Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Business Today

TECO expects lower 3rd-quarter income

By wire services
Published October 14, 2005

TECO Energy Inc. said Thursday that lost business and damage caused by Hurricane Katrina will lower third-quarter net income at its TECO Transport subsidiary by about $6-million. The Tampa utility also said it expects the subsidiary's fourth-quarter results to reflect the effect of repair costs and lost business. Katrina forced the shutdown of TECO Transport's bulk terminal in Davant, La., which is used to process coal shipments. TECO said the terminal partially reopened on Wednesday.

Fair authority signs catering contract

The Florida State Fair Authority board on Thursday approved a 10-year catering and concessions contract with Boston Culinary Group Inc. Boston Culinary will provide food and beverage service at the Florida State Fairground's permanent restaurant and banquet facilities and will have the right to provide food service at other facilities at the fairgrounds east of Tampa. Boston Culinary will pay the authority $750,000, of which $500,000 will be used by the company and the authority to improve fairground food and beverage facilities. The remaining money will be used by the authority for capital needs. The contract takes effect Nov. 1 and replaces a pact held by Concessions By Cox since 1998.

UTEK Corp. will move to Ybor City from Plant City early next year after buying a two-building property on Palm Avenue in Tampa. The company, which acquires promising technologies from universities, paid $3.15-million for the 27,000-square-foot parcel owned by Ybor City Group. The seller accepted 119,134 shares of UTEK stock plus a $1.5-million mortgage for the property, which is about 65 percent occupied. UTEK plans to move to the top floor of one building and lease the rest of the space. Among current tenants is Hillsborough Community College.

HCA Inc. said earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30 will be affected by about $33-million, or 5 cents a share, in damages to its Gulf Coast hospitals by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Nashville hospital company, which has nine hospitals in the Tampa Bay area, said it expects to report a profit of 61 to 63 cents a share for the third quarter, down from analysts' estimate of 66 cents a share. Hurricane losses will be offset by a tax benefit of about $22-million, or 5 cents a share, from the repatriation of foreign earnings. The company will report results for the latest quarter on Oct. 25. Also, the company said it will rebuy $2.5-billion of its shares.

A former Radisson Riverwalk hotel in Tampa was reflagged Thursday as the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel. The 277-room hotel has undergone an $8.5-million renovation since May, which expanded meeting and convention space to 15,000 square feet.

NEW YORK - Americans may have seen the last of long-term mortgage rates below 6 percent, and borrowing costs for home buyers likely will climb further, slowing frenetic demand that has stoked U.S. housing in recent years.

Realtors have spotted a drop in the appetite for housing in recent months, and a survey of lenders from Freddie Mac on Thursday found that rates for 30-year mortgages - a popular home loan - have crested 6 percent for the first time since March. This week's 6.03 percent for 30-year mortgages is the second highest level of the year.

AmSouth Bancorp, one of the largest banks operating in Florida, said Thursday it has complied with a one-year, deferred-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and that the agreement has expired.

AmSouth said it continues to work closely with state and federal regulators to demonstrate its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and related regulations.

Britain's Manchester United soccer team said Thursday it has withdrawn its proposal to build a gambling casino complex adjacent to Old Trafford, its home stadium.

The team, which was taken over this year by Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer, had applied for permission to build a casino at the site with Las Vegas Sands Corp. but decided to consider other uses for the land.

Although the National Football League bars team owners from owning stakes in casinos, Manchester said its decision was unrelated to Glazer's takeover. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday he hadn't been aware of any concerns among other team owners about Manchester's casino plans.

[Last modified October 14, 2005, 01:40:20]