RETAIL

First Chipotle opens in Portland

The first Chipotle Mexican Grill in Portland has opened at a time when the publicly traded restaurant chain is scrambling to recover its reputation and customers after multiple incidents of food poisoning. The Portland Chipotle opened April 17 at 45 Marginal Way, formerly the site of Century Tire. The Bayside property has been redeveloped by Portland-based Northland Enterprises and renamed Century Plaza. Northland said in a news release that a T-Mobile store also will be opening soon on the property.

Chipotle made financial headlines this week when the Denver-based company reported that same-store sales were down nearly 30 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. The news sent Chipotle’s stock plummeting because the sales decrease was even greater than investors had anticipated. In the past six months, the company’s stock has lost almost half its previous value. Read the story.

MANUFACTURING

Panel approves amendment that would benefit New Balance

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Shoe manufacturer New Balance applauded an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act championed by members of Maine’s congressional delegation that would force the Department of Defense to buy American-made athletic shoes. The amendment – which would require the department to adhere to a 2014 policy closing a loophole that allowed it to issue cash vouchers rather than buy U.S.-made athletic shoes – was approved late Wednesday night by the House Armed Services Committee. The defense authorization act, which sets the budget and policy for the department, must be approved by the full House and Senate. The amendment is a boost to New Balance, which employs 900 workers at factories in Skowhegan, Norridgewock and Norway and has developed a shoe that complies with Defense Department standards. Read the story.

 

ENERGY

Ocean Renewable Power Co. wins national award

A Portland hydrokinetic power company has received a national award for innovation, the first marine energy company to receive the honor. The National Hydropower Association on Tuesday designated Ocean Renewable Power Co. a 2016 Outstanding Steward of American Waters for its river energy project in Alaska. The project involved installing submersible turbines in the Kvichak River to generate power for the remote Alaskan village of Igiugig. A pilot project, the technology has been tested for two years and successfully demonstrated that it can provide one-third of the electrical power needs of the village, according to a release from the association. ORPC earned the award under the operational excellence category, which recognizes waterpower projects that add value to the industry through technical contributions, innovation, engineering, upgrades and improvements, or technology breakthroughs for new hydropower or marine hydrokinetic technologies. Read the story.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

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Polling firm acquired by southern Maine rival

Critical Insights, a Portland firm that has provided market research, analysis and polling services since 1992, is being acquired by a southern Maine competitor. Digital Research Inc. of Kennebunk announced the acquisition of Critical insights in a Monday press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Both DRI and Critical Insights were poised for growth, having exhibited strong performance for over two decades, and more recently despite a period of economic stagnation,” said MaryEllen FitzGerald, president of Critical Insights, in the release. “As we both looked to expand our businesses, it made sense to merge, rather than to compete. We are delighted with the outcome and potential for the new entity.” DRI, which uses innovative data collection techniques, is known for its analysis in travel and tourism markets, as well as in consumer goods. Critical Insights specializes in health care, public policy, advertising and regulated industry sectors such as banking and utilities. It also provides public opinion polling for local and national media. Read the story.

Semiconductor deal extended into May

The deadline for a proposed merger between Phoenix-based ON Semiconductor and Fairchild Semiconductor has been extended into May. ON Semiconductor offered to buy San Jose-based Fairchild for $2.4 billion in November, but the deal is still seeking regulatory approval. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the parties on Friday requested an extension of the offer to May 12. Fairchild operates a production facility in South Portland that employs more than 500 workers. The plant on Western Avenue is part of Fairchild’s Analog Power Signal and Solutions division, and makes analog switches, USB, converters and other building blocks of digital circuitry. A semiconductor analyst for Wedbush Securities, said these types of delays are not unusual in a merger where there are multiple regulatory hurdles to clear. Read the story.

GENERAL BUSINESS

Cafe owners vow to rebuild after fire

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The owners of a popular Freeport restaurant pledged to rebuild Wednesday even as workers cleaned up charred debris left by an early morning fire that destroyed the longtime family business. Flames ignited by a second-floor bathroom fan that was left on overnight ripped through the second and third floors of the Corsican Cafe and Chowder House early Wednesday, said Freeport Fire Chief Darrel Fournier. The 146-year-old building at 9 Mechanic St. is owned by Ed Berg and his wife, Robin Wade. It is a short distance from Main Street and L.L. Bean’s flagship store and was declared a total loss. Read the story.

EARNINGS REPORTS

Unum sees Q1 gains

Unum Group’s first-quarter operating income increased 6.7 percent from a year earlier and beat Wall Street expectations by 4 cents a share, the company reported Wednesday. The Chattanooga, Tennessee-based disability insurance provider, which has about 2,900 employees in Maine, reported after-tax operating income of $226.8 million, or 95 cents a share, compared with $224.8 million, or 89 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2015. Unum’s overall net income for the quarter, including gains and losses on the company’s investment portfolio, was $210.6 million, down slightly from $212.9 million a year earlier. Unum President and CEO Richard McKenney said in a news release that the company was off to a strong start in 2016 with solid growth in premiums and stable employee benefits payments. Read the story.

WEX overcomes currency exchange rates to post gains

Payment processor WEX Inc. improved its financial performance and beat industry expectations in the first quarter, despite continued economic challenges that included lower gasoline prices and unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates. The South Portland-based company, which provides payment-processing technology to the transportation, travel and health care industries in the United States and abroad, reported first-quarter revenue Wednesday of $205.9 million, up 2 percent from $202.3 million in the first quarter of 2015. Net income for the quarter was $23.1 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with $22.3 million, or 57 cents a share, for the first quarter of 2015. The company’s quarterly earnings of 97 cents a share before adjusting for changes in fuel prices and currency exchange rates beat analyst expectations by 9 cents. Positive developments for WEX included a 3 percent increase in the average number of vehicles it serviced worldwide compared with a year earlier. Total fuel transactions processed by WEX increased 2 percent from the first quarter of 2015 to 99.6 million, the company reported. Payment-processing transactions increased 9 percent to 89.1 million. Read the story.

Idexx revenues up 9 percent over 2015

Idexx Laboratories Inc. boosted its first-quarter revenue to $417.6 million, up 9 percent from a year earlier, the company reported Friday. Still, the negative impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates cut into the Westbrook-based veterinary technology firm’s earnings per share, which were up 4 percent from the first quarter of 2015, the company said. Idexx reported net income of $46 million, or 51 cents a share, for the quarter, compared with $46.6 million, or 49 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2015. Idexx had nearly 5 million fewer outstanding shares in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, which boosted the earnings attributed to each share. Read the story.


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