Auto insurers seek hike
The average Massachusetts car owner would pay an extra $62 for insurance in 2005 under a rate proposal filed by an umbrella group representing the state's auto insurers. The Automobile Insurers Bureau of Massachusetts asked state regulators to raise rates 5.8 percent, a decrease from the 12 percent premium hike it requested last year. The Division of Insurance sets the premiums charged by insurance companies. The average Massachusetts driver currently pays $1,082 annually for insurance, which would increase to $1,144 if the proposal were approved, the AIBM said. Before car rates are set state Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and the Division of Insurance's actuarial arm will weigh in. (Sasha Talcott)
Health plans post earnings
Tufts Health Plan reported an operating loss in the second quarter, while Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care posted robust operating profits. Tufts lost $6.6 million during the quarter, compared to a $13.2 million profit in the year-ago quarter. Revenue dropped 3.6 percent to $554.2 million, down from $574.7 million for the same period last year. Blue Cross's operating profit jumped 71.8 percent to $49.3 million, up from $28.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue grew 12.1 percent to $1.2 billion, up from $1.07 billion. Harvard Pilgrim's operating profit during the quarter fell 67.3 percent to $1.8 million, down from $5.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue grew 14.4 percent to $578.2 million, up from $505.3 million. (Liz Kowalczyk)
Avid Technology purchase
Avid Technology Inc., which makes software and computers for editing digital audio and video, agreed to buy Midiman Inc. for about $174.5 million to add products for the home recording-studio market. Tewksbury-based Avid will pay $80 million in cash and issue 2 million shares of its common stock valued at $47.26 each, the average closing price for the previous 30 trading days, said Dean Ridlon, Avid's director of investor relations. The company also will assume about $13.7 million in Midiman stock options. California-based Midiman does business as M-Audio and makes equipment for recording digital audio at home. The transaction is expected to close this month. (Bloomberg)
Hospitals report earnings
Buoyed by growing numbers of patients, Partners HealthCare, the parent organization of Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals, posted a $30 million operating profit for the quarter ended June 30, a 32.2 percent jump over the $22.7 million more than the year-ago quarter. Revenue grew 8.7 percent to $1.3 billion, up from $1.2 billion. All Partners acute care hospitals, including Mass. General, the Brigham, Faulkner Hospital, North Shore Medical Center, and Newton-Wellesley Hospital posted operating profits in the quarter. Boston Medical Center, where the numbers of patients and surgeries also are growing, posted an operating profit of $3.2 million in the quarter, compared to a $1.2 million loss in the year-ago quarter. Revenue shot up 9.8 percent, to $170.6 million from $155.3 million. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center posted an operating profit of $12 million compared to a break-even quarter a year ago. Revenue grew 19.2 percent to $255.7 million, up from $214.5 million. (Liz Kowalczyk)
. . .Etc.
Mykrolis Corp. of Billerica, which supplies components and subsystems to the semiconductor industry, acquired the assets of Bentec Scientific LLC, which makes components used in semiconductor manufacturing. Financial terms were not disclosed . . . Liberty Mutual Group may have its debt rating cut by Moody's Investors Service due to concern about reserves for future claims, Moody's said. The Boston insurer's $2.1 billion of debt is on review for a possible downgrade, Moody's said. The insurer's senior unsecured debt is rated Baa3 and may be lowered one level. (Globe wire services)
