Matrix Service profits up 28.4%

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Aug 16, 2002

TULSA (JR) -- Matrix Service Co. on Thursday reported 28.4 increase in net income for the fiscal year ended May 31.

Net income for the fiscal year totaled $5.9 million, or 73 cents per fully diluted share, up from $4.6 million, or 54 cents per fully diluted share, for the previous fiscal year.

Revenues for the fiscal year were up 16.6 percent to $222.5 million from $190.9 million a year earlier.

The Tulsa-based above-ground storage tank company reported net income for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year of $1.9 million, or 22 per fully diluted share, down from $2.1 million, or 27 cents per fully diluted share, for the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Revenues for the fourth quarter were up 11.8 percent to $65.8 million from $58.9 million a year earlier.

Brad Vetal, president and CEO of Matrix Service, said continued improvements are expected in the coming quarters.

Earnings for the first quarter are expected to be in the range of 18 cents and 21 cents per share, compared with 15 cents per share in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year, he said.

Seven Seas reports quarterly loss

HOUSTON (JR) -- Seven Seas Petroleum on Thursday reported a net loss for the second quarter.

The net loss for the quarter totaled $108.6 million, or $2.86 per share, and included a noncash write-down of oil and gas properties of $106.1 million. Houston-based Seven Seas had a net loss of $2.1 million, or 6 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2001.

Revenues for the quarter totaled $6 million, up from $1.4 million a year earlier.

The net loss for the first six months of 2002 totaled $108.4 million, or $2.86 per common share, compared with a net loss of $2.1 million, or 6 cents per share, for the first six months of 2001.

Revenues for the first six months of the year totaled $13.8 million, up from $5 million a year earlier.

Seven Seas has stopped development drilling operations pending a review of geological, geophysical, and reservoir engineering data.

"Although this has obviously been a difficult and disappointing quarter, I remain optimistic that our oil production decline can be reduced by workover operations," said Robert A. Hefner III, chairman and CEO.

Seven Seas Petroleum is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company operating in Colombia.

Economic reports sluggish

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Manufacturers shifted into a lower gear in July and more Americans filed new applications for jobless benefits last week as companies and workers felt the strain of the struggling economic recovery.

Factory production nudged up by only 0.1 percent in July, compared with the solid 0.6 percent increase from the previous month, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday. For the entire industrial sector - - which includes factories, mines and utilities -- output rose by 0.2 percent in July, compared with June's 0.7 percent increase.

The Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment insurance rose last week by a seasonally adjusted 6,000 to 388,000, a level associated with a sluggish job market.

The reports "suggest that the economic train is still moving, but on the slower freight track," said Tim O'Neill, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal.

He and other analysts believe the recovery is hitting a temporary rough patch related to the accounting scandals that have shaken Americans' confidence in companies, the roller-coaster stock market and a stagnant jobs market. These economists do not foresee a return to recession. President Bush also expressed optimism that the country would get through its difficulties.

Target profits jump 27%

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Target Corp. reported a 27 percent jump in second quarter earnings, powered by strong results from its Target discount store division. The results, announced Thursday, beat Wall Street expectations by a penny a share.

The Minneapolis-based company earned $344 million, or 38 cents a share, in the quarter ended Aug. 3, up from $271 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected 37 cents.

Revenue rose nearly 13 percent to $10.07 billion, from $8.94 billion, driven by a 16 percent increase at its namesake discount store division. Revenue from its Visa card rose 89 percent to $277 million from the year-ago period.

Pretax profits for the Target stores rose 35.5 percent to $708 million from $522 million. At the company's mid-priced Mervyn's stores, pretax profits fell 1.2 percent to $59 million from $60 million, while pretax profits at the Marshall Field's department store division rose 18 percent to $18 million from $16 million.

Sales at stores open at least one year, known as same-store sales, rose 4.4 percent at Target Stores, but fell 5.1 percent at Mervyn's and 2.5 percent at Marshall Field's. The company's total same-store sales were up 3 percent.

For the first six months, Target earned $689 million, or 75 cents a share, up 31 percent from $525 million, or 58 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenues rose 14 percent to $19.66 billion from $17.28 billion.