Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is finally back – and so are the grim and gruesome Bushtucker trials. The infamous trials have provided some of the show's most memorable moments since it launched two decades ago, with some famous faces undergoing the most challenging of tasks. This year, TV personality and WAG Coleen Rooney, Dancing On Ice judge and former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos, Loose Women 's Jane Moore and McFly star Danny Jones are among the contestants who will be forced to face their fears in the hope of winning stars to feed camp. Also starring on the series is Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall, BBC Radio 1 star Melvin Odoom, internet personality and Loose Women host GK Barry and former Irish boxer Barry McGuigan. Here's a look at the worst-ever moments from previous Bushtucker trials... It was the first trial of I’m A Celebrity 2022 - and it was slammed by viewers who said it was ‘dangerous’ and like ‘something out of a horror movie’. Radio DJ Chris Moyles and 80s popstar Boy George took part in a challenge called HMS Drown Under - where they were locked in a tank called a 'torpedo tube' as water began pouring in and up towards their faces. With one minute to go in the trial, Chris was left coughing and gasping for breath. "It is getting quite high in here," he shouted in a panic to hosts Ant and Dec . "I'm finding it hard to breathe. I swallowed some water!" Thankfully, Chris and Boy George were 'flushed' out of the tank when 10 minutes was up and both were unscathed. But fans were left shocked by the trial. One wrote on social media: "That water trial looked so dangerous... surely that got too high... hard to watch." Another added: "I feel so sorry for Chris. That is so claustrophobic. That was something out of a horror movie." TOWIE ’s Mark Wright said it was “the worst thing I’ve had to do, ever”. In 2011, the I’m A Celeb camp was split into two teams and had to take part in a Beat the Bugs challenge - the task being to spend the night lying in a Perspex box bed accompanied by their worst fears – snakes, crickets, crabs, cockroaches and rats. The team that clocked up the most hours would win immunity from the public voting them off. Mark had made the mistake of revealing that his only fear was rats - so of course he was surrounded by the furry critters. While in the box, he ranted: “I’ve got to get out, I can’t sleep, they are my worse thing in the world, they are crawling into my pyjamas, they are getting more confident, I can’t do it! I’m going to be sick, they stink and are doing poos all over my bed.” History was made on 2010’s I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! as for the first time ever on the show not one, but two contestants were bitten by a snake. Former MP Lembit Opik and Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder were both left bleeding after a young Australian carpet python sank his teeth into their hands during a trial. It nipped Lembit first before becoming angry and biting Shaun badly. It then started to wrap itself around the Mancunian singer’s hand - prompting medics to rush in and remove it. The snake was then removed from the trial and replaced with rhino beetles. Shaun and Lembit had been searching for keys hidden in various boxes to free them from their cells when they were injured. The Black Grape frontman received the worst wounds of the two but his campmates were left surprised by his calm reaction to the incident. When asked how he was, Shaun replied: “Alright. It’s a bite, a snake bite. If that weren’t someone’s animal I would have f***ing smashed it. “It was like sticking your hand through a sheet of glass and it wouldn’t let go. It took two of them to get the thing off.” Host Ant described it as “the most disgusting piece of television I’ve ever been involved with”. On I’m a Celebrity... South Africa - an ‘all-stars’ version of the hit ITV show featuring past contestants - former EastEnders actors Dean Gaffney and Joe Swash took part in a challenge where they were invited to drink a variety of blended animal parts. The trial, called Flipping Disgusting, saw the acting duo down mashed-up maggots and blended cow vagina - with the pair often gagging and regurgitating the liquid. “Omg this drinking trial is the worst ever,” one viewer wrote on social media. Another added: “Howling. Funniest bit of telly I’ve watched in a long time. Disgustingly entertaining.” It was widely-regarded to be the worst eating challenge in I’m A Celeb history and drew complaints from almost 1,500 viewers. In 2015, TOWIE star Ferne McCann took part in the Bushtucker Bonanza and while she was served staple trial dishes such as witchetty grubs and lamb brains, she was also presented with a live water spider trapped in a glass. Ferne was then given the choice of her favourite meal - a roast chicken dinner - or she could eat the spider and win food for the rest of the camp. After some screaming, Ferne decided to eat the spider - crunching it down until it had been chewed up and swallowed. Host Ant couldn't believe what he was seeing - saying to her: “You are a hero, how did you do that?” Ferne replied: “It smelled of cockroach, tasted dirty, the body was mushy and gunky and the legs were spiky and crunchy.”Kwara:1,500 Youth Trained in Tech Ecosystem Opportunities
Austin Ekeler diagnosed with concussion
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Losses to the Chargers and Bengals with a playoff berth on the line show Sean Payton made a miscalculation when he agreed to flex the Denver Broncos' Week 16 game to a Thursday night. The NFL needed the Broncos' approval to replace the Cincinnati-Cleveland game with the Broncos-Chargers game because Denver had already played on a Thursday night on the road. He eagerly agreed to the switch, figuring the team's fanbase always travels well to SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the Broncos would be the more rested team at Cincinnati. But after an emotional comeback win over the Colts, the Broncos (9-7) lost to the Chargers in part because Payton got away from the run even though it helped them score touchdowns on their first three drives — and he had written “Run It!!” in marker on top of his play sheet. People are also reading... 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Jim Pillen hospitalized at UNMC after falling from horse Isaiah Neyor reportedly changes plans, now aiming to transfer for seventh season How a young Matt Rhule found a passion for football in baseball-crazed New York Amie Just: Playing with a heavy heart, Rahmir Johnson delivers an MVP performance And they lost to the Bengals 30-24 in overtime on Saturday after Payton decided against going for 2 and the win when Marvin Mims Jr. hauled in a highlight-reel touchdown grab between two defenders with 8 seconds left in regulation. “We knew a tie for us was just as beneficial as a win,” Payton explained. “We felt like we had the momentum at that point.” Holding up two fingers, rookie QB Bo Nix lobbied for the 2-point try to no avail. “We discussed it all. We had plenty of time, plenty of time, plenty of time,” Payton said. "And the decision we made was the right one.” Well ... An extra point assured Joe Burrow would get the ball back, and the Broncos hadn't forced a single punt all game, something Payton acknowledged afterward that he wasn't aware of, and they hadn't stopped the Bengals since twice holding them on fourth down in the first half. They finally forced a punt in overtime, but the Broncos went three-and-out, something they did again after Bengals kicker Cade York doinked a 33-yard field-goal attempt off the left upright on Cincinnati's second possession. With the Bengals out of timeouts, all the Broncos needed was a first down and they'd be playoff-bound for the first time since 2015, but Bo Nix misfired to tight end Adam Trautman on third-and-long, so the Broncos punted and Burrow led the Bengals (8-8) on their game-winning touchdown drive. “I thought we could move the ball in overtime,” Nix said, “but we didn't.” The Broncos could render all of it moot with a win in Week 18 against Kansas City with the Chiefs (15-1) expected to rely heavily on backups as they rest up for the playoffs as the AFC's top seed. But Denver's defense has been dismal since November, giving up the most yards in the league, and another letdown against the Chiefs would give the Broncos their biggest collapse in two decades. “This is what we do it for — meaningful games here,” Payton said. "I think it’s important that you embrace it, and it is exciting. There’s nothing worse than playing games in the last part of the season where there’s nothing at stake. So I think it’s something we’ll all be excited about.” What’s working Denver's pass rush. The Broncos sacked Burrow seven times, giving them a league-high 58 for the season. Zach Allen had a career-best 3 1/2 of them and Dondrea Tillman's sack gives the Broncos six players without at least five sacks this season. What needs help Riley Moss led the Broncos with 14 tackles but he had a tough return to action after missing a month with a sprained MCL. Burrow targeted him over and over, including on the game-winning touchdown throw to Tee Higgins, who caught three TD passes. “Riley could have been healthy for the last eight weeks. Whoever’s opposite Pat, they’re going to go that direction, right?" Payton said. (Higgins) is a good player. A real good player. It wasn’t anything that we didn’t expect. In other words, that happens when you’re teammates with Pat.” Stock up WR Marvin Mims Jr. had a breakout performance with eight catches for 103 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, a 51-yarder and the 25-yard catch on fourth down in the closing seconds while sandwiched between two veteran defenders. Stock down Denver's defense. Even with Moss back, which allowed DC Vance Joseph to go back to relying more on man coverage, the Broncos defense continued to struggle since the calendar turned to December. Injuries The Broncos came out healthy although superstar CB Patrick Surtain II was limping on the game's final snaps. Key number 5 — Number of NFL rookie QBs to throw for at least 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns with Nix joining Justin Herbert, Baker Mayfield, Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning. What’s next It's all or nothing next week when a win over the Chiefs would send Denver to the playoffs. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Manchester United reporter Andy Mitten has revealed that England international Marcus Rashford had “issues” with “every” manager pre-Ruben Amorim. Rashford is likely to leave Man Utd in January as he’s announced that he is “ready” for a new challenge. The United forward’s form has dramatically declined since the 2022/23 campaign, in which he scored 30 goals in all competitions, and he’s rightly been heavily criticised for his poor performances. It was hoped that the appointment of Amorim would breathe new life into Rashford, but his arrival has not had the desired effect as he’s not been involved since being omitted from Man Utd’s squad to face Man City on December 15. Mitten – a journalist for The Athletic – thinks Amorim is a “smiling assassin” and he “had a big say” in the Rashford situation. READ: Five unexpected Man Utd gut punches for Ruben Amorim in the longest month of his life He also notes that “every previous manager had issues” with Rashford, who has a clear “perspective” of his own. “I do think that the manager has had a big say here,” Mitten said on talkSPORT . “I think he is doing it his way and he’s a smiling assassin, he’s a disciplinarian.” “And, every previous manager has had issues with Marcus Rashford. I’ve spoken to them, I know them, they’ve told me in confidence going back years and years and years. “And then, Marcus confounds those opinions because he has a really good season and from his perspective, and he does have a perspective here, there’s not a lot of support for him, I’ve got to say, among Manchester United fans.” MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365... 👉 Man Utd to ‘sack senior man’ with Amorim ‘unimpressed’ with two stars as INEOS ‘exodus intensifies’ 👉 Man Utd: INEOS ‘substantially axe’ charity ‘funding’ in latest brutal Ratcliffe ‘cut’ after ‘act of cowardice’ 👉 Man Utd pick £30m PL star as ‘favourite’ replacement for ‘unhappy’ player Amorim ‘wants out now’ “We played at Wolves a couple of days ago, thoroughly miserable there, but if I go back to Wolves at the start of February [last season], I was outside that away end, I couldn’t find a single Manchester United fan who wanted him to stay. “When he scored after three or four minutes, those very same fans were singing Marcus Rashford’s name, so that is the environment that you’re in, and football fans are like that, they change their tune very quickly. “But Marcus Rashford is not celebrated by United fans as he was, his stock is clearly very, very low. I don’t think he’s had a disastrous start to the season, he was worse last season, but clearly he’s nowhere near the levels that he would have hoped for.” Mitten has also revealed an issue Rashford could face as he attempts to leave Man Utd. “Now, if you’ve got Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona lining up going, ‘We’d love to take him’... But the reality, the economics of it, they just do not add up,” Mitten added. “I don’t know what the outcome is going to be, he signed a huge contract, and a lot of them have signed huge contracts, and this makes fans uncomfortable.”GraniteShares 2x Short NVDA Daily ETF Announces Dividend of $2.61 (NASDAQ:NVD)By Boston.com Staff Take a deeper look at the stories impacting our community from the award-winning Boston Globe Media newsrooms. Hear directly from our journalists as they talk news politics, culture, and lifestyle with Segun Oduolowu and everything sports with Chris Gasper. Boston.com Today Sign up to receive the latest headlines in your inbox each morning. Be civil. Be kind.
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Goalkeeper Andre Onana refused to dwell on Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday, instead choosing to look ahead. United, despite taking a very early lead through Marcus Rashford, were unable to secure all three points in new head coach Ruben Amorim's first game in charge, being pegged back by a deflected strike from Omari Hutchinson. Onana made a couple of fine saves during the contest, the best of which saw him deny Liam Delap from close range prior to Hutchinson's...One of the interesting facts about Scott Morrison’s period as prime minister is that he managed to squander public approval twice. The second came via a long, protracted slide through most of the pandemic. But in fact his popularity had sunk as low – and much, much faster, at least in Newspoll – just a few months after his 2019 election victory. The main event involved was that summer’s bushfires. His trip to Hawaii is the symbol of that failure, but the actual problems were long and drawn-out. There was the slowness to act and the failure to meet with emergency leaders, the mangled handshakes, “I don’t hold a hose” and the sidestepping of the climate debate. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are neck and neck in opinion polls. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The political ramifications of a natural disaster are the least important thing about it. I recount this because it’s always worth keeping in mind, in politics, how quickly things can change. Also: how dominant a crisis can be. Morrison’s disastrous summer, in fact, was only really rescued by the advent of another crisis – the early part of the pandemic, when his numbers soared – before that crisis, too, destroyed him. Recent weeks have seen at least two significant shifts, with another at least possible. For a long time, it seemed as though the Albanese government would get a rate cut – even two – before the election. As I wrote a few weeks back, this had the potential to act as tangible affirmation of its economic strategy , the other elements of which – wage growth, job creation – had been lining up nicely. Last week, Westpac joined NAB in predicting the next rate cut would come on May 20 – three days after the last possible date for the election. The government now has to hope voters’ moods improve without that rate cut. It’s possible. Essential poll last week found a small fall in people who say they’re struggling. There was a small but notable shift in one of the more interesting indicators: whether people believe the country is on the right track. It’s too early to spot a trend, and more people disagree than agree – but the “right direction” figure was (just) the highest it’s been since May 2023 . Illustration by Joe Benke Credit: The second change is the victory of Donald Trump. There are signs – like his retreat from the nomination of Matt Gaetz as attorney-general – that Trump’s term may be as bizarre as his first. One veteran observer suggested to me some time ago that a Trump victory may play into Albanese’s slow-and-steady approach: that in an era of messiness, boredom becomes appealing. At present, though, the opposite is the case. Last week, a Freshwater Strategy poll in the Australian Financial Review found 36 per cent of voters believed Albanese was best placed to deal with Trump – against 47 per cent who favoured Dutton. Finally, we should all hope this is a quiet season for natural disasters. Recent weeks have reminded us, this can’t be taken for granted. There have been bushfires in Queensland, the ABC reporting that amid the smoke last month Mount Isa was briefly “the most polluted city in the world”. There were evacuations in response to fires in Victoria (arson seems to have played a role in several of these). How bushfires might affect the political situation would depend, to a great extent, on the prime minister’s response. This close to a poll, major conclusions drawn would be about him personally. How Albanese handled the question of climate change would be significant. (That same Essential poll found only half of voters believe hotter summers are the result of climate change.) But what would also move into the spotlight would be the continuing climate change splits within the opposition. Here we come to another recent shift, one that is sharpening the political contest. At the beginning of this term, it seemed Peter Dutton wanted to oppose most things: he had not yet learnt the fine art of picking his battles. In recent months, he has avoided fights on some key issues: aged care, disabilities and social media. Even his apparently “bold” foray on nuclear energy, as I’ve argued before , is best understood in this context: wanting to avoid a battle, either within his party or with Labor, over whether climate change action is necessary. Yet Dutton has picked a very specific fight: he will oppose Labor’s bill to bring down international student numbers – even though he has long suggested that’s his aim too. As journalist Bernard Keane observed , this is a mirror of Donald Trump’s successful move to block an immigration bill to keep the problem alive. This is of a piece with Dutton’s earlier decisions to make Labor’s life difficult on immigration detention bills. Dutton has learnt to use the parliament to narrow the political contest to his preferred issues, with immigration top of the list. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what happens when Labor finally announces its universal childcare policy. Labor is hoping for significant political credit. But what if Dutton simply says he agrees? Meanwhile, there are some fights the nation should be having but isn’t. Bill Shorten, farewelling parliament last week, pointed out “our system still taxes property preferentially and lightly – and income heavily”. Anthony Whealy, chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, pointed out that the government and opposition seem to have reached an agreement, funnily enough, on donations changes that don’t do enough about money in politics while also giving the major parties advantages over independents. As Albanese told Sky News, “we’ve already chosen our slogan as you know, ‘building Australia’s future’.” Dutton seems to have chosen his issues, too. Given how much has changed in the past few weeks, and how much might still change in the months before polling day, both men would be wise to keep their options open. Sean Kelly is author of The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison , a regular columnist and a former adviser to Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
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NoneSANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Agora, Inc. API (the "Company"), a pioneer and leader in real-time engagement technology, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. "Recently, we launched our Conversational AI SDK in collaboration with OpenAI's Realtime API to allow developers to bring voice-driven AI experiences to any app. We believe multimodal AI agents that can interact with human through natural voice will gain widespread adoption across many use cases such as customer support, education and wellness, and Agora is well positioned to become a key infrastructure provider for real-time conversational AI," said Tony Zhao, founder, chairman and CEO of Agora. "To support this vision, we recently made some structural changes, aligning our organization to fully leverage the accelerating conversational AI opportunities, and operate in a faster, leaner, and more responsive fashion. These changes will help us build the next generation real-time engagement technology for the Generative AI era and strengthen our position as the leader in real-time engagement space." Third Quarter 2024 Highlights Total revenues for the quarter were $31.6 million, a decrease of 9.8% from $35.0 million in the third quarter of 2023, which included decreased revenue from certain end-of-sale products of $2.4 million. Agora : $15.7 million for the quarter, an increase of 2.6% from $15.3 million in the third quarter of 2023. Shengwang : RMB112.9 million ($15.9 million) for the quarter, a decrease of 20.0% from RMB141.2 million ($19.7 million) in the third quarter of 2023, which included decreased revenue from certain end-of-sale products of RMB17.5 million ($2.4 million). Active Customers Agora : 1,762 as of September 30, 2024, an increase of 5.9% from 1,664 as of September 30, 2023. Shengwang : 3,641 as of September 30, 2024, a decrease of 9.7% from 4,034 as of September 30, 2023. Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate Agora : 94% for the trailing 12-month period ended September 30, 2024. Shengwang : 78% for the trailing 12-month period ended September 30, 2024. Net loss for the quarter was $24.2 million, which included expenses of $11.4 million in relation to the cancellation of certain employees' equity awards, severance expenses of $4.8 million, and losses from equity in affiliates of $4.2 million, compared to net loss of $22.5 million in the third quarter of 2023. After excluding share-based compensation expenses, acquisition related expenses, amortization expenses of acquired intangible assets and income tax related to acquired intangible assets, non-GAAP net loss for the quarter was $10.4 million, compared to the non-GAAP net loss of $15.6 million in the third quarter of 2023. Total cash, cash equivalents, bank deposits and financial products issued by banks as of September 30, 2024 was $362.6 million. Net cash used in operating activities for the quarter was $4.6 million, compared to $3.0 million in the third quarter of 2023. Free cash flow for the quarter was negative $6.0 million, compared to negative $3.2 million in the third quarter of 2023. Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results Revenues Total revenues were $31.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 9.8% from $35.0 million in the same period last year. Revenues of Agora were $15.7 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 2.6% from $15.3 million in the same period last year, primarily due to our business expansion and usage growth in sectors such as live shopping. Revenues of Shengwang were RMB112.9 million ($15.9 million) in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 20.0% from RMB141.2 million ($19.7 million) in the same period last year, primarily due to a decrease in revenues of RMB 17.5 million ($2.4 million) due to the end-of-sale of certain products and reduced usage from customers in certain sectors such as social and entertainment as a result of challenging macroeconomic and regulatory environment. Cost of Revenues Cost of revenues was $10.5 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 16.4% from $12.6 million in the same period last year, primarily due to the end-of-sale of certain products and the decrease in bandwidth usage and costs, which was offset partially by severance expenses for customer support teams of $0.3 million. Gross Profit and Gross Margin Gross profit was $21.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 6.1% from $22.4 million in the same period last year. Gross margin was 66.7% in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 2.7% from 64.0% in the same period last year, mainly due to the end-of-sale of certain low-margin products, which was offset partially by higher severance expenses in the third quarter of 2024. Operating Expenses Operating expenses were $45.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 24.3% from $36.9 million in the same period last year, primarily due to the increase in restructuring and severance expenses in the third quarter of 2024, which included share-based compensation of $11.4 million as a result of the cancellation of certain employees' equity awards and immediate recognition of relevant remaining unrecognized compensation expenses, as well as severance expenses of $4.4 million. Research and development expenses were $29.3 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 46.1% from $20.0 million in the same period last year, primarily due to restructuring and severance expenses in the third quarter of 2024, including share-based compensation of $9.0 million due to equity award cancellation and severance expenses of $3.6 million. Sales and marketing expenses were $6.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 11.9% from $7.8 million in the same period last year, primarily due to a decrease in personnel costs as the Company optimized its global workforce, which was offset partially by severance expenses of $0.7 million in the third quarter of 2024. General and administrative expenses were $9.7 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 7.4% from $9.1 million in the same period last year, primarily due to restructuring and severance expenses in the third quarter of 2024, including share-based compensation of $2.4 million as a result of the equity award cancellation, which was offset partially by a decrease in personnel costs as the Company optimized its global workforce. Loss from Operations Loss from operations was $24.7 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $13.9 million in the same period last year. Interest Income Interest income was $3.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $4.9 million in the same period last year, primarily due to the decrease in the average balance of cash, cash equivalents, bank deposits and financial products issued by banks and the decrease in average interest rate realized. Losses from equity in affiliates Losses from equity in affiliates were $4.2 million in the third quarter of 2024, primarily due to an impairment loss on an investment in certain private company of $4.1 million. Net Loss Net loss was $24.2 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $22.5 million in the same period last year. Net Loss per American Depositary Share attributable to ordinary shareholders Net loss per American Depositary Share ("ADS") 1 attributable to ordinary shareholders was $0.26 in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $0.23 in the same period last year. _____________ 1 One ADS represents four Class A ordinary shares. Share Repurchase Program During the three months ended September 30, 2024, the Company repurchased approximately 6.8 million of its Class A ordinary shares (equivalent to approximately 1.7 million ADSs) for approximately US$3.9 million under its share repurchase program, representing 1.9% of its US$200 million share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had repurchased approximately 129.4 million of its Class A ordinary shares (equivalent to approximately 32.3 million ADSs) for approximately US$113.7 million under its share repurchase program, representing 57% of its US$200 million share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had 368.3 million ordinary shares (equivalent to approximately 92.1 million ADSs) outstanding, compared to 449.8 million ordinary shares (equivalent to approximately 112.5 million ADSs) outstanding as of January 31, 2022 before the share repurchase program commenced. The current share repurchase program will expire at the end of February 2025. Executive Leadership Update Today the Company announced that Chief Security Officer Roger Hale will be leaving the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Hale has served in this role for the past 2.5 years, during which he made significant contributions to enhancing the Company's security, compliance, and data protection protocols. Mr. Hale will work closely with senior leadership to ensure a smooth transition of his responsibilities. Moving forward, Patrick Ferriter and Robbin Liu will assume responsibility for security and compliance, reflecting the Company's commitment to maintaining a strong and effective security framework. Mr. Hale will continue to provide strategic advice as an advisor to the Company. "We are grateful for Roger's dedication and expertise over the past two and a half years. His leadership has been invaluable in strengthening our security & compliance foundation," said Tony Zhao, founder, chairman and CEO of Agora. "Security and compliance remain top priorities for Agora, and we will continue to uphold the highest standards to protect our customers and stakeholders." Financial Outlook Based on currently available information, the Company expects total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024 to be between $34 million and $36 million, compared to $31.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, and $33.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 if revenues from certain end-of-sale low-margin products were excluded. The Company also expects significant improvement in net income / (loss) in the fourth quarter. This outlook reflects the Company's current and preliminary views on the market and operational conditions, which are subject to change. Earnings Call The Company will host a conference call to discuss the financial results at 5 p.m. Pacific Time / 8 p.m. Eastern Time on November 25, 2024. Details for the conference call are as follows: Event title: Agora, Inc. 3Q 2024 Financial Results The call will be available at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/wie28zvr Investors who want to hear the call should log on at least 15 minutes prior to the broadcast. Participants may register for the call with the link below. https://register.vevent.com/register/BIf58a0b6f500c4362b1a8c64f9fa4cea8 Please visit the Company's investor relations website at https://investor.agora.io on November 25, 2024 to view the earnings release and accompanying slides prior to the conference call. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company has provided in this press release financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"). The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally in analyzing its financial results and believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful to investors as an additional tool to evaluate ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing its financial results with other companies in its industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures. Besides free cash flow (as defined below), each of these non-GAAP financial measures represents the corresponding GAAP financial measure before share-based compensation expenses, acquisition related expenses, amortization expenses of acquired intangible assets, income tax related to acquired intangible assets and impairment of goodwill. The Company believes that such non-GAAP financial measures help identify underlying trends in its business that could otherwise be distorted by the effects of such share-based compensation expenses, acquisition related expenses, amortization expenses of acquired intangible assets, income tax related to acquired intangible assets and impairment of goodwill that it includes in its cost of revenues, total operating expenses and net income (loss). The Company believes that all such non-GAAP financial measures also provide useful information about its operating results, enhance the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by its management in its financial and operational decision-making. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP financial measures and should be read only in conjunction with the Company's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of its historical non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in the tables captioned "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures" included at the end of this press release, and investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation. Definitions of the Company's non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release are presented below. Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) Non-GAAP net income (loss) is defined as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude share-based compensation expenses, acquisition related expenses, amortization expenses of acquired intangible assets, income tax related to acquired intangible assets and impairment of goodwill. Free Cash Flow Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment (excluding the acquisition of land use right and the payment for the headquarters project). The Company considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors regarding net cash provided by operating activities and cash used for investments in property and equipment required to maintain and grow the business. Operating Metrics The Company also uses other operating metrics included in this press release and defined below to assess the performance of its business. Active Customers An active customer at the end of any period is defined as an organization or individual developer from which the Company generated more than $100 of revenue during the preceding 12 months. Customers are counted based on unique customer account identifiers. Generally, one software application uses the same customer account identifier throughout its life cycle while one account may be used for multiple applications. Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate is calculated for a trailing 12-month period by first identifying all customers in the prior 12-month period, and then calculating the quotient from dividing the revenue generated from such customers in the trailing 12-month period by the revenue generated from the same group of customers in the prior 12-month period. As the vast majority of revenue generated from Agora's customers is denominated in U.S. dollars, while the vast majority of revenue generated from Shengwang's customers is denominated in Renminbi, Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate is calculated in U.S. dollars for Agora and in Renminbi for Shengwang, which has substantially removed the impact of foreign currency translations. Shengwang excluded the revenues from certain end-of-sale products, Easemob's CEC business and K12 academic tutoring sector. The Company believes Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate facilitates operating performance comparisons on a period-to-period basis. Safe Harbor Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical or current fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding the Company's financial outlook, beliefs and expectations. Forward-looking statements include statements containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "project," "will" and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Among other things, the Financial Outlook in this announcement contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to the growth of the RTE-PaaS market; the Company's ability to manage its growth and expand its operations; the continued impact of COVID-19 on global markets and the Company's business, operations and customers; the Company's ability to attract new developers and convert them into customers; the Company's ability to retain existing customers and expand their usage of its platform and products; the Company's ability to drive popularity of existing use cases and enable new use cases, including through quality enhancements and introduction of new products, features and functionalities; the Company's fluctuating operating results; competition; the effect of broader technological and market trends on the Company's business and prospects; general economic conditions and their impact on customer and end-user demand; and other risks and uncertainties included elsewhere in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including, without limitation, the final prospectus related to the IPO filed with the SEC on June 26, 2020. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. About Agora, Inc. Agora, Inc. is the Cayman Islands holding company of two independent divisions, under Agora brand and Shengwang brand, respectively, whose businesses are conducted through separate entities. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Agora is a pioneer and global leader in Real-Time Engagement Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), providing developers with simple, flexible, and powerful application programming interfaces, or APIs, to embed real-time voice, video, interactive live-streaming, chat, whiteboard, and artificial intelligence capabilities into their applications. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, Shengwang is a pioneer and leading Real-Time Engagement PaaS provider in the China market. For more information on Agora, please visit: www.agora.io For more information on Shengwang, please visit: www.shengwang.cn Agora, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited, in US$ thousands) As of As of September 30, December 31, 2024 2023 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 32,118 36,894 Short-term bank deposits 161,906 86,924 Short-term financial products issued by banks 106,638 84,853 Short-term investments 3,066 7,983 Accounts receivable, net 37,381 34,668 Prepayments and other current assets 21,087 9,059 Contract assets 1,127 1,048 Total current assets 363,323 261,429 Property and equipment, net 4,238 5,365 Construction in progress for the headquarters project 35,429 17,343 Operating lease right-of-use assets 4,476 4,011 Intangible assets 741 1,274 Long-term bank deposits 20,500 143,127 Long-term financial products issued by banks 41,400 20,000 Long-term investments 41,012 43,893 Land use right, net 166,434 167,246 Other non-current assets 13,943 10,907 Total assets 691,496 674,595 Liabilities and shareholders' equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable 15,196 12,996 Advances from customers 8,155 7,765 Taxes payable 1,686 906 Current operating lease liabilities 1,924 2,447 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 32,148 32,780 Total current liabilities 59,109 56,894 Long-term operating lease liabilities 2,429 1,726 Deferred tax liabilities 113 196 Long-term borrowings for the headquarters project 33,762 11,027 Other non-current liabilities 19,543 3 Total liabilities 114,956 69,846 Shareholders' equity: Class A ordinary shares 39 39 Class B ordinary shares 8 8 Additional paid-in-capital 1,148,502 1,138,346 Treasury shares, at cost (77,316) (79,716) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (7,907) (10,027) Accumulated deficit (486,786) (443,901) Total shareholders' equity 576,540 604,749 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 691,496 674,595 Agora, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss (Unaudited, in US$ thousands, except share and per ADS amounts) Three Month Ended Nine Month Ended September 30, September 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Real-time engagement service revenues 30,356 32,718 95,716 100,798 Real-time engagement on-premise solution and other revenues 1,217 2,298 3,087 4,699 Total revenues 31,573 35,016 98,803 105,497 Cost of revenues 10,524 12,594 36,304 38,693 Gross profit 21,049 22,422 62,499 66,804 Operating expenses: Research and development 29,271 20,040 65,551 61,356 Sales and marketing 6,860 7,789 19,944 26,903 General and administrative 9,741 9,070 26,349 27,100 Total operating expenses 45,872 36,899 111,844 115,359 Other operating income 134 620 914 1,515 Impairment of goodwill - - - (31,928 ) Loss from operations (24,689 ) (13,857 ) (48,431 ) (78,968 ) Exchange gain (loss) 43 20 108 (191 ) Interest income 3,924 4,850 13,244 14,006 Interest expense (86 ) - (251 ) - Investment income (loss) 839 (13,356 ) (4,033 ) (18,497 ) Losses from extinguishment of convertible note - - - (1,230 ) Other income - - - 550 Loss before income taxes (19,969 ) (22,343 ) (39,363 ) (84,330 ) Income taxes - (164 ) (149 ) (323 ) (Losses) income from equity in affiliates (4,211 ) (6 ) (3,373 ) 45 Net loss (24,180 ) (22,513 ) (42,885 ) (84,608 ) Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders (24,180 ) (22,513 ) (42,885 ) (84,608 ) Other comprehensive loss: Foreign currency translation adjustments 3,197 1,164 2,119 (6,097 ) Gain on available-for-sale debt securities - - - 1,385 Total comprehensive loss attributable to ordinary shareholders (20,983 ) (21,349 ) (40,766 ) (89,320 ) Net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic and diluted (0.26 ) (0.23 ) (0.46 ) (0.84 ) Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic and diluted 371,733,050 389,359,207 372,336,342 405,036,312 Share-based compensation expenses included in: Cost of revenues 31 129 184 576 Research and development expenses 10,776 3,769 15,886 10,668 Sales and marketing expenses 241 800 838 3,705 General and administrative expenses 2,599 1,945 4,332 5,953 Agora, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited, in US$ thousands) Three Month Ended Nine Month Ended September 30, September 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Cash flows from operating activities: Net loss (24,180 ) (22,513 ) (42,885 ) (84,608 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: Share-based compensation expenses 13,647 6,643 21,240 20,902 Allowance for current expected credit losses 2,415 1,857 7,263 5,358 Depreciation of property and equipment 788 1,558 2,726 5,680 Amortization of intangible assets 131 345 533 1,036 Amortization of land use right 856 850 2,572 2,312 Deferred tax benefit (20 ) (53 ) (82 ) (159 ) Amortization of right-of-use asset and interest on lease liabilities 687 704 2,035 2,218 Investment (income) loss (839 ) 13,356 4,033 18,497 Losses from extinguishment of convertible note - - - 1,230 Interest income on debt securities and investments - - - (105 ) Losses (income) from equity in affiliates 4,211 6 3,373 (45 ) Loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment 1 34 16 (10 ) Impairments of goodwill - - - 31,928 Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisition: Accounts receivable (1,627 ) (4,503 ) (9,418 ) (7,856 ) Contract assets (38 ) (86 ) (67 ) (942 ) Prepayments and other current assets 347 (659 ) (12,129 ) (1,008 ) Other non-current assets (472 ) (2,104 ) 6,668 (5,160 ) Accounts payable (2,531 ) 2,653 2,042 3,639 Advances from customers (41 ) 100 316 (559 ) Taxes payable 107 31 761 (802 ) Operating lease liabilities (677 ) (324 ) (2,319 ) (1,869 ) Deferred income 256 - 62 (160 ) Accrued expenses and other liabilities 2,357 (928 ) (5,404 ) (6,808 ) Net cash used in operating activities (4,622 ) (3,033 ) (18,664 ) (17,291 ) Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of property and equipment (1,333 ) (206 ) (2,297 ) (656 ) Purchase of short-term bank deposits - (58,000 ) (43,100 ) (187,521 ) Purchase of short-term financial products issued by banks (50,300 ) (19,525 ) (70,391 ) (29,899 ) Purchase of short-term investments - (789 ) - (789 ) Proceeds from maturity of short-term bank deposits 37,000 86,000 111,241 434,058 Proceeds from maturity of short-term financial products issued by banks 59,482 - 69,511 8,310 Purchase of long-term bank deposits (10,500 ) - (20,500 ) (143,127 ) Purchase of long-term financial products issued by banks (32,000 ) - (41,400 ) (20,000 ) Purchase of long-term investments (562 ) - (562 ) (15 ) Purchase of land use right - - - (5,133 ) Payment for the headquarters project (10,918 ) (1,839 ) (21,895 ) (4,326 ) Cash received for business disposal - - - 5,769 Cash received from disposal of property and equipment 2 36 58 87 Cash paid for a business combination - - - (3,680 ) Cash received from disposal of long-term investments 28 - 155 - Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (9,101 ) 5,677 (19,180 ) 53,078 Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from long-term borrowings for headquarters project 11,123 - 22,177 - Deposits returned for business disposal - - - (1,000 ) Proceeds from exercise of employees' share options 175 74 550 590 Deposit received in relation to headquarters project - - 19,280 - Repurchase of Class A ordinary shares (3,913 ) (12,462 ) (9,667 ) (52,829 ) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 7,385 (12,388 ) 32,340 (53,239 ) Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 819 53 678 (1,286 ) Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (5,519 ) (9,691 ) (4,826 ) (18,738 ) Cash balance recorded in held-for sale assets at beginning of period - - - 1,488 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period * 37,867 38,268 37,174 45,827 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period ** 32,348 28,577 32,348 28,577 Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: Income taxes paid 24 33 133 65 Cash payments included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities 677 324 2,319 1,869 Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease obligations 1,812 - 2,325 4,088 Non-cash financing and investing activities: Proceeds receivable from exercise of employees' share options 328 25 328 25 Payables for property and equipment 33 24 33 24 Payables for construction in progress for the headquarters project 11,614 6,458 11,614 6,458 Payables for treasury shares, at cost 24 301 24 301 * includes restricted cash balance 280 280 280 154 ** includes restricted cash balance 230 280 230 280 Agora, Inc. Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures (Unaudited, in US$ thousands, except share and per ADS amounts) Three Month Ended Nine Month Ended September 30, September 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 GAAP net loss (24,180 ) (22,513 ) (42,885 ) (84,608 ) Add: Share-based compensation expenses 13,647 6,643 21,240 20,902 Acquisition related expenses - 13 - (400 ) Amortization expenses of acquired intangible assets 129 345 531 1,035 Income tax related to acquired intangible assets (20 ) (53 ) (82 ) (159 ) Impairment of goodwill - - - 31,928 Non-GAAP net loss (10,424 ) (15,565 ) (21,196 ) (31,302 ) Net cash used in operating activities (4,622 ) (3,033 ) (18,664 ) (17,291 ) Purchase of property and equipment (1,333 ) (206 ) (2,297 ) (656 ) Free Cash Flow (5,955 ) (3,239 ) (20,961 ) (17,947 ) Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (9,101 ) 5,677 (19,180 ) 53,078 Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 7,385 (12,388 ) 32,340 (53,239 ) © 2024 Benzinga.com. 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