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Aug. 11, 2008 – Finance Digest

Lehman Trikes increases sales in its first half
Lehman Trikes, the manufacturer of trikes and trike kits, reported an increase in sales and net income for its fiscal 2008 first half.
The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Spearfish, S.D., reported a nearly 25 percent increase in first-half sales of more than $11.2 million.
The manufacturer finished its first half with a net income of more than $157,000 whereas last year the company reported a loss of more than $400,000. Last year’s total, however, reflected an unusual expense of more than $400,000 due to a reduction in workforce.
For its second quarter, which ended May 31, the company increased sales by nearly 31 percent to more than $6.7 million.
In other Lehman Trikes news, the company has named Kennon Hines executive vice president.
Hines will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the company. He will report directly to Dan Patterson, president and CEO.
Patterson will remain at the helm, and whose efforts will focus on the company’s strategic growth and financial plans in concurrence with Lehman’s board of directors.
Since November 2006, Hines has been serving as Lehman Trikes’ vice president of business development and customer support.
During the past 30 years, Hines has held a series of leadership positions. Prior to joining Lehman Trikes, he was a business consultant for numerous Fortune 100 companies. Hines served as vice president of business development and later as vice president of program management at Lockheed Martin. While serving as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, he was a member of the elite Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels.
“Ken has a remarkable and accomplished background and we have the utmost confidence in his abilities,” Patterson said.


Wolverine reports record revenue and earnings
Wolverine World Wide, the exclusive footwear licensee of Harley-Davidson among other brands, reported record revenue and earnings per share for its second quarter.
This represents the company’s 24th consecutive quarter of record results.
Revenue totaled $267.4 million in the quarter ended June 14, a 6.8 percent increase over revenue in the prior year. Earnings per share grew 17.9 percent to $0.33 vs. $0.28 in the second quarter of 2007.
“We are pleased to report another record quarter for the company, particularly in light of the generally tough economic conditions in several major global markets. Our strong financial results were broad-based — all four of our branded operating groups contributed to the revenue increase as consumers around the world continued to embrace the style, performance and innovation of the lifestyle brands in the Wolverine portfolio,” Blake Krueger, the company’s CEO said in a press release. “Our revenue increase was also geographically diverse, as all global regions reported sales increases in the quarter.”


UTI launches $10 million student loan program
Universal Technical Institute has developed a $10 million private loan initiative designed to help students facing the challenges of bridging the tuition gap in today’s tight credit market, the company said in a press release.
The program assists select students who have exhausted traditional Title IV student financial aid eligibility, are unable to qualify for credit-based loan programs and therefore might not otherwise be able to attend UTI.
Loans will be originated by 1st Century Bank, N.A. and serviced by ACS Education Services. To ensure the terms and conditions of these loans remain favorable for students, UTI will bear ultimate financial responsibility for the repayment of loans originated under this program.
“Traditional federal student aid and alternative student loans are still the first and best sources of funding for our students, but this program will greatly assist those who would otherwise be unable to pursue their education goals because of an inability to obtain reasonable loans through other sources,” said Kimberly McWaters, UTI’s president and CEO. “Helping eligible students bridge the tuition gap on a limited basis is a good use of UTI’s strong balance sheet and further enhances our capacity utilization.”


Goodyear announces expansion, more cost savings
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced it’s expanding its cost savings plan and will invest more capital in the Latin American, Eastern European and Asian markets, according to a company press release.
The company plans to increase its cost cut target to more than $2 billion by 2009, compared with a previous target range of $1.8 billion. Cuts will be mainly focused on supply chain efficiencies and back office operations.
Goodyear also plans to invest up to $500 million to relocate and expand a manufacturing plant in China, in an effort to increase production of consumer and commercial tires in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition, the company plans to spend $500 million-$700 million during the next five years to increase production and cost efficiency of four U.S. manufacturing plants.
The company expects total capital investments of about $1 billion-$1.3 billion annually through 2010.

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