FALL RIVER – Saint Anne’s Hospital has received a $100,000 pledge gift from the FIRSTFED Charitable Foundation, the first installment of the pledge of $500,000 made in 1999 and designated for the FIRSTFED Center for Breast Care at Saint Anne’s. The center was opened a year ago as part of Saint Anne’s $16.5 million initiative. The FIRSTFED Charitable Foundation was established by First Federal Savings Bank of America to benefit charitable organizations within the community. The FIRSTFED Center provides a broad range of coordinated breast care services, including diagnostic and screening mammography, ultrasound, and stereotactic breast biopsy and related support care.
Fall River boardwalk
project advances
FALL RIVER – Development of the Fall River boardwalk project got a boost recently when the city of Fall River and the Massachusetts Electric Company agreed to the design and terms for construction of the walkway. The agreement calls for the boardwalk to be installed partially on property owned by the electric company along the Taunton River where its Hathaway Street substation is located. Mass Electric has given the city a license to use 590 feet of its waterfront property to install a 12-foot wide boardwalk. That portion of the walk will be made of concrete rather than wood planking to avoid the threat of wood debris entering the plant area and interrupting electrical service.
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Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. praised the agreement as "a critical building block for a revitalized Fall River waterfront."
Annmarie Loftus, vice president business services for Mass Electric, said "our core business values focus on operating our facilities in a safe and environmentally responsible way that assures continued reliable service. This agreement permits us to maintain those values while participating in a project that benefits the community."
The boardwalk, which will be the longest in the state outside Boston, will be about a mile long and connect Heritage State Park with Bicentennial Park. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer, financed by a $1.8 million state grant to the city from the Commonwealth Seaport Advisory Council.
Seacoast Financial
switches to KPMG
NEW BEDFORD – Seacoast Financial Services Corp., the holding company for Compass Bank and Nantucket Bank, announced that it had hired KPMG LLP as its independent accountants to replace Arthur Andersen LLP, the firm which has come under sharp criticism from government and non-governmental sources because of its association with the Enron Corp. However, in its announcement, Seacoast stated that its decision to change auditors "was not the result of any disagreement between the company and Arthur Andersen on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure."
TJX reports sales,
earnings gains
FRAMINGHAM – TJX Companies, Inc., a leading apparel and home fashion retailer, announced that net sales had risen 17 percent in the first quarter, while net income rose 19 percent in the same period. Net sales reached $2.666 billion in the first quarter, with net income reaching $147 million for that period. These increases led to a similar increase in the value of the company’s earnings, with diluted earnings up 23 percent to $0.27 for this year, compared with $0.22 per share last year, the company announced. TJX Companies operates 701 T.J. Maxx stores, 589 Marshalls, 125 HomeGoods, and 52 A.J.Wright stores in the United States. The company also operates an extensive network of stores throughout Canada.
BJ’s Wholesale
reports steady profit as sales rise
NATICK – BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. reported that its first quarter profits were virtually unchanged, even though sales rose 11 percent during that period. Sales rose to $1.26 billion from $1.13 billion a year ago in the corresponding quarter, the company reported. These sales produced a net income of $23.1 million last quarter, or 32 cents a share, compared with $23 million, or 31 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago.
Talbots profits
slide 13 percent
HINGHAM – With its customers buying fewer dresses and suits, first quarter profits at Talbots dropped 13 percent, with a similar decline in net income, the company reported. Net income sagged to $35 million or 57 cents a share, compared with $40.1 million or 62 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago, the company announced. Sales were reported down 2.4 percent to $391.3 million, the company reported in a statement released on Business Wire.
American Management
announces new Web service
SWANSEA – American Management Services announced that it is introducing a new Web resource, wwwConsolidateandSave.com, designed to offer comprehensive information about the value of consolidating federal education loans. With interest rates on federal student loans expected to drop even lower in July from their current low level, borrowers can lock in these low rates by consolidating their loans.
ConsolidateandSave.com is designed to be an interactive guide through the consolidation process, AMS announced.
(Compiled from news reports and releases, print and electronic.)
