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PictureTel Corp. (Nasdaq: PCTL), which makes products and services for videoconferencing, said CFO Arthur Fatum quit to join another company. Altman & Co. principal Ralph Takala will step in as interim CFO. The company will look for an executive with extensive restructuring experience and will likely begin a search toward the end of the summer. More Foolishness
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Hewlett-Packard said it will team with Softbank, the well-known Japanese venture group, to develop "a new e-commerce company aimed at becoming the leading e-commerce provider of information technology and capabilities to the Japanese consumer." The new company is expected to get a name later this year; the site is expected to be up and running by the fall.
More joint ventures between the companies may follow, according to a Reuters story. "We are working with many banks around the world to transform the banking process into an e-service over the Internet," said Hewlett-Packard President and COO Carly Fiorina, "and this is an area where [Softbank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son] and I are beginning conversations as well."
Softbank will handle the development and management of the site, while Hewlett-Packard will supply the new company with the hardware, software, and consulting services. Yi-Hsin Chang painted a broad look at Softbank in this October feature.
A full line of products -- from PCs to printers, digital imaging devices, and handheld computers -- will be available on the site.
For the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, Japan was perhaps the largest of Hewlett-Packard's Asian markets; one-third of the company's non-U.S. sales, which made up more than half the company's total topline, came from the Far East.
Wireless data technologies company Omnipoint Technolgies (OTI) wasn't a member of the VoiceStream (Nasdaq: VSTR) fold for long, as the wireless network operator announced plans to sell the division to mobile data access products company Xircom (Nasdaq: XIRC). VoiceStream picked up OTI last summer shortly before agreeing to acquire Aerial Communications.
USA Detergents (Nasdaq: USAD) and Arm & Hammer maker Church & Dwight (NYSE: CHD) will form Armus LLC, a partnership combining the companies' laundry detergent businesses. The combined business should begin operations early next year and has expected annual sales of more than $400 million. Church & Dwight bought 10% of USA Detergents for approximately $7 per share and has an option to buy another 5%. It will own between 55% and 65% of the venture's profits.
Spice maker and marketer McCormick & Co. (NYSE: MKC) said fiscal Q2 (ended May 31) earnings before special charges were $0.35 per share, up from last year's $0.25 and three pennies better than Wall Street expected. The 25% boost in earnings, year-over-year, comes on the heels of 4% revenue growth as operating profits improved 16% and gross margin improvements have beaten company targets. Sales growth in Asian markets outpaced other markets.
Voice messaging and call center systems supplier AVT Corp. (Nasdaq: AVTC) expects to turn in EPS between $0.05 and $0.09 for Q2, missing First Call's $0.11 estimate, as revenues will likely miss year-ago levels. "Our business has not returned to the levels we had expected for the second quarter," said Chairman and CEO Richard LaPorte. The company's press release, which addresses a number of reasons for the shortfall, can be accessed at www.avtc.com.
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