Biz Briefs: Frontier Financial Corp. says lawsuit ‘without merit’

Published 10:25 pm Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Frontier Financial Corp. responded to a pending class-action lawsuit Tuesday, saying allegations that the bank misled shareholders are “without merit.” The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, claims the parent company of Frontier Bank issued false and misleading statements about how badly real estate investment damaged the bank’s profitability. The claim comes after federal regulators adjusted the bank’s 2009 losses earlier this year. A statement filed with the Security and Exchange Commission said: “The Corporation, its directors and officers named as defendants believe that the plaintiffs’ allegations are without merit and intend to vigorously defend this action. It is possible that additional complaints containing similar claims may be made by other plaintiffs. As is typical in these types of claims, it is likely that all such cases will be consolidated into a single action.” Under order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. earlier this year, Frontier adjusted its fourth-quarter losses to $70.2 million, more than doubling the figure previously released. The change brought the bank’s total losses for 2009 up to $295 million instead of $259 million.

Apple’s net income

increases 90 percent

Apple says its net income in the most recent quarter jumped 90 percent, helped by strong iPhone and Macintosh computer sales. Its results blew past Wall Street’s expectations. Apple Inc. says it sold nearly 9 million of its popular smart phones in the three months that ended March 27, more than double sales from a year ago. The company sold almost 3 million Macs, a 33 percent increase. IPod unit sales edged down 1 percent — but Apple still sold 10 million of the digital players. Apple says it earned $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per share.

Coke earnings

up 19 percent

Coca-Cola Co.’s first-quarter profit climbed 19 percent as the world’s largest drink maker continued to expand rapidly overseas. That offset persistent weakness in the U.S. as shoppers skimped on buying soda, water, juices and teas. The results were weaker than analyst expectations. The company earned $1.61 billion, or 69 cents per share, in the quarter ending April 2. That’s up from earnings of $1.35 billion, or 58 cents a share, in the same period last year.