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Sapiens Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

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ROCHELLE PARK, N.J., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Sapiens International Corporation, (NASDAQ: SPNS) (TASE: SPNS), a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

 

Summary Results for Second Quarter 2024 (USD in millions, except per share data)

GAAP

Non-GAAP

Q2 2024

Q2 2023

% Change

Q2 2024

Q2 2023

% Change

Revenue

$136.8

$128.3

6.6 %

$136.8

$128.4

6.6 %

Gross Profit

$60.1

$54.7

10.0 %

$62.5

$58.0

7.7 %

Gross Margin

43.9 %

42.6 %

 130 bps

45.7 %

45.2 %

50 bps

Operating Income

$21.9

$19.6

11.5 %

$24.8

$23.4

6.1 %

Operating Margin

16.0 %

15.3 %

 70 bps

18.2 %

18.2 %

0 bps

Net Income (*)

$18.6

$15.4

20.9 %

$21.0

$18.6

13.1 %

Diluted EPS

$0.33

$0.28

17.9 %

$0.37

$0.33

12.1 %

(*) Attributable to Sapiens’ shareholders

 

Roni Al-Dor, President and CEO of Sapiens, stated, “We are pleased to report that revenue reached $137 million this quarter, reflecting a 6.6% increase over the same period last year. This quarter non-GAAP demonstrated our strong execution capabilities, particularly with robust growth in North America and Europe. This quarter’s non-GAAP operating profit totaled $25 million, representing 18.2% of total revenue. Additionally, net income this quarter grew by 13%, and EPS per diluted share was $0.37 this quarter of 2024, up 12.1% from the second quarter of 2023″.

“We reiterate our 2024 guidance for non-GAAP revenues in a range of $550 million to $555 million and for non-GAAP operating margin in a range of 18.1%-18.5%,” concluded Mr. Al-Dor.

Quarterly Results Conference Call

Management will host a conference call and webcast on August 1, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time (4:30 p.m. in Israel) to review and discuss Sapiens’ results. Please call the following numbers (at least 10 minutes before the scheduled time) to participate:

North America (toll-free): 1-888-642-5032
International: 972-3-9180644
UK: 0-800-917-5108

The live webcast of the call can be viewed on Sapiens’ website at: https://veidan.activetrail.biz/sapiensq2-2024. A replay of the call will be available one business day following the completion of the event at the same link for 90 days.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP revenue, ARR, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income attributed to Sapiens shareholders, non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per share, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash-Flow.

Sapiens believes that these non-GAAP measures of financial results provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends relating to Sapiens’ financial condition and results of operations. The Company’s management uses these non-GAAP measures to compare the Company’s performance to that of prior periods for trend analyses, for purposes of determining executive and senior management incentive compensation and for budgeting and planning purposes. These measures are used in financial reports prepared for management and in quarterly financial reports presented to the Company’s board of directors. The Company believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends, and in comparing the Company’s financial measures with other software companies, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors.

Non-GAAP financial measures consist of GAAP financial measures adjusted to exclude: Valuation adjustment on acquired deferred revenue, amortization of capitalized software development and other intangible assets, capitalization of software development, stock-based compensation, compensation related to acquisition and acquisition-related costs, restructuring and cost reduction costs, and tax adjustments related to non-GAAP adjustments.

Management of the Company does not consider these non-GAAP measures in isolation, or as an alternative to financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The principal limitation of these non-GAAP financial measures is that they exclude significant expenses and income that are required by GAAP to be recorded in the Company’s financial statements. In addition, they are subject to inherent limitations, as they reflect the exercise of judgment by management about which expenses and income are excluded or included in determining these non-GAAP financial measures.

To compensate for these limitations, management presents non-GAAP financial measures in connection with GAAP results. Sapiens urges investors to review the reconciliation of its non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which it includes in press releases announcing quarterly financial results, including this press release, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate the Company’s business.

Reconciliation tables of the most comparable GAAP financial measures to the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are included with the financial tables of this release.

The Company defines Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) as the annualized value of our revenue from customer subscriptions, term licenses, maintenance, application maintenance, and cloud solutions, which may not be the same as the timing and amount of revenue recognized. The ARR run rate is equal to the product of (i) the sum of these revenues in our most recently completed fiscal quarter, multiplied by (ii) four.

 The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net profit, adjusted to eliminate valuation adjustment on acquired deferred revenue, stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, capitalization of software development costs, compensation expenses related to acquisition and acquisition-related costs, restructuring and cost reduction costs, financial expense (income), provision for income taxes and other income (expenses). These amounts are often excluded by other companies as well, in order to help investors understand the operational performance of their business.

The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measurement of its operating performance, because it assists in comparing the operating performance on a consistent basis by removing the impact of certain non-cash and non-operating items. Adjusted EBITDA reflects an additional way of viewing aspects of the operations that the Company believes, when viewed with the GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting its business. The Company uses Adjusted Free Cash-Flow as a measurement of its operating performance, and reconciles cash-flow from operating activities to Adjusted Free Cash-Flow, while reducing the amounts for capitalization of software development costs and capital expenditures. The Company adds back cash payments made for former acquisitions in respect of future performance targets and retention criteria as determined upon acquisition date of the respective acquired company, which were included in the cash-flow from operating activities. We believe that Adjusted Free Cash-Flow is useful in evaluating our business, because Adjusted Free Cash-Flow reflects the cash surplus available to fund the expansion of our business.

About Sapiens

Sapiens International Corporation (NASDAQ and TASE: SPNS) empowers the financial sector, with a focus on insurance, to transform and become digital, innovative, and agile. With more than 40 years of industry expertise, Sapiens’ cloud-based SaaS insurance platform offers pre-integrated, low-code capabilities across core, data and digital domains to accelerate our customers’ digital transformation. Serving over 600 customers in more than  30 countries, Sapiens offers insurers across property and casualty, workers’ compensation, and life insurance markets the most comprehensive set of solutions, from core to complementary, including Reinsurance, Financial & Compliance, Data & Analytics, Digital, and Decision Management. For more information visit www.sapiens.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Investor and Media Contact
Yaffa Cohen-Ifrah
Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Investor Relations, Sapiens
Yaffa.cohen-ifrah@sapiens.com 
+1 917-533-4782

Investor Contacts

Brett Maas
Managing Partner, Hayden IR
+1 646-536-7331
Brett.Maas@HaydenIR.com

Kimberly Rogers
Managing Director, Hayden IR
+1 541-904-5075
kim@HaydenIR.com 

Forward Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, Section 21E of the Exchange Act and the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations, as well as information currently available to us. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “plan” and similar expressions. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the degree of our success in our plans to leverage our global footprint to grow our sales; the degree of our success in integrating the companies that we have acquired through the implementation of our M&A growth strategy; the lengthy development cycles for our solutions, which may frustrate our ability to realize revenues and/or profits from our potential new solutions; our lengthy and complex sales cycles, which do not always result in the realization of revenues; the degree of our success in retaining our existing customers or competing effectively for greater market share; difficulties in successfully planning and managing changes in the size of our operations; the frequency of the long-term, large, complex projects that we perform that involve complex estimates of project costs and profit margins, which sometimes change mid-stream; the challenges and potential liability that heightened privacy laws and regulations pose to our business; occasional disputes with clients, which may adversely impact our results of operations and our reputation; various intellectual property issues related to our business; potential unanticipated product vulnerabilities or cybersecurity breaches of our or our customers’ systems; risks related to the insurance industry in which our clients operate; risks associated with our global sales and operations, such as changes in regulatory requirements, wide-spread viruses and epidemics like the recent novel coronavirus pandemic, which adversely affected our results of operations, or fluctuations in currency exchange rates; and risks related to our principal location in Israel and our status as a Cayman Islands company. While we believe such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, should one or more of the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, or these risks or uncertainties materialize, our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Please read the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which we filled with the SEC on March 31, 2022, in order to review conditions that we believe could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

 

 

SAPIENS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION N.V. AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES            

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME         
U.S. dollars in thousands (except per share amounts)  

  Three months ended

  Six months ended

 June 30,

 June 30,

2024

2023

2024

2023

 (unaudited)

 (unaudited)

 (unaudited)

 (unaudited)

 Revenue

136,800

128,299

271,049

253,020

 Cost of revenue

76,696

73,635

153,385

145,327

 Gross profit

60,104

54,664

117,664

107,693

 Operating expenses:

 Research and development, net

16,809

15,746

33,330

31,363

 Selling, marketing, general and administrative

21,412

19,297

41,929

37,816

 Total operating expenses

38,221

35,043

75,259

69,179

 Operating income

21,883

19,621

42,405

38,514

Financial and other expenses (income), net

(1,109)

562

(2,201)

1,759

 Taxes on income

4,375

3,587

8,488

6,917

 Net income

18,617

15,472

36,118

29,838

 Attributable to non-controlling interest

69

141

239

 Net income attributable to Sapiens’ shareholders

18,617

15,403

35,977

29,599

 Basic earnings per share

0.33

0.28

0.65

0.54

 Diluted earnings per share

0.33

0.28

0.64

0.53

Weighted average number of shares outstanding used to
compute basic earnings per share (in thousands)

55,797

55,196

55,771

55,176

Weighted average number of shares outstanding used to
compute diluted earnings per share (in thousands)

56,163

55,582

56,072

55,576

 

 

SAPIENS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION N.V. AND SUBSIDIARIES 

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP RESULTS
U.S. dollars in thousands (except per share amounts)  

Three months ended

Six months ended

June 30,

June 30,

2024

2023

2024

2023

(unaudited)

(unaudited)

(unaudited)

(unaudited)

GAAP revenue

136,800

128,299

271,049

253,020

Valuation adjustment on acquired deferred revenue

55

110

Non-GAAP revenue

136,800

128,354

271,049

253,130

GAAP gross profit

60,104

54,664

117,664

107,693

Revenue adjustment

55

110

Amortization of capitalized software

1,569

1,425

3,114

2,856

Amortization of other intangible assets

808

1,848

2,587

3,696

Non-GAAP gross profit

62,481

57,992

123,365

114,355

GAAP operating income

21,883

19,621

42,405

38,514

Gross profit adjustments

2,377

3,328

5,701

6,662

Capitalization of software development

(1,823)

(1,679)

(3,540)

(3,337)

Amortization of other intangible assets

1,223

1,084

2,456

2,160

Stock-based compensation

811

1,059

1,583

1,922

Acquisition-related costs *)

365

4

494

10

Non-GAAP operating income

24,836

23,417

49,099

45,931

  GAAP net income attributable to Sapiens’ shareholders

18,617

15,403

35,977

29,599

  Operating income adjustments

2,953

3,796

6,694

7,417

  Taxes on income

(529)

(589)

(1,209)

(1,153)

  Non-GAAP net income attributable to Sapiens’ shareholders

21,041

18,610

41,462

35,863

 (*) Acquisition-related costs pertain to charges on behalf of M&A agreements related to future performance targets and retention criteria, as well as completed or prospective third-party services, such as tax, accounting and legal rendered..

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA Calculation
U.S. dollars in thousands

Three months ended

Six months ended

 June 30,

 June 30,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP operating profit

21,883

19,621

42,405

38,514

Non-GAAP adjustments:

Valuation adjustment on acquired deferred revenue

55

110

Amortization of capitalized software

1,569

1,425

3,114

2,856

Amortization of other intangible assets

2,031

2,932

5,043

5,856

Capitalization of software development

(1,823)

(1,679)

(3,540)

(3,337)

Stock-based compensation

811

1,059

1,583

1,922

Compensation related to acquisition and acquisition-related costs

365

4

494

10

Non-GAAP operating profit

24,836

23,417

49,099

45,931

Depreciation

1,095

976

2,192

2,031

Adjusted EBITDA

25,931

24,393

51,291

47,962

 

 

Summary of NON-GAAP Financial Information 
U.S. dollars in thousands (except per share amounts)

Q2 2024

Q1 2024

Q4 2023

Q3 2023

Q2 2023

Revenues

136,800

134,249

130,914

130,760

128,354

Gross profit

62,481

60,884

59,370

59,260

57,992

Operating income

24,836

24,263

24,152

24,058

23,417

Adjusted EBITDA

25,931

25,360

25,267

24,777

24,393

Net income to Sapiens’ shareholders

21,041

20,421

20,081

19,080

18,610

Diluted earnings per share

0.37

0.36

0.36

0.34

0.33

 

 

Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”)
U.S. dollars in thousands  

Three months ended

June 30,

2024

2023

168,593

150,417

 

 

Non-GAAP Revenues by Geographic Breakdown
U.S. dollars in thousands

Q2 2024

Q1 2024

Q4 2023

Q3 2023

Q2 2023

North America

57,918

55,158

54,882

54,848

52,116

Europe

66,072

68,727

65,239

64,662

62,960

Rest of the World

12,810

10,364

10,793

11,250

13,278

Total

136,800

134,249

130,914

130,760

128,354

 

 

Non-GAAP Revenue breakdown
U.S. dollars in thousands 

Three months ended

Six months ended

June 30,

June 30,

2024

2023

2024

2023

Software products and re-occurring post-production services (*)

98,044

82,559

192,285

164,401

Pre-production implementation services (**)

38,756

45,795

78,764

88,729

Total Revenues

136,800

128,354

271,049

253,130

Three months ended

Six months ended

June 30,

June 30,

2024

2023

2024

2023

Software products and re-occurring post-production services (*)

52,237

42,437

102,577

87,286

Pre-production implementation services (**)

10,244

15,555

20,788

27,069

Total Gross profit

62,481

57,992

123,365

114,355

Three months ended

Six months ended

June 30,

June 30,

2024

2023

2024

2023

Software products and re-occurring post-production services (*)

53.3 %

51.4 %

53.3 %

53.1 %

Pre-production implementation services (**)

26.4 %

34.0 %

26.4 %

30.5 %

Gross Margin

45.7 %

45.2 %

45.5 %

45.2 %

(*) Software products and re-occurring post-production services include
mainly subscription, term license, maintenance, application maintenance, 
cloud solutions and post-production services. This revenue stream is a
mix of recurring and re-occurring in nature.

(**) Pre-production implementation services include mainly implementation
services before go-live, which are one-time in nature.

 

 

 

Adjusted Free Cash-Flow
U.S. dollars in thousands 

Q2 2024

Q1 2024

Q4 2023

Q3 2023

Q2 2023

Cash-flow from operating activities

8,545

18,488

38,646

3,988

14,603

Increase in capitalized software development costs

(1,823)

(1,717)

(1,543)

(1,638)

(1,679)

Capital expenditures

(666)

(466)

(421)

(696)

(775)

Free cash-flow

6,056

16,305

36,682

1,654

12,149

Cash payments attributed to acquisition-related costs(*) (**)

134

751

221

Adjusted free cash-flow

6,190

17,056

36,903

1,654

12,149

(*) Included in cash-flow from operating activities

(**) Acquisition-related payments pertain to charges on behalf of M&A agreements related to future performance targets and retention criteria, as well as completed or prospective third-party services, such as tax, accounting and legal.

 

 

 

SAPIENS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION N.V. AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
U.S. dollars in thousands 

June 30,

December 31,

2024

2023

 (unaudited)

 (unaudited)

 ASSETS

 CURRENT ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents

122,646

126,716

Short-term bank deposit

63,800

75,400

Trade receivables, net and unbilled receivables

102,101

90,273

Other receivables and prepaid expenses

20,258

22,514

Total current assets

308,805

314,903

 LONG-TERM ASSETS

Property and equipment, net

12,065

12,661

Severance pay fund

3,360

3,605

Goodwill and intangible assets, net

307,231

317,352

Operating lease right-of-use assets

20,505

23,557

Other long-term assets

15,571

17,546

Total long-term assets

358,732

374,721

 TOTAL ASSETS

667,537

689,624

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

 CURRENT LIABILITIES

Trade payables

11,296

6,291

Current maturities of Series B Debentures

19,796

19,796

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

74,057

77,873

Current maturities of operating lease liabilities

5,705

6,623

Deferred revenue

31,928

38,541

Total current liabilities

142,782

149,124

 LONG-TERM LIABILITIES

Series B Debentures, net of current maturities

19,768

39,543

Deferred tax liabilities

8,517

10,820

Other long-term liabilities

11,469

11,538

Long-term operating lease liabilities

17,816

21,084

Accrued severance pay

7,443

7,568

Total long-term liabilities

65,013

90,553

EQUITY

459,742

449,947

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

667,537

689,624

 

 

SAPIENS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION N.V. AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW
U.S. dollars in thousands

For the six months ended June 30,

2024

2023

(unaudited)

(unaudited)

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

36,118

29,838

Reconciliation of net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

10,349

10,743

Accretion of discount on Series B Debentures

22

32

Capital (gain) loss from sale of property and equipment

(9)

86

Stock-based compensation related to options issued to employees

1,583

1,922

Net changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of amount acquired:

Decrease (increase) in trade receivables, net and unbilled receivables

(12,723)

2,351

Increase (decrease) in deferred tax liabilities, net

(1,428)

45

Decrease (increase) in other operating assets

3,445

(390)

Increase (decrease) in trade payables

4,446

(1,014)

Decrease in other operating liabilities

(8,354)

(12,572)

Increase (decrease) in deferred revenues

(6,587)

5,284

Increase in accrued severance pay, net

171

466

Net cash provided by operating activities

27,033

36,791

Cash flows from investing activities:

Purchase of property and equipment

(1,146)

(1,439)

Proceeds from (investment in) deposits

12,136

(70,002)

Proceeds from sale of property and equipment

14

30

Payments for business acquisitions, net of cash acquired

(375)

Capitalized software development costs

(3,540)

(3,337)

Acquisition of intellectual property

(177)

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

7,089

(74,925)

Cash flows from financing activities:

Proceeds from employee stock options exercised

98

Distribution of dividend

(15,635)

(13,796)

Repayment of Series B Debenture

(19,796)

(19,796)

Acquisition of non-controlling interest

(4,131)

Dividend to non-controlling interest

(47)

Net cash used in financing activities

(39,464)

(33,639)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

1,272

905

Decrease in cash and cash equivalents

(4,070)

(70,868)

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of period

126,716

160,285

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of period

122,646

89,417

Debentures Covenants

As of June 30, 2024, Sapiens was in compliance with all of its financial covenants under the indenture for the Series B Debentures, based on having achieved the following in its consolidated financial results:

Covenant 1 

Target shareholders’ equity (excluding non-controlling interest): above $120 million.Actual shareholders’ equity (excluding non-controlling interest) equal to $459.7 million.

Covenant 2

Target ratio of net financial indebtedness to net capitalization (in each case, as defined under the indenture for the Company’s Series B Debentures) below 65%.Actual ratio of net financial indebtedness to net capitalization equal to (46.79)%.

Covenant 3

Target ratio of net financial indebtedness to EBITDA (accumulated calculation for the four last quarters) is below 5.5.Actual ratio of net financial indebtedness to EBITDA (accumulated calculation for the four last quarters) is equal to (1.45).

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Gentoo Media – Mandatory notification of trade

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ST JULIANS, Malta, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — MJ Foundation Fundacja Rodzinna, a company related to Mateusz Juroszek, Board Member and primary insider of Gentoo Media Inc. (Gentoo) has today acquired 115,604 shares in Gentoo at a price of SEK 24,996 per share. After this transaction, close associates of Mateusz Juroszek hold 24,027,766 shares in Gentoo.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

For further information, contact:
Tore Formo, Group CFO, tore.formo@g2m.com, +47 91668678

About Gentoo Media

Gentoo Media is a market-leading affiliate connecting operators and players in the online gambling and sports betting industry. Gentoo Media offers an array of iGaming affiliate solutions, such as paid marketing expertise and quality traffic through our prominent industry sites including AskGamblers, Time2Play, CasinoTopsOnline, WSN and Casinomeister. In 2024, Gentoo Media (formerly GiG Media) became Gentoo Media Inc. following a legal split separating the Media and Platform and Sportsbook business in Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) into two independently listed companies. Gentoo Media Inc. is dual listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker “G2MNO”) and Nasdaq Stockholm (ticker “G2M”). www.gentoomedia.com

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Xinhua Silk Road: World IoT expo 2024 opens in E. China’s Wuxi to showcase future of smart connectivity

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BEIJING, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The World Internet of Things (IoT) Exposition 2024 kicked off on Monday in Wuxi City of east China’s Jiangsu Province, attracting industry leaders, representatives of enterprises and experts from across the globe to discuss industry trends and demonstrate innovative applications.

At the expo’s opening ceremony, Wuxi unveiled a national pilot project in intelligent connected vehicles, which aims to create a cohesive mode for car owners, vehicles and cities connection, contributing Wuxi’s expertise to smart vehicle initiatives.

Additionally, a new smart sensing chip engineering center was launched, representing an investment of over 1 billion yuan and focusing on high-density large-scale substrates and other advanced chip technologies to strengthen the city’s integrated circuit development.

The event also saw the release of several major IoT research achievements, including the 2024 IoT innovation development Taihu index and the 2024 white paper on advanced sensing technology and applications.

The three-day event features exhibitions, panel discussions, and thematic sessions that showcase the latest development in IoT innovations and applications. This year’s expo is poised to drive Wuxi’s high-quality growth in IoT while promoting global tech collaboration and knowledge sharing in the IoT field.

Wuxi has become a navigator of the IoT industry in China. The latest statistics show that in 2023, the scale of the IoT industrial cluster in Wuxi surpassed 450 billion yuan, taking the lead in Jiangsu Province.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/343117.html

SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road

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Agoda Highlights Five Urban Hikes for Adventurous Travelers

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SINGAPORE, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Digital travel platform Agoda introduces five urban hikes across Asia, offering travelers a chance to experience the perfect blend of city life and nature. These hikes, ranging from family-friendly to more challenging trails, provide an unmatched perspective on some of Asia’s most dynamic cities.

Whether it’s Elephant Hill in Taipei, with its stunning views of the Taipei 101, or Hong Kong’s famous Dragon Back, active travelers are in for a treat when embarking on these city hike adventures.

Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President, Supply at Agoda said: “Asia is special to have so many incredible hike routes right in the heart of these popular cities. The five highlighted hikes are just a sample of the many breathtaking city trails the continent has to offer. Adventurous travelers will want to try them all and thankfully Agoda helps make travel affordable with great value deals on over 4.5 million properties globally.”

These are the five city hikes, ranked from easiest to most challenging:

Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve offers a unique experience of trekking through a tropical rainforest right in the city center. The trail is relatively easy, with well-marked paths and informative signboards about the local flora and fauna, making it a great choice for families and nature enthusiasts.

Elephant Hill in Taipei offers a short but rewarding climb. The trail is well-maintained and provides stunning views of Taipei’s skyline, including the famous Taipei 101. It’s an ideal spot for those looking to enjoy a quick escape into nature without straying far from the city.

In Singapore, the Southern Ridges trail offers a moderate hike through a series of interconnected parks and gardens. Spanning 10 kilometers, this trail provides a lush green corridor amidst the urban environment, with highlights including the Henderson Waves bridge and panoramic views of the city.

Namsan in Seoul presents a slightly more challenging hike, leading to the N Seoul Tower. The trail is popular among locals and tourists alike, offering a mix of natural beauty and cultural landmarks, with several routes to choose from depending on the desired difficulty level.

Finally, Hong Kong’s Dragon’s Back is a favorite for its breathtaking views of the coastline and the South China Sea. This moderately challenging hike is known for its undulating ridges and scenic vistas, providing a rewarding experience for those willing to tackle its ups and downs.

In each of these city hike destinations, Agoda offers great value accommodation. In addition to holiday properties, Agoda’s 130,000 flight routes and 300,000 activities ensure the platform is the one-stop travel solution to help booking an entire trip. The latest Agoda deals can be found in the Agoda app or on agoda.com/deals.

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SOURCE Agoda

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