Venture capital association gets new leader
Melialana James, program manager for the local Blue Startups technology accelerator, will take over as president of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association.
Also joining James on the HVCA board is Chenoa Farnsworth, managing director of Blue Startups, according to the HVCA website. James and Farnsworth will be introduced in their new roles at the HVCA’s monthly luncheon Thursday at the Plaza Club.
"With new leadership, HVCA will revitalize its monthly speaker series to provide a venue to connect the entrepreneurial, business and investor communities of Hawaii," according to the HVCA website.
James joined Blue Startups in January 2013 to lead the organization’s operations. Before that she launched Hawaii Apps LLC in 2012 to develop mobile apps for local businesses. She also is co-founder of mobile applications Nirvino and TuneTug and has 12 years of marketing, operations, research and event experience working with W Hotels and the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau.
PepsiCo net up on snack sales, price hikes
NEW YORK » PepsiCo reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit as the company sold more snacks and hiked prices.
The company, which makes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Mountain Dew and Tropicana products, said global snack volume rose 2 percent in the period. Global beverage volume was unchanged from a year ago, including in its closely watched North American drinks unit.
Even though beverage volume was flat in North America, PepsiCo managed to push up revenue by raising prices as well as introducing more expensive drinks such as Mountain Dew Kickstart, which is marketed as an energy drink of sorts for younger men. For the quarter, the company earned $1.22 billion, or 79 cents a share. Revenue edged up to a better-than expected $12.62 billion.
Goldman Sachs’ profit drops 11 percent
NEW YORK » Goldman Sachs’ earnings fell in the first quarter as bond trading slumped, but the results still came in ahead of what investors expected as other parts of the bank performed well.
The bank earned $1.95 billion in the quarter, down 11 percent from $2.19 billion in the same period a year earlier. The earnings were equivalent to $4.02 a share, compared with $4.29 in the first quarter of 2013. Revenue totaled $9.33 billion, down 8 percent from $10.09 billion a year earlier.
Barbie sales, clearances drag down Mattel
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. » Toy maker Mattel says weak sales of Barbie and markdowns to clear out excess inventory left over from a sluggish holiday season led to an unexpected first-quarter loss.
Toy makers are facing a weak environment globally due to the uncertain economy and popularity of electronic gadgets. The first quarter is the seasonally smallest for toy makers, coming after the key holiday quarter, which can account for up to 40 percent of revenue.
The largest U.S. toy maker says its net loss for the three months ended March 31 totaled $11.2 million, or 3 cents a share. That compares with net income of $38.5 million, or 11 cents a share, last year. Revenue fell 2 percent in North America and 7 percent internationally.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Finance Factors promoted April Lee to vice president, associate general counsel and lending compliance officer. She was previously assistant vice president, associate general counsel and lending compliance officer. Before joining Finance Factors, Lee served as an associate attorney for Cades Schutte as well as for Imanaka Kudio and Fujimoto.
Hunt Cos. Hawaii Division has promoted Blair Suzuki to development manager. He joined Hunt in 2012 as an assistant development manager. Suzuki previously served as an investment associate at Tradewind Capital Group and assistant vice president/commercial real estate officer at Bank of Hawaii.
