Evonik confirms full-year earnings outlook despite ongoing weakness in global economy

Key Financial Data: Third quarter 2019

2019: Adjusted EBITDA to remain at least stable


Free cash flow outlook for full year confirmed and specified: around €700 million


Q3: Sales and operating earnings below year-ago period


Stricter cost discipline supports earnings




Essen, Germany. Evonik is sticking to its full-year earnings outlook despite an ongoing weakness in the global economy.

The company expects adjusted EBITDA to remain at least stable compared with last year. Sales are now expected to be slightly lower than the previous year because of lower demand. Evonik had expected sales to remain stable. In 2018 Evonik generated - excluding the divested Methacrylates business - sales of

€13.3 billion and adjusted EBITDA of €2.15 billion.




“We prepared ourselves at an early stage with stricter cost discipline and additional contingency measures for a cooling global economy,” said Christian Kullmann, chairman of Evonik’s executive board. “We are being very proactive to ensure we meet our full-year outlook.”




The 2018 initiated efficiency program to reduce administrative and selling expenses by €200 million annually has been accelerated. By end of this year, Evonik will achieve €120 million of savings, €20 million more than originally planned. A further €20 million will be saved with additional contingency measures such as delaying new hires and more restrictive expenditure on external services.




Evonik is specifying its full-year outlook for free cash flow and

is now expecting a level of around €700 million, a significantly higher free cash flow compared with last year. This is mainly due to lower capex spending, less build-up of net working capital and the partial reimbursement of pension payments from the Contractual Trust Arrangement (CTA). The more precise outlook does not include taxes incurred from the carve out of the divested Methacrylates business.




The global economic slowdown continued to impact Evonik’s performance in the third quarter. In the months July to September sales fell 3 percent to €3.23 billion due to lower volumes and selling prices. Adjusted EBITDA fell 6 percent year-on-year to €543 million.




Segment Performance




Resource Efficiency: Segment sales declined 1 percent to

€1.4 billion in the third quarter. Coatings as well as the adhesive and resins business was affected by the global economic slowdown, especially in the automotive and coatings sector.

Sales volumes declined for industry-related silica applications.

In contrast, high-performance polymers benefited from solid demand for membranes and from the 3D printing industry. Crosslinkers saw high demand from the wind industry.

Adjusted EBITDA dropped 4 percent to €322 million.




Nutrition & Care: Sales declined 2 percent to €1.14 billion in the third quarter. Demand for essential amino acids for animal nutrition remained high while selling prices declined further. In the Health Care business sales increased, especially due to good demand for pharma and food ingredients. Sales increased significantly for polyurethane-foam additives, mostly on high demand for durable consumer goods and insulation. Adjusted EBITDA at the segment dropped 11 percent to €188 million.




Performance Materials: Sales in the third quarter decreased

20 percent to €475 million compared with the prior-year quarter. Development at Performance Intermediates was impaired by a lower oil and naphtha price and slightly lower selling prices. Continuing constraints in raw-material supply and technical problems at the C4 plants in Marl and Antwerp weighed on earnings. At Functional Solutions the alkoxides business developed well. Adjusted EBITDA declined 25 percent to

€47 million at the segment.

How CIOs and IT Teams in Egypt can Prepare for Life on the Edge

Author: Jacob Chacko, Regional Business Head - Middle East at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company




IT teams have been under pressure to introduce a range of new technologies into businesses, across multiple departments and functions. These range from IoT, to AI and machine learning, data processing alongside traditional functional technologies like CRM systems. The network edge represents the culmination of these technologies coming together. According to Gartner, edge computing will be a necessary requirement for all digital businesses by 2022. With potentially trillions of dollars being invested in the hope of generating huge economic returns, the argument for paying attention to the Edge opportunity is clear and the window for learning and action is narrowing.




The challenge for IT teams is to lead the pursuit of these edge-based strategies across the business, and manage the edge environments, from user devices to operational technology all with data security as a priority.




In the findings of the e-book commissioned by Aruba entitled ‘Opportunity at the Edge: Change, Challenge, and Transformation on the Path to 2025’, many interviewees and survey respondents highlight the sheer scale of the technology ecosystem that IT must manage in an edge environment. For example, in a university environment, IT now must accommodate and support the range of student devices being used across campus – from laptops to smart speakers – plus IoT-enabled environments such as temperature sensors and security cameras. At the same time, all the university functions from catering to the athletics department are deploying an ever-wider array of technologies at the edge that need to be bound into the network and supported in a secure manner.




Innovation, Change and Transformation Advisor Philippe Choné reinforces this point: “Products used to be physical things. Now products come with a layer of software and data and that points to an ecosystem. Product management and strategy, then, needs to involve not only IT partners but also legal compliance.”




Part of the challenge for the C-suite is ensuring leaders have enough understanding and digital literacy to drive and support the IT function to fulfil its crucial emerging role in a business pursuing edge strategy.




Building an Edge-Capable IT Function

Across the expert interviews, survey, and secondary research, the issue of upgrading IT capabilities was raised consistently. Emphasis was placed on the need for the C-suite to reassure itself that the IT function fully understands the requirements and challenges of delivering seamless and secure service across tens of thousands of digital touchpoints, with focus on four key issues.




First, the management, integration, and security of a highly distributed IT infrastructure spanning from the core of the business via the cloud to the new network edge. Typically, this ecosystem includes users, fixed and mobile edge devices, applications, data, distributed data centres, networks, gateways, on-premises infrastructure, cloud services, infrastructure management processes, security management, and reporting. Key here is flexibility, as most organizations cannot say with certainty just how many digital touch-points they might create over the next three to five years in an edge environment. Hence the infrastructure strategy needs to allow for the potential for the number of edge-connected devices to increase by 10X, 100X, or 1000X – placing the spotlight on the scalability and interoperability of the technology choices being made.




Second, the collection, storage, management, security, privacy protection, and governance of data becomes a heightened priority as the organization increasingly reinvents itself around this core asset.




Third, the sheer complexity of such environments will drive organizations to make far greater use of smart software applications operating at every level from device monitoring to management of the entire ecosystem. While AI will have a clear role to play, it is critical that every component in the software architecture can be monitored with full traceability of how it made its decisions. This may be a major challenge with many of the current AI applications that cannot explain their reasoning.




Fourth, as highlighted earlier, the edge represents a massive increase in potential security risks as every device and network touchpoint becomes a potential point of vulnerability and source of threat. The InfoSec Institute highlights a number of critical risks that need to be managed, including weak device access passwords; insecure communications; data collected and transmitted by devices being largely unencrypted and unauthenticated; physical security risks for individual devices; and poor service visibility, with security teams unaware of the services running on certain devices.




The edge clearly represents a massive business opportunity and delivering on it will inevitably mean the C-suite spending progressively greater amounts of time truly understanding the IT capabilities being delivered. Leaders will need to be immersed enough to know if their IT function, its infrastructure, and its key partners are fit for purpose and can provide a robust platform to enable a range of future options.

AUC LAUNCHES LIFE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS

November 5, 2019, Cairo – In an effort to support students in navigating their educational journey and future careers, The American University in Cairo (AUC) launched the Life Mentorship Program (LMP) to provide academic, career and personal support through individual mentoring by faculty, alumni and entrepreneurs. Ahmed Tolba, associate provost for strategic enrollment management, and associate professor of marketing at AUC said: “We first launched the Faculty Mentorship Program with 20 faculty mentors and 40 students in Spring 2017. After the success of the Faculty Mentorship Program, we launched the Alumni Mentorship Program, along with the Entrepreneurial Mentorship Program in Spring 2019. We now have 42 faculty members matched with 80 students,” said Tolba.


So far the program has served 180 students since its launch. According to May Ramy, director of academic initiatives and mentoring services, LMP has mentors from diverse fields, backgrounds and professions. “Our faculty mentors are from all academic disciplines at AUC and our alumni mentors have diverse backgrounds including: finance and investment, petroleum, IT, banking, life coaching, marketing, management and consulting, and community development. In addition to entrepreneurial mentors from many different industries and fields.”




Through the Alumni Mentorship Program, students get to discover the different career paths ahead of them and through the Entrepreneurial Mentorship Program, they are matched with entrepreneurs and business experts to help them put their start-up idea into action. “During the interviewing process with the students, we discovered that we have more than 30 students with promising start-up ideas. So, it was great to know that the mentees are already matched with mentors who can pass on their experiences and business advice to them to take their businesses to the next level,” said Tolba.




To ensure that the students receive the best outcome from the program, Tolba explained that they have conducted professional development programs over the past two years to ensure that the mentors are always up to date with the best mentoring techniques. “We also needed to bring their awareness to what facilities and resources are available at AUC so they can best serve the students. Most importantly, we wanted to make sure that the mentors know how to deal with students if they need psychological help or if they have a disability that requires support from a different office. The Center for Student Well-Being also provided training to the faculty on when to stop mentoring if a different kind of help is needed and where to head for professional help on campus.”




Mentoring is a critical component for creating an environment where AUC students could thrive personally, socially, and academically. For George Angly, business administration junior, the faculty mentorship program has proved to be a positive experience: “I feel so lucky that I joined the Life Mentorship Program since its launch. With a different mentor every semester, I believe I have developed a better understanding of myself, my desires, and my passion. A relaxed conversation with your mentor is all what it takes to gain wisdom and view life from a different angle.”




Tolba explained that the program has not only positively affected students but also managed to enrich the life experience of the mentors. “We have also witnessed a strong interest from AUC alumni to give back to AUC by dedicating time and offering mentorship to students.”




Alumni mentor Nadine Moussa ’97, who is an author, coach and marketer, said: “It is a great honor to be part of AUC’s Life Mentorship Program, a small token of giving back to our glorious days at AUC. I personally did not have the privilege of a mentor guiding me in my earlier career... I see the benefits it provides to younger fellow AUCians, helping to guide and support them, and offering them a true invaluable service.”




At the end of each semester, LMP team requires the feedback of the members of the program, through a questionnaire. Feedback on the program has been positive: more than 80 per cent of the enrolled students expressed their extreme satisfaction with the program, and more than 80 per cent of the alumni mentors wish to continue mentoring students. By the end of 2020, the plan is to serve 200 students and expand the network of alumni mentors to 120.




Developing a digital network platform is also part of the future development plan of the LMP. “We are planning to launch a digitized system that automatically matches the students with their respective mentors, instead of the ongoing matching process done by our team. Such platform should engage and benefit all of AUC community and highlight the existing opportunities and possibilities for the students,” said Ramy.




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And Twitter @AUC

Del Monte® Opens Its Fresh-Cut Facility in Kuwait

The new state-of-the-art facility offers just-in-time delivery capabilities

Kuwait City, Kuwait, 06 November 2019, (AETOSWire): Del Monte®, a leading provider of fresh, healthy and great-tasting food to consumers around the globe, opened its fresh-cut facility in Kuwait on Monday October 21, 2019. The opening comes in line with Del Monte’s endeavors to expand in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in continuation of its success story since its first debut in the UAE in 2007.




The ceremony was attended by Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fresh Del Monte Produce; Larry Memmott, Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Kuwait; Shari Stout, Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Embassy Kuwait; Saqr Abu-Shattal, Ambassador of Jordan to Kuwait; Ayman Al-Basha, Commercial Division Manager/Fresh Foods, The Sultan Center; Makram Malaeb, Corporate Commercial Director at The Sultan Center; Muntaser Al-Qadah, General Manager, McDonald’s Kuwait; Charbel BuMusa, Procurements and Quality Manger, McDonald’s Kuwait; Ian Parkes, Deputy Chief of Production Unit, Foods and Restaurants Division, Alshaya Group; Mohammed Abbas, VP for APMENA region, Del Monte; and Akram Kamal, General Manager, Del Monte Kuwait.




“The newly launched fresh-cut facility is yet another milestone achieved by Del Monte® under its expansion strategy in the MENA markets,” commented Mohammed Abbas, VP for APMENA region. “The new launch will foster our position as a leading provider of fresh fruit and vegetables that boost wellness and healthier lifestyle of the people.”




He added, “The successes achieved by Del Monte in the region since 2007 are a result of its more than 125 years old passion of providing healthy nutrition and products. Our new fresh-cut facility is the chosen fresh produce supplier of large companies such as Mc Donald`s in Kuwait, which is a testimony of the quality of products and services we provide.”




The new state-of-the-art facility offers just-in-time delivery capabilities including cold storage facilities, fresh-cut fruit and vegetable operations, and an ultra-fresh juice manufacturing operation. It reflects the principles of product innovation, quality, freshness and reliability that Del Monte® has adopted since its inception over a century and two decades ago.




“We are glad for this recent development, and are determined to push forward our reach in Kuwait and the wider MENA region in order to continue providing healthy and fresh food to people of the region, and be an integral part of their healthy lifestyle,” Mohammed Abbas concluded.

دل مونتي تفتتح منشأتها للمنتجات الطازجة في الكويت

توفر المنشأة المتطورة الجديدة قدرات توصيل في الوقت المناسب

مدينة الكويت، الكويت، 06 نوفمبر 2019، ("ايتوس واير"): افتتحت "دل مونتي"، المزود الرائد للأغذية الطازجة والصحية والشهية للمستهلكين في جميع أنحاء العالم، منشأتها للمنتجات الطازجة في الكويت وذلك يوم الاثنين الموافق 21 أكتوبر 2019. ويأتي الافتتاح في إطار جهود "دل مونتي" لتوسيع حضورها في العالم ومنطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا خاصة ومتابعة قصة نجاحها التي حققتها في هذه المنطقة منذ 2007 ابتداءً من دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة.

وحضر حفل الافتتاح كل من محمد أبو غزالة، رئيس مجلس الإدارة لشركة "دل مونتي"؛ ولاري ميموت، نائب سفير الولايات المتحدة الامريكية لدى دولة الكويت؛ وشاري ستاوت، المسؤول التجاري بالسفارة الامريكية في الكويت؛ وصقر ابو شتال، سفير المملكة الاردنية الهاشمية لدى الكويت؛ وأيمن الباشا، المدير التجاري لقسم الأغذية الطازجة لمركز السلطان؛ ومكرم ملاعب، المدير التنفيذي لمركز السلطان؛ ومنتصر القدح، المدير العام لشركة "ماكدونالدز" في الكويت؛ وشربل بوموسى، مدير إدارة المشتريات والجودة لشركة "ماكدونالدز" في الكويت؛ وأيان باركس، نائب رئيس وحدة الإنتاج، إدارة الأغذية والمطاعم لمجموعة الشايع؛ ومحمد عباس، نائب الرئيس الأول لمنطقة آسيا والشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا لشركة "دل مونتي"؛ وأكرم كمال، المدير العام لشركة "دل مونتي" في الكويت.

وقال محمد عباس، نائب رئيس مجلس الإدارة لشركة "دل مونتي" في سياق تعليقه: "تعتبر منشأة المنتجات الطازجة الجديدة إنجازاً آخر تحققه ’دل مونتي‘ ضمن إطار استراتيجية التوسع الخاصة بها في أسواق منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا. سيعزز هذه الإطلاق الجديد من مكانتنا كمزود رائد للخضراوات والفواكه الطازجة التي تعزز العافية ونمط الحياة الصحي".

وأضاف: "لقد كانت النجاحات التي حققتها ’دل مونتي‘ في المنطقة منذ عام 2007 نتيجة طبيعية لشغفها الذي يمتد لأكثر من 125 عاماً في تقديم الأغذية والمنتجات الصحية، وإن منشأة المنتجات الطازجة الجديدة هي المزود المختار لهذ النوع من الأغذية لشركات كبيرة مثل ’ماكدونالدز‘ في الكويت الأمر الذي يبرهن على جودة المنتجات والخدمات التي نقدمها".

وتوفر المنشأة المتطورة الجديدة قدرات توصيل في الوقت المناسب وتشتمل على منشآت التخزين المبرد، والعمليات الخاصة بالفواكه والخضراوات الطازجة، وتصنيع العصائر الطبيعية الطازجة. كما تجسد المنشأة مبادئ الابتكار في المنتجات، والجودة، ونضارة الأغذية، والمصداقية، والتي تبنّتها ’دل مونتي‘ منذ تأسيسها قبل أكثر من قرن وعقدين من الزمن".

واختتم محمد عباس: "نحن مسرورون لهذا التطور الأخير الذي حققناه، وعازمون على المضي قدماً في توسيع حضورنا في الكويت ومنطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا الأوسع لكي نواصل تقديم الأغذية الطازجة والصحية إلى شعوب المنطقة ونكون جزءاً لا يتجزأ من نمط حياتها الصحي".

New Research Finds the Salesforce Economy Will Create More than USD 1 Trillion in New Business Revenues and 4.2 Million Jobs between 2019 and 2024

 

Salesforce ecosystem is on track to become nearly six times larger than Salesforce itself by 2024, earning USD 5.80 for every dollar Salesforce makes;



Financial services, manufacturing and retail industries will lead the way, creating USD 224 billion, USD 212 billion and USD 134 billion in new business revenue respectively by 2024



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, 6 November 2019 — Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced new research from IDC that finds Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners will create 4.2 million new jobs and USD 1.2 trillion in new business revenues worldwide between 2019 and 2024. The research also finds Salesforce is driving massive gains for its partner ecosystem, which will see USD 5.80 in gains for every USD 1 Salesforce makes by 2024.



Cloud computing is driving this growth and giving rise to a host of new technologies, including mobile, social, IoT and AI, that are creating new revenue streams and jobs that further fuel the growth of the cloud — creating an ongoing virtuous cycle of innovation and growth.



According to IDC, by 2024 nearly 50 percent of cloud computing software spend will be tied to digital transformation and will account for nearly half of all software sales. Worldwide spending on cloud computing between now and 2024 will grow 19 percent annually, from USD 179 billion in 2019 to USD 418 billion in 2024.



“The Salesforce ecosystem is made possible by the amazing work of our customers and partners around the world, and because of our collaboration we’re able to generate the business and job growth that we see today,” said Tyler Prince, EVP, Industries and Partners at Salesforce. “Whether it’s through industry-specific extensions or business-aligned apps, the Salesforce Customer 360 platform helps accelerate the growth of our partner ecosystem, and most importantly, the growth of our customers.”



Because organizations that spend on cloud computing subscriptions also spend on ancillary products and services, the Salesforce ecosystem in 2019 is more than four times larger than Salesforce itself and will grow to almost six times larger by 2024. IDC estimates that from 2019 through 2024, Salesforce will drive the creation of 6.6 million indirect jobs, which are created from spending in the general economy by those people filling the 4.2 million jobs previously mentioned.



“The tech skills gap will become a major roadblock for economic growth if we don’t empower everyone - regardless of class, race or gender - to skill up for the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Sarah Franklin, EVP and GM of Platform, Developers and Trailhead at Salesforce. “With Trailhead, our free online learning platform, people don’t need to carry six figures in debt to land a top job; instead, anyone with an Internet connection can now have an equal pathway to landing a job in the Salesforce Economy.”



Industry Economic Benefits of the Salesforce Economy



In this study, IDC looked at how the Salesforce Economy will impact revenue and job growth for six specific industries.


Financial Services industry will gain USD 224.3 billion in new revenues and 730,900 new jobs will be created by 2024.
Manufacturing industry will gain USD 211.7 billion in new revenues and 765,800 new jobs will be created by 2024.
Retail industry will gain USD 134.8 billion in new revenues and 539,700 new jobs will be created by 2024.
Comms and Media industry will gain USD 129.7 billion in new revenues and 473,800 new jobs will be created by 2024.
Healthcare and Life Sciences industry will gain USD 68.5 billion in new revenues and 222,600 new jobs will be created by 2024.
Government industry will gain USD 64.7 billion in new revenues and 254,400 new jobs will be created by 2024.



The Dynamic Salesforce Ecosystem



Salesforce’s multi-faceted ecosystem is the driving force behind the Salesforce Economy’s massive growth:



The global ecosystem includes multiple stakeholders, all of which play an integral part in the Salesforce Economy. This includes the world’s top five consulting firms, all of whom have prominent Salesforce digital transformation practices; independent software vendors (ISVs) that build their businesses on the Salesforce Customer 360 Platform and bring Salesforce into new industries; more than 1,200 Community Groups, with different areas of focus and expertise; and more than 200 Salesforce MVPs, product experts and brand advocates.



Launched in 2006, Salesforce AppExchange is the world’s largest enterprise cloud marketplace, and hosts more than 4,000 solutions including apps, templates, bots and components that have been downloaded more than 7 million times. Ninety-five percent of the Fortune 100, 81 percent of the Fortune 500, and 86 percent of Salesforce customers are using AppExchange apps.



Trailhead is Salesforce’s free online learning platform that empowers anyone to skill up for the future, learn in-demand skills and land a top job in the Salesforce Economy. Since Trailhead launched in 2014, more than 1.7 million Trailblazers have earned over 17.5 million badges; a quarter of all learners on Trailhead have leveraged their newfound skills to jump-start their careers with new jobs. Indeed, the world’s #1 job site, included Salesforce Developer in its list of best jobs in the US for 2019, noting that the number of job postings for that position had increased 129 percent year-over-year.



Additional Resources

Download a full copy of the IDC White Paper, “The Salesforce Economy in the Next Six Years” at: https://www.salesforce.com/salesforceeconomy/.

Link to Tyler Prince/Sarah Franklin newsroom Q&A: https://www.salesforce.com/company/news-press/stories/2019/10/102419-IDCandSalesforce/.

Visit the Salesforce AppExchange at http://www.appexchange.com.

Trailhead: https://trailhead.com/

Follow @salesforce on Twitter.



IDC Methodology

The Salesforce Economic Impact Model is an extension to IDC's IT Economic Impact Model. It estimates Salesforce's current and future share of the benefits to the general economy generated by cloud computing, and it also estimates the size of the ecosystem supporting Salesforce using IDC's market research on the ratio of spending on professional services to cloud subscriptions; the ratio of sales of hardware, software, and networking to spending on public and private cloud computing; and the ratio of spending on application development tools to applications developed.



Note that the ecosystem may include companies that are not formal business partners of Salesforce but that nevertheless sell products or services associated with the Salesforce implementations.

Tyler Prince, Salesforce