LOCAL BUSINESS
Timken battles calls for split
Two huge California investors now are directly telling Timken Co. shareholders that splitting the Canton manufacturer in two will unlock value.
Investment firm Relational Investors LLC and the $161.4 billion CalSTRS public pension fund filed a 42-page presentation to shareholders online at the Securities and Exchange Commission, pleading their case that it makes sense to split Timken into a steel company and a bearings company.
The proposal will be voted on at Timken’s annual shareholders meeting; the meeting is typically held in May.
The presentation is called Why a Separation of Timken’s Bearings and Steel Businesses Can Unlock Significant Shareholder Value.
Kent product’s outlook upbeat
Improv Electronics in Kent is expecting to sell higher numbers of its Boogie Board LCD eWriters in North American toy stores this year.
Improv said more than 500 storefronts were selling Boogie Board eWriters by the end of 2012. The company did not provide specific sales figures.
The Boogie Board LCD writing tablet was not designed to be a toy but has proven to be popular with children and their parents, the company said. Improv Electronics is the consumer electronics side of Kent Displays.
AT&T invests in Akron system
AT&T said it has invested more than $350 million in its Akron area wireless and wireline networks from 2010 through 2012. It was part of $1.5 billion spent during the same time throughout Ohio, the company said.
In Akron, the focus was on expanding what is called 4G LTE mobile Internet coverage and enhancing the overall performance of its networks.
EARNINGS
Wendy’s net income rises
Wendy’s Co. said its net income rose sharply because of a larger tax benefit and lower interest expense. It earned $26.4 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with $4 million, or 1 cent per share, a year ago.
The company revised its preliminary adjusted results showing earnings in January to reduce the estimate for charges related to discontinuing breakfast at certain locations and for other items. It now says adjusted earnings were 9 cents per share in the period.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 8 cents per share.
Revenue rose 2 percent to $629.9 million. Analysts expected revenue of $630 million.
Shares rose 20 cents, or 3.6 percent, to close at $5.70 Thursday.
Losses deepen at J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney reported it widened its quarterly loss to $552 million, or $2.51 per share. Revenue fell 24.8 percent to $12.98 billion.
Revenue at stores opened a least a year dropped 31.7 percent. The measure is a key indicator of a retailer’s health. Customer traffic dropped 17 percent in the quarter, worse than the 10 percent drop in the third quarter.
Results for the full year were even more staggering. For the fiscal year, Penney lost $985 million, or $4.49 per share, compared with a loss of $152 million, or 70 cents per share, in the year ended Jan. 28, 2012. Revenue dropped 24.8 percent to $12.98 billion.
WALL STREET
Dow Jones drops 21 points
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 20.88 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,054.49. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 1.31, or 0.09 percent, to 1,514.68. The Nasdaq composite index edged down 2.07, or 0.07 percent, to 3,160.19.
Thursday’s close meant the Dow rose 1.4 percent in February — respectable, but a slowdown from its 5.8 percent gain in January.
Compiled from staff and wire reports