Business digest

GENERAL DYNAMICS GETS CONTRACT: General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in St. Petersburg has received a $7.8-million contract from the Army. The contract is part of a $66.3-million order for demilitarization of six families of munitions from 20mm ammunition to 2,000-pound bombs. Work is to be completed by November 2005. The St. Petersburg plant, formerly Primex Technologies, is a business unit of General Dynamics Corp. of Falls Church, Va.

PHONE COMPANY TO ENTER FLORIDA: A Mississippi telephone company that ran afoul of state regulators has received approval to provide local phone and other services in Florida. EXpeTel Communications operates through an interconnection agreement with BellSouth, its primary competitor, and piggybacks its service on BellSouth's lines. BellSouth has claimed eXpeTel misled consumers into thinking the companies were the same. Mississippi regulators ordered eXpeTel to halt its telemarketing after receiving complaints of alleged "slamming," or illegally switching a telephone customer's service without permission.

CONVICTION OF EX-SOTHEBY'S CHAIRMAN STANDS: Former Sotheby's chairman A. Alfred Taubman, scheduled to start a year in prison next week, has lost a bid to reverse his conviction for fixing prices with rival auctioneer Christie's International. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited overwhelming evidence of Taubman's guilt in rejecting his claim that rulings by the judge who presided over his case denied him a fair trial.

WORLDCOM INDICTMENTS EXPECTED: Federal prosecutors plan to charge former officers of WorldCom next week for their suspected roles in the massive financial wrongdoing at the bankrupt telecommunications giant, a law enforcement official said. The Wall Street Journal reported that former chief financial officer Scott Sullivan and former controller David Myers are expected to be indicted on a variety of charges related to billions of dollars in accounting frauds at the company. The government also is likely to seek the indictment of former chief executive Bernard Ebbers, the Journal reported.

INSURANCE COMPANY'S LICENSE SUSPENDED: Florida Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher suspended the license of United Wisconsin Life Insurance Co., accusing the company of deceptive and unfair underwriting practices. United Wisconsin has about 30,000 policyholders in Florida; the insurance department did not have a further breakdown. Gallagher accused the company of "reunderwriting" policyholders after they became ill, then raising their rates as much as 200 percent in a year. Under the order, United Wisconsin is banned from writing new policies for a year but can keep its existing business. The company has 30 days to appeal.

Earnings

Outback Steakhouse Inc.

Earnings at the Tampa restaurant company rose 16 percent in the quarter ended June 30, partly because it added 95 new locations during the prior 12 months. Same-store sales at its flagship steakhouse chain fell 0.5 percent in the United States, while domestic Carrabba's Italian Grills posted a 1.5 percent increase.

Shells Seafood Restaurants Inc.

The Tampa seafood chain showed improved earnings for the quarter ended June 30 despite an 11.1 percent drop in same-store sales. Shells closed nine restaurants during the latest quarter, leaving it with 29 stores in Florida.

Franklin Resources Inc.

Despite volatile conditions in the stock market, the San Mateo, Calif., manager of the Franklin and Templeton mutual funds reported a 5 percent gain in net income in its fiscal third quarter ended June 30, matching Wall Street expectations. Franklin, which employs about 1,100 people at Franklin Templeton Investor Services in St. Petersburg, said sales and reinvested dividends exceeded redemptions for the seventh consecutive quarter.

First Citrus Bank

The young and fast-growing Tampa bank increased assets to $73.2-million in the quarter ended June 30, up from $58-million a year ago.

Xerox Corp.

The struggling copier and printer company reported its first net profit in more than a year and issued an upbeat forecast for the second half of the year. The results easily beat the expectations of analysts, who predicted a loss of 2 cents a share.

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