Image sensor supplier AltaSens struck a deal with Tandberg to provide sensors for cameras used for videoconferencing, the company announced Thursday. The AltaSens ProCamHD 2462 is a 1.3 megapixel sensor that produces progressive 12-bit digital video resulting in smooth video for high definition cameras. Since its release into mass production in May, the ProCamHD sensor has been deployed by numerous major videoconference, camcorder, and camera manufacturers. AltaSens Chief Executive Officer Patrick Quinn said the Thousand Oaks-based company was pleased to partner with Tandberg. “Quickly leveraging the ProCamHD sensor enables Tandberg to extend its leadership position by offering crystal clear high definition video in an end-to-end videoconferencing solution,” Quinn said. Tandberg has headquarters in New York and Norway.

The Santa Clarita operation of HR Textron has been awarded a $159,531 contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop servo valve module kits. The contract was awarded out of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base. Textron is based in Rhode Island and produces a variety of products including Bell helicopters and Cessna aircraft.

Chatsworth/Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce, Membership Meeting 11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Porter Ranch Country Club, 19216 Singing Hills Dr., Northridge Contact (818) 341-2428 Board of Library Commissioners, Business Meeting 11:00 a.m. Woodland Hills Branch Library, 22200 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills Contact (213) 228-7555

The Sylmar medical device company Tri-anim has signed an agreement with Danvers, Mass.-based Medwave, developer of the Primo blood pressure monitor. Under the agreement, Tri-anim will help integrate the handheld device, which uses a sensor instead of traditional cuff-like devices, with additional products represented by its nationwide acute sales team, the company said.

MRV Communications, Inc. posted a net loss of more than $2 million for the second quarter that ended June 30. The Chatsworth company reported a loss of $2.6 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, on revenues of $87 million. The loss is a reduction of the $4.1 million loss reported for the second quarter of 2005. The company’s revenues were a 35 percent increase over the same reporting period in 2005. MRV President and Chief Executive Officer Noam Lotan called the financial results a move toward achieving profitability. “The recent investments we made in our domestic sales force showed initial signs of success during the quarter as our networking equipment sales grew solidly in North America driven by demand for our Metro Ethernet solutions,” Lotan said. MRV Communications is a provider of network equipment and services and optical components used by commercial customers, governments and telecommunications service providers.

Woodland Hills-based 21st Century Insurance Group reported second-quarter profit rose 38 percent. Earnings topped $28.3 million, or $0.33 per diluted shared, up from $20.5 million, or $0.24 a share, a year prior. Direct premiums written in California totaled $287.4 million, a decrease from $309.2 million in the same quarter in 2005, the company reported. The gains come as the company expands its operations nationally, especially in the southeast and Pennsylvania.

Profits at IHOP Corp. sunk in the second quarter, decreasing 13.6 percent to $10.3 million and earnings per share dipped 6.7 percent to $0.56. The restaurant operator’s revenues rose to $85.1 million in the quarter ended June 30, compared to $82.9 million in the same period a year ago. IHOP said its second quarter performance was due to increased general and administrative expenses as a result of development efforts in Cincinnati, and reiterated its 2006 earnings guidance of $2.25 to $2.35 per diluted share. “The decreases in net income and diluted net income per share resulted primarily from a 21.4 percent increase in G & A; expenses, offset in part by an 8.0 percent reduction in diluted average weighted shares outstanding due to ongoing share repurchases by the company,” IHOP said in a press release.

Chatsworth-based Sexy Hair has named American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee its spokeswoman. McPhee will appear in the company’s ads and promotional materials through 2007, the company said. Michael O’Rourke, Sexy Hair founder, said McPhee will also be involved in some aspects of product development and packaging for the company. McPhee, who is a Sherman Oaks resident, came in second in the 5th season competition of American Idol, narrowly losing to Taylor Hicks.

The buyout of Hospital Corporation of America has not stymied negotiations between workers and officials at HCA-owned West Hills Medical Center and Los Robles Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. Thea Lavin, a spokeswoman for SEUI United Healthcare Workers-West, said discussions will continue this week at the hospitals. The union is in negotiations with five HCA hospitals in California after a workers contract expired June 30. The union contends that HCA has under-staffed its facilities, which forces nurses to work overtime and put patients at risk. No strike date has been set, Lavin said. Nashville-based HCA on Monday announced that it agreed to be bought for $21.3 billion. The company is the largest hospital chain in the nation, with 276 medical centers, including nine in California. Dana Simon, administrative vice president for SEIU, said the news that HCA is up for sale “changes nothing relative to collective bargaining between HCA and our union.” HCA also owns 25 percent of Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, with Tenet Healthcare Corp. owning the rest. The two groups put the facilities up for sale in 2004, although no deal has been announced.

Countrywide Financial Corp. today reported net income increased 27 percent to $722 million or $1.15 per share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006, compared to earnings of $566 million for the comparable period a year ago. The Calabasas-based mortgage company’s revenues for the same period rose 30 percent to $3 billion versus $2.3 billion in the second quarter a year ago. Total loan fundings for the company declined 3 percent in the period to $118 million while the loan servicing portfolio grew 24 percent to $1.2 billion. Countrywide officials said the company plans to introduce reverse mortgage products as well as enhanced refinance programs by the end of the year. Countrywide CEO Angelo R. Mozilo noted that the company achieved a 25 percent year-over-year growth in diluted earnings per share despite a 121 basis point increase in the 10-year treasury yield and a 3 percent decline in total loan funding volume. “This demonstrated the power of our business model, as the strategic counterbalancing of our production and servicing sectors fueled positive results in our mortgage banking segment,” Mozilo said in announcing the results.