Latest news with #Novellus
BreakingNews.ie
28-05-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Michael Flatley in dispute over €1.4m legal costs after Cork mansion court battle
Riverdance star Michael Flatley is embroiled in another legal row, this time over a €1.4 million disputed costs bill associated with the recent battle to keep a receiver from the door of his Cork mansion. Mr Flatley claimed he was shocked at what he called 'the blatant level' of alleged "overcharging'. Advertisement In an affidavit to the Commercial Court where he is disputing six-figure sums in legal and receiver fees, Mr Flatley alleged he may be seen "as an easy mark for inflated costs." In dispute are a receiver costs bill of €86,000 plus legal costs of €186,000, along with €793,000 in legal fees from the opposing side in the legal battle for the Castlehyde mansion. In the affidavit to the court, Mr Flatley claimed there was also a charge for 13 hours put in by the joint receivers for attendance at the High Court at a combined rate of €1,000 an hour. At one stage Mr Flatley also said: "I have no objection to paying fees in general but in circumstances where the fees are exorbitant and mainly unvouched and unjustified and lacking transparency the vouching of the documents sought is in the interests of justice." Advertisement The court on Wednesday was considering an application by the Flatley side in which it was seeking certain documents from the Novellus side, including the receiver's report, a contemporaneous record of tasks carried out by the receivers and a full breakdown of invoices and timesheets from third-party providers to the receivers. The Flatley side want the documentation as part of their bid to have the court decide in relation to the €1.4 million in disputed costs. Mr Flatley's counsel, Ronnie Hudson BL instructed by solicitor Maxwell Mooney, said Mr Flatley had no objection to paying costs, "but he needs transparency." "The only motivation of Michael Flatley is to get the money back," Mr Hudson said. Counsel for Novellus and the receivers, Kelley Smith SC, said previously all allegations made by the Flatley side were withdrawn and her side were concerned about the motivation behind the latest application. Advertisement Ms Smith said it was misconceived and was "more of the same grandstanding." Last March, Mr Flatley paid off a €6.9 million loan on his Castelhyde mansion to save it from the receiver. The original legal battle related to a loan made to Mr Flatley's Blackbird Film Productions Ltd by Novellus Finance Ltdin 2023 with repayments of €67,000 per month over two years. Novellus claimed there had been default on repayment, which Mr Flatley denied. Mr Flatley provided a guarantee for the loan on the strength of the value of his Castlehyde mansion. As a result of the alleged default, Novellus appointed a receiver over the property. Advertisement Ireland Michael Flatley regards payment of €6.9m mansion l... Read More An interim injunction was granted to the Flatley side to prevent the receiver from taking further measures in relation to Castlehyde and a judge conducted a two-day hearing on the matter. The Flatley side asked the court to hold off on giving judgement on whether to set aside the interim injunction stopping the receiver taking steps or grant an interlocutory injunction to the Flatley side and said Mr Flatley was flying into Dublin to pay off the loan. The €6.9 million loan was finally paid off but the issue of certain disputed costs remained. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey had reserved his judgement to a later date.
Irish Examiner
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Michael Flatley challenges 'blatant level' of alleged 'overcharging' by receiver in Cork mansion case
Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley is embroiled in another legal row, this time over a €1.4million disputed costs bill associated with the recent battle to keep a receiver from the door of his Cork mansion Castlehyde. And the entertainer, in an affidavit to the Commercial Court where he is disputing six-figure sums in legal and receiver fees, claimed he was shocked at what he called 'the blatant level' of alleged "overcharging'. Referring to a receiver costs bill of €86,000 plus legal costs of €186,000 Michael Flatley alleged he may be seen "as an easy mark for inflated costs". Also in dispute are €793,000 in legal fees from the opposing side in the Castlehyde receiver battle. In the affidavit to the court the dancing star claimed that there was also an alleged charge for 13 hours allegedly put in by the joint receivers for attendance at the High Court at a combined rate of €1000 an hour. At one stage Mr Flatley also said: "I have no objection to paying fees in general but in circumstances where the fees are exorbitant and mainly unvouched and unjustified and lacking transparency the vouching of the documents sought is in the interests of justice.' The court on Wednesday was considering an application by the Flatley side in which it was seeking certain documents from the Novellus side including the receiver's report, a contemporaneous record of tasks carried out by the receivers and a full breakdown of invoices and timesheets from third-party providers to the receivers. The Flatley side want the documentation as part of their bid to have the court decide in relation to the €1.4million in disputed costs. Mr Flatley's counsel, Ronnie Hudson BL instructed by Maxwell Mooney solicitor, said Michael Flatley has no objection to paying costs, but he needs transparency. "The only motivation of Michael Flatley is to get the money back," counsel said. Case background Counsel for Novellus and the receivers, Kelley Smith SC, said previously all allegations made by the Flatley side were withdrawn and her side was concerned about the motivation behind the latest application. Counsel said it was misconceived and was "more of the same grandstanding". Last March, Mr Flatley paid off a €6.9million loan on his Castlehyde mansion to save it from the receiver. The original legal battle related to a loan made to Mr Flatley's Blackbird Film Productions Ltd by Novellus Finance Ltd with registered offices at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, in 2023 with repayments of €67,000 per month over two years. Novellus claimed there had been default on repayment, which Mr Flatley denied. Mr Flatley provided a guarantee for the loan on the strength of the value of his Castlehyde mansion. As a result of the alleged default, Novellus appointed a receiver over the property. An interim injunction was granted to the Flatley side to prevent the receiver from taking further measures in relation to Castlehyde and a judge conducted a two-day hearing on the matter. The Flatley side asked the court to hold off on giving judgement on whether to set aside the interim injunction stopping the receiver taking steps or grant an interlocutory injunction to the Flatley side and said Mr Flatley was flying into Dublin to pay off the loan. The €6.9m loan was finally paid off but the issue of certain disputed costs remained. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey had reserved his judgement to a later date. Read More Michael Flatley faces new battle over security for costs at Cork's Castlehyde
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lam Research Corp (LRCX) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Foundry Revenues and ...
Revenue: $4.72 billion for the March quarter, an 8% increase from the prior quarter. Gross Margin: 49%, the highest since the Novellus merger, up from 47.5% in the previous quarter. Operating Margin: 32.8%, up from 30.7% in the December quarter. Deferred Revenue: $2 billion, flat from the December quarter. Systems Revenue Composition: Memory 43%, Foundry 48%, Logic and Other 9%. Regional Revenue: China 31%, Taiwan and Korea each at 24%. Customer Support Business Group Revenue: Approximately $1.7 billion, 21% higher than the same period in 2024. Operating Expenses: $763 million, with R&D accounting for 70%. Non-GAAP Tax Rate: 13.3% for the March quarter. Capital Return: $347 million in share repurchases and $296 million in dividends. Cash and Short-term Investments: $5.5 billion at the end of the March quarter. Total Debt: $4.5 billion at quarter end. Inventory: $4.5 billion, with inventory turns at 2.2 times. Capital Expenditures: $288 million, including land purchase in India. Employee Headcount: Approximately 18,600, an increase of 300 from the prior quarter. Guidance for June 2025 Quarter: Revenue of $5 billion, gross margin of 49.5%, operating margin of 33.5%, and EPS of $1.20. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with SEIC. Release Date: April 23, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) reported a record quarter for foundry revenues, demonstrating strong product momentum in leading-edge technology inflections. The company achieved the highest quarterly gross margin percentage since the Novellus merger, indicating successful operational efficiencies. Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) is witnessing strong momentum in deposition and etch technologies, with significant wins in atomic layer deposition and conductor etch applications. The Customer Support Business Group (CSBG) saw record revenues in the upgrades business, driven by NAND technology conversions and active upgrades by key DRAM and foundry logic customers. Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) is leading in virtual fabrication with new licensing agreements for its SEMulator3D platform, enhancing equipment performance and process optimization. The company is facing challenges due to tariffs and a dynamic global economic environment, which could impact future operations. Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) experienced a decrease in memory systems revenue, with non-volatile memory and DRAM segments showing declines from the previous quarter. The logic and other systems revenue decreased, driven by reduced leading-edge spending. There is uncertainty regarding the sustainability of the current gross margin levels due to potential changes in customer mix and product mix. The company anticipates a first-half-weighted year, with potential revenue declines in the second half due to the loss of business from restricted Chinese customers. Q: Can you discuss the sustainability of the NAND upgrade cycle beyond June and how it might impact your share of wallet in the industry? A: Timothy Archer, President and CEO, explained that a significant portion of the industry's bits are still at the 128-layer level, indicating a strong move towards upgrading to 2XX-plus layers. Lam is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the wallet through tool upgrades and new tools needed for higher layer counts, such as the Halo Moly tool, which is gaining momentum. Q: Taiwan revenues were notably high this quarter. How sustainable is this contribution, and what does it imply for second-half tool shipments? A: Timothy Archer noted that the strength in Taiwan is sustainable, driven by investments in leading-edge foundry logic and advanced packaging. Douglas Bettinger, CFO, added that the revenue levels are consistent with the company's strategy and are not expected to decline significantly. Q: How is Lam addressing the impact of tariffs, and what steps are being taken to mitigate these effects? A: Timothy Archer highlighted Lam's flexible manufacturing and supply chain operations, which allow the company to optimize tool delivery efficiently. Douglas Bettinger emphasized the global footprint of Lam's factories, which provides flexibility in responding to tariff-related challenges. Q: With the expectation of a first-half weighted year, what are the factors influencing this outlook, and how does it relate to customer plans? A: Douglas Bettinger confirmed that the year is expected to be first-half weighted due to the loss of some Chinese customers and the timing of customer plans. The company had anticipated this distribution and has not seen significant changes in the overall environment. Q: How does Lam view the potential impact of tariffs on gross margins, and is there any quantifiable effect included in the guidance? A: Douglas Bettinger acknowledged that tariffs have an impact, which is factored into the gross margin guidance of 49.5%. However, he did not provide specific quantification but assured that the guidance reflects the current understanding of the tariff situation. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
