Arkansas' Public Companies

Arkansas Business, July 30, 2001

George Gleason, chairman and CEO, blamed rising interest rates and increased competition for the declines.

After taking its lumps last year, Bank of the Ozarks rebounded to announce record earnings of $1.86 million for the quarter ending March 31, a 4.3 percent increase over the previous year.

Memphis-based investment firm Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. marked the news by upgrading the company's stock from "market perform" to "outperform."

Bank of the Ozarks is continuing to expand its network of locations through construction and acquisition. New branches in southwest Little Rock and Fort Smith are set to open by mid-year.

New branches in Bryant and Maumelle also are in the development pipeline, and the bank is buying a Lonoke branch from Union Planters Corp. of Memphis.

Bank of the Ozarks is a bank holding company with $803 million in total assets. The company owns a state-chartered subsidiary bank that conducts banking operations in 25 offices in 18 communities throughout Arkansas.

BEVERLY ENTERPRISES INC.

BEVERLY ENTERPRISES Inc., like many in the nursing home industry, has been hurt by the rising cost of insurance.

The costs are especially high in Florida, so the Fort Smith nursing home chain is looking to sell all of its holdings there, including 49 nursing facilities and four assisted living centers.

Special charges of $107 million -- $86 million of that related to the sale of Florida facilities -- pushed the company's first-quarter losses to $52 million. Other charges were due to work-force reductions, reorganization costs and other unusual items.

The company had an operating income of 8 cents per share before the special charges, and investors were warned in advance that charges would he incurred. After the charges, the result was a net loss of 50 cents per share. In comparison, during the same period last year there was a net income of $6.26 million, or 6 cents per share.

The company also reported a $54.5 million net loss for 2000, despite gross revenue of $2.63 billion. The figures reflect a 3.1 percent increase in total revenue from $2.55 billion in 1999. The net loss for 2000, however, was far less than 1999's loss of $134.6 million.

The operating gains the company made in the first quarter of 2001 should help offset cost increases it received from patient care liability, employee medical benefits and utilities, which were $1.5 million more than the company anticipated.

The objective for 2001 is 40 cents per share diluted before special items, said William R. Floyd, president and chief executive officer, but that target doesn't include the sale of the Florida assets.

Beverly and its operating subsidiaries offer post-acute health care in the United States, operating 531 skilled nursing facilities, 34 assisted living centers, 165 outpatient therapy clinics and 58 home care and hospice agencies.

BRASS EAGLE INC.

BRASS EAGLE INC., the world's leading maker of paintball guns, is looking to branch into other extreme sports like skateboarding, in-line skating and possibly "extreme bicycling," said CEO Lynn Scott.