Washington Trust delays earnings report

Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. (WASH:NASDAQ), the publicly owned holding company of The Washington Trust Co., headquartered in Westerly, has delayed its third-quarter earnings release and conference call previously scheduled for yesterday. The company postponed the report because it is reviewing the accounting treatment and financial statement presentation relating to certain investment portfolio transactions conducted in April 2007. These transactions were conducted in connection with plans related to the early adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 159, “The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Liabilities,” which the corporation intended to implement at the time.

It subsequently elected not to proceed with the early adoption of this accounting pronouncement and said it believes the resolution of the matter will not have a material impact on net income for the three-month period ended Sept. 30. The corporation said it anticipates that the third-quarter earnings release will take place no later than Oct. 31.

Washington Trust disclosed Friday after the close of trading on Wall Street that it would postpone its earnings report. The company’s stock closed yesterday at 24.69, up 0.51 cents, or 2.11 percent.

Quinlan Cos. expands service area

The Quinlan Cos. Inc., of Providence, will purchase three records-management storage facilities, expanding the company’s service area and market share nationwide. The sale means Quinlan has added significant square footage of records storage capacity along with hundreds of new customers. The three facilities were purchased from ChartOne, Inc. of Burlington, Mass. ChartOne will continue to expand its presence in the release-of-information services and medical records markets.

High cost of crude oil pumps up gas prices

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island reacted to the higher costs of crude oil last week by jumping 4 cents for self-service to average $2.719, according to a survey conducted by AAA Southern New England. The range in prices was 16 cents, from a low of $2.659 to a high of $2.819 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the average price in Rhode Island was $2.189 a gallon. The national average yesterday was $2.819, 10 cents a gallon higher than the Rhode Island average.

Entrepreneurs get chance to pitch ideas

Anyone with a business idea seeking free feedback from experts and a chance to win cash prizes may participate in the second annual Rhode Island Elevator Pitch-Off to be held Nov. 7, the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition announced yesterday. Up to 30 participants will present their ideas in 90 seconds to a panel of six judges at Johnson & Wales University. Following each presentation, the judges will give two minutes of feedback about the clarity and persuasiveness of the presentation. At the end of the evening, cash prizes totaling $1,000 will be awarded to the best presenters. Registrations are being accepted at www.ri-bizplan.com. Attendees who want to listen, but not present, may also register at the same Web site. The Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants has agreed to support the 2008 competition.

Other sponsoring organizations include: Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP; Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., Ltd.; Seyfarth Shaw; Brown University; Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, LLP; Embolden Design; Nortek Inc.; Brown Forum for Enterprise; Business Development Co. of Rhode Island; Cherrystone Angel Group; CVS Caremark; Federal Electronics, Inc.; Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce; Johnson and Wales University; Point Judith Capital; Providence Business News; Rhode Island Commodores; Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation; Bryant University; Citizens Bank of Rhode Island; Item Group; Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc.; Heartlab/Agfa; Naval Undersea Warfare Center; RDW Group; Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants; Salve Regina University; Smith Barney; Software Quality Associates; The Employers Association; and University of Rhode Island.

Slade’s Ferry Bancorp hits rocky quarter

Slade’s Ferry Bancorp (SFBC:Nasdaq), the parent company of Slade’s Ferry Trust Co., has announced that its net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $832,000, a decrease of 20.2 percent from net income for the same period last year, which totaled $1.0 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share were 21 cents and 25 cents for the quarters this year and last year, respectively. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income was $2.5 million, a decrease of 3.1 percent from net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30, last year, which totaled $2.6 million.

Basic and diluted earnings per share were 62 cents for the period this year and last. Total interest and dividend income increased from $8.7 million for the quarter last year to $9.0 million for the quarter this year, an increase of 3.5 percent, primarily as a result of commercial loan growth. For the nine months this year, total interest and dividend income was $26.5 million, compared with $24.6 million for the same period last year, an increase of 7.9 percent, also attributable to commercial loan growth.

United Rentals seals merger with Cerberus

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI), of Greenwich, Conn., has announced that its stockholders have approved the merger agreement providing for the purchase of the company by affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. At a special meeting Friday, approximately 99.8 percent of the votes cast were in favor of the purchase, representing approximately 76.8 percent of the total voting power outstanding and entitled to vote at the meeting.

After the transaction closes, the company’s holders of common stock will be entitled to receive $34.50 in cash for each share held. The company currently anticipates that the transaction will close in November 2007.

ISO New England charges up system plan

The board of directors of ISO New England Inc., the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets, have approved the 2007 Regional System Plan. This year’s comprehensive assessment shows progress in a number of areas, including demand- and supply-side resource development as well as significant upgrades to the transmission system serving the six New England states. Taken together, these advances demonstrate the effectiveness of a sound wholesale electric market structure and robust system planning to ensure that electricity needs are met reliably and efficiently, the board said.

Among the areas of improvement cited is a growing confidence in and reliance on demand-side resources to fulfill regional reliability needs. New England’s Forward Capacity Market has helped speed the development of demand resources, including demand response, conservation and energy efficiency, as evidenced by the more than 1,200 megawatts of demand-response resources enrolled in ISO New England’s programs and that more than 2,000 MW of demand resources have expressed an interest in participating in the initial FCM auction in February 2008.

Ski resort, N.H. governor duel over expansion

Operators of New Hampshire’s Mount Sunapee ski resort have sued the state, claiming that Gov. John Lynch has violated their lease agreement by refusing to consider their plan to expand. Lynch, however, said it’s not in the state’s best interest to give permission for Tim and Diane Mueller to change the ski area lease to facilitate condominum development on nearby private land.

The state has leased the Muellers the land since 1998. For six years, the Muellers have tried to expand the resort to include 175 acres of state park land, thus connecting the ski resort to private land they own in Goshen.