local business
Smucker sets dividend
J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) of Orrville declared a dividend of 52 cents a share, payable June 3 to shareholders of record May 17.
The company also announced that its annual meeting of shareholders will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at the Fisher Auditorium, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., in Wooster.
Oil permit data revealed
Ohio has topped 600 active permits for Utica shale wells. The state has issued 605 Utica permits, as of April 13, reports the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management.
A total of 297 of those wells have been drilled in eastern Ohio. To date, 89 Ohio Utica wells are in production. A total of 32 drilling rigs are working Ohio.
The latest Utica permits were nine in Carroll County, three in Harrison County and one in Noble County. Ohio has issued 20 additional permits in the Marcellus shale, of which 10 wells have been drilled.
GAMBLING
Travel exec heads group
The new head of the U.S. casino lobby is a 38-year-old with ties to the travel industry who says he will seek consensus on Internet gambling. The American Gaming Association nominated Geoff Freeman as its new president and CEO. Freeman comes from the U.S. Travel Association, where he has been chief operating officer. He will replace president Frank Fahrenkopf, 73, in July.
INSURANCE
Allstate assesses costs
Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer with a regional operation based in Hudson, said catastrophes cost the company $359 million before tax in the first quarter. The sum includes $198 million from March, the Northbrook, Illinois-based company said.
EARNINGS
GE profits up
General Electric Corp. earnings rose in the first quarter on increased profit from selling aircraft engines and transportation equipment and the sale of the NBC broadcasting company. But results were held back by economic conditions in Europe that were worse than expected.
GE reported net income of $3.5 billion, or 34 cents per share, on revenue of $35 billion. During last year’s first quarter, GE earned $3 billion, or 29 cents per share, on $35.2 billion in revenue. Adjusted to reflect earnings only from continuing operations, GE earned 35 cents per share.
McDonald’s profit flat
McDonald’s Corp. posted first-quarter profit that was little changed as same-store sales dropped in the U.S. for the first time since 2003 amid soft global demand. Net income was about $1.27 billion, or $1.26 share, compared with $1.27 billion, or $1.23, a year earlier. Analysts projected $1.26, the average of 29 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue climbed 1 percent to $6.61 billion in the quarter. Analysts estimated $6.59 billion, on average.
INVESTING
Dell bidder withdraws
Blackstone Group is dropping its effort to acquire computer maker Dell, citing slumping personal computer sales and Dell’s “rapidly eroding financial profile.”
Blackstone and its partners said in a letter to Dell Inc. that they have ditched a plan to buy most of Dell’s outstanding stock for $14.25 per share. The letter was from the group to a special committee of Dell board members. The letter noted that PC shipments plunged by 14 percent in the first quarter, and Dell has lowered its operating income forecast for this year to $3 billion from $3.7 billion.
Merger idea coming?
Investor Nelson Peltz has disclosed stakes in Mondelez and PepsiCo, following earlier reports that the billionaire could be pushing for a marriage between the sweet and salty snack giants.
PepsiCo said it has held meetings with Peltz’s Trian Fund Management in recent weeks to consider its “ideas and initiatives” for long-term growth.
Peltz’s disclosures come at a sensitive time. Mondelez, which makes Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates, has stumbled in its first quarters as an independent company after splitting from Kraft Foods.
PepsiCo, which makes Frito-Lay, Tropicana and Quaker Oats, is reviewing restructuring options for its underperforming North American beverage business. Analysts have speculated that PepsiCo would want to buy another snack food maker to remain as big as it is today.
Compiled from staff and wire reports