Noble International Raises Annual Dividend
The board of directors for automotive parts supplier Noble International has approved an increase in its annual dividend to $0.40 per share of common stock. The higher payout represents an increase of 25 percent from the current annual dividend of $0.32 per common share. The new quarterly payout of $0.10 per common share will be paid on the next quarterly dividend.
Goodyear to Seek Millions in Loans
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., on the verge of posting its third straight annual loss, said Tuesday it plans to take on an additional $300 million in loans to fund its turnaround. The Akron, Ohio, company said it is also taking steps to follow through on a promise made last year to the United Steelworkers of America to complete a large bond sale. The sale is designed to improve the company’s strength and protect union jobs.
ArvinMeritor Reports Fiscal Year 2004 First-Quarter Results
ArvinMeritor reported sales of $2.2 billion and net income of $19 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, for its first fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2003. This is compared to the prior year’s first-quarter net income of $32 million, or $0.47 per diluted share. Results for the first quarter of 2004 include a net charge of $0.09 per diluted share as a result of the company’s decision to withdraw its tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dana Corp. This charge includes $16 million of pre-tax costs, partially offset by a pre-tax gain of $7 million on the sale of Dana stock owned by the company.
Tenneco Automotive Reports Fourth Quarter, Full Year Operating Results
Tenneco Automotive has reported a fourth quarter net loss of $2 million, or four cents per diluted share, compared with fourth quarter 2002 net income of $9 million, or 21 cents per diluted share. The company reported full year 2003 net income of $27 million, or 65 cents per diluted share, compared with net income before an accounting change in 2002 of $31 million, or 74 cents per diluted share.
Fusor Named Preferred Supplier by Keystone Automotive
Keystone Automotive has named Lord Corporation’s Fusor Automotive Repair Adhesives a preferred supplier. Fusor Automotive is a provider of metal and composite bonding solutions for automotive body repair. Lord Corp. provides its full product-line of Fusor Automotive Repair Adhesives to Keystone Automotive Industries, specifically their adhesives for metal bonding, plastic repair and bumper repair; as well as their seam sealers and foams. According to the Keystone supplier performance summary, Lord earned 100 points on a rating scale with a total possible 100 points. Program criteria included quality, order fill rate and order lead-time.
Who’s Buying Whom?
Who owns the suppliers of today? New owners include leveraged buyout firms, putting a new spin on the old consolidation trend. In the wake of Dana’s announcement to sell off its aftermarket businesses comes the speculation of who will buy it. Water cooler conversations in the office haven’t exactly been at a fevered pitch. That’s a dramatic change from just a few short years ago when SPX was trying to make a hostile purchase of Echlin (which ultimately ended up in the hands of Dana), or when Federal-Mogul was buying up companies as part of former CEO Dick Snell’s major consolidation plan. Those were the good old days of major aftermarket acquisitions. Now, we’re left to ponder the fate of the Dana Automotive Aftermarket Group. The big question is: Who among the current base of manufacturers is a candidate to make such a large acquisition?
Superchips Opens New Facility in Florida
Superchips Inc., manufacturers of Max MicroTuners, has opened a new facility in Sanford, Fla. The new 30,000-square-foot building houses Superchips’ corporate offices, manufacturing, research and development facilities.
Timken Announces Results for 2003
The Timken Co. has reported record sales of $3.8 billion for 2003, a 49 percent increase from the prior year. Excluding the impact of the February 2003 acquisition of The Torrington Co., sales grew approximately 8 percent, including 3 percent related to foreign currency translation, the company said.
Delphi Earnings Decline
Auto-parts maker Delphi Corp. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter net earnings sank to $82 million as it paid for a major restructuring program it launched in October, which included 8,500 job cuts. Net income for the quarter was 15 cents a share, down from $119 million, or 21 cents, in the same period a year earlier.
ArvinMeritor Secures $200-Million Suspension Module Contract
ArvinMeritor’s Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) business group has been awarded a new, annual $200-million light vehicle suspension systems contract for the final assembly of front- and rear-cross car modules to begin production in the fourth quarter of October 2005. The identity of the customer, and terms of the contract were not disclosed.