Stock Markets
Matthews International reports solid performance, rebuffs Barington
PITTSBURGH – Matthews International (NASDAQ:) Corporation (NASDAQ GSM: MATW), a diversified global provider of memorialization, industrial technologies, and brand solutions, with a market capitalization of $938 million and trading at $30.66, has announced robust operating results amidst a challenging market environment and continued engagement with Barington Capital Group, an investment firm. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains a FAIR financial health score, suggesting stable operational fundamentals despite market challenges.
The company highlighted its strong execution and management oversight, which has led to solid performance in its core businesses. The Memorialization segment has seen benefits from pricing actions and strategic acquisitions, contributing to improved operating margins. SGK Brand Solutions reported its third consecutive quarter of higher sales and solid margins, driven by a strategic shift towards an e-commerce digital marketing platform, which is expected to position the company favorably for 2025. Industrial Technologies anticipates a demand recovery that should lead to meaningful revenue results in late fiscal 2025 and into 2026.
Matthews has also seen strong interest in its Energy Solutions business, which is positioned to capitalize on the transition to electric vehicles through investments in advanced rotary processing technologies.
The company has retained J.P. Morgan to evaluate potential strategic alternatives, reflecting its commitment to long-term value creation. This process is ongoing, and Matthews has declared its 31st consecutive annual dividend increase. InvestingPro data shows the company currently offers a 3.35% dividend yield, with an impressive track record of maintaining dividend payments for 31 consecutive years – one of several key insights available in InvestingPro’s comprehensive analysis of over 1,400 US stocks. CEO Joseph Bartolacci’s leadership has been instrumental in growing the company from approximately $700 million in revenues in fiscal 2006 to approximately $1.8 billion today, through strategic acquisitions and expansion of capabilities.
Matthews’ Board, which has been refreshed with new independent directors over the past years, remains open to constructive dialogue with Barington. Despite previous commendations from Barington’s Jim Mitarotonda on the management team’s performance, Barington has chosen to initiate a proxy contest after refusing to continue consulting with Matthews on evaluating its portfolio.
The Board and management are focused on serving all shareholders’ interests and will present their recommendations for the election of directors in the definitive proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Jones Day are serving as financial and legal advisors, respectively. Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on MATW, with price targets ranging from $34 to $40, suggesting potential upside from current levels. For detailed valuation metrics and comprehensive analysis, investors can access the full Pro Research Report on InvestingPro.
This news is based on a press release statement from Matthews International Corporation. Matthews employs over 11,000 people across more than 30 countries and is committed to delivering high-quality products and services. The company’s definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and mailed to eligible shareholders for the 2025 Annual Meeting.
In other recent news, Matthews International Corporation experienced significant shifts in its financial landscape. The company reported a decrease in Q4 consolidated sales to $447 million, down from $480 million the previous year. Additionally, the company reported a considerable net loss of $68.2 million in Q4, contrasting with the net income of $17.7 million reported the previous year. Despite these challenges, Matthews International met its revised adjusted EBITDA guidance at $205 million and reduced its debt by over $50 million during the quarter.
In the midst of these financial developments, activist investor Barington Capital Group, owning about 2% of Matthews International, has advocated for significant changes in the company’s leadership and strategic direction. Barington has proposed measures to enhance shareholder value including divesting underperforming segments, increasing cost reduction initiatives, reducing debt, and refreshing the board with new directors. The group also nominated three directors for election at Matthews’ 2025 annual meeting, emphasizing the need for a new CEO and a strengthened board.
For fiscal 2025, Matthews International projects an adjusted EBITDA between $205-$215 million. The company anticipates strong performance in its Memorialization segment, growth in SGK Brand Solutions, and potential recovery in warehouse automation. New technologies are expected to make a meaningful revenue impact in the latter part of fiscal 2025 and into 2026. Matthews International is also conducting a strategic review with JPMorgan to maximize shareholder value. These are among the recent developments in the company’s operations.
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(Reuters) – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation gave a fresh deadline of Feb. 10 to BlackRock (NYSE:) to resolve an issue regarding oversight into the firm’s stock in banks, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.
By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel plans to use tax revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to pay the PA’s nearly 2 billion ($544 million) debt to state-run Israel Electric Co (IEC), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday.
Israel collects tax on goods that pass through Israel into the occupied West Bank on behalf of the PA and transfers the revenue to Ramallah under a longstanding arrangement between the two sides.
Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered the war in Gaza, Smotrich has withheld sums totalling 800 million shekels earmarked for administration expenses in Gaza.
Those frozen funds are held in Norway and, he said at Sunday’s cabinet meeting, would instead be used to pay debt owed to the IEC of 1.9 billion shekels.
“The procedure was implemented after several anti-Israeli actions and included Norway’s unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich told cabinet ministers.
“The PA’s debt to IEC resulted in high loans and interest rates, as well as damage to IEC’s credit, which were ultimately rolled over to the citizens of Israel.”
The Palestinian Finance Ministry said it had agreed for Norway to release a portion of funds from an account held since last January with 1.5 billion shekels, calling money in the account “a punitive measure linked to the government’s financial support for Gaza”.
The ministry said as part of the deal, 767 million shekels of the Norwegian-held funds will pay Israeli fuel companies for weekly fuel purchases over the coming months. A similar amount will be used to settle electricity-related debts owed by Palestinian distribution companies to IEC.
Smotrich has been opposed to sending funds to the PA, which uses the money to pay public sector wages. He accuses the PA of supporting the Oct. 7 attack in Israel led by the Islamist movement Hamas, which controlled Gaza. The PA is currently paying 50-60% of salaries.
Israel also deducts funds equal to the total amount of so-called martyr payments, which the PA pays to families of militants and civilians killed or imprisoned by Israeli authorities.
The Palestinian finance ministry said 2.1 billion shekels remain withheld by Israel, bringing the total withheld funds to over 3.6 billion shekels as of 2024.
Israel, it said, began deducting an average of 275 million shekels monthly from its tax revenues in October 2023, equivalent to the government’s monthly allocations for Gaza.
“This has exacerbated the financial crisis, as the government continues to transfer these allocations directly to the accounts of public servants in Gaza,” the ministry said.
It added it was working with international partners to secure the release of these funds as soon as possible.
($1 = 3.6763 shekels)
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Romanians angered by the cancellation of a presidential election marched through Bucharest on Sunday to demand that the ballot should go ahead and that outgoing centrist President Klaus Iohannis should resign.
In a move that polarised voters, Romania’s top court voided the presidential election on Dec. 6, two days before the second round.
The cancellation came after state documents showed frontrunner Calin Georgescu, a critic of NATO, had benefited from an unfair social media campaign likely to have been orchestrated by Russia, accusations Moscow has denied.
The court ordered that the election be re-run in its entirety. The pro-European coalition government has yet to approve a calendar for the election, although party leaders agreed to hold the two rounds on May 4 and May 18.
Iohannis, whose term expired on Dec. 21, will stay on until his successor is elected.
On Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters, including left-wingers and those angered by the way the way the election was cancelled, joined the protest organised by the opposition hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), Romania’s second-largest party.
“We ask for a return to democracy by resuming the election with the second round,” AUR leader George Simion told reporters.
Organizers said 100,000 people were at the protest, but riot police along the march estimated the numbers at around 20,000. Protesters waved flags and shouted “Freedom” and “Bring back the second round.”
“Our right to vote was broken,” said Bogdan Danila, a 43-year-old truck driver. “In addition, Iohannis was in power for ten years and did nothing for the people, while parties betrayed us, they are all corrupt. We want something else.”
Some protesters carried portraits of Georgescu or Christian Orthodox icons while street vendors sold flags and vuvuzelas.
“Authorities must say why they cancelled the election, we want to see the evidence,” said Cornelia, 57, an economist wrapped in a Romanian flag who declined to give her last name.
“At this rate we won’t be voting anymore, they will impose a leader like in the old days.”
It remains unclear whether Georgescu, who opposes Romanian support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, will be allowed to run for president again.
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