Lantronix Completes Acquisition of Electronics and Software Reportable Business Segment from Communications Systems, Inc.

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lantronix, Inc. (“Lantronix”) (NASDAQ: LTRX), a global provider of Software as a Service (Saas), connectivity services, engineering services, intelligent hardware and turnkey solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Remote Environment Management (REM), today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Transition Networks and Net2Edge, which comprises the majority of the Electronics and Software reportable business segment of Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JCS) (“CSI”).

The transaction will bring immediate scale to Lantronix, with revenues from the combined company expected to total more than $100 million on an annual basis. The acquisition will bring complementary IoT connectivity products and capabilities, including switching, Power over Ethernet (PoE) and media conversion and adapter products.

Lantronix sees significant operating and product development synergies in the combined company and expects significant day one synergies will drive immediate non-GAAP earnings accretion upon closing, and the company further expects to realize $7 million in annual run rate synergies over the course of the first 24 months. Lantronix will release guidance for its fiscal year 2022 on its fourth quarter fiscal year 2021 earnings conference call, with that date to be named shortly.

Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the world’s most innovative companies and their investors, along with SVB Capital, provided acquisition financing.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP served as legal advisor to Lantronix.

About Lantronix
Lantronix Inc. is a global provider of secure turnkey solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Remote Environment Management (REM), offering Software as a Service (SaaS), connectivity services, engineering services and intelligent hardware. Lantronix enables its customers to provide reliable and secure IoT Intelligent Edge and OOBM solutions while accelerating time to market. Lantronix’s products and services dramatically simplify the creation, development, deployment and management of IoT projects while providing quality, reliability and security across hardware, software and solutions.

With three decades of proven experience in creating robust IoT technologies and OOBM solutions, Lantronix is an innovator in enabling its customers to build new business models, leverage greater efficiencies and realize the possibilities of the Internet of Things. Lantronix’s solutions are deployed inside millions of machines at data centers, offices and remote sites serving a wide range of industries, including energy, agriculture, medical, security, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, retail, financial, environmental and government.

Lantronix is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. For more information, visit www.lantronix.com.

Learn more at the Lantronix blog, www.lantronix.com/blog, featuring industry discussion and updates. To follow Lantronix on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/Lantronix. View our video library on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LantronixInc or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/lantronix.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Lantronix believes that the presentation of non-GAAP financial information, when presented in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures, provides important supplemental information to management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to the company’s financial condition and results of operations. Management uses the aforementioned non-GAAP measures to monitor and evaluate ongoing operating results and trends to gain an understanding of our comparative operating performance. The non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by the company should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and the financial results calculated in accordance with GAAP and reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP should be carefully evaluated. The non-GAAP financial measures used by the company may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Guidance on earnings per share growth is provided only on a non-GAAP basis due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing or amount of certain items that have been excluded from the forward-looking non-GAAP measures, and a reconciliation to the comparable GAAP guidance has not been provided because certain factors that are materially significant to Lantronix’s ability to estimate the excluded items are not accessible or estimable on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements that are not strictly historical statements constitute forward-looking statements and may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words such as “expects,” “believes,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “potential,” “possible,” or “probable” or statements that certain actions, events or results “may,” “will,” “should,” or “could” be taken, occur or be achieved. The forward-looking statements in this press release include, among others, statements about the expected benefits of the acquisition of Transition Networks and Net2Edge (the “Transaction”), including expected synergies in the combined company, to Lantronix and its stockholders, the accretive nature of the proposed Transaction and expected future operating results of the combined company. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and analyses made by Lantronix and its management in light of experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments, as well as other factors appropriate under the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to expectations is subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: Lantronix’s ability to integrate the acquired businesses successfully after the Transaction and achieve anticipated benefits from it; risks relating to any unforeseen liabilities of the acquired businesses; inaccuracies of reserve estimates or assumptions underlying them; revisions to reserve estimates as a result of changes in commodity prices; any loss of management or key personnel; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the emergence of new more contagious and/or vaccine-resistant strains of the virus and the impact of vaccination efforts, including the efficacy and public acceptance of vaccinations, on the combined companies’ business, employees, supply and distribution chains and the global economy; and any additional factors included in Lantronix’s Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 11, 2020, including in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of such report; its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on April 30, 2021, including in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part II of such report; and in the Company’s other public filings with the SEC. In addition, actual results may differ as a result of additional risks and uncertainties of which Lantronix management is currently unaware or does not currently view as material to the Company’s business. For these reasons, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements Lantronix makes speak only as of the date on which they are made. Lantronix undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law or the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC.

Lantronix Media Contact:
Gail Kathryn Miller
Corporate Marketing &
Communications Manager
[email protected]
949-453-7158

Lantronix Analyst and Investor Contact:
Jeremy Whitaker
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
949-450-7241

Lantronix Sales:
[email protected]
Americas +1 (800) 422-7055 (US and Canada) or +1 949-453-3990
Europe, Middle East and Africa +31 (0)76 52 36 744
Asia Pacific + 852 3428-2338
China + 86 21-6237-8868
Japan +81 (0) 50-1354-6201
India +91 994-551-2488

© 2021 Lantronix, Inc. All rights reserved.

Zoom Video Communications to Release Financial Results for the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2022

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM), a leading provider of frictionless enterprise communications, today announced it will release its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 on Monday, August 30, 2021, after the market closes.

A live Zoom Video Webinar of the event can be accessed at 2:00 pm PT / 5:00 pm ET through Zoom’s investor relations website at https://investors.zoom.us. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the live event.

About Zoom
Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for large enterprises, small businesses, and individuals alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom.

Public Relations
Colleen Rodriguez
Global PR Lead for Zoom
[email protected]

Investor Relations
Tom McCallum
Head of Investor Relations for Zoom
408.675.6738
[email protected]

Vision Impact Institute Applauds UN Resolution on Vision

Resolution highlights impact of good vision to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

DALLAS, Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Vision Impact Institute applauds the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Vision for Everyone: accelerating action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals resolution. A major step forward for vision correction, this resolution commits the international community to improving vision for 1.1 billion people living with preventable vision loss by 2030.

Vision Impact Institute logo

This topic is timely as societies cope with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of:

  • Children’s Education – The connection between vision and learning is crucial, as eighty percent of learning is visual. Yet, with increased digital learning, children are experiencing vision changes such as myopia and eye strain from more screen time and less time outdoors.
  • Road Safety – With up to 90% of the information needed for safety on the road coming through the eyes, good vision is a critical factor for safer mobility. This becomes more important as workers return to office buildings and businesses.
  • Gender Equity – Research suggests that 55% of people with vision loss are women and girls. Women can also face stigmas when it comes to wearing glasses. This burden, compounded with the burden that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately placed on women, highlights the need for their good vision care.

“This resolution is a much-needed step to ensure that good vision is accessible to all,” says Kristan Gross, Global Executive Director, Vision Impact Institute. “As vision advocates, we have worked for years in partnership with others to ensure that vision is pivotal in the global development conversation. This unanimous decision is a testimony to the power of partnerships and coalitions that believe good vision is key to unlocking human potential.”

###

About the Vision Impact Institute (VII)
The VII’s mission is to raise awareness of the importance of vision correction and protection to make good vision a global priority. Its Advisory Board is comprised of four independent international experts: Pr. Clare Gilbert (United Kingdom), Mr. Allyala Nandakumar (United States),   Dr. Serge Resnikoff (Switzerland), and Dr. Wang Wei (China).

The Vision Impact Institute is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which receives support from the Vision for Life Fund from Essilor, the world leader in ophthalmic optics. The Vision Impact Institute hosts a unique database of research at  visionimpactinstitute.org .

Contact:
Andrea Kirsten-Coleman
Global Communications Manager
andrea.kirsten@visionimpactinstitute.org

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/832635/Vision_Impact_Institute_Logo.jpg

FXCM June Single Share & Stock Baskets Report

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Aug. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FXCM Group, LLC (“FXCM Group’ or ‘FXCM’), the leading international provider of online foreign exchange trading, CFD trading, cryptocurrencies and related services, is today releasing its data of most popular instruments for the month of June in its Single Share CFD and proprietary Stock Basket product lines.

FXCM offers fractional single share CFD trading with no commission fees** on leading companies from the US, UK, France, Germany and Hong Kong, whilst FXCM’s stock basket products combine the shares of multiple companies from one sector into a single tradeable instrument. The company currently boasts a portfolio of 14 stock baskets. The list of companies and weightings is available on FXCM’s stock basket website: https://www.fxcm.com/za/stock-baskets/

NVIDIA’s climb towards $1000 a share saw it knock Apple down from the second most heavily traded share in June, as Amazon also retook its spot among the monthly leaders. Waning post-IPO interest in Coinbase saw it tumble out of the top 10 together with Google, which finds itself out of the top 10 for the very first time in over 12 months.

On the stock baskets side, there was not much change among the leaders, as China Tech, China Ecommerce and FAANG continued to hold the top three spots.

The Hong Kong based ATMX basket made its first appearance in the top 10 since being launched in May at the expense of the Work From Home basket, which saw the biggest decline as companies worldwide slowly try to return to pre-pandemic workspaces.

Volume
Rank
Monthly Rank
Change
Company Symbol
1 Tesla Inc TSLA.us
2 ↑4 NVIDIA Corporation NVDA.us
3 ↓1 Apple Inc AAPL.us
4 ↑3 Amazon.com, Inc AMZN.us
5 New to Top 30 BP plc BP.uk
6 ↓2 Boeing Co BA.us
7 ↑18 Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM.us
8 Baidu Inc ADR Class A BIDU.us
9 New to Top 30 Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR.us
10 New to Top 30 Airbnb Inc ABNB.us
Volume
Rank
Monthly Rank
Change
Sector Symbol
1 Chinese Tech CHN.TECH
2 Chinese E-Commerce CHN.ECOMM
3 Big US Tech FAANG
4 ↑1 Airlines AIRLINES
5 ↓1 Cannabis CANNABIS
6 ↑3 Esports & Gaming ESPORTS
7 ↑3 Biotechnology BIOTECH
8 ↓1 US Banks US.BANKS
9 ↑4 Big China Tech ATMX
10 ↓2 Casinos CASINOS

Past performance and popularity are not indicators of future results.

Rank is derived from FXCM Client Volume.

**When executing customers’ trades, FXCM can be compensated in several ways, which include, but are not limited to: spreads, charging fixed lot-based commissions at the open and close of a trade, adding a markup to the spreads it receives from its liquidity providers for certain account types, and adding a markup to rollover, etc.

About FXCM:
FXCM is a leading provider of online foreign exchange (FX) trading, CFD trading, and related services. Founded in 1999, the company’s mission is to provide global traders with access to the world’s largest and most liquid market by offering innovative trading tools, hiring excellent trading educators, meeting strict financial standards and striving for the best online trading experience in the market. Clients have the advantage of mobile trading, one-click order execution and trading from real-time charts. In addition, FXCM offers educational courses on FX trading and provides trading tools, proprietary data and premium resources. FXCM Pro provides retail brokers, small hedge funds and emerging market banks access to wholesale execution and liquidity, while providing high and medium frequency funds access to prime brokerage services via FXCM Prime. FXCM is a Leucadia Company.

Forex Capital Markets Limited: FCA registration number 217689 (www.fxcm.com/uk)

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FXCM EU LTD: CySEC license number 392/20 (www.fxcm.com/eu)

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FXCM Australia Pty. Limited: AFSL 309763.You can sustain a total loss of your deposited funds. The products may not be suitable for all investors. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved. If you decide to trade products offered by FXCM AU, you must read and understand the Financial Services GuideProduct Disclosure Statement, and Terms of Business on www.fxcm.com/au.

FXCM South Africa (PTY) Ltd: FSP No 46534 (www.fxcm.com/za). Our service includes products that are traded on margin and carry a risk of losses in excess of your deposited funds. The products may not be suitable for all investors. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

FXCM Markets Limited: Losses can exceed deposited funds. (www.fxcm.com/markets).

Media contact:
Chatsworth Communications
+44 (0) 20 7440 9780
fxcm@chatsworthcommunications.com

Burkina Faso Sees More Child Soldiers as Jihadi Attacks Rise

Awoken by gunshots in the middle of the night, Fatima Amadou was shocked by what she saw among the attackers: children.

Guns slung over their small frames, the children chanted “Allahu akbar,” as they surrounded her home in Solhan town in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region. Some were so young they couldn’t even pronounce the words, Arabic for “God is great,” said the 43-year-old mother.

“When I saw the kids, what came to my mind was that (the adults) trained these kids to be assassins, and they came to kill my children,” Amadou told The Associated Press by phone from Sebba town, where she now lives.

She and her family are among the lucky ones who survived the June attack, in which about 160 people were killed — the deadliest such assault since the once-peaceful West African nation was overrun by fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State about five years ago. As that violence increases, so too does the recruitment of child soldiers.

The number of children recruited by armed groups in Burkina Faso rose at least five-fold so far this year, up from four documented cases in all of last year, according to information seen by the AP in an unpublished report by international aid and conflict experts.

At least 14 boys are being held in the capital, Ouagadougou, for alleged association with militant armed groups, some there since 2018, said Idrissa Sako, assistant to Burkina Faso’s public prosecutor at the high court in the city.

Amadou said she saw about seven children with the fighters who surrounded her home during the Solhan attack. She did not see them kill anyone, but they helped burn down houses.

“We are alarmed by the presence of children with armed groups,” said Sandra Lattouf, the representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, in the country.

The effects of the conflict on children — including their recruitment as soldiers but also attacks on schools and kids themselves — have become so concerning that this year Burkina Faso was added for the first time to the U.N.’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict.

Aid groups say they are seeing more children with jihadi fighters at roadside checkpoints in the Sahel — an arid region that passes through Burkina Faso but stretches straight across the African continent just south of the Sahara. In recent years, the western Sahel has become an epicenter of jihadi violence.

During a recent trip to Dori, a town in the region where nearly 1,200 people fled after the attack on Solhan, the AP spoke with eight survivors, five of whom said they either heard or saw children partake in the violence.

“We heard them say, ‘we good children have come to change Solhan in a better way,’” said Hama Amadou, a resident, who hid in his shop during the fighting. He said he also heard women directing the children, saying “kill him, kill him.”

Burkina Faso’s ill-equipped and undertrained army is struggling to stem the violence, which has killed thousands and displaced 1.3 million people since the jihadi attacks began.

Experts on child recruitment say that poverty pushes some kids toward armed groups. Sako, who works with the public prosecutor, said some children who wanted money to enroll in school joined because they were promised approximately $18 if they killed someone. Others were promised gifts like motorbikes.

But civil society organizations also accuse army troops of contributing to the problem by committing abuses against civilians suspected of being jihadis.

“There are more security operations … (so) there are more military abuses,” said Maimouna Ba, head of operations for Women for the Dignity of the Sahel, a Dori-based advocacy group. “It is hard for a child to get up in the morning and see that their father was killed.” As they get older, children may become angry and start asking why the state isn’t helping them, she said.

The army denied these allegations, along with accusations that it was slow in responding to the attack in Solhan, but would not provide a detailed comment.

The deteriorating security is sparking unrest, with protests across the country demanding the government take stronger action. In response, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore fired his security and defense ministers, appointing himself minister of defense.

Amid this raft of problems, Burkina Faso must now also figure out what to do with the children accused of being affiliated with armed groups.

None of the boys being held in Ouagadougou has been put on trial, according to Sako. The government has not yet signed an agreement with the United Nations that would help it to treat such children as victims, not perpetrators, for instance, by moving them from prison to centers where they could receive psychological care.

“It is a real concern for us to find a permanent solution for children,” said Sako.

Preventing further recruitment, meanwhile, means tackling economic hardship and all that comes with it, including helping kids who have left school to catch up on their lessons.

“Neglecting to act now will only lead to a more intractable crisis and greater instability in the months and years ahead, giving these armed groups the heartbreaking advantage they are so violently seeking,” said Dr. Samantha Nutt, founder and president of War Child Canada and War Child USA.

For now, many parents, already struggling to feed, clothe and educate their kids, feel powerless to protect them.

“I’m really afraid for my child to be recruited by jihadis,” said Isma Heella, a Dori resident and father to a 4-year-old boy. “We fear for our children and for ourselves as parents because we are not stronger than them.”

Source: Voice of America

UPDATE: Police hunt murder suspect in Gqeberha

SAPS Kabega Park with the assistance of the community arrested a 49-year-old suspect this Sunday morning at approximately 08:30.

The suspect will appear in the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court on Monday 2 August 2021 on charges of murder.

The Station Commander Colonel Tony Nomdoe extended his appreciation to the community of Kuyga in assisting with the arrest and commended them for not taking the law into their own hands.

Source: South African Police Service