Harry and Meghan hint daughter Lilibet has been given Princess title
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have confirmed their daughter Lilibet Diana has been christened and in the statement they appear to have hinted that the child has been given a new royal title. A spokesperson for the couple told People magazine: “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.” The statement suggests Lilibet is now a Princess, but the Palace have yet to confirm that the child has officially been given the title.
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HNI To Buy Kimball For $485 Mln; KBAL Surges In Pre-market
HNI Corporation (HNI), an office furniture maker, and Kimball International, Inc. (KBAL), a furniture firm, announced on Wednesday that they have agreed to HNI buying Kimball for around $485 million in a cash and stock.
Following the news, KBAL was trading up around 67 percent at $11.29 in pre-market on the Nasdaq.
The acquisition is expected to boost HNI’s workplace furnishings segment.
According to the deal, scheduled to be closed by mid-2023, Kimball shareholders will receive $9 in cash and 0.1301 HNI share for each share of Kimball.
Post transaction, Kimball shareholders will own around 10 percent of the combined company.
The combined company will have pro forma annual revenue of around $3.1 billion and pro forma adjusted EBITDA of approximately $290 million.
The new company is expected to record $25 million of annual run-rate cost synergies within three years of closing.
Campbell Soup Co. Q2 Profit Increases, beats estimates
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) released a profit for its second quarter that increased from last year and beat the Street estimates.
The company’s earnings totaled $232 million, or $0.77 per share. This compares with $212 million, or $0.70 per share, in last year’s second quarter.
Excluding items, Campbell Soup Co. reported adjusted earnings of $241 million or $0.80 per share for the period.
Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $0.74 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 12.7% to $2.49 billion from $2.21 billion last year.
Campbell Soup Co. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :
-Earnings (Q2): $232 Mln. vs. $212 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q2): $0.77 vs. $0.70 last year.
-Analyst Estimate: $0.74
-Revenue (Q2): $2.49 Bln vs. $2.21 Bln last year.
-Guidance:
Full year EPS guidance: $2.95 to $3.00
Daktronics Turns To Profit In Q3; Net Sales Up 32.5%
Daktronics, Inc. (DAKT) reported third quarter net income of $3.7 million compared to a loss of $4.35 million, prior year. Profit per share was $0.08 compared to a loss of $0.10.
Gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased to 22.6 percent as compared to 16.0 percent a year ago. The company said the increase in gross profit percentage was primarily due to strategic pricing actions taken late calendar year 2022 and through 2023, and because of fewer supply chain and operational disruptions during the third quarter of fiscal 2023.
Third quarter net sales were $185.0 million, a 32.5 percent increase from the third quarter of prior year. Orders for the third quarter decreased 30.9 percent as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2022. The company noted that the orders in 2022 were driven by pent-up demand after COVID, which was unusual and was not expected to be repeated in fiscal 2023.
For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com.
European Economic News Preview: Germany Industrial Output & Retail Sales Data Due
Industrial production and retail sales from Germany and revised quarterly national accounts from the euro area are due on Wednesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.
At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to issue Germany’s industrial production and retail sales for January. Industrial output is forecast to grow 1.4 percent on month, in contrast to the 3.1 percent decrease in December. Sales are expected to climb 2.0 percent on month, reversing a 5.3 percent decrease in the prior month.
Half an hour later, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office is scheduled to release consumer prices for February. Inflation is forecast to ease to 25.4 percent from 25.7 percent in January.
At 4.00 am ET, Italy’s Istat is scheduled to publish retail sales for January. Economists forecast sales to fall 0.2 percent on month, the same pace of fall as seen in December.
At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat releases euro area revised quarterly national accounts for the fourth quarter. The initial estimate showed that the currency bloc expanded only 0.1 percent after rising 0.3 percent in the third quarter.
U.S. Wholesale Inventories Decrease In Line With Estimates In January
A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed wholesale inventories in the U.S. decreased in line with economist estimates in the month of January.
The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories fell by 0.4 percent in January after inching up by 0.1 percent in December. The drop matched expectations as well as the preliminary estimate.
The decline by wholesale inventories came as inventories of non-durable goods slumped by 0.9 percent for the second straight month, while inventories of durable goods edged down by 0.1 percent in January after climbing by 0.7 percent in December.
Meanwhile, the report said wholesale sales jumped by 1.0 percent in January after slipping by 0.2 percent in the previous month.
Sales of non-durable goods shot up by 1.3 percent in January after increasing by 0.7 percent in December, while sales of durable goods advanced by 0.7 percent after rising by 0.5 percent.
With inventories falling and sales surging, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers dipped to 1.34 in January from 1.36 in December.
Next Wednesday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a report on business inventories, which include wholesale, retail and manufacturing inventories.