Sikorsky, whose S-92 line has largely been confined to oil rigs and VIP transport, is going to get a work out in Afghanistan.
On Monday, Sikorsky delivered the second of two S-92s to AAR Corp., which has a $450 million contract to provide transportation services for up to five years in Afghanistan.
“Deployment to Afghanistan is a tremendous opportunity for AAR and the U.S. Government to see what the multi-mission S-92 aircraft is capable of in some very challenging flight conditions at high altitude,” said Ed Beyer, vice president for Sikorsky Global Helicopters. “The unique interior configuration of these two aircraft also will give AAR greater mission flexibility to perform its utility and transport missions.”
For years, analysts have said for the S-92 line to be succesful, it needs to have a viable military variant.
Sikorsky is building the CH-148 Cyclone for the Canadians, which based on the S-92. And the Stratford-based helicopter maker is also offering the S-92 to the Marines for the Presidential helicopter contest.
Financial Mines
Archive for January, 2011
Sikorsky’s S-92 heads to Afghanistan
Earnings this week good proxy for factory, pharma and finance
Earnings this week should provide a glimpse of what kind of year 2010 was for insurance, manufacturing and pharma both nationally and locally here Fairfield and New Haven counties. Reports should also provide indications of executive expectations, which could foretell what kind of job opportunities will be available in these key sectors.
Beginning Tuesday, Energizer Holdings, the parent of Schick Wilkinson-Sword in Milford, reports earnings after recent surves showed consumer spending and sentiment is at last improving in the U.S. Also reporting is Pfizer, a proxy for both the pharmaceutical business and personal health in the U.S.
On Wednesday, Greenwich-based commercial insurer/re-insurer W.R. Berkley reports ahead of more traditional insurance companies, Cigna and Aetna who unveil their profits later in the week.
Danbury-based ATMI which makes semiconductors, also reports on Wednesday, giving us some idea of how key materials costs are impacting the tech sector. Harman International in Stamford goes on Thursday and its profits and outlook should tell us whether the sound and fury out of the auto industry is real or just significant so much nothing. Harman makes high-end audio and entertainment systems for the industry.
Important regional players are also reporting this week, including PerkinElmer, CB Richard Ellis and Time Warner.
Ethan Allen sales up 21 percent for 4Q 2010
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., the Danbury-based maker of home furnishings that saw revenues plummet during 2009, seems to be making a rebound as it on Monday reported a sales spike of 21 percent year over year for the fourth quarter.
The press release is below:
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (“Ethan Allen” or the “Company”) (NYSE:ETH) reported operating results for the three and six months ended December 31, 2010.
Mr. Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and CEO commenting on the results stated, “We are pleased with continued increases in revenues and profitability during the quarter ended December 31, 2010. With a sales increase of 21% and operating income of $10.5 million, we have benefited from the many initiatives we have taken to improve our marketing and operations. We also continue to maintain strong liquidity, ending the quarter with cash and securities of $85.6 million. Fiscal year to date, we have retired $6.9 million of our bonds and repurchased $5.4 million of our common stock. Later this year, we also expect to receive a federal tax refund of approximately $17 million.”
Three Months Ended December 31, 2010
Net sales for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 were $173.3 million, an increase of 21.0% compared with the prior year quarter. The Company’s Retail division net sales were $131.0 million, an increase of 22.3% from the prior year quarter. Written orders booked during the quarter by the Retail division were 5.7% greater than the prior year quarter including comparable design center orders which grew 10.7%.
Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 was $14.7 million or $0.51 earnings per diluted share compared with a net loss the prior year of $3.3 million or a $0.12 loss per diluted share. Excluding special items in both periods, net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 was $5.6 million or $0.19 per diluted share compared with a net loss the prior year quarter of $1.6 million or $0.06 loss per diluted share.
Six Months Ended December 31, 2010
For the six months ended December 31, 2010, net sales were $338.2 million, up 21.0% from the prior year comparable period. Net income year to date was $18.6 million or $0.64 per diluted share compared with a year to date net loss of $16.9 million or $0.58 loss per diluted share the prior year. Excluding special items in both periods for the six months, current year earnings were $0.30 per diluted share compared with a net loss per diluted share of $0.25 the prior year.
Commenting on future prospects, Mr. Kathwari continued, “The ‘Great Recession’ has afforded us an opportunity to reinvent and restructure many aspects of our vertically integrated enterprise. While the economic recovery is still in the early stages, we remain cautiously optimistic and continue to take steps to grow our business. In our third quarter ending March 31, 2011, we plan to invest to increase our direct mail advertising by approximately 50% over the prior year. We look forward to discussing in greater detail our initiatives during our upcoming conference call.”
The conference call was held on Tuesday.
UTC earnings up 14 percent
Big questions facing the company include concerns over raw material access and prices, threats to the stability of markets due to growing international trade disputes and how serious Congress and President Obama are about cutting federal spending.
A conference call with analysts is scheduled for later this morning.
UTC reported the following on their website, utc.com, this morning before the bell.
HARTFORD, Conn. – United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) today reported fourth quarter 2010 earnings per share of $1.31, up 14 percent over prior year. Results for the current and prior year quarters included net charges for restructuring and one-time items of $0.03 and $0.08 per share, respectively. Before these charges, earnings per share increased 9 percent year over year. Currency hedges at Pratt & Whitney Canada, net of all foreign exchange translation, contributed $0.02 to the earnings per share increase.
Sikorsky Aircraft had a net operating profit of $239 million for the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to $202 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Net profit margin at the Stratford-based helicopter maker was more than 11 percent for the fourth quarter of last year.
Consolidated sales for the quarter of $14.9 billion were 6 percent above prior year, including 6 percent of organic growth. Net income attributable to common shareowners of $1.2 billion increased 12 percent year over year. Cash flow from operations was $1.7 billion, including $600 million of global pension contributions. Capital expenditures were $386 million in the quarter.
Full year earnings per share of $4.74 and net income attributable to common shareowners of $4.4 billion increased 15 and 14 percent, respectively, from 2009 results.
“UTC’s fourth quarter results reflect strong sales growth, particularly in the commercial aerospace aftermarket and shorter cycle Carrier businesses,” said Louis Chênevert, UTC Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. “Our proactive focus on structural cost reduction resulted in solid conversion on higher sales and exceptional margin expansion for the year. For the first time in UTC’s history, all six business units delivered double digit operating margins for the full year, adjusted for restructuring and one-time items. In typical UTC fashion, cash generation was strong in the quarter and throughout the year.”
Extreme couponing
The first word that comes to my mind is “Whoa.” It may not be the most sophisticated or eloquent word — especially for a journalist with an English degree — but there it is. I’m talking about this phenomenon recently documented on The Learning Channel called “extreme couponing.” The second word that comes to my mind is “scary.” Anyone can easily surmise what “extreme couponing” may be, but to see it is to believe it. Take Amanda, the first “extreme couponer” featured on the show who bought $1,175 worth of groceries for $52 by scrupulously collecting coupons of all sorts. At first, I thought her feat was ingenious, even heroic, until she said a 10-foot-high pile of 3,000 rolls of toilet paper she amassed among other piles of groceries brought her “joy.” Joy? Her husband, who mentioned they’ve taken out a $35,000 insurance policy on what they call their “stockpile,” didn’t seem as enthusiastic as he stood among the piles, one of which was overtaking his man cave. I’ll close with a third word, if I may — “hoarder.”
State drops 4,300 jobs in December
The State Labor Department said Connecticut lost 4,300 jobs in December, bringing the state’s nonfarm
employment to 1,613,400. On a seasonally adjusted basis, this represents an increase of 5,300 jobs from a year
earlier, when nonfarm employment totaled 1,608,100. The state’s unemployment rate remained the same at 9
percent. The national rate is 9.4 percent.
“After two months of job gains that added 6,600 jobs, December proved to be disappointing in terms of the state’s recovery efforts,” said Labor Statistics Supervisor Salvatore DiPillo. “While Connecticut added 5,300 jobs over the year, this represents an overall increase of 0.3 percent, which is below the 2010 national job growth rate of 0.9 percent.
Malloy taps former Assistant AG for Consumer Protection
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has selected Attorney William M. Rubenstein, a former assistant attorney general and lawyer at the Federal Trade Commission, to head the state’s Consumer Protection Department.
Consumer Protection in the state has suffered an identity crisis and often taking a back seat to the AGs office on matters affecting consumers. The department has had a difficult time in the past keeping contractors who have had licenses revoked from starting new businesses under new names, among other issues relating to its monitoring and regulation of business.
Here’s Malloy’s press release on the nomination.
“I am very pleased that Bill is joining our team,” said Gov. Malloy. “The Department of Consumer Protection has a broad mandate—spanning a range of marketplace regulation—from keeping the public safe from nefarious business practices and services to ensuring that professional licensure standards are maintained. Bill’s exhaustive experience in public service, his success in the professional arena, and his work as a professor, leave me with no doubt that we have a commissioner who will be a diligent and thoughtful protector of, and advocate for, Connecticut residents.”
“Returning to public service is a great opportunity, and I am excited to take on this new role on behalf of the citizens of Connecticut,” said Rubenstein. “Particularly in these tough economic times, people in this state deserve to know there are people watching out for them. I look forward to working with Governor Malloy on these issues.”
Rubenstein is a partner at Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP in Hartford, where he works as a lead attorney on antitrust , intellectual property and trade regulation cases for Fortune 500 companies, and where he is the firm’s ethics officer.
Rubenstein also served in the Antitrust and Consumer Protection Department in the Office of the Connecticut Attorney General from 1986-1997 where he handled consumer protection litigation and the development of enforcement policy. In 1996, as an Assistant Attorney General, Rubenstein was a member of the legal team that successfully represented the state in Connecticut v. Philip Morris, a Connecticut Superior Court case that resulted in an award of billions of dollars to the states from tobacco companies, and changed the way tobacco could be advertised and sold in the country.
In the early 1980s, Rubenstein was counsel for the Federal Trade Commission, where he garnered extensive experience on antitrust and unfair trade litigation.
Rubenstein was also an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law where he taught Antitrust Law last spring.
He is married to Judith Eisenberg and lives in West Hartford.
Himes back on Finance
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., will continue to work on financial regulations under the Republican-controlled House. Himes, a veteran of Goldman Sachs and Greenwich resident, was reappointed by Democratic leadership to the House Committee on Financial Services on Thursday.
Financial regulatory reform, passed under Demcorats in the last Congress, appears ripe for review by Republicans, so this should be an interesting session for the second term Congressman.
Stay tuned to see what happens to Fannie Mae and its siblings as well as how rules on financial and securities oversight plays out.
