Net Loss

The money-losing operations of the Maryland Jockey Club significantly contributed to corporate owner MI Developments' $47.3 million fourth-quarter net loss from its overall racing business. Part of that loss is $23.7 million from the company's equity investments, which is primarily the operations of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course , the company announced late Thursday. The Ontario-based MI Developments owns 51 percent of the two tracks, while Pennsylvania casino operator Penn National Gaming owns the remaining equity.

Corporate Office Properties Trust, an owner and developer of office complexes for government agencies and contractors, said Thursday its second-quarter funds from operations rose 6 percent because of gains on investments and properties the company acquired or opened last year. The Columbia-based real estate investment trust said funds from operations rose to 57 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with 54 cents per share for the second quarter of 2010, excluding a non-cash impairment charge for acquisition costs.

Ciena Corp., a Linthicum-based maker of telecommunications networking equipment, said Wednesday its loss widened in the fiscal third quarter partly because of costs associated with the purchase of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks division. Net loss for the quarter ending July 31 was $109.9 million, or $1.18 per share, compared with a loss of $26.5 million, or 29 cents per share, in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the quarter was $389.7 million, which includes $221.

Severn Bancorp, the Annapolis-based parent of its namesake bank, posted Friday a net loss for the second quarter due to an increase in loan loss reserves. The company reported a loss of $846,000, or 13 cents per share, for the three months ending June 30, compared with a net profit of $593,000, or 2 cents per share, in the corresponding period last year. The company said it put aside $3 million to cover potential losses on acquisition and development loans. "While we are not pleased with its impact, management is comfortable with the decision to act in a prudent and cautious manner with respect to the allowance for loan losses," Severn President and CEO Alan J. Hyatt said in a statement.

Citing a slowdown in technology purchases and a weakened euro, Micros Systems Inc. reported yesterday a net loss of $919,000 for its fiscal first quarter of 2001, which ended on Sept. 30. The loss for the Columbia-based developer of applications for the hospitality industry was 5 cents a diluted share and came on revenue of $74 million. For the corresponding period last year, Micros posted net income of $5.1 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, on sales of $87.4 million. The company's operating expenses increased 19.7 percent to $37.4 million.

Maryland experienced a net loss of 2,400 jobs last month, according to new federal estimates, puzzling economists who said they've seen no sign of significant layoffs in the state. The loss, adjusted for seasonal variations, mainly was caused by a decline in the number of government positions, the U.S. Labor Department said yesterday. It followed a net decrease of 2,200 jobs in August, after what had been steady growth earlier in the year. State employment was about 2.5 million in September.

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. said yesterday that it had an operating profit of $392 million in the second quarter -- its most heartening quarterly showing in two years.The company reported a net loss of $357.1 million for the quarter because of a $749.4 million charge by its Hughes Aircraft subsidiary.The operating earnings reflected increased factory sales of cars and trucks to dealers, and cost savings from GM's reorganized North American automotive operations, said Chairman Robert C. Stempel.

Human Genome Sciences, a Rockville company that is developing gene-based therapies for various illnesses, reported a third-quarter net loss of $68.9 million yesterday -- more than five times its loss a year ago -- largely because of one-time expenses related to the conversion of debt to equity. The company also reported decreased revenue from its collaborative contracts with pharmaceutical companies, saying they brought in $642,000 in the quarter that ended March 31, compared with $1.4 million a year ago. The decrease was related to the expiration of a three-year contract with the former Pharmacia & UpJohn Inc., which was using HGS genomes in its own drug-development efforts, Chief Financial Officer Steven C. Mayer said.

Digene Corp., a maker of medical diagnostic tests, said yesterday that strong sales of its cervical cancer tests drove its quarterly revenue up 49 percent as its net loss decreased 32 percent. Revenue climbed $11.6 million in the Gaithersburg company's fiscal second quarter, which ended Dec. 31, compared with $7.8 million in the year-earlier period. Digene posted a net loss of $1.1 million, or 6 cents per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' estimates. Digene reported a $1.6 million loss for the year-earlier quarter.

Host Marriott Corp. of Bethesda yesterday reported a slight gain in core earnings during the fourth quarter of last year, its first quarter as an independent company, but heavy depreciation write-offs on the company's 127 hotels forced a net loss.Earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation were $95 million, up from the $94 million the company would have earned had it been independent during the fourth quarter of 1992. Host Marriott was then part of Marriott Corp., which split into separate units to own and manage hotels and other assets last October.

The money-losing operations of the Maryland Jockey Club significantly contributed to corporate owner MI Developments' $47.3 million fourth-quarter net loss from its overall racing business. Part of that loss is $23.7 million from the company's equity investments, which is primarily the operations of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course , the company announced late Thursday. The Ontario-based MI Developments owns 51 percent of the two tracks, while Pennsylvania casino operator Penn National Gaming owns the remaining equity.

First Mariner Bancorp, parent of the Baltimore-based bank that is under federal orders to raise capital, posted Monday a fourth-quarter net loss of $33.4 million, or $1.85 per share — its largest quarterly loss since at least 2000. The loss was largely due to a $29.9 million charge to the company's income tax expense, reflecting the lower value of its deferred tax assets. For the same quarter a year ago, the company reported a loss of $3.8 million, or 58 cents per share. Excluding the charge, the company said its loss for the three months ending Dec. 31 was $3.5 million.

Ciena Corp., a Linthicum-based maker of telecommunications networking equipment, said Wednesday its loss widened in the fiscal third quarter partly because of costs associated with the purchase of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks division. Net loss for the quarter ending July 31 was $109.9 million, or $1.18 per share, compared with a loss of $26.5 million, or 29 cents per share, in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the quarter was $389.7 million, which includes $221.

Game Trading Technologies Inc., a Hunt Valley-based supplier of used video games to retailers, said Tuesday that it posted a net loss of $901,000 on revenue of $6.6 million in the second quarter. In the similar quarter a year earlier, GTTI had a profit of $915,000 on revenue of $13 million. The company, which held a public stock offering in March, said the second quarter is typically the slowest period of the year for its business. gus.sentementes@baltsun.com http://twitter.

The parent of Baltimore County Savings Bank reported Friday a profit of $607,000, or 14 cents per diluted share, for the three months ending June 30, compared with a net loss of $418,000, or 20 cents per diluted share, in the same period last year. Total assets increased to $622.3 million, from $569.4 million a year ago. BCBS is one of several banks in the region that received federal assistance designed to spur lending. Under the Troubled Assets Relief Program, BCSB received $10.2 million.

Columbia-based Osiris Therapeutics Inc. reported several breakthroughs in clinical trials of its stem-cell therapy and improved fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The biotechnology company said fourth-quarter net income rose to $15.7 million on revenue of $10.7 million, compared to a net loss of $7.8 million on revenue of $6.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Net income in the quarter included a $15.9 million gain from the sale of discontinued operations. In addition, the company said it is moving forward with a study to evaluate the safety of its stem-cell therapy Prochymal to treat heart attack patients after getting positive results on an earlier study.

Extending its string of money-losing quarters to seven, USAir Group Inc. reported yesterday a net loss of $168.7 million for the first quarter of this year.The loss, which is more than four times larger than the loss of 1990's first quarter, is further evidence of the damage resulting from an industrywide slump in air travel demand and sky-high fuel prices associated with the recession and the Persian Gulf war."Everybody did poorly in the first quarter of the year," said Thomas Longman, an analyst with Bearn Stearns & Co. in New York.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. reported a smaller quarterly loss Wednesday, thanks to improved spending by automotive advertisers. The Hunt Valley-based operator of 58 television stations posted a net loss of $67.8 million in the three months that ended Dec. 31, or a loss of 85 cents per common share, compared with a fourth quarter net loss of $283.5 million, or $3.46 per share, in 2008. Net broadcast revenue fell a less-than-expected 6.4 percent, to $153.9 million for the quarter, from $164.