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1,500 acre mixed use development announced
A new 1,500-acre business and industrial park near the intersection of Interstate 20 and Texas 31 was announced Friday morning. River Bend Industrial Park is the name of the development jointly spearheaded by MB Companies and 4S Oil Company, according to a prepared statement. Developers said the property represents one of the largest contiguous tracts of industrial and commercial property in East Texas. A formal announcement event is scheduled May 22. Developers said the project will be divided into three phases, including a 175-acre industrial park, a 500-acre business center and a 300-acre wetland and wildlife preserve. “The River Bend Industrial park will attract medium to light duty industrial businesses while the River Bend Business Center will house retail and commercial facilities for restaurants, shops, hotels/motels and light business space,” the statement said. Calls to River Bend were not immediately returned Friday. Contacts listed included Randy Brogoitti and Julie Woods.
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Longview sales tax income dips
Sales tax revenues dipped for the second consecutive month in Longview. Longview’s share of sales taxes collected in the city in March were down by 1.39 percent, according to figures released Friday morning by the Texas Comptroller’s Office. Longview is receiving $2.593 million in sales tax revenues this month compared with $2.63 million in May 2007. On a year-to-date basis Longview’s sales tax revenues for the first five months of 2008 are ahead of the same period in 2007 by 2.66 percent. The city’s sales tax revenues for January through May total $11.838 million, up from the $11.531 million it received in the same period in 2007. Longview posted increases in sales tax revenues in the first three months of the year. Sales tax revenues in Kilgore this month are up 8.8 percent; Gladewater’s are down 14.96 percent; White Oak’s are up 0.65 percent; Marshall’s are down 2 percent; Hallsville is down 14.1 percent; Carthage is up 3.26 percent; Henderson is up 1.2 percent; and Gilmer is down 0.39 percent. Revenues received by the city in May reflect taxes collected by businesses in March and reported to the state in April, officials said.
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Rolling toward a stronger rail future
Passenger rail travel played an important role in our past and it can do so in the future. That is the theory behind a meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday at Marshall’s historic Texas & Pacific Railway Depot that organizers said has historic significance. Officials from Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas are slated to be on hand to sign a memorandum of understanding showing unified support and cooperation for a push for higher speed rail in the region.
Live Dixieland Jazz is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and follow after the signing ceremony. For rail buffs, the annual T&P Railway Reunion will be held on the depot grounds from 2 to 4 p.m. Marshall Depot is located on North Washington Avenue where it dead ends at the railroad tracks. Refreshments will be served and the T&P Museum will be open.
The Marshall event is being held in conjunction with National Train Day commemorating the 139th anniversary of the joining of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit.
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Neiman’s luxury sales decline
I’m not sure if it’s a sign that even the rich among us are cutting back on spending, but Neiman Marcus on Thursday reported a 3.6 percent drop in sales. The figure is for the four weeks ending April 26 compared to the same period in 2007 for its specialty store segment that includes Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores.
The company operates a national distribution facility in Longview Business Park where several hundred workers are employed.
For the company’s third fiscal quarter ending April 26 total revenues were down about 1 percent. Neiman Marcus reported total revenues of $1.062 million for the period compared to $1.073 million a year earlier.
The company did report that revenue growth was strongest at the company’s stores in Texas and New York City. Quarterly comparable revenues for the parent company’s Neiman Marcus Stores dropped 4.4 percent.
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Profiting from perks in steel
The chairman and chief executive of steel producer United States Steel Corp., the parent company of the former Lone Star Steel and Lone Star Technologies, this week exercised options for 25,000 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, John Surma reported he exercised options for the shares Monday for $29.54 apiece. He then sold 18,900 of them for $160.64 to $160.95 apiece reaping a quick profit of at least $3 million and some change. Plus, he retained 6,100 shares from the options exercised. Assuming he sells those for at least $160.64 a share, they’re worth another $900,000. Not a bad perk!
Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies’ shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction.
U.S. Steel is based in Pittsburgh. Its shares, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, were trading slightly above $170 each Thursday morning.
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Henderson health care job fair set
Autumn Leaves Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is getting close to opening in Henderson at 321 Kilgore Drive, just off of U.S. 259. The 125-bed facility will be hosting a job fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, May 16. The 68,000-square-foot facility sits on a 10-acre tract.
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Herding cats to the work place
East Texas employers facing challenges in hiring, retaining and dealing with a new generation of workers may want to mark June 5 on their calendars. That is when Longview Economic Development Corp. will be hosting a free public session featuring Joyce L. Gioia. Dubbed a “strategic futurist,” Gioia is slated to offer useful tips for employers from 9 to 11 a.m. on that Thursday. Her session is titled “Herding Cats: Leading the New Generation Without Losing Your Mind.” She will offer suggestions on dealing with a generation of workers she says are willing to work “night and day - if you know what buttons to push.” She said the younger generation can surprise employers by how productive they can be. For more information contact LEDCO at (903) 753-7878.
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Martin Midsteam revenues double, earnings jump 38 percent
Kilgore-headquartered Martin Midstream Partners on Wednesday reported a 38 percent jump in net income on revenues that doubled for the quarter ended March 31 compared to the same period a year ago. The company reported net income for the first quarter of $8.0 million, or 51 cents per limited partner unit. This compared to net income for the first quarter of 2007 of $5.8 million, or 42 cents per unit. Revenues for the first quarter of 2008 were $313.0 million, or more than double the $155.8 million reported for the first quarter of 2007. Ruben Martin, president and chief executive officer of Martin Midstream GP LLC, the general partner of Martin Midstream Partners, said he was pleased with the performance. “Our diversified business model continues to work and has resulted in six consecutive increases to our quarterly distribution,” he said in a prepared statement. “While we currently trade at an 8.3 percent yield, we have increased our distributions by 12.5 percent over the past year.”
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Trinity Industries boosts dividend
Dallas-based Trinity Industries, with extensive operations in the Longview area, announced it is increasing its stock dividend by 14 percent. The company will raise its quarterly cash dividend to 8 cents payable on July 31 to shareholders of record as of July 15. Local operations are involved in rail car manufacturing but the parent company is involved in construction, barge operations and energy products, including the making of wind turbines. Increases in dividends are normally a sign of strong business.
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The place to be Tuesday afternoon
Networking opportunities, freebie handouts, plenty of information and a chance to spend some time with a variety of small business operators will be available from 1 to 5 p.m. today at Maude Cobb Convention Center. One of the best aspects of Business Expo 2008 is that admission is free for the Longview Partnership hosted event. About 60 companies and organizations are slated to be on hand in exhibitor booths.
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Lone Star parent shares reach new high
Shares of U.S. Steel, the parent company of the former Lone Star Steel and Lone Star Technologies, reached a new high in trading Monday. Shares were trading at $160 each, up from Friday’s close of $157.06. Anyone who bought shares last summer when U.S. Steel was trading below $75 a share, would have doubled their investment. The company’s previous 52-week high was $158.23. Investors who purchased shares in 2003 when the company’s stock was trading in the $10 a share range would have bettered their investment 16 fold.
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Pilgrim’s loses $111.4 million in quarter
Pittsburg-headquartered Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. said Monday its loss widened in the second quarter on expenses related to production cutbacks and higher feed costs.
The loss was larger than analysts expected, and the poultry producer’s shares fell almost 4 percent in morning trading.
The company lost $111.4 million, or $1.67 per share, for the three months ended March 29 compared with a loss of $40.1 million, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier. Clint Rivers, president and CEO, said the company and industry were facing a crisis due to record high feed costs. He attributed those rising costs to the “federal government’s deeply flawed ethanol policy.”
The company said feed costs for corn and soybean meal climbed by $200 million in the quarter compared to a year ago.
The company said its results were hurt by restructuring charges and expenses for closing a processing plant and six distribution centers. Excluding those, the company lost $1.50 per share. Rising feed costs also cut into the results.
Its revenue rose 6 percent to $2.1 billion from $1.99 billion. Analysts predicted $2.09 billion.
Pilgrim’s Price shares fell 93 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $23.17 in morning trading.
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LeTourneau decision expected by June 1
Rowan Cos. chairman and CEO Danny McNease said company executives have given themselves a self-imposed deadline of June 1 to determine what is the best way for Rowan to proceed with divesting itself of subsidiary, Longview-based LeTourneau Technologies. In a conference call with market analysts after the release of quarterly earnings, McNease said officials are still evaluating options. He said there remains a lot of interest from other companies in acquiring or merging with LeTourneau. “It’s just trying to figure out what’s the best deal for our stockholders and hte company going forward long-term and that’s what we’re evaluating right now,” he said, according to a transcript of the call provided by: www.seekingalpha.com. McNease said he was confident action on the LeTourneau spinoff would take place by the end of 2008.
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Stock drops despite 17% jump in profits
Only in America - if I had stock ownership (which I don’t) interest in a company that had a 17 percent jump in profits, I think I’d be rather pleased. But for Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, which said Thursday that record crude prices helped its first-quarter profit climb 17 percent compared to a year ago, to $10.9 billion — the second-biggest U.S. quarterly corporate profit ever. Did that boost the company’s stock price? No. Why? The results still fell short of Wall Street’s lofty forecasts, and Exxon Mobil shares fell more than 4 percent in early afternoon trading. Sometimes it is just hard to find explanations for some stock market gyrations. The Irving-headquartered company’s first quarter profits were second only to Exxon Mobil’s $11.7 billion earned in the fourth quarter of 2007. Exxon Mobil stock closed down $3.37 a share Thursday to $89.70.
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No crude joke
Crude prices averaged nearly $100 a barrel in the first quarter, up from roughly $58 a barrel a year ago. Analysts have attributed the spike to growing global demand, speculative trading and a weak dollar, among other factors. Good news for the oil companies - bad news for most of the rest of us.
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Eastman reelects director trio
Brian Ferguson, Howard L. Lance and Michael P. Conners were reelected to three-year terms on the Eastman Chemical Co. board of directors at the company’s annual meeting in Kingsport, Tenn., Thursday afternoon. Ferguson, also chairman and CEO, spent a number of year’s at the company’s Longview operations and is a former Pine Tree ISD school board member. Stockholders also ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as independent auditors for Eastman for 2008. In other business, stockholders rejected a proposal requesting that management revise the company’s employment nondiscrimination policy and supported a proposal requesting that the board of directors take the steps necessary for each of the company’s directors to be elected annually to a one year term. The proposal to elect directors annually received a majority of the votes cast on that proposal at the meeting but was favored by holders of less than a majority of outstanding shares. Final voting results will be released later, the company said.
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Eastman sets dividend
The 1,550 Longview area employees and 1,600 East Texas retirees of Eastman Chemical Co. - and anyone else - invested in the company’s stock should be receiving a 44-cent a share dividend payable on July 1, the company’s board of directors announced Thursday afternoon. The dividend is payable to stockholders of record as of June 16 and represents the same dividend rate per share the company paid in the first quarter.
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LeTourneau revenues drop; Rowan earnings up
Rowan Cos., the parent of Longview’s LeTourneau Technologies, posted a 14 percent jump in net income for the quarter ending March 31. Rowan’s manufacturing operations, which consists of its LeTourneau subsidiary, generated external revenues of $145.1 million during the first quarter of 2008, down by 17 percent from the first quarter of 2007 and by 42 percent from the record fourth quarter of 2007. The company’s income from manufacturing operations was $4.1 million during the first quarter of 2008, down by 34 percent from the first quarter of 2007 and by 89 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007. In spite of the manufacturing declines, Houston-based Rowan generated net income of $98.6 million or 88 cents per share, compared to $86.4 million or 77 cents per share in the first quarter of 2007 and $138.5 million or $1.23 per share in the fourth quarter of 2007. Revenues were $485.5 million in the first quarter of 2008, compared to $462.3 million in the first quarter of 2007 and $623.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
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Stemco parents posts sales jump
The parent company of Longview’ Stemco, EnPro Industries, today reported record quarterly sales and segment income in the first quarter of 2008, as sales grew by 14 percent over the first quarter of 2007 to $283.1 million. Net income in the quarter was $13.2 million or 61 cents a share, compared to $12.3 million or 56 cents a share a year ago. The company employees about 350 at its Longview facility. Before asbestos-related expenses and other selected items, income was a record $23.0 million, or $1.07 a share, compared to $21.0 million, or 95 cents a share in 2007, a per share increase of 13 percent. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company reported profits in the sealing products segment, of which Stemco is a part, were about the same as a year ago. Activity in Stemco’s heavy-duty truck markets decreased reflecting reduced demand from original equipment manufacturers, but the business benefited from the acquisition of V.W. Kaiser in the first quarter and sales were about the same as a year ago.
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SWEPCO parent company stock upgraded
American Electric Power stock was upgraded by an analyst this week citing recent energy legislation in Ohio which should present an opportunity to boost earnings and investments. AEP is the parent of Southwestern Electric Power, which serves Longview and parts of East Texas. The company has more than 700 East Texas employees. Analyst Shelby G. Tucker raised his rating to “Buy” from “Neutral” on the Ohio-based company. Last week the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate approved an energy bill — already passed by the House — that supporters say gives residential customers the lowest possible bill and an incentive to businesses looking for stable and predictable power rates. Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has promised to sign the bill. In his view, Tucker said “the new legislation encourages Ohio utilities to invest in the state.” His $52 price target implies he expects the stock to rise about 18 percent over Wednesday’s trading in the $44.62 close. The company’s stock has traded between $39.35 and $51.00 over the past 52 weeks.
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Longview Regional parent posts income jump
The parent corporation of Longview Regional Medical Center, Community Health Systems reported a 136 percent increase in total revenues and net income for the quarter ending March 31. Net income increased 10.7 percent to $60.1 million, or 63 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31, compared with $54.3 million, or 58 cents per share, for the same period last year. Tennessee-based Community Health Systems, which last year acquired operations from Triad Hospitals, including Longview Regional, reported a 111.1 percent increase in total admissions compared with the same period last year after the consolidation. This increase is primarily attributable to the expansion of the company’s hospital portfolio in 2007. On a same-facility basis, admissions increased 3.8 percent compared with the same period last year. Community Health Systems operates 116 hospitals in 28 states and manages another 160 independent acute care facilities.
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I understand anyone wanting to better the lives of their families and themselves. I have no quams about that. InfoWorthSharing The issue as I see it is they are breaking our laws and the “government”
... read the full comment by O. N. | Comment on Pilgrim's loses $111.4 million in quarter Read Pilgrim's loses $111.4 million in quarter
Strong close. U.S. Steel shares just kept rising as the day wore on. Shares closed at $166.85, setting a new record and reflecting a 6.23 percent jump from Friday’s close.
... read the full comment by mike elswick | Comment on Lone Star parent shares reach new high Read Lone Star parent shares reach new high
the raid on pilgrams should have taken place years ago and the immigrants should face charges the same as our us citizens that are in gregg county.they also have left familys to take care of themselves while husbands, brothers, sons, ect are incarcerated.
... read the full comment by donna | Comment on Pilgrim's loses $111.4 million in quarter Read Pilgrim's loses $111.4 million in quarter
The Renewable Fuel Association, an industry lobby group, has said efforts to blame ethanol production for rising food prices are “flat-out wrong.” “The production and use of ethanol, while increasing demand for corn, is not contributing
... read the full comment by mike elswick | Comment on Food vs. fuel fight gaining momentum Read Food vs. fuel fight gaining momentum