Lowe’s cuts outlook for second-half sales

NEW YORK » Volatile weather and shoppers’ worries about the economy muted demand during Lowe’s key early- summer selling season, leaving its second-quarter net income nearly flat, the nation’s second-largest home improvement retailer said Monday.

Lowe’s Cos. lowered its sales forecast for the second half of its fiscal year due to consumers’ uncertainty, CEO Robert Niblock said.

Niblock cited three factors likely to hurt spending: the debate in Washington this month over the debt ceiling, the subsequent downgrade by Standard & Poor’s of the nation’s credit rating and the recent stock market fluctuations.

“(Consumers) have a somewhat fragile mindset already, and we don’t believe any of those things helped,” he said.

Shoppers continue to focus on repair and maintenance projects under $500, he added, rather than larger home-renovation jobs.

Lowe’s also closed seven stores Sunday that it said were underperforming. The move eliminated 650 jobs. (None of the stores were in Hawaii.)

The company’s net income for the three months that ended July 29 was $830 million, or 64 cents a share, compared with $832 million, or 58 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a charge related to the long-term value of the stores it closed, it earned 68 cents a share. Analysts expected adjusted earnings of 66 cents a share, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 1 percent to $14.54 billion. Analysts expected $14.77 billion.

Parts Center Hawaii buys Magoo’s

Parts Center Hawaii Inc., a franchisee for NAPA Auto Parts, Hawaii island’s largest automotive parts supplier, said Monday it will purchase the assets of Magoo’s Auto Parts in Hilo. The deal is due to be finalized Sept. 30.

Brian Kitagawa, president of Parts Center Hawaii, said the current NAPA store on Kilauea Avenue will be relocated to the current Magoo’s location at 722 Kanoelehua Ave. upon the completion of the transaction.

Following the relocation of all inventory and installation of NAPA signage, the new location will provide full NAPA products and services at the new convenient location.

Maurice Akamine, president of Magoo’s, thanked the company’s loyal customers over the past 34 years and said he will assist Parts Center Hawaii with the transition to the new location, as well as Magoo’s customers’ transition to the NAPA family of products. Akamine said the current machine shop and hydraulic hose department is being purchased separately by the current head machinist, Allen DeMattos. The new business name will be Big Island Machine & Hydraulics, at 474 Kalanikoa St. in Hilo.

Parts Center Hawaii also has NAPA locations in Kailua-Kona, Waimea and Captain Cook.

St. Louis firm lands $9.9M in isle pacts

Chesterfield, Mo.-based Insituform Technologies Inc. said Monday it has been awarded two contracts with a combined value of approximately $9.9 million to rehabilitate nearly 7,000 feet of pipeline for the City and County of Honolulu. Since the 1980s, Insituform has installed more than 300,000 feet of cured-in-place pipe in Hawaii.

The first contract, the Waikiki Sewer Rehabilitation/Reconstruction project, requires Insituform to install its cured-in-place pipe solution in approximately 3,700 feet of 10- to 24-inch-diameter pipelines in Waikiki. Insituform also will install more than 3,200 feet of 36- and 42-inch-diameter pipelines for the Makaha Interceptor Sewer Rehabilitation/Replacement Project. These projects are designed to structurally rehabilitate aging sewer lines in Waikiki and in the Makaha system.

Foreign holdings fell during debt limit talks

WASHINGTON » Foreign investors cut their holdings of U.S. Treasury debt in June for the first time since April 2009. The decline came at a time of anxiety about whether the United States would raise its borrowing limit.

China, the biggest buyer of U.S. Treasury debt, increased its investment for a third straight month. But Japan, the second-largest buyer, along with Brazil, Russia, Hong Kong and a group that includes the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Netherlands and the Cayman Islands, cut their investments.

Overall foreign holdings fell 0.4 percent to $4.5 trillion.

JAL, Qantas form Jetstar Japan budget airline

TOKYO » Japan Airlines Co., The Qantas Group of Australia and Mitsubishi Corp. say they will launch a budget carrier in Japan.

Jetstar Japan plans to start operations by the end of 2012 and will serve domestic routes at first. It ultimately aims to expand to short-haul international routes in Asia, the companies said in a joint statement today.

The Qantas Group, Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi will each own one-third of the new company on a voting-rights basis.

Japan Airlines has been restructuring since filing for bankruptcy protection last year. President Masaru Onishi says the partnership will enable the carrier to “broaden the spectrum of travellers as it creates new demand in this market.”

ON THE MOVE

The Hawaii Youth Symphony board of directors elected the following new directors:
» Malcolm Lau is a senior vice president and market manager for the Business Banking Division at Bank of Hawaii.
» Patti Look is a principal of the FundDevelopment Group, which is a consulting practice founded in 1997.

Hiolani Care Center at Kahala Nui has named Jacqueline Mok as a social worker. Mok was previously a nephrology social worker with Liberty Dialysis Hawaii as well as a medical social worker at St. Francis Medical Center.

Hawaiian Airlines has appointed Karen Berry as vice president of labor and employee relations. Berry joined Hawaiian as director of corporate planning in 1990 and has been in the finance department for 11 years, holding such positions as vice president-treasurer and vice president of finance.