THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996 TAG: 9601180406
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
State consolidates environmental offices
The state Department of Environmental Quality is consolidating its air-pollution, water-control and hazardous-waste operations at a regional office that's being constructed off Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach. Olympia Development Corp. is developing the $1.4 million, 28,000-square-foot building that will be leased by the state. Construction should be complete in about five months. About 90 DEQ employees who now work out of offices in Pembroke in Virginia Beach, Greenbrier in Chesapeake and Military Highway in Norfolk will be headquartered at the new Tidewater Regional Office. No new jobs will be created. (Staff)
Harmony, Bio-Recycle sign lease agreement
Harmony Products Inc., an organic fertilizer manufacturer based in Chesapeake, licensed the rights to its patents in Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and New Zealand to Bio-Recycle Pty. Ltd., an Australian company that recycles organic waste. Harmony estimates that organic fertilizers hold 45 percent of the market share in the lawn-and-garden market in Australia, as opposed to a 1 percent share in the United States. The agreement calls for Bio-Recycle to meet certain thresholds of plant construction that incorporate Harmony's technology, the companies said. (Staff)
First Virginia reports slight dip in earnings
First Virginia Banks Inc., parent of First Virginia Bank of Tidewater in Norfolk, reported a 1 percent decline in net income for the 1995 fourth quarter and a 1.4 percent drop in earnings for the full year. The Falls Church-based holding company said its results for the recent quarter were hurt by a narrower spread between what it paid for funds and what it earned on loans and investments. Its net income for the October-through-December period slipped to $27.56 million from $27.79 million in the year-earlier quarter. Per-share earnings declined 8 percent to 81 cents from 88 cents because the company had more common shares outstanding during the recent quarter. (Staff)
Noland reports sales down in December
Noland Co. said total sales fell 3 1/2 percent in December to $35.4 million from $36.7 million in the same month last year. Despite December's decline, total sales for the year rose 6.7 percent in 1995 to a record $469.5 million from 1994's $440.2 million, the Newport News-based plumbing, heating and electrical products distributor said. Fourth-quarter sales rose 3 percent to $113.5 million from $110.2 million in the year-ago quarter, the company said. Noland said it will report its final 1995 results, including net income, in mid-February. (Bloomberg Business News) by CNB