Los Angeles Economic, Social, and Demographic Data

[Westsidelife]

Maguire Shares Dip on 5th Straight Loss

By ALLEN P. ROBERTS Jr.

Shares in Maguire Properties Inc. dropped nearly 10 percent Wednesday after the company reported its fifth-straight quarterly loss.

Maguire reported a second-quarter net loss $24 million (minus 52 cents per share), greater than the loss of $15 million (minus 31 cents) the company reported in the same period a year earlier.

Revenues for the Los Angeles-based real estate investment trust were up 39 percent to $145 million.

Maguire also said in its filing that proceeds from the sale of properties during the quarter were $195 million, mainly coming from the sale of properties the company acquired in a $2.9 billion deal in April.

Shares in Maguire were down $2.64, or 9.2 percent, to $25.97 in afternoon trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Source: http://www.labusinessjournal.com/art...57&aID2=115973

[Westsidelife]

Ducommun wins $2.1M contract

Ducommun Inc.'s Ducommun Technologies Inc. subsidiary has won an Advanced Technology Development contract sponsored by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Alabama, the company said Wednesday.

The initial contract is worth $2.1 million, but if all options are exercised the contract will be worth more than $42 million, Ducommun said.

Ducommun said in a release that the program includes real-time tracking and classification of battlefield targets; long-range detection of low-frequency sources like launcher vehicles, missile launches and naturally occurring phenomenon; acoustic instrumentation of airborne surveillance; and development of advanced acoustic signal processing techniques. The program is led by a team including Miltec Research and Technology, The University of Michigan and Mississippi State University, Ducommun said.

Los Angeles-based Ducommun (NYSE: DCO) provides engineering and manufacturing services to the aerospace and defense industry.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

True Religion partners with Selective Fragrances

True Religion Apparel Inc. has signed a licensing agreement with Selective Fragrances dba New Wave Fragrances and will release True Religion brand fragrances for women and men in fall 2008, the company said Wednesday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The True Religion brand fragrances will be available in True Religion branded stores, national department stores and more than 1,000 specialty stores. The company also plans to offer the fragrance in Europe, Japan, Korea, Canada, Mexico, Australia and South America, as well as duty-free stores in the U.S. and Caribbean, True Religion said in a release.

Vernon-based True Religion Apparel (NASDAQ: TRLG) designs, manufactures and markets True Religion Apparel products, including its True Religion Brand Jeans.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Allergan earnings up in 2Q

Allergan Inc.'s earnings in the second quarter were up substantially on increased sales, the company said Wednesday.

Allergan earned $137.8 million, or 45 cents a share, in the second quarter, up from $74.2 million, or 24 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue was $988.1 million, up 23 percent from $801.7 million in the year-ago period.

Pharmaceutical sales were up 16.2 percent in the period, while core medical device sales were up 53.6 percent, Allergan said in a release.

For the first six months of the fiscal year, the company reported $1.9 billion in revenue and net income of $181.6 million, or 60 cents a share.

The company also declared a 5 cent per share second quarter dividend payable Sept. 7.

Irvine-based Allergan (NYSE: AGN) discovers, develops and commercializes products in the ophthalmology, neurosciences, medical dermatology, medical aesthetics, obesity intervention and other specialty markets.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Tetra Tech wins share of $50B GSA IT contract

Tetra Tech Inc.'s Advanced Management Technology Inc. subsidiary is one of 29 contractors chosen for the General Services Administration Alliant Government-wide Acquisition contract, the company said Wednesday.

The ten-year, multiple-award information technology contract has a $50 billion contract ceiling. It includes infrastructure, applications and management services in support of information technology requirements at federal agencies, Tetra Tech said in a release.

The Alliant contract has a five-year base period and one five-year option.

Pasadena-based Tetra Tech (NASDAQ: TTEK) provides consulting, engineering and technical services.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Health Net earnings up 23% in 2Q

Health Net Inc. reported $92 million, or 80 cents a share, in earnings in its second quarter, up from $77 million, or 65 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue was $3.5 billion in the quarter, up 6.1 percent from $3.3 billion in the year-ago period. Health plan services premium revenues were up 8.2 percent in the quarter, and membership in the company's small group and individual segment increased by 4.1 percent. Total health plan enrollment grew by 13,000 to 3.7 million members in the quarter.

The company also repurchased 360,300 shares of its common stock in the quarter at an average price of $53.07.

Los Angeles-based Health Net (NYSE: HNT) is a managed health care company.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

J2 licenses patents to Hostopia

J2 Global Communications Inc. has entered a license agreement with Hostopia.com Inc. for a non-exclusive, worldwide license to j2 Global's digital fax patent portfolio, the company said Wednesday.

The deal has a 10-year term and includes an upfront payment plus quarterly royalty payments, j2 Global said in a release. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based Hostopia.com Inc. provides web services to small and medium sized businesses.

Los Angeles-based j2 Global Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: JCOM) provides outsourced messaging and communications services.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Hilton makes development deal in Mexico

Hilton Hotels Corp. will work with Tenedora Augusta, S.A.P.I. de C.V. to develop Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels in Mexico, the company said Wednesday.

Tenedora Augusta will operate the hotels under Hampton Inn franchise agreements, Hilton said in a release. Targeted cities include Tijuana, Queretaro, Guadalajara, Cancun and Monterrey, Hilton said in a release. Hilton already has 8 Hampton hotels in Mexico. Tenedora Augusta will receive "certain preferred development rights in return for meeting certain goals and timetables," the company said in a release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Tenedora Augusta is Mexico's leading focused-service hotel developer with 1,720 rooms in 8 hotels.

Beverly Hills-based Hilton (NYSE: HLT) has more than 2,800 hotels and 480,000 rooms in 76 countries and territories.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

THQ sales down in 1Q

Despite success with shipments of Disney/Pixar's "Ratatouille" video games and strong catalog sales, THQ Inc. reported a decrease in net sales and a net loss for its first quarter.

In its first fiscal 2008 quarter, the company reported sales of $104.5 million, down from $138.8 million in the year-ago period. Net loss was $9.3 million, or 14 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $12.1 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The current quarter's results included stock-based compensation expense of 5 cents a share and a tax benefit of 10 cents a share.

Agoura Hills-based THQ (NASDAQ: THQI) is a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Sport Chalet sales up in 1Q

Sport Chalet Inc. reported an increase in sales but a net loss for its first fiscal quarter of 2008 due to a more challenging sales environment, the company said Wednesday.

The company reported sales of $91.6 million, up 8.5 percent from $84.4 million in the year-ago period. Net loss for the quarter was $664,000, or 5 cents a share, compared to a net income of $530,000, or 4 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Sport Chalet said that its expansion program is also continuing as scheduled with five new stores expected to open in the fiscal year.

Los Angeles-based Sport Chalet (NASDAQ: SPCHA) operates specialty sporting goods stores in California, Nevada and Arizona.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Big 5 sales up, earnings down in 2Q

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. reported an increase in net sales and a decrease in net income in its fiscal second quarter, the company said Wednesday.

The company reported net sales of $217.8 million, up 2.9 percent from $211.8 million in the year-ago period. Net income was $5.9 million, or 26 cents a share, down from $7.4 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Same store sales were down 0.2 percent in the quarter.

For the first six months of the fiscal year, Big 5 reported $434.9 million in net sales, up 3.8 percent from $419 million in the year-ago period. Same-store sales were up 0.3 percent. Net income was $13.5 million, or 59 cents a share, in the six month period, up from $13.4 million, or 59 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

El Segundo-based Big 5 Sporting Goods (NASDAQ: BGFV) operates 348 stores in 10 states under the "Big 5 Sporting Goods" name.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Disney profit up in 3Q, buys Club Penguin

Walt Disney Co. reported increased revenue and profit in its fiscal third quarter, due to strong results from its media networks, parks and resorts and consumer products segments, the company said Wednesday.

Separately, the company announced that it purchased Club Penguin, an online virtual world for kids.

Burbank-based Disney (NYSE: DIS) reported $9.05 billion in revenue, up 7 percent from $8.47 billion in the year-ago period. Net income was $1.2 billion, or 58 cents a share, up from $1.1 billion, or 51 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, Disney reported $26.6 billion in revenue, up from $25.1 billion in the year-ago period. Net income for the nine-month period was $3.8 billion, or $1.80 a share, up from $2.5 billion, or $1.25 a share, in the year-ago period. The current nine month period includes gains of Disney's sales of E! Entertainment and US Weekly that total $1.1 billion before taxes.

Terms of Disney's deal to buy Club Penguin were not disclosed.

Club Penguin launched in October 2005 and has grown to more than 700,000 current paid subscribers. It has more than 12 million activated users, Disney said in a release, and is aimed at children ages 6 to 14. The site features animated penguin avatars that converse with other users, participate in group activities and create a virtual home with currency earned inside the game, according to a release.

The site will be called Disney's Club Penguin and will retain its url, www.clubpenguin.com. Disney said it has no plans for immediate changes to Club Penguin. It will continue to be based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, and its three founders will join Disney and remain the senior management team of the unit. Lane Merrifield, the CEO of Club Penguin, will become an executive vice president of the Walt Disney Internet Group.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Jamison Expands With $39M Office Buy

By Bob Howard

LOS ANGELES-Dr. David Lee’s Jamison Properties has added to its ever-growing portfolio of office buildings with the $39.2-million acquisition of the 4929 Wilshire Blvd. building. A team from Coldwell Banker Commercial Westmac reports that locally based Jamison acquired the 168,680-sf office tower from Copperfield Investment & Development Co. in an off-market transaction, with the Westmac team representing all parties.
Built in 1973, the 10-story office tower in the mid-Wilshire district was about 98% occupied at the time of the sale. According to T.C. Macker of Westmac, the building was in escrow for 11 months, with the seller extending escrow by 180 days to accomplish a 1031 exchange.

In addition to Macker, the Coldwell Banker Commercial Westmac team included David Thind and Patrick Sheekey. Thind notes that the deal closed at a 5.3% cap rate.

Privately held Jamison Properties owns more than 100 buildings comprising a portfolio of more than 22 million sf, with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion. Although most of the company's holdings are office buildings, its portfolio also includes medical buildings, shopping centers and residential developments.
For example, Jamison's medical building acquisitions late last year included a 100% leased 150,000-sf property in Long Beach that it acquired for $30 million, with the building occupied by three tenants including Long Beach Memorial Hospital and HealthCare Partners. That followed the company's earlier acquisition of a portfolio of medical offices totaling 198,000 sf in Orange County.

Although Jamison was known initially for acquiring office buildings in the Mid-Wilshire district where it got its start, the company has since expanded throughout Los Angeles County and into other regions of Southern California. One of its deals this year, for example, was the $29-million acquisition of two office buildings totaling 143,339 sf in Whittier.

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Source: http://www.globest.com/news/961_961/.../162774-1.html

[Westsidelife]

CSC wins $43M U.S. Navy IT contract

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 4, 2007

Computer Sciences Corp. has won an information technology services contract where it will provide systems engineering and management and administration support to the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare System Center Charleston in Pensacola, Fla., the company said Tuesday.

The contract, with a one-year base period and four one-year options, is estimated to be worth $43 million if all options are exercised, according to a release.

CSC will configure, install, administer and support data system connectivity and ensure systems availability for the center's information systems division, according to a release. The company will also "integrate application, database and network support servers in both unclassified and classified environments".

El Segundo-based CSC (NYSE: CSC) is a global IT services company.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Northrop Grumman wins $462M Army job

By Erin Killian, Washington Business Journal
Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 4, 2007

Northrop Grumman Corp. has won a contract worth up to $462 million to upgrade part of the U.S. Army's aircraft fleet.

The government contractor's mission system's division is aiming to extend technology in the RC-12 Guardrail's fleet past 2020.

Under the contract, the Reston, Va.-based division already secured two task orders worth $25 million to update intelligence sensors.

"We are working in close partnership with the army to enhance Guardrail's capabilities using technology that also supports future airborne ISR and battle command systems," said Dan Allen, general manager of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems' intelligence systems division.

The overall contract is for five years with one five-year option.

Northrop Grumman's Guardrail modernization team includes Owego, N.Y.-based Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Fairfax, Va.-based Zeta Associates and Salt Lake City-based L-3 Communications Systems West.

Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) is a global defense and technology company.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

KB Home to unveil Florida's first Martha Stewart community

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 4, 2007

KB Home has teamed with Martha Stewart to design homes in a community planned for Ormond Beach, Florida.

KB Home on Sept. 15 is set to open Deer Creek, Florida's first community with the Martha Stewart name on it and the fifth such community nationwide. KB Home has announced a total of nine Martha Stewart communities, according to a news release.

Deer Creek's Martha Stewart project consists of 42 one- and two-story homes priced from $300,000 and ranging from three to six bedrooms. The subdivision, at Airport Road and Leeway Trail in Volusia County, is part of the master-planned community of Hunter's Ridge.

Los Angeles-based KB Home (NYSE: KBH), whose Orlando division is developing the community, also plans to unveil two model homes inspired by Stewart's own east coast homes with interiors by decorators from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE:MSO), the release says.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood is sold

Developer CIM Group, which owns Hollywood & Highland, says it has no plans to change the Hollywood landmark.

By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 3, 2007

Grauman's Chinese Theatre, a Hollywood landmark that attracts millions of tourists each year to its outdoor courtyard where generations of movie stars left their hand and footprints, has been purchased by Hollywood's largest commercial landlord.

CIM Group of Los Angeles says it has no plans to change the 80-year-old theater, and the purchase continues its string of acquisitions in the heart of Hollywood.

The developer already owns nearly all the property on the north side of a two-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and Sycamore avenues. That includes the Hollywood & Highland Center, Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, Mann Chinese 6 Theatre multiplex and the Galaxy building.

"It's important to us that key properties like Grauman's don't fall into the wrong hands," said Shaul Kuba, a principal at CIM Group. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Mann Theatres has a long-term lease on the legendary venue for movie premieres and will continue to operate it as a film house. It was sold to CIM by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Center of New York and Barlow Respiratory Hospital of Los Angeles.

"We have been very interested in purchasing the property since we acquired Hollywood & Highland" in 2004, said John Given, another principal at CIM. "Our ownership cements the relationship between the theater and Hollywood & Highland Center."

Built in 1927 by impresario Sid Grauman, the 1,162-seat theater is perhaps the epicenter of Hollywood and one of Southern California's top tourist attractions. Millions of visitors every year step into the footprints of famous movie stars preserved in concrete in its forecourt. Tour buses start and end their journeys out front.

The theater itself is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. Its signature pagoda-inspired entrance features two immense coral red columns topped by wrought iron masks that hold aloft the bronze roof.

Between the columns is a 30-foot dragon carved from stone. Guarding the theater entrance are two giant stone Heaven Dogs, original artifacts brought from China by Grauman.

Previously, Grauman built the Million Dollar Theatre in downtown Los Angeles and the lavish Egyptian Theatre a few blocks from the Chinese Theatre.

Actress Norma Talmadge turned the first shovel of dirt at the groundbreaking, and opening night was a riot of glamour as mobs of fans turned out to see celebrities attend the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's "The King of Kings."

CIM does not own the parking lot west of Grauman's, where Madame Tussauds plans to build a branch of its popular London wax museum. It also does not own an underground city parking lot or subway station below Hollywood and Highland. CIM and the city share ownership of Kodak Theater, home to the annual Academy Awards.

Landlord CIM, with all its properties, "assumes a huge responsibility in Hollywood," said preservationist Robert Nudelman of Hollywood Heritage Inc. "They need to go several steps further because their impact on the district is tremendous. They need to maintain things at a higher level than most do."

CIM was "the absolute logical buyer," said Hollywood real estate broker Christopher Bonbright of Ramsey-Shilling Co., who was not involved in the sale. "It doesn't surprise me they were the successful bidder."

CIM had an incentive to outbid its competitors for the theater because of its importance to the Hollywood & Highland complex and its other nearby properties, Bonbright said. "It's a strategic imperative for them."

The company controls more than a dozen office, retail and residential properties in Hollywood, including the TV Guide building and the former Seven Seas nightclub building across from Grauman's.

It is bringing sought-after clothing stores H&M and Zara to Hollywood Boulevard. CIM also has signed British retailer Tesco to occupy part of the former Hollywood Galaxy shopping center as part of its strategy to bring in businesses that serve local residents.

At Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street, CIM is converting an office high-rise into an apartment building scheduled for completion at the end of 2008.

Unlike the original developer of Hollywood & Highland, CIM "has made a point to reach out to the community," said Anastasia Mann, president of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council. "They're very proactive."

CIM's main dispute with neighborhood residents, she said, is one that includes several other local landlords: their desire to sell large-scale advertising high on their buildings.

"No one wants to stop people from being creative, but projects need to be examined for their impact on the community," Mann said.

Nudelman of Hollywood Heritage said CIM needed to be a better neighbor. "They're trashing out the neighborhood with billboards," he said. There are so many signs on Hollywood & Highland, "it's a cluttered mess."

The rapid pace of change in Hollywood in recent years has included billions of dollars' worth of residential and commercial development, unnerving some residents who worry that the historic character of the neighborhood may be lost. Traffic congestion and parking woes have added to the angst.

CIM, founded by Israeli immigrants Kuba and Avi Shemesh with Richard Ressler, specializes in developing and investing in urban centers. It is largely financed by pools of money raised by institutional investors including the California Public Employees' Retirement System.

CIM Group's projects outside of Hollywood include a recently completed residential and retail complex in downtown Los Angeles housing a Ralphs supermarket. It has residential and retail projects in downtown Anaheim, Sacramento and San Jose.

The firm also played a role in developing the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Old Pasadena and Brea Town Center.

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Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/prin...es-pe-business

[Westsidelife]

Preserving L.A. County manufacturing base
BY GREGORY J. WILCOX, Columnist


WE'RE No. 1 again, top of the nation's manufacturing heap. Chicago still can't shoulder the load.

Last year, Los Angeles County had 911,000 workers making stuff versus 390,200 in Chicago.

And the county's 1.5 percent vacancy rate is the nation's lowest. In the San Fernando Valley, the vacancy rate finished the year at 1.8 percent.

Part of this glass is half-empty, though.

There were 9,400 fewer folks making stuff here in 2006 than the year before. Worse, the places where they make stuff are disappearing, too.

And that's not too good for the economy.

That's a problem, says Jack Kyser, vice president and chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., who last week released his annual state-of-manufacturing report.

"Manufacturing in Southern California could be called the forgotten industry, as most people think it has all gone away, or that (it) is not worth saving," Kyser lamented in his report.

Land zoned for industrial use is a hot commodity.

However, Dan Blake, director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at California State University, Northridge, said industrial land is worth more if marketed for other uses.

"Most of the industrial activity is single story and the land is valued less per square foot than it is for office and residential," he said.

A lot less, actually.

Blake estimates residential developers will pay about $200 a square foot for land, while industrial fetches between $50 and $75 a square foot.

The air above those single-story operations is valuable as developable space, too.

"There has been a rush by developers in Southern California to buy (industrial land) and do residential projects. Industrial land has also been lost to retail development and to construction of schools or other public facilities," Kyser laments.

Kyser's report makes a case for a preservation effort in the industrial sector.

Given the challenges facing Los Angeles schools, manufacturing can offer a career path to a middle-class lifestyle. Smaller firms offer on-the-job training and work with community colleges. Salaries are above those in other sectors, and workers often have health benefits.

Manufacturing tends to have a higher multiplier effect - one job here supports others in different areas.

"A lot of people are scrambling to find good workers," Kyser said.

He'd like to see an effort to revitalize some older industrial areas to prevent further erosion of the industrial base.

Another problem is that companies are trying to make more stuff with fewer workers (increased productivity) and have sent work overseas where labor is less expensive.

Blake also said the nature of Los Angeles manufacturing personality is also changing, from front-line workers who make things to more technical design and engineering.

"The jobs are changing to higher-skilled tech jobs. There are still a lot of those other jobs left, just not as many."

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Source: http://www.dailynews.com/gregwilcox/ci_5565582

[Westsidelife]

Andell Holdings buys Chicago Fire from AEG

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 6, 2007

Andell Holdings has closed on its deal to buy Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire from Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Chicago Fire said Thursday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Chicago Fire was founded in 1997 as a Major League Soccer expansion team.

Los Angeles-based AEG is still the owner of the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo in the MLS, according to a release. AEG is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Co.

Los Angeles-based Andell Holdings is a private investment firm.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Countrywide to cut 900 more jobs

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 6, 2007

Countrywide Financial Corp. will cut 900 more jobs, primarily from its mortgage production division, according to news reports.

The layoffs are due to a tough housing market and economic conditions, the Associated Press reported.

The move follows job cuts August 20 that affected the company's loan originators. Countrywide also recently took a $2 billion investment from Bank of America and drew down its $11.5 billion credit line to increase liquidity.

Calabasas-based Countrywide (NYSE: CFC) is the nation's biggest mortgage lender in terms of loan volume.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn