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Indonesian authorities have ordered the halting of development of a tourism project affiliated with U.S. President Donald Trump over water management and environmental issues, officials said Friday.The 3,000-hectare (11.6-square-mile) project is the brainchild of Trump’s Indonesian business partner, billionaire and politician Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who attended Trump’s inauguration in Washington last month.His association with Trump began in 2014 when his group company, MNC, was looking for an operator for sprawling “six star” resorts, one to be built on the tourist island of Bali and the other near Jakarta.In exchange for a cut of the revenue, the Trump Organization would manage hotels, golf courses and country clubs that would cost about $700 million for MNC to build. The projects form the core of larger developments that the company plans.In a January 2017 interview with The Associated Press, Tanoesoedibjo, better known as Tanoe, said that developing the whole 3,000 hectares of Lido City would take more than a decade and cost up to $3 billion, of which the Trump properties would cost more than $300 million.The company has been promoting the project for years. In 2023, then Indonesian President Joko Widodo gave it special economic zone status, providing MNC Land with tax breaks and leniency on permits.A sprawling “Trump Community” has been built since 2014 in this pocket of Indonesia’s most densely populated island, with a new toll road leading to it, located in Gunung Gede Pangrango, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the capital, Jakarta, and is home to a new Trump golf course, which started offering membership last year.Though a private development, Lido City suits the Indonesian government’s ambitions to create more tourist destinations that it hopes will be as popular as Bali.It’s part of broader plans, including a huge theme park, that have alarmed conservationists who fear development will overwhelm habitats for some of the archipelago’s most threatened species.The Environment Ministry said in a statement that mismanagement of rainwater at the resort had caused sedimentation in Lido Lake, making it shallower and halving the size of the body of water to 12 hectares (30 acres).“The mismatch between environmental plans and physical implementation is a serious concern in efforts to preserve natural resources,” said Ardyanto Nugroho, the ministry’s director of environmental complaints, monitoring and law enforcement.He said that his team was still waiting for laboratory test results to determine further steps in the environmental law enforcement process.“We committed to preserving the environment and will take firm action against violations that impact the ecosystem and surrounding communities,” Nugroho said.Local media reports showed a board with a sign that the project was under “supervision” installed on one side of Lido Lake.Gunung Gede Pangrango is one of the last virgin tropical forests in Java, where only 2% of original forest remains. It nurtures a dazzling variety of flora and fauna: more than 2,000 species of ferns, mosses and flowering plants, and 250 species of birds.Endangered species include the Javan slow loris the world’s only venomous primate the Javan leaf monkey, the Javan leopard, whose total population numbers less than 250, and the Javan hawk-eagle and Javan silvery gibbon.The park has a rehabilitation center for silvery gibbons that have been rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. The gibbons, known for practicing lifelong monogamy and their distinctively small, intense faces, number fewer than 4,000 in the wild.PT MNC Land President Director Budi Rustanto denied that his company’s project had caused the sedimentation in Lido Lake, saying it also came from other projects, offices, housing and buildings in the surrounding area, including a government office compound and existing community settlements.He said that his property firm had followed the criteria and prerequisites related to the environmental impact analysis, known as AMDAL.“Since 2013, we have always tried to overcome the problem of shallowing of the lake, this is because 50% of the lake area is in our development area,” Rustanto told Kompas news outlet, adding that a number of efforts will continue to be made to overcome the problem of shallowing of the lake, including dredging plans.Environmentalists welcomed the government’s move as a sign that it was serious in addressing the failure of project management to consider the environmental impact near the land designated as a Special Economic Zone.Executive Chair of Konservasi Indonesia, Meizani Irmadhiany, said the Lido area is one of the most important watersheds of the Cimandiri river and part of the landscape of Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park, not only for the people of West Java but also for the residents of Jakarta.“The slope contours serve as a significant water catchment area, and the area planned for the project is located on critical land,” Irmadhiany said. “It is time for the business sector to prioritize environmental principles which have direct impacts on the environment and communities, as well as business itself in the long run, before and during development.” Niniek Karmini, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
E.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) saw its stock plunge in extended trading on Thursday after the company cut its full-year guidance. As of premarket trading on Friday morning, shares were down more than 25% to $66.15, lows not seen since 2023. The stock has fallen significantly from its 2024 high of $221.83. The cosmetics brand posted strong Q3 revenue results, surpassing analyst expectations with a 31.1% year-over-year increase to $355.3 million. Despite stronger-than-expected holiday sales, profits came in below estimates. Key financial results E.l.f. Beauty adjusted its full-year revenue forecast to $1.31 billion, slightly below previous estimates, and revised its earnings per share and EBITDA guidance downward as well. Here are other key takeaways, per consensus estimates cited by CNBC: Full fiscal year guidance: Sales between $1.3 billion and $1.31 billion (below estimates of $1.34 billion). Previous guidance was $1.32 billion to $1.34 billion. Earnings per share: 74 cents adjusted versus expected EPS of 75 cents. Revenue: $355 million, compared to $330 million (up 31% from $271 million a year earlier). Net income: $17.3 million, or 30 cents per share (compared to $26.9 million, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier), What’s driving the stock price decline? Investors are likely concerned about the lower forecast. The company cited the Los Angeles wildfires and speculation about the future of TikTok as factors for a muted start to 2025. First, the category continued to decline in January, CEO Tarang Amin said on E.l.f. Beautys earnings call. We believe this decline is reflective of consumers stocking up in a highly promotional December, and lower social conversation around beauty. He continued: Consumer mindshare is focused elsewhere, including wildfires in L.A. and uncertainty around the TikTok platform. E.l.f. executives suggested the company was less concerned about President Trumps tariff increases on Chinese-made goods, which account for most of its production, pointing to a proven strategy from 2019. As a reminder, tariff heights will not impact our current fiscal year results. We plan to address our response to the incremental tariffs in our fiscal 2026 outlook in May, CFO Mandy Fields said on the earnings call. We believe we have a successful playbook to leverage from 2019 when tariffs move to the 25% level. This included supplier concessions, cost savings and select price increases. CEO emphasizes the positive Despite the revised outlook, Amin said he remains optimistic: We believe we are still in the early innings of unlocking the whitespace we see across digital, color cosmetics, skin care, and international, he said.
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E-Commerce
Pinterest shares (NYSE: PINS) are skyrocketing in premarket trading this morning after the company announced Q4 results for its fiscal 2024 yesterday. PINS stock is currently up over 22% to above $41 per share as of the time of this writing. It hasn’t seen that price point seen since last July. Heres what you need to know about Pinterests latest results and its surging stock. Pinterests revenue and growing user base shine in Q4 Almost any way you look at it, Pinterest had a great Q4, with two metrics really seeming to have made investors happy: Revenue: $1.15 billion Global Monthly Active Users (MAUs): 553 million For its fourth quarter, Pinterest generated revenue of $1.15 billion. Not only did that exceed analyst estimates of $1.14 billion for the quarter (per CNBC), but its the first time that Pinterest has generated over $1 billion in revenue in a single quarter. It also represents a growth of 18% versus the quarter a year earlier. Pinterests first billion-dollar quarter also helped lift the companys total revenue for its entire fiscal 2024. The company reported that it brought in total revenue of $3.6 billion during its 2024 financial yeargrowth of 19% over fiscal 2023. But it wasnt just revenue that has pleased investors. Pinterest also saw its global monthly active user base (MAU) grow by double digits in the quarter. The company ended Q4 2024 with 553 million monthly active users. That’s 11% more than the quarter a year earlier and an all-time high for the social media company. Pinterest, like other smaller social media networks, has faced ad pressures in recent years as advertisers wrestle with where to spend their moneywith most opting to do so on Metas and Google’s platforms where engagement and user bases are larger. But not only has Pinterests Q4 results suggested the company is growing its ad revenues, its user base growth also bodes well for the company in attracting more advertisers in the future. Announcing the companys Q4 results, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready said, 2024 was a banner year for Pinterest, capped off by a milestone Q4achieving the companys first billion-dollar revenue quarter and a record 553 million monthly active users, as we continue to drive profitable growth and free cash flow. Looking ahead to 2025 Pinterest is currently in its first quarter of fiscal 2025. On yesterdays earnings call, the company offered revenue guidance for the period, saying it expects revenue to come in between $837 million and $852 million, a year-over-year growth of between 13% and 15%. As MarketWatch noted, that is above the FactSet consensus, which was only $836 million. As of yesterdays close, before its Q4 results boost, PINS shares ended the day at $33.59. That equates to a year-to-date return of nearly 16%. However, over the past year, the stock price has fallen over 18%. Todays premarket boost, if it holds up once the markets open, can help erase much of those losses. Our strategy is paying off. People are coming to Pinterest more often, the platform has never been more actionable, and our lower funnel focus is driving results for users and advertisers, Ready said. Looking ahead, Im confident that our focus on being a positive platform is a competitive advantage in driving long-term success for the business and value for our advertisers and users.”
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