Blocknox, a subsidiary of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, began offering digital asset storage services for institutional market participants such as banks and investment companies. The cryptocurrency division of Germany’s second largest exchange already offers similar services for retail customers working on its trading platform, but wants to take its custodian service to a new level. In January, Blocknox notified the local regulator of plans to obtain a license, so it already has the right to offer services on a temporary basis. According to Blocknox Managing Director Ulli Spankowski, institutional clients will not only be able to store cryptocurrency, but also use the storage as the basis for their own digital asset projects.
Norwegian Air Shuttle is planning to soon add cryptocurrency to the list of possible ways to pay for air tickets. The third largest airline in Europe collaborates with the local Norwegian Block trading platform, which develops a payment infrastructure for cryptocurrency settlements. The CEO of the exchange, Stig Kjos-Mathisen, said that in fact the decision is already ready and customers will be able to purchase tickets for digital currency with it by the end of the year, and possibly even this spring. However, it is not yet known which cryptocurrencies it will be possible to pay. In 2018, Norwegian Air carried more than 37 million passengers. Since November 2019, customers of the British travel company Alternative Airlines have also been able to pay for tickets with five different cryptocurrencies.
The company is an electronics manufacturer Garmin Ltd. (GRMN, NASDAQ) reported the results of another successful quarter. Sales grew rapidly, but next year management presented a more restrained forecast. In the fourth quarter, Garmin's revenue grew 18% to $ 1.1 billion. Thus, the growth for the whole year was 12% to $ 3.76 billion, which is higher than even the company's updated forecasts. Garmin's fastest growing area was the marine equipment segment, up 22% to $ 116 million. The company also noted strong demand in other areas, with the exception of car navigation. However, the drop in the automotive segment was offset by the growing demand for niches in fitness trackers and smart watches. Garmin's gross margin declined in the fourth quarter, but operating margin grew for the quarter and year. Garmin adjusted earnings rose 21% to $ 4.45 per share, higher than the company's forecast.
At the auction on February 20, the GRMN share was worth $ 99.81.
Stock prices of the company - manufacturer of inverters Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH, NASDAQ) on Wednesday February 19 rose immediately by 42.44%. The reason was the report for the fourth quarter, as well as the announcement of the imminent release of products that could further accelerate the development of Enphase Energy's business. Enphase microinverters directing energy from solar panels directly to the household electrical network are extremely popular products. This ensures the growth of sales and stock prices of the company. In the past quarter, Enphase Energy's revenue exceeded $ 210 million, while a year earlier it was $ 180 million. Gross margin increased to 37%. Net income rose to $ 116.6 million, compared with $ 92.2 million in Q4 2018, diluted earnings were $ 0.88 per share ($ 0.04 a year earlier). Over the past 12 months, the share of ENPH went up by 656.88% to $ 57.22 at the auction on February 19.
Net sales of Zebra Technologies grew in the fourth quarter. Net sales in the Enterprise Visibility & Mobility (EVM) segment were $ 813 million, and net sales in the Asset Intelligence & Tracking (AIT) segment were $ 379 million. Zebra Technologies is a major manufacturer of manufacturing automation systems. The company produces many types of hardware and software solutions: RFID; barcode scanners; navigation for industrial enterprises, ports and factories; terminals for loaders; tablet PCs for warehouse workers and more. Zebra Technologies managed to increase profit by 47% year-on-year to $ 169 million. Earnings per share were $ 3.1, which is also higher by almost 47% year-on-year. According to top management of Zebra Technologies, the company began in 2020 with a rich portfolio of orders, which will ensure reliable sales this year. Today the company has about 10 thousand partners in one hundred countries. At the auction on February 18, the ZBRA stock was worth $ 236.66.
