ETS buys Pulliam Group
Educational Testing Service, in Lawrence Township, has acquired The Pulliam Group of Redlands, Calif., according to a company statement released Feb. 4.
Established in 1999, The Pulliam Group has 60 employees and is a leading provider of educational software products and professional development services that enable assessment for improved student performance, according to the company’s Web site.
The financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed, but ETS did note in its release that the new company will be called ETS Pulliam and remain in Redlands.
Auto insurance consumer report
In an effort to give New Jersey consumers more tools to choose the right auto insurance policy, the state Department of Banking and Insurance has released the first Auto Company Performance Report for Consumers.
The report, issued Feb. 4, gives consumers a list of all insurance companies insuring New Jersey drivers and ranks them by total number of complaints and valid complaint ratios, the number of valid complaints compared to total number of cars covered.
"Today’s information, along with other tools the Department is preparing . . . are moving NJ from a state where drivers feel powerless in managing their auto insurance, to a state where consumers truly are moving into the driver’s seat," said Holly Bakke, banking and insurance commissioner.
Full details of the report and a Consumer’s Guide to Auto Insurance can be viewed at www.njdobi.org.
WindsorTech posts 4th quarter results
WindsorTech, Inc., a data security and environmental compliance company in Hightstown, recently reported that December 2003 was the company’s first $1 million revenue month.
For the entire fourth quarter, ending Dec. 31, 2003, the company reported net income of $176,088 or 1 cent per basic and diluted share on revenues of $2.4 million a greater than 100-percent increase in revenue over the same period in 2002, according to a Feb. 4 statement.
"The fourth quarter of 2003 was a very strong quarter with three consecutive record revenue months," said Marc Sherman, CEO of WindsorTech. "Both revenue growth and positive quarterly earnings set an excellent tone for 2004."
Audited full year results are expected around March 1.
Pharmacopeia helps ALTANA
Cranbury-based Pharmacopeia Inc. announced Feb. 3 it has entered into a research collaboration with ALTANA Pharma AG of Konstanz, Germany.
Pharmacopeia and ALTANA will work together to identify and optimize small molecule lead compounds. Pharmacopeia is a leader in enabling science and technology that accelerates and improves drug discovery and chemical development processes.
Under the terms of the collaborative agreement, Pharmacopeia will receive funding for providing its research services and be entitled to receive additional payments upon the successful achievement of milestones. The company will also receive royalties upon the commercialization of any drugs resulting from the relationship.
Tyco boasts net income increase
Tyco International, a Bermuda-based company with its corporate headquarters in West Windsor, reported a 23 percent increase in net income for its fiscal 2004 first quarter, according to a company statement released Feb. 3.
"We had a good first quarter, driven primarily by strong revenue and operating income in our electronics and healthcare segments," said CEO Edward Breen.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, the company reported net income of $719.2 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with $589.9 million, or 29 cents per share a year earlier.
In addition, Tyco’s audit committee and board of directors recently recommended appointing Deloitte & Touche as the company’s independent auditors for the fiscal year 2004.
Deloitte & Touche would replace PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tyco’s auditor since 1984.
Shareholders are expected to vote on the proposed change March 25 at the company’s annual general meeting.
Gov. McGreevey pushes job training
Gov. James E. McGreevey announced Jan. 28 a plan to consolidate the state’s many workforce training programs currently divided between three departments under the new Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The new department replaces the Department of Labor.
"The current system is too fragmented," the governor said in a press release. "We must restructure these programs under a single department with a single task."
The transition should be complete July 1. About $150 million in funding used locally for job training under programs in the state Department of Education and Department of Human Services will be rolled into the new Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Venture capital investment up
Venture capital investing nearly tripled in New Jersey during the fourth quarter of 2003, according to a quarterly survey unveiled Jan. 28.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association report that venture capitalists invested $327.2 million in 23 New Jersey companies during the fourth quarter, compared with $111.6 million invested in 22 companies one year before.
Nationally, venture capital investing declined for a third straight year, to $18.2 billion from $21.4 billion. But New Jersey bucked the national trend, ending 2003 with a total of $810 million, compared with $719 million in 2002.
First Washington earnings on the rise
First Washington Financial Corp., the holding company for First Washington State Bank, reported record earnings for 2003, according to company statement released Jan. 27.
Net income for 2003 was $4.76 million, an increase of $608,000 or 14.67 percent over the prior year.
Earnings per basic share and per diluted share were $1.40 and $1.33 respectively, compared to $1.24 and $1.21 respectively in 2002.
Total assets increased from $384.9 million at the end of 2002 to $446.12 million at year-end 2003, an increase of 15.9 percent.
Net loans grew by 6.24 percent to $204.36 million, up from $192.36 million. Deposits increased 17 percent from $328.88 million to $385.03 million.
First Washington State Bank is headquartered in Washington Township and has 15 branch offices in Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Sarnoff beefs up airport security
Sarnoff Corp. will be providing the enabling technology for a high-tech airport security effort in Montana, the West Windsor-based company announced Jan. 26.
The Helena Regional Airport Authority partnered with Sarnoff, G5 Technologies of Cherry Hill and several Montana companies to create the Distributed Ad-hoc Intelligent Sensor-Intrusion Detection System (DAIS-IDS), which is expected to serve as a model for airports around the country.
The security system will use wireless sensors to detect intruders to classified areas, enable security personnel to use biometric devices such as fingerprint recognition technology to identify intruders and increase the efficiency of security alerts via the wireless network.
DAIS-IDS is expected to be operational within six months. Its design is the result of nearly two years of work, funded in part by HRAA and the National Science Foundation Partnership for Innovation program.
First Constitution net income up
First Constitution Bancorp reported record net income for the year ending Dec. 31, 2003, according to a company statement released Jan. 20.
For 2003, net income reached $3.2 million, or $1.97 per diluted share, representing a 20.1-percent increase in earnings and a 19.4-percent increase in diluted earnings per share. Last year the company reported a net income of $2.7 million, or $1.65 per diluted share.
Returns on average equity and average assets were 14.85 percent and 1.18 percent respectively, as well, for 2003.
In addition, total assets reached $293.4 million at Dec. 31, 2003, an increase of $19.6 million from Dec. 31, 2002. Deposits at the same time grew to $245.3 million, up from $224.1 million the previous year.
