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Wednesday, Nov. 14
NovaStar reports $598 mln loss; says shares may be de-listed(6:28 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- NovaStar Financial Inc. (NFI: news, chart, profile) reported a $598 million quarterly net loss late Wednesday and said that its shares may be de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange. The subprime mortgage lender said it lost $64.05 per common share in the third quarter. The results compare to net income of $25.3 million, or $2.91 per common share, a year earlier. The company said subprime lending fundamentals and the secondary mortgage market have continued to deteriorate. Since the end of the third quarter, NovaStar said it sold some of its mortgage-servicing rights and $364.3 million of home loans. NovaStar's board has also decided to suspend payment of the next dividend on its Series C Preferred Stock and Series D-1 Preferred Stock. The lender also warned that there's a "high likelihood" that its securities will be de-listed from the NYSE. Trading in the future will probably take place on the over-the-counter bulletin board, it added.
Network Appliance reports $83.8 million profit(4:31 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Network Appliance Inc. (NTAP: news, chart, profile) on Wednesday reported a fiscal second-quarter profit of $83.8 million, or 23 cents a share, on $792 million in sales, compared to earnings of $86.9 million, or 22 cents a share, on revenue of $652.5 million a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the storage-technology company would have earned $116.4 million, or 32 cents a share, to top the estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who forecast a profit of 26 cents a share on $759 million in sales.
Applied Materials reports a 6% drop in fourth-quarter profit(4:30 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT: news, chart, profile) reported net profit of $421.8 million, or 30 cents per share, on revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter ended Oct. 28., compared to income of $449 million, or 30 cents per share, on revenue of $2.52 billion for the year-ago period. Analysts had expected the company to report earnings per share of 29 cents on revenue of $2.38 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
Chevron to pay $30 mln in Iraqi oil for food case(9:58 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia said Wednesday that Chevron Corp. (CVX: news, chart, profile) agreed to pay $30 million in a settlement related to the Iraqi oil for food program. "According to the Agreement, Chevron obtained Iraqi oil under the program from third parties that paid secret, illegal surcharges to the former government of Iraq, in violation of United States wire fraud statutes and administrative regulations that prohibited transactions with the former Government of Iraq," the U.S. Attorney said in a statement. Chevron shares rose $1.45 to $87.70.
Energy stocks rise in early action as oil recovers (9:37 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks opened higher for the second straight session on Wednesday as oil prices rose. Traders will wait until Thursday for key inventory data, due out a day later than usual because of the Veteran's Day holiday. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) rose 0.2% to 1,440. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) added 0.7% to 547. Crude futures rose $1.50 to $92.67 on the Nymex. BP (BP: news, chart, profile) rose 74 cents to $74.39 after it announced a big gas discovery in Azerbaijan that could double production from the largest natural gas development in the Caspian Sea. Exploration and production firm EOG Resources Inc. (EOG: news, chart, profile) advanced 4% to $89.14 after it was upgraded to hold from sell at Citigroup. Quicksilver Resources (KWK: news, chart, profile) jumped 5% to $54.86 after it was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
Force Protection's third-quarter income rises(8:30 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Force Protection Inc.'s (FRPT: news, chart, profile) third-quarter net income rose to $11.36 million, or 16 cents a share, from $239,943, or less than 1 cent per share, for the year-ago period. Force Protection had sales of $206.29 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, up from $42.16 million for the same quarter a year earlier. Ladson, S.C.-based Force Protection makes armored land vehicles.
Macy's swings to third-quarter profit(8:23 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Macy's Inc. (M: news, chart, profile) swung to a third-quarter profit of $33 million, or 8 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $3 million, or 1 cent a share. Excluding May Co. merger integration costs of $17 million, earnings for the period were 10 cents a share. The Cincinnati department store chain operator said revenue for the thirteen weeks ended Nov. 3 rose less than 1% to $5.91 billion from $5.89 billion during the year-ago period. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 7 cents a share on revenue of $5.9 billion. Macy's expects earnings, excluding items, of $1.70 to $1.80 a share for the fourth-quarter. The company expects same-store sales in the range of down 2% to up 1% for the fourth-quarter and expects November same-store sales to be "significantly" higher and December to be "below last year." Macy's expects total sales for the fourth quarter of $8.7 billion to $8.9 billion. The company expects same-store sales to be down 0.3% to 1.3% for the year. Total sales for the year are expected at $26.4 billion to $26.6 billion.
Kaiser Aluminum Corp. net income up 77%(8:18 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (KALU: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to $24.8 million, or $1.22 a share, from $14 million, or 72 cents a share in the year-ago period. The latest period includes an income tax provision of $20 million, approximately $15 million of which is non-cash. Sales rose 11% to $367 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of 98 cents a share, on average.
Comverge postponing follow-on stock offering (8:04 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Comverge (COMV: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday it's postponing its follow-on stock offering because of adverse market conditions. The East Hanover, N.J. maker of equipment to help conserve electricity and manage electrical demand had planned to offer 6.85 million shares. Based on its closing price of $26.48 a share on Tuesday, the company would have raised about $181 million. "With the recent extreme volatility of the equity markets, and the impact of this volatility on our stock price, we believe it is in the best interest of the Company and our stockholders to postpone the offering," said CEO Robert M. Chiste. "Our current plan is to wait until the market stabilizes and then reevaluate timing."
Regency Energy Partners posts wider loss(7:44 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Regency Energy Partners (RGNC: news, chart, profile) said it lost $12.8 million in the third quarter, compared to a loss of $11.3 million in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 25% to $285 million. Regency generated $23 million in cash available for distribution in the latest period.
PepsiCo holds onto 2007 earnings outlook(6:59 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- PepsiCo (PEP: news, chart, profile) held onto its earnings outlook for the year, seeing earnings per share of at least $3.39 a share and core earnings of at least $3.35 a share for the year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect, on average, earnings of $3.38 a share. The company also sees cash flow of at least $7 billion from operating activities, approximately $2.6 billion in capital spending and $4.3 billion in share repurchases.
CORRECT: Tesco revises 3rd-quarter profit higher by 5c-share(6:32 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Tesco Corp., (TESO: news, chart, profile) (CA:TEO: news, chart, profile) the Houston provider of oilfield technology and services, filed its Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission and revised its profit for the third quarter to $10.8 million, or 29 cents a share. Tesco previously had said it earned 24 cents a share; the revision reflects a tax benefit and the reversal of a valuation allow on net operating losses, both related to its U.S. branch. Revenue for the quarter, $113.9 million, was not revised. (Corrects revised total profit figure for the quarter.)
HSBC takes $3.4 billion loan loss charge in U.S. business(3:40 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- HSBC Holdings (HBC: news, chart, profile) (UK:HSBA: news, chart, profile) , one of the first banks to report difficulties from the U.S. subprime market, said it's taking a $3.4 billion loan impairment charge in its U.S. consumer finance business during the third quarter, which it said was $1.4 billion higher than would have been implied by extrapoloating first-half trends. Of this increment, some $700 million related to real estate secured credit with the remainder largely due to branch unsecured loan and cards portfolios. Overall, HSBC said its third-quarter pretax profit rose, with underlying revenue growth ahead of the growth seen in the first half, and underlying cost growth moderately lower. Shares of HSBC climbed 3.9% in London trading.
Scor 3rd-quarter earnings doubled, premiums higher(3:25 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Scor, (SCRYY: news, chart, profile) (FR:SCR: news, chart, profile) the Paris insurer, reported third-quarter earnings more than doubled as gross written premiums and net earned premiums both rose 75%. Net income reached 118 million euros, or 0.74 euro a basic share, from 53 million, or 0.57, in the year-earlier period. Gross written premiums rose to 1.26 billion euros from 719 million, while net earned premiums were 1.15 billion euros versus 658 million.
Germany's Stada 9-month net up 16%, sales up 25%(2:45 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Stada Arzneimittel, (STDAF: news, chart, profile) (DE:725180: news, chart, profile) the German drugmaker, reported nine-month net income rose 16% on 25% higher sales. Profit reached 69.8 million euros ($101.9 million), or 1.15 euros a share, from 60.1 million, or 1.03, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted profit was 1.54 euros a share versus 1.22 euros. Average shares outstanding rose 9% in the period. Sales climbed to 1.09 billion euros from 870.3 million. Sales of generic drugs rose 32% while branded products rose 9%. Sales outside Germany accounted for 61.8% of sales, up 2.2 percentage points from the year-earlier period.
RWE scraps American Water IPO, profit falls 54%(2:24 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- RWE AG (DE:703712: news, chart, profile) Wednesday postponed the initial public offering of its U.S.-based water unit American Water Works, citing unfavorable market conditions in the U.S. capital market. As a result, the company said the conditions for an increased dividend payout ratio for 2007 as well as for a share buyback, which would have been triggered by the IPO of American Water, no longer exist. RWE said it doesn't expect that it can achieve an adequate value for American Water at present in light of the unfavorable market conditions. Net profit in the third quarter of the year dropped 54.3% to EUR198 million from EUR433 million a year earlier. Third-quarter net profit was negatively impacted by a EUR256 million charge on deferred taxes related to the German corporate tax reform, the company said in its third-quarter report.
Infineon Technologies loss widens on Qimonda performance(2:19 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- German microchip maker Infineon Technologies (IFX: news, chart, profile) (DE:623100: news, chart, profile) said its fourth-quarter loss widened to 280 million euros ($409 million) from 36 million euros last year, with revenue dropping 20% to 1.84 billion euros. Excluding the impact of its majority stake in memory chip maker Qimonda (QI: news, chart, profile) , which previously reported results, Infineon's operating loss narrowed to 25 million euros from 174 million euros, with revenue up 7% to 1.13 billion euros. Infineon said the loss was on charges from selling Qimonda shares. Demand for chips used in automotive, industrial and multimarket and communications drove the revenue growth. Excluding Qimonda, first-quarter revenue will be flat from the last quarter and operating profit will fall. For the year, operating profit outside of charges and Qimonda will improve "significantly."
ArcelorMIttal 3rd-quarter net rose 36%, sales added 16%(1:41 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- ArcelorMittal, (MT: news, chart, profile) (NL:00513: news, chart, profile) the world's No. 1 steelmaker, reported third-quarter net income rose 36% on 16% higher sales, and it raised the quarterly dividend 15%. Earnings reached $2.96 billion, or $2.10 a share, from a pro-forma $2.18 billion, or $1.57, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $25.52 billion from a pro-forma $22.07 billion. The 2006 results reflect the company as if the merger of Arcelor and Mittal occurred Jan. 1, 2006. They also reflect a number of acquisitions and divestitures. For the full year, ArcelorMittal sees earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rising 25% to 27% to a range of $19.2 billion to $19.4 billion from $15.3 billion in 2006. The board proposed to raise the quarterly dividend 15% to 37.5 cents a share from 32.5 cents. The increase is subject to a vote of shareholders at the next annual meeting.
Tuesday, Nov. 13
Bank of America sees $3 bln in CDO mark-downs(11:29 am ET)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Bank of America Corp. (BAC: news, chart, profile) Tuesday said it's currently estimating a $3 billion pretax charge in the fourth quarter to mark down collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs. Since the end of the third quarter, "the credit ratings of certain CDOs were downgraded which, among other things, helped to trigger severe dislocations in the CDO markets," said Chief Financial Officer Joe Price at an investment conference Tuesday hosted by Merrill Lynch & Co. "As a result, many market participants have announced large write-downs." The CFO said Bank of America has about $11.7 billion total in subprime exposure. Additionally, the company has about $400 million in subprime-backed exposure in its CDO warehouse. "As market conditions change and possibly worsen there could be additional diminution in value," Price warned. He said the company doesn't intend to update its loss estimates prior to the release of fourth-quarter results in early January. Shares of Bank of America rose more than 2% at last check.
Fortress Investment reports quarterly loss(9:27 am ET)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG: news, chart, profile) Tuesday said it swung to a net loss of $37.6 million, or 52 cents a share, in the third quarter, from earnings of $64.7 million a year earlier. Total revenue fell to $247.3 million from $335.2 million in the year-ago period. The private equity and hedge fund company said fee-paying assets under management at quarter-end were $31.2 billion, up 62% from a year earlier.
Nymex Holdings October daily volume rose 30%(8:34 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Nymex Holdings Inc., (NMX: news, chart, profile) the parent of the New York Mercantile Exchange, reported that in October, average daily volume rose 30% to 1.6 million contracts from 1.2 million in the year-earlier month. Nymex daily electronic volume on the CME Globex (CME: news, chart, profile) electronic-trading platform more than doubled to about 747,600 contracts from 336,000.
Additional $1.5 bln seen for Gulf oil storage biz (7:34 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- A storage infrastructure spending boost of $1.5 billion is expected in the energy-rich region of Texas and Louisiana for crude oil (XOI: news, chart, profile) and refined petroleum products ($OSX: news, chart, profile) , an industry survey reported Tuesday. During the next three years, the money will be spread across 91 projects with an average capital value of about $17 million, according to Industrial Info Resources of Sugar Land, Texas.
Fossil Inc. net income up 41%(7:12 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Fossil Inc. (FOSL: news, chart, profile) said Tuesday third-quarter net income rose 41% to $30.5 million, or 43 cents a share, from $21.5 million, or 31 cents a share in the year-ago period. The latest quarter included a charge of 3 cents a share. Net sales increased 19.6% to $358.6 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of 34 cents a share, on average. The company forecast fourth-quarter earnings of 67 cents a share. The Richardson, Texas maker of watches and jewelry also OK'd the repurchase 2 million shares of its common stock.
E.On nine-month adjusted profit climbs 23.5%(6:50 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- E.ON AG (DE:761440: news, chart, profile) Tuesday said its adjusted net profit in the first nine months of the year increased 23.5% from the same period last year, driven mainly by high wholesale electricity prices throughout Europe. E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned utility by market value, said adjusted net profit in the nine months to Sept. 30 came in at EUR4.2 billion from EUR3.4 billion a year earlier. Analysts had forecast EUR4.97 billion, according to the average of 11 analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, the company's preferred measure of operating profitability, came in 10.9% higher at EUR7.1 billion, while analysts expected EUR6.87 billion. Sales in the first nine months of the year rose 6.7% from the same period a year earlier to EUR49.4 billion, compared with the EUR49.55 billion forecast by analysts.
Wal-Mart optimistic on fourth-quarter earnings(6:42 am ET)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT: news, chart, profile) said it now anticipates generating earnings from continuing operations of 99 cents to $1.03 a share. This pegs the retailing giant's earnings from continuing operations for the full fiscal year ending next January in a range of $3.13 to $3.17 a share. Analysts' average estimates as compiled by Thomson Financial stand at $1.02 and $3.09 a share, respectively. In addition, Wal-Mart's estimating that U.S. comparable-store sales will be flat to 2% higher for the fourth quarter. U.S. comp-store sales were up 1.5% in the third quarter ended Oct. 31, financial results reported Tuesday show.
Duff & Phelps net improves 46%(6:39 am ET)
LNODON (MarketWatch) -- Duff & Phelps (DUF: news, chart, profile) , the financial advisory and investment banking firm, said third-quarter net income rose 46% to $10.7 million, with revenue up 24% to $87.6 million.
Wal-Mart generates nearly 8% growth in quarterly profit(6:35 am ET)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT: news, chart, profile) reported net income of $2.86 billion, or 70 cents a share, for the third quarter ended Oct. 31, up from $2.65 billion, or 63 cents, earned in the same period last year. Based in Bentonville, Ark., the Dow Jones Industrial Average component generated quarterly sales of $91.95 billion, up from the prior year's $84.47 billion. Earnings from continuing operations improved to 70 cents a share from 62 cents in the year-earlier third quarter. Analysts, on average, had been looking for earnings of 67 cents a share on revenue of $91.67 billion, according to estimates compiled by Thomson Financial.
Nash Finch posts profit; to propose annual election of board(4:14 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Nash Finch Co., (NAFC: news, chart, profile) the Minneapolis foods distributor, swung to a fiscal third-quarter profit from a year-earlier loss on 4.2% lower sales. For the quarter ended Oct. 6, earnings were $15.4 million, or $1.12 a share, compared with a net loss of $4.6 million, or 34 cents, in the year-earlier period. Special items in the periods benefited the share figures by a net 8 cents in the latest quarter and 83 cents a year earlier. Sales fell to $1.37 billion from $1.43 billion. Nash Finch also said that at the 2008 annual meeting, it would propose to holders a change in the way the board is elected. Currently, directors serve staggered terms; the proposal would provide that all directors stand for election annually.
Emap operating profit up 6% on women's titles, radio(2:48 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Emap (UK:EMA: news, chart, profile) , the U.K. magazine-to-radio station operator that's splitting itself up, said first-half operating profit from continuing operations rose 6% to 93 million pounds ($196 million), with revenue up 1% to 386 million pounds. The company reported good performances from women's weekly titles, radio and business-to-business events and information services, and said its profit also was helped by cost savings. Revenue continued to fall at its portfolio of men's monthly consumer magazine titles. It's paying a half-year dividend of 9.5 pence a share, up 7%, and is holding onto annual forecasts. It's also transferring its main defined benefit pension schemes to a third-party insurer with a final cash contribution of approximately 40 million pounds in November.
British Energy profit climbs 29% on rising prices(2:35 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. nuclear power plant operator British Energy (UK:BGY: news, chart, profile) said first-half profit rose 29% to 243 million pounds ($511 million), with revenue up 2% to 1.39 billion pounds and total output down 4% after boiler inspection outages and load restrictions. Profit was helped by a credit from the Nuclear Liabilities Fund and increased prices. It plans to pay an additional dividend in February 2008, and said it would pay particular attention to recent performance history and "any liquidity issues" in determining the amount of any additional dividend. The remainder of the year will be significantly impacted by boiler closure unit issues at Hartlepool and Heysham 1, it added.