WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Veralto (NYSE: VLTO) (the “Company”), a global leader in essential water and product quality solutions dedicated to Safeguarding the World’s Most Vital Resources™ announced results for the third quarter ended September 27, 2024.

Key Third Quarter 2024 Results

Sales increased 4.7% year-over-year to $1,314 million, with non-GAAP core sales growth of 4.6%Operating profit margin was 23.4% and non-GAAP adjusted operating profit margin was 24.1%Net earnings were $219 million, or $0.88 per diluted common shareNon-GAAP, adjusted net earnings were $223 million, or $0.89 per diluted common shareOperating cash flow was $224 million and non-GAAP free cash flow was $215 million

“Our teams across the world executed well and delivered another quarter of strong performance with mid-single digit core sales growth, robust margin expansion and strong cash generation.  These results once again demonstrate the durability of our businesses, underpinned by global demand for clean water, safe food and trusted essential goods,” said Jennifer L. Honeycutt, President and Chief Executive Officer.  “The growth in Q3 was broad-based across key end markets and regions, highlighted by continued strong demand for industrial water treatment in North America and gradual recovery across consumer-packaged goods markets globally.”

“Our culture of continuous improvement, powered by the Veralto Enterprise System, has fortified our growth and strengthened our execution this year, while also enabling increased investments in sales, marketing and innovation to create future value.”

“Following our strong third quarter performance, we acquired TraceGains, a complementary addition to our packaging and color solutions.  TraceGains expands our ability to provide greater value to consumer brands by helping them digitize critical workflows and accelerate time-to-market.  Its recurring revenue, robust core sales growth, and attractive gross margins strengthen the financial profile of our PQI segment.  Moreover, TraceGains’ focus on increasing food safety is squarely aligned with our purpose — Safeguarding the World’s Most Vital Resources™,” concluded Honeycutt. 

2024 Guidance

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

For the fourth quarter of 2024, Veralto anticipates non-GAAP core sales growth in the low-to-mid single-digits year-over-year with adjusted operating profit margin of approximately 24.0% and adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $0.86 to $0.90 per share.

For the full year 2024, the Company expects core sales growth in the low single-digits with adjusted operating profit margin expansion of approximately 75 basis points.  The Company raised its full year guidance for adjusted diluted earnings per share to a range of $3.44 to $3.48, up from its prior guidance of $3.37 to $3.45 per share.  Free cash flow conversion guidance was maintained at a range of 100% to 110%.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Veralto will discuss its third quarter results and updated financial guidance for 2024 during its quarterly investor conference call tomorrow starting at 8:30 a.m. (ET).  Access to the call, webcast and an accompanying slide presentation will be available on the “Investors” section of Veralto’s website, www.veralto.com, under the subheading “News & Events” and additional materials will be posted to the same section of Veralto’s website.  A replay of the webcast will be available in the same section of Veralto’s website shortly after the conclusion of the call and will remain available until the next quarterly earnings call.

The conference call can be accessed by dialing +1 (800) 274-8461 (U.S.) or +1 (203) 518-9843 (INTL) (Conference ID:  VLTO3Q24).  A replay of the conference call will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call and until November 9, 2024.  You can access the replay dial-in information on the “Investors” section of Veralto’s website under the subheading “News & Events.”

ABOUT VERALTO

With annual sales of $5 billion, Veralto is a global leader in essential technology solutions with a proven track record of solving some of the most complex challenges we face as a society.  Our industry-leading companies with globally recognized brands are building on a long-established legacy of innovation and customer trust to create a safer, cleaner, more vibrant future. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, our global team of 16,000 associates is committed to making an enduring positive impact on our world and united by a powerful purpose: Safeguarding the World’s Most Vital Resources™.

NON-GAAP MEASURES AND SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this earnings release also contains non-GAAP financial measures.  Calculations of these measures, the reasons why we believe these measures provide useful information to investors, a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, as applicable, and other information relating to these non-GAAP measures are included in the supplemental reconciliation schedule attached.

In addition, this earnings release, the slide presentation accompanying the related earnings call, non-GAAP reconciliations and a note containing details of historical and anticipated, future financial performance have been posted to the “Investors” section of Veralto’s website (www.veralto.com) under the subheading “Quarterly Earnings.”

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this release, including the statement regarding the Company’s anticipated fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial performance, the Company’s differentiation and positioning to continue delivering sustainable, long-term shareholder value and any other statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws.  All statements other than historical factual information are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding: projections of revenue, expenses, profit, profit margins, tax rates, tax provisions, cash flows, pension and benefit obligations and funding requirements, Veralto’s liquidity position or other financial measures; Veralto’s management’s plans and strategies for future operations, including statements relating to anticipated operating performance, cost reductions, restructuring activities, new product and service developments, competitive strengths or market position, acquisitions and the integration thereof, divestitures, spin-offs, split-offs or other distributions, strategic opportunities, securities offerings, stock repurchases, dividends and executive compensation; the effects of the separation or the distribution on Veralto’s business; growth, declines and other trends in markets Veralto sells into; new or modified laws, regulations and accounting pronouncements; future regulatory approvals and the timing thereof; outstanding claims, legal proceedings, tax audits and assessments and other contingent liabilities; future foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; general economic and capital markets conditions; the anticipated timing of any of the foregoing; assumptions underlying any of the foregoing; and any other statements that address events or developments that Veralto intends or believes will or may occur in the future.  Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.  These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and except to the extent required by applicable law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise.

Statement Regarding Non-GAAP Measures

Each of the non-GAAP measures set forth above should be considered in addition to, and not as a replacement for or superior to, the comparable GAAP measure, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.  Management believes that these measures provide useful information to investors by offering additional ways of viewing Veralto Corporation’s (“Veralto” or the “Company”) results that, when reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measure, help our investors:

with respect to the profitability-related non-GAAP measures, understand the long-term profitability trends of our business and compare our profitability to prior and future periods and to our peers;with respect to core sales and related sales measures, identify underlying growth trends in our business and compare our sales performance with prior and future periods and to our peers; andwith respect to free cash flow and related cash flow measures (the “FCF Measure”), understand Veralto’s ability to generate cash without external financings, strengthen its balance sheet, invest in its business and grow its business through acquisitions and other strategic opportunities (although a limitation of free cash flow is that it does not take into account the Company’s non-discretionary expenditures, and as a result the entire free cash flow amount is not necessarily available for discretionary expenditures).

Management uses these non-GAAP measures to measure the Company’s operating and financial performance.

The items excluded from the non-GAAP measures set forth above have been excluded for the following reasons:Amortization of Intangible Assets: We exclude the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because the amount and timing of such charges are significantly impacted by the timing, size, number and nature of the acquisitions we consummate. While we have a history of significant acquisition activity, we do not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle, and the amount of an acquisition’s purchase price allocated to intangible assets and related amortization term are unique to each acquisition and can vary significantly from acquisition to acquisition. Exclusion of this amortization expense facilitates more consistent comparisons of operating results over time between our newly acquired and long-held businesses, and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies. We believe however that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets contribute to sales generation and that intangible asset amortization related to past acquisitions will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized.Restructuring Charges: We exclude costs incurred pursuant to discrete restructuring plans that are fundamentally different (in terms of the size, strategic nature and planning requirements, as well as the inconsistent frequency, of such plans) from the ongoing productivity improvements that result from application of the Veralto Enterprise System. Because these restructuring plans are incremental to the core activities that arise in the ordinary course of our business and we believe are not indicative of Veralto’s ongoing operating costs in a given period, we exclude these costs to facilitate a more consistent comparison of operating results over time.Other Adjustments: With respect to the other items excluded from the profitability-related non-GAAP measures, we exclude these items because they are of a nature and/or size that occur with inconsistent frequency, occur for reasons that may be unrelated to Veralto’s commercial performance during the period and/or we believe that such items may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult.Standalone Adjustments: We believe these adjustments provide additional insight into how our businesses are performing, on a normalized basis. However, these non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as inferring that our future results will be unaffected by the items for which the measure adjusts.With respect to core operating profit margin changes, in addition to the explanation set forth in the bullets above relating to “restructuring charges” and “other adjustments”, we exclude the impact of businesses owned for less than one year (or disposed of during such period and not treated as discontinued operations) because the timing, size, number and nature of such transactions can vary significantly from period to period and may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult.With respect to core sales related measures, (1) we exclude the impact of currency translation because it is not under management’s control, is subject to volatility and can obscure underlying business trends, and (2) we exclude the effect of acquisitions and divested product lines because the timing, size, number and nature of such transactions can vary significantly from period-to-period and between us and our peers, which we believe may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult.With respect to the FCF Measure, we exclude payments for additions to property, plant and equipment (net of the proceeds from capital disposals) to demonstrate the amount of operating cash flow for the period that remains after accounting for the Company’s capital expenditure requirements.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/veralto-reports-third-quarter-2024-results-302284633.html

SOURCE Veralto

NEW YORK and TOKYO, Oct. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ – Pixie Dust Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) announced that its board of directors resolved, at its meeting held on October 23, 2024, to delist its American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) from the NASDAQ Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) and submit an application for deregistration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Company has also announced that it has notified NASDAQ of its intention to delist its ADRs voluntarily. Plans regarding the delisting and deregistration are as follows:

1.                  Reasons for Applying for Delisting

The Company listed its ADRs on NASDAQ in August 2023 to access the U.S. capital markets and raise capital through its initial public offering, while benefiting from the increased visibility and credibility of being listed on a major U.S. exchange. Since then, the Company has taken steps to uphold active information disclosure to its shareholders and investors, including the fulfillment of disclosure obligations under the Securities Exchange Act, the preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, and the establishment of internal control systems as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The Company has now decided to delist its ADRs due to the substantial cost of maintaining its NASDAQ listing and the ongoing reporting obligations of the United States Securities laws, and considering all other facts and circumstances, the Company has decided to divert its financial and human resources toward its business growth. Consequently, the Company has also decided to apply for voluntary delisting from NASDAQ and deregistration from the SEC reporting requirements.

The Company plans to file Form 25 with the SEC on or about 10 days after Notice to NASDAQ, which will serve as formal notice to the SEC of our intention to delist. The delisting will become effective 10 days after the Form 25 is filed with the SEC.

2.                  Upon Delisting, the Company’s shares will not be listed on any exchange. 

3.                  Schedule for Delisting and Other Matters (Eastern Standard Time)

Note that the schedule above (including planned effective dates) may change if the Company receives notification from the SEC that it objects to deregistration or requests an extended review or for other reasons.

4.                  After the Delisting and Deregistration

The Company’s ongoing disclosure obligations under the Securities Exchange Act, including the obligation to file annual reports (Form 20-F), will terminate on February 12, 2025, which will be 90 days after the filing of the Form 15-F with the SEC planned November 15, 2024.

The Company’s ADR program is also expected to be terminated on January 21, 2025, in conjunction with the applications for NASDAQ delisting and SEC deregistration. ADR holders with questions should contact The Bank of New York Mellon, the Depositary Bank, using the contact info below.

After the termination of ADR program, outstanding common shares on deposit with Depositary Bank may be settled in accordance with the Deposit Agreement.

5.         Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release, including those that express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those that are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may include projections and estimates concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, financial condition, business strategies and plans, market opportunity, competitive position, industry environment, and potential growth opportunities. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “could”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “continue”, “predict”, “project”, “potential”, “target,” “goal” or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and assumptions about future events. While our management considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, they are inherently subject to significant business, competitive, economic, regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors, including, among others, those discussed in our most recent annual report for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2024, filed under cover of Form 20-F with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under the headings “Risk Factors”, “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects”, and “Business Overview” may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this annual report. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release include our expectations regarding our revenue, expenses, and other operating results.

6.                  Contact information for inquiries regarding the Company’s ADRs:

For Japanese ADR holders applying for share settlement, the Company established a contact center to provide share settlement guidance. See below.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/notice-regarding-plan-to-delist-american-depositary-receipts-from-nasdaq-capital-market-and-deregister-with-us-securities-and-exchange-commission-302284198.html

SOURCE Pixie Dust Technologies

Vertical Raise LLC forced to pay damages in lawsuit confirming tortious interference with contract, unfair competition, and misappropriation of trade secrets

SEATTLE, Oct. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Snap! Mobile, the market leader in school fundraising and technology solutions for high school sports, clubs, and extracurriculars, today announced the following updates in two legal cases:

Snap! Mobile, Inc. v. Vertical Raise LLC (Idaho State Court 2020)
In this action, Snap! Mobile, Inc. (“Snap!” or the “Company”) successfully presented a case that Vertical Raise LLC had tortiously interfered with its contracts. The Company completed a jury trial in August 2021. The final case decision was reached in 2024, resulting in a seven-figure judgment against Vertical Raise LLC plus interest on the judgment from the original verdict date.

Snap! Mobile, Inc. v. Argyrou et. al. (Washington State Court 2019)
In this matter, Snap! Mobile, Inc. sued various former employees who went to work for Vertical Raise LLC, in violation of their agreements with Snap!. Earlier this year, the Washington Court of Appeals reversed a decision of the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The Company now intends to move to trial for damages for their conduct and violations of their agreements. The next stage will include discovery of profits generated while working at Vertical Raise LLC and violating their agreements to determine the extent of damages to be awarded.

About Snap! Mobile, Inc.
Snap! Mobile, the safest and most secure platform for school software and fundraising, has been proudly supporting programs around the country with simple and dependable services since 2014. Snap! Raise has raised more than $900 million dollars for over 125,000 groups and teams through over 12.5 million participants and donors. In addition to the Snap! Raise fundraising solution, Snap! Mobile further supports schools, groups, and teams with its other brands and products: Snap! Spend (transparent money management solution), Snap! Store (spirit wear), FanX, and Snap! Manage (integrated scheduling, communication, and registration solution). To see how Snap! Mobile can support your program, visit snapraise.com.

Contact:
Mark Ballard
646-391-0453
mark@harmonica.co

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/snap-mobile-announces-updates-in-two-legal-cases-302285142.html

SOURCE Snap! Mobile