paperwork “Just say hi.” Isn’t that what people advise those who are unsure of how to make an introduction? That’s pretty much what businesses—and slick public relations flacks—do with the media. They put all the reporters they can find on their e-mail lists and just blast out big “hi’s”—that is, press releases—as often as they can: “John Smith promoted to VP of Somethingorother Co.,” “Whatchamacallit LLC Announces Multi-Million Contract for Wrench Production,” “Teleporter Patent Awarded,” “ABC Inc. Reports Record Earnings for 4Q.”

Many reporters disdain press releases. They find them boring or consider them propaganda—utterly bereft of any legitimate or interesting value to the independent journalist or the public.

But I value press releases, and I think reporters who ignore them are simply closing themselves off from a prolific source of information—potentially valuable information. Read often and discerningly, press releases can provide special insight into the business world, local and international trends, political and social issues, new technologies and maybe even some ideas about how to make money work.

Perhaps more importantly, by revealing the things that businesses want the public to know, press releases sometimes provide clues—in their omissions—of the things these businesses may be trying to hide. Occasionally, there is a news gem with enough bang to make a good headline—or dare I say, a scandal?

Some really big news stories have come from press releases. Sometimes it’s information released in error. Other times it falls into your lap when a company is forced to put out bad news, but tries to do it with the least negative impact. That’s often done by sending a press release at around 5 or 6 o’clock on a Friday night, when it’s too late for reporters to reach sources until Monday. It’s a dirty PR trick and it happens often during earnings season, or when businesses and local governments have something negative they have to report.

This column comes mostly from press releases, closely read and followed-up on when necessary. It’s a collection of daily business news nuggets carved up and served to you on Mondays—look-backs at the past week, and look-aheads at Tuesday and beyond—with an occasional bang for your buck. 

Molina’s Profit Lags

 Molina Healthcare Inc. (MOH), the publicly traded healthcare firm headquartered in downtown Long Beach, reported last week its profit fell 27 percent during the second quarter. The company was immediately punished for the poor showing with a 10.7 percent drop in its stock price (down to $28.31 per share) on the day of the report.

The share price recovered slightly on Friday—the same day Molina announced it will sell 4 million shares of stock publicly and use the cash to pay back debt.

Molina blamed the drop in profits on higher medical care costs and other expenses. The company said net income for the quarter was $10.6 million (or 41 cents per diluted share) compared with net income of $14.6 million (or 56 cents per diluted share) for the quarter ending June 30, 2009.

CEO J. Mario Molina insisted in a press release that the performance was solid considering the climate in the industry. “Our second-quarter results reflect improvement across our business despite a very difficult premium rate environment,” Molina said in the statement. “Although a few states have provided rate increases, most states remain burdened by their budget shortfalls. Our diversified revenue growth, increasing scale, and disciplined cost management have contributed to our success in the quarter.

“Through the first half of the year, we have made progress in strengthening our core operations while continuing to build a strong portfolio in the industry. As a result, our earnings today reflect the benefits of lower medical costs and our expanded offering in the Medicaid management information systems space.”

Molina Healthcare reported operating revenue for the quarter was nearly $1 billion, up $72 million from the second quarter of 2009. One of the primary drivers in revenue growth was a boost in membership of nearly 10 percent, company executives said on an earnings call last week.

C.A.R.E. to dine?

Everyone cares to eat. But have you ever eaten to care? Your chance comes Thursday (Aug. 12) during an event called “C.A.R.E. to Dine.” Numerous restaurants and cafés in Greater Long Beach are donating 20 percent of proceeds from meals to the C.A.R.E. (Comprehensive AIDS Resource and Education) program at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach. The not-for-profit organization helps meet the medical and social needs of the HIV community throughout Los Angeles County.

Participating eateries include: Ambrosia Café, Buono’s Authentic Pizzeria, Frenchy’s Bistro, George’s Greek Café, Johnny Reb’s, L’Opera Ristorante, Original Road House Grill, Rock Bottom Restaurant and Wokcano Long Beach. For a full list, [CLICK HERE]. Don’t forget to mention you are dinning out for “CARE to Dine.”

Welcome to Long Beach

Each month the Downtown Long Beach Associates puts out a list of new businesses that have set up shop in the area. July’s newbies: Affordable Care Givers (a healthcare related company at 851 Pine Ave., Suite 101); The Art Exchange Visual Art Center (a business office at 340 East 3rd St.); Beta Offshore (a business office at 111 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 1240); Retro IT Clothing (an apparel concern at 621 Atlantic Avenue); St. Luke’s Church (a health club at 523 East 7th Street); Six Sigma (a business consultancy firm at One World Trade Center, Suite 800).

Send press releases, submissions and business news tips to djergler@gmail.com.