Tibetan Monk Held in Sichuan’s Ngaba County on Unknown Charges

Police in western China’s Sichuan province have arrested a senior monk at a Tibetan monastery in Ngaba county on suspicion of holding politically sensitive discussions on the popular WeChat social media platform, according to Tibetan sources.

Konmey, a 45-year-old monk in charge of discipline at Ngaba’s Trotsik monastery, was taken into custody on July 20 and is now being held in detention, a source in Ngaba told RFA this week.

“He had performed prayers on his WeChat group, but he only talked about the number of prayers he had accumulated,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He said nothing at all about political issues.”

Konmey had enrolled at Trotsik monastery at a young age and had risen to be head of the monastery’s discipline committee, according to information received from a source at the Dharamsala, India-based branch of Ngaba’s Kirti monastery.

No details were immediately available regarding specific charges brought against Konmey or his present whereabouts or condition, the source at Kirti said.

Speaking to RFA, a Tibetan source living in exile said he doubted that Konmey would have discussed politically sensitive topics online.

“Konmey is someone who is usually aware of politics, but he wouldn’t talk about politically sensitive issues on social media. We believe that he was detained because of his involvement in a WeChat group where he was only reciting prayers,” the source said.

“We don’t know that there were any other kinds of conversations on that WeChat group, only praying,” he said.

Chinese communication clampdowns in Tibetan areas aimed at stopping the flow of news about protests or other information to outside contacts have made it difficult to learn more about Konmey’s present circumstances, the source added.

“There are tight restrictions in place in Ngaba at the moment, so I would advise Tibetans in exile not to try to communicate with Tibetans living inside Tibet,” he said.

Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force 70 years ago.

Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings.

Reported by Sangyal Kunchok for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Law Lecturer Quits Hong Kong University Council Over Union Ban

A law lecturer at the University of Hong Kong on Thursday resigned from its governing body in protest after the university management cut off ties with the student union and banned former committee members from campus.

The university said it was taking back facilities previously used by the union and cutting off ties with it over a motion commemorating a man who stabbed a police officer outside Sogo department store before killing himself.

The motion was later retracted and the committee members apologized and resigned, but all those who attended a July 7 committee meeting that made the statement have since been barred from the university.

Law lecturer Eric Cheung said on Thursday he had resigned from HKU’s governing council, dismissing the university’s claim that the statement had posed “legal risks.”

“I really don’t think there were any legal risks,” he said. “So the students did something, which may or may not constitute a crime, but at any rate they haven’t been charged with anything yet.”

“In the past, if students were involved in a criminal case, then that was their business.”

“Why are they stripping away their right to be students?” Cheung told local media.

The council said on Wednesday that students who attended the July 7 meeting would be barred from its premises, services, and facilities.

On July 1, 50-year-old Leung Kin-fai stabbed himself to death after knifing a policeman outside the Sogo department store.

Officials have warned that anyone visibly mourning or sympathizing with his death could be breaking the national security law, and are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

The union passed a motion on July 7 saying it “appreciated [Leung’s] sacrifice.”

‘A political lens’

Social activist Mak Hoi-wah said the ban on the students was a little extreme.

“A lot of incidents seem to be being dealt with very harshly nowadays, and seen through a purely political lens,” Mak said. “But an educational institution shouldn’t be attacking its own students, who are young.”

“It’s unfair that this incident was politicized and escalated to such a high level,” he said.

Former student union leader Cheung Yiu-fai said there should be a rigorous process to be gone through under HKU’s charter before a student can be expelled.

“The university has given these students no right to a defense, and have just issued this hasty decree,” Cheung said. “There has been no respect whatsoever for the rights of these students.”

The ban on former union members came after Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam called for action against the union, after which national security police raided the union office on July 16.

Corruption charges not pursued

Prosecutors have said they won’t pursue corruption charges against Cantopop singer Anthony Wong and former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Nok-hin in connection with a 2018 election rally, after supporters posted evidence that pro-China politicians had also offered performances for supporters at election events.

Wong, 59, performed two songs during Au’s campaign for a Legislative Council (LegCo) by-election that Au later won.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) had earlier claimed that “providing others with refreshments and entertainment at an election” was corrupt conduct and constituted a serious offense.

Prosecutors said they would offer no evidence in support of the charge.

Au is already in jail on a protest-related public order charge, and is awaiting trial for “subversion” under a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from July 1, 2020 after he took part in a democratic primary in the summer of 2020.

Wong performed a song about remaining true to oneself on his release to journalists outside the court. He has been bound over for 18 months, meaning that he is expected to show exemplary behavior during that time. Au was also bound over, but remains in jail.

Hong Kong’s High Court has meanwhile granted bail to activist and barrister Chow Hang-tung, of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China that organized the now-banned candlelight vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

Chow, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting others to illegal assembly, must report regularly to a police station and is unable to leave Hong Kong. She will face trial on Oct. 5.

Tiananmen vigils banned

The CCP has long banned any kind of public commemoration of the 1989 protest movement and the massacre by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that ended it on the night of June 3-4.

Now, it appears the ban will be effectively extended to Hong Kong.

The Alliance announced on Wednesday that its June 4, 1989 museum had gone completely digital, and was now available online, curated by Germany-based journalist and writer Chang Ping, after the Alliance fired all of its Hong Kong-based staff for their own protection on July 10.

“I hope to use this project to tell people all about the survivors of the June 4, 1989 massacre … which has set the pattern for the China we see today,” Chang told RFA. “It’s not just about history, but about the state of the world today.”

The move comes after commentators denounced the Alliance’s real-world memorial exhibit in pro-China media as being in breach of the national security law.

A Hong Kong resident surnamed Ho said the CCP is trying to rewrite history.

“History happened, but some people want to revise that history,” he said. “It may even be illegal to talk about June 4, 1989 now, and they are no longer approving applications for the vigil.”

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

AGC Biologics Acquires Commercial Facility, Expanding Cell & Gene Therapy Global Service Offerings

AGC Biologics acquires Longmont, Colorado facility to expand its global footprint and increase its C&GT process development and GMP capacity

Seattle, Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AGC Biologics, a leading global biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), announced the finalization of the purchase of a state-of-the-art commercial manufacturing facility in Longmont, Colorado, USA. The facility, previously owned by Novartis Gene Therapies, will provide AGC Biologics with significant additional capacity and space to continue to expand its global end-to-end Cell and Gene Therapy (C&GT) offering, ensuring security of supply for current and future C&GT customers.

This transaction adds 622,000 square feet of operations and office space primarily planned for C&GT activities. The facility is expected to begin full-scale operations by Q4 2021 and is only 16 miles away from AGC Biologics’ state-of-the-art large-scale stainless steel mammalian facility in Boulder, Colorado.

This acquisition allows AGC Biologics to expand its cell and gene therapy footprint to the US. It will also enable AGC Biologics to continue rapidly expanding its process development and GMP capacity to meet both early and late clinical/commercial customer needs. In addition to this facility acquisition, AGC Biologics announced major C&GT facility expansion projects at its Heidelberg and Milan facilities in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

“The Longmont facility is just one of the company-wide expansion initiatives that AGC Biologics has been working on,” says AGC Biologics CEO Patricio Massera. “With our ongoing global expansion, we look forward to continuing to help our partners bring life-saving treatments to the market.”

About AGC Biologics

AGC Biologics is a leading global biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with a strong commitment to delivering the highest standard of service as we work side-by-side with our clients and partners, every step of the way. We provide world-class development and manufacture of mammalian and microbial-based therapeutic proteins, plasmid DNA (pDNA), viral vectors, and genetically engineered cells. Our global network spans the U.S., Europe, and Asia, with cGMP-compliant facilities in Seattle, Washington; Boulder and Longmont, Colorado; Copenhagen, Denmark; Heidelberg, Germany; Milan, Italy; and Chiba, Japan and we currently employ more than 2,000 employees worldwide. Our commitment to continuous innovation fosters the technical creativity to solve our clients’ most complex challenges, including specialization in fast-track projects and rare diseases. AGC Biologics is the partner of choice. To learn more, visit www.agcbio.com.

Attachment

Matteo Pellegrino
AGC Biologics
mpellegrino@agc.com

Calls Grow For Release of Chinese Citizen Journalist on Hunger Strike

Fears are growing over the health of jailed citizen journalist Zhang Zhan after she was sent for medical treatment at the end of July for malnutrition following several months of hunger strike in a Shanghai prison.

Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, 37, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by Shanghai’s Pudong District People’s Court on Dec. 28, 2020.

One of a group of citizen journalists detained, jailed or “disappeared” after they went to the central city of Wuhan to cover the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang was sent to see the doctor by prison authorities on July 31 amid rising concerns for her health on hunger strike.

Her mother said via social media that her daughter currently weighs just 40 kilograms, and is seriously malnourished with swollen legs and feet.

Zhang has been eating very small amounts of food in protest at her imprisonment in order to avoid forced intubation and feeding.

She pleaded not guilty at her trial, where she appeared in court in a wheelchair.

Health concerns

Hunan-based rights activist Tan Binglin, who staged a lone street protest in support of Zhang in Buyunqiao township near Hunan’s Hengyang city on Aug. 4, said he hoped Zhang would end her hunger strike.

“I think her life is the most important thing,” Tan told RFA. “I want people to fight, but I don’t want people to martyr themselves.”

“That applies to myself and to Zhang Zhan; I don’t want her to suffer serious damage to her health,” he said.

“We have known all along that she has probably been on hunger strike, but the authorities have used various methods to prevent her family from seeing her or getting news of her,” Wang Jianhong, who directs the U.S.-based rights group Humanitarian China, told RFA.

“This is the first confirmation we have had that she is still on hunger strike many months later,” Wang said.

Wang said Zhang’s approach was to eat very little food to avoid forced feeding by tube.

“Even so, she is still fighting for her life,” she said.

Appeal or negotiations

Human rights lawyer Li Dawei said Zhang should lodge an appeal against her sentence so as to give a lawyer to opportunity to negotiate an end to the hunger strike.

“Her appeal representative could perhaps meet with Zhang Zhan and work with her to end the hunger strike or other forms of resistance, and maybe ease the situation and negotiate an early release,” Li said.

But he said the likelihood of the case being overturned on appeal was very slim in the current Chinese judicial system.

Kiri Kankhwende, a spokesperson for Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which has been following Zhang Zhan’s case, said the group is very worried.

She said the ultimate solution would be to release Zhang because she shouldn’t have been put in prison in the first place.

But she called for her release on medical parole as a matter of urgency.

Zhang was found guilty by the Pudong court of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble,” a charge frequently used to target critics of the government.

She was accused of “posting false information” on overseas social media platforms Twitter and YouTube, and for giving interviews to foreign news organizations.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

HqO and Ritual Announce Exclusive Food and Beverage Offering for Office Communities

New Partnership Brings Premium Food Experiences to the Workplace

BOSTON, Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HqO, the end-to-end tenant experience operating system for office buildings, today announces its exclusive integration with Ritual, a best-in-class food platform that works with over 15,000 restaurants and top commercial landlords across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The partnership empowers all HqO customers as they return to the office with an abundance of seamless food experiences that strengthen the connections between landlords, tenants, and their communities.

“To be the landlord of choice, it’s more important than ever to provide unique dining experiences and food offerings for the office,” says Charles Howard, Director of Offices at Grosvenor Britain and Ireland. “The partnership between HqO and Ritual allows Grosvenor to connect our mixed-use estate by promoting food and beverage vendors to our office occupiers. Their integrated platform brings all the best aspects of local dining directly to customers while supporting restaurants in a modern and efficient way.”

The integration serves to not only improve the tenant experience, but also brings immense value to landlords and property teams. By driving increased activity to a building’s whitelabeled Tenant Experience Platform, property management can create exposure for their landlord brand, grow sales for restaurant tenants, and ultimately foster customer loyalty. They can also access a back-end administration panel that displays restaurant locations, shares sales reports, and allows individuals to update important information.

“We are excited to partner with HqO to provide landlords, employers, and restaurant owners with the most advanced online ordering and incentives platform for in-building hospitality and workplace food experiences,” says Ray Reddy, Co-founder and CEO of Ritual. “Connecting with colleagues over coffee and lunch is a special part of the workplace experience. We’re proud of our partnership with HqO and making those experiences even better for thousands of companies as they return to office.”

Ritual’s full suite of capabilities will be offered to HqO customers and include the following:

  • Order ahead options for contactless pickup and delivery, including delivery to specified on-premise locations such as conference rooms.
  • Catering, corporate meal programs, incentives, and credits allowing landlords or tenant companies to provide food and beverage-based perks to employees.
  • Support for QR code and near-field communication (NFC) tap interactions that power to-table ordering and enable contactless dining at on-premise locations.
  • Robust group ordering functionality that makes it easy to place orders with colleagues.
  • Notifications and communications for real-time updates on food status and delivery.
  • Optional neighborhood views connecting your building tenants with local Ritual-activated restaurants in the surrounding community.
  • Easy integration with the top point-of-sales (POS) systems, making it easy for any restaurant to connect and accept orders.
  • Customer data, insights, and feedback that allow teams to see sales across their properties and merchants, understand tenant ordering patterns, and measure tenant sentiment.

“The food industry, particularly restaurants, suffered during the pandemic,” says Reid Snyder, Director of Platform Solutions at HqO. “We’re proud to partner with Ritual to support on-site and local restaurants through our one-stop-shop solution. Ritual’s wide breadth of merchants and interoperability with all major POS systems makes it an easy choice to enhance any portfolio.”

About Ritual

Ritual connects businesses with customers to offer a simple, safe, time-saving tool to order and pay for themselves and their workplace teams. Ritual works with thousands of restaurants around the world, serving customers in more than 50 cities across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Ritual was founded in 2014, with headquarters in Toronto. Ritual was recently named one of LinkedIn’s Top Start-Ups for 2019 and was also named one of Strategy Magazine’s Brands of the Year for 2019. Learn more at https://ritual.co.

About HqO

The world’s leading commercial real estate firms count on HqO to help them deliver a state-of-the-art tenant experience within their properties. Active in over 150 million square feet in 8 countries, HqO is known for its tenant experience platform comprised of an award-winning tenant app, analytics suite, and partner marketplace. Our solutions put experiences and a sense of community directly into the tenants’ hands while helping property owners uncover insights and take intelligent action to differentiate their assets. For more information, visit www.hqo.com, and connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Primary Contact: Kristin Concannon
Phone: 833-225-5476
Email: kristin.concannon@hqo.co

Bombardier Raises Full Year Guidance Following Solid First Half Execution and Market Momentum, Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results

  • Raised FY2021 guidance: (i) aircraft deliveries expected to reach ~120 units, revenues to exceed $5.8B; (ii) profitability increased to greater than $175M adjusted EBIT(1) and adjusted EBITDA(1) expected to be greater than $575M vs previously announced $100M and $500M, respectively; (iii) Free cash flow usage(1) now expected to be better than $300M for the year vs $500M(2)
  • Business jet revenues continue positive trend; second quarter year-over-year revenues up 50%, totalling $1.5B, mainly driven by a 45% increase in deliveries and greater contribution from services as flight hours continue industry-wide climb. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter up by $112M year over year to $143M. Reported EBIT from continuing operations for the quarter was $36M
  • Strong free cash flow generation for the quarter of $91M from continuing operations, including the negative impact of approximately $60M non-recurring cash items(3), representing an improvement of $841M year over year. Reported cash flows from operating activities – continuing operations for the quarter was $155M and net additions to PP&E and intangible assets – continuing operations for the quarter were $64M
  • Second quarter unit book-to-bill(4) climbing to ~1.8 on strong sales activity throughout the portfolio and increased interest in business aviation
  • Pro-forma liquidity(5) at quarter end was ~$2.1B and pro-forma net debt(5) was ~$5.3B, including $1.0B maturing in the next 3 years. The Corporation continues to evaluate various options to address other debt maturities in an opportunistic manner

All amounts in this press release are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Amounts in tables are in millions, unless otherwise indicated.

MONTRÉAL, Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bombardier (TSX: BBD.B) announced today its financial results for the second quarter of 2021 and raised its full year guidance, confirming that aircraft deliveries, revenues, profitability and cash usage are all expected to outperform previously communicated targets.

“Bombardier’s raised guidance stems from all-around solid execution in the first half of 2021, greater confidence in market momentum, and our ability to accelerate initiatives supporting our recurring savings objective,” said Éric Martel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier. “Our team’s concerted efforts have already supported stronger full year margins and have allowed us to focus diligently on our priorities of maturing the Global 7500 aircraft program, executing our aftermarket growth strategy and deleveraging our balance sheet.”

“We are well on our way to reposition Bombardier as the world’s business jet manufacturer of choice, and confident our passenger-experience-centric aircraft portfolio and expanding service offerings are well suited to meet growing interest, demand and utilization in private aviation,” added Martel.

Raised 2021 Full Year Guidance

2021 PREVIOUS REVISED
Business jet deliveries (in units) 110 – 120 ~120
Revenues >$5.6 billion >$5.8 billion
Adjusted EBIT >$100 million >$175 million
Adjusted EBITDA >$500 million >$575 million
Free cash flow usage Usage better than $500 million
(including ~$200 million of non-
recurring outflows)(6)
Usage better than $300 million
(including ~$200 million of non-
recurring outflows)(3)


Second Quarter 2021 Financial Performance

Business jet revenues during the second quarter of 2021 climbed to $1.5 billion, up 50% year over year, fueled by increases in both aircraft deliveries and services. Aircraft deliveries totaled 29 in Q2, up 45% year over year, reflecting strong demand for large-category jets. Worldwide business jet utilization continued to rise, nearly reaching pre-pandemic levels in North America and Europe, buoying revenue contribution from services activities to $295 million, up 29% year over year. Aircraft sales equally accelerated, reaching a unit book-to-bill ratio of approximately 1.8 for the quarter, further highlighting strong interest in business aviation.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was up $112 million year over year to $143 million, reflecting favourable aircraft deliveries and mix, improved cost structure, disciplined implementation of cost-reduction programs and consistent progression through the Global 7500 aircraft’s learning curve. In addition, the increase was boosted by a higher contribution from business aircraft services, mainly due to increased fleet flight hours resulting from easing travel restrictions and progress on vaccinations consistent with the increase in revenues. Reported EBIT from continuing operations for the quarter was $36 million.

The second quarter notably saw strong free cash flow (FCF) generation. The positive $91 million from continuing operations FCF total for the quarter represents an improvement of $841 million year over year and included a negative impact of approximately $60 million in non-recurring cash items.

Continuing Balance Sheet Deleveraging Actions

Pro-forma liquidity at quarter end was ~$2.1 billion and pro-forma net debt was ~$5.3 billion. Over the quarter, Bombardier successfully implemented a series of actions to reduce net debt as well as pay out, or refinance, nearer-term maturities, all as part of the company’s previously announced plan to create debt maturity runway. With $1.0 billion maturing in the next three years, the company can more effectively focus on the execution of its strategy, including learning curve progression for the Global 7500 aircraft and other operational improvements, and will continue managing debt in a pragmatic yet opportunistic manner.

Progress on Strategic Priorities

While progress on the Global 7500 aircraft unit costs and on overall recurring savings initiatives begin to yield bottom line benefit, Bombardier remains focused on expanding its service network and diversifying top-line revenue streams. During the second quarter, the Singapore Service Centre expansion project completed the construction phase and the teams will now focus on maintenance capacity ramp up to fully utilize the facility’s quadrupled footprint.

As construction also progresses on new or expanded facilities in Miami, USA, Melbourne, Australia and Biggin Hill, U.K., Bombardier introduced its Certified Pre-owned Aircraft program to further diversify customer offerings. Under the program, Bombardier will offer a “like-new” experience backed by a one-year warranty(7) and manufacturer-recommended aircraft modifications and updates. This program will deepen Bombardier’s involvement in the fast-moving pre-owned market, which is seeing strong demand coupled with a supply shortage of high-quality, sought-after aircraft.

SELECTED RESULTS

Results of the Quarter
Three-month periods ended June 30 2021 2020 Variance
restated(8)
Revenues(9) $ 1,524 $ 1,223 25 %
Adjusted EBITDA $ 143 $ 31 361 %
Adjusted EBITDA margin(1)(9) 9.4 % 2.5 % 690 bps
Adjusted EBIT $ 32 $ (44 ) nmf
Adjusted EBIT margin(1)(9) 2.1 % (3.6 ) % 570 bps
EBIT(9) $ 36 $ 403 (91 ) %
EBIT margin(9) 2.4 % 33.0 % (3060) bps
Net income from continuing operations $ 139 $ 150 (7 ) %
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations $ —  $ (373 ) 100 %
Net income (loss) $ 139 $ (223 ) 162 %
Diluted EPS from continuing operations (in dollars) $ 0.05 $ 0.06 $ (0.01 )
Diluted EPS from discontinued operations (in dollars) $ 0.01 $ (0.19 ) $ 0.20
$ 0.06 $ (0.13 ) $ 0.19
Adjusted net loss(1)(9) $ (137 ) $ (248 ) 45 %
Adjusted EPS (in dollars)(1)(9) $ (0.06 ) $ (0.11 ) $ 0.05
Cash flows from operating activities
Continuing operations $ 155 $ (692 ) nmf
Discontinued operations $ —  $ (265 ) 100 %
$ 155 $ (957 ) nmf
Net additions to PP&E and intangible assets
Continuing operations $ 64 $ 58 10 %
Discontinued operations $ —  $ 21 (100 ) %
$ 64 $ 79 (19 ) %
Free cash flow (usage)
Continuing operations $ 91 $ (750 ) nmf %
Discontinued operations $ —  $ (286 ) 100 %
$ 91 $ (1,036 ) nmf %
As at June 30, 2021
December 31, 2020 Variance
Cash and cash equivalents excluding Transportation $ 2,288 $ 1,779 29 %
Cash and cash equivalents from Transportation $ —  $ 671 (100 ) %
$ 2,288 $ 2,450 (7 ) %
Available short-term capital resources(10) $ 2,288 $ 3,203 (29 ) %
Aviation order backlog (in billions of dollars)
Business aircraft(11) $ 10.7 $ 10.7 %


About Bombardier

Bombardier is a global leader in aviation, creating innovative and game-changing planes. Our products and services provide world-class experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety.

Headquartered in Montréal, Canada, Bombardier is present in more than 12 countries including its production/engineering sites and its customer support network. The Corporation supports a worldwide fleet of more than 4,900 aircraft in service with a wide variety of multinational corporations, charter and fractional ownership providers, governments and private individuals.

News and information is available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.

Bombardier, Global and Global 7500 are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

For information

Francis Richer de La Flèche Anna Cristofaro
Vice President, Financial Planning Manager
and Investor Relations Communications
Bombardier Bombardier
+1 514 855 5001 x13228 +1 514 855 8678

The Management’s Discussion and Analysis and the Interim Consolidated Financial Statements are available at ir.bombardier.com.

bps: basis points
nmf: information not meaningful
(1) Non-GAAP financial measures. Refer to the Non-GAAP financial measures section in Overview for definitions of these metrics and to the Analysis of consolidated results section and Liquidity and capital resources section in Overview for reconciliations to the most comparable IFRS measures.
(2) See the forward-looking statements disclaimer.
(3) Non-recurring cash items include the impact of payments of residual value guarantee liability, consent fee with respect to the Consent Solicitations process conducted by the Corporation and restructuring costs.
(4) Defined as net new aircraft orders in units over aircraft deliveries in units.
(5) Non-GAAP measures. Pro-forma liquidity is defined as cash and cash equivalents as at June 30, 2021 of $2.3 billion, plus $0.4 billion of short-term restricted cash as collateral for bank guarantees, and less $0.6 billion paid to repurchase certain of outstanding Senior Notes in July 2021. Pro-forma net debt is defined as long-term debt as at June 30, 2021 of $8.0 billion, less $0.6 billion paid to redeem certain outstanding Senior Notes in July 2021, and less pro-forma liquidity of approximately $2.1 billion.
(6) Non-recurring items include legacy outflows related to credit and residual value guarantee liabilities and reverse factoring, and approximately $50 million of restructuring costs for the full year of 2021.
(7) One-year warranty on the airframe. Certain conditions apply.
(8) Restated for the sale of Transportation, refer to Note 17 – Disposal of business to our Interim consolidated financial statements for more details.
(9) Includes continuing operations only. Results from CRJ and aerostructure businesses for 2020 were part of continuing operations under IFRS.
(10) Defined as cash and cash equivalents as at June 30, 2021; defined as cash and cash equivalents including cash and cash equivalents from Transportation plus the undrawn amounts under Transportation’s revolving credit facility and our senior secured term loan as at December 31, 2020.
(11) Includes order backlog for both manufacturing and services.


CAUTION REGARDING NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This press release is based on reported earnings in accordance with IFRS and on the following non-GAAP financial measures:

Non-GAAP financial measures
Adjusted EBIT EBIT excluding special items. Special items comprise items which do not reflect the Corporation’s core performance or where their separate presentation will assist users of the consolidated financial statements in understanding the Corporation’s results for the period. Such items include, among others, the impact of restructuring charges, impact of business disposals and significant impairment charges and reversals.
Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBIT plus amortization and impairment charges on PP&E and intangible assets.
Adjusted net income (loss) Net income (loss) excluding special items, accretion on net retirement benefit obligations, certain net gains and losses arising from changes in measurement of provisions and of financial instruments carried at FVTP&L and the related tax impacts of these items.
Free cash flow (usage) Cash flows from operating activities less net additions to PP&E and intangible assets.

Non-GAAP financial measures are mainly derived from the consolidated financial statements but do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. The exclusion of certain items from non-GAAP performance measures does not imply that these items are necessarily non-recurring. Other entities in our industry may define the above measures differently than we do. In those cases, it may be difficult to compare the performance of those entities to ours based on these similarly-named non-GAAP measures.

Adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income (loss)
Management uses adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income (loss) for purposes of evaluating underlying business performance. Management believes these non-GAAP earnings measures in addition to IFRS measures provide users of our Financial Report with enhanced understanding of our results and related trends and increases the transparency and clarity of the core results of our business. Adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income (loss) exclude items that do not reflect our core performance or where their exclusion will assist users in understanding our results for the period. For these reasons, a significant number of users of the MD&A analyze our results based on these financial measures. Management believes these measures help users of MD&A to better analyze results, enabling better comparability of our results from one period to another and with peers.

Free cash flow (usage)
Free cash flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities less net additions to PP&E and intangible assets. Management believes that this non-GAAP cash flow measure provides investors with an important perspective on the Corporation’s generation of cash available for shareholders, debt repayment, and acquisitions after making the capital investments required to support ongoing business operations and long-term value creation. This non-GAAP cash flow measure does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures as it excludes certain mandatory expenditures such as repayment of maturing debt. Management uses free cash flow as a measure to assess both business performance and overall liquidity generation.

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable IFRS financial measures are provided in the table hereafter, except for the following reconciliations:

  • adjusted EBIT to EBIT – see the Consolidated results of operations section; and
  • free cash flow usage to cash flows from operating activities – see the Free cash flow usage table in the Liquidity and capital resources section in the MD&A.
   Reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to EBIT(1)
Three-month periods
ended June 30

Six-month periods
ended June 30

2021 2020 2021
2020
EBIT $ 36 $ 403 $ 55 $ 508
Amortization 111 75 205 152
Impairment charges on PP&E and intangible assets(2) 8 3 19
Special items excluding impairment charges on PP&E and intangible assets(2) (4 ) (455 ) 3 (562 )
Adjusted EBITDA $ 143 $ 31 $ 266 $ 117

 

(1) Includes continuing operations only.
(2) Refer to the Consolidated results of operations section for details regarding special items.


FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes forward-looking statements, which may involve, but are not limited to: statements with respect to our objectives, anticipations and outlook or guidance in respect of various financial and global metrics and sources of contribution thereto, targets, goals, priorities, market and strategies, financial position, financial performance, market position, capabilities, competitive strengths, credit ratings, beliefs, prospects, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions; general economic and business outlook, prospects and trends of an industry; customer value; expected demand for products and services; growth strategy; product development, including projected design, characteristics, capacity or performance; expected or scheduled entry-into-service of products and services, orders, deliveries, testing, lead times, certifications and execution of orders in general; competitive position; expectations regarding revenue and backlog mix; the expected impact of the legislative and regulatory environment and legal proceedings; strength of capital profile and balance sheet, creditworthiness, available liquidities and capital resources, expected financial requirements, and ongoing review of strategic and financial alternatives; the introduction of, productivity enhancements, operational efficiencies, cost reduction and restructuring initiatives, and anticipated costs, intended benefits and timing thereof; the anticipated business transition to growth cycle and cash generation; expectations, objectives and strategies regarding debt repayment, refinancing of maturities and interest cost reduction; expectations regarding availability of government assistance programs, compliance with restrictive debt covenants; expectations regarding the declaration and payment of dividends on our preferred shares; intentions and objectives for our programs, assets and operations; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the foregoing and the effectiveness of plans and measures we have implemented in response thereto; and expectations regarding gradual market and economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. As it relates to the sale of the Transportation business to Alstom, this press release also contains forward-looking statements with respect to the benefits of such transaction, the use of the proceeds derived from the transaction and its impact on our outlook, guidance and targets, operations, infrastructure, opportunities, financial condition, business plan and overall strategy.

Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “shall”, “can”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “foresee”, “believe”, “continue”, “maintain” or “align”, the negative of these terms, variations of them or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain key elements of our current objectives, strategic priorities, expectations, outlook and plans, and in obtaining a better understanding of our business and anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

By their nature, forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to important known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecast results set forth in forward-looking statements. While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable and appropriate based on information currently available, there is risk that they may not be accurate. The assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements made in this press release include the following material assumptions: the deployment of the proceeds from the sale of the Transportation business to Alstom on terms allowing the Corporation, when combined to other financing sources and free cash flow generation, to repay or otherwise manage its various maturities for the next three years; growth of the business aviation market and increase of the Corporation’s share of such market; proper identification of recurring cost savings and executing on our cost reduction plan; optimization of our real estate portfolio, including through the sale or other transaction in respect of real estate assets on favorable terms; and access to working capital facilities on market terms. For additional information, including with respect to other assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements made in this press release, refer to the Forward-looking statements — Assumptions section in the MD&A of our financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. Given the impact of the changing circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the related response from the Corporation, governments (federal, provincial and municipal), regulatory authorities, businesses, suppliers, customers, counterparties and third-party service providers, there is inherently more uncertainty associated with the Corporation’s assumptions as compared to prior years.

Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks associated with general economic conditions, risks associated with our business environment (such as risks associated with the financial condition of business aircraft customers; trade policy; increased competition; political instability and force majeure events or global climate change), operational risks (such as risks related to developing new products and services; development of new business ; order backlog; the transition to a pure-play business aviation company; the certification of products and services; the execution of orders; pressures on cash flows and capital expenditures based on seasonality and cyclicality; execution of our strategy, productivity enhancements, operational efficiencies, restructuring and cost reduction initiatives; doing business with partners; product performance warranty and casualty claim losses; regulatory and legal proceedings; environmental, health and safety risks; dependence on certain customers, contracts and suppliers; supply chain risks; human resources; reliance on information systems; reliance on and protection of intellectual property rights; reputation risks; risk management; tax matters; and adequacy of insurance coverage), financing risks (such as risks related to liquidity and access to capital markets; retirement benefit plan risk; exposure to credit risk; substantial debt and interest payment requirements; restrictive debt covenants; reliance on debt management and interest cost reduction strategies; and reliance on government support), market risks (such as foreign currency fluctuations; changing interest rates; increases in commodity prices; and inflation rate fluctuations). For more details, see the Risks and uncertainties section in Other in this MD&A. Any one or more of the foregoing factors may be exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and may have a significantly more severe impact on the Corporation’s business, results of operations and financial condition than in the absence of such outbreak. As a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: risks related to the impact and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic conditions and financial markets and the resulting impact on our business, operations, capital resources, liquidity, financial condition, margins, prospects and results; uncertainty regarding the magnitude and length of economic disruption as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting effects on the demand environment for our products and services; uncertainty regarding market and economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic; emergency measures and restrictions imposed by public health authorities or governments, fiscal and monetary policy responses by governments and financial institutions; disruptions to global supply chain, customers, workforce, counterparties and third-party service providers; further disruptions to operations, orders and deliveries; technology, privacy, cyber security and reputational risks; and other unforeseen adverse events.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future growth, results and performance is not exhaustive and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently believe are not material could also cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth herein reflect management’s expectations as at the date of this report and are subject to change after such date. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, we expressly disclaim any intention, and assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.