Compiled by Mark Mueller
TOP STORIES
Irvine chipmaker Broadcom Corp. won a round in its ongoing legal battle with San Diego rival Qualcomm Inc. A federal jury found the company didn’t infringe on two Qualcomm patents covering video-compression chips used in computers, DVD players and mobile phones. Qualcomm sought $8.3 million in damages. The jury said Qualcomm’s patents were valid but unenforceable because the company withheld key information from a standards-making body and the patent office. Two remaining suits between the companies are set to go to trial in March and May. Also in March, a U.S. International Trade Commission judge is set to offer remedies after ruling last fall that Qualcomm infringed a Broadcom wireless chip patent.
Homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. posted a big fourth-quarter loss on charges for land it hasn’t been able to build on but offered a better-than-expected outlook for the current quarter and year. Irvine-based Standard Pacific lost $98.4 million in the fourth quarter, versus a profit of $154.9 million a year earlier. A $291 million charge from revaluing land and lost deposits on land Standard walked away from fueled the loss. Revenue for fourth quarter was $1.2 billion, down 8%. Standard Pacific said first-quarter profits could be nearly $16 million, better than analysts on average expected. Profits for the year could come in at about $110 million, also above consensus. The company now expects 2007 sales of about $3.3 billion and 8,700 new home deliveries, down from 10,487 in 2006.
Irvine’s Epicor Software Corp. reported record fourth-quarter sales last week, though profits were off and the business software maker warned about net income for the current quarter. Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 28% to $104.4 million. Fourth-quarter net income fell 15% to $6.7 million, held down by stock compensation expenses and amortization charges. Epicor expects more charges for the current quarter and warned Wall Street profit could come in lower than expected.
Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc. said it earned $156.5 million in the fourth quarter, minus stock option expense and other charges, compared to $136 million a year earlier. Sales were up 38% to $829 million thanks to last year’s buy of Santa Barbara-based Inamed Corp. The results included $127 million in sales from Inamed. For all of 2006, Allergan said sales of wrinkle remover Botox surpassed $1 billion for the first time. For the current quarter, Allergan said it sees profits minus charges of about $138 million. Wall Street had been expecting $150 million.
A lawsuit filed against Orange-based ACC Capital Holdings Corp.’s Ameriquest Capital Corp. accused billionaire owner Roland Arnall of stymieing efforts to reform alleged predatory loan-making practices. Wayne Lee, a longtime Arnall employee who headed subprime lender Ameriquest as well as Argent Mortgage until stepping down in mid-2005, filed the suit. Lee said in the suit he quit after Arnall “repeatedly blocked” his efforts to implement lending reforms at Ameriquest. The lawsuit seeks $30 million that Lee says he was promised before leaving.
A proposed redevelopment of Buena Park’s closed Movieland Wax Museum property was put in doubt after electronics retailer Best Buy Co. pulled out of opening a store there. The company decided the area was better geared for tourists and not retailers, Buena Park officials said. Developer Burnham USA Equities Inc. of Newport Beach had planned to demolish the wax museum and several businesses surrounding it and replace them with stores and restaurants.
Capital One Financial Corp., which bought Foothill Ranch auto financier Onyx Acceptance Corp. in 2005, plans to close its customer service operation in Foothill Ranch and lay off 270 workers in the second quarter. The company plans to keep a branch office with about 120 workers in Foothill Ranch. Customer service work is moving to Plano, Texas, Tampa, Fla., and Tulsa, Okla.
Orange County Chief Executive Thomas Mauk is staying in his post after initially accepting an offer to become Los Angeles County’s top manager. Mauk was courted by L.A. County supervisors to run the nation’s largest county government. Mauk reportedly changed his mind after Orange County supervisors improved his contract and persuaded him to stay.
Huntington Beach clothing maker Quiksilver Inc. signed a North American license deal with BBC International LLC of Florida to make sandals, fashion casual shoes, boots and tennis shoes for children. The shoes will sell under the brands Quiksilver, Roxy and Teenie Wahine. The value of the deal, which runs through 2009, wasn’t disclosed.
