Business briefs
Retailer hhgregg to close 88 stores, including in North Hills
Hhgregg plans to close three distribution facilities and 88 stores, including one location in the North Hills, in an effort to turn the struggling retailer around. The closings will affect about 1,500 workers. “We are strategically exiting markets and stores that are not financially profitable for us,” said Robert Riesbeck, president and CEO, in a statement. Inventory in the stores will be sold over the coming weeks. The final closings are expected to be complete by mid-April.
Snapchat parent rockets higher in Wall Street debut
The company behind Snapchat closed on a high note in its Wall Street debut, proof, at least for a day, that there’s investor demand for young but still unproven tech companies. Shares of Snap Inc. jumped $7.58, or 44 percent, to close at $24.48 on Thursday. The company had priced its initial public offering of 200 million shares at $17 each on Wednesday. That was above the expected range of $14 to $16. Snap’s IPO was one of the most anticipated for a technology company since Twitter’s in 2013. That, in turn, had created the biggest stir since Facebook made its debut on Wall Street in 2012. Snap’s closing price Thursday valued the Los Angeles company at $34 billion.
Wabtec signs $97 million contract in Texas rail project
Wabtec Corp. has signed a $97 million contract to provide signaling and communication services for a 27-mile commuter rail line being developed by the Fort Worth
Transportation Authority in Texas. Under the contract, Wabtec agreed to provide wayside signaling and communication services, including a control and command center to support the line. The double-track line is projected to carry more than 13,600 daily riders using nine rail stations when fully built, Wabtec said. The transit authority expects to open it in 2018. The Wilmerdingbased manufacturer of products and services for the freight and passenger rail industries has lately been relying more on transit projects.
L.B. Foster reports loss in earnings as sales fall
L.B. Foster swung to a loss in the fourth quarter and widened its losses in 2016, the Green Tree-based rail products manufacturer reported. The company reported a net loss of $41 million, or $3.97 a share, compared with a profit of $3 million, or 33 cents a share, during the year-ago quarter. For the full year, it lost $142 million, or $13.79 a share, compared with losses of $44 million, or $4.33 a share, in 2015. Sales in goods and services were $484 million in 2016, down by 23 percent from 2015, as customers in the freight rail and energy industries pulled back spending.
Home Depot to hire hundreds in Pittsburgh
Home Depot said it wants to hire 900 associates in Pittsburgh in preparation for spring, the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer’s busiest selling season. According to Home Depot’s website, the retailer has 20 stores in the Pittsburgh region. Nationwide, Home Depot said it plans to hire 80,000 people across nearly 2,300 stores. In 2016, the retailer had sales of $94.6 billion, earnings of $8 billion and employed over 400,000 associates.
Kraft Heinz sells factory in Lehigh Valley
Kraft Heinz Co. has sold its factory in Upper Macungie Township, less than four months after the facility stopped operating after 44 years of churning out Grey Poupon mustard and A.1. Steak Sauce. The sale closed Jan. 30 for about $36.5 million, according to Lehigh County property records. Kraft Heinz spokesman Michael Mullen confirmed the sale process is now complete but said the companyhad no additional comment. The new owner plans to demolish the plant and build two 730,080square-foot warehouses in its place. Kraft Heinz had said it would close the plant and six others in the U.S. and Canada as part of a downsizing that would shed 2,600 jobs. From staff and wire reports