By the numbers: Baton Rouge-based H&E Equipment Services Inc. reports that its fourth-quarter net income jumped 36%, helped by a steep jump in equipment rental revenue. The provider of industrial equipment earned $10.7 million, or 31 cents per share, up from $7.9 million, or 23 cents per share, in the same quarter a year previous. Revenue jumped 15% to $250.1 million from $217 million. The results beat Wall Street predictions. More details from the quarterly report can be found here.
On board: In an update to shareholders today, Biomass Secure Power Inc. says it has signed a six-month option to lease a site at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, on which the company wants to build a biomass pellet plant. The Canadian-based company has set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Louisiana to hold the pellet plant project, Biomass Power Louisiana. The lease option became effective this month. Plans are in place to build the plant in four phases over several years. The scope for phase one will be released in April, with construction expected to begin this summer.
The customer is always right: Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Baton Rouge has been named among the top 100 restaurants in the United States for customer service by OpenTable.com. The list is generated from more than 5 million reviews collected from verified OpenTable.com diners between Feb. 1, 2012, and Jan. 31. More than 15,000 restaurants from every state in the country were contenders for the list, which you can see in its entirety here.
Today’s poll question: Gov. Bobby Jindal says he’s confident the Louisiana Supreme Court will uphold a new law that makes it harder for teachers to attain tenure status. Do you foresee this outcome?
