04 Sep 13. Navistar shares fall on loss. Shares in Navistar International, the US truckmaker, fell nearly 6 per cent in midday trading after it reported a worse than expected $247m third-quarter loss and announced it would cut 500 jobs. The Illinois-based company continued to suffer from a bad bet on new diesel engine technology and lower industry demand in its fourth straight quarterly loss. Navistar reported a net loss of $237m from continuing operations, or $2.94 a share, down from an $80m profit, or $1.16 a share, during the same period last year. Consolidated revenues fell nearly 12 per cent, from $3.25bn to $2.86bn. Analysts had expected a $1.30 a share loss on $2.92bn in sales.
“We clearly need to accelerate progress with our financial results, and we are already implementing additional cost reduction and business improvement actions,” said Troy Clarke, chief executive. The company has announced numerous rounds of cost cutting since last year.
The 500 salaried and long-term contractor jobs cuts, along with other cost reduction activities, are expected to generate an additional $50m-$60m in annual savings starting in the fiscal year beginning in November, the company said. Navistar employed 18,500 people last year. Mr Clarke has worked to keep Navistar on track since taking over as chief executive this year, an appointment that sent shares in the company surging nearly 28 per cent. He took over for Lewis Campbell, the interim CEO, on April 15. Mr Campbell had been in charge since the resignation last August of Daniel Ustian, under whose leadership the company had spent $700m on an alternative technology that was not able to meet stricter US emissions standards. The failure of that project helped drive the company’s market share down from 28 per cent during the fiscal year that ended in October 2011 to 14 per cent during the three months to July. The results came the day after the company said it would expand its sourcing of engines from Cummins, a direct competitor, a programme that it had begun after the US Environmental Protection Agency failed to approve its diesel engine. Navistar said the two companies had more than 75 years of history together and it was increasing its sourcing because of customer demand. (Source: FT.com)
03 Sep 13. Consulting groups are routinely a place where former public
servants are put out to pasture, a last stop to conclude careers built on senior government positions. But a group of former senior officials is building a new firm, Beacon Global Strategies, while retaining an additional goal. They all want to go back into government. Part of the confidence in future public service may stem from a combination of significant titles and relative youth, paired with the fact that most of the founders of the firm have ties to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who may be a presidential favorite heading into the 2016 election if she decides to run. Clinton’s longtime spokesman Philippe Reines and one-time national security adviser turned Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro are teaming with Jeremy Bash and Michael Allen to launch the group. Bash spent years as chief of staff at both the CIA and Pentagon for former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, a close Clinton ally. Allen, the lone Republican in the group, has a longstanding relationship with Bash. The two worked together in a variety of roles while Allen was a White House staffer for President George W. Bush and as staff director of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. (Source: Defense News)
05 Sep 13. ATK (NYSE: ATK) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bushnell Group Holdings, Inc. Bushnell is a leading global designer, marketer and distributor of branded sports optics, outdoor accessories and performance eyewear. The company offers a broad portfolio of high-quality, innovative and affordable products targeted to the outdoor and sport enthusiast. The Bushnell acquisition will expand ATK’s