NEWS
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Kodak to Acquire Creo
Eastman Kodak Co. agreed to buy Creo Inc. for $980 million in cash. The purchase is expected to be completed in the second quarter. Creo supplies software, digital printing plate technology and prepress equipment. Kodak's move reflects its strategy to shift its dependence on traditional film-based photography, a declining market, to digital photography. Creo stockholders would get $16.50 a share, a premium of about 14 percent, Kodak said. The agreement comes less than two weeks before Creo stockholders were to vote on an effort by dissident investors to replace the board and its CEO. Creo's board delayed the shareholders meeting to March 29, and investors voted in favor of the acquisition. In recent months, the Creo board had urged shareholders to reject a slate of board nominees including Robert Burton as CEO and chairman. Burton, the former president and CEO of Moore who improved the company's bottom line by slashing payroll and other expenses, was put forward by a dissident stockholders group holding about six percent of Creo's shares and comprised primarily of investment firms Goodwood Inc. and Burton Capital Management LLC.
Mohawk to Buy IP Fine Papers
Mohawk Paper Mills Inc., Cohoes, N.Y., signed a letter of intent to purchase Fine Papers Business from International Paper, Stamford, Conn. The Fine Papers Business offers writing, text and covers papers and artist products segments. The transaction is subject to approval by Mohawk's board of directors as well as completion of due diligence and financing. The companies expect to complete the transaction, terms of which weren't disclosed, during the first quarter of 2005. The Hamilton, Ohio, paper mill, the Saybrook, Ohio, converting facility and the Westfield, Mass., Artist Products converting operations will be included in the transaction, along with the staff. The sale also includes the Strathmore®, Brite Hue®, Via® and Beckett® brands. IP this week reported that its quarterly profit tripled, thanks to asset sales—net income in the fourth quarter rose to $169 million, or 35 cents a share, compared with $48 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier. Earnings from continuing operations and before special items were 42 cents a share compared to 19 cents a year earlier.
MeadWestvaco Reports 4Q Loss on Charges
MeadWestvaco Corp., Stamford, Conn., reported a loss in the latest quarter, despite higher sales, due to charges for the pending sale of its papers business. The maker of packaging also said it would restate financial statements for 2003 and 2002 to correct deferred tax liabilities. The company said it lost $497 million, or $2.45 a share, on revenue of $2.15 billion in the fourth quarter. The latest quarter included charges of $2.80 a share and a gain of 9 cents a share. In the twelve months ended Dec. 31, the company lost $347 million, or $1.72 a share, on revenue of $8.23 billion.
Champion Announces Management Restructuring
Champion Industries Inc., Huntington, W.Va., announced it's restructuring its management team into key regions based on geographical considerations and division functionality. J. Mac Aldridge, currently a vice president and division manager/president of Stationers, has been promoted to senior vice president and will have market responsibility for the company's entire line of office products and office furniture. Todd R. Fry, currently a vice president and CFO, has been promoted to senior vice president and will remain as CFO. R. Douglas McElwain, currently a vice president and division manager of Bourque Printing, has been promoted to senior vice president and will have market responsibility for the company's operations in North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Cincinnati. James A. Rhodes, currently a vice president and president of Consolidated Graphic Communications, has been promoted to senior vice president and will have market responsibility for the company's Pennsylvania operations as well as Parkersburg, W. Va. and Kingsport, Tenn.
Georgia Pacific 4Q Earnings Drop
Georgia-Pacific Corp., Atlanta, reported a 48 percent drop in its fourth-quarter earnings. The company earned $16 million, or 6 cents a share, for the three months ending Dec. 31, down from $31 million, or 12 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items—mostly charges, credits and gains related to asbestos liability costs, asset impairments, facility closures, asset sales, insurance adjustments and debt reduction—Georgia-Pacific reported a net income of $134 million, or 51 cents a share, in the October-to-December period. Revenue in the fourth quarter was $4.5 billion, down from $5.2 billion a year ago.
Harland 4Q Profit Up 25%
John H. Harland Company reported quarterly sales of $219 million, a 5.1% increase from 2003 fourth quarter sales; net income for the fourth quarter was $21 million, a 25% increase from the $17 million reported for the fourth quarter in 2003. Fourth quarter results in 2003 included pre-tax charges totaling $6.7 million, equivalent to $0.14 per share, related to the reorganization of the company's Printed Products segment, and pre-tax gains of $2.7 million on the sale of certain investments, equivalent to $0.09. Harland reports results for three segments: Printed Products, Software and Services, and Scantron. Printed Products sales were $132.2 million, a 2.6% increase over last year; Software and Services sales were $54.1 million, an 8% increase over last year, and Scantron's sales were $31 million, a 5% increase over last year. Full story.
RFID Security Lacking?
A vulnerability in radio-frequency ID chips could put millions of users of wireless car key tags or speed pass payment devices at risk, according to a recent study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and RSA Laboratories. Using a relatively simple electronic device, criminals could wirelessly probe a car key tag or payment tag and then use the information obtained from the probe to crack the cryptographic key on the tag. Full story.
Call for Entries: 2005 Print Solutions Magazine PEAK Awards
Is your work innovative or eye-catching? Does it improve your client's business? Win a Print Excellence And Knowledge (PEAK) Award from Print Solutions Magazine and show your talent to the rest of the world! A coveted PEAK award is a valuable marketing tool that will raise your company's profile and show clients and prospects that your work is the best in the industry. Unique in recognizing companies that meet customers' printing needs, PEAK awards demonstrate outstanding problem solving and creative approaches to design, manufacturing, fulfillment, cost savings reporting and other processes that solve problems or improve some aspect of a client's business. Deadline for entries is March 31. Click here for complete information and entry forms.
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Sales and Marketing Tip
Are You Using These Keyword Selection Guidelines?
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E-Commerce Spotlight
A Little Strategy
Goes a Long Way
So you've finally decided to join the e-commerce rush? Here are tips to help you increase your chances of success. Full story.
Product of the Week
Your Imprint Here
Your Imprint Here is the first book about artwork and imprinting by the promotional products industry's foremost expert, Dennis Burnham, MAS. Burnham's written style is as fluent and articulate as his educational seminars and frequent columns in Promotional Products Business magazine. Using a combination of his sharp wit and vivid illustrative examples, he makes this otherwise perplexing topic understandable to veteran sales people and novices alike. In his Foreword to Your Imprint Here, Mark S. Gilman writes: "People who design artwork to be reproduced on promotional products really need to read this book. And so do people who sell promotional products." Code: IMPRINT. Member Price: $35. To order, contact Tina Davis.
Hot Sites
Heritage Scrapbooks
These online scrapbooks date from the early 18th century to the present day, and offer a lovely selection of the art and personal insights afforded by the practice of creating scrapbooks. Currently, the site contains 21 scrapbooks, which may be browsed by title, author, document type, and category. Visit the site.
Civil War Maps
Accuracy in mapping is crucial, and during the Civil War this important skill was vital to a successful campaign. In one of its most ambitious digital collections to date, the American Memory project at the Library of Congress has placed approximately 2,240 Civil War maps and charts in this archive, along with 200 maps from the Library of Virginia and 400 maps from the Virginia Historical Society. Visitors can jump right in by browsing the entire collection by place, subject, creator or title. Included are a multitude of maps and views of Vicksburg in Mississippi and the infamous Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Visit the site.
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