion.com
Video: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2565600/ViniPortugal_and_OIVE.mp4
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Fintech PR
Alkira Ranked 25th Fastest-Growing Company in North America and 6th in the Bay Area on the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 500™
Alkira attributes its 7,194% revenue growth to consistent innovation, enabling enterprises to overcome mounting network complexity in the cloud and AI era
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Alkira® Inc., the leader in Network Infrastructure as a Service, today announced that it ranked as the 6th fastest-growing technology company in the Bay Area and the 25th fastest-growing company in North America on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America. Now in its 30th year, the list recognized Alkira for achieving a growth rate of 7,194% during this period.
“Being recognized as one of North America’s fastest-growing companies by Deloitte is a tremendous honor. This achievement reflects Alkira’s unwavering commitment to equipping frontline networking teams with solutions that dramatically simplify enterprise networking amidst escalating complexity,” said Amir Khan, CEO at Alkira. “Today’s enterprises are racing to support cloud, AI and machine learning workloads, but their existing networks weren’t built for this dynamic environment. Alkira’s network infrastructure as-a-service platform enables organizations to connect any cloud, on-premise location, and remote user with a unified, secure, and highly scalable network fabric that reduces deployment times from months to minutes.”
“For 30 years we’ve been celebrating companies that are actively driving innovation. The software industry continues to be a beacon of growth, and the fintech industry made a strong showing on this year’s list, surpassing life sciences for the first time,” said Steve Fineberg, vice chair, U.S. technology sector leader, Deloitte. “Significantly, we also saw a breakthrough in performance of private companies, with the highest number of private companies named to the list in our program’s history. This year’s winners have shown they have the vision and expertise to continue to perform at a high level, and that deserves to be celebrated.”
“Innovation, transformation and disruption of the status quo are at the forefront for this year’s Technology Fast 500 list, and there’s no better way to celebrate 30 years of program history,” said Christie Simons, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP and industry leader for technology, media and telecommunications within Deloitte’s Audit & Assurance practice. “This year’s winning companies have demonstrated a continuous commitment to growth and remarkable consistency in driving forward progress. We extend our congratulations to all of this year’s winners — it’s an incredible time for innovation.”
Overall, 2024 Technology Fast 500 companies achieved revenue growth ranging from 201% to 186,373% over the three-year time frame, with an average growth rate of 2,097% and median growth rate of 458%.
Now in its 30th year, the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 provides a ranking of the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies — both public and private — in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2020 to 2023.
In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company’s operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least US$50,000, and current-year operating revenues of at least US$5 million. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of four years and be headquartered within North America.
About Alkira
Alkira is the leader in Network Infrastructure on Demand. We unify any environments, sites, and users via an enterprise network built entirely in the cloud. The network is managed using the same controls, policies, and security systems network administrators know, is available as a service, and can instantly scale as needed. There is no new hardware to deploy, software to download, or architecture to learn. Alkira’s solution is trusted by Fortune 100 enterprises, leading system integrators, and global managed service providers. Learn more at alkira.com and follow us @alkiranet.
About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 8,500 U.S.-based private companies. At Deloitte, we strive to live our purpose of making an impact that matters by creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society. We leverage our unique blend of business acumen, command of technology, and strategic technology alliances to advise our clients across industries as they build their future. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Bringing more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s approximately 460,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.
Media Contact:
Jelena Dopudj, Sr. Communications Manager, Alkira Marketing
[email protected]
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the “Deloitte” name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.
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