Ogier claims ninth Monte win in TOYOTA GAZOO Racing one-two JCN Newswire

Ogier claims ninth Monte win in TOYOTA GAZOO Racing one-two

TOKYO, Jan 23, 2023 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has started the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship with a one-two finish on Rallye Monte-Carlo as Sebastien Ogier claimed a record ninth victory on the legendary event ahead of team-mate Kalle Rovanpera.Car 17 (Sebastien Ogier, Vincent Landais)Mostly dry weather made this year's rally more a test of outright performance than usual, and Ogier set the pace from the start with five straight stage wins as he opened up a lead of half a minute by Friday lunchtime.The GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID was fastest in the first 11 stages of the season, its streak only ended on Saturday afternoon - by which point Ogier was focused on managing his lead. He carried an advantage of 16 seconds over Rovanpera into the final day, when he proceeded to claim his eighth and ninth stage wins of the weekend and finished up with a winning margin of 18.8s.Ogier's 56th WRC win is also the first for his co-driver Vincent Landais, in only the second event since he began working with the up-and-coming French navigator at the end of last season. It is also Toyota's fifth Monte win with a fifth different model of car: the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID winning all but two of the 18 stages across the weekend.With Ogier once more only contesting selected events this season, second place plus victory in the rally-ending Power Stage represents an ideal start to Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen's defence of their first championship titles. Rovanpera grew in confidence and speed during the rally, taking six stage wins in total on his way to a first Rallye Monte-Carlo podium.Elfyn Evans displayed similarly strong pace to his team-mates throughout the weekend and was second to Ogier before losing around 40s with a damaged tyre in SS5 on Friday morning. He and co-driver Scott Martin fought back to finish fourth, 27.8s from the podium despite a brief spin on Sunday morning. He was also third in the Power Stage to claim three additional bonus points.The strong start to the season for TGR was completed by Takamoto Katsuta in his WRC Challenge Program-supported entry. He produced his strongest Rallye Monte-Carlo performance to-date alongside co-driver Aaron Johnston, frequently joining his team-mates in the top-four on stage times and finishing sixth overall.For more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/release/2023/rd01-day4/. Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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Kitchen Culture Says Purported Notice to Call Second Attempted EGM on 25 November 2022 to Remove 5 Directors By Electronic Means Is Invalid; Urges Shareholders Not To Attend ACN Newswire

Kitchen Culture Says Purported Notice to Call Second Attempted EGM on 25 November 2022 to Remove 5 Directors By Electronic Means Is Invalid; Urges Shareholders Not To Attend

SINGAPORE, Nov 18, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Kitchen Culture Holdings Ltd. ("Kitchen Culture" or the "Company") said today that a second attempt to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting ("Second Intended EGM") to remove 5 of 6 directors next week is defective and invalid for non-compliance with the Companies Act 1967 and the Company's Constitution.Kitchen Culture had sought legal advice and had since early November 2022 been writing to lawyers representing OOWAY Group Ltd. ("OOWAY") who in turns representing a group of 7 other shareholders (8 aforementioned shareholders collectively, the "Requisitioners") who had published an advertisement in The Business Times on 3 November 2022 calling for the Second Intended EGM to be held on 25 November 2022 by electronic means. Based on opinions of 2 lawyers, Kitchen Culture, the SGX Catalist-listed provider of solutions and products for kitchens and wardrobes said:"... the Company announces that the Second Intended EGM (scheduled for 9.00 am on Friday 25 November 2022 to be held by electronic means) is NOT a proper extraordinary general meeting of the Company. As such, that Second Intended EGM is defective and invalid, and any resolution passed at any purported meeting held as the Second Intended EGM will be invalid. Even assuming that the Second Intended EGM is not defective and invalid, any resolution to remove any Director or to appoint some person in place of a Director so removed, will be invalid."The Requisitioners had not given sufficient notice in writing of the Second Intended EGM as required by the Companies Act and the Constitution of the Company. While the Requisitioners were in a position to send all required notices in writing to every member of the Company at the relevant and appropriate address they did not do so, the Company said.Further, the Requisitioners are in 'serious breach' of the Company's Constitution by failing to deposit executed Proxy Forms only at Kitchen Culture's registered office. Instead, shareholders were informed that executed Proxy Forms were "to be sent to the office of a company unknown to the Company and at an address not previously known to the Company, and not to the registered office of the Company."Kitchen Culture's Board, with the exception of Madam Hao Dongting, has said that there are no grounds to justify the resignations of the 5 directors - Mr Lim Wee Li (Executive Director), Mr Lau Kay Heng (NonExecutive Non-Independent Chairman), and 3 Independent Directors, Mr Ang Lian Kiat, Mr William Teo Choon Kow and Mr Peter Lim King Soon.Mr Lau Kay Heng and Mr Peter Lim King Soon were named as new directors on 15 July 2022, the same day that Mr Lincoln Teo, an OOWAY representative and former Interim CEO of Kitchen Culture, ceased to be Executive Director. The Company stressed that OOWAY had in fact supported the re-appointments of Mr William Teo Choon Kow and Mr Ang Lian Kiat at the Annual General Meeting held on 18 March 2022. The Requisitioners comprise OOWAY - the Company's largest shareholder - and 7 individuals who own an aggregate of 21.71% of the Company's shares. They had first issued Purported Notices under Section 177 of the Companies Act 1967 - on 30 September 2022 and 14 October 2022 - to remove the 5 directors at a physical EGM that was first called to be held on 1 November 2022 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.Kitchen Culture had responded that the Purported Notices were defective and that any resolution passed at the 1 November 2022 EGM would be invalid. The Requisitioners then published the 3 November 2022 newspaper advertisement and engaged in legal correspondence with the Company's lawyers."The Company will not be publishing as an announcement the Second Concatenation Purported Notice of EGM, and the Company cannot proceed and will not be proceeding with the Second Intended EGM purportedly called for by the Relevant Shareholders (i.e. the Requisitioners). If the Second Intended EGM is attempted to be held, and any resolution purportedly passed at such Second Intended EGM, would be invalid. In any case, the Company advises shareholders not to attend the Second Intended EGM purportedly called for on 25 November 2022", Kitchen Culture said.Kitchen Culture shares have been suspended from trading since July 2021. Its Board has seen several changes since the involvement of OOWAY in October 2020. Issued by:Kitchen Culture Holdings Ltd.9 Raffles Place, #52-02, Republic PlazaSingapore 048619 Tel: +65 6471 6776, Fax: +65 6472 6776Media & Investor Contact Whatsapp (Text): +65 9748 0688 kitchenculture@wer1.netThis press release has been reviewed by the Company's sponsor, SAC Capital Private Limited (the "Sponsor"). It has not been examined or approved by the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the "SGX-ST") and the SGX-ST assumes no responsibility for the contents of this press release, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this press release.The contact person for the Sponsor is Ms. Lee Khai Yinn (Tel +65 6232 3210), at 1 Robinson Road, #21-00 AIA Tower, Singapore 048542. Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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Kitchen Culture Seeking Legal Advice on Validity of New Purported Notice to Remove 5 Directors; Urges Shareholders Not to Accept Notices or Proxy Forms Unquestioningly ACN Newswire

Kitchen Culture Seeking Legal Advice on Validity of New Purported Notice to Remove 5 Directors; Urges Shareholders Not to Accept Notices or Proxy Forms Unquestioningly

SINGAPORE, Nov 3, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Kitchen Culture Holdings Ltd. ("Kitchen Culture" or the "Company") said today it will seek fresh legal advice on the validity of a letter from a law firm and fresh notice received by a group of 8 shareholders ("requisitioners") seeking to remove 5 of 6 directors via an Extraordinary General Meeting ("Second Intended EGM") proposed for 25 November 2022.The directors of SGX Catalist-listed provider of solutions and products for kitchens and wardrobes received the new notice ("Second Concatenation Purported Notice") as well as a lawyer's letter yesterday. The requisitioners also published an advertisement for the Second Concatenation Purported Notice in The Business Times today.OOWAY Group Ltd. ("OOWAY") - the Company's largest shareholder - and 7 individuals who own an aggregate of 21.71% of the Company's shares had issued Purported Notices under Section 177 of the Companies Act 1967 - on 30 September 2022 and 14 October 2022 - to remove the 5 directors. Kitchen Culture responded that the Purported Notices were defective and that any resolution passed on 1 November 2022 would be invalid.Kitchen Culture's Board, with the exception of Madam Hao Dongting, has said that there are no grounds to justify the resignations of the 5 directors - Mr Lim Wee Li (Executive Director), Mr Lau Kay Heng (Non-Executive Director and Vice-Chairman), and 3 Independent Directors, Mr Ang Lian Kiat, Mr William Teo Choon Kow and Mr Peter Lim King Soon.Mr Lau Kay Heng and Mr Peter Lim King Soon were named as new directors to on 15 July 2022, the same day that Mr Lincoln Teo, an OOWAY representative and former Interim CEO of Kitchen Culture, ceased to be Executive Director. The Company stressed that OOWAY had in fact supported the re-appointments of Mr William Teo Choon Kow and Mr Ang Lian Kiat at the Annual General Meeting held on 18 March 2022.Addressing the letter and notices received yesterday from a law firm, which did not confirm for whom they were acting, Kitchen Culture said:- The undated Second Concatenation Purported Notice contained resolutions for the proposed for Second Intended EGM scheduled for 25 November 2022 that were substantially similar to those proposed for the 1 November 2022 EGM that was 'postponed'. Yet it made no mention nor explained the so-called 'postponement' advertised by requisitioners on 29 October 2022 in The Business Times despite having issued a press release on 24 October 2022 urging shareholders to attend;- As the above documents gave notice of the "Second Intended EGM" "to be convened and held only be electronic means" on 25 November 2022, it remains unclear if requisitioners have detracted from the "postponed" 1 November 2022 EGM which they had earlier urged shareholders to attend;- The letter received from the law firm failed to explain how 2 earlier notices filed by requisitioners ahead of the earlier EGM (1 November 2022) can be "reissued" as a "composite" in the form of the Second Concatenation Purported Notice to call for the Second Intended EGM; and- The requisitioners did not confirm whether the requisitioners regard the Second Intended EGM to be in anyway connected with the 1 November 2022 EGM that was called off.The Company will seek to communicate with the requisitioners to minimise, if not to clear up, the confusion among shareholders which might have been caused by the requisitioners' actions or by the documents or omissions contained in the documents received yesterday.Kitchen Culture urged shareholders in the meantime "NOT to accept unquestioningly the Second Concatenation Purported Notice of EGM or its related Proxy Form, or the validity the Second Intended EGM. Instead, they should await further announcements of the Company to give updates on this subject." Kitchen Culture shares have been suspended from trading since July 2021. Its Board has seen several changes since the involvement of OOWAY in October 2020.Issued by:Kitchen Culture Holdings Ltd.9 Raffles Place, #52-02, Republic PlazaSingapore 048619 Tel: +65 6471 6776, Fax: +65 6472 6776Media & Investor Contact Whatsapp (Text): +65 9748 0688 kitchenculture@wer1.netThis press release has been reviewed by the Company's sponsor, SAC Capital Private Limited (the "Sponsor"). It has not been examined or approved by the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the "SGX-ST") and the SGX-ST assumes no responsibility for the contents of this press release, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this press release.The contact person for the Sponsor is Ms. Lee Khai Yinn (Tel +65 6232 3210), at 1 Robinson Road, #21-00 AIA Tower, Singapore 048542.Kitchen Culture Holdings Ltd. [SGX: 5TI] [BBG: KCH:SP] [RIC: KCHL.SI] https://kcholdings.com.sg Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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Yeahka Announces 2022 Interim Results ACN Newswire

Yeahka Announces 2022 Interim Results

HONG KONG, Aug 30, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Yeahka Limited ("Yeahka" or the "Company", Stock Code: 9923), a leading payment-based technology platform in China, is pleased to announce the interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2022 (the "period" or "1H 2022").Financial Highlights-- During the period, the Company's total revenue reached RMB1,641.8 million, representing a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 17.1%. -- Gross profit during the period rose 52.1% YoY to RMB529.3 million, gross margin increased from 24.8% to 32.2%, gross profit contribution from non-payment business was 50%.-- Adjusted EBITDA amounted to RMB69.7million, increased by 39.7% compared with the second half of 2021.-- Gross profit of in-store e-commerce services reached RMB92.3million, gross margin reached 57.1%, increased by 76.9% and 6.6 percentage points respectively, compared with the second half of 2021.Operational HighlightsNumber of users and scale of one-stop payment services continued to grow:-- Total gross payment value ("GPV") of the payment services reached RMB1.06 trillion, up 7.4% YoY;-- The number of active payment service merchants increased 24.1% YoY to a historical high of 7.6 million;-- The number of cities covered exceeded 300 nationwide;-- The number of partnership banks increased to nearly 100; the number of independent sales agents in our network reached nearly 16,000; and the number of application programming interface (API) partners on our cloud payment platform exceeded 3,000.In-store e-commerce services grew rapidly and achieved significant results:-- Total gross merchandise value ("GMV") was nearly RMB1.4 billion, up 17.9 times YoY, and 3.2 times compared with the second half of 2021;-- The number of monthly active users ("MAU") reached 19.0 million; -- The number of paying consumers reached nearly 9.7 million, increasing by 578.9% YoY and 136.0% from the second half of 2021;-- Stock keep units (SKU) reached over 205,300, up 1,570.2% YoY and 39.6% from the second half of 2021;-- Number of regional sites exceeded 300.Steady growth for merchant solutions:-- Number of active merchant solutions merchants increased by 25.8% YoY to nearly 1.5 million.Mr. Luke Liu, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Company, said, "The resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic has made 1H 2022 challenging by slowing down retail sales growth of consumer goods, and significantly disrupting offline commerce. But for us, because of our broad coverage across over 300 cities and low geographic concentration, we continued to make progress in scaling up and monetizing our commercial digitalized ecosystem. We have been proactively adapting to the new norm in China's internet industry, by being more cost cautious and profitability-driven, which has been demonstrated by our financial performance in the first half - total revenue and gross margin both showed encouraging improvement year over year("YoY"), particularly with gross profit increasing 52.1% to RMB529.3 million, gross margin improving by 7.4 percentage points on a YoY basis, and adjusted EBITDA reaching RMB69.7 million during the period, increasing by 39.7% compared with the second half of 2021."We firmly believe that fast-tracking development in the local lifestyle market brings significant real and quantifiable value to consumers and merchants, because consumers can find intriguing experiences and receive actual discount by using our services, and merchants can boost their revenue and name recognition through our concentrated traffic during a short timeframe. The in-store e-commerce business has experienced strong growth in GMV, with MAU exceeding 19.0 million during 1H 2022, coupled with our effective operations optimization, we have significantly narrowed its loss. Going forward, we will continue to focus on creating user value, driving technology innovation, and taking more social responsibility."Also, with confidence in Yeahka's fundamentals and future strategies, we have purchased a total of 25,533,600 shares of the Company through the restricted share unit scheme, accounting for 5.65% of total shares outstanding. Moreover, on 30 August 2022, we announced an additional US$70 million share purchase scheme, reflecting our continued confidence in Yeahka's growth potential."OutlookOn one-stop payment services, Yeahka will continue to strengthen its sales network, particularly Open-API SaaS partnerships and bank partnerships. Yeahka will also look to embrace new payment standards such as DC/EP. On in-store e-commerce services, Yeahka will put utmost emphasis on improving user experience and focus on narrowing loss, as it is constantly optimizing its cost structure and operating efficiencies. Based on the strong results in the past few months, Yeahka is confident that it will continue to realize tremendous growth in GMV and increase market share. On merchant solutions, leveraging its strong payment merchant network, Yeahka will continue to empower merchants on optimizing digitalized operations and enhancing efficiency. Yeahka has raised US$70 million in July 2022 to strengthen its offshore balance sheet, and will explore overseas opportunities as cross-border travel gradually become available in China.Overall, empowering the real economy and creating values for merchants and consumers has always been Yeahka's core values since its inception in 2011. As Yeahka enters the second half of 2022, the Company may still face challenges from pandemic-driven weakened consumption environment. However, as it has demonstrated with its operating results in 1H 2022, Yeahka will continue to navigate through difficult times, capitalize on the data and traffic in its ecosystem and achieve healthy growth. Yeahka will continue to invest in research and development, enrich its product mix, enhance user experience, increase diversified revenue streams, extend business boundaries, and create sustainable value for shareholders, employees, and society.About YEAHKA LIMITED (Stock Code: 9923.HK)Yeahka is a leading payment-based technology platform dedicated to creating value for merchants and consumers. Our goal is to build an independent and scalable commercial digitalized ecosystem to enable seamless, convenient, and reliable payment services to merchants and consumers, and to further expand into serving merchants and consumers with our diversified product portfolio, which now includes (i) in-store e-commerce services, providing consumers with local lifestyle services of great value, and (ii) merchant solutions, enabling merchants to better manage and drive business growth.Investor and media enquiry:Yeahka LimitedIR teamEmail: ir@yeahka.com Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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Another double podium for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing JCN Newswire

Another double podium for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

TOKYO, Aug 22, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has scored another double podium finish at Ypres Rally Belgium as Elfyn Evans finished just five seconds away from victory in second position with Esapekka Lappi in third.In their second time hosting a round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the farmland roads of the West Flanders region again lived up to their historic reputation as one of rallying's most demanding asphalt tests with frequent surface changes and little margin for error.Kalle Rovanpera was one of many drivers to be caught out when he rolled on Friday morning's second stage: a first significant setback in what has been an outstanding season so far from the young Finn. An extensive rebuild of his car by the team's technicians allowed Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen to return under restart rules the next day and target points in the rally-ending Power Stage over the famous cobbled climb of the Kemmelberg. There they set the fastest time to leave Belgium with their championship lead still a commanding one at 72 points with four rounds remaining.Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin took over the lead when Rovanpera dropped out, but a slow puncture that compromised their tyre strategy and a 10-second penalty for arriving late to one stage meant they ended Friday third overall and 13.7 seconds from the lead. Having fought back on Saturday and gained second overall, Evans continued to close the gap to the leader Ott Tanak with two stage wins on the final morning, but just fell short in the end.Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm scored their third podium from six starts and second in as many weeks with a superbly consistent and clean weekend on a rally where their only previous experience came eight years ago, having already had top-four pace from the start. The result ensures TGR still has a strong lead of 88 points in the manufacturers' championship.Takamoto Katsuta recovered from an issue on Friday morning to finish fifth in his TGR WRT Next Generation entry with co-driver Aaron Johnston, and is now the only driver to have finished every rally in the top 10 this season.The public debut of the innovative GR Yaris H2 concept took place on the stages in Belgium, and was completed by Toyota rally legend Juha Kankkunen driving the Power Stage ahead of the competitive field in the hydrogen-fuelled car, running on Pirelli tyres. After driving the GR Yaris H2 himself on Saturday, Team Founder Akio Toyoda had the chance to ride alongside Kankkunen on the most varied stage of the weekend before greeting his drivers at the podium.For more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/release/2022/rd09-day3/. Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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