Here is a look at more of Wednesday's top business stories:
Hormel Foods posts higher results
AUSTIN, Minn., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Hormel Foods Corp. said its net income for the fiscal year ended Oct. 27, rose 7 percent to $182.4 million, or $1.30 a share, from $170.2 million, or $1.20 a share during the same period last year.
The multinational marketer of consumer-branded meat and food products also reported record dollar sales for the year of $4.1 billion, an increase of 12 percent from $3.7 billion recorded a year ago. Volume was up 6 percent for the year.
For the 13-week fourth quarter, the compnay reported its net income rose 13 percent to $68.8 million, or 49 cents a share, from $61.0 million, or 44 cents a share a year ago.
Analysts on Wall Street were expecting the company to post a fourth quarter net income of 47 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Fourth-quarter dollar sales rose 11 percent to $1.1 billion from $1.0 billion a year ago.
Joel W. Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer, attributed the record results to strong overall performance against the company's key strategic objectives.
"In fiscal 2001, our value-added, higher-margin products accounted for more than three-fourths of our sales," Johnson said.
"Many Hormel Foods brands increased their share of market and retained leadership in important product categories. We continued to introduce new products with great potential, including the Hormel add-ons deli wafers brand of pre-sliced luncheon meats and cheeses. Through acquisitions, we advanced our leadership in the turkey industry and achieved greater scale in the managed health care foods business. At the same time, we continued to build operations in emerging markets, including international and ethnic foods," Johnson said.
"Consumer behavior changed as a result of the terrorist attacks and the softening economy, but these factors had varying impacts on our business units," Johnson said. "The decline in travel slowed the foodservice business channel while the retail channel appears to have strengthened, presumably as more consumers dined at home.
"We begin fiscal 2002 with a strong cash position, increased shareholders' equity, and plenty of capacity to invest in growing and improving our business," Johnson added.
SCA buys Encore Paper
NEENAH, Wis., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- SCA said it has reached agreement to acquire Encore Paper Co. Inc. based in South Glens Falls, N.Y., for $92 million on a debt-free basis.
Encore, which will be integrated into SCA Tissue North America LLC, was incorporated in 1991 and was owned by certain institutional investors.
The mill itself has operated under different owners since the late 1800s. The company produces more than 85,000 tons of paper annually on three paper machines and converts 6 million cases of finished goods per year on 20 converting machines in South Glens Falls, N.Y.
Products produced include roll and folded towels, dinner, luncheon, and dispenser napkins and bathroom tissue.
Encore's brand names Encore, Ovation and Intuition primarily are marketed to the Away-From-Home market in the eastern United States. The company employs approximately 350 people.
Lee M. Bingham, SCA Tissue North America president and CEO, said: "We were impressed with the strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit of the Encore employees. It is a well-run company and they have an excellent customer base with strong customer relationships. The company is strategically located in terms of our paper production in the U.S."
SCA Tissue North America is a major supplier to the Away-From-Home tissue market in North America with brand names including Park Avenue Ultra, Coronet, Main Street, Second Nature and Tork.
Bon-Ton Stores posts loss
YORK, Pa., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Bon-Ton Stores Inc. said it posted a third quarter net loss of $500,000, or 3 cents a share, compared to net income of $1.0 million, or 7 cents a share during the same period last year.
In the latest quarter the company recorded an unusual expense of $900,000 pre-tax, or 4 cents a share, related to a reduction in workforce. Excluding the unusual expense, net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2001 was 1 cent a share.
Net sales rose to $175.6 million from $174.9 million a year ago. Same store sales, or stores open one year, decreased 0.6 percent.
James H. Baireuther, vice chairman and chief administrative officer, said, "Due to the strong 12 percent comparable store sales increase achieved in October, third quarter results came in better than originally anticipated."
Bon-Ton Stores operates 73 department stores in secondary markets in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and West Virginia.
Earnings rise at Multimedia Games
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Multimedia Games Inc., which provides gaming systems and services to American Indian casinos, said its fourth-quarter net income rose to $3.4 million, or 36 cents a share, from $1.1 million, or 20 cents a share during the same period last year.
Revenue rose to $47.8 million from $27.9 million a year ago.
The company said it now expects first quarter after-tax profits to exceed fourth quarter earnings by at least 12 percent, and earnings per share should be at least 10 percent higher, despite an expectation of higher shares outstanding.
Earnings for all of fiscal 2002 also should be higher than expected and should exceed $1.65 a share, up 91 percent from 2001, the company said.
"For the first time in the company's history, it is clear that first quarter earnings will exceed those of the prior year's fourth quarter," the company said in a statement. The company had earned 6 cents a share in the first quarter a year ago.
