The Orange County Register, Calif., Business Briefs Column.

The Orange County Register, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

May 8--HINES HORTICULTURE'S NET LOSS DROPS AS SALES INCREASE: Hines Horticulture Inc. said its first-quarter net loss narrowed 15 percent to $1.1million.

The Irvine-based operator of commercial nurseries said its sales rose 2 percent during the quarter to $60.4 million.

Hines, which was started in San Gabriel in 1920 and was owned during the 1970s and 1980s by lumber giant Weyerhaeuser, employs 3,340 workers year-round and 1,800 seasonal employees.

Its top customers include Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart and Target.

CALIFORNIA COASTAL POSTS HIGHER INCOME: California Coastal Communities, Irvine, reported first-quarter net income of $300,000, compared with a net loss of $200,000 a year earlier. Revenue for the first quarter ended March 31 was $5.6 million, up 44 percent from a year ago. A community in Riverside resulted in higher revenue.

IRVINE SENSORS SEES NET LOSS CLIMB: Irvine Sensors Corp., Costa Mesa, reported a net loss of $1.6 million for its fiscal second quarter ended March 28, compared with a loss of $2.1 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 2.5 percent to $2.4million.

The company, which employs about 85 people, sells stacked computer chips and does research and development of high-density electronics, miniaturized sensors and cameras.

IMPAC MORTGAGE SETS PUBLIC OFFERING: Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. announced Friday that it priced a secondary public offering of 1.5 million shares of common stock at $19.75 per shares.

The Newport Beach real estate investment trust said it planned to use the expected $28.1 million in proceeds for general corporate purposes.

AUTOBYTEL NOW OWNS STONEAGE, CAR.COM: Autobytel Inc., the Irvine Internet-based auto-marketing company, announced that it has completed its purchase of StoneAge Corp. and its Car.com Web site for $48 million in stock and cash. StoneAge shareholders will receive 2.3 million shares of Autobytel common stock and approximately $15.3 million in cash.

APPLIED KNOWLEDGE WINS REGIONAL AWARD: Applied Knowledge Inc., a Santa Ana custom software developer, is the Orange County regional winner of the "Simply Essential Success Stories" contest of the California Chamber of Commerce.

The contest rewards small employers for overcoming challenges through creativity and innovation. Six regional winners receive prizes worth $1,000. The grand prize winner, Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions in Milpitas, received $5,000.

Applied Knowledge reported achieving greater success by educating employees about how the business works and including employees in resource planning.

FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL HONORS SIX IN O.C.: The Fair Housing Council of Orange County honored six individuals and organizations who have fostered diversity and helped eliminate housing discrimination. Winners were Lyon Management Companies; Pulte Homes; Eric Gramberg, director of real-estate advertising for The Los Angeles Times; Carrie Morelan, a training manager at Shea Properties; Jeanne Luong at Excel Real Estate and Wells Fargo Bank.

Chatter Southern California Edison wants you to have a great Mother's Day. But not by releasing helium-filled balloons.

"Drifting helium-filled balloons often can float into power lines, which can cause power outages and, on rare occasions, injure people on the ground," said Larry Grant, Edison's vice president for power delivery.

In 2003, Edison recorded more than 270 balloon-caused power outages within its 50,000-square-mile service area. Many of these outages occur in May and June, when Mother's Day and graduation ceremonies occur.

--Register staff writers contributed to this report.

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(c) 2004, The Orange County Register, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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