Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (ADR) (OTCMKTS:MIELY) will deploy Itron’s smart grid software for a significant smart metering project with Japanese electric utility Chubu Electric Power Co. According to Itron, its OpenWay collection engine software will be installed at Chubu Electric to securely collect and relay a high volume of data from field routers and approximately 10 million smart meters and deliver that data to the utility’s meter data management system. The smart grid software, Itron notes, will help empower consumers to conserve energy and improve back-end utility processes. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (ADR) (OTCMKTS:MIELY) shares after opening at $22.00 moved to $22.00 on last trade day and at the end of the day closed at $21.75
Bayer AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BAYRY) ’s first-quarter profit rose 12 percent, helped by new medicines and a rebound at its plastics unit. First-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and special items rose to 2.74 billion euros ($3.79 billion) from 2.45 billion euros a year earlier, the Leverkusen, Germany-based company said in a statement. That beat the 2.56 billion-euro average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Bayer has signaled for more than a year that new drugs including the blood thinner Xarelto and eye medicine Eylea will drive growth together with its agricultural unit. The company has struggled to increase profitability at its third division, the Material Science plastics unit. It’s exploring a sale of the business to focus on health, people with knowledge of the matter said over the weekend. The plastics unit is “still not where it needs to be,” said Fabian Wenner, an analyst at Kepler Chevreux in Zurich. “It’s important to see volume growth pick up, but pricing was still a drag.” Bayer AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BAYRY) shares fell -1.38% in last trading session and ended the day on $130.07.
Lafarge S.A. (LFRGY) and Holcim Holcim Ltd (ADR) (OTCMKTS:HCMLY) announced that they have reached an all-share merger deal that will essentially create the world’s largest cement company. The deal will allow the two European cement makers to better compete against smaller but formidable players in an increasingly challenged industry. Under the terms approved by the boards of both companies, shareholders of Paris-based Lafarge will receive one Holcim share for each of their shares that they tender, with the deal labeled a “merger of equals.” The combined entity will have annual revenues of around $44 billion, and a market cap approaching $50 billion. Holcim Ltd (ADR) (OTCMKTS:HCMLY) shares moved down -0.22% in last trading session and was closed at $17.87.
Panasonic Corporation (ADR) (OTCMKTS:PCRFY) announced that it has achieved a conversion efficiency of 25.6% (cell area*3: 143.7 cm²) in its HIT(R) solar cells, a major increase over the previous world record for crystalline silicon-based solar cells. The previous record*4 for the conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon-based solar cells of a practical size (100 cm² and over) was 24.7%, as announced by Panasonic in February 2013 (cell area: 101.8 cm²). The new record is 0.9 points higher and the first to break through the 25% barrier for practical size cells. This new record is also an improvement of 0.6 points over the previous record for small area crystalline silicon-based solar cells (cell area: 4 cm²) of 25.0%*4,5. Panasonic Corporation (ADR) (OTCMKTS:PCRFY) company shares ended up $10.39.