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- 03-11-2014, 07:46 AM Thread Author #1
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K9 Mail: Not showing Gmail Contacts.
Hi All
I use K9 Mail to check my emails on my Android phone and I have 5 gmail account setup in the program.
As per another thread herein, I exported my Outlook contacts (from my notebook) as a CSV file and imported the same into one of my Gmail accounts on the gmail website.
But subsequently when I try to send email from this Gmail account on my phone, none of the contacts appear in the To list.
Please tell me what I'm doing wrong!! (puzzled)
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Re: K9 Mail: Not showing Gmail Contacts.
- 03-12-2014, 04:27 AM Thread Author #3
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Re: K9 Mail: Not showing Gmail Contacts.
Hi paintdrinkingpete (funny name! please find something else to drink. haha!)
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I setup the account and synced it in my main settings. Actually the gmail-contacts show up in the preloaded Email app on my phone but not in K9Mail ? I can't understand why ? In K9 Mail, only email-id of my phone-contacts show up, but not the gmail-contacts. !!
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Techne (NASDAQ:TECH)
Q2 2014 Earnings Call
February 04, 2014 8:30 am ET
Charles R. Kummeth - Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer and Director
Kathleen M. Backes - Chief Accounting Officer and Controller
Amanda Murphy - William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division
Jeffrey T. Elliott - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
Daniel L. Leonard - Leerink Swann LLC, Research Division
Steven F. Crowley - Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research Division
Paul Richard Knight - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
Good morning. Welcome to the Techne Corporation earnings conference call for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2014. Hosting the call today is Chuck Kummeth, Chief Executive Officer of Techne Corporation. [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to introduce Chuck Kummeth.
Charles R. Kummeth
Thank you, Chelsea. Thank you, and welcome to Techne Corporation's second-ever quarterly conference call. Today we will discuss the earnings results for the second quarter and the first 6 months of fiscal 2014 that we released earlier this morning.
As stated in this morning's press release, I'm very pleased with the progress that we have made during the past few months in fiscal year-to-date. Changes made in our operations have improved efficiencies in our Biotech segments allowing us to focus more on sales growth. Gross margins have remained strong and expenses are within our plans as we invest in new people, leaders, technologies and regions. While sales growth in the second quarter was less than the first quarter, our progress is steady, and especially considering the difficult market situation in the academic and government sector.
You will hear more about this progress as we provide greater detail during this call regarding our recent financial results and strategic progress. Kathy Backes, as the company's Controller, is with me on the call today. Our plan this morning is for Kathy to provide a review of our financial results for the second quarter and first 6 months of fiscal 2014. I will then address several topics and be open to your questions.
Kathleen M. Backes
Before discussing the financial details for this quarter, allow me to remind you that some of the statements made during this conference call may be considered forward-looking statements. The company's 10-K for fiscal year 2013 and 10-Q that will be filed for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2013, identifies certain factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements made this morning. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.
The 10-K and 10-Q as well as the company's other SEC filings are available through the company or online.
During the call, non-GAAP financial measures may be used to provide information pertinent to ongoing business performance. Tables reconciling these measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are available in the company's press release issued earlier this morning or on the Techne Corporation website at www.techne-corp.com.
Sales as reported increased 11.9% to $84 million for the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2013. Organic sales increased 0.4% in the quarter. These organic sales exclude $8 million of Bionostics product sales and $643,000 of favorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Adjusted earnings were $27.8 million or $0.75 per share for the second fiscal quarter of 2014, a 2.4% increase over adjusted EPS of $0.74 in the second quarter of fiscal '13.
Adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share excluding intangible asset amortization and cost recognized upon the sale of inventory that was written up to fair value as part of acquisition.
For the 6 months ended December 31, 2013, sales as reported increased 13.0% to $169.7 million. Organic sales increased 2.8% in the first 6 months of fiscal 2014. These organic sales exclude $14.2 million of Bionostics product sales and $1.3 million of favorable foreign exchange rate fluctuations.
The Bionostics acquisition was completed in July 2013. Adjusted earnings were $58.5 million or 115 -- excuse me, $1.58 per share for the first 2 fiscal quarters of 2014, a 7% increase over adjusted EPS of $1.48 in the first 2 fiscal quarters of 2013. Adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share, again, excluding intangible asset amortization, cost recognized upon the sale of inventory that was written up to fair value as part of acquisitions and professional fees related to the Bionostics acquisition.
The company operates 2 reportable segments based on the nature of its products. Our largest segment is the Biotechnology segment, a segment that develops, manufactures and sells biotechnology research and diagnostic products worldwide. This segment includes R&D Systems, Biotechnology division, R&D Europe, Tocris, R&D China, BiosPacific and Boston Biochem.
The Biotechnology segment sales were $70.6 million for the second fiscal quarter, an increase of 0.4% after adjustments for foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, and $143.7 million for the 6 months ended December 31, 2013, which is an increase of 2.4% after adjustments for foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Our second segment is now called Clinical Controls, a segment previously referred to as the Hematology segment. This segment develops and manufactures controls and calibrators for sales worldwide. The Clinical Controls segment now includes sales made through R&D Systems, Clinical Controls division and Bionostics.
Clinical Controls sales were $13.5 million for the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2013, and $25.9 million for the 6-month period then ended. The sales growth was 0.5% for the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2013, and 7.0% for the 6-month period then ended when sales of Bionostics products are excluded.
The difference between the first and second fiscal quarter sales growth rate was mainly the result of the timing of shipments [indiscernible] the beginning and ending of the first fiscal quarter.
A couple of comments regarding key Biotechnology segment, customers and geographies may be helpful. About 50% -- 53% of biotech sales are generated in the United States during the 6 months ended December 31, 2013. The 2 biggest U.S. customer groups are the industrial market, which includes pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies of all sizes; and the academic research market. Sales to U.S. industrial pharmaceutical and biotech customers increased by 2.6% in the quarter ended December 31, 2013 as compared to the same period last year.
Although this growth rate was lower than achieved in the first fiscal quarter, we have now experienced improving sales from these U.S. customers during each of the past 4 quarters. We expect and hope that these customers will continue their commitment to research investment.
Sales to U.S. academic customers declined 4.6% during the quarter ended December 31, 2013, as compared to the same period last year. This decline was substantially smaller than the 8 -- 11.8% decline experienced in the first fiscal quarter despite the disruption caused by the government shutdown during the first half of October 2013.
This is the 10th straight quarter of sales declines in this customer segment. As you know, the U.S. academic market is highly dependent on funding from the National Institute of Health. Unfortunately, sequestration moved from a threat towards reality last March 1, requiring 8% cut across the NIH budget, and this funding stress was compounded by the 2-week government shutdown last October.
Europe is our other major biotech market. About 29% of our biotech sales were derived from this continent during the 6 months ended December 31, 2013. Like the U.S., the major customer groups in Europe are the academic market and pharma and biotech companies.
Sales in Europe, excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, showed a decline of 2.0% in the second quarter of 2014, after 1.5% of organic growth in the first fiscal quarter. Our European sales for the first 6 months of fiscal 2014 are basically flat, which is consistent with our fiscal 2013 European results, but better than the organic sales declines reported in each quarter of fiscal 2012.
European academic sales were slightly down during the second fiscal quarter with a sales to biotech and pharma customers being relatively flat during the 3 months ended December 31, 2013. Germany again showed sales growth in the second fiscal quarter while slight sales declines were experienced in the U.K. and France during this period.
Sales in China increased by almost 32% in the quarter ended December 31, 2013, as compared to the same period last year, and excluding the benefit of a slightly stronger Chinese currency. Our China presence has been growing at about 20% or more for each year since we established an operation there in fiscal 2006.
This growth improved dramatically in the most recent 2 fiscal quarters due to an expanded sales staff and a relatively small base of business. China generated about 6% of consolidated sales during the first half of fiscal 2014. Although this is relatively small, a China presence is important to our strategy of global reach and growth.
Pacific Rim sales increased by 7.5% in the quarter ended December 31, 2013, as compared to the same period last year, and increased 10.5% during the first 6 months of fiscal 2014. The strength during the last 6 months is due to its comparison against weak first 2 fiscal quarters in fiscal 2013 and the emphasis we are placing on Asian sales growth.
About 10% of our biotech sales were generated in the Pacific Rim during the first 6 months of fiscal 2014 solely through our distributor partners. Japan, Korea and Taiwan are the leading countries in this geography.
Gross margins adjusted for cost recognized upon the sale of the part of the inventory and amortization of intangibles were 72.7% and 76.2% for the quarters ended December 31, 2013, and 2012, respectively. The decrease in adjusted gross margins for the quarter was primarily caused by a change in product mix from higher-margin biotechnology segment sales to Clinical Controls segment sales as a write-off -- as the result of the Bionostics acquisition. The impact of the medical device excise tax also slightly reduced gross margin profit.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, increased $4.0 million from the quarter ended December 31, 2012. This is similar to the level of expense increase reported in the previous quarter.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the quarter included $1 million of selling, general and administrative expenses related to Bionostics operations; a $1.1 million increase in intangible asset amortization, primarily related to the Bionostics acquisition; and a $541,000 increase in noncash stock option -- stock compensation expense as compared to the same quarter last year.
The remaining increase in selling, general and administrative expense for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, was mainly the result of increased executive compensation and additional sales staff added since the start of fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $7.7 million during the 6 months ended December 31, 2013, versus the same period in the prior fiscal year. This increase in selling, general and administrative expenses include a $2.1 million of selling, general and administrative expense related to Bionostics operations following its July acquisition; a $1.5 million increase in intangible asset amortization primarily related to the Bionostics acquisition; $532,000 professional fees related to the Bionostics acquisition; and an $807,000 increase in our cash stock compensation expense as compared to the same 6-month period last year.
The remaining increase in selling, general and administrative expense for the 6 months ended December 31, 2013, was mainly the result of increased executive compensation and additional sales staff added since the start of fourth quarter of 2013.
Research and development expenses increased $520,000 or 7.3% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, and $770,000 or 5.2% for the 6-month period ended December 31, 2013, versus the comparable period in the prior fiscal year.
The increases are due to research and development expenses related to Bionostics operations and increase of personnel and prior costs associated with the continued development and release of new high-quality biotech products.
The effective tax rate for both the quarter and 6 months ended December 31, 2013, were 30.8%, compared to 32.3% for the same prior year period. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily the result of decreased tax rates in the U.K. and the increased percentage of pretax income from foreign operations, which have lower income tax rates than the U.S.
The company expects the income tax rate for the remainder of fiscal 2014 to range between 30% and 32%.
I'll conclude today's financial discussion with a few balance sheet and cash flow comments. At December 31, 2013, Techne had $349 million of cash and available-for-sale investments, which is up $26 million from September 30, 2013, and we continue to have no debt. We generated $31.3 million from operations in the quarter ended December 31, 2013, and $53.9 million from operations during the 6-month period then ended.
The 6-month cash generation is 5.5% more [indiscernible] generated in the same 6-month period last year.
During the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2013, we returned $11.4 million to our shareholders in the form of dividends, and $3.6 million was invested in capital expenditures.
Noncash stock-based compensation expense was $1.3 million. This is an increase over the $569,000 of stock-based compensation expense in the previous quarter due to options granted through our Board of Directors upon their reelection at our October Annual Meeting.
I will now turn the program back to Chuck Kummeth for his additional comments and observations.
Charles R. Kummeth
Thank you, Kathy. I'd like to add a few supplemental comments regarding our financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 in the markets we serve. I'll also make a few comments regarding our product offerings and a couple regarding the progress we are making with our strategic plan.
Our results for the quarter and 6-month period that ended December 31 supports the belief that our customers are facing a number of stresses, particularly in the U.S. academic market.
This customer segment is now down to 12% of our consolidated Biotech segment sales. While we've endured over 2 years of sales declines and uncertainty in this customer segment, we are approaching the anniversary date of sequestration. This should make our comparative results a bit easier. We cannot wait for the markets to strengthen. We need do more.
The Fisher Scientific distribution agreement that was announced last Friday as one of our strategies to gain deeper penetration into the academic market.
Fisher agreement is for 3 years and allows us to leverage Fisher Scientific distribution channels in the United States and Canada. Fisher Scientific is a premier customer channel brand with internal Fisher Scientific and has a leading position in the life sciences market. We believe Fisher Scientific's broad customer reach and proven record of customer service and support will help accelerate our sales growth.
As preferred supplier, we will be able to leverage the commercial strength of the Fisher Scientific channel through its large sales force and highly trained life science application specialists. Additionally we will be well positioned to take advantage of the many Fisher Scientific marketing programs including advanced e-commerce solutions that will occupy a promising [ph] division of Fisher Scientific catalog.
We will continue to market and provide technical support for our existing customers, as well as all new customers introduced through the extensive Fisher Scientific channel. The partnership will expose our products with greater number of academic, governmental and industrial customers, including those in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and serial [ph] segments.
I also remain encouraged by our strong brand and segment position and believe we have tremendous upside potential. Our strong brand name has created a business with longevity value. We are a leader in the field of cytokines, growth factors and related [indiscernible] in Clinical Controls.
We have a large portfolio of products that is continuously being enhanced with new product introductions, and we are heightening our focus with value-added products and are focusing less in providing raw materials to our competitors. The new long-term outlook remains favorable. Today we have increased our focus on channel direct selling and are being price competitive without seeing a substantial impact on our gross margins.
We believe these actions can translate into incremental revenue. We are also likely to benefit from the trend of RUO [ph] products being converted into diagnostic tools, and the adoption of our products on various testing platforms will also allow us to leverage our unique content.
I also believe there's potential M&A activity that can provide additional growth. We do not lack for opportunities and have a strong balance sheet that provides us with the ability to leverage. This puts us in a strong position to target deals that verifies this.
The trick is finding targets that will scale our business and take us into new markets. Our goal is to build on Techne's history of product and financial success and to execute a strategy which prepares us for the changing market landscape. Innovation in core products, acquisitions and expansion of our geographic footprint will be key to successfully achieving our strategy. These goals will additionally benefit from a newly creative key opinion leader network that will strengthen our collaborative science [ph] which can translate into new products.
In recognition of the expected increase, size and scale of the organization, we will need to redesign our development and operational and commercial resources to create greater efficiencies in the organization. We will also need to retain our talented staff and recruit supplemental personnel as necessary to allow us to successfully implement the strategic vision we have for our company.
My conclusion is the same as it was 3 months ago. Techne is an outstanding company that will continue to focus on operating discipline and the balance sheet and cash flow management needed to fund our growth and to continue to return cash to shareholders as appropriate.
We'll also be continuing strengthening our growth program with selective discipline acquisitions that will enhance our sales growth rate. Our second quarter results reflect that we are successful in beginning to implement our strategic plans to accelerate sales growth while at the same time maintaining superb gross margins, controlling expenses and generating substantial cash flow.
We'll now turn the program back to our moderator and entertain your questions and comments. Chelsea?
Question-and-Answer Session
[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Amanda with William Blair.
Amanda Murphy - William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division
I just had a question on the Thermo Fisher, the Fisher Scientific distribution agreement. Could you just talk a little bit about how those economics work to the extent that you're able to share? And then also in context of that agreement, how you're thinking about sales force in North America for Techne internally?
Charles R. Kummeth
Sure. Well, as you know, Amanda, we had nothing more than inside sales group when I arrived. Now we have an army of 5 individuals in the key markets that are very technically oriented and can help create demand and drive local growth in these mostly larger accounts, as well as prospecting as needed. But aside from that, it's nice to have a little more channel support. Now we do have some sales third-party through [indiscernible] Fisher always have, but the opportunity is there and has been there to leverage similar what they do with BD. And they have pretty large force of technical sales specialists that know our model already because of the BD arrangement. And you know how well how neutral Fisher is. This leverages an army of over 1,000 reps and in what's called a platinum-level arrangement. We're the top tier category for commission, so we'll -- they'll be out there trying to really do more for us. The arrangements are very sound. I can tell you at the past present that Thermo, they're better than any deal I had internally. They're very good. Thermo wants content and of a life tech deal they just did obviously proves that. And so they've been really after more product classes like we have and are coming for years. And they're really -- it's a high priority for them. Clearly with the consumables and instrumentation, they can surround the customer with everything but content, and that content is a very big strategy for them, so we were able to find very, very good terms, and I'm just hoping for a lot of incremental growth. I won't give you the specifics, but I will tell you that they are largely paid on incremental growth, not on just pure -- on your channel thought that we currently -- with our current means of how we're delivering a customer. So it's a very good win-win situation both ways and it's pretty known [ph] for 3 years, and I'm hoping for some incremental success from them. I don't think it's a double the business or anything, but I'm expecting a couple of percent of this and hopefully for the quarter if we can get, but it's really unknown right now. We're just large at sales force, it all comes down to which was the same as when I was at Fisher, it depends on how much they go after it and how they're treated within the structure of their current arenas because they supply like a million products. So it's complicated. But they're everywhere, so we're expecting good things. In terms of our sales force, we're making great progress. They are definitely delivering, and it is going quite well. We are very excited. People now are looking for one more in an another region, but we're seeing great results. As you know, we hired experienced people that could hit the ground running right away, and they're delivering really within this first month. As they learn the company culture and our pretty big products, that it gets even better, but I'm very, very encouraged by what we're seeing. And I think it's also helping offset other erosion, especially in this academic sector we talked about, which is still there and will probably remain there for another one more quarter to go here probably. If you want, you can have a follow-up question if you like, Amanda, if it didn't cover, we can continue if you like?
Amanda Murphy - William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division
Okay. My follow-up was China. So you had talked previously about branding strategies there, curious if there's any updates on that front?
Charles R. Kummeth
Yes, we had another, as you saw, very, very strong quarter in China. We're now at year-to-date roughly 35% growth. It is interesting place as you know. We have probably a little more than doubled our employee count there, and things are going quite well. We have the office opening in Beijing with a big success. We have some extraordinary talent that we have found in China. I'm just really, really impressed, been working China for many years, in much bigger organizations. So it's very hopeful. With that all said, we've got to do more. We've got to get more local. We've got to get local brand identified, and we're very close to many of these things. And so they're all work in progress and these reports and us [ph] is probably assuming more than that. But right now we're kind of riding a good growth wave there. It's probably lower hanging fruit. As I mentioned in the past, it's a lower base for us, but now it's 6%, but if it keeps at this rate, it won't stay small for long, so...
Our next question comes from Jeff with Robert Baird.
Jeffrey T. Elliott - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
My first question is on operating margin. Obviously I get the mix shift here, but can you talk through -- was 47% the level that you expected? And how should we think about the margin going forward?
Charles R. Kummeth
The big shift in gross margin was generated [ph] by Bionostics. The rest of it from there is really coming from different -- the way we run our business, and actually we're well within our expense levels we expected to be. We're actually under planned to be honest. So we're fine there in that mix. We have actually had a slight increase in our gross margin, and our biotechs have [indiscernible]. I've talked in the past about our operations redesign. And that's allowed us to have a portion of the business, the company are focused on productivity like a factory model that should, there have never been here before. And that's yielded some early results. We have some new arrangements with FedEx. We have a lot of efficiency programs in place, some lean programs in place, and there is substantial costing, about $1 million or so year-to-date here, which is improving the gross margins in that part of the segment. So if you ask about the rate we should be at, we'd be a little higher with the extra volume if we had to add it [ph] probably, but that's all coming. So I think you have to look at it more in a 6-month level than the quarter-by-quarter.
Jeffrey T. Elliott - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
Got it. Okay.
Charles R. Kummeth
And also I should make one comment too on stock option expense for the director for your seasonal. So this is the quarter that hit, it might have some impact.
Jeffrey T. Elliott - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
Got it. So it sounds like that we could see a small step up in the second half of the fiscal year?
Charles R. Kummeth
We should.
Jeffrey T. Elliott - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
Okay. And then just on the organic revenue growth, can you talk about what kind of pacing you saw during the quarter? I get we had the government shutdown. Did you see a step off during the shutdown and kind of a recovery afterwards? Or what did it look like during the quarter? And then you talked about seeing a recovery during the current quarter, can you talk about what you're seeing there now?
Charles R. Kummeth
As you know, the shutdown was October, so it was kind of off pace right away from the very beginning of the quarter, and I really don't think we ever really fully caught up, to be honest. And then the holiday season was a weird year, right, with a Wednesday, so we knew we were going to take really a couple of day hit on that. So I don't think -- all in all, we probably should have forecasted maybe a little better on those on the holiday situation, but the shutdown definitely hurt us some. We'll see. Still, growth, given the things we saw and the pressures I've seen, I think there's still upside in the near 3% 6-month rate. We're probably within the area of our range where I see for moving the model here so. If -- we should -- with Fisher, with the things we're putting in place and all the things I've talked to you guys all off-line and stuff on it, it should be slowly improving. I've never we should ever get really above mid-level single-digit growth in the quarter here organically until we get new platforms and extensions and adjacent markets we've talked about and other things. So it's early days here, but staying in the positive territory, especially in this hopefully the last season of the sequestration, I think is a good thing.
Our next question comes from Dan with Leerink.
Daniel L. Leonard - Leerink Swann LLC, Research Division
I've had some technical difficulty, so if I'm asking a question that's been asked before, I apologize. But Chuck, a follow-up on Amanda's earlier question on the Fisher agreement. What does this mean for incremental margin? So as the deal is structured to over and above prior sales to given Customer A, does Fisher take 30% of that? And thus far -- and thus your incremental gross margins are going to be meaningfully lower?
Charles R. Kummeth
I want to be careful how I answer this because one, we're not banking everything on Fisher. We have other channels as well as other partners. I can tell you that the terms are very favorable. Nobody sells completely at list anyway, even us, and so there's definitely room, and the margin loss is very acceptable and nearly immaterial really unless there's some major surprise. We've been promoting and discounting heavily since, I think, this company has never done it. We've talked about the low-end of the portfolio here and our rising competition, especially at the easier to make money [ph] level products. So we've been promoting and you still haven't seen much material difference with our numbers. It will be likely the same, unless these guys blow it out of the water. I mean if they come in and it's something 10% or above percent growth off of that, then there may be some move, but I would take that trade-off in that kind of growth. But in our model of what we think we see likely for incremental growth shouldn't be that big a deal.
Daniel L. Leonard - Leerink Swann LLC, Research Division
Okay. And my follow-up. How does this coexist? Or how are you able to negotiate a coexistence between your product portfolio and what Thermo has now brought on board from Life, who offers a number of the same products?
Charles R. Kummeth
Great question. I guess you just have to be an ex-Thermo person to fully, really understand the neutrality of Fisher. Fisher is neutral. They stand for convenience and choice for their customers. And to the great frustration of every division president within Thermo Fisher Scientific, they're a partner but also it's a complicated situation. It's that they're channel of choice, but they also realize that they have to compete for that channel like with other competitors. As an example, when I ran in LG non [ph] in the lab consumer [ph] for Thermo, I had to compete against Corning [ph] with my own channel. It's actually quite healthy, and it works quite well, and there are numbers to prove it right at Thermo. So it's a very successful model. I know it very well, and I know that we can trust this bunch and they'll be very good to us, and it's all about being platinum level and being a good partner and working with them and supporting the products with the technical backup and creating the demand as they work with you. And Life Check [ph] will have to earn their place like every other part within Thermo Fisher Scientific. There may be some people who are actually waking up there asking us and like [ph] and wondering what's happened. But they'll soon realize just how important Fisher is and how neutral it is, and you have to earn the right to get them playing ball on your side. Did that help?
We have another question from Jeff with Robert Baird.
Jeffrey T. Elliott - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
My question is on Bionostics. Can you talk about the how the integration is going? And what kind of synergies you've been able to achieve on that?
Charles R. Kummeth
Sure. Large part is it's never a ton of synergy to be expected. It's an OEM model. It's an extension of platform comprised of -- related to ours, same company but different products. So in terms of synergies, their synergy is in some of the functional heads and different things like that, but there isn't -- not at all sales force per se and things like that to worry about. So I guess on that, we're okay. On the growth side, I think we're just a little bit less than where I'd like to have been. But it's within the range of our model. We're very, very happy with the leadership there and the overall integration into our company and within -- in the systems, et cetera, for that part of the integration. It's not a difficult acquisition to integrate. It's just largely a bolt-on and incremental. And the people there are good. The locations are wonderful to work at. And we have -- they were -- it was PE owned before, and the leader there, the CEO was grooming the person for years there to take over, and that person is in charge for us, and it's going quite well.
Our next question comes from Steven with Craig-Hallum.
Steven F. Crowley - Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research Division
In terms of a couple of questions that haven't been asked, in terms of what you're doing in Europe with your direct operations with roots efforts and with your indirect initiatives through J.P., can you update us on what you've tried to do there? And whether or not you think we've started to see some of the benefits of those actions?
Charles R. Kummeth
In Europe?
Steven F. Crowley - Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research Division
In Europe and then also international with J.P.?
Charles R. Kummeth
Oh, I see what you're saying, okay. Well, Europe is the one place where we do have a true commercial model. We have roughly 20-some different reps. We are -- probably our longer term strategy will to be to work a little closer and pick up some of the distributors that we're working with, like we have in the past with Germany where we are direct. We're mostly run out in the U.K. as you know and 100-plus employees overall. And it's kind of up, it's kind of down. It's definitely in a slightly positive territory year-to-date here, and we are all banking on it and hearing about the winds are back in the sails in Europe, this maybe a decent year there, so we're expecting to ride that as well. So we're a little better than flat. It's rising slowly, so it's working, but it's through normal commercial kind of operations. There isn't any really sort of bolt-on coverage like we're trying to pull off here in the U.S. but with added coverage in the major regions as an example. In Asia, with J.P. there in our managed distribution, that's actually going quite well, and he is busy working on, I would say, streamlining our distributor partners. We had lots of channel conflicts. We had in some countries too many distributors fighting each other. There were lots of things to work on. We are down to a distinct strategy now and in some cases singular dedicated distributors in smaller territories. We are looking at going even direct in some other areas like Australia is an example, which pretty -- everybody does. It's just too far away to manage distributors. It has been for most companies. India is going quite well. Korea is going extremely well. Japan, we're having a great year. So we have multiple distributors in Japan, as you know, you kind of have to. You've got a very extensive dealer network that have their loyalties you have to deal with there in almost every market class, and we're working that well. J.P. being a 20-plus year veteran in Asia is driving that hard, and we're working on some new plans and contracts with these people to give them more what they want and what we want in terms of support and growth and so they will invest more. That's why you see the numbers picking up. And again, I don't think it will be dramatic overnight. These are still kind of small markets country by country, except for Japan, and it'll take a combined effort of all this together holistically to try and move the needle, which I think we will, and our strategic plan has over the next 5 years more about doubling with a potential of sales in APAC overall, including China. So I think we're on track for that. China has to stay above 30 in the year-on-year, which hopefully we can, and so far so good. APAC is one of the better stories here so far in my early tenure here in the company.
Steven F. Crowley - Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research Division
Great. And then a follow-up, Chuck, can you hear me? I'm not sure that I'm muted or live?
Charles R. Kummeth
I can hear you fine.
Steven F. Crowley - Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research Division
Okay. In terms of the success you are pointing to with your commercial sales people in the field in the U.S., has that success so far been driven more by getting deeper into key accounts and better penetrating those full accounts? Or really better covering the whole ecosystem? All their customers around the key accounts, feeder accounts? So far, what's happened, and what do you think happens from here?
Charles R. Kummeth
I think a little all of the above. Let me explain a little bit. Also you get back to -- essentially we're hiring these rock stars with lots of experience that it kind of depends a little bit on what they're like and their relationships, and so it varies a little bit. Some of them are little better at prospecting, some are really good at high-level key account whale hunters, bigger deals pulling in orders of a couple of $100,000 or more. We have a little of all of the above. The original design was to take these inside sales people that are being worked to death here locally with $18 million account representation and try and get a partner out there in the major markets to work with. And that's been working quite well. So we've divided these territories between the inside professional here with that external person, and it's a combination of breaking up the relationship from major accounts to where they both have been -- where they have these relationships established, and then allowing the local person to really do the prospecting portion of the workload, okay, and working hand in hand with support back here with the inside person, all right? And it's working fairly well. I think we're actually maybe short. I think we're looking for a second person in the Bay Area, and we may look for one in Houston. We may expand in Boston. As I've said, I don't see us ever going above 10 or 12 for this model. I think it's fine. We have to supplement all of this, of course, with an even better website, which we're working on. There has to be very, very quick and good access to products with these many, many customers for this model to work, which is why we did the Fisher agreement is for increased accessibility and why we're going to work on the website so that we can provide that transaction capability with fewer clicks. I will also mention a big plus for the Fisher agreement too. It's just how our model works. We're not a very large company, and we're working, as we told you, on our website. Our level of e-commerce here is roughly 1/3 and most companies like ours, you'll find all of them the same way. When you begin with customers, almost nearly one professor, one researcher at a time. There's a lot of phone and fax and papers still involved in our operations. A lot of these institutions, both industrial and academic, the accessibility and the ease of making a transaction or purchase can vary, and having local lab stock online with systems like Fisher provides can provide for a lot of incremental ease. So we want to make it easy. It's called a punch out. We want to make it easy for the local researcher to -- if they don't have the time to -- the old way of picking up the catalogs and figuring out what to buy and make the phone call to order their favorite cytokine from us, they can just now order through the punch out on the online lab stock system, push the big blue Fisher button. It's going to -- it should make it much easier to do. That's what we're counting on. And it's all about accessibility. And the fewer clicks, the better. But we've got to get away from paper and fax and phone if we can here, and that's one of our initiatives here and it's progressing.
There are no further questions in queue. [Operator Instructions]
Charles R. Kummeth
While you guys are thinking, I want to follow-up on one of the questions about Europe. I will tell you that our -- Germany does remain very strong. U.K. and France are a little bit weaker. The academic areas are still this soft. We have still a large pharma issue in Europe. As you know, it's been moving out. Growth in terms of small and midsized pharma and biotech customers, and it's more the midsized levels in Germany is really in the package [ph] in terms of our success, and I think that kind of nears what I read in what's going on over there. Let's just hope it all continues, and U.K. can follow soon. So far so good. It's so far much better year-on-year, and I expect they will continue to be...
We have another question from Steven with Craig-Hallum.
Steven F. Crowley - Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research Division
Just one follow-up question. I think I heard in the financial discussion either from Chuck or Kathy that you said on an apples-to-apples basis, biotech gross margin was actually up. Are you referencing from a year ago period on an adjusted basis from Q1 period? I guess there's a fundamental question of did I hear you correctly? But maybe you could flesh that out just a little bit more for us?
Charles R. Kummeth
That would be both, year-over-year and quarter-on-quarter. It's not a big move. But it's -- we're roughly $1 million or $2 million off in the volume that we wanted to have in expectations and it would flow to the bottom line. I think that's where -- any initial adjustment would be. And yet we held really well and that is because the biotech segment was up in gross margins because of about $1 million in savings on different truncated programs, the FedEx deal we did and some other things. And so that's been a little bit helpful, but that's good that we're -- We have to do this. I'm a Six-Sigma-trained kind of guy. And as you invest for growth, you have to also do what you can on the savings side, and there are a lot of efficiencies to be done here, which we're working on. And Kathy may have something to add here as well.
Kathleen M. Backes
Right. Regarding the biotech segment, yes, the margins for the quarter and the 6 months were slightly up from prior years, and I believe also from first quarter. But again, they were just slightly.
Our next question comes from Paul with Janney Montgomery.
Paul Richard Knight - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
I guess the answer on the operating margin impacts from the Thermo relationship is that it's unclear at this point. I mean my question -- my concern would be, will customers bounce around on the 2 websites and price shop? I mean, what's to prevent that?
Charles R. Kummeth
It's almost nearly the same. Unless they really blow up their numbers on huge growth, there will be no noticeable change in terms of our margin to this. It's my prediction. That's our model.
Paul Richard Knight - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
And your...
Charles R. Kummeth
And again, you got to realize that we've structured a deal that gives them what they want in terms of content, and we're not after just channel swap, right? So we're after incremental growth, and they're really incentivized on true growth. And this is a much different model than us shipping a lot of goods and going into their giant, automated-driven warehousing. We don't see a real report of where things were going to what customers. We're shipping everything to customers from here, so we know where it's all going. We'll know what's due to us, what's due to them. So we're able to really, really well manage the scorecard of what they're contributing to this model and how that compensation occurred. And it's largely based on incremental growth. If -- like I said before, if there's a material shift in growth from this, which I don't expect, then there may be a noticeable decrease in real margin overall. But again, we're -- at the level where we're at, it's a tradeoff I'd love to have, to be honest, for that kind of growth.
Paul Richard Knight - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
Do you think incremental margins in the future will be at 48% or higher -- kind of your current level or higher, if you had incremental growth above this current level of organic?
Charles R. Kummeth
Probably in that range. I'd say it's not far off the mark. It's hard to know. We're adding a lot of new things here too and looking at new areas, and as I stated repeatedly, staying north of the 50% operating margins and trying to grow back at levels we need to grow is virtually impossible.
Paul Richard Knight - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
Yes. And then the other question was the cash per share, I think you said $3.49. On that long-term asset on the balance sheet, is that cash or is that ChemoCentryx? And then what's going to happen with ChemoCentryx?
Kathleen M. Backes
ChemoCentryx is in a short-term available-for-sale investment number. The remainder of the available-for-sale are all mostly municipal bonds that are liquid, but just had a longer dating [ph].
Charles R. Kummeth
And in terms of the future of ChemoCentryx is we're a closer partner than we have been in the previous few years. We've been with them a long time, as you know. They've had some bumps in the road. They had some positive bumps recently, and things are bouncing back. We're very bullish on ChemoCentryx with their pipeline of 8 different molecules, any one of those hits, and this is going to be a great story for them and for us with our position. After being involved for over 15 years together, I mean the pains are mostly behind us. I don't see any reason to not just be supportive and ride this and see where it goes. We're very supportive. I think we're very -- I think we see success. I don't think it's this year or next year. It could be 2 to 3 years, but I -- we believe in what they're doing and it's cool stuff, I think. We don't need the cash for anything desperate enough for this anyways, so it's a good story, I think.
There are no further questions in queue. [Operator Instructions]
Charles R. Kummeth
We'll give it a minute here. We have 5 more minutes, but if not, we'll start winding up here. Again, summing, it's a reasonable quarter for us, we feel. We're moving a lot of parts here, changing a lot of things that were well under plan in our expenses. Our margins are really exactly we expect them to be. They'd be a little better here if we had the extra little bit of volume we thought we might get, but we're in the range of what I thought and we told all of you. It's not a short-term gain here, and we're looking to the long term. We're investing for long term, and that's the way we intend to be and to be more strategic. And anyway, thank you for calling in, listening and asking your questions. And this is #2. I promise to be back for a #3 in another quarter. Thank you.
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By Joe Steck
I remember the days of going to the Carnegie Library, sitting in a chair and letting my mind drift away to distant countries and make believe places that the authors took me. The library was a treat for me as a youth. It was an extension of school, but a fun extension. It was an inexpensive vacation that my family could afford since all you had to do was present your orange library card and you could be taken anywhere that the author wanted you to go.
Back in those days, the library was full of books and vinyl records. It was before the era of computers, compact discs and countless movies on demand. We had limits, but in those days, you did not realize what you were missing out on. It was a simple time, but one that was appreciated by all.
Today's modern library has so many advantages over what once was. With the era of computers, you are able access books from the comfort of your own home. There are countless resources that many may not realize exist … I know I did not understand everything that is offered until I sat down with Tim Hayes, the director for the Blue Earth County Library system.
I was worried about the fiscal health of the library since the city of Mankato dropped out of funding the library.
"The library is doing well" said Hayes "with a slight change in how we are funded, it will now be easier to budget and for future planning because we will not have to worry about LGA and will have a single funding source."
The library will now be funded through the county, instead of in the past where funding came from the city of Mankato and the county. "The city should decrease its expense to the taxpayer and the county should increase its expense to the taxpayer" said Tim "In theory it should be a wash."
With that question answered I wanted to jump into what is available in the library system, but Mr. Hayes thought it best that I understand the basics of what we have here, sort of a Library 101.
In the state of Minnesota there are 12 regional library systems. The Blue Earth County library is serviced by the Traverse des Sioux Library system (One of the 12). "They give us a lot of support from a shared integrated library system to coordination of programs and events" said Hayes "They are a great asset in making things work well state wide."
The Blue Earth County library serves the entire county. The cities of Mankato, Mapleton and Lake Crystal have physical buildings while other communities can access books through the utilization of US Mail, online services and mini-library sites located in their communities. The recent change from the bookmobile made sense economically and was supported through surveys and community input.
"The goal is to allow everyone the opportunity to access our system" said Tim "With the costs associated with a bookmobile this made a lot of sense."
The library system allows anyone to access any book not only in the state, but nationally. "The internet changed the world" said Hayes "We are able to communicate with other systems and get the people what they want."
With a grasp of library 101 I advanced into learning what is available in our library system. The list of events, coordination and resources is astounding.
There are countless books, audio books, compact discs, tapes and movies. "With today's active society you people want to multi-task" said Tim "They want to listen to a book while running or lifting weights"
The library in Mankato has Internet and Wi-Fi which Tim said it is a much needed luxury. "People without a job or families that cannot afford the Internet or computer come here and use these features all of the time." He said "We also have Westlaw, ancestry.com, ELM (electronic data base of Minnesota) and microfilm for the Free Press starting from their first printing."
The library is not just about books and media items. The library is also about community and helping others learn.
"Locally we coordinate with the schools to find out what books are on the preferred reading list" said Hayes "We want to make sure there are enough copies so kids can get their work completed."
The library also has a reading program where this last summer, serviced over 3,200 children helping to instill lifelong reading skills. This program has been growing and improving over the years.
"We also try and work with the community getting best seller books in for the pleasure reader and non-fiction books in for the do it yourselfers" he said "There are a lot of people that want to fix their own cars or plan a trip and we can help them."
There are also adult programs and learning programs to help the community. An example is the upcoming class on how to download library ebooks. Helping people learn and stay entertained through reading is always in the forefront.
The library also is equipped with an auditorium and a conference room which are open to the public (see the library site for fees).
The library is due for some upgrades with the bathrooms and a possible main entrance change in the near future. They are also reviewing kids and adult programs and possible equipment changes to reflect with the ever changing times.
The library is a wonderful asset to our community and one in which everyone can find something to enjoy. Thank you Tim for sharing enlightening me about our library.
Click on the link below to learn more about the library and how they can help you.


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With a stay at Gerald Homestay in Gili Trawangan (Gili Islands), you'll be minutes from Gili Trawangan Market and Gili Trawangan Night Market. This hotel is within close proximity of Gili Trawangan Harbor and Meno Wall Dive Site.
Make yourself at home in one of the 14 guestrooms. Rooms have private patios. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available to keep you connected. Bathrooms have showers and complimentary toiletries.
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Natural gas service delayed in Franklin County
MALONE – The geology of the North Country has slowed down a natural gas pipeline project, but St. Lawrence Gas Assistant Manager Jim Ward said service should still be available by winter.
Ward told the Franklin County Board of Legislators Thursday that workers had to complete three difficult bores this year. Two of those are done, and the last one is in the works.
"What we're dealing with is, we go down through boulders, and then it's almost a gravelly, packed material, then you get into solid rock, then there's another layer of gravel," Ward said. "What causes our delays in the bores are those conditions. We can go down through the boulders, and get into the hard rock, but if the driller has to change his drill bit he pulls out and the rocks shift, so he has to go back down and move those rocks."
Ward said he hopes to have the bores complete by the end of August so natural gas can start flowing. The piping has already been installed at the three Malone prisons and the McAdam cheese plant in Chateaugay. The project needs to be finished and upgrades need to be made to those facilities before they can use natural gas.
Board Chairman Billy Jones said residents, businesses and public entities like schools have asked why contractors aren't actively hooking customers up to the system.
Ward explained that the distribution system would take some time, but in the meantime he said his company is working to get customers ready by Nov. 1. He listed more than a half-dozen streets in Fort Covington that already have residences hooked into the system. He said several hundred customers have signed on and should have gas available to them by winter.
Ward urged the legislators to be patient and reminded them that his company has spent about $40 million on the project so far.
"The distribution system is going to take time," Ward said. "We can't put every main in all at once. For our first year of distribution, our model said we were going to install 26,000 feet of distribution pipe. We actually installed 86,000 feet. We pushed hard last year because we assumed gas would be on."
Before natural gas can be piped into buildings, an odorant must be added so people can better detect gas leaks by smell. The pipes carrying the gas have to be conditioned, or "pickled," before that can happen.
"When the odorant is first introduced, the steel piping actually counteracts the odorant," Ward said. "We have to monitor that. That's a process that will take some time."
The installation process began in fall 2012 after receiving permission from the state Public Service Commission. Franklin County has committed about $1.5 million to the project, which will stretch a St. Lawrence Gas pipeline 48 miles, from the town of Stockholm in St. Lawrence County to the village of Chateaugay in Franklin County.
There are currently no plans to extend natural gas service into the southern end of the county.


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4 Pages
An Analysis of the J.D. Salinger's on the Catcher in the Rye
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Pages: 4
Word Count: 701
Category: English
Word Count: 701
Pages: 4
In JD Salingers The Catcher in the Rye the first person narration is critical in helping the reader to know and understand the main character Holden Caulfield Holden in his narration relates a flashback of a significant period of his life three days and nights on his own in New York City Through his narration Holden discloses to the reader his innermost thoughts and feelings He thus provides the reader not only with information of what occurred but also how he felt about what happened Holdens thoughts and ideas reveal many of his character traits One late Saturday night four days before the beginning of school vacation Holden is alone bored and restless wondering what to do He decides to leave Pencey his school at once and travels to New York by train He decides that once in New York he will stay in a cheap motel until Wednesday when he is to return home His plan shows the reader how very impetuous he is and how he acts on a whim He is unrealistic thinking that he has a foolproof plan even though the extent of his plans are to take a room in a hotel and just take it easy till Wednesday Holdens excessive thoughts on death are not typical of most adolescents His near obsession with death might come from having experienced two deaths in his early life He constantly dwells on Allie his brothers death From Holdens thoughts it is obvious that he loves and misses Allie In order to hold on to his brother and to minimize the pain of his loss Holden brings Allies baseball mitt along with him where ever he goes The mitt has additional meaning and significance for Holden because Allie had
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CN Blue's Lee Jung Shin shows off his pretty face
CN Blues Lee Jung Shin recently released a picture of himself.
On May 5, Lee uploaded a picture on CN Blues official Twitter account with the comment, We prepared a lot for the event but Im not sure if you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for everything, BOICE. I also appreciate all the staff members who helped us prepare and hold the event. I wish we can hold this kind of fan meeting more often in the future.
In the picture, Lee is staring at the camera with his hair tied back. Hes especially attracting attention with his face prettier than that of girls.
People responded: Youre prettier than I am, I love your sharp chin, I love you, Jung Shin!
Source: TV Report


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Clare V. Leopard Patchwork Flat Clutch
Clare V. Leopard Patchwork Flat Clutch
Leopard hair patchwork Flat Clutch by Clare V. A fun new take on a Clare V classic. Measures 11.5'' x 8'' with gold zipper and gold Clare V logo tag attached. Made in the USA.
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Gym rental and meetup.com costs covered for the fall thanks to Marcus, Doug, Russell, Jerry, Matt, Kevin, Faheem, Charles, Bryce, Saty, Ike, Tony, Mike, John, Marvin, Zaronda, DK, John #2 and Jason! Reached goal for this season, but if you still want to donate a few dollars you can give to me, Scott or Sid and it will be applied to next season's rental costs.
Fall session starts 9/9 and lasts until 11/15 (10 weeks). Winter session starts 11/16
Basic schedule:
Mondays: Franconia
• Note: Gym is open on Veteran's Day 11/11
• Can start early. No kids in preceding timeslot
Tuesdays: Key
• On Election Day 11/5 we're at Franconia instead
• Youth basketball on both courts until 9
Wednesday: Twain (Gym #2)
• Youth basketball there until only 8:45
Thursdays: Double court Key
• Youth volleyball on both courts until 9
Franconia: Use back entrance #6 near outdoor basketball courts
Key: Use entrance #3 on west side of school
Twain: Use entrance #7 at back of school.
Court without three point line: All games to 7 straight up. All ones.
Court with three point line: All games to 9 straight up. Ones and twos
RSVPs are not enabled until 7 pm the day before a game.
If you sign up and can't come please cancel ASAP (preferably before 7).
This is not open gym. All meetups have attendance limits of 15. If you don't make the 15 please stay home.
Before 7 pm: Person at the top of the waitlist is moved up if someone drops
After 7 pm: The waitlist turns into a notification list. When someone drops you get an email and then have to physically go back on the site and claim that spot.
Call your own fouls. Respect other people's calls. Keep the arguing to a minimum. Do not call fouls for someone else. Especially after play has already continued.
NBA rules: http://mediacentral.nba.com/media/mediacentral/Official-NBA-Rule-Book.pdf
Kicked ball rules: http://i.imgur.com/xjFxuzF.jpg
We go by the NBA rules for travelling. If you recover your own pass/shot and it has not hit another person or the rim/backboard that is a travel. Doesn't matter if it is a legitimate shot attempt or not.
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About Evonik Industries
Evonik is one of the world's leading specialty chemicals companies. The central elements of our strategy for sustained value creation are profitable growth, efficiency and values. Around 80 percent of sales come from market-leading positions, which we are systematically expanding. We concentrate on high-growth megatrends, especially health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. In 2015 Evonik's more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around €13.5 billion and an operating result (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.47 billion. Around 82 percent of sales are generated outside Germany, providing convincing evidence that our business is global.
Facts & Figures
|Number of employees
|Number of active countries


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Product feature
Body pump: what is it?It is an all-round muscle strengthening class set to music. The aim is to develop your endurance through a large number of repetitions. The accessories used are generally weights, a fitness mat and a step. The step elastic bands do the same thing as the weights. They let you adjust the intensity throughout the exercises according to the muscles you are using.
How do you fix the elastic bands onto the comfort step?Simply clip them onto the comfort step's metal hooks. Once the elastics are in place, all the equipment you need for your workout is ready to go!
Product testing
CompositionBack of the hand : 100.0% Polypropylene (PP) Elasticised band : 100.0% Rubber - Synthetic Buckles : 100.0% Stainless steel
Storage adviceYou can easily store the elastic bands on the sides of the comfort step.
Product restrictionsOnly for use with the comfort step.
Product catchlineSold in packs of 2.Ideal for complementing and adding variety to your workouts.


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Map Addons
Mapster is a very simple world map enhacement addon, which was designed to work in conjunction with all other map addons out there. The idea to create Mapster originated from pure lack of a simplistic addon that only modifies the world map, without adding a full scale feature set. Features: Map Style (Scale & Alpha), Coordinates, Fog of War removal, Enhancement of the raid/party group icons, Access to the Instance Maps from anywhere!
Adds features to the WoW world map, keeping all mapping type features in a single place. Features: Adjust the map window size, Move the map anywhere on the screen, Adjust the opacity of the window & maps, Saved sets for toggling between 2 map modes, Allows full player movement/messaging/etc with map open, Adds coords to the main map and the Minimap, Adds Instance maps which open to the correct instance you enter, Default data included for all bosses & locations, User editable notes for all maps including instance maps, NPC/Mob database collectable by mouseover or keypress, Toggling on/off display of unexplored areas of the map, Boss Loot Tables displays all the loot dropped by bosses, Waypoint system to guide you to any set point, Complete Quest logger with optional history database, Tracker module for gathering Herbs/Ores, NoteBook module for additional notes linked to Tooltips.
Map Enhancements
Shows ZoneInfo including instances on the World Map.
Fills in unexplored areas on the world map and provides a satellite view of the surrounding area.
This is not a map replacement, it simply attaches to the map frame and should be compatible with most existing map addons.
Instance Portals
Displays dungeon & raid instance portal locations, and their entry level requirement, on the world map & zone maps. | JuniorDeBoss Youtube Review
Shows the cursor & player coordinates on the worldmap.
Adds a new checkbox in the upper left of the world map named 'Show Unexplored Areas'. Checking it will do just that.
Toggle Treasures
This small addon adds a "Show Treasures" option to the default world map tracking button, so you can turn off the treasures marked from the various treasure maps sold in Ashran.
GatherMate is a lightweight node tracking addon. it is intended to replace Gatherer and/or Cartographer_<profession>. It is map mod independent, and devoid of library dependencies. A full data dump from Wowhead can be loaded, or you can import from Cartographer. Plugins - Curse
Map Notes
Handy Notes for your maps. Plugins - Curse
SimpleCoords creates a movable window that displays the player's location as coordinates.
Many hint and help web sites (Thottbot, WoWHead, etc.) use these coordinates to help players find objects or characters in the game. SimpleCoords also allows you to enter coordinates and display them on the minimap.
TomTom is your personal navigation assistant in World of Warcraft. This addon is very simple, but provides a nice set of functionality.A draggable coordinate display showing hundreth precision, this frame can be hidden or locked. WorldMap display of player and cursor coordinates, these displays can be hidden.
The ability to set waypoints based on coordinates. TomTomPing - displays direction to pings and party members.
Instance Maps
The core of Atlas is basically an image viewer. However, it's the images that come with Atlas that make it worthwhile: a map for every instance in the game. Furthermore, the maps are marked with the locations of bosses and other points of interest. Atlas also includes maps of battlegrounds, dungeon locations, flight points, and outdoor raid bosses.


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ORS designs and manages intelligent, workable solutions that create a better built environment. Our people are leaders in pioneering sustainable design. Our approach is driven by commercially focused project management. We keep you at the centre. Our service is underpinned by a deep understanding of the importance of communication, your deadlines and delivery.
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If you need a last minute dish to take, serve or eat, this Black Bean Salad is just the ticket. Made with mostly pantry staples, it's a quick fix and a real crowd pleaser. Continue reading
Category Archives: salads
Sloppy Joe Salad Dressing
Sometimes you need to make dinner on the fly, literally making due with what you have. This Russian dressing uses canned sloppy Joe sauce as its base. Continue reading
Homemade Buttermilk Dressing Mix
A simple recipe for a homemade buttermilk dressing mix.Don't worry about not being able to find a gluten-free buttermilk dressing mix at the store! You can make your own mix in minutes and then have plenty to use for any recipe that comes your way. Continue reading
Warm Pantry Potato Salad
Pantry Potato Salad is perfect for winter because it uses items you have in your cupboard. It goes together in a snap and tastes delicious. Continue reading
Homemade Italian Dressing Mix
A gluten free recipe for Italian Dressing mix because many of the brands available in stores are not gluten free. Make your own instead!
Feta Cheese Sweet Potato Salad
This recipe came about because it's winter and I didn't want to make a regular potato salad. That probably doesn't make any sense, but to me potato salad is a summer food, reminiscent of sunshine and picnics. Serving it up when the temperatures are in the 50s or below is like teasing a child with candy they cannot have. If it's not warm outside, don't show me potato salad. Continue reading
Cucumber and Tomato Salad
I simply love the amazing growing season here in Florida. We have vine ripened tomatoes in February! And while it does seem that I am boasting a bit about our fine winter produce, remember that in the middle of the summer, we will be miserable. The summer heat, humidity and possible hurricanes sort of make up for the harsh winter you might be going through right now. Continue reading


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Looking back on Shakespeare on the Sound's twenty magnificent years
5 DIY arrangements to bring the outdoors in
Woodway Country Club in Darien, June 7
2015 Art Show Winners Announcement
When moving from a large home to a smaller one, the key is to simplify and keep what matters most
Porsche announces the arrival of a new "Black Series"
Robert Doran of New Canaan champions nurses in new documentary
Who says you can't go green and still be gorgeous? Here's our guide to local organic spas and services.
Children's Book Author Robin Newman to Visit New Canaan in May
And The New Mall's A Big Reason Why


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The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.
Comparison of platelet transfusion as fresh whole blood versus apheresis platelets for massively transfused combat trauma patients (CME)
Version of Record online: 26 AUG 2010
DOI: 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2010.02818.x
© 2010 American Association of Blood Banks
Volume 51, Issue 2, pages 242–252, February 2011
Additional Information
How to Cite
Perkins, J. G., Cap, A. P., Spinella, P. C., Shorr, A. F., Beekley, A. C., Grathwohl, K. W., Rentas, F. J., Wade, C. E., Holcomb, J. B. and the 31st Combat Support Hospital Research Group (2011), Comparison of platelet transfusion as fresh whole blood versus apheresis platelets for massively transfused combat trauma patients (CME). Transfusion, 51: 242–252. doi: 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2010.02818.x
Publication History
- Issue online: 10 FEB 2011
- Version of Record online: 26 AUG 2010
- Received for publication February 19, 2010; revision received June 9, 2010, and accepted June 9, 2010.
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J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) has certainly had a rough 2013, with many rating agencies considering JCP to be a poor investment, and for the most part not a 'buy'. There have also been a number of Seeking Alpha articles over the last several months, attempting to figure out the correct valuation methodology for JCP. I find the different valuation approaches interesting. But my investment in JCP, from several months back, relied on one alternative metric that has yet to be spoken of here at Seeking Alpha. It is this alternative metric, in addition to several other items, that make JCP a good buy.
1. P/E Ratio - The P/E for JCP is non-existent due to negative quarters that keep on going. This is certainly not a good reason to 'buy' JCP, but if we adjust the P/E Ratio we might be able to unlock some hidden value. See the below chart for the last 12 months of negative earnings:
We can see from the chart that there was a recent upwards trend as losses decreased. However despite this, JCP has not seen a positive quarter since July in 2011.
So, as indicated earlier the classic Twelve-Month-Trailing Earnings P/E Ratio can not be used as a result of the negative earnings. I have therefore taken a somewhat different approach with respect to JCP and the P/E Ratio. I have decided here to analyze JCP by taking into account the Cyclically Adjusted P/E, where 10 years of EPS data is included in the calculation for the denominator.
In other words, we have the following for P/E:
For JCP this gives us about 4.31 which one can also see by going to the CAPE Ratio Calculator.
How does this help us? Well, it helps us realize that with respect to the overall trend of earnings for JCP during the last ten years, that it is probably an undervalued stock at the current price. Since we can view this alternative P/E in a similar manner as the regular P/E, we can see that a 4.31 value is very good. We must simply be assured that there has been some instrumental change at JC Penney that will ensure future positive results with respect to earnings in order to be sure that an investment might be wise. I will cover this later under the Qualitative Factors component.
2. P/B Ratio - The P/B Ratio is a critical ratio as it provides us with a snapshot view of the dollar for dollar value of our potential investment. In this case it is roughly one dollar for one dollar as seen by the P/B Ratio being at 1.006. This means, that if JCP were to go bankrupt tomorrow, an investor would receive roughly the same money back that was already invested (excluding fees).
JCP Price to Book Value data by YCharts
This is a very good P/B Ratio for the sector that JCP is in as is shown by a fellow Seeking Alpha contributor. To summarize what this article says I have included the important part here:
Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio (Current Through Q3 2013):
So, as we can see JCP is undervalued with respect to the P/B Ratio as well as our alternative P/E Ratio (as shown above). This prompted the recent Forbes posting which you can see right here.
3. Qualitative Factors - There are many qualitative factors with respect to JCP. There is also a lot of noise; the SEC investigation prompted by the issuance of new shares several months ago is one such factor that has simply clouded the JCP picture but probably does not significantly effect its value. Some of these non-issue items that merely contributed to 'noise' for this stock, were positive such as the same store increase in sales for the month of November, while some were negative such as the delisting from the S&P 500.
But, what I think really contributes value to JCP is the reinstatement of Ullman as CEO. I would count the change from Ron Johnson as being a very significant improvement and one of the chief reasons why I invested in JCP. Ullman brought success to JCP during his earlier tenure and we can only assume he will do the same once again.
Ron Johnson was not the right choice for JCP. Retail is not rocket science; but rather, depends on the right things being done correctly on a consistent basis. Ullman understands this. Some of these factors are as follows:
A. Properly priced merchandise for your consumer base.
B. Good use of space (square footage) within the retail environment and solid turnover of product with adequate supply.
C. Some sort of good discount incentive (such as Kohl's Cash).
A. Ullman understood that paying a 'big' name for a celebrity endorsement of the product was a bad idea if the product itself was too cheap to offer value to the consumer. Martha Stewart Living (NYSE:MSO) is one example of this problem, and J.C. Penney has cut back on its utilization of space for this brand. Instead, Ullman is bringing back the old classic brands that people always liked, such as St. John's Bay and Liz Claiborne, and he has also given them good store space to help them sell (by replacing brands such as Martha Stewart and Joe Fresh).
B. Space is the name of the game in retail. The sales per square foot was falling for JCP according to this rather negative Seeking Alpha article. The per foot sales fell to $116 during 2012 from $154 in 2011 and we have yet to see how bad 2013 will be (or perhaps Ullman reversed the ship before year end). The reason in retail that sales per square foot is so important is because most of your cost is with respect to the real estate that a store sits on. Any space that is not used is a cost that must be made up by a higher Gross Profit margin for each item selling.
Another good indicator of space usage is the inventory turnover rate. Please see the chart below for J.C. Penney, Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), and Macy's (NYSE:M).
JCP Inventory Turnover (TTM) data by YCharts
A number that is too high, can be an indication that the company is pursuing a low cost provider strategy and therefore they need high turnover. Or, a very low number could be a sign that the company is pursuing a differentiation strategy, which means that they need to sell items with very high profit margins. However, I chose Macy's and Kohl's specifically because they compete directly with J.C. Penney and have a similar strategy. For the Market that J.C. Penney is in, a 4.5 Inventory Turnover Rate is required. Without this rate, we can assume that JCP will have problems (as they clearly are having these issues). Ullman certainly understands the importance of the turnover rate. You can see this visually, as the rate was close to the 4.5 range when he exited the CEO position, making way for Ron Johnson. We can only assume, that he will be fixing this problem quickly.
However one does not need to simply look at the numbers to know that a decline per square foot in sales should have been the expected outcome for JCP. One could simply walk through multiple stores at different locations to see that the merchandise was not laid out properly (and if you are confused by what I mean, then head down to Macy's). Once again, Ullman seems to understand this problem and is working to fix it.
C. Ron Johnson disliked the idea of discounts very much. Having come over from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), where his retail division sold one type of product for which there was virtually no competition, he did not understand the concept of discounts for clothing. But, people like discounts, and companies that figure out how to keep people coming back to buy clothes really have an advantage (Kohl's Cash is a good example of this).
Once again, success in retail is not rocket science, but it does require some level of understanding of the spatial limitations and their corresponding costs. Good quality clothing and housewares regardless of the celebrity endorsement are also important. The perception of discounting is another important factor as it drives traffic into the stores. I think that Ullman, who has a solid track record in the retail of clothing and house wares (not selling computers) can understand this and consequently improve JCP.
I really think that J.C. Penney is a good 'buy' provided that one has a long enough time horizon for this stock to rebound. It will not be an easy ride, JCP is bound to bounce up and down for the near future until some solid results start hitting the score board. But, if one is willing to ride out the storm, JCP provides solid value with respect to an adjusted P/E Ratio, the P/B Ratio, and with respect to analysis of management. I think for the long-term hold type of investor who is interested in some solid discounted stocks that provide enormous potential for value, JCP is the way to go.
Disclosure: I am long JCP, . I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.


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Announcement: 1/22/2016
We are now accepting vendor applications for the 14th VMB, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 4th. To submit a vendor request, please email us at email@example.com. You will get a reply with the list of Vendor Requirements needed to apply.
2016 Vendors
The vendor banners will be uploaded as they come in, so stay tuned to see who will be vending at this year's VMB!
Global Mineral


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2016 Meltdown Events
Friday, 5 – 7 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center,
1333 Camino Del Rio, along the Animas River
The warm-up for the Meltdown has become one of our festival's more popular traditions. This free, two-hour concert is held at the Powerhouse Science Center on Friday afternoon, when the festival opens. Powerhouse Science Center is the Four Corner's hands-on, interactive science center, providing innovative learning and unleashing human potential. Located on the banks of the Animas River in a historic coal-fired, steam-generated AC powerplant, Powerhouse Science Center presents a wide range of programs, exhibits, and activities for curious minds of all ages. They are committed to developing a science center that is welcoming and engaging to all communities in the Four Corners and beyond. They strive to be inclusive because we believe science and technology are for everyone.
Enjoy exceptional bluegrass music and help us kick off the festival for the weekend with Colorado College Bluegrass Ensemble and Running Out of Road. Please use the crosswalk at 12th street and Camino Del Rio.
Saturday, Noon – 6 p.m., Elks Lodge, 9th St. & East 2nd Ave.
Since the early years of the Meltdown, the Band Showcase has provided a stage for bands that want to participate but for whatever reason aren't ready or willing to play the 'main stage'. 'Bluegrass Band Criteria' are severely bent for the Band Showcase. This year we will kick it off with performances by up-and-comers the Next Generation Fiddlers, a group of over 10 fiddlers who played the Showcase last year, a group of Escalante Middle School bluegrassers, then Colorado College will debut two new and fresh bluegrass ensembles. We will also be featuring the Mountain Top Pocket Pickers, who played at the Meltdown on the Mesa in September 2015, and rounding out the afternoon are a couple of local outfits, the lovely female trio, the Cannondolls and a newer southwest Colorado bluegrass group, The Great Contention. The Band Showcase never lacks for entertainment, not to mention the youngest Band Showcase Emcee in the four corners area, Drew Allsopp. This perpetual Meltdown favorite continues to be free to the public and always takes place at the Elks Lodge dance hall from noon to 5 pm on Saturday.
Saturday, 7 – 10 p.m., Henry Strater Theater, 7th St. & Main Ave.
Join the spontaneous fun of the Meltdown's Superjam. The event has become a festival tradition and no two are ever the same. Local, regional and national talents come together to collaborate and inspire on the stage of the Henry Strater Theatre. The bluegrass community is a small circle of incredibly talented musicians. It's often amazing to witness how individuals from different bands are sometimes old friends, past band mates, or just like-minded individuals. It's impromptu magic, so sit back and see what happens! Finnders and Youngberg will be hosting the event and are sure to throw together some incredible collaborations for the stage.
OLD TIME BARN DANCE with SIX DOLLAR STRING BAND
Saturday, 7:30 – 10 p.m., Elks Lodge, 9th St. & East 2nd Ave.
Admission free with Saturday or Weekend Meltdown Wristband or $10 at the Door.
Do you know how to tell the difference between old time fiddle tunes? They have different titles.
In 2006, after recognizing the popularity of the old timey music scare with bands such as Reeltime Travelers and Sweet Sunny South, the Meltdown introduced the Old Time Barn Dance, at the Elks Lodge dance hall. With the perfect setting of the Elks Lodge and it's hardwood dance floor and great old timey band, Six Dollar String Band, this has evolved into a "don't miss" event. Nobody has more fun during the entire Meltdown weekend than the kids of all ages that pack the Elks' dance floor.
Saturday, 8 – 10 p.m., Durango Art Center, 8th St. & East 2nd Ave.
The Durango Bluegrass Meltdown presents an evening with The Grant Farm.
Admission free with Saturday or Weekend Meltdown Wristband or $10 at the Door)
Former members of The Drew Emmitt Band, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Donovan Frankenreiter and Hot Soup, these fine young players have been featured on stage with the likes of The String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Motet, Head For The Hills, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien, Dumpstaphunk, Tony Rice, Larry Keel, Keller Williams, Jon Oates, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Disco Biscuits, Abigail Washburn and Peter Rowan.
The seeds of Grant Farm were planted in 2009 by Tyler Grant and Andy Thorn (Leftover Salmon). Tyler was fresh off the boat from Nashville, TN and Andy from Chapel Hill, NC. The duo found themselves in Boulder, CO as members of The Emmitt-Nershi Band, and were eager to showcase some of their original music. When Tyler gave his notice to ENB at the end of 2010 he was driven to make a bigger statement with his music so he dusted off his Telecaster guitar, rounded up a core band, plugged in, turned up, and watched the sprouts of the Grant Farm concept grow.
With the help of Thorn and stellar bassist Keith Moseley of The String Cheese Incident, the electric Grant Farm started rehearsing in early 2011. Their concerts in Denver, Boulder and the mountains beyond caused a ripple in the local music scene that led to some fine festival plays the following Summers, including Northwest String Summit, Suwanee Springfest, SCI Horning's Hideout, Yarmonygrass, Four Corners Folk Festival, NedFest, Chattanooga Riverfront, Fort Collins Bark n' Bluegrass, French Broad River Festival, WInterWonderGrass and Campout for the Cause. With a country-disco (Cris-Co), roots-rock, booty-shakin' jam-tastic concept fully formed, Grant Farm prepared to annihilate audiences across the country.
The permanent lineup of Grant Farm is Tyler "The Champ" Grant on electric guitar and vocals, uber-talented Adrian "ACE" Engfer on bass and vocals, rock solid Sean "Magic" Macaulay on drums and the phenomenally prodigious Kevin "Money" McHugh on keyboards and vocals. Look for them Spring and Summer 2015 at a Festival near you and for the Plowin Time album from Grant Central Records on CD, Vinyl, iTunes, and DSD Pure formats. Also check out Meeting on the Mountain on iTunes. C'mon, it's PLOWIN' TIME!
Sunday morning, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Durango Art Center, 8th St. & East 2nd Ave.
You don't want to miss the gospel set on Sunday morning. This set highlights the versatility of at least three of the bands performing at the festival. There's no reason to fret about missing church during the Meltdown, the a cappella vocals bring out heavenly harmonies. God is definitely present on Sunday mornings!
Spring Fever Bluegrass Band, Steel Pennies and Chokecherry Jam will host the morning congregation at the Durango Arts Center.
The Meltdown features many indoor and outdoor (weather permitting) locations for informal jamming. The management of the Strater and Rochester Hotels welcome musicians to gather and play for their own enjoyment as well as that of the hotel guests. Numerous downtown bars and restaurants also encourage musicians to play at their discretion, and may offer complementary food and drink. Spring afternoons in Durango are often very pleasant and jamming on the sidewalks and at outdoor cafes can be a pleasant way to make new friends and expose the general public to the joys of bluegrass. Look for the Meltdown Flyer in the windows of participating establishments.
The Strater Hotel lobby is open for jamming until midnight, late night jamming is open in the Pullman room in the basement of the Strater Hotel into the wee hours.
Friday & Saturday nights, see program guide for location
Part of the fun during the Meltdown is enjoying live bluegrass music while sampling great food and drink at some of Durango's finest downtown bars and restaurants. See schedules on side bar for locations and times.