By Roby Brock
Verizon Wireless Regional President Steve Smith said that by 2011 he expects his company to employ up to 2,500 in Arkansas with nearly 2,000 of those workers at the firm’s Little Rock campus.
Smith said that plans for a major call center have been increased to around 1,400 employees, including additional management and operations hires. The staffing at Verizon’s Little Rock campus will also grow beyond original plans of 100 to around 600 white-collar jobs.
Verizon officials also said that they are spending nearly $30 million to renovate portions of the campus in addition to spending $71 million in network upgrades in Arkansas during the last year and a half.
State unemployment rises in March
Arkansas’ unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percent in March to 7.8 percent. One year ago, the state’s jobless rate stood at 7.0 percent, according to state and federal labor data. Arkansas’ rate was still well below the national unemployment rate of 9.7 percent.
J.B. Hunt earnings top estimates
J.B Hunt Transport Services Inc. started the first three months of the year in impressive fashion, posting strong first quarter profits that easily beat analysts’ expectations and pushed the company’s stock to a 52-week high.
For the three-month period ended March 31, the Lowell-based trucking giant posted net earnings of $37.5 million, or 29 cents per share, up 22 percent from net earnings of $30.8 million, or 24 cents a share a year go. Total operating revenue for the current quarter was $845 million, a 17 percent increase from $723 million for the first quarter 2009.
CEO Kirk Thompson said the freight recession that has dogged the industry “showed signs of yielding.”
Simmons first earnings down
Socked by seasonal declines in its loan portfolio, Simmons First National Corp. reported that its first-quarter profits fell short of both analysts’ expectations and last year’s results.
For the period ended March 31, the Pine Bluff-based regional bank reported earnings of $5.0 million or 29 cents per share, down 21.6 percent from a year ago’s earnings of $5.2 million, or 37 cents per share. The 2009 results were boosted by 18 cents per share by “nonrecurring items” related to Visa Inc.’s initial public offering.
Wal-Mart to expand British footprint
Wal-Mart has plans to grow its market share in the United Kingdom through new acquisitions, same store expansions and by opening smaller, neighborhood operations, company officials said.
Bentonville-based retail giant said that during the next five years it would open 150 new outlets through its Asda Living brand aimed at providing household items and goods. Wal-Mart also hopes to add 100 supermarkets up from the 22 stores it now has.
Acquisitions may make for the quickest route to British expansion, where Wal-Mart’s stores are number two in market share.
“We can still acquire our way into geographic locations where we wouldn’t have a presence today,” said Wal-Mart CFO Tom Schoewe.
Swedish firm selects Fayetteville for headquarters
Fayetteville will be the new home headquarters for Acticut International, a Swedish-based company that specializes in industrial acoustic and vibration solutions.
According to its Web site, Acticut is a leader in innovative and functional industrial solutions for metal cutting, active noise and vibration control, and software and system solutions for sound and vibration applications.
Acticut will perform research and development, sales and marketing, and manufacturing from its Fayetteville base.
It will employ 10 employees initially and add 20 or more in the next two years.
Fuel prices could climb to $3 a gallon
Arkansas pump prices will likely top $3 gallon during the upcoming summer traveling season.
Regular-grade gasoline retail prices, which averaged $2.44 per gallon last summer, are projected to average $2.92 per gallon during the current driving season, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
In its weekly petroleum report, the EIA said the monthly average gasoline price is expected to peak at about $2.97 per gallon in early summer. “Average U.S. pump prices likely will exceed $3 per gallon at times during the forthcoming spring and summer driving season,” the EIA said in its summer outlook review.
Game wagers top $100 million at Oaklawn, Southland
Electronic games of skill, such as video blackjack and poker, brought in more than $100 million in wagers to Oaklawn and Southland racetracks.
Oaklawn’s March 2010 EGS wagers totaled $42.3 million, up just 8.7 percent from the previous month, but more than double the amount bet one year ago when EGS wagers topped $21.1 million at the Hot Springs racetrack.
Southland in West Memphis saw its EGS numbers top $57.8 million, up 7 percent from February and more than 30 percent from March 2009 when EGS wagers stood at $42 million.
Arkansas Arts Center director resigns
Nan Plummer, executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center, announced her resignation on Monday effective immediately. In a press release, Plummer said she was leaving the state’s high-profile art museum in order to pursue new opportunities.
Joseph Lampo, deputy director of programs and curator of paintings, prints and photography, will assume the position as interim director while a nationwide search for a replacement begins.
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Roby Brock, a freelance journalist based in Little Rock, writes weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau. His weekly television program airs at 10 p.m. Sundays in Central and Northwest Arkansas. His e-mail address is roby@talkbusiness.net; his Web site address is www.talkbusiness.net.
