By Roby Brock
A federal Court of Appeals certified what may be the largest potential class-action lawsuit in U.S. history.
In a 6-5 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the lawsuit — Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores — could move forward, although the court did reduce the number of eligible plaintiffs from the original class size.
The gender discrimination claim alleges Wal-Mart failed to promote and pay women as equally as men. Some estimates have the per claim payout ranging between $500,000 and $1 million, meaning a possible monetary claim could reach the hundreds of billions of dollars.
This week’s court ruling was procedural and did not address the merits of the case.
Cooper Tire adding jobs
Cooper Tire executives said they plan to add another 200 jobs to their work force of 1,500 in Texarkana. New consumer demand for products is the primary factor for the increase.
The tire plant nearly shut down about 16 months ago when the company re-evaluated its options with four existing North American plants. A combination of state and local incentives from Arkansas and Texas saved the plant from closure.
Entergy says it won’t buck PSC wishes
Entergy Arkansas, which is in the midst of separating from its system operating agreement, told the Arkansas Public Service Commission it will honor state regulators’ wishes — even if it means abandoning a possible option to work out a new arrangement with other Entergy companies.
In a letter filed Monday afternoon, Entergy Arkansas President Hugh McDonald reiterated the energy company’s three options of separating from its present system agreement, which has been in place for more than 50 years.
Entergy could become a stand-alone company, integrate with other power providers in a grid system agreement or form a new arrangement with its existing Entergy counterparts in other states.
In the new letter, McDonald said that in early April Entergy Corp. and its subsidiaries said they would “agree and commit” to not voluntarily enter into successor arrangements with other Entergy companies “if its retail regulator finds successor arrangements not in the public interest.”
Trucking index suggests road to recovery
For the fourth month in a row, the bellwether trucking sector saw noticeable improvements in key measurements of the industry’s health.
The American Trucking Association’s report for March showed seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage increased 0.4 percent following a revised 0.3 percent dip in February.
Compared with March 2009, seasonally adjusted tonnage was up 7.5 percent, the fourth consecutive year-over-year monthly gain and the largest increase since January 2005. For the first quarter of 2010, seasonally adjusted tonnage was up 4.9 percent compared with the same period last year.
“Freight is moving in the right direction and I continue to hear from motor carriers that both the demand and supply situations are steadily improving,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.
P.A.M. shrinks quarterly loss dramatically
P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. shrunk its quarterly loss as conditions improved for the Tontitown-based trucking firm.
P.A.M. posted a net loss of $315,444 or diluted loss per share of $0.03 for the quarter ended March 31. One year ago, P.A.M. reported a $3.3 million loss, or $0.36 per share. Revenues jumped nearly 25 percent to $81.8 million during the quarter.
The trucking company has been consolidating its operations in an effort to reduce costs. It says that more consolidation costs are anticipated in the second quarter.
Baldor earnings slide
Baldor Electric Co. reported declines in first-quarter revenue and net income, but the report was better than what Wall Street was expecting.
The Fort Smith-based global manufacturing and distribution reported Wednesday afternoon that its first-quarter net income was $15.1 million, down 58.6 percent from the same quarter of 2009. However, the 32 cents per share earnings was better than the average estimate of 11 analysts compiled by Thomson Financial.
First-quarter revenue for Baldor was $397.5 million, down 1 percent from the $402.5 million in the first quarter of 2009.
Baldor is looked to as a bellwether for the manufacturing sector and the company, known for its conservative budgeting and straightforward market commentary, says it expects to see an 8 percent to 12 percent increase in revenue in the second quarter.
Bank of the Ozarks profits jump
Little Rock’s Bank of the Ozarks posted a record 72 percent increase in first-quarter profits from a year ago.
For the first three months of the year, the Little Rock bank saw net income of $15.9 million, or 94 cents per share, compared to net income of $9.2 million, or 55 cents, in the same quarter of 2009.
Bank of the Ozarks said the quarterly results include an after-tax gain of $5.9 million to net income, or 35 cents, related to a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) last month to acquire the assets of the former Unity National Bank of Cartersville, Ga.
Overall, deposits were $2.25 billion for the quarter, down 1.6 percent compared to $2.29 billion last year. Total assets, including those acquired in the Unity transaction, were $3.02 billion versus $3.16 billion a year ago.
Southwest Energy profits up on Fayetteville Shale production
Southwestern Energy invested a whopping $319 million in the Fayetteville Shale during the first quarter of 2010, propelling the Houston-based natural gas driller back into the black despite low natural gas prices.
For the period ended March 31, Southwestern Energy reported net income of $171.8 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, up 141 percent from a net loss of $432.8 million, or $1.26 per diluted share, a year ago.
Southwestern’s revenue jumped 24 percent to $668.1 million, pushed up largely by increased production in the Arkansas shale basin. The company spent $319 million of its $411 million first-quarter oil and gas budget in Arkansas.
Scott Ford investment group buys NLR coffee facility
Westrock Coffee LLC, led by investor and former Alltel CEO Scott Ford, has agreed to purchase a 56,000 sq. ft. coffee roasting production facility in North Little Rock.
The group plans to invest an additional $5 million in the former Coffee Legends plant to build a state-of-the-art roasting and production facility that it says will meet a growing customer base. Once the expansion is complete, Westrock Coffee will have about 25 employees in central Arkansas.
Westrock Coffee will roast coffees sourced from multiple coffee-growing regions. In addition, the company will roast premium Rwandan coffees shipped to the North Little Rock facility by Little Rock-based Rwanda Trading Co., which is a coffee processor and exporter that owns a green-coffee dry mill in Kigali, Rwanda.
——-
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.
