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Strategies & Market Trends : Can you beat 50% per month? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (8844)	9/27/2005 9:31:41 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19257

WWAT - .55 ask - more news =DJ After Disasters, Some Cos. Balance Capitalism, Compassion 09/26/2005 Dow Jones News Services (Copyright © 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) By Karen Talley Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Amid the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, an eclectic group of companies find themselves walking a fine line between capitalism and compassion. Storm chasers are taking squall damage footage while coffins float next to them. Auto dealers in other states are selling cars to evacuees who have been bussed or walked in. Pump companies have stepped forward with oceans of fresh water. Industrial phone providers are keeping emergency workers linked despite downed cellphone and other communication lines. All share a couple of things in common. They are not the usual groups that trip off investors' tongues as hurricane beneficiaries, such as homebuilders and heavy equipment providers. And they are all making a pretty penny while trying to maintain their humility. Martin Lisius, president of Prairie Pictures, spoke Friday from a cellphone while speeding through Texas to chase Hurricane Rita. His goal was to capture footage that he could license to television stations and other outlets to give viewers a close look at the lashing the state was taking. He was just coming off Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. "Of course I feel for the affected people, but I also love what I do," Lisius said. While Lisius was on the chase, CarMax (KMX) was selling autos - in Texas and Atlanta to evacuees from Louisiana and Mississippi whose cars were flooded out by Katrina and wanted mobility now that they were out of the storm's path. The buying was still going on in third week of September, a CarMax spokesman said. The varied group also includes WorldWater & Power (WWAT), a company that uses use natural energy to run high-powered pumps that provide fresh water. The company is preparing portable solar power systems to supply fresh water and electricity to hospitals and schools, with plans to start shipping to the Katrina area this week and the Rita-impacted zone after. Chief Executive Quentin Kelly told Dow Jones Newswires the systems can pump 15,000 gallons of purified water a day, helping to provide drinking water to 8,000 to 12,000 people. The company's first system was donated; the others cost $30,000 a unit. He figures WorldWater will supply Mississippi and parts of Louisiana with about 10 units and that participation in the Rita recovery is "is quite likely." The ability to help is rewarding and so are "the economics of this unit," Kelly said. "For a total of $300,000 you're delivering clean water to 100,000 to 120,000 people every day. We see this as a significant contributor to our future sales." Another company, Iridium Satellite (IDM.XX), is selling thousands of satellite phones to emergency and other assistance workers to keep them in touch with one another amid the Katrina cleanup. "We saw thousands of orders come in requesting the phones from these government and non-government workers as they began their efforts," said spokeswoman Liz DeCastro. And word of mouth has been proving invaluable, she said. That's because the product, originally developed for travelers going to remote places, works anywhere - when all cell, landline and radio towers and lines are down or don't exist. The company has supplied close to 10,000 phones in response to Katrina and depending on the service providers they retail from $1,000 to $1,500, with some having been donated to the hurricane effort. "Our phones have been ringing nonstop from such businesses as insurance companies appraising damage, and construction companies," DeCastro said. Rita is also expected to provide opportunity. "We got a lot of calls before Rita and still expect to be extremely busy with new orders coming," DeCastro said. "We do make money off it and also have a lot of leads as word has been traveling about the phones," she said. "But it also feels good to help. This is putting us to the test, that is for sure." There is also the nitty-gritty to be taken care of. Avamar makes systems that backup business information onto disk drives, not tape drives, allowing the data to be transported over telecommunications lines, a more secure approach, said chief executive Ed Walsh. Avamar's services were used in the Kartina area and the company also does a lot of business in Texas, said Walsh. The "hurricanes are driving awareness," Walsh said. "We made millions in increased revenues in this quarter, with most coming during last month, and in next four quarters we expect this to translate into even more." -By Karen Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5106; karen.talley@dowjones.com