Lexington Herald-Leader from Lexington, Kentucky • 8

Lexington Herald-Leader AS Wednesday February 20 1985 Housing starts surged 1 49 in January Spendthrift 6-month earnings increase sharply Staff win report Spendthrift Farm Inc of Lexington reported a loss in its second quarter of $1 million but its six-month earnings remain 202 percent higher than in the like period a year ago the thoroughbred breeding company announced yesterday Spendthrift lost 7 cents a share in the quarter that ended Dec 31 compared with a loss of $467000 or 3 cents a share for the comparable period in 1961 Revenues at $4R million were $700000 higher Net income for the half-year climbed to $13 million or 38 cents a share compared with $175 million in 1961 Half-year revenues were $274 million a 94 percent increase over the previous year For horse farms such as Spendthrift the first quarter is the strongest of the fiscal year because most of their income is generated at hone sales in July and August The other three quarters generally involve the expense of maintaining the horses and form said Keith Naliy a Spendthrift spokesman The second quarter loss resulted from increased costs of thoroughbreds and breeding rights sold Nally said Spendthrift has about 15 percent mote thoroughbreds this year than last so its carrying costs are higher first quarter results equaled any foil year in the history owing to its success at last sales and proceeds from a $75 million limited partnership said Brownell Combs nr the president and chief executive officer of Spendthrift During the second quarter Spendthrift bought the 137-acre Kentucky Horse Center property on Paris Pike in Lexington for $76 million and an adjoining 132 acres for $14 million Combs said National 1 fiber Allied Corp yesterday introduced a new lightweight polymer fiber that it said would become the predominant material in making a wide range of products from sails and marine rope to artificial limbs and bulletproof vests Allied officials said the polyethylene fiber is strongest fiber pound for pound ever Allied expects sales of Spectra-900 eventually to exceed $200 million a year James Dunbar die director of operations for higlvperfonnance fibers said at a news conference He said the total market for such fibers is now $300 million a year He said Spectra-900 will compete with DuPont Kevlar and with graphic fibers produced by Hercules Inc and Union Carbide Corp for use in helmets bulletproof vests and reinforcement of tanks Kentucky Bingham waiting word on sale: Same Bingham has made a proposal for the sale of her stock back to the Bingham communications companies which own The CourierJoumal and the Louisville Times and will now wait to a reply from the companies Ms Bingham who has estimated her share at 15 percent met yesterday with George Gill the president of the Louisville newspapers and proposed terms to the sale waiting to hear whether the family will pay me what I she said Ms Bingham declined to disclose the terms of her offer but described the meeting as "cordial" Ms stock has been valued at $22 million to $28 million The Bingham companies also own WHAS Inc and Standard Gravure Inc of Louisville Herald-Leader John Wyatt An underground parking garage and several mezzanines make the Meyers building on East Main Street attractive developers say Developers plan to renovate Meyers building for office use ment's proposed overhaul of the tax code The changes' would take away some real estate tax benefits Carlson said those fears could have ihritfad in January as builders began to realize that foe tax proposal was a long way from being approved by Congress Other analysts said the surge may have been an effort to get projects started before current benefits are taken away Most analysts credited a six-month decline in mortgage interest rates with helping to spur the con-' struetkm boom Fixed-rate mortgages were down to 1167 percent in early January from a peak of 15J3 percent in July according to a survey by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board Warren Lasko foe executive vice president of foe Mortgage Bankers Association said rates have fallen more in recent weeks with fixed-rate loans of 12 percent or less becoming more common Phone fee system left intact Associated Frees WASHINGTON i- A telephone rate system likely to add $1 to the monthly bills of most Americans later this year was left intact yesterday by the Supreme Court i The justices without comment refused to review a Federal Communications Commission rule approving monthly end user to all telephone customers In another casq the court left intact a decision that said corporations may legally deny knowledge of pending mergers before agreement i reached on the nice and structure of foe transaction The court upheld a ruling that Heublein Inc of Farmington Conn did not vitiate securities laws by denying knowledge at its $125 billion acquisition by Reynolds Industries until the deal was complete The court also turned aside without comment three challenges to Union 1964 takeover at the Missouri Pacific' and simultaneous combination with Western Pacific the largest transportation merger in the history In a pair of cases involving the 1979 nuclear plant accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg Pa foe court refused to force the govemmen to pay $4 billion to the company that owns foe plant and cleared the way for a trial in Pennsylvania state courts of a suit by electricity users who say their bills increased because of the accident Associated Press WASHINGTON Housing construction in January posted its biggest increase in 20 months a 119 percent jump seen by the Reagan administration and private economists as a signal of future economic growth The Commerce Department said in repot that housing was started at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 183 million units in January up from the December rate of 160 million units It was the biggest monthly increase since a 177 percent advance in May 1981 Presidential spokesman Larry Speakes called the figures a "remarkable January that showed that arid the economy are off to good in 1965 In other positive economic news the Federal Reserve Board said foe industries operated at SIR percent of capacity in January an 0J percentage point increase from foe December level The gain which still left the operating rate below its mid-1983 peak of 827 percent came from big increases in production at auto plants mines and utilities which offset sluggishness in several manufacturing industries The housing increase was attributed to a giant surge in construction of apartments with five or more units which shot up 761 percent in January to an annual rate at 692R00 units It was the highest annual figure since a rate of 750000 units in September 1971 Construction of single-binily homes declined 4 percent last month to an annual rate of 104 million units Construction of apartments with two to four units was also down dropping 153 percent In Lexington housing starts in January declined compared with January 1964 according to the building inspection office of foe Urban County Government The office issued building permits for four townhouses and 22 single-family homes last month In January 1984 it issued permits to 12 townhouses and 29 single family hones Statewide figures to Kentucky were not available Michael Sumichrast the chief economist to the National Association of Home Builders said even with the decline in the national figures the single-family rate was still an that would support strong construction activity through the spring He said a survey of builder ment showed expectations to sales in the next six months are at the highest level in tight years Jack Carlson the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors said the Mg surge in apartment construction may have reflected efforts by builders to catch up with plans delayed in December because of concern about the Treasury Depart- moving to the downtown location when renovation is complete Mullis said Williams said that plans were not complete but that two additional floors of office space would be added Work on the building has alreaxly begun The developers said they expected work to be completed in October at a cost of $2R million It will contain 40000 square feet of office space when completed Originally the developers considered adding 10 to 12 apartment units to the building But that plan was scrapped because it would have cost too much and the property would have had to be rezoned to residential use Mullis said he thought that other Lexington office developments would provide some competition but that the Meyers location would win out feel that we will be able to lease (the space) even though there is an excess of office he said Mullis said that key drawing cards to foe facility were an underground parking garage which he referred to as of the best-kept secrets in and several mezzanines Mullis declined to name probable tenants but he did say that he and the other owners were1 talking with several accounting and law firms Bill Woodward the president of Lexington Federal said that negotiations were going on for Lexington Federal to move into the building All the financing is yet to be worked out but First Security National Bank and Trust Co has agreed to set up the Initial contraction loan By Shelia Poole Herald-Leader staff writer Pat Williams Harold Mullis and Ted Hahn like to think they know a hit when they see it The three are principals of the Southcreek Co a Lexington development company and their newest acquisition is the Meyers building an East Main Street in downtown Lexington The building which once housed the Meyers clothing store will be renovated to office use have one of the best buildings on Main Street a triple-A Mullis said of die 40-year-old building that the company acquired this month The $840000 deal also included the Lexington Federal Savings and Loan Association building next to Meyers a parking facility and a third building at Second and Walnut streets located directly across from the Up ban County Government building and the county office" Mullis said of the vacant building which the group bought from Lexington real estate agent Wade Jefferson III The 11-year-old Southcreek Co has been involved in multimillion dollar residential and commercial projects in Lexington and Louisville that include four apartment complexes the Southcreek Park and St Joseph office complexes on Harrodsburg Road and the Baptist East medical-office condominmums in Louisville Occupancy rates at both Southcreek Park and St Joseph exceed 80 percent the developers said The company has its headquarters in the Southcreek Park building but it is considering TV station to begin renovation: WTVQ-TV Channel 36 in Lexington will break ground today to construction and renovation of its broadcast facility oft Winchester Road The station said project would include feet of new construction and renovation of about 9500 square feet of the building on Bryant Road in eastern ion and renovation of about 9500 square teet or the budding on Bryant Road in eastern Gas firm acquires 11 111 ww -fi- 1 75000 acres At Union Trust we make it easy to get the money you need With payments you can afford No matter what you need the money for even take your application over the phone And usually give you an answer in just 24 hours So call Union Trust about a personal loan you can live with And get the things you want today Without getting a loan regret tomorrow Coal unit to leave Lexington: Premier Coal Sales Co the coal export marketing division to Peabody Development will leave Lexington and move to Charleston WVa The company employed fewer than 10 people The relocation follows the acquisition by Peabody of Armco West Vlriginia coal properties- which allowed the company to expand its coal product line The bottom line profits up: Wendy's International Inc said yesterday its profit rose 19 percent in the fourth quarter despite substantial investments to improve and add new services in its fast-food restaurants The company said its profit rose to $177 million in the three months that ended Dec 31 1984 from $148 million a year earlier Profit per share rose to 32 cents from 27 cents a year earlier and revenue rose 24 percent to $2499 million in the fourth quarter from $2021 million a year earlier For the foil year profit rose 24 percent to $687 million or $125 a share in 1964 from $55J million or $101 a share in 1983 said Compiled by John Gaines Associated Press NASHVILLE Appalachian Oil and Gas Co has acquired a 17500(Kacre leasehold in southeastern Kentucky and will begin drilling next week officials say The Nashville-based company completed the acquisition Monday night from Cities Service Oil and Gas Corp a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum officials said Appalachian is a publicly held company that already has 16 producing gs and oil wells in a 10000icre section of the 17500facre leasehold The leasehold includes parts of Breathitt Clay Jackson Knox Lee Leslie Owsley and Perry counties will begin drilling the first of four new wells next said Jim Boue interim president of Appalachian Boue said geological surveys already had shown "tremendous tit natural gas with the most productive gas well in Kentucky located at the center at the leasehold are looking at tremendous earnings to next year The potential revenues are Boue said The acquisition agreement also calls for Appalachian to start building a 69- to high-pressure natural gas pipeline in the area by April Boue said Union Trust We have as many financial solutions as there are financial needs 319 Annual ftrcaaam Dm 1 199 Annud hmy Km In Kentucky (or loana 115000 Union That Inr far loam owr $l5y000k Union Immanent Inc Island Creek closing Johnson offices Union Trust Incorporated COMMtRpAL CREDIT FINANCIAL NETWORK 8lunNtiDMlumMi( Virginia Daniel said Island Creek one of the leading coal producers operates two Eastern Kentucky mines Spurlock in Floyd County and Gund in Pike County hoping to provide more direct management of our four mining districts from our Lexington Daniel said Most of the jobs eliminated were staff and clerical positions Jie said Twenty employees will lose their jobs Daniel said but 20 others will be transferred to Island offices in Holden WVa Twelve employees will be moved to Lexington he said and eight others will be transferred to other jobs The Johnson County office on UR 23 between Paintsville and Pres-tonsburg has been used to serve Island Creek mining operations in Eastern Kentucky West Virginia and -) Eastern Kentucky bureau PAINTS VILLE Island Creek Coal Co is closing its offices in Johnson County in an effort to reduce operating costs a company spokesman said yesterday About 60 people will be affected by the phaseout which is expected to be completed in about two months said Byron Daniel an official at the coal headquarters in Lexington i.