Business Briefs

Solar firm puts panels on car dealerships

Hilo-based ProVision Solar is halfway though a project that involves the installation of solar photovoltaic systems on eight Hawaii island auto businesses.

Since December Provision Solar has installed systems on Kama­aina Motors, Kama­aina Nissan, and Parts Center Hawaii in Captain Cook and Wai­mea. The four systems have a total generating capacity of 235 kilowatts, according to a news release.

The remaining four PV systems at Hilo Used Cars, Parts Center Hawaii in Hilo, Kona Nissan and Kona Chrysler are scheduled to be installed before year’s end.

The solar panels used in the project are made by Japa­nese-based Kyocera. The PV systems will help the businesses offset the high cost of utility-generated electricity on Hawaii island, which ranges from 37 cents a kilowatt-hour and 47 cents a kilowatt-hour depending on a business’ size and power consumption.

"The real-world performance of these roof-mounted systems, which produce up to 100 percent of the power needs of the businesses, have made true believers of the owners," said Marco Mangelsdorf, president of ProVision Solar.

Monopoly campaign lifts Hasbro sales

PAWTUCKET, R.I. » Hasbro reported first-quarter results Monday that beat Wall Street expectations as the toy maker benefited from an online campaign that let people vote to eliminate one of its Monopoly tokens and introduce a new one.

The maker of G.I. Joe, My Little Pony and Transformers said revenue rose for three of its four categories: games, girls and preschool. Its boys category continued to face troubles, with sales down 20 percent.

Rival Mattel, which is the world’s biggest toy maker and purveyor of Barbie dolls, last week also reported better-than-expected results, as strong sales of dolls like Monster High, Disney Princess and American Girl helped more than quadruple net income.

Yahoo will end email service in China

SAN FRANCISCO » Yahoo’s email service in China will close this summer as part of an arrangement worked out with its partner in that country, Ali­baba Group.

The service is scheduled to close Aug. 19. Yahoo is recommending users of its free email service in China transfer their accounts to another provider such as Aliyun, an email alternative offered by Alibaba.

Yahoo Inc., based in Sunnyvale, Calif., has been phasing out of China since 2005 when it turned its website, email and other services over to Ali­baba. As part of that deal, Yahoo paid $1 billion for a 40 percent stake in Ali­baba, one of China’s biggest Internet companies.

Caterpillar’s first-quarter profit drops

MINNEAPOLIS » A slowdown in the mining business is digging a hole in Caterpillar’s profits.

First-quarter profit shrank 45 percent and Caterpillar has lowered its expectations for full-year sales and profit because its mining business is slowing. Sales of Caterpillar-branded mining machines such as large trucks and bulldozers will drop by half this year, the company said Monday.

Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., said mining customers placed big orders for equipment last year, but then mining profits fell, so now those customers are cutting back. Dealers who would normally be stocking up on Caterpillar gear to get ready for a busy summer instead cut inventory during the first quarter.

Flights are held back

Flight delays piled up all along the East Coast on Monday as thousands of air traffic controllers were forced to take an unpaid day off because of federal budget cuts. One out of every 5 flights at New York’s LaGuardia International scheduled to take off before noon Monday was delayed 15 minutes or more, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

Halliburton loss linked to gulf oil spill suits

DALLAS » Halliburton Co. said Monday that it lost money in the first quarter after adding $637 million to the reserve it has to cover litigation over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It’s also in talks to settle most claims related to the spill.

The Houston company lost $18 million in the first quarter, or 2 cents per share. Excluding the money set aside, Halliburton would have posted a profit of 67 cents, beating Wall Street expectations.

Quarterly revenue rose slightly to $6.97 billion from $6.87 billion.

ON THE MOVE

Pali Momi Medical Center has named:

» Miriam Tcheng as director of food and nutrition. She was director of environmental services and nutritional services at Mercy Medical Center and nutrition services manager at Merced County Head Start, both in California, and has served as an adjunct professor in nutrition at Merced Community College, a clinical dietician at Memorial Medical Center and an associate dietary consultant at Rehab & Care Center in Illinois.

» Frank Brodrick as chef. He was director of food and nutrition services at Twin Cities Community Hospital in California and a production manager/executive chef at Boston Medical Center.

JB Brands has announced Quinn Fisher as an account executive. She was an account executive with MVNP in Hono­­lulu.

Anthony Marketing Group has hired Amy Thompson as a senior account supervisor for its advertising division, Laird Christianson. She has more than 20 years’ experience and previously worked at another Hono­lulu advertising agency, where she represented clients in banking, tourism and public health.