Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 25, 1994 TAG: 9401250286
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The parent of Denny's and other restaurant chains reported a $1.6 billion fourth-quarter loss Monday and said it will close or sell 270 eateries because of fewer diners.
Most of the loss reported by Flagstar Cos. was due to an accounting move in which the company wrote off intangible assets known as goodwill. The loss also included $225 million set aside for for restructuring, including the restaurant closures and sales.
The 1,500 Denny's restaurants provide almost 40 percent of Flagstar's revenues, and the number of diners at the chain was down 7 percent during the quarter from a year ago.
Flagstar also owns Quincy's and El Pollo Loco and is a major Hardee's franchise operator.
About half the restaurants being closed or sold are Denny's because there is a better potential to find franchise operators for those, said Coleman Sullivan, Flagstar's communications vice president.
Flagstar's quarterly loss amounts to $38.97 a share, compared with a loss of $158 million, or $5 a share, a year ago. Revenues increased 9.6 percent to $1 billion from $926 million a year ago.
Flagstar lost $1.7 billion, or $40.93 a share, for the year, compared with a loss of $225 million, or $9.29 per share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $4 billion from $3.7 billion.
Nynex to cut 6,800 jobs
NEW YORK - Nynex Corp. is joining other local phone companies in shedding its monopolist's bulk, saying Monday it would eliminate 16,800 jobs during the next three years.
Nynex attributed most of a $1.6 billion special accounting charge in the fourth quarter to the restructuring. The charge resulted in a $1.2 billion fourth-quarter loss.
The company becomes part of a wave of local phone companies making deep work-force cuts to prepare for competition later in the decade. Advances in wireless phoning and the use of optical fiber to carry many signals have already made existing geographical and regulatory barriers meaningless.
Between 11,000 and 12,000 of the cut jobs will be in New York; the rest, in New England.
Nynex's fourth-quarter loss amounted to $3 per share. A year ago, the company earned $324.2 million, or 79 cents per share. Revenue was $3.39 billion, up slightly from $3.32 billion a year ago. Without the special accounting charges, the company said it would have earned $265.5 million, or 64 cents per share.
For the year, Nynex lost $394.1 million, or 95 cents per share. In 1992, it earned $1.3 billion, or $3.20 per share.
NCB
National Commerce Bankcorp., which owns NBC Banks in Kroger stores in Western Virginia, has announced record earnings for last year.
National Commerce, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., reported income of $39.4 million, up 15.9 percent from $33.9 million the year before. Per share, earnings rose from $1.38 to $1.58.
Fourth-quarter income was up 12.6 percent from $9.6 million, or 39 cents a share, in 1992 to $10.8 million, or 43 cents.
Chairman Thomas Garrott said loans were up 16.3 percent from 1992. He said the bank experienced an increase in commercial lending late in the fourth quarter. Deposits stood at $1.9 billion and loans at nearly $1.4 billion at the end of the year. The bank had assets of $2.6 billion.
Reynolds Metals Co.
Richmond-based Reynolds Metals Co. on Monday reported it lost $238.6 million, or $3.98 a share, in the fourth quarter, mainly due to environmental and restructuring costs.
The net loss for the period ended Dec. 31 fell substantially from a year-ago loss of $152.1 million, or $2.55 a share. The loss included an after-tax charge of $219.5 million and an operating loss of $19.1 million. Fourth-quarter revenues of $1.35 billion were unchanged from the year-ago quarter.
For the year, Reynolds reported a loss of $322.1 million, or $5.38 a share, compared to a loss of $748.8 million, or $12.56 a share, in 1992. Revenue totaled $5.3 billion, down from $5.7 billion in the previous year.
by CNB