Dialysis specialist DaVita HealthCare Partners (NYSE: DVA ) has a new bean counter.
The Denver-based renal health care specialist announced today that Garry E. Menzel, Ph.D., will join the company in mid-Sptember�as senior VP of finance,�and will take on the role of chief financial officer�the day after the company files its third-quarter report with the SEC. The quarter ends Sept. 30. Jim Hilger, who has served as DaVita's interim CFO since 2012, will continue in his role as the company's chief accounting officer, a position he has held since 2010.
Menzel, 48, was most recently the COO and CFO at biopharmaceutical�Regulus Therapeutics, where he served since 2008. Before that, he had a 14-year career on Wall Street where he was a managing director and global head of life sciences for Credit Suisse and of biotechnology for Goldman Sachs. Menzel also spent several years as a strategy consultant for Bain & Company.
Belieiving they've found an executive with a versatile skill set,�DaVita HealthCare Partners Co-Chairman and CEO�Kent Thiry said, "Given the nimbleness that is required for all health care providers we are excited to have Garry join our leadership team."
Hot Clean Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now: Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund Inc.(CAF)
Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund, Inc. is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. It is co-managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company. The fund invests in the public equity markets of China. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund invests in the growth stocks of companies. It employs fundamental analysis with bottom-up stock picking approach to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Morgan Stanley Capital International China A Share Index. Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund, Inc. was formed on July 6, 2006 and is domiciled in the United States.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By pamatlarge]
As the Chinese economy slows down, investors can profit by shorting a long ETF that holds Chinese stocks in major industries. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) has a market cap of $5.12 billion and is among the most heavily traded ETFs. The ETF concentrates its holdings in financial services, communication services and technology. The SPDR China ETF (GXC) is another large-cap ETF that is heavily invested in Chinese financial service companies and technology companies. The Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund (CAF) has a much smaller market cap of $474 million. This ETF invests in a broad range of industries including Chinese commercial banks, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies. Holding a short position with these ETFs could pay off when one or more sections hits a downturn.
Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Infoblox Inc (BLOX)
Infoblox Inc. (Infoblox), incorporated in May 2003, is an automated network controller. The Company�� network functions include Internet protocol (IP) address management, device configuration, compliance, network discovery, policy implementation, security and monitoring. The Company�� appliance-based solution combines real-time IP address management with the automation of key network control and network change and configuration management processes in purpose-built physical and virtual appliances. It is based on its software that is scalable and automates vital network functions, such as IP address management, device configuration, compliance, network discovery, policy implementation, security and monitoring. It offers two families of products: Trinzic Enterprise and Trinzic NetMRI. The Trinzic Enterprise product family enables real-time IP address management and automates key network control processes. The Trinzic NetMRI product family automates network change and configuration management processes.
Trinzic Enterprise Family
The Company derives its product revenue from its Trinzic Enterprise family of products. The components of its Trinzic Enterprise family, are Trinzic Enterprise, Trinzic IPAM for Microsoft, Trinzic Reporting and Trinzic IPAM Insight. Its Trinzic Enterprise product is an appliance that is designed to for continuous operation of network control. Trinzic Enterprise offers file delivery services via the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), time synchronization services via the Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Logging services via Syslog.
Trinzic IPAM for Microsoft provides a single, Web-based management interface for the centralized management of DNS, DHCP and multiple IP address pools running on Microsoft servers without any installation of software on Microsoft servers. It also provides Microsoft server management capabilities, such as centralized IP address management! , DNS changes and individualized, role-based access control. Trinzic Reporting provides long-term reporting, trending, analysis and tracking capabilities to report network utilization, isolate performance problems, implement DHCP and DNS capacity planning and identify security threats. Trinzic Reporting automates tasks associated with collecting, tabulating and correlating data and displays the information through its Web-based management interface. Trinzic IPAM Insight allows automated discovery of network device configuration information used in automation and compliance reporting.
Trinzic NetMRI Family
The Company�� Trinzic NetMRI products components of include Trinzic Network Automation, Trinzic Network Compliance, Trinzic Switch Port Manager and Trinzic PCI Insight. Its Trinzic NetMRI product automates network change and configuration management processes. Trinzic NetMRI enables information technology organizations to automate network changes, gain visibility into the impact of changes occurring on the network, manage network configurations, archive network configurations and meet a range of compliance requirements for both physical and virtual machines. Trinzic NetMRI discovers and monitors network infrastructure devices to determine critical network information. It uses this information to analyze network stability, to identify unauthorized devices and to take inventory of network devices for inventory management and/or troubleshooting. Trinzic Network Automation automates network configuration functions.
Trinzic Network Compliance automates the network compliance process, meeting corporate security requirements and providing the necessary information and control for internal and external compliance mandates. Trinzic Network Compliance also automatically alerts IT personnel in the event of a failure to meet compliance guidelines and permits the establishment and deployment of specific end customer requirements with click and drag simplicity, supporting ! complianc! e mandates such as those under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).
Trinzic Switch Port Manager enables its end customers to identify the number of switch ports, manage them precisely and locate the next available switch port. It helps provide views and management of switches with both current and historical IP addresses, MAC addresses, VLAN mappings and network device topology information. It also shows where devices have been connected, when they connected and where they are currently connected so that the network administrator can easily track authorized devices and find rogue devices that can pose security risks and create network instability. Trinzic PCI Insight is an integrated offering that bundles Trinzic Network Compliance, Trinzic IPAM Insight from its Trinzic Enterprise family of products and consulting services and enables its end customers to optimize their PCI DSS compliance.
The Company competes with BMC Software, Inc., EMC Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company and International Business Machines Corporation, Alcatel-Lucent, BT Group plc and BlueCat Networks, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Bieglmeier]
[Related -Infoblox Inc (BLOX): Getting off the Mat?]
Infoblox is an automated network controller. The Company's network functions include Internet protocol (IP) address management, device configuration, compliance, network discovery, policy implementation, security and monitoring.
- [By John Udovich]
Just before Thanksgiving, small cap networking stock Infoblox Inc (NYSE: BLOX) sank 28.65% on guidance that was below expectations, but the stock has still outperformed the year-to-date�performance of�networking ETF like the PowerShares Dynamic Networking ETF (NYSEARCA: PXQ) and iShares S&P North American Networking ETF (NYSEARCA: IGN). So what went wrong and could investors have just overeacted?
- [By Victor Reklaitis]
Today�� movers & shakers: Hewlett Packard (HPQ) �surged 9% for its best day since May. Infoblox Inc. (BLOX) , a data-center technology company, slid 29% following its weaker-than-expected outlook late Tuesday. Apple Inc. (AAPL) �gained for the third day, closing at its highest since Jan. 2. Read more in the Movers & Shakers column.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Infoblox (NYSE: BLOX) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.01 per share on revenue of $60.49 million.
Culp (NYSE: CFI) is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.35 per share on revenue of $74.39 million.
Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Barclays PLC (II)
Barclays PLC (Barclays) is a global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. The Company�� operations include its overseas offices, subsidiaries and associates. The Company operates in eight segments: UK Retail and Business Banking (UK RBB), Europe Retail and Business Banking (Europe RBB), Africa Retail and Business Banking (Africa RBB), Barclaycard, Barclays Investment Bank, Barclays Corporate Banking, Wealth and Investment Management, and Head Office and Other Operations. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. As stated in the current prospectus, the Fund�� Investor Class Share�� annual operating expense ratio (gross) is 1.28%. The Fund�� adviser has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its fee and/or reimburse Fund expenses to limit total annual operating expenses at 1.25%, which is in effect until October 31, 2015. Other share classes may vary. The Fund charges a 2.0% redemption fee on shares redeemed within six months of purchase. For the most recent month-end performance, please call (877)328-9437 or visit the Advisor�� website at www.auxierasset.com. The recent growth rate in the stock market has helped to produce short-term returns that are not typical and may not continue in the future.Spring 2014 Market CommentaryAuxier Focus Fund�� Investor Class returned a modest 0.25% for the quarter ended March 31, while Standard and Poor�� 500 Stock Index (S&P) rose 1.81%. The Fund ended the quarter with 70% in U.S. stocks, 16% foreign stocks, 1.7 % bonds and 12.3% cash. Since inception in 1999, the Fund�� equity exposure has averaged 72%. Our stockholdings in the healthcare industry generally gained for the quarter. But many of our multinational and foreign stocks were hurt by the threat of currency repercussions from geopolitical events in Russia and Ukraine. The foreign portion of the Fund is easily the most undervalued. Longer term, we see a very favorable risk/reward potential with our UK and European holdings. Some emerging market companies we follow are the cheapest in over twenty years. In allocating capital, we much prefer the gloom of down to flat markets and the corrective process that tempers exuberance. We remember that one of th
- [By Robert Abbott]
The company lists competitive factors this way, and in this order in its 10-K: "...(i) vendor and product reputation; (ii) product quality, performance and price; (iii) the availability of software products on multiple platforms; (iv) product scalability; (v) product integration with other enterprise applications; (vi) software functionality and features; (vii) software ease of use; (viii) the quality of professional services, customer support services and training; and (ix) the ability to address specific customer business problems."
- [By Todd Sullivan]
HHC has increased all our ownership percentage through the repurchasing of outstanding warrants.
From the 13D/A
On December 31, 2013, certain of the Reporting Persons entered into swaps for the benefit of certain Pershing Square Funds. Under the terms of the swaps, (i) the relevant Pershing Square Funds will be obligated to pay to the bank counterparty any negative price performance of the 5,399,839 notional number of Common Shares subject to the swaps as of the expiration date of such swaps, plus interest rates set forth in the applicable contracts, and (ii) the bank counterparty will be obligated to pay the relevant Pershing Square Funds any positive price performance of the 5,399,839 notional number Common Shares subject to the swaps as of the expiration date of the swaps. During the term of the swaps, cash will be paid by the bank counterparty to the relevant Pershing Square Fund in an amount equal to the amount of notional distributions or dividends paid by the Issuer in respect of such notional number of Common Shares. All balances will be settled in cash. The Pershing Square Funds��counterparties for the swaps include entities related to Citibank, Nomura, Soci茅t茅 G茅n茅rale and UBS. The swaps do not give the Reporting Persons direct or indirect voting, investment or dispositive control over any securities of the Issuer and do not require the counterparty thereto to acquire, hold, vote or dispose of any securities of the Issuer. Accordingly, the Reporting Persons disclaim any beneficial ownership of any Common Shares that may be referenced in the swap contracts or Common Shares or other securities or financial instruments that may be held from time to time by any counterparty to the contracts.
Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Magna International Inc (MGA)
Magna International Inc. (Magna), incorporated on November 16, 1961, is a diversified global automotive supplier. The Company designs, develops and manufactures automotive systems, assemblies, modules and components, and engineers and assembles complete vehicles, primarily for sale to original equipment manufacturers of cars and light trucks. Its capabilities include interior systems, exterior systems, seating systems, powertrain systems, closure systems, roof systems, body and chassis systems, vehicle engineering and contract assembly, vision systems, hybrid and electric vehicles/systems, electronic systems, and through its Magna E-Car Systems partnership (E-Car Systems). Magna operates in three geographic reporting segments: North America, Europe and Rest of World. In January 2011, the Company acquired Automobiltechnik Durbheim, a manufacturer of tapping plates, which assist in the fastening of bolts. The acquired business is located in Germany and has sales to various automobile manufacturers. In May 2011, it acquired a 51% interest in Wuhu Youth Tongyang Auto Plastic Parts Co., Ltd., a supplier of exterior products, mainly front and rear bumpers. In June 2011, it acquired Continental Plastics Co., a supplier of interior products, mainly door panel and seat back assemblies. In August 2011, it acquired Grenville Castings Ltd. In November 2011, Magna acquired ThyssenKrupp Automotive Systems Industrial do Brasil Ltda. In November 2012, the Company's Magna Powertrain operating unit had completed the transaction to acquire ixetic Verwaltungs GmbH (ixetic).
The Company�� North American production sales accounted for approximately 49% of its consolidated sales during the year ended December 31, 2011. Its primary customers in North America in 2011, included BMW, Daimler, Fiat/Chrysler Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai-Kia Group, Mazda, Renault-Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen Group. Its European production and vehicle assembly sales accounted for approximately 39% of its consolidated ! sales during 2011. Magna�� primary customers in Europe in 2011, included Aston Martin, BMW, Daimler, Fiat/Chrysler Group, Ford, Geely Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai-Kia Group, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Renault-Nissan, Tata Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen Group. The Company�� Rest of World production sales accounted for approximately 5% of the Company�� consolidated sales in 2011, respectively. Its primary customers in Rest of World in 2011, included Brilliance Auto, BMW, Chery Automobile, Daimler, Fiat/Chrysler Group, First Automobile Works, Ford, Geely Group, General Motors, Great Wall Motor Company, Guangzhou Automobile, Honda, Hyundai-Kia Group, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Renault-Nissan, Shanghai Automotive, Suzuki, Tata Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen Group and Yulon Motors.
Interior Systems
The Company designs, engineers and manufactures interior components and systems for the global automotive industry. The primary technologies and processes involved in the manufacturing of interior components and systems include low pressure and injection molding, compression molding, vacuum forming, slush molding, spray urethane and manual and automated assembly and sequencing. Its capabilities include sidewall and trim systems, overhead systems, cargo management systems and cockpit systems.
Seating Systems
It develops and manufactures seating solutions and seat hardware systems for the global automotive industry. Its capabilities range from market and consumer research, full concept development, design and engineering, testing and validation to manufacturing. Its capabilities include complete seating systems, seat structures and mechanisms and foam and trim products. The technologies and processes used in the manufacture of seating and seat hardware systems include traditional cut and sew technology; manual and automated assembly, as well as its Multi-Material Mold-In-Place technology.
Closure Systems
Magna engineers and manufactures cl! osure sys! tems and modules for the global automotive industry. Its capabilities include door modules, window systems, power closure systems, latching systems, driver controls, electronic features and handle assemblies. The primary processes involved in the manufacture of closure systems and modules include light stamping; injection molding, as well as manual and automated assembly.
Body and Chassis Systems
The Company provides metal body systems, components, assemblies and modules, including complete vehicle frames, chassis systems and body-in-white systems, as well as related engineering services, for the global automotive industry. Magna employs a number of different forming technologies, such as hydroforming; stamping; hot stamping; roll forming; aluminum casting; draw bending; advanced welding technologies; as well as finishing technologies such as: e-coating; heat treating, and high temperature wax coating.
Vision Systems
The Company designs, engineers and manufactures vision systems for the global automotive industry. Its vision systems capabilities include interior mirrors, exterior mirrors, electronic vision systems and actuators. The primary processes involved in the manufacture of its vision products include electronics integration; injection molding; painting, as well as manual and automated assembly.
Electronic Systems
The Company designs, engineers and manufactures electronic components and sub-systems for the global automotive industry. Its capabilities include driver assistance and safety systems, engine electronics and sensors, body systems and human-machine interfaces (HMI), intelligent power systems and industrial products. The primary processes involved in the manufacture of electronics products include surface mount placements of electronic components on printed circuit boards, as well as manual and automated assembly of electronic modules.
Exterior Systems
Magna designs, engineers and ma! nufacture! s various exterior components and systems for the global automotive and commercial truck product markets. Its capabilities include front and rear fascia systems, class a composite panels, structural components, sealing systems, modular systems, under hood and underbody components, exterior trim, engineered glass and sheet molding compound material. It utilizes a number of different technologies and processes in connection with these products, including molding technologies, such as injection molding, structural reaction injection, reaction injection, compression and thermoset molding; metal forming processes, such as metal stamping, roll forming, tube forming and stretch bending; extrusion processes, such as co-extrusion, thermoset and thermoplastic extrusion; and finishing processes, including painting, hardcoating, chrome plating, vacuum metallization and anodizing, and manual and automated assembly and sequencing.
Powertrain Systems
Magna designs, engineers and manufactures powertrain systems and components for the global automotive industry. Its capabilities are driveline systems, fluid pressure systems, metal-forming solutions and engineering services and system integration. It employs a variety of different manufacturing capabilities and processing technologies in its powertrain operations, including metal die-forming; flow-forming; stamping and spinning; synchronous roll-forming; die-spline rolling; precision-heavy stamping; fineblanking; aluminum die casting and precision machining; magnesium machining; plastic injection molding and plastic welding; soft and hard processing of gear wheels and shafts; rotary swaging; hardening; laser welding; manual and automated assembly, and end-of-line testing.
The Company y conducts some of its powertrain operations through joint ventures, including a non-controlling, 76.7% equity partnership interest in the Litens Automotive Partnership, which is a supplier of drive subsystems and components. Product offerings include! accessor! y drive systems and products, including auto tensioners and idlers, overrunning alternator decoupler assemblies, Torqfiltr crankshaft vibration control technology, isolating crank pulley assemblies and clutched waterpump pulleys and assemblies; timing drive systems and products, including tensioners (both for belt and chain) and idlers, SmartSprocket tuned sprockets and clutched waterpump pulleys and assemblies, and other specialty products, including vehicle start/stop subsystems. Litens has manufacturing operations in North America (Canada), Europe (Germany) and Rest of World (China, Brazil and India).
Roof Systems
The Company designs, engineers and manufactures vehicle roof systems for the global automotive industry. Its capabilities are retractable hard tops, soft tops and sliding folding and modular roofs.
Vehicle Engineering and Contract Assembly
Magna provides components, systems and vehicle engineering and contract vehicle assembly services for the automotive industry. It is also the brand-independent assembler of complete vehicles and an engineering and manufacturing partner in the field of fuel systems. Its capabilities include engineering services, contract manufacturing and fuel systems. Processes employed in its vehicle engineering and contract assembly operations include manual and automated welding; bonding and riveting; manual and automated painting/coating (dipped and sprayed) and sealing, as well as manual and automated assembly.
Hybrid and Electric Vehicles/Systems
Magna develops, manufactures and integrates hybrid and electric products and vehicle systems through E-Car Systems. Its capabilities under the Hybrid and Electric Vehicles/Systems include components, batteries and vehicle systems. Processes employed in its hybrid and electric vehicles/systems operations include manual and automated assembly; surface mount assembly; wave soldering and point-to-point solder assembly; automated servo changeover for! surface ! mount technology conveyance; stator winding, wire lead fusing, end turn blocking and lacing; rotor core assembly, magnetization and balancing; laser and ultrasonic welding, and dynamometer testing.
Tooling, Engineering and Other
Magna designs, engineers and manufactures tooling for our own use, as well as for sale to its customers. Additionally, the Company provides engineering support services, independent of particular production programs on which it may have production sales.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Magna International (NYSE: MGA ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on May 10. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:
The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Magna International's revenues will grow 6.2% and EPS will wane -0.7%. - [By Chad Fraser]
Another option is to invest in component makers like Magna International (NYSE: MGA), which makes a range of automotive components, including chassis, seats and electronics.
- [By Louis Navellier]
Magna International (MGA) provides services ranging from vehicle engineering and assembly to production of exterior trim and building interior door panels to the leading auto manufacturers. As car sales have rebounded since the depths of the recession, this company has been a major beneficiary. Its most recent earnings report saw profits grow 34% year over year, exceeding analyst estimates by more than 30%.
- [By Gordon Pape]
The company is not as well-known as competitor Magna International (MGA), but it is highly successful and employs 17,600 people in North America, Europe, and Asia. It has 40 manufacturing locations, five research and development centers, and 15 sales offices in 12 countries.
Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In Right Now: LNB Bancorp Inc.(LNBB)
LNB Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for The Lorain National Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, investment management, and trust services to individual, municipal, and corporate customers in Ohio. It offers various transaction and time deposit accounts, including demand deposits, interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, consumer time deposits, public time deposits, and brokered time deposits, as well as cash management services. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans, construction and equipment loans, letters of credit, revolving lines of credit, small business administration loans, and government guaranteed loans; and residential mortgages, direct and indirect automobile loans, personal loans, second mortgages, and home equity lines of credit. In addition, it offers safe deposit boxes, night depository, U.S. savings bonds, travelers? checks, money orders, cash iers checks, automated teller machines (ATMs), debit cards, wire transfers, electronic funds transfers, and foreign drafts, as well as foreign currency, phone and Internet banking, and lockbox services. Further, the company provides bank-owned life insurance, as well as title insurance. It operates through 20 retail-banking locations and 30 ATMs in Lorain, Erie, Cuyahoga, and Summit counties in the Ohio communities of Lorain, Elyria, Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, LaGrange, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Olmsted Township, Vermilion, Westlake, and Hudson, as well as a business development office in Cuyahoga County. The company was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Lorain, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Commercial banking concern�LNB Bancorp� (NASDAQ: LNBB ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of a penny per share, the same rate it's paid since 2009, when it cut the payout from $0.09.
- [By Monica Wolfe]
LNB Bancorp (LNBB)
Over the past week there were three directors making four buys of LNB Bancorp stock. These three directors made their buys at the price of $10.30 per share.
Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Acacia Research Corporation(ACTG)
Acacia Research Corporation, through its subsidiaries, acquires, develops, licenses, and enforces patented technologies in the United States. It assists patent owners with the prosecution and development of their patent portfolios; protection of their patented inventions from unauthorized use; generation of licensing revenue from users of their patented technologies; and enforcement against unauthorized users of their patented technologies. The company owns or controls the rights to approximately 200 patent portfolios, which include the United State?s patents and foreign counterparts covering technologies used in various industries. Acacia Research Corporation was founded in 1992 and is based in Newport Beach, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Acacia Research (NASDAQ: ACTG) shares fell 0.47% to touch a new 52-week low of $14.65. Acacia Research shares have dropped 37.84% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 26.42% in the same period.
Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Joy Global Inc (JOY)
Joy Global Inc. is a manufacturer and servicer of high productivity mining equipment for the extraction of coal and other minerals and ores. The Company's equipment is used in mining regions throughout the world to mine coal, copper, iron ore, oil sands, and other minerals. The Company's underground mining machinery segment (Joy Mining Machinery) is a manufacturer of underground mining equipment for the extraction of coal and other bedded minerals and offers service locations near mining regions worldwide. The Company's surface mining equipment segment (P&H Mining Equipment) is a producer of surface mining equipment for the extraction of ores and minerals and provides operational support for many types of equipment used in surface mining. During the fiscal year ended October 28, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of LeTourneau. On December 30, 2011, it acquired approximately 41.1% of Int'l Mining Machinery Holdings Limited's common stock to 69.2%.
Underground Mining Machinery
Joy is a producer of underground mining machinery for the extraction of coal and other bedded materials. The Company has facilities in Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, China and the United States, as well as sales offices and service facilities in India, Poland and Russia. Joy products include continuous miners, shuttle cars, flexible conveyor trains, complete longwall mining systems (consisting of powered roof supports, an armored face conveyor and a longwall shearer), continuous haulage systems, battery haulers, roof bolters, crushing equipment and conveyor systems. Joy also maintains a network of service and replacement parts distribution centers to rebuild and service equipment, and to sell replacement parts and consumables in support of its installed base.
This network includes five service centers in the United States and eight outside the United States, all of which are located in underground mining regions. This segment has a range of products, including Continu! ous miners, Longwall shearers, Powered roof supports, Armored face conveyors, Shuttle cars, Flexible conveyor trains (FCT), Roof bolters, Battery haulers, Continuous haulage systems, Feeder breakers, Conveyor systems and High angle conveyors.
Electric, crawler mounted continuous miners cut material using carbide-tipped bits on a horizontal rotating cutterhead. Once cut, the material is gathered onto an internal conveyor and loaded into a haulage vehicle or continuous haulage system for transportation to the feeder breaker.
A longwall shearer trams back and forth on an armored face conveyor parallel to the material face. Using carbide-tipped bits on cutting drums at each end, the shearer cuts 1.2 to 8.0 meters high on each pass and simultaneously loads the material onto the armored face conveyor for transport through the stageloader to the conveyor belt.
Roof supports use hydraulic cylinders to perform a jacking-like function that supports the mine roof during longwall mining. The supports self-advance with the longwall shearer and armored face conveyors, resulting in controlled roof falls behind the supports. A longwall face may range up to 400 meters in length.
Armored face conveyors are used in longwall mining to transport material cut by the shearer away from the longwall face. Shuttle cars, a type of rubber-tired haulage vehicle, are electric-powered using an umbilical cable. Their purpose is to transport material from continuous miners to the feeder-breaker where chain conveyors in the shuttle cars unload the material. Some models of Joy shuttle cars can carry up to 22 metric tons of coal.
FCT�� are electric-powered, single operator, self-propelled conveyor systems that provide continuous haulage of material from a continuous miner to the main mine belt. The FCT uses a rubber belt similar to a standard fixed conveyor. The FCT�� conveyor operates independently from the track crawler system, allowing the FCT to move and convey mater! ial simul! taneously. Available in lengths of up to 570 feet, the FCT is able to negotiate multiple 90-degree turns in an underground mine infrastructure.
Roof bolters are drills used to bore holes in the mine roof and to insert long metal bolts into the holes to reinforce the mine roof. Battery haulers perform a similar function to shuttle cars and are powered by portable rechargeable batteries. Battery haulers feature a flexible center joint allowing them to maneuver in tight conditions and do not use a trailing cable, which allows for maximum flexibility in the mining process.
The continuous chain haulage system provides a similar function as the FCT, transporting material from the continuous miner to the main mine belts on a continuous basis, versus the batch process used by shuttle cars and battery haulers, but it does so with different technology. The continuous chain haulage system is made up of a series of connected bridge structures that utilize chain conveyors that transport the coal from one bridge structure to the next bridge structure and ultimately to the main mine belts.
Feeder breakers are a form of crusher that use rotating drums with carbide-tipped bits to break down the size of the mined material for loading onto conveyor systems or feeding into processing facilities. Mined material is typically loaded into the feeder breaker by a shuttle car or battery hauler in underground applications and by haul trucks in surface applications.
Conveyor systems are used in both above and under-ground applications. The primary components of a conveyor system are the idlers, idler structure, and the terminal which itself consists of a drive, discharge, take-up and tail loading section. The Continental high angle conveyor is a method for elevating or lowering materials continuously from one level to another at steep angles. The Continental technology uses fully equalized pressing mechanism, which secures material towards the center of the belt while sealing the! belt edg! es together. The high angle conveyor has throughput rates ranging from 0.30 to 4,400 tons per hour.
Surface Mining Equipment
P&H is the producer of electric mining shovels and a producer of walking draglines for open-pit mining operations. P&H has facilities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, South Africa, and the United States, as well as sales offices in India, Mexico, Peru, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. P&H products are used in mining copper, coal, iron ore, oil sands, silver, gold, diamonds, phosphate, and other minerals and ores. P&H also provides logistics and a range of life cycle management service support for its customers through a global network of P&H MinePro Services operations strategically located within mining regions. In some markets, P&H MinePro Services also provides electric motor rebuilds and other selected products and services to the non-mining industrial segment. P&H also sells used electric mining shovels, drills and parts.
Mining shovels are used to load copper ore, coal, iron ore, oil sands, gold, and other mineral-bearing materials and overburden into trucks or other conveyances. There are two types of mining loaders: electric shovels and hydraulic excavators. Electric mining shovels feature dippers, allowing them to load volumes of material, while hydraulic excavators are smaller. The electric mining shovel�� use is determined by the size of the mining operation and the availability of electricity. Dippers can range in size from 12 to 82 cubic yards.
Draglines are primarily used to remove overburden to uncover coal or mineral deposits and then to replace the overburden as part of reclamation activities. P&H�� draglines are equipped with bucket sizes ranging from 30 to 160 cubic yards. Surface mines require breakage or blasting of rock, overburden, or ore using explosives. P&H MinePro Services provides life cycle management support, including equipment erections, relocations, inspections, service, r! epairs, r! ebuilds, upgrades, used equipment, new and used parts, enhancement kits and training. Each life cycle management program is designed for a particular customer and that customer�� application of the Company�� equipment.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Analysts expect Joy Global (NYSE: JOY) to report its Q3 earnings at $0.84 per share on revenue of $934.25 million. Joy Global shares declined 0.58% to close at $62.20 yesterday.
