Coronavirus | Government to pay employer, employee’s PF contribution for 3 months

The move will benefit over 4.8 crore employees in the organised sector

The government will pay the employee provident fund (EPF) contribution both of the employer and the employee (12% each) for the next three months, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday.

Also read: Nirmala Sitharaman announces ₹1.70 lakh crore package for poor

The move will benefit over 4.8 crore employees in the organised sector.

The government has also announced a ₹1.70 lakh crore economic package for host of beneficiaries in the wake of Covid-19 spread that has crippled economic activity and wages across sectors.

Ms. Sitharaman said the PF contribution decision has been taken to ensure that employees’ EPF continuity is not lost.

This will be applicable to all those establishments having employed up to 100 employees and about 90% of which earn ₹15,000 per month, she added.

The government will also amend the regulations for the scheme to allow employees draw up to 75% of their non-refundable advance or up to three months of wages, whichever is lower.

Canadian Solar Guides FY20 Revenues Below Estimates – Quick Facts

While reporting financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2019 on Thursday, Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) initiated revenue and module shipments outlook for the full-year 2020 and provided guidance also for the first quarter of fiscal 2020.

For the first quarter, the company expects total revenue in a range of $780 million to $810 million and total module shipments in a range of 2.15 GW to 2.25 GW.

For fiscal 2020, the company now projects total revenue in a range of $3.4 billion to $3.9 billion and total module shipments in a range of 10 GW to 12 GW.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report revenues of $888.06 million for the quarter and $4.02 billion for the year.

This outlook is subject to uncertainty with respect to, among other things, final customer demand and project construction and sale schedules, and in particular the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Kuka AG 2019 EBIT Rises; Revenues Decline Slightly – Quick Facts

Kuka AG (KUKAY.PK,KUKAF.PK) reported that its fiscal 2019 EBIT grew significantly to 47.8 million euros from 34.3 million euros, prior year. The EBIT margin increased to 1.5% from 1.1%.

Fiscal 2019 sales revenues decreased slightly by 1.5% to 3.19 billion euros. Volume of orders received declined by 3.5%. The Robotics business segment orders were down 13.3%.

“We improved our free cash flow by more than 200 million euros compared to 2018. We are in positive territory here for the first time since 2015,” said CEO Peter Mohnen.

KUKA expects the market environment to remain difficult in 2020, a situation that will be worsened by the coronavirus crisis. Over the next three years, the company is planning to invest around 500 million euros in research and development.

Canadian Solar Inc. Q4 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) announced a profit for fourth quarter that declined from the same period last year.

The company’s profit totaled $67.74 million, or $1.12 per share. This compares with $111.58 million, or $1.81 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

Excluding items, Canadian Solar Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $62.91 million or $1.04 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.45 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 2.1% to $919.71 million from $901.04 million last year.

Canadian Solar Inc. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q4): $62.91 Mln. vs. $99.48 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): $1.04 vs. $1.61 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $0.45
-Revenue (Q4): $919.71 Mln vs. $901.04 Mln last year.

ECB's Vasiliauskas says OMT bond-buying scheme still in arsenal

VILNIUS, March 26 (Reuters) – The European Central Bank could still buy the debt of countries that apply for financial help via Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) even after announcing a separate crisis-fighting tool last week, ECB policymaker Vitas Vasiliauskas said on Thursday.

“OMT is part of the arsenal and could be used,” Vasiliauskas, who heads the central bank of Lithuania, told a news conference. (Reporting By Andrius Sytas; Writing by Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Get £10 cashback when shopping audiobooks with Audible | The Sun UK

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