VALLEY BRIEFS Scheib Stores See Gains Earl Scheib Inc. recorded a 6.8 percent increase in same- store sales for the second quarter ended Oct. 31, although the company continued to lose money for the period. The Sherman Oaks-based company, which operates paint and auto body shops, recorded a net loss of $424,000 or $0.10 per share on revenues of $12.9 million for the quarter. That compares with net income of $764,000 or $0.17 per share on revenues of $12.8 million for the year-ago period Last year’s net income was attributable to the sale of real estate during that period. In commenting about the most recent performance, Earl Scheib CEO Chris Bement noted that same-store paint sales had increased for the second consecutive quarter and total sales increased compared to the prior year period despite the decline in the number of paint stores. “In addition, overall operating expenses, even in the light of significantly increasing insurance costs, were reduced and the financial liquidity of the company has improved from last year,” said Bement. Nexsan Nets $17 Million Woodland Hills-based Nexsan Technologies, a producer of digital storage products, secured $17 million from a group of investors led by VantagePoint Venture Partners, to add to an earlier-secured $13 million with the money going to fund expansion and growth, said vice president of marketing Brendan Kinkade, adding Nexsan has been growing “rapidly.” RRE Ventures, Gesfid First Gen-e and a syndicate of other individual investors formed by Beechtree Capital were involved in the first major round of venture financing for the company. Gesfid, which was involved in previous seed rounds is overseeing the development of Nexsan. Domenico Grassi, senior advisor at Gesfid, said in statement his firm believes Nexsan will “continue to dominate” the storage market. Nexsan received several industry awards, including Storage Magazine’s ‘Product of the Year’ for products that span uses from corporate, graphics, medical imaging to animation, special effects and financial on-line transaction data. VantagePoint manages more than $2.5 billion worth of capital investment in the IT industry. Hospital’s Early Gifts It is time for gift-giving, and the Weingart and Ahmanson foundations certainly have done their part already. The two philanthropies presented the Valley Presbyterian Hospital of Van Nuys with gifts totaling $600,000. The gifts from the Los Angeles-based philanthropies came within less than a week of each other and are designated to go toward construction at the hospital. Weingart’s contribution was $500,000 and Ahmanson’s was $100,000. In a statement, the hospital said the gifts bring its funds raised to $4.15 million of a $5 million campaign called Shaping Tomorrow. Hospital board members, physicians and employees, as well as a host of other donors have already contributed funds to the campaign. The hospital is building a new 127,000 square-foot tower that will include critical care and general acute care services and a children’s center, as well as help it comply with state-imposed seismic building codes. NTS Reports Revenue Jump National Technical Systems Inc., a Calabasas-based business-to- business IT services provider, reported a 21 percent increase in revenues for its third fiscal quarter, and a 35 percent increase for the first nine months of the fiscal 2004 compared to those from the previous year. The company said revenues were driven by increased testing in the military/defense sector and higher revenues from the company’s tech solutions business, as well as the fiber optic portion of its engineering and evaluation segment. Total revenues for the fiscal 2004 were $25.6 million, and for the first nine months, the company’s revenues totaled $79.6 million, compared to $58.9 million in fiscal year 2003. Dole Buys Pineapple Farms Dole Food Co., Inc. last week said it bought $15.3 million worth of Costa Rican pineapple farms. The company is the world’s largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables, with reported revenues last year of $4.4 billion. Mimaki Comes West Mimaki USA Inc., a Georgia-based US subsidiary of Mimaki Engineering Company, Ltd. will open its first West Coast Regional Sales Office in the Conejo Valley on Jan. 1. The manufacturer of wide-format printers and cutting machines leased 8,500 square feet of space from Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services of Westlake Village for $600,000. The lease is for five years. Disney Goes Mobile Walt Disney Internet Group, a North Hollywood-headquartered Internet properties manager for The Walt Disney Co., launched its first Internet site for its wireless content offerings. Disneymobile.com will feature exclusively Samsung Telecommunications America mobile phones in its programming.