Other news items of interest from the Orange County Business Journal
Irvine-based Tilly’s Inc. topped Wall Street’s expectations on its current quarter guidance and results for the quarter ended in May, sending shares up slightly last week, to a market value of about $465 million. The action-sports retailer said it expects net income of $3.2 million to $3.8 million for the current quarter. That’s up from the $2.6 million the company saw in the year-ago period and above the $2.5 million analysts expected. Tilly’s did not provide revenue guidance for the current quarter. Analysts expect net sales of $123.18 million. Tilly’s also said Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Bill Langsdorf will retire this year.
Brea-based Suzuki Motor of America Inc. named Toru Muraki president of the recently established company. It was established as part of Japan-based Suzuki Motor Corp. to operate the motorcycle/ATV, marine and automotive parts and service divisions of the now-defunct American Suzuki Motor Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November.
Irvine-based heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said it received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration concerning its Draper, Utah, plant. Edwards said the FDA’s warning related to the execution of quality systems in its cardiac surgery systems business, including design and process validation and packaging. Regulators said Edwards won’t receive premarket approvals for devices “reasonably related to those issues” until it resolves the quality matters.
Global law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP has named a new managing partner for its Newport Beach office. Elizabeth McKeen will head the office of 56 attorneys as she succeeds Jeff Walbridge, who will become the chair of O’Melveny’s tax practice. Walbridge oversaw the Newport Beach office for two years and will continue as head of the firm’s practice focused on executive compensation and employee benefits.
The cofounder of troubled hybrid automaker Fisker Automotive Inc. has reportedly teamed with a Hong Kong billionaire to buy the company’s Department of Energy loan. Henrik Fisker, who resigned in March as executive chairman of the company, joined a group led by Richard Li to offer $25 million to $30 million for the loan, according to a report by Reuters. Fisker has been looking for a buyer since last year and had been in serious talks with two Chinese automakers. But negotiations collapsed in March with the stipulation that a potential investor use the remainder of Fisker’s $529 million DOE loan, proving a major hurdle to getting a deal done. Fisker only drew down about $192 million of the loan before it was frozen. The loan freeze came after the automaker missed certain production and sales requirements for its Karma sedan. Meanwhile, Ray Lane, managing partner of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers—a major investor in Fisker Automotive—stepped down from the board of the Anaheim-based automaker.
Passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport rose 5.1% in April to 764,308 passengers. Southwest Airlines and its AirTran Airways subsidiary combined to lead the gain, with 320,744 passengers. United Airlines was the next busiest airline, serving 121,382 passengers, followed by American Airlines with 94,523. International travel jumped 315.5% to 29,755 passengers. The surge can be attributed to the addition of service to Mexico by AirTran in June and by Interjet in October. Separately, airport officials said a task force of OC tourism and business leaders will study the possibility of direct flights from JWA to Washington, D.C.
The Orange County Fair board recently voted to oppose part of a state Senate bill that some activists say could lead to privatization. The activists say SB 741 would allow leasing of fairgrounds without a public hearing beforehand.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Home prices in the region that includes Orange County, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. The gauge showed prices in Orange and Los Angeles counties increased by nearly 17% in the year that ended in March.
