Cyanotech Corp. said today that it has completed a private placement of $1.25 million of 10-percent convertible subordinated debentures, due Sept. 30, 2004, and $300,000 of common stock.

The debentures can be converted into shares of common stock of the Big Island company at 65 cents a share, and the common stock was issued at 40 cents a share.

The company said proceeds from the debentures will be used to pay off $1.238 million in debentures that mature Oct. 31. Net proceeds from the common stock will be used for working capital.

DFS owner sales up 1.9%

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA said third-quarter sales rose 1.9 percent as the world’s largest luxury-goods maker stepped up marketing to boost demand for its luggage and perfumes.

Sales rose to $2.99 billion from $2.92 billion in the year-ago quarter. Sales at the company’s DFS stores were down 15 percent in the third quarter, an improvement from a 20 percent drop earlier in the year. Its retail division is expected to break even this year, the company said.

Gannett income rises to $265M

Gannett Co. Inc., publisher of 95 U.S. newspapers including USA Today and The Honolulu Advertiser, posted a solid third-quarter gain on strong performances by its TV stations despite some continued softness in newspaper advertising revenues.

Net income for the three months ending Sept. 29 rose to $265.6 million, or 99 cents a share, compared with $174.8 million, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier. The year-ago figures do not reflect accounting changes adopted this year; if they did, the third-quarter 2001 results would have been $227.1 million, or 85 cents per share.

Revenue for the quarter totaled nearly $1.6 billion, up 4.2 percent from $1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2001.

Although advertising revenues overall were also higher at the company’s newspapers and declines in interest expense and newsprint costs helped lift net income, the company’s flagship paper, USA Today, continued to suffer from an industrywide advertising slump. For the quarter, its advertising revenues declined 7 percent.