Feb. 8 / Potlatch's earnings rise
Spokane-based Potlatch Corp. reported net income of $8.9 million, or 22 cents a diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with earnings of $2.9 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. For all of 2010, the company reported earnings of $40.3 million, or $1 per diluted share, compared with $77.3 million, or $1.93 per share, in 2009. Michael Covey, chairman, president, and CEO of Potlatch, said the company's outlook for 2011 remains cautious, with market improvements expected in 2012 and 2013.
Feb. 4 / Cities to form regional garbage board
Nine municipalities and Spokane County agreed during a two-day summit to form a representative board to control the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, which currently is controlled by the city of Spokane and Spokane County. The board would have authority to negotiate with Spokane for use of its waste-to-energy plant, or with some other garbage-disposal entity. Wheelabrator Spokane Inc.'s contract to operate the garbage incinerator ends in November.
Feb. 3 / Sterling appoints Rusnak as CFO
Sterling Financial Corp., the Spokane-based parent of Sterling Savings Bank, appointed Patrick J. Rusnak as chief financial officer, subject to regulatory approval. Rusnak was an executive at AmericanWest Bank here from 2006 to 2010. He was appointed CEO at AmericanWest in 2008 and steered the bank through bankruptcy and its sale to private investors. Rusnak succeeds Daniel G. Byrne, who was CFO of Sterling for 28 years. Byrne will remain with Sterling as a corporate development executive.
Feb. 1 / Key Tronic's net holds steady
Key Tronic Corp., the Spokane Valley-based contract manufacturer, reported net income of $1.7 million, or 17 cents a diluted share, for its fiscal 2011 second quarter ended Jan. 1, which was identical to its net income in the year-earlier period. The company said its total revenues for the quarter were $61 million, up from $44.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. The net income results reflect increased material and operational expenses associated with new products and program startups, the company said.
Jan. 27 / Passenger numbers, air cargo up at SIA
Spokane International Airport reported that about 137,700 passengers departed from the airport in December, up 3.9 percent from the year-earlier month. A total of about 3.18 million passengers arrived at or departed from SIA in 2010, up 4 percent from 2009. The airport also said about 5,400 tons of cargo moved through SIA in December, a 10.2 percent increase from the year-earlier month. In all of 2010, about 47,700 tons of cargo moved through the airport, up 1.8 percent from 2009.
Jan. 27 / Medical school left off budget list
The Washington state Office of Financial Management said construction of a four-year medical school building isn't on a list of proposed higher education projects for the 2011- 2013 budget. The building, estimated to cost $70.8 million, exceeds the most expensive higher-education project on the list—EWU's Patterson Hall—by more than $30 million. The OFM said only projects that are "shovel-ready" made the funding list for this biennium. The list of higher-education funding requests sent to the Legislature includes 13 projects, for a total of $140 million, which would be paid for through bond sales.
Jan. 25 / Sterling reports curtailed losses
Sterling Financial Corp., the Spokane-based parent of Sterling Savings bank, reported a fourth-quarter 2010 net loss of $38.1 million, down sharply from a $328.7 million net loss in the year-earlier quarter. For all of 2010, Sterling reported a net loss of $224.3 million, down from a net loss of $838.1 million in 2009. During 2010, Sterling raised $730 million in equity capital, converted U.S. Treasury stock to common stock, and completed the merger of Sterling Savings Bank with Golf Savings Bank.