Emcor posts record earnings

On the heels of several large orders, Emcor Group Inc. registered its best-ever earnings in a second quarter.

The Norwalk-based company builds and maintains mechanical and electrical systems, employing more than 27,000 people. On July 9, Emcor completed a two-for-one stock split for stockholders as of June 20.

Emcor had $26 million in second-quarter profits on revenue of $1.4 billion. A year ago, earnings were $17 million on $1.2 billion in sales.

In April, Emcor received a contract worth up to $120 million to maintain 19 U.S. Navy facilities in the Washington, D.C., area totaling 14 million square feet of space. The facilities covered include the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., the Naval Observatory and the Naval Research Laboratory.

A month later, the company racked up $200 million in contracts at a half-dozen medical operations, including Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

In June, British Airways extended its contract with Emcor three years, in which Emcor maintains nearly 9 million square feet of space in British Airways passenger lounges, industrial buildings, hangars and offices.

 

Headline: Praxair thrives; seeks to buy back its own stock

Thanks in part to increased business from energy utilities, Praxair posted record highs for sales and earnings in the second quarter and announced plans to repurchase up to $1 billion in stock.

The Danbury-based company sells gases for use in hospitals, factories and other industrial facilities. In the first half of 2007, Praxair spent $327 million to acquire other businesses, including competitor Linde AG”™s gas business in Mexico and Mittler Supply Inc., a distributor of industrial gases in the Midwest.

Praxair had net income of $291 million, up 18 percent from the second quarter of 2006. The company”™s sales were up 12 percent to $2.3 billion.

 

Report: Investors seek stake in hedge fund

SAC Capital Advisors L.L.C. reportedly has been approached by investors interested in acquiring up to a 20 percent stake.

The news was reported by the Financial Times, which did not cite its source, and several other publications.

With $14 billion in assets, the Stamford firm numbers among the largest hedge funds in the world.

Several hedge funds have sold stakes in the past year, including FrontPoint Partners L.L.C. of Greenwich, a $5.5 billion fund as of last October that was acquired by Morgan Stanley for a reported $400 million.

In separate news, as of mid-July SAC employees had contributed $270,000 this year to the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, according to a campaign donor review by the Wall Street Journal. The Connecticut senator is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.