Organon and Cirqle Biomedical Enter Research Collaboration and License Agreement for Investigational Non-hormonal, On-demand Contraceptive Candidate

 Collaboration continues to expand portfolio in women’s health to help address unmet needs

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global women’s healthcare company, and Cirqle Biomedical today announced they have entered into a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement for a novel investigational non-hormonal, on-demand contraceptive candidate.

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“As a leader in contraception, we believe it is critically important to bring forward new options for women, especially in the space of non-hormonal contraceptives, a category preferred by many with limited available options,” said Sandra Milligan, M.D., Organon’s head of Research and Development. “Organon is committed to driving innovation across women’s health and collaborating with companies like Cirqle Biomedical to support early science and bring forward new solutions that address the unmet needs of women.”

Encouraging preclinical research suggests that Cirqle has discovered a method that has the potential to create a temporary barrier to sperm transport by topically reinforcing the existing cervical mucus barrier.

“This collaboration is an important opportunity to advance our preclinical research exploring this asset’s first-in-class potential,” said Frederik Petursson Madsen, Cirqle Biomedical, CEO. “We are excited to join Organon to leverage Organon’s deep expertise in women’s and reproductive health to drive potential change for women who use contraception everywhere.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Cirqle will be responsible for conducting preclinical studies according to the mutually agreed research plan. Organon will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize the asset. Cirqle is entitled to receive a $10 million upfront payment, potential milestone payments of up to $360 million and royalties based on net sales.

As stated on Organon’s first quarter conference call, to align with views expressed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, beginning in 2022 Organon will no longer exclude expenses for upfront and milestone payments related to collaborations and licensing agreements, or charges related to pre-approval assets obtained in transactions accounted for as asset acquisitions, from its non-GAAP results. Organon’s financial guidance does not assume an estimate for these expenses associated with business development not yet executed, and accordingly, the $10 million upfront payment was not included in the full year 2022 guidance Organon provided on May 5, 2022. Organon does not plan to update its guidance inter-quarter based solely on these items.

About Cirqle Biomedical

Cirqle Biomedical is a pre-clinical stage life science company with the goal of developing a first-in-class non-hormonal contraceptive that can help address the demand from millions of women for an effective contraceptive with minimal side-effects. Cirqle Biomedical’s approach to contraception is based on engineering mucus to leverage the natural barrier properties of cervical mucus. Cirqle Biomedical was launched in 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with backing from BioInnovation Institute (BII) and Rhia Ventures, a San Francisco-based impact investor dedicated to women’s reproductive health. Cirqle Biomedical’s core ethos is to expand freedom and quality of life for women everywhere. We aim to solve the most prominent unmet medical needs in women’s health by developing groundbreaking user-centric innovations.

About Organon

Organon is a global healthcare company formed to focus on improving the health of women throughout their lives. Organon has a portfolio of more than 60 medicines and products across a range of therapeutic areas. Led by the women’s health portfolio coupled with an expanding biosimilars business and stable franchise of established medicines, Organon’s products produce strong cash flows that will support investments in innovation and future growth opportunities in women’s health. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets.

Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 9,300 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey.

For more information, visit http://www.organon.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements about Organon’s research collaboration and exclusive license agreement with Cirqle Biomedical, the potential for Cirqle Biomedical’s program to produce a best-in-class non-hormonal, on-demand contraceptive, including the effectiveness of and market opportunity for Cirqle Biomedical’s investigational asset, and Organon’s goal of addressing the unmet needs of women. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “will” or words of similar meaning. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Organon’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and emergence of variant strains; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances; new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; Organon’s ability to accurately predict its future financial results and performance; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; difficulties developing and sustaining relationships with commercial counterparties; dependence on the effectiveness of Organon’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

Organon undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Organon’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including Organon’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and subsequent SEC filings, available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).

 

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Contacts

Contacts

Organon Media Contacts:

Karissa Peer

(614) 314-8094

Kate Vossen

(732) 675-8448

Organon Investor Contacts:

Jennifer Halchak

(201) 275-2711

Edward Barger

(267) 614-4669

Cirqle Media Contacts:

Onor Wilkinson

ow@cirqle.bio

Cirqle Investor Contacts:

Frederik Petursson Madsen

fm@cirqle.bio

 

Rimini Street Launches Rimini Protect™ Security Suite to Better Protect Organizations From Continuously Evolving Cybersecurity Threats

 LAS VEGAS - Thursday, 28. July 2022 AETOSWire 

New, innovative suite of security solutions provides “zero-day” proactive security protection for Oracle and SAP environments, including applications, middleware and databases, faster than traditional, dated software vendor patching models

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a global provider of enterprise software products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products, and a Salesforce partner, has launched Rimini Protect™, a new suite of security solutions that is always on 24x7x365 and provides a more comprehensive layer of security that surrounds and protects enterprise IT infrastructure and applications. For years, Rimini Street has provided proven and proactive advanced “zero-day” security solutions for our clients’ enterprise software applications, middleware, and databases, and these solutions are now available with additional new offerings in the new Rimini Protect suite.

Security Protection is a Top Priority

A data breach can harm organizations and their customers or constituents, in 2021 alone, there were 623 million ransomware attacks. The average cost of a data breach is $4.2 million and 25% of all data breaches are motivated by espionage or stealing commercial information. The downtime and remediation of a security breach may be monetarily costly, but often the reputational damage does more harm to an organization.

The bad actors who want to steal data and disrupt operations can attack from a myriad of vectors that target multiple system layers and components. In a world of continuously evolving cybersecurity threats, new vulnerabilities are identified regularly – and there are always the risks of unidentified vulnerabilities as well. Organizations must invest in security solutions that both prevent breaches and also provide “zero-day” protection against vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. The first time a vulnerability is exploited it is called a “zero-day” attack.

Some organizations still primarily rely on reports and patches from their software vendor for protection against attacks, but this strategy may have several shortcomings:

Dangerous limitations – do not address custom code, unsupported releases, or unknown vulnerabilities

Not timely – can take weeks, months, or even years to be delivered by a software vendor – and sometimes no patch is provided at all

Labor-intensive – may require a product or technology upgrade and might need to be regression tested before rolling into production

Ongoing risk – may not be adequate to sufficiently protect against an identified vulnerability

Rimini Street is Already a Trusted Partner for Security

Thousands of organizations trust Rimini Street with supporting their mission-critical applications and data, and many of those clients have already expanded their Rimini Street relationship to include our global, innovative security solutions. The Rimini Street security portfolio, available to clients for years, includes solutions for proactively protecting our clients’ Oracle and SAP applications, middleware, and databases.

Defense in Depth Protections Are Essential

In today’s digital-first economy, organizations should build and maintain multiple layers of security – including protecting the database layer where critical data is stored – as a part of a “Defense in Depth” cybersecurity strategy.

Now Rimini Protect enhances a “Defense in Depth” strategy with full-stack solutions to achieve zero-day security protection against the threat of known and unknown, unreported vulnerabilities. Rimini Protect holistically includes layered application and database security software and service solutions:

Rimini Street Advanced Application and Middleware Security, which protects against both known and unknown vulnerabilities using Java Runtime detection and remediation before attacks reach their intended target, including releases that are no longer fully supported by the vendor.

Rimini Street Advanced Database Security, a next-generation database security solution, helps protect databases from known and unknown vulnerabilities by continuously monitoring and analyzing shared memory.

Rimini Protect™ for SAP Applications is a fully managed service providing shields that remediate applications’ vulnerabilities at speed and scale without touching a line of code, protecting from even sophisticated attacks.

Global Security Services are delivered by Rimini Street expert security engineers who help organizations maintain the most complete and hardened cybersecurity posture possible in consideration of their particular circumstances. These services include security assessments, hardening and configuration guides, security roadmaps and security vulnerability analysis reports (SVARs).

Software Vendor Patching is Dated and Insufficient Protection

According to an Aberdeen Group market research report, “traditional patching is a process that never ends” because technology stacks continue to become more complex and the volume and frequency of vendor-supplied software patches are too overwhelming for IT staff to manage. In contrast, virtual patching “refers to establishing a policy enforcement point that is external to the resource being protected and designed to identify, intercept, and remediate exploits of vulnerabilities before they reach their target.”

“Enterprises that rely on dated software vendor patching models still find themselves vulnerable to attacks because patches address only known vulnerabilities. They do not protect against unknown vulnerabilities. Rimini Protect is one of the many innovative solutions from Rimini Street that help our clients take a smart path with their technology portfolio,” said Gabe Dimeglio, vice president and executive advisor, security at Rimini Street. “Rimini Protect goes well beyond typical software vendor patching to protect the entire environment of applications, middleware and databases using active security controls that monitor activities in real time to identify malicious actions and proactively block processes that attempt to exploit known and new zero-day vulnerabilities.”

Join Rimini Street CEO Seth Ravin and IT security experts on July 28, 2022, as they discuss the evolving and escalating cybersecurity threat environment and how each organization can take control of its own cybersecurity defense with Rimini Protect security solutions.

About Rimini Street, Inc.

Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI) is a global provider of enterprise software products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products and a Salesforce partner. The Company offers premium, ultra-responsive and integrated application management and support services that enable enterprise software licensees to save significant costs, free up resources for innovation and achieve better business outcomes. To date, nearly 4,700 Fortune 500, Fortune Global 100, midmarket, public sector and other organizations from a broad range of industries have relied on Rimini Street as their trusted application enterprise software products and services provider. To learn more, please visit http://www.riministreet.com, follow @riministreet on Twitter and find Rimini Street on Facebook and LinkedIn. (IR-RMNI)

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this communication are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “may,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “continue,” “future,” “will,” “expect,” “outlook” or other similar words, phrases or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our expectations of future events, future opportunities, global expansion and other growth initiatives and our investments in such initiatives. These statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance, nor are these statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties regarding Rimini Street’s business, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the amount and timing of repurchases, if any, under our stock repurchase program and our ability to enhance stockholder value through such program; the impact of our credit facility’s ongoing debt service obligations and financial and operational covenants on our business and related interest rate risk, including uncertainty from the discontinuance of LIBOR and transition to any other interest rate benchmarks; the duration of and operational and financial impacts on our business of the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic impact, as well as the actions taken by governmental authorities, clients or others in response to the continuance of the pandemic; catastrophic events that disrupt our business or that of our current and prospective clients, including terrorism and geopolitical actions specific to an international region; changes in the business environment in which Rimini Street operates, including inflation and interest rates, and general financial, economic, regulatory and political conditions affecting the industry in which Rimini Street operates; adverse developments in pending litigation or any new litigation; our need and ability to raise additional equity or debt financing on favorable terms and our ability to generate cash flows from operations to help fund increased investment in our growth initiatives; the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to meet our liquidity requirements, including under our credit facility; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting and our ability to remediate any identified material weaknesses in our internal controls; changes in laws and regulations, including changes in tax laws or unfavorable outcomes of tax positions we take, or a failure by us to establish adequate reserves for tax events; competitive product and pricing activity; challenges of managing growth profitably; the customer adoption of our recently introduced products and services, including our Application Management Services (AMS) offerings, in addition to other products and services we expect to introduce in the future; the loss of one or more members of Rimini Street’s management team; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; uncertainty as to the long-term value of Rimini Street’s equity securities; the effects of seasonal trends on our results of operations, including the contract renewal cycles for vendor supplied software support and managed services; our ability to prevent unauthorized access to our information technology systems and other cybersecurity threats, protect the confidential information of our employees and clients and comply with privacy and data protection regulations; and those discussed under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking Statements” in Rimini Street’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 4, 2022, and as updated from time to time by Rimini Street’s future Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings by Rimini Street with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, forward-looking statements provide Rimini Street’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. Rimini Street anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Rimini Street’s assessments to change. However, while Rimini Street may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Rimini Street specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Rimini Street’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication.

© 2022 Rimini Street, Inc. All rights reserved. “Rimini Street” is a registered trademark of Rimini Street, Inc. in the United States and other countries, and Rimini Street, the Rimini Street logo, and combinations thereof, and other marks marked by TM are trademarks of Rimini Street, Inc. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, and unless otherwise specified, Rimini Street claims no affiliation, endorsement, or association with any such trademark holder or other companies referenced herein.

 

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Contacts

 

Meredith Payette

Rimini Street, Inc.

+1 312-515-4756

pr@riministreet.com

 

Takeda Delivers Strong First Quarter FY2022 Results; On Track Towards Full-Year Management Guidance

 -Q1 FY2022 Results Demonstrate a Strong Start to the Year with Core Revenue Growth at Constant Exchange Rate (CER) of +8.3% (Reported Revenue +2.4%)

-Growth and Launch Products Delivering Revenue Growth of +26% at CER

-Core Operating Profit Growth of +17% at CER, Core Operating Profit Margin 32.8%

-Reported Revenue and Operating Profit Growth Affected by One-time Gain Booked in Q1 of Prior Year from Sale of Diabetes Portfolio in Japan

-Continued Resilience in Challenging Macro Environment

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Takeda (TOKYO:4502/NYSE:TAK) today announced strong financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 (period ended June 30, 2022) and is on track to meet its full-year management guidance.

The gain on the sale of Takeda’s Japan diabetes portfolio in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year has impacted reported financial results on a year-over-year basis, as expected. The sale contributed a one-off 133 billion yen to revenue and 131.4 billion yen to operating profit in Q1 FY2021. This impact is excluded from core financial results; the Company delivered +8.3% core revenue growth and +17% core operating profit growth at CER this quarter, with a core operating profit margin of 32.8%.

Takeda chief financial officer, Costa Saroukos, commented: “Takeda has delivered strong first quarter performance with Growth and Launch Products continuing to drive robust core revenue growth. Our results reflect continued momentum and solid commercial execution across key business areas.”

“First quarter results also reflect the impact of the last of our major non-core divestitures in the prior year. The sale of the Japan diabetes portfolio in FY2021 is the main factor behind the year-over-year decline in reported operating profit and is the only difference between reported and core revenue growth in our Q1 FY2022 results.”

“Foreign exchange has been a tailwind for our performance in the first quarter, while our portfolio momentum and prudent cost management have allowed us to improve our core operating profit margin despite rising inflation and other emerging macro challenges. We also remain resilient amid the outlook for increasing interest rates as approx. 98% of our debt is now secured at fixed interest rates averaging approx. 2%.”

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Contacts

 

Investor Relations

Christopher O’Reilly

christopher.oreilly@takeda.com

+81 (0) 3-3278-2543

Media Relations

U.S. and International

Megan Ostrower

Megan.Ostrower@takeda.com

+1 (772) 559-4924

Japan

Jun Saito

Jun.Saito@takeda.com

+81 (0) 3-3278-2325

NTT Joins the Joint Audit Cooperation (JAC) along with Telecommunications Carriers of the Global ICT Supply Chain

 (BUSINESS WIRE)--NTT CORPORATION (NTT) has joined the Joint Audit Cooperation (JAC) 1, which conducts CSR audits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) suppliers globally. NTT is the first Asian telecommunications carrier to join the association and will contribute to realizing a sustainable society by building and maintaining a safe and secure supply chain.

JAC Overview

Established in 2010, JAC currently consists of 23 telecommunications companies, including NTT 2. Since its inception, JAC members have conducted more than 724 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) audits in 41 countries. Telecommunications carriers who promote cooperative audits have a track record of improving CSR standards throughout the supply chain.

NTT Participation

In February 2022, NTT announced the NTT Group Guidelines for Sustainability in Supply Chain 3. The company has been boosting engagement with suppliers to build and maintain safe and secure supply chains. As the first Asian telecommunications carrier to join the JAC, NTT will be able to exchange intelligence on the conditions and challenges of each company in the supply chain and the best CSR practices with the other JAC member companies and thus will be able to promote supplier due diligence on a global level.

Together with our suppliers, The NTT Group will continue to contribute to realizing a sustainable society by building and maintaining a safe and secure supply chain.

1

About JAC: https://jac-initiative.com/

2

23 telecom operators as members (in alphabetical order):

 

AIRTEL AFRICA, ATT, BT, BOUYGUES, DT, ELISA, KPN, MTN, MTS, NTT, ORANGE, PROXIMUS, SPARK, SWISSCOM, T MOBILE Netherlands, TELEFONICA, TELENOR, TELIA, TDC, TELSTRA, TIM, VERIZON, VODAFONE.

3

Suppliers can see more about NTT’s procurement activities through the following link:

 

https://group.ntt/en/procurement/supplier/index.html

About NTT

NTT believes in resolving social issues through our business operations by applying technology for good. We help clients accelerate growth and innovate for current and new business models. Our services include digital business consulting, technology, and managed services for cybersecurity, applications, workplace, cloud, data centers, and networks, all supported by our deep industry expertise and innovation. As a top 5 global technology and business solutions provider, our diverse teams operate in 80+ countries and regions and deliver services to over 190 of them. We serve over 80% of Fortune Global 100 companies and thousands of other clients and communities around the world. For more information on NTT, visit www.global.ntt.

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Hurricane Electric Expands IP Transit Options in Kenya, With New Point of Presence at Mombasa One Data Center

 MOMBASA, Kenya - Thursday, 28. July 2022


New PoP will expand access to high-speed IP transit in Kenya and East Africa


(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hurricane Electric, the world’s largest IPv6-native Internet backbone announced today that it has deployed a new Point of Presence (PoP) at iColo, MBA One data center. The facility is located at Mombasa Road, Mombasa 30708, in Kenya. This is Hurricane Electric’s first Point of Presence in Mombasa, and second in Kenya.

Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya and an important East African regional seaport, handling raw materials and fuel imports. The city is also home to food and chemical manufacturing interests, and is a tourism hub.

The iColo MBA One data facility in Mombasa is a single-story, purpose built, 2,400m2 facility about 8km from the Moi International Airport; and in close proximity to where all major internet submarine cables come into the region; and with reliable and affordable connections to iColo Nairobi One data center.

The carrier neutral iColo MBA One is equipped with 226 racks, N+1 generators, temperature setpoint of 24°C and N+1 CRACs with redundant power supply and built-in ATS, and 24x7x365 on site security team, proximity badge and biometric protection.

The expansion of Hurricane Electric’s presence into iColo MBA One data facility in Mombasa will provide iColo’s Mombasa based customers a variety of new connectivity options and access to Hurricane Electric’s extensive IPv4 and IPv6 network through 100GE (100 Gigabit Ethernet), 10GE (10 Gigabit Ethernet) and GigE (1 Gigabit Ethernet) ports. Additionally, customers at the facility are able to exchange IP traffic with Hurricane Electric’s vast global network, which offers over 20,000 BGP sessions with over 9,000 different networks via more than 250 major exchange points and thousands of customers and private peering ports.

“We are thrilled to expand our presence in Kenya and provide high-speed and cost-effective IP transit for this region,” said Mike Leber, President, Hurricane Electric. “iColo’s MBA One data center will provide Mombasa’s growing economy, and the entire East African region, with a variety of new connectivity options and access to Hurricane Electric’s extensive global network.”

About Hurricane Electric

Hurricane Electric operates its own global IPv4 and IPv6 network and is considered the largest IPv6 backbone in the world. Within its global network, Hurricane Electric is connected to over 250 major exchange points and exchanges traffic directly with more than 9,000 different networks. Employing a resilient fiber-optic topology, Hurricane Electric has no less than five redundant 100G paths crossing North America, four separate 100G paths between the U.S. and Europe, and 100G rings in Europe and Asia. Hurricane also has a ring around Africa and a ring through Australia and New Zealand. Hurricane Electric offers IPv4 and IPv6 transit solutions over the same connection. Connection speeds available include 100GE (100 gigabits/second), 10GE, and gigabit ethernet. Additional information can be found at http://he.net.

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Contacts
Adam Waitkunas
Milldam Public Relations
adam.waitkunas@milldampr.com
(978) 828-8304

Anheuser-Busch InBev Reports Second Quarter 2022 Results

BRUSSELS - Thursday, 28. July 2022

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anheuser-Busch InBev (Brussel:ABI) (BMV:ANB) (JSE:ANH) (NYSE:BUD):

Regulated and inside information1

Continued momentum with double-digit top-line growth

“Our business delivered sustained profitable growth. Our volume increased by 3.4%, our top-line by 11.3% and EBITDA by 7.2%. The relentless execution of our strategy, the strength of our brands and accelerated digital transformation enabled us to meet the moment in an ongoing dynamic operating environment.” - Michel Doukeris, CEO

Total Revenue

+11.3%

Revenue increased by 11.3% in 2Q22 with revenue per hl growth of 7.5% and by 11.5% in HY22 with revenue per hl growth of 7.9%.

9.7% increase in combined revenues of our global brands, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, outside of their respective home markets in 2Q22, and 7.9% in HY22.

Approximately 55% of our revenue now through B2B digital platforms with the monthly active user base of BEES reaching 2.9 million users as of 30 June 2022.

Over 385 million USD of revenue and over 16 million ecommerce orders generated by our direct-to-consumer ecosystem in 2Q22.

Total Volume

+3.4%

In 2Q22, total volumes grew by 3.4%, with own beer volumes up by 2.7% and non-beer volumes up by 8.2%. In HY22, total volumes grew by 3.1% with own beer volumes up by 2.4% and non-beer volumes up by 7.1%.

Normalized EBITDA

+7.2%

In 2Q22 normalized EBITDA of 5 096 million USD represents an increase of 7.2% with normalized EBITDA margin contraction of 127 bps to 34.5%. In HY22, normalized EBITDA increased by 7.5% to 9 583 million USD and normalized EBITDA margin contracted by 122 bps to 34.2%. Normalized EBITDA figures of HY22 and HY21 include an impact of 201 million USD and 226 million USD from tax credits in Brazil. For more details, please see page 10.

Underlying Profit

1 468 million USD

Underlying profit (normalized profit attributable to equity holders of AB InBev excluding mark-to-market gains and losses linked to the hedging of our share-based payment programs and the impact of hyperinflation) was 1 468 million USD in 2Q22 compared to 1 507 million USD in 2Q21 and was 2 672 million USD in HY22 compared to 2 606 million USD in HY21.

Underlying EPS

0.73 USD

Underlying EPS was 0.73 USD in 2Q22, a decrease from 0.75 USD in 2Q21 and was 1.33 USD in HY22, an increase from 1.30 USD in HY21.

Net Debt to EBITDA

3.86x

Net debt to normalized EBITDA ratio was 3.86x at 30 June 2022 compared to 3.96x at 31 December 2021.

The 2022 Half Year Financial Report is available on our website at www.ab-inbev.com.

1The enclosed information constitutes inside information as defined in Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse, and regulated information as defined in the Belgian Royal Decree of 14 November 2007 regarding the duties of issuers of financial instruments which have been admitted for trading on a regulated market. For important disclaimers and notes on the basis of preparation, please refer to page 16.

Management comments

Continued momentum with double-digit top-line growth

We delivered top-line growth of 11.3%, comprised of 3.4% volume and 7.5% revenue per hl growth, driven by revenue management initiatives, ongoing premiumization and expansion of the beer category across most of our key markets supported by increased investment in our brands. EBITDA increased by 7.2% despite anticipated commodity and supply chain cost headwinds.

At the recent 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, we were awarded 50 Lions, a record high for our company.

Consistent execution of our strategy

We continue to execute on and invest in three key strategic pillars to deliver consistent growth and long-term value creation.

See Image 1.

1. Lead and grow the category:

This quarter we delivered volume growth in more than 60% of our markets with total volume growth of 3.4%.

2. Digitize and monetize our ecosystem:

BEES is now live in 18 markets and has reached 2.9 million monthly active users as of 30 June 2022, a 7% increase versus 1Q22. BEES Marketplace is now live in 12 countries with 40% of BEES customers now also Marketplace buyers.

3. Optimize our business:

We continued to deleverage with our net debt to normalized EBITDA ratio decreasing from 3.96x at 31 December 2021 to 3.86x for the 12-month period ending 30 June 2022. Gross debt reduced by $5.5 billion USD in HY22.

1. Lead and grow the category

We are executing on five proven and scalable levers to drive category expansion:

Inclusive Category: In 2Q22, participation of consumers with our portfolio increased in the majority of our key markets, according to our estimates, driven by brand, pack and liquid innovations. For example, in Colombia we further scaled our local easy-drinking lager brand, Costeña Bacana, with growth driven primarily by legal drinking age consumers between 18-24 years old. In Brazil, the combination of our digital direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform, Zé Delivery, and 300ml returnable glass bottles are driving in-home consumption.

Core Superiority: In 2Q22, our mainstream portfolio continued to outperform the industry across most of our key markets according to our estimates and delivered high-single digit revenue growth, led by particularly strong performances in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.

Occasions Development: Our global brand Stella Artois grew revenue by 7.7% outside of its home market, led by the focus on meal occasions in key markets such as Brazil and Colombia. We continue to grow our non-alcoholic beer portfolio with the successful expansion of Corona Sunbrew in Canada.

Premiumization: Our above core portfolio grew revenue by approximately 12% this quarter, led by continued double-digit growth of Michelob ULTRA in the US and Mexico and expansion of Spaten in Brazil. Our global brands grew revenue by 9.7% outside of their home markets, led by Corona with 18.2% and Stella Artois with 7.7%. Budweiser grew by 6.1%, despite the impact of COVID-19 restrictions in China, the brand’s largest market.

Beyond Beer: Our global Beyond Beer business contributed over 425 million USD of revenue in the quarter. In the US, within the spirits-based-ready-to-drink segment, our portfolio continued to grow ahead of the industry led by Cutwater and NÜTRL vodka seltzer. In South Africa, Brutal Fruit and Flying Fish delivered continued double-digit volume growth.

2. Digitize and monetize our ecosystem

Digitizing our relationships with our more than 6 million customers globally: In 2Q22, the BEES platform captured approximately 7.4 billion USD in gross merchandise value (GMV) with over 24 million orders placed, growth of over 60% and 40% respectively versus 2Q21. Our e-commerce platform for sales of third party products, BEES Marketplace, is now live in 12 countries with 40% of BEES customers now also Marketplace buyers.

Leading the way in DTC solutions: Our omni-channel direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecosystem of digital and physical DTC products generated revenue of approximately 385 million USD in 2Q22. Our digital DTC brands generated over 16 million orders in the quarter, led by Zé Delivery in Brazil and the continued expansion of our on demand platform in 10 additional markets in Latin America.

3. Optimize our business

In HY22, we continued to efficiently allocate resources across our operations. This enabled further investment behind the organic growth of our business with over 5.3 billion USD in capex and sales and marketing, focused on capacity and capabilities to lead and grow the category, marketing creativity and accelerating digital transformation. Our gross debt reduced from 88.8 billion USD as of 31 December 2021 to 83.3 billion USD as of 30 June 2022, leading to a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.86x. Our net interest expense decreased by 134 million USD versus HY21, principally as a result of our gross debt reduction efforts.

Advancing our ESG priorities

We continue to advance our ESG agenda. In June, we commenced operations in our first EverGrain facility in St. Louis, upcycling barley used in the brewing process into high quality, sustainable protein ingredients with an annual capacity of 7 thousand tons. To drive sustainable innovation at scale, this quarter we brought together more than 250 supply chain partners with the launch of our global collaboration initiative Eclipse and, along with our CPG partners, we hosted the 3rd annual demo day of our 100+ Accelerator program. During the event, 34 startups showcased solutions to our sustainability challenges across water stewardship, climate action, smart agriculture, circular packaging and upcycling.

Creating a future with more cheers

Our business continues to build momentum and deliver consistent profitable growth even in the context of the ongoing dynamic operating environment. Our best-in-class portfolio of brands, accelerated digital transformation and global ecosystem provide a unique platform that positions us well to lead and grow the beer category and drive superior long-term value creation.

2022 Outlook

Overall Performance: We expect our EBITDA to grow in-line with our medium-term outlook of between 4-8% and our revenue to grow ahead of EBITDA from a healthy combination of volume and price. The outlook for FY22 reflects our current assessment of the scale and magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is subject to change as we continue to monitor ongoing developments.

Net Finance Costs: Net pension interest expenses and accretion expenses are expected to be in the range of 170 to 200 million USD per quarter, depending on currency and interest rate fluctuations. We expect the average gross debt coupon in FY22 to be approximately 4.0%. Net finance costs will continue to be impacted by any gains and losses related to the hedging of our share-based payment programs.

Effective Tax Rates (ETR): We expect the normalized ETR in FY22 to be in the range of 28% to 30%, excluding any gains and losses relating to the hedging of our share-based payment programs. The ETR outlook does not consider the impact of potential future changes in legislation.

Net Capital Expenditure: We expect net capital expenditure of between 4.5 and 5.0 billion USD in FY22.

Operating performance:

2Q22: Revenue grew by 2.7% with revenue per hl growing by 5.5% driven by revenue management initiatives and continued premiumization. Sales-to-wholesalers (STWs) were down by 2.7%. Sales-to-retailers (STRs) declined by 3.4%, estimated to be below the industry. EBITDA declined by 0.5%.

HY22: Revenue grew by 2.4%. STWs declined by 3.2%, with revenue per hl growth of 5.8%. Our STR’s declined by 3.9%. EBITDA declined by 0.2%.

Commercial highlights: The beer industry remained resilient even in the context of a higher inflationary environment. Despite underperforming the industry, we remain confident in our commercial strategy to rebalance our portfolio toward faster growing segments. Our above core beer and spirits-based ready-to-drink portfolios outperformed the industry, led by Michelob ULTRA which grew by double-digits and Cutwater and NÜTRL vodka seltzer which grew strong double-digits.

Mexico: Double-digit top- and bottom-line growth

Operating performance:

2Q22: Revenue grew by high-teens with revenue per hl growth of high-single digits driven primarily by revenue management initiatives. Our volumes grew by high-single digits, outperforming the industry, supported by ongoing channel and portfolio expansion and the phasing impact of a later Easter. EBITDA grew by mid-teens.

HY22: Revenue grew by mid-teens with volumes growing by mid-single digits and revenue per hl growing by high-single digits. EBITDA grew by low-teens.

Commercial highlights: Our performance was driven by ongoing portfolio development, channel expansion, and digital transformation. Our core brands delivered high-single digit volume growth and our above core portfolio once again grew by double-digits, led by Modelo and Michelob ULTRA. We continue to expand our distribution footprint, with the opening of over 150 new Modelorama stores and the continuation of the OXXO rollout, expanding into approximately 800 additional stores. Over 60% of our BEES customers are now also BEES Marketplace buyers.

Colombia: Double-digit top-line and high-single digit bottom-line growth

Operating performance:

2Q22: Revenue grew by high-twenties with low-teens revenue per hl growth, primarily driven by revenue management initiatives and premiumization. Our volumes grew by mid-teens, driven by the execution of our category expansion levers and supported by a favorable comparable. EBITDA grew by high-single digits, negatively impacted by a loss from the disposal of non-core assets.

HY22: Revenue grew by mid-twenties with volume increasing more than 10% and revenue per hl growth of low-teens. EBITDA grew by mid-teens.

Commercial highlights: We continue to grow the beer category, again delivering a new record high per capita consumption this quarter. Our premium and super premium portfolio reached an all-time high volume, delivering over 40% volume growth led by our global brands and local premium brand, Club Colombia. More than 30% of our BEES customers are now also BEES Marketplace buyers.

Brazil: Double-digit top- and bottom-line growth

Operating performance:

2Q22: Revenue grew by 26.8%, with volume growth of 10.4% and revenue per hl growth of 14.9%. Our beer volumes once again outperformed the industry according to our estimates, growing by 8.5%. Non-beer volumes grew by 16.2%. Our performance was driven by the consistent execution of our strategic priorities, continued recovery of out of home consumption occasions and channel expansion. EBITDA grew by 34.3%.

HY22: Total volume grew by 7.9% with beer volumes up by 5.2% and non-beer volumes up by 16.5%. Revenue increased by 21.6%, with revenue per hl growth of 12.7%. EBITDA grew by 15.0%.

Commercial highlights: Our premium and super premium brands delivered volume growth of more than 20% this quarter. Our core portfolio continued its momentum, increasing volumes low-teens, and we continued to invest behind developing our core plus brands. Over 60% of our BEES customers are now also BEES Marketplace buyers. Our digital DTC platform, Zé Delivery, fulfilled almost 15 million orders in 2Q22, and has reached 4.2 million monthly active users.

Europe: High-single digit top- and double-digit bottom-line growth

Operating performance:

2Q22: Revenue grew by high-single digits, with low-single digit volume and high-single digit revenue per hl growth, supported by revenue management initiatives, ongoing premiumization and continued on-premise recovery. EBITDA grew by more than 10%. Versus 2Q19, top-line grew by mid-single digits despite on-premise volumes still not fully recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

HY22: Revenue grew by low-teens with high-single digit revenue per hl and low-single digit volume growth. EBITDA increased by mid-teens.

Commercial highlights: Our growth this quarter was led by our global and super premium brands, which delivered high-single digit revenue growth. Our DTC product, PerfectDraft, expanded the active shopper base by more than 25% versus 2Q21.

South Africa: High-single digit top-line and double-digit bottom-line growth

Operating performance:

2Q22: Revenue grew by 7.6%, with 7.5% revenue per hl growth and flat volumes, below the industry according to our estimates as our operations were impacted by significant production constraints in April and May due to floods impacting our Prospecton brewery. EBITDA grew by low double-digits.

HY22: Revenue grew by double-digits with high-single digit revenue per hl and low-teens increase in volume. EBITDA grew by mid-twenties.

Commercial highlights: Underlying demand for our portfolio remains strong. The premium, super premium and Beyond Beer portfolios led our growth this quarter, all delivering a double-digit revenue increase. Our leading core brands delivered continued revenue growth. Driven by BEES, digital channels now represent 91% of our revenues.

China: Industry impacted by COVID-19 restrictions with gradual improvement throughout the quarter

Operating performance:

2Q22: The total industry declined mid-single digits due to COVID-19 restrictions. The restrictions disproportionately impacted our key regions and sales channels, resulting in a 6.5% total volume decline, underperforming the industry according to our estimates. The operating environment gradually improved throughout the quarter resulting in volume growth of high-single digits in June year-over-year. In 2Q22, revenue per hl grew by 1.5% resulting in a total revenue decline of 5.1%. EBITDA declined by 11.8%.

HY22: Volumes declined by 5.5% and revenue per hl grew by 2.4%, leading to total revenue decline of 3.3%. EBITDA declined by 6.5%.

Commercial highlights: Underlying consumer demand for our brands remained strong. As restrictions eased in June, both our premium and super premium portfolios returned to volume growth increasing by double-digits.

Highlights from our other markets

Canada: Total revenue grew by low-single digits. Our beer volume outperformed a soft industry this quarter, led by our core portfolio which grew revenue by mid-single digits.

Peru: We delivered double-digit top-line growth in 2Q22 with a balance of mid-twenties volume and over 10% revenue per hl growth, driven by ongoing portfolio transformation, route to market expansion and supported by continued post COVID-19 recovery. Over 50% of BEES customers are now also BEES Marketplace buyers.

Ecuador: We delivered mid-thirties top-line growth with a volume increase of low-twenties this quarter, supported by continued expansion of the beer category and post COVID-19 recovery. 60% of BEES customers are now also BEES Marketplace buyers.

Argentina: Revenue grew by double-digits in 2Q22, driven primarily by revenue management initiatives in a highly inflationary environment, with flattish volumes.

Africa excluding South Africa: In Nigeria, our top-line grew by 25% this quarter, driven by revenue management initiatives, though volumes were lower due to ongoing supply chain constraints. In other key markets, we continue to see strong consumer demand for our brands with double-digit volume and revenue growth in 2Q22 in Tanzania, Zambia and Uganda.

South Korea: Volumes grew by high-single digits in 2Q22, supported by further market share gains in both the on-premise and in-home channels and continued improvement in the operating environment. Revenue per hl increased by high-single digits resulting in double-digit revenue growth.

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Shaun Fullalove

+1 212 573 9287

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Media

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+1 310 592 6319

fallon.buckelew@ab-inbev.com

Sentient Jet at the Forefront of Sustainability in Private Aviation Industry With Over 300% Emissions Offset Projected For 2022

 Industry pioneer and inventor of the private jet card on track for another industry leading effort as unique multi-million-dollar sustainability initiative has offset 291,630 metric tons of CO2 this year, a 17% increase from this time in 2021

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sentient Jet, a Directional Aviation company and category innovator, is set to surpass its notable 2021 sustainability efforts of offsetting one of, if not the highest amount of emissions of any private aviation company with the first half of 2022 on the rise. As a multi-million-dollar annual investment at no cost to its card owners, Sentient Jet’s strong commitment to sustainability continues to set a new industry standard while offering a more thoughtful way to fly.

Sentient Jet launched its emissions-neutral sustainability initiative at the start of 2021 and promptly achieved the largest emissions offset of any private aviation company, with a 300% offset across 30,000 legs flown through the year.

Sentient’s offsets represent the equivalent of planting 345,000 acres and nearly 5,000,000 trees in the U.S. or providing the energy for an entire average U.S. town for a full year, according to current U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2021. Sentient Jet’s carbon offset program supports a variety of renewable energy and forest conservation projects around the world and continues to fund projects to mitigate not only CO2 but non-CO2 impact and improve communities globally.

“We chose to focus on a more comprehensive offsetting program, as we knew this was the best method to help reduce the footprint of our client’s flights while also taking definitive steps to reducing emission levels. Within 18 months we’re extremely pleased with the success of this program, but of course we’re always looking for ways to improve and evolve our ongoing sustainability efforts,” said Andrew Collins, President and CEO of Sentient Jet. “We hope Sentient Jet’s sustainability efforts can become an example for what the private aviation industry as a whole can accomplish in terms of making meaningful steps toward reducing overall emissions and prioritizing our planet.”

At the heart of Sentient Jet’s unique sustainability initiative is the company’s investment and partnership with environmental leader 4AIR, the first and only rating system focused on comprehensive sustainability in private aviation. Sentient Jet’s carbon offset program goes beyond traditional aviation sustainability programs by offsetting all aviation emissions, including water vapor, aerosols, and nitrous oxide, which together account for two-thirds of the emissions an aircraft produces when flying.

“Sentient Jet continues to demonstrate true leadership by committing all of its flights to 4AIR’s Emissions Neutral level on behalf of its clients. Sentient goes beyond just carbon neutrality, addressing the impact from CO2 and non-CO2 emissions in a truly comprehensive fashion,” says Kennedy Ricci, President, 4AIR.

Jet Card owners can book by calling (866) 602-0044 or visiting www.sentient.com.

About Sentient Jet

Founded in 1999 with the invention of the Jet Card, and now an integral part of Directional Aviation, Sentient Jet is one of the most innovative private aviation companies across the globe. The Sentient Jet Card offers clients the flexibility and convenience of flying private for their personal and business air travel needs along with a host of unique digital booking tools, including an industry-first with instant, automated text-based booking, a unique sustainability program, and an outstanding service heritage. Sentient Jet is known for its commitment to safety and is guided by an Independent Safety Advisory Board with former FAA and NTSB officials. Sentient Jet’s extensive network of certified operators ensures that clients will always have access to executive aircraft that meet their rigorous standards for safety and quality. Visit sentient.com for more information. You can also follow Sentient Jet on social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Download the Sentient Jet Mobile App: iOS | Android.

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005080/en/

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Daphna Barzilay

Maverick Creative

daphna@maverickcreative.us