Coming off its strongest year ever, PowerSecure International got off to a shaky start in 2012 with a solid growth in sales but a net loss overall, prompting a cost-cutting strategy to curb operating expenses.

The Wake Forest energy services company has been in a hiring binge in the past year and ballooned to more than 500 employees, including 187 in multiple locations in North Carolina as of last count.

But PowerSecure's prospects appear strong, with a strong balance sheet, healthy product orders in the pipeline and a business model that's generally praised by Wall Street analysts.

CEO Sidney Hinton said in a statement the company performed well but experienced "efficiency losses" in its utility infrastructure division, the company's biggest business unit. Hinton said reduced workloads required PowerSecure to incur expenses redeploying work crews to other utilities.

Progress Energy issued lackluster first-quarter earnings this morning in what Progress officials hope is the company’s last quarterly earnings release as a stand-alone company.

PowerSecure International, the Wake Forest utility services company that has doubled in size in recent years, reported record sales for the fourth quarter and the full year.

The company reported strong gains in all three business line, which are represented by offices in North Raleigh, Morrisville as well as Wake Forest.

PowerSecure had a "transformational" year, CEO Sidney Hinton said in a release. The 536-employee company said earlier this year it plans to add 100 jobs this year.

"Our business reached a new level of maturity and scale," Hinton said in the release.
 

Progress Energy reported weakening electricity sales for what was to be the Raleigh-based power company's last year of independent operation before a planned merger with Duke Energy in Charlotte.

The revenues and earnings released this morning are a prelude to conference calls with Wall Street analysts and investors who will undoubtedly seek updates on the status of the delayed $26 billion merger. Duke's conference call is scheduled at 10 a.m. today and Progress will update Wall Street at 2 p.m.

Duke's CEO Jim Rogers told our sister paper, The Charlotte Obsever, that the companies expect to file their revisions within a week. The two North Carolina electric utilities were expected to file their merger revisions as early as last month and warned then that the deal could be delayed by six months as the revisions make their way through complex regulatory reviews.

SciQuest reported another quarter of solid sales growth, as the Cary company signs up more customers for its eprocurement technology.

Revenue for the second quarter was $12.9 million, up 22 percent from a year earlier.

The company, which made its Wall Street debut in September, recently signed a major contract with the state of Colorado. Analysts expect that could lead to other lucrative state contracts.

"We're not killing it, we're not missing it, but as we told investors when we did the IPO, we're going to keep churning out good growth," CEO Stephen Wiehe said in a phone interview.

Net income was flat at $600,000. SciQuest is spending more to win customers and hire new workers.

Tekelec reported another decline in quarterly revenue this morning, but its financial results exceeded expectations of Wall Street analysts.

The Morrisville company makes software and other telecommunications technology that helps move data and video over high-speed and wireless networks.

Tekelec reshuffled its top management and slashed jobs this year as it shifts to focus on faster-growing parts of its business. It's counting on increasing demand for products tied to next-generation wireless networks.

In May, the company laid off about 50 people at its Morrisville headquarters as part of a broader restructuring to cut costs. Tekelec employs about 1,250 people worldwide, including about 625 in the Triangle.

Second-quarter revenue was $96.8 million, down 12 percent from a year earlier. Excluding some charges, Tekelec's net income was $5.8 million, or 8 cents a share.

Raleigh investment company Triangle Capital Corp. posted net investment income of $10.2 million in the second quarter, up from $4.6 million during the same period a year ago, the company reported late today.

Triangle Capital makes loans to midsize, privately owned businesses; it also takes a minority ownership stake in its portfolio companies.

In May, the company recognized a $12.2 million capital gain from its investment in a bag packaging equipment company based in Statesville.

The gain amounted to 66 cents per share and was Triangle Capital's largest profit from an investment to date.

For the second quarter, net investment income on a per-share basis totaled 55 cents, up from 38 cents a year ago.

The company made $15.7 million worth of new investments in the second quarter.

"Our existing investment portfolio continues to perform well and we continue to find attractive new investment opportunities in the lower middle market," said CEO Garland S. Tucker III in a prepared statement.

Triangle Capital shares closed up 47 cents at $17.91. The stock is up 17 percent over the last year.

Duke Energy, which is buying Raleigh-based Progress Energy, reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations, Charlotte Observer staff writer Bruce Henderson reports.

The 33 cents a share in diluted earnings topped Wall Street analysts’ forecasts by 2 cents. Revenues rose to $3.5 billion, up 7 percent from the same quarter of 2010.

Profit at Duke’s largest sector, its regulated gas and electric businesses, dropped 8 percent for the quarter. Sales fell slightly in the Carolinas and Midwest, as the summer’s hot weather put less demand on air conditioning than in the even more torrid 2010. Storm damage repairs also ate into profit.

Not counting weather factors, residential sales improved slightly, commercial sales fell a little and industrial sales were flat, chief financial officer Lynn Good said. “We continue to see some volatility,” she said.

Duke also saw a boost from its international operations, including hydroelectric dams that produce power in Brazil.

As with Progress, Duke's results offer a snapshot of the broader economy, because they're tied to electricity demand from residential and industrial customers across North Carolina.

Merck plans to slash up to 13,000 more jobs by 2015, the latest large pharmaceutical corporation seeking to offset slowing sales by cutting costs.

Merck expects to continue hiring in growth areas of its business, including emerging markets. The company also will stick with expansion plans at its massive Durham operations, which packages and eventually will grow vaccines to protect against chicken pox and other diseases.

Officials expect to hire more than 150 people at that campus this year, adding to the 450 jobs created during the past few years.

Merck also continues to expand a packaging facility in Wilson that employs about 350 people.

Company spokesman David Caouette told the Associated Press that 35 percent to 40 percent of the new job cuts will be in the U.S., but that he couldn't provide specifics.

The cost-cutting news follows a similar strategy at other big drug makers, including Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline. Faced with increasing generic competition and lower reimbursements from government health programs, the companies are reducing expenses, pushing harder to find promising new drugs and fine-tuning their business to appease investors.

The maker of moissanite gemstones reported a decline in sales and profit during the second quarter.

But officials with Morrisville-based Charles & Colvard are optimistic about new efforts to boost sales. That includes more shows on home-shopping TV networks devoted to moissanite jewelry and the company's direct-to-consumer web site.

Also, Charles & Colvard plans to begin testing home parties later this year to build sales.

Moissanite is a lab-made gem that's used in fine jewelry. Some are sold through retailers such as Kohl's, but sales have suffered in recent years as consumers cut spending on discretionary items.

"On a longer-term basis, we remain confident in our belief that moissanite is destined to significantly expand its share of the $120 billion global jewelry market," CEO Randy McCullough said in a prepared statement.