Tuesday, November 16, 1999
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
Gibson posts tenfold loss
Gibson Greetings Inc. posted a tenfold loss in the third quarter after factoring in almost $10 million in charges related to a lost customer and its discontinued Silly Slammers business.
The card maker, which in early November agreed to be acquired by rival American Greetings Corp., reported a loss of $9.96 million, or 63 cents a share, in the period ended Sept. 30. That compares with a loss of $964,000, or 6 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.
Revenue at the Amberley Village-based company also declined, to $69.7 million in 1999 from $86.8 million in 1998. The year-ago figure includes $12.1 million in revenue from the Paper Factory, a retail business Gibson sold in August 1998.
The 1999 period includes two charges. One is a pretax charge of $2 million to write down Silly Slammer inventory and assets; the other is a charge of $7.9 million related to the impact of the bankruptcy of a major customer.
Gibson agreed to be acquired by American on Nov. 3 for $10.25 a share.
Plant lockout could cost AK Steel profit
Middletown-based AK Steel Holding Corp., the largest U.S. maker of automotive steel, Monday said a union lockout at a plant might reduce fourth-quarter profit by 6 cents a share if it lasts the rest of the year.
Armco Inc. locked out about 650 United Steelworkers of America members at the Mansfield, Ohio, plant Sept. 1, just weeks before the company was acquired by AK Steel for $1.3 billion. Armco cited the threat of violence and damage after the union rejected a three-year contract.
Lower shipments of stainless steel could reduce fourth-quarter profit from operations by about $7 million, AK Steel spokesman Alan McCoy said. The work stoppage cut third-quarter operating income by $4 million.
Duramed reports $27 million loss
Duramed Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it lost about $27 million in the third quarter, including a $15 million charge from settling a legal dispute with Schein Pharmaceutical of Florham Park, N.J.
Schein brought suit against Pleasant Ridge-based Duramed over Cenestin, Duramed's new conjugated estrogen drug. Schein claimed rights to sell Cenestin under a 1992 development agreement with Duramed.
Duramed agreed to settle the lawsuit last month and said it would pay Schein an additional $15 million if Cenestin generates more than $100 million in profits during any five-year period within the next 15 years.
Excluding the charge, Duramed's third-quarter loss was $11.9 million.
Sales for the three-month period that ended Sept. 30 were $11.1 million, flat when compared with sales of $11.2 million in the corresponding period a year ago.
Mondi at Tower Place begins liquidation
The Mondi store in Tower Place Mall at Carew Tower has begun liquidation as its parent company, Mondi of America Inc., received approval to conduct going-out-of-business sales at all its stores.
The Euro-style clothing retailer, based in Secaucus, N.J., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Nov. 1. Its German parent company, Mondi Textil GmbH, filed for insolvency Sept. 3.
The retailer will liquidate all of its 47 stores. A company spokesman could not give a closing date for the downtown store.
Kroll-O'Gara Co. agrees to buyout
Crystal ball cloudy on interest rates
Greenspan: Cooperation key in new marketplace
Pella to acquire Pease Industries
Cincinnati Bell begets BroadWing
Miniatures of Peace Bell are appealing
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
INDUSTRY NOTES: BANKING
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Hewlett-Packard vision: Nothin' but Net
TRISTATE MARKET SPOTLIGHT
