April 30 / AmericanWest pulls TARP application, posts loss
AmericanWest Bancorp., Spokane parent of AmericanWest Bank, withdrew its application to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for $57 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program money, partly because it couldn't complete a required private-equity co-investment in time. Also, it reported a first-quarter net loss of $14.5 million, or 84 cents a share, compared with a loss of $4.6 million, or 26 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

April 29 / Avista's earnings rise
Avista Corp., of Spokane, reported first-quarter net income of $31 million, or 57 cents a diluted share, up from $25.2 million, or 47 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Chairman, President, and CEO Scott Morris said the company's hydroelectric generation was "significantly better" last quarter than in the year-earlier quarter, and Avista also is experiencing lower purchased power and fuel prices, as well as decreased natural gas costs.

April 29 / Itron reports $19 million loss
Itron Inc., the Liberty Lake-based maker of automated meter-reading technology, reported it had a first-quarter net loss of $19.7 million, or 55 cents a diluted share, down from net income of $953,000, or 3 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008. It said it had total revenues of $389 million in the latest quarter, which was down $90 million, or 19 percent, from the year-earlier quarter. President and CEO Malcolm Unsworth said that while Itron is seeing the effects of the U.S. economic slowdown, and the strong dollar had hurt its international sales, it had strong order bookings and record backlog.

April 28 / Potlatch Corp.'s earnings rise
Potlatch Corp., of Spokane, announced first-quarter net income of $24.8 million, or 62 cents a diluted share, more than double the $10.3 million, or 26 cents a share, it earned in the 2008 first quarter. The company said its real estate segment had strong results, due mostly to a large land sale in Arkansas, but its resource segment, which produces sawlogs and pulp, posted lower earnings due partly to reduced harvest and pricing levels, and its wood-products segment posted an $11.2 million operating loss due to continuing weak market conditions.

April 28 / Hecla's net income falls
Hecla Mining Co., of Coeur d'Alene, reported first-quarter net income of $3.9 million, or 2 cents a share, down from $12.1 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The latest results include a $6.2 million gain on the sale of Hecla's Velardena mill in Mexico and a gain of $9 million associated with the curtailment of a corporate non-pension benefit plan. The company said it's on track to hit production and cost targets, reversing a 2008 trend of rising costs.

April 28 / Key Tronic's earnings dip
Key Tronic Corp., the Spokane Valley-based contract manufacturer, announced it had net income of $300,000, or 3 cents a diluted share, for its fiscal 2009 third quarter ended March 28, down from $1.2 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenues were $44.2 million, down sharply from $51.5 million. The company said it continues to see a slowdown in orders from current customers, but that it picked up several new orders in the last quarter involving military electronics, computer networking, and telecommunications.

April 23 / Sterling posts $24.8 million net loss
Sterling Financial Corp., the Spokane-based parent of Sterling Savings Bank, reported first-quarter net loss applicable to common shareholders of $24.8 million, or 48 cents a diluted share, down from net income of $2.9 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. It said the loss reflected a $65.9 million provision for credit losses, but noted that its core banking operations performed solidly, with income from mortgage banking activities rising 115 percent year over year, revenues climbing 6 percent, and total deposits increasing 8 percent to a record $8.49 billion. It also said that its capital and liquidity positions remain strong.

April 23 / County building department cuts hours
Spokane County's Building and Planning Department said it will be closed on Fridays beginning May 9 to save money because its revenue is down by about 20 percent this year. The reduction amounts to a pay cut for the department's 39 employees and is similar to actions taken in other Washington state counties, said John Pederson, the county's interim planning director. He said the reduced hours were negotiated with two unions that represent employees in the department and will be reviewed each month, though its agreement with the unions continues through March 2010.