Another biotech issues warnings on future profits
Published 9:00 pm Monday, October 16, 2006
SonoSite Inc. of Bothell, which makes hand-carried ultrasound machines, said it expects a sharp drop in third-quarter profits. The company expects profits of 1 cent or 2 cents per share, down from 9 cents per share, or $1.45 million, in the year-ago period. The company said revenue rose 16 percent, to $40 million, in the third quarter, less than the $41 million to $44 million it forecast in July. In after-hours trading late Monday, SonoSite’s stock price fell by 12 percent to less than $27 per share.
Technology tests boost Lumera stock
Shares of Bothell-based Lumera Corp. surged 216 percent on extraordinary volume after the nanotechnology company announced a successful test of new telecommunications technology. The company, a one-time spinoff of Microvision Inc., said the new product will allow government agencies and businesses to transmit a vast amount of data through networks. When trading ended Monday, Lumera shares were up $3.42, rising from $1.58 to $5 a share.
Clear Channel wins transit contract
Texas-based Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc., an outdoor advertising firm, has received a contract for advertising in and on the 270 buses operated by Snohomish County’s Community Transit. Financial terms of the contract weren’t disclosed.
Alaska oil field back in business
Production has been nearly restored to the Prudhoe Bay oil field where high winds last week coated electrical insulators with dirt, temporarily shutting down the nation’s largest oil field. Production stood at more than 350,000 barrels Monday, with electrical service restored to all the main oil production facilities and workers’ camps at the BP PLC-operated field in extreme northern Alaska, said BP Alaska spokesman Steve Rinehart. Production was expected to increase to a near capacity of 400,000 barrels a day over the next few days.
Elmo maker tops expected profit
Mattel Inc., the world’s largest toy maker, said Monday that third-quarter earnings had risen 6 percent to top Wall Street’s expectations, lifted by strong sales of Fisher-Price products such as TMX Elmo, “Cars”-branded items and girls’ brands such as Polly Pocket and Pixel Chix. The company also said robust third-quarter sales may portend a good holiday season. Mattel’s shares rose nearly 3 percent in Monday trading.
T-bill rates rise in Monday’s auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.94 percent, up from 4.85 percent last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 4.935 percent, up from 4.89 percent last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,875.13 while a six-month bill sold for $9,750.51. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable rate mortgages, had risen to 5.03 percent last week from 4.9 percent the previous week.
