EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORIES
Walt Disney Co. blamed weakness at its theme parks for a 7.1% decline in net income to $364 million in the quarter ended June 30, on a 2.8% drop in revenue to $5.8 billion; Disney said weakness in tourism likely would cause earnings for the current quarter to be somewhat lower than the prior year; in Disney’s just-ended third quarter, revenue from its parks and resorts unit fell 5% as the number of out-of-town tourists was lower while the less lucrative local attendance was strong … Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc. said it would shut its Memphis, Tenn., facility and could trim more workers later in the third quarter; Ingram said its second-quarter income before reorganization costs grew 31% to $31.3 million, despite an 11.7% decline in sales to $5.3 billion.
TECHNOLOGY
Shares of Irvine-based Exult Inc. fell 40% after the company pushed its profitability target to the fourth quarter from the previously expected third quarter and said it was changing to percent-of-completion accounting in the third quarter; meanwhile, Exult said its second-quarter operating loss narrowed to $5.1 million from $25.5 million on 56.9% higher revenue to $100.9 million Garden Grove-based Bridge Technology Inc. may have its shares delisted from Nasdaq because the company has not filed its annual report for 2001; the company says it will file the report soon and blames negotiations with its banks to extend its credit line for the delay in filing Irvine-based eMachines Inc. started selling its computers in Australia through one of the country’s largest retailers, Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. Yorba Linda-based computer seller Shecom Corp. said it will buy Pearl River, N.Y.-based Internet service provider Frontline Communications Corp. in a stock swap for undisclosed terms.
HEALTHCARE
Santa Ana-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said its second-quarter operating income doubled to $66.7 million on a 6.7% decline in revenue to $2.8 billion UCI Medical Center said it will cut the number of poor, uninsured patients it treats to save the hospital money in unreimbursed care.
GOVERNMENT
Residents of the Rancho Santiago Community College District will vote on a $337 million bond measure in November with the funds set to be used to build and renovate facilities at Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College San Juan Capistrano residents will vote in November on the 175-home Whispering Hills project that would include the city’s first public high school Ten West County cities called for an 11-mile light rail line from Santa Ana to Cypress that would link the proposed CenterLine route County Supervisor Charles Smith called for an election on development at the former El Toro Marine base; Smith, a pro-El Toro airport backer, says the recent proposal from the Navy and Irvine has more development than called for under the Great Park initiative, which voters approved in March; the Navy said in response that it still plans to go ahead with Irvine’s proposal Irvine’s ban on political campaign spending of more than $340 by independent groups was ruled unconstitutional in federal court after a challenge by the conservative Lincoln Club; Irvine will pay $125,000 to the Lincoln Club for court costs.
REAL ESTATE
The Park Place office complex at Jamboree Road and the San Diego Freeway in Irvine is up for sale, with N.Y.-based The Blackstone Group and Newton, Mass.-based HRPT Properties Trust the two finalists for the property, which is expected to sell for about $215 million.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Suzuki Motor Corp.’s Brea-based U.S. headquarters said it would more than double its warranty for U.S. cars and light trucks to seven years or 100,000 miles and extend its no-interest financing, after Suzuki said its domestic sales fell 2.9% to 32,900 in the first half of the year Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. warned that its second-quarter profit would be less than expected because of slow sales in the past two weeks, particularly at its Florida and Texas stores The restructuring adviser for bankrupt Anaheim-based Opal Concepts Inc. said its Fantastic Sams, Carlton Hair and Jose Eber of South Coast Plaza salons will stay open while the company reorganizes; the adviser, M. Solomon Associates Inc., said Opal is unlikely to lay off any of its 1,600 workers, including 80 at its Anaheim headquarters Santa Ana-based Behr Process Corp. opened an 80,000-square-foot plant in Santa Ana that’s set to create 50 jobs Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. will shift its Fullerton plant from an automotive-battery production unit to a distribution center and cut 78 workers as part of the move Brea-based Centis Inc., an office products maker with about 850 workers, filed for bankruptcy protection but told customers that it doesn’t expect an interruption in deliveries or servicing during its reorganization.
