Ardagh forecasts strong earnings

Ardagh Group, parent company of glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, is now forecasting earnings of 1.33 billion Euros this year before interest, taxes and amortization.
Chairman Paul Coulson made that forecast in a conference call with financial analysts, The Irish Independent reported this week.
For the quarter that ended at the end of June, Ardagh had revenue of 1.28 billion Euros, which was in line with the same period last year.
The Luxembourg-based company is carrying 7.36 billion Euros in debt, with 3.9 billion Euros of that amount related to bonds issued to finance the acquisition of metal beverage container business in Europe from Ball Corporation and Rexam. That acquisition was completed June 30, and income from those new assets aren’t reflected in the most recent quarterly results.
Ardagh’s glass packaging business reported revenue of 800 million Euros in the quarter.

Allegheny acts
Allegheny Technologies Inc., parent company of Portland Forge, this week announced several actions aimed at improving the company’s financial performance.
The company is going to indefinitely idle its Rowley, Utah, titanium sponge production facility and consolidate some titanium manufacturing operations in Albany, Oregon.
A company press release said the actions are expected to improve ATI’s annual operating income by about $50 million beginning next year.
“We are focused and committed to return ATI to sustainable profitable growth and improve cash flow,” said Rich Harshman, ATI’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement. “Using a disciplined process, we continually review all of our operations and facilities from both a strategic and cost competitiveness viewpoint.”

Adds 360
Troxel Equipment has signed a dealership agreement to see and support 360 Yield Center products in this region.
In early June, John Deere announced a multi-national allied distribution agreement with 360 Yield Center.
That endorsement by John Deere of 360’s Y-Drop and Undercover application products led Troxel to move forward.
“We feel we are in a good position to help growers with their in-season nitrogen and plant health needs,” a Troxel spokesman said.
The agreement allows Troxel Equipment to sell all products offered by 360 Yield Center.

Miss expectations
Dollar Tree, which merged with Family Dollar a year ago, reported second quarter revenue of $5 billion and a profit of $170.2 million for the three months ending July 30.
But those figures missed Wall Street expectations, sending the company’s stock price down nearly 10 percent on Thursday.
Virginia-based Dollar Tree said that as part of the merger it expects to cut 370 jobs at Family Dollar’s headquarters in Matthews, North Carolina.
Family Dollar had 7,945 stores at the end of the quarter, while Dollar Tree had 6,184, including the re-branded Family Dollars and Deals stores.
Bob Sasser, Dollar Tree chief executive officer, told stock analysts in a conference call that taxes, rent, and health care costs are still putting pressure on consumers and consumer spending.
“I think that’s the No. 1 issue we see out there,” he said.

Honored
Krista Hoevel, Portland, director of counseling services for residential progams at the Youth Opportunity Center was recently honored with the 2016 Bobby Jones Award for Excellence at the August conference of the Indiana Association of Juvenile Sexual Offender Practitioners.
Hoevel, who holds a bachelor’s degre from Purdue University and a master’s degree in counseling from Ball State University, was instrumental in developing the YOC’s SMART (Sexually Maladaptive Adolescents in Residential Treatment) program.
She joined the YOC as a counselor in 2005 and was promoted to director of counseling in 2010.
She has twice received the YOC’s Clinical Award for Distinction.

Certified
First Bank of Berne announced this week that Peter Schmidt, vice president and information security officer, has earned the Certified Information Security Manager Designation from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.
Schmidt joined the bank in 2010 and is a 2015 graduate of the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wisconsin.
The ISACA was established in 1969 and focuses on the area of security, risk, privacy and information systems.

Declare dividend
MainSource Financial Group has declared a third quarter common dividend of 15 cents per share, payable Sept. 15 to common shareholders of record as of Sept. 1.
MainSource Financial Group, a financial holding company with assets of about $4 billion, has MainSource Bank branches in Jay County. It operates 91 full-service offices throughout Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio through its banking subsidiary MainSource Bank, headquartered in Greensburg, Indiana.

Big day
Moser Engineering’s Sportsman Shootout will boast a strong line-up at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, today for the North Central Division Lucas Oil Finals.
The Shootout is unique in that racers from seven entirely different class structures will be racing each other head-to-head to see who is the best of the best. 
The top two in Moser points in Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster along with two additional “Wild Card” entries drawn from an online registration will make up the 16-car field.
Portland-based Moser Engineering is a leader is the manufacture of axles for the racing and custom markets.