MONTRÉAL, Oct. 2, 2024 /CNW/ – A hearing has been scheduled before a hearing panel of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) pursuant to the Investment Dealer and Partially Consolidated Rules to consider a settlement agreement between CIRO Enforcement Staff and Desjardins Securities Inc.

The hearing will become open to the public in the event that the panel accepts the settlement agreement. If the settlement agreement is accepted, the panel’s decision and the settlement agreement will be made available at www.ciro.ca.

Settlement Hearing Date:    November 5, 2024 at 1:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Location:                                Montréal, Québec (by videoconference)

Members of the public who would like to obtain further particulars should fill out this questionnaire.

The Notice of Application announcing the settlement hearing is available at:

Desjardins Securities Inc. – Notice of Application

Desjardins Securities Inc. is CIRO-regulated investment dealer.

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers, mutual fund dealers and trading activity on Canada’s debt and equity marketplaces. CIRO is committed to the protection of investors, providing efficient and consistent regulation, and building Canadians’ trust in financial regulation and the people managing their investments. For more information, visit www.ciro.ca.

All information about disciplinary proceedings relating to current and former member firms and individual registrants under the Investment Dealer and Partially Consolidated Rules (for investment dealers), the Mutual Fund Dealer Rules (for mutual fund dealers) and the Universal Market Integrity Rules (UMIR) is available on CIRO’s website. 

Background information regarding the qualifications and disciplinary history, if any, of advisors currently employed by CIRO-regulated investment firms is available free of charge through the AdvisorReport service. Information on how to make dealer, advisor or marketplace-related complaints is available by calling 1-877-442-4322.

CIRO investigates possible misconduct by its member firms and individual registrants. It can bring disciplinary proceedings which may result in sanctions including fines, suspensions, permanent bars, expulsion from membership, or termination of rights and privileges for individuals and firms.

SOURCE Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Easy Ice, the nation’s largest provider of commercial ice machine leases, has closed on another 2024 acquisition—this time, taking over the ice machine leasing operations of Credential Leasing & Finance in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Credential Leasing & Finance has been in business since 1960, proudly operating as one of the oldest privately owned equipment leasing companies in the United States. As Easy Ice takes over the ice machine leasing portion of their business, Credential will continue to provide the personalized, solution-oriented leasing of other types of equipment to their customers that has made them so well known in the area.

This serves as another opportunity for Easy Ice to expand its operations in a key region—adding much more density to the DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia markets.

“We are extremely excited to add growth to this area,” says Daren Boruff, Chief Acquisitions Officer at Easy Ice, “Integrating Credential’s operations into ours will be a huge step for Easy Ice in this region, allowing us to significantly expand our reach and give more businesses the superior service that Easy Ice offers. We look forward to more customers getting their ice the Easy Way!”

As with their past integrations, the transition for Credential Leasing & Finance’s ice machine leasing customers will be seamless as they join Easy Ice’s ever-growing base of customers across the United States.

About Easy Ice

Founded in 2009, Easy Ice has changed the way businesses manage their ice supply—moving them away from ice machine ownership and toward a managed leasing solution. With over 35,000 machines under their management across 47 states, they’ve made affordable ice machine leases available to customers all over the US. For more information, please visit www.easyice.com.

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SOURCE Easy Ice

HOBOKEN, N.J., Oct. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Quantum Computing Inc. (“QCi” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: QUBT), an innovative, integrated photonics and quantum optics technology company, today released financial results for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2024, which contain restated financial results for the quarterly periods ended June 30, 2023.

Dr William McGann, Chief Executive Officer of QCi, commented, “During the first half of 2024, we strengthened our position in the quantum computing landscape. Our progress on establishing our U.S.-based Thin Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) foundry is proceeding well, marking a critical step toward positioning QCi as a leader in the growing optical chip market. Our partnerships continued to evolve, highlighted by our successful product sale to Johns Hopkins University and ongoing collaboration with NASA. I’m also pleased to announce that with the filing of these financial results, we have taken key steps to regain compliance with Nasdaq and are now caught up with our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements. Like some other companies that experienced delays due to forced auditor transitions, we’ve navigated this process effectively while ensuring adherence to best practices. We are now well-positioned to continue advancing our mission.”

Second Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights:

Second quarter 2024 revenues totaled approximately $183,000 (32% gross margin) compared to $112,000 (54% gross margin) generated in the second quarter 2023. The increase in revenues was due to increased contractual sales. The decrease in gross margin was nearly entirely the result of revenue in the current period being primarily comprised of customized research and development as compared to consulting services revenue in the prior period.Second quarter 2024 operating expenses totaled $5.3 million compared to the previous year’s second quarter operating expenses of $7.0 million. The 24% period-over-period decrease is primarily a result of the Company’s disciplined strategy to minimize general and administrative expenses as well as net reductions in stock-based compensation.The Company reported a net loss available to common stockholders of $5.2 million, or $(0.06) per basic share for the second quarter of 2024, compared to a net loss available to common stockholders of $7.6 million or $(0.12) per basic share for the same period of the previous year.Total assets at June 30, 2024 were $76.0 million, increasing from $74.4 million at December 31, 2023. Cash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2024 increased $0.5 million from year-end 2023 to $2.5 million. Subsequent to the close of the quarter, the Company raised net proceeds of $7.0 million in a secured convertible debt financing.Total liabilities at June 30, 2024 were $3.6 million, a decrease of approximately $2.1 million compared to year-end 2023, driven primarily by the Company’s monthly repayment of its unsecured debt, which was paid in full in the first quarter of 2024, and sizable reduction in accrued expenses reflecting the issuance of restricted stock grants.As of June 30, 2024, the Company had shareholders’ equity totaling $65.5 million.

Second Quarter 2024 Operational Highlights

Successful Quantum LiDAR Prototype Sale: QCi executed the sale of a quantum LiDAR prototype to Johns Hopkins University for $200,000. This sale marked a significant advancement in underwater LiDAR technology and showcases the commercial potential of QCi’s quantum solutions across diverse applications.Enhanced Sales Strategy: QCi appointed Richard Nelson as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Pouya Dianet as Director of TFLN Optical Chip Sales to accelerate market penetration and expand global sales of QCi’s quantum technologies.TFLN Foundry Progress: The Company continues to advance its strategic initiative to establish the first U.S.-based TFLN fabrication facility in Tempe, Arizona, a key element of QCi’s long-term strategy to become a leader in the optical chip market, and to secure offtake agreements for future chip sales from the foundry.Subsequent to the Quarter: In line with the Company’s initiative to expand its partnerships with government agencies and laboratories, QCi announced the extension of its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This strategic collaborative agreement focuses on QCi’s new entropy quantum optimization machine, Dirac-3, and its capabilities to quickly and efficiently solve highly complex problems associated with quantum simulations, social networks, protein structure prediction, and telecommunications.

Additionally, the Company filed with the SEC its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ending March 31, 2024, which contains restated financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023. As previously disclosed, following the entry of a cease-and-desist order by the SEC against the Company’s former auditor, BF Borgers CPA PC, the Company engaged a new independent registered public accounting firm, BPM LLP, to reaudit 2023 and 2022 financial results and the quarterly financial results released today.  While the auditor transition was the primary reason for the delay in our March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024, quarterly filings, we do not expect any further delays going forward.

Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi) (Nasdaq: QUBT) is an innovative, integrated photonics company that provides accessible and affordable quantum machines to the world today. QCi products are designed to operate at room temperature and low power at an affordable cost. The Company’s portfolio of core technology and products offer unique capabilities in the areas of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity as well as remote sensing applications.

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SOURCE Quantum Computing Inc.