Business news in brief

In the Region

Airgas net earnings soar 45% in fiscal 2008

Airgas Inc., the Radnor gas distributor, yesterday reported a 45 percent increase in its fiscal-year net earnings and a 47 percent gain in net earnings for its fourth quarter. The company's shares rose nearly 8 percent in after-hours trading, after it had reported its earnings. Airgas had closed at $49.10 on the New York Stock Exchange. For the full year, Airgas earned $223.3 million on sales of $4 billion, compared with earnings of $154.4 million on sales of $3.2 billion in 2007. In the fourth quarter, the company earned $64.2 million on sales of $1 billion, compared with 2007 earnings of $43.7 million on sales of $853.9 million. - Tony Gnoffo

Moody's says it may downgrade Jones Apparel debt

Moody's Investors Service said it was considering downgrading its debt rating for Jones Apparel Group Inc. deeper into junk-bond status. The bond-rating service also lowered the Bristol, Bucks County, retailer's Speculative Grade Liquidity rating to "SGL-3" from "SGL-2." Analyst Scott Tuhy said Moody's had placed all of Jones Apparel's $750 million in publicly traded debt under review after Jones reported last week that its quarterly profit was down 59 percent. Moody's also is watching to see whether Jones can maintain profit high enough to keep a separate, $1.75 billion revolving credit line intact. Moody's current rating for Jones is "BA-1," its highest non-investment grade. - Maria Panaritis

Herley Industries fined in audit-obstruction case

Herley Industries Inc., a Manheim Township, Lancaster County, supplier of radar-system components to the Navy and Air Force, pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing federal audits and agreed to pay $9.5 million in fines and civil claims to the government. Lee Blatt, 80, former chairman of the firm, pleaded guilty to a criminal-misdemeanor charge of failing to keep tax records required by the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan's announcement said. (Read the company's settlement agreement at http://go.philly.com/herley.) - Henry J. Holcomb

SAP cuts up to 150 jobs after profit decline

SAP AG, which makes business-management software, cut as many as 150 jobs in its Americas unit after reporting its steepest quarterly profit decline in almost six years on acquisition-related costs and a weaker dollar. The unit, based in Newtown Sqaure, consists of operations in the United States, Canada and Latin America. The company would not say how many jobs would be cut in Newtown Square. - Bloomberg News

Campbell Soup announces plans for new products

Campbell Soup Co., Camden, said it would introduce new products for the 2008 fiscal year. The company said the products would include two new lines of soups - five flavors of V8 soups and a new line of Campbell's Select Harvest soups, which will be available in cans and microwavable bowls. The products also include a new line of Swanson stocks and new Pace salsa varieties. - AP

Aker shipyard expands loan deal with Caterpillar

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard said it had expanded its loan agreement with Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. Under the deal, valued at $560 million, Caterpillar will finance construction of the remaining eight tanker cargo ships scheduled to be built by 2011 under a 2005 12-ship agreement, valued at $1 billion, with Overseas Shipholding Group Inc., New York. The yard occupies part of the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. - Henry J. Holcomb

Hill forming joint venture with Egyptian company

Hill International Inc., Mount Laurel, is forming a 50-50 joint venture with Talaat Moustafa Group Holding Co. of Egypt to provide construction-project management services, Raouf S. Gahli, president of the company's Project Group International, said in a statement. Hill shares closed up 20 cents at $14.50. - Joseph N. DiStefano

Goldenberg Rosenthal merges with N.J. firm

Goldenberg Rosenthal L.L.P., a Jenkintown accounting firm with 21 partners and 125 staff members, merged with Edison, N.J.-based Amper, Politziner & Mattia P.C., creating a firm with 84 partners, 600 employees and annual revenue of $113 million. The name of the combined firm will be Amper, Politziner & Mattia. Goldenberg Rosenthal was founded in 1919. - Harold Brubaker

President stepping down at Volpe & Koenig

Anthony S. Volpe, who helped found the intellectual-property law firm Volpe & Koenig P.C. with C. Fredrick "Fred" Koenig, is stepping down as president, the first change in top management in the firm's 21 years, according to a news release. The new president will be Gerald "Jay" B. Halt Jr., 42, who has been with the firm since 1993. Volpe, 62, will retain the title of chief executive officer. Halt said he would like to continue diversifying the client base at the boutique law firm, which also is doubling its office space on South 17th Street. - Roslyn Rudolph

InfoLogix announces debt refinancing

InfoLogix Inc., Hatboro, said it had refinanced its debt on more favorable terms. The deal, with Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc., includes a $10 million revolving line of credit for working capital, which could grow to $12.5 million, and a $12.5 million loan facility. InfoLogix provides technology for business and clinical processes for health care and other sectors. Separately, the company said it had acquired most assets of Delta Health Systems Inc., which provides cost-management consulting services to 300 hospitals in nine states. It declined to disclose what it had paid for the assets or Delta's annual revenue. - Henry J. Holcomb

K-Tron reports a 15.8 percent boost in earnings

K-Tron International Inc., Pitman, reported 15.8 percent higher net earnings - $5.65 million, or $1.96 a share, up from $4.88 million, or $1.72 a share, for the first quarter, which ended March 29. This was achieved on revenue of $57.4 million, up from $46.9 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The company had a record quarter-end order backlog of $75.5 million, it said in a news release. K-Tron designs, produces, markets and services material-handling equipment and systems for the utility, paper, mining and other industries worldwide. - Henry J. Holcomb

Elsewhere

Interest rates rise on short-term Treasury bills

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in yesterday's auction. The Treasury Department auctioned $22 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.610 percent, up from 1.420 percent last week. An additional $21 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 1.740 percent, up from 1.700 percent last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,959.30, while a six-month bill sold for $9,912.03. - AP

Index for adjustable-rate mortgages edges up

The Federal Reserve said yesterday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, rose to 1.93 percent last week from 1.88 percent the previous week. - AP