Business news briefs for 02/02/12
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NiSource Inc. plans to build a 90-mile, $145 million pipeline through Western Pennsylvania to get gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale to market, the Indiana-based firm announced Wednesday. The company, which owns Canonsburg-based Columbia Gas, did not disclose details on the location or the shale producer that's already signed on as a client.
• Education Management Corp. reported that net income in the second quarter fell 26 percent to $63.1 million, or 49 cents per share, from $85.3 million, or 61 cents per share, a year ago. That's 2 cents better than analysts expected, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. Revenue dropped 4.5 percent to $737.2 million from $771.9 million last year. The company also reported that student enrollment is down 9.3 percent from last year. Last week the company laid off workers in its online division.
• ThermoFisher Scientific, Inc. on Wednesday reported that its fourth quarter revenues increased 15 percent to a record $3.13 billion, with a 23 percent jump in its adjusted earnings per share to $1.18, also a record. For the year, Thermo Fisher's adjusted earnings per share was $4.16, compared with $3.46 a year earlier. The company had revenues of $11.73 billion, an 11 percent increase from the 2010 total of $10.57 billion. The Waltham, Mass., scientific instrument maker has about 1,500 employees in the Pittsburgh area.
Natural gas futures fell for a third day in New York after Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. gas producer, said it hasn't curbed drilling even though rising U.S. output and mild weather have driven prices to a 10-year low. Gas has tumbled 20 percent this year, the biggest loser on the Standard & Poor's GSCI commodity index. Chesapeake Energy Corp. and ConocoPhillips last week announced output cuts. Natural gas for March delivery fell 10 cents, or 4 percent, to $2.403 per million British thermal units at 2:06 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dropping to $2.355.
U.S. auto sales are off to a strong start this year. Ford Motor Co.'s sales rose 7 percent with the company reporting that the Pittsburgh region ranked sixth in volume in the nation as local sales also rose 7 percent. Chrysler's January sales nationwide jumped 44 percent. General Motors Co.'s sales fell 6 percent as demand for its trucks and crossovers fell. Other automakers saw increases: Toyota Motor Corp. up 7.5 percent; Volkswagen, up 48 percent; Nissan Motor Co., up 10 percent and Hyundai Motor Co., up 15 percent.
U.S. factory work grew in January at the fastest pace in seven months, boosted by a rise in new orders. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Wednesday that its manufacturing index rose last month to 54.1 from 53.1 in December. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
First Published February 2, 2012 12:00 am
