Business in the Burbs » Earnings

WHX swings to loss in 2Q

Jay Loomis — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:42:48 +0000

WHX Corp., a White Plains maker of industrial products, swung to a net loss of $4.1 million during the second quarter as the company coped with slower sales in a weak global economy. A year earlier, the company had reported net income of $5.3 million.

The recession “had a material adverse effect on almost all of our businesses during the first half of 2009, driving sales down by over 25 percent from the first half of 2008,” Chief Executive Officer Glen Kassan said. Net sales fell to $141.4 million during the second quarter from $197 million a year earlier.

Profits fall sharply at Hudson Technologies in 2Q

Jay Loomis — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:52:10 +0000

Hudson Technologies Inc., a Pearl River-based refrigeration services company, reported net income of $164,000, or 1 cent a share, during the second quarter, worse than the net income of $2.99 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenues decreased 37 percent to $8.3 million.

Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Zugibe said the results fell well short of expectations.

“Simply put, during the second quarter we continued to experience a decline in the volume of our refrigerant sales due in large part to the unseasonably cold weather in the North and particularly the Northeastern portion of the United States…” he said in a written statement.

Profits drop at Visant in 2Q

Jay Loomis — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:56:10 +0000

Visant Corp., an Armonk-based marketer of class rings and high school graduation products, reported net income of $84.5 million for the second quarter, down from net income of $94.2 million a year earlier.

Net sales of $498.8 million dropped from $567.6 million a year earlier.

Chief Executive Officer Marc Reisch said that the company’s marketing and publishing services business was hurt by lower advertising spending. He added that dramatically lower spending by state and local governments “has significantly eroded demand for elementary/high school book components from our publishing services operations. We expect these trends to continue in the third quarter.”

LeCroy reports quarterly loss of $3.4 million

Jay Loomis — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:05:58 +0000

LeCroy Corp., the Chestnut Ridge oscilloscopes maker, reported a net loss of nearly $3.4 million, or 28 cents a share during its fiscal fourth quarter, worse than the net loss of $810,000, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenues fell to $27.2 million from $40.7 million a year earlier.

“LeCroy’s fourth-quarter results were consistent with our expectations,” Chief Executive Officer Tom Reslewic said in a written statement. “Reflecting the ongoing global recession, overall market demand was similar to the third quarter. Expected sequential declines in the European market were more than offset by improvements in the U.S. and selected Asian markets.”

LeCroy said that “aggressive restructuring” during the past two quarters has helped the company cut operating expenses and “be properly sized” for a challenging economy.

On the positive side, recent order trends “suggest that our business has stabilized overall, with some pockets of strength emerging as we enter the new fiscal year,” Reslewic said.

CMS Bancorp reports narrower loss

Jay Loomis — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:31:43 +0000

CMS Bancorp Inc., the White Plains-based parent of Community Mutual Savings Bank, reported a net loss of $119,000, or 7 cents a share, for the quarter ended June 30, an improvement from a net loss of $178,000, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier. “While we experienced a loss in the quarter…we have continued to see improvement in higher net interest income and better management of our costs,” Chief Executivve Officer John Ritacco said in a written statement. He added that the bank’s assets have jumped 18.2 percent since September 30, primarily related to deposit growth iand the opening a new branch in Mount Kisco. The bank’s allowance for loan losses was 0.32 percent of loans at the end of the quarter. “The company continues to see a modest increase in the level of loan delinquencies, primarily due to the high levels of unemployment, but had no non-performing loans,” Ritacco said.

Loss narrows at Environmental Power during 2Q

Jay Loomis — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:37:35 +0000

Environmental Power Corp., a Tarrytown-based company that produces natural gas from animal waste and other organic materials, reported a net loss of $2.6 million, or 17 cents a share, during the second quarter, an improvement from a net loss of $5.3 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier.

The company said that the improved results were largely due to cost cutting programs. Revenues increased to $1.2 million from $1.1 million a year earlier, as the company increased the expected natural gas sales volumes at each of its development projects. The company’s Huckabay Ridge plant in Stephenville, Texas, is performing “at or exceeding targeted reliability levels and producing (natural gas) in accordance with expectations,” the company said in a written statement.

General Bearing reports net loss of $426,000

Jay Loomis — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:24:55 +0000

General Bearing Corp., a West Nyack-based manufacturer of ball bearings, reported a net loss of $426,000 for the quarter ended July 4, compared to net income of $1.87 million a year earlier. The net loss of 5 cents a share compared to earnings per share of 40 cents a year earlier. Sales fell to $21.48 million during the quarter from $35.12 million a year earlier.

Earnings more than double at AboveNet

Jay Loomis — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:16:16 +0000

Quarterly profits more than doubled at AboveNet Inc., a White Plains-based telecommunications company that benefited from strong demand from corporate customers for its high-speed data links.

Net income for the second quarter was $24.6 million, or $1.95 per share, up from $11.2 million, or 92 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenues surged 14.1 percent to $88.0 million.

AboveNet’s system, which delivers network and Internet services among 15 top U.S. markets and London, has been popular among media, energy and financial services companies. Such customers need a lot of communications bandwith to operate their businesses. The company also signed up customers who are looking to use high-speed communications technology to lower their costs and boost efficiencies during the economic downturn.

“We delivered another quarter of solid year-over-year growth in revenue” and earnings, said Bill LaPerch, president and chief executive officer.

AboveNet recently signed a 10-year lease to remain at its White Plains headquarters at 360 Hamilton Ave. The company occupies 32,000 square feet in the downtown building owned by Reckson, a division of SL Green.

The company also has announced plans for a two-for-one stock split after its shares jumped 219 percent this year.

Presidential Life reports 2Q loss of $1.6 million

Jay Loomis — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:24:32 +0000

Presidential Life Corp., the Nyack-based insurer that does business in 49 states, reported a net loss of $1.6 million, or 5 cents a share, during the second quarter. That compared to a net gain of $9.8 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenues of $59.3 million fell from $79.9 million a year earlier.

“Negative market conditions have significantly impacted the financial markets and accordingly, the company’s investments and revenues,” Presidential Life said in regulatory filing.

The company said the setbacks this year have included negative returns on its limited partnership investments and low returns from short-term investments.

Outlook improves at Gamco after stock market rebound

Jay Loomis — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:54:00 +0000

A stock-market recovery and an improved investment climate contributed to a better earnings performance at Gamco Investors Inc., the Rye-based firm founded by money manager Mario Gabelli.

While net income dropped 8.3 percent at Gamco during the second quarter compared to a year earlier, that was a rebound from the 22 percent plunge in first-quarter earnings, when Gamco and other major investment firms were navigating through one of the worst bear markets since the Great Depression.

Since the stock market hit its lows on March 9, the S&P 500 index of large company stocks has gained 50 percent on growing optimism that a recovery in the economy and housing markets is taking root.

At Gamco, the market rebound helped to fuel a jump of 15.5 percent in assets under management since March 31. Gamco’s institutional and private wealth management business ended the quarter with $8.8 billion in separately managed accounts, up 17.3 percent over the same period.

Over half of Gamco’s mutual funds performed in the top half of their Lipper categories over one-, three-, five-, and ten-year periods, the company said.

“Our investment performance was strong leading to substantial increases in assets under management on a sequential basis,” Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey M. Farber said in a written statement. “We continued our cost reduction efforts during the second quarter recognizing reductions in general and administrative costs.”

Farber added that Gamco continues to evaluate acquisition opportunties to enhance its business.

Gamco’s net income totaled $13.3 million in the second quarter, or 48 cents a share, compared to $14.5 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.