Earnings: Economic slowdown takes toll on local firms

Seattle-based SeaBright Insurance Holdings said net income for the quarter fell to $6.4 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with $10.2 million, or 49 cents a share, during the same period a year earlier. Revenue inched up 1.9 percent to $61.8 million, from $60.7 million during the second quarter of 2007. The workers' compensation insurance company said the quarter had been "very challenging" because of an increase in the competitiveness of pricing and the economic slowdown. Seattle Genetics posted a net loss of $16 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $10.6 million, or 18 cents a share, during the same period a year earlier, in part because the company increased the size of its staff. Revenue at the Bothell-based biotech reached a record $10 million in the second quarter, up from $5.6 million during... [read full story]