BUSINESS
By Gus G. Sentementes, The Baltimore Sun | May 5, 2010
Medifast Inc., an Owings Mills-based company specializing in weight loss programs, reported sharply higher revenue and profit in the first quarter. The company had profit of $4.9 million, or 33 cents per share, compard to $2.5 million, or 17 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Net revenue rose nearly 75 percent, from $35 million in the first quarter last year to $61 million this quarter. The company said it has 45 corporate and franchised weight-control centers, and plans to open another 13 to 15 new centers this year.
NEWS
July 20, 2012
In his recent op-ed, Professor James Burdick of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine writes that the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ACA was a step toward universal care for all ("Universal care on the horizon," July 13). However, I find this assertion ironic because we are now further entrenched in a market system that does not embrace the idea of health care as a right. Dr. Burdick claims the inevitability of universal care, stating that partisan arguments will have to subside and that ultimately, the ACA reduces costs through cutting over-utilization.
BUSINESS
By Lorraine Mirabella, The Baltimore Sun | May 5, 2010
Hunt Valley-based Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. reported a first-quarter profit Wednesday, a turnaround from a first-quarter loss in 2009, as sales of television advertising improved. Sinclair, owner or programmer of 58 TV stations including Fox 45 in Baltimore, said it earned net income of $11.5 million, or 14 cents per share, in the three months that ended March 31. The broadcaster had posted a loss of $85.7 million, or $1.06 per share, in the first three months of 2009, largely due to an after-tax, $100.
NEWS
February 14, 2010
It's disappointing to hear so much rhetoric coming from members of the development community and some local politicians over new storm water rules in Maryland ("A threat to Smart Growth" Feb. 2). The plain truth is that developers appreciate a clean and healthy Chesapeake Bay when they can build waterfront homes or other development projects with real estate values boosted by water views. But when saving the bay requires them (and everyone else, by the way) to do more to protect it, they threaten to retreat to the sprawling suburbs again.
BUSINESS
By Hanah Cho, The Baltimore Sun | July 26, 2010
Legg Mason Inc.'s quarterly profit fell 4 percent as operating costs grew and investors continued to withdraw money from the Baltimore asset manager's funds. Meanwhile, Legg Chief Executive Officer Mark R. Fetting said Monday that efforts to "streamline" its business by cutting 350 back-office jobs — 250 of them in Owings Mills and Baltimore — began July 1 and are on target to save $130 million to $150 million on an annual basis by March 2012. The work force reduction to boost profit margins was announced in May, but employees won't start losing jobs until the end of the year, Fetting said.
BUSINESS
By Gus G. Sentementes, The Baltimore Sun | August 23, 2012
MICROS Systems Inc., a Columbia-based provider of software for the hospitality industry, reported Thursday its profit in the fourth quarter rose 16 percent on higher sales revenues. The company, which makes point-of-sale software for hotels, restaurants and retailers, said its revenues climbed more than 10 percent, or $28.4 million, to $303 million in the quarter ending June 30. The higher revenues helped the company earn a profit of $48 million — an increase of $6.7 million, or 16 percent, over the similar period last year.