Hecla Mining posts $8.7 million loss

Coeur d’Alene’s Hecla Mining Co. lost $8.7 million during the third quarter, a result of lower ore grades and higher costs at its Venezuelan gold mines, company officials said.

The loss amounts to 7 cents per share, and compares with a loss of $11.4 million, or 10 cents a share, during the third quarter of 2004.

Rising fuel, steel and cement affected costs at most of Hecla’s mines during the third quarter, said Phil Baker, company president and chief executive officer. Higher labor costs and a stronger Venezuelan currency also contributed to higher costs at its gold mines, along with work slowdowns initiated by a new union, and lower ore grades.

According to Baker, productivity at Venezuelan operations began improving in October. However, Hecla’s stock price plunged in recent weeks following media reports of an audit by the Venezuelan tax agency, SENIAT.

Baker told analysts during a conference call Tuesday that there’s nothing to worry about. “I want to reassure shareholders that we are operating legally in Venezuela, have had a good relationship with the government during the nearly seven years we’ve been operating there, and have had tax reviews frequently in the past with satisfactory results,” he said.

Hecla employs nearly 1,000 workers in Venezuela. The company’s stock closed up 2 cents Tuesday at $3.36 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.

Boeing to lay off 250 in Wichita

Wichita, Kan. Boeing Co. said Tuesday it would lay off about 250 workers at its Wichita operations, partly because of program delays caused by the recent Machinists union strike.

The announcement came the same day the aerospace manufacturer began contract negotiations with its engineers here.

The layoffs include cuts at the Integrated Defense Systems unit – reductions that Derek McLuckey, general manager of the site, attributed to delays in major programs due to the work stoppage.

On Sept. 30, about 18,400 Boeing machinists in the Pacific Northwest and Wichita returned to work after a four-week strike that shut down the company’s commercial airplane assembly plants and slowed work at its Wichita defense facility.

The company said the layoffs also include previously announced reductions in its Shared Services Group and Information Technology operations – cuts that followed Boeing’s decision to consolidate enterprise services and the sale of its commercial airplanes operations in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Blockbuster loses $491 million in third quarter

Dallas Blockbuster Inc., the nation’s largest movie-rental chain, posted a $491.4 million third-quarter loss as the elimination of most late fees continued to chip away at revenue and the growth of the company’s online service stalled. The company’s shares tumbled more than 5 percent.

Executives said Blockbuster would cut spending and raise at least $100 million through a private placement of convertible preferred stock.

In a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Blockbuster said “a very large majority” of its assets are already pledged as collateral on loans and that trade creditors were imposing stricter terms.

The company said it could be forced into bankruptcy protection if a new credit agreement with lenders doesn’t become effective or if lenders recall loans because of failure to meet debt covenants – typically things like exceeding debt ratios.

Blockbuster said it lost $491.4 million, or $2.67 per share, during the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to a loss of $1.41 billion, or $7.81 per share, a year earlier. Both periods included big charges.