July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Eye Center Group to liquidate assets
Business Roundup
An investigation into financial mismanagement and possible theft has left the Eye Center Group, a Muncie-based firm which operates an office in Portland, in turmoil.
Attorneys for the company, which also operates offices in Winchester, Richmond, Fort Wayne, Marion, Kokomo, Connersville and Greenville, Ohio, announced recently in a letter to creditors that it is more than $20 million in debt.
In the letter, attorney Jennifer Abrell said the company does not plan to declare bankruptcy, but instead will liquidate assets. That liquidation is expected to generate less than $10 million, the letter stated.
It is unclear what effects will be seen in the local offices, including the Portland location staffed by optometrist Dr. David Fullenkamp. Local staff referred all requests for comment to the group's Muncie office.
Rod Russell, public information officer for the Redkey post of the Indiana State Police, confirmed recently that ISP is conducting an investigation into a theft from the company.
A memo from Lynnette Watkins, an eye doctor and chairman of the Eye Center Group board of directors, indicated that the Portland, Fort Wayne, Winchester, and Richmond offices would be formed into a smaller group, while the Muncie, Marion and Kokomo offices would comprise another group under the reorganization plan.
The Eye Center Group is being sued by one of its own ophthalmologists, Dr. Jeffrey Rapkin, who claims he is owed $9,140 from 2008 and an unspecified amount from 2009.
Expanding
Ethanol producer POET is planning a $3.5 billion pipeline that would deliver fuel from South Dakota to the northeast United States.
The pipeline would begin in Davison County, S.D., and would take fuel being produced in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana - including a plant in Portland - and Ohio, to distribution terminals in the northeast.
The company produces nearly a billion gallons in South Dakota and was hoping to extend the line further from its original starting point in O'Brien County, Iowa.
The project is dependent upon technical review and the U.S. Department of Energy's loan guarantee program.
Starting
Delaware County-based Brevini Wind began taking applications this week and will soon begin construction on its 132,000 square foot manufacturing building.
The company began taking applications this week at the Sixth Congressional District Job Fair at Ball State.
The company plans to employ more than 400 people by 2011 assembling gearboxes for commercial wind turbines.
Construction on the manufacturing facility is expected to begin in the near future in Delaware County.
Sales fall
Tighter inventory controls helped Wal-Mart Stores Inc. earn more than Wall Street forecast in its second quarter, but the key barometer of same-stores sales fell at the world's largest retailer - a worrisome confirmation of broad weakness in consumer spending.
The Associated Press reported Wal-Mart boosted the low end of its annual profit outlook as it accelerates cost-cutting measures, but it said the economy will remain challenging in coming months and force shoppers to keep seeking low prices and small packages. It doesn't expect big improvement in the holiday season either.
The sobering report came as the Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent last month, underscoring worries about when the U.S. will recover from the worst recession since World War II. Economists had expected a gain of 0.7 percent.
As for the holidays, Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe told reporters during a conference call he's "hopeful that it will be better than last year."
Wal-Mart earned $3.44 billion, or 88 cents per share, in the quarter that ended July 31. That compares with $3.45 billion, or 87 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 1.4 percent to $100.08 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters projected earnings per share of 85 cents on revenue of $102.9 billion.
For the current quarter, which ends Oct. 30, Wal-Mart expects to earn 78 cents to 82 cents per share, including a 3-cent hit from currency exchange rates, while analysts forecast profit of 80 cents per share.
Wal-Mart shares rose 64 cents to $51.15 in early morning trading, as investors appeared pleased the company was stepping up its cost cuts.
But same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, slipped 1.2 percent during the period, compared with a 4.3 percent gain a year earlier, when consumers spending their government stimulus checks boosted sales.
Wal-Mart stopped its monthly report of same-store sales - which have continued weak at most chain retailers including discounters - after it announced its April results.
It had forecast flat to 3 percent higher same-store sales for the quarter.
Wal-Mart predicts same-store sales in the current quarter will be flat to 2 percent higher than in the same period a year earlier.[[In-content Ad]]
Attorneys for the company, which also operates offices in Winchester, Richmond, Fort Wayne, Marion, Kokomo, Connersville and Greenville, Ohio, announced recently in a letter to creditors that it is more than $20 million in debt.
In the letter, attorney Jennifer Abrell said the company does not plan to declare bankruptcy, but instead will liquidate assets. That liquidation is expected to generate less than $10 million, the letter stated.
It is unclear what effects will be seen in the local offices, including the Portland location staffed by optometrist Dr. David Fullenkamp. Local staff referred all requests for comment to the group's Muncie office.
Rod Russell, public information officer for the Redkey post of the Indiana State Police, confirmed recently that ISP is conducting an investigation into a theft from the company.
A memo from Lynnette Watkins, an eye doctor and chairman of the Eye Center Group board of directors, indicated that the Portland, Fort Wayne, Winchester, and Richmond offices would be formed into a smaller group, while the Muncie, Marion and Kokomo offices would comprise another group under the reorganization plan.
The Eye Center Group is being sued by one of its own ophthalmologists, Dr. Jeffrey Rapkin, who claims he is owed $9,140 from 2008 and an unspecified amount from 2009.
Expanding
Ethanol producer POET is planning a $3.5 billion pipeline that would deliver fuel from South Dakota to the northeast United States.
The pipeline would begin in Davison County, S.D., and would take fuel being produced in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana - including a plant in Portland - and Ohio, to distribution terminals in the northeast.
The company produces nearly a billion gallons in South Dakota and was hoping to extend the line further from its original starting point in O'Brien County, Iowa.
The project is dependent upon technical review and the U.S. Department of Energy's loan guarantee program.
Starting
Delaware County-based Brevini Wind began taking applications this week and will soon begin construction on its 132,000 square foot manufacturing building.
The company began taking applications this week at the Sixth Congressional District Job Fair at Ball State.
The company plans to employ more than 400 people by 2011 assembling gearboxes for commercial wind turbines.
Construction on the manufacturing facility is expected to begin in the near future in Delaware County.
Sales fall
Tighter inventory controls helped Wal-Mart Stores Inc. earn more than Wall Street forecast in its second quarter, but the key barometer of same-stores sales fell at the world's largest retailer - a worrisome confirmation of broad weakness in consumer spending.
The Associated Press reported Wal-Mart boosted the low end of its annual profit outlook as it accelerates cost-cutting measures, but it said the economy will remain challenging in coming months and force shoppers to keep seeking low prices and small packages. It doesn't expect big improvement in the holiday season either.
The sobering report came as the Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent last month, underscoring worries about when the U.S. will recover from the worst recession since World War II. Economists had expected a gain of 0.7 percent.
As for the holidays, Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe told reporters during a conference call he's "hopeful that it will be better than last year."
Wal-Mart earned $3.44 billion, or 88 cents per share, in the quarter that ended July 31. That compares with $3.45 billion, or 87 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 1.4 percent to $100.08 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters projected earnings per share of 85 cents on revenue of $102.9 billion.
For the current quarter, which ends Oct. 30, Wal-Mart expects to earn 78 cents to 82 cents per share, including a 3-cent hit from currency exchange rates, while analysts forecast profit of 80 cents per share.
Wal-Mart shares rose 64 cents to $51.15 in early morning trading, as investors appeared pleased the company was stepping up its cost cuts.
But same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, slipped 1.2 percent during the period, compared with a 4.3 percent gain a year earlier, when consumers spending their government stimulus checks boosted sales.
Wal-Mart stopped its monthly report of same-store sales - which have continued weak at most chain retailers including discounters - after it announced its April results.
It had forecast flat to 3 percent higher same-store sales for the quarter.
Wal-Mart predicts same-store sales in the current quarter will be flat to 2 percent higher than in the same period a year earlier.[[In-content Ad]]
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