Earning Plays

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Wednesday, April 9
Chevron sees higher production earnings, weak margins (5:34 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Chevron Corp. (CVX: news, chart, profile) reported late Wednesday that it expects first-quarter upstream net income from production and exploration to rise from its fourth-quarter results, benefiting from higher oil and natural gas prices despite slightly lower oil production volumes domestically and overseas. At the same time, the second biggest U.S. oil company said earnings from its refining and marketing operations are likely to "remain at the low level" of the previous quarter, when it posted net downstream earnings of $204 million. Chevron shares rose 0.7% ahead of the interim quarterly report to close at $89.95.
Retail stocks holding steady out of the open(9:43 am ET)
CHICAGO (MarketWatch)-- Retail stocks were holding steady early Wednesday, helped in part by a swing to profit by electronics chain Circuit City (CC: news, chart, profile) . The retailer posted fourth quarter earnings of $4.85 million, or 3 cents a share, vs. a loss of $4.25 million, or 3 cents, in the year-ago period. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial had been for the company to lose 7 cents a share. The stock rose more than 9% out of the open while the sector's main indicator - the S&P Retail Index ($RLX: news, chart, profile) - was flat at 397.22
PriceSmart's second-quarter income rises 45% (8:59 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- PriceSmart Inc. (PSMT: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday that its fiscal second-quarter net income rose 45% to $9.25 million, or 33 cents a share, from $6.54 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier. Income for the latest period includes pretax charges of $3.4 million and income tax benefits of $1.7 million. Income from continuing operations for the most recent quarter was $9.49 million. The San Diego operator of PriceSmart and PriceCostco stores said revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 29 increased 27% to $293.8 million from $231.9 million. PriceSmart said second-quarter net warehouse club sales rose 27.1%.
Signet pretax drops 17%, says U.S. same-store sales down(7:55 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Anglo-American jewelry retailer Signet Group (SIG: news, chart, profile) (UK:SIG: news, chart, profile) said its annual pretax profit in the year to Feb. 2 dropped 17% to $333.5 million, with sales up 3% to $3.67 billion. It's lifting its annual dividend 1.6% to 7.277 cents a share. Since the start of the fiscal year, U.S. same-store sales have dropped 4% while U.K. same-store sales have climbed mid single-digits. Signet said it's still looking at moving its primary stock-market listing to the U.S. but because of market conditions the timing remains uncertain. Signet shares rose 2.4% in London.
Acergy's first-quarter profit rises(7:34 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Acergy S.A. (ACGY: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday that first-quarter net income rose to $41.1 million, or 20 cents a share, from $38.2 million, or 19 cents, a year earlier, due in part to a higher level of activity, improved project performance and contributions from non-consolidated joint ventures. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to $102 million from $71 million. The London engineering and construction contractor said revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 29 rose to $635.9 million from $565.8 million a year earlier.
Mercantile Bank swings to loss(6:20 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Mercantile Bank Corp. (MBWM: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday that it swung to a net loss of $3.7 million, or 44 cents a share in the first quarter of 2008, from a profit of $4.3 million, or 50 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter fell 16.5% to $13.3 million. In the fourth quarter of 2007 the bank increased provisions against its loans due to the weakening economy. On Wednesday it said the impact of economic weakness has spread, impacting its real estate collateral values and the cash flow of some of its borrowers. The bank also declared a second-quarter dividend of 8 cents, down from 15 cents for the first quarter.
Greenbrier Companies swings to profit, sales climb(6:11 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Transportation equipment firm Greenbrier Companies (GBX: news, chart, profile) swung to a fiscal second-quarter ending Feb. 29 net profit of $1.42 million, or 9 cents a share, with revenue up 8% to $259.6 million. It lost $6.1 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Greenbrier said the quarter was affected by 19 cents in charges. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 31 cents a share. It still expects the second half of the year to be stronger than the first half because of growth and the performance of its refurbishment and parts business, the elimination of the drag on earnings from TrentonWorks and a more favorable tax rate.
Mitchells & Butlers comparable sales up 0.6%(2:30 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. pub operator Mitchells & Butlers (UK:MAB: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday that same outlet comparable sales were up 0.6% in the first 27 weeks of its fiscal year. The gain was helped by stronger food sales, which rose 4.8% as the U.K. smoking ban encouraged more food orders from customers. Drinks sales, on the other hand, fell 1.4%, with increased sales of wine and soft drinks partly offsetting a sharper fall in beer sales. Mitchells & Butlers said beer sales will be further hit by a recently-announced increase in duty, but added it remains confident in the growth prospects of food sales.
Northwest ends plan to extend minimum stays on some fares(1:51 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Northwest Airlines, (NWA: news, chart, profile) the Eagan, Minn., carrier, said it ended minimum-stay requirements on certain routes on which it competes with US Airways. (LCC: news, chart, profile) On April 4, Northwest said that given high jet-fuel costs, it would require many travelers who wanted to pay domestic leisure fares to stay longer before their return flights. But four days later, NWA said it canceled the plan on routes in common with US Airways because its Tempe, Ariz., rival didn't match the policy. Northwest said that United Airlines, (UAUA: news, chart, profile) Delta, (DAL: news, chart, profile) American (AMR: news, chart, profile) and Continental (CAL: news, chart, profile) all had adopted longer minimum-stay rules. "Every network carrier is faced with extraordinarily high fuel costs and the need to find ways to offset that burden," said Jim Cron, NWA's senior vice president of revenue management, in a statement late on Tuesday. But "without widespread acceptance of these kinds of revenue enhancements, including very strategic segmentation of fares, we cannot sustain the increases across the board and remain competitive. We will continue to look for other ways to increase revenues, in light of these record fuel costs." (Fixes Northwest ticker symbol.)
Tuesday, April 8
Novellus shares drop on revenue, earnings warning(2:12 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Novellus Systems Inc. (NVLS: news, chart, profile) fell nearly 8% by Tuesday afternoon after the maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment warned that first-quarter revenue is expected to come in at the low end of its previously forecasted range of $315 million to $325 million. Net income will come in between 15-17 cents a share - below the 21-24 cents a share previously predicted. The company blamed a number of factors, including "a less-favorable than expected product mix combined with higher manufacturing spending in our industrial applications segment, a larger than expected inventory write-down related to evaluation units in our semiconductor segment, and an increase in our forecasted tax rate." The stock was last trading down $1.90 at $21.91.
Constellation Energy paying $187 mln in Md.settlement(8:52 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Constellation Energy (CEG: news, chart, profile) will contribute $187 million in the form of a one-time $170 rate credit for BGE's residential electric customers as part of a settlement with the Maryland legislature. Under the pact that now awaits the governor's signature, BGE customers will be relieved of the potential future liability for decommissioning Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 and Unit 2 nuclear plants, scheduled to occur no earlier than 2034 and 2036. Constellation Energy will, through 2016, continue to collect $18.7 million per year in nuclear decommissioning costs for Calvert Cliffs and rebate this amount to residential customers as previously authorized by a Senate Bill 1, approved in 2006.
Soleil boosts Alcoa's Q2 profit view on fat aluminum prices (8:25 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Soleil Group analyst Charles A. Bradford on Tuesday raised his second-quarter profit target for Alcoa (AA: news, chart, profile) to 65 cents a share from 45 cents a share based on the rising cost of aluminum. "We believe that the increased aluminum prices are due to two non-economic factors: the worst winter weather in 50 years in China, and a long-term power shortage in South Africa," Bradford said in a note to clients. "In both cases, primary aluminum production has dropped, but so has the growth in likely aluminum consumption." He sees prices normalizing in the near future.
MSC Industrial Direct posts higher second-quarter profit(7:50 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- MSC Industrial Direct Co. (MSM: news, chart, profile) said Tuesday that its fiscal second-quarter net income rose 17% to $47.5 million, or 73 cents a share, from $40.5 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier. The year-ago quarterly profit included pretax charges totaling $2.2 million. The Melville, N.Y., maintenance supplies company said revenue for the period ended March 1 rose 7.9% to $436.5 million from $404.6 million a year ago. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 69 cents a share on revenue of $433 million. For the upcoming fiscal third-quarter, MSC expects earnings of 77 cents to 79 cents a share on revenue of $457 million to $463 million. The company expects cash flows to remain strong. On average, analyst polled by Thomson Financial expect third-quarter earnings of 75 cents a share on revenue of $458 million.
888 Holdings profit down 54% after loss of U.S. business(2:41 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Online gambling group 888 Holdings (UK:888: news, chart, profile) said Tuesday that its net profit for 2007 fell 54% to $34.2 million due to the forced closure of its U.S. business following the introduction of anti-gambling laws in 2006. Excluding these discontinued operations, net gaming revenue rose 36% to $213.4 million and pretax profit more than doubled to $45.8 million from $22.2 million. The group said growth was driven by both its core casino and poker games as well as the introduction of new products, particularly bingo. The group said its board has recommended a final dividend of 5 cents a share.
Harry Winston 1st-quarter net triples; operating net up 59%(2:00 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Harry Winston Diamond Corp., (HWD: news, chart, profile) (CA:HW: news, chart, profile) the Toronto diamond miner and jewelry retailer, reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income more than tripled, reflecting certain tax-related special gains, on 22% higher sales. For the quarter ended Jan. 31, the company earned US$90.4 million, or US$1.55 a share, compared with $27.3 million, or 47 cents, in the year-earlier period. Earnings from operations rose 59% to $59.1 million from $37.2 million. Sales rose to $188.2 million from $154.3 million. "Our new fiscal year is off to a good start in retail sales, and we will continue to focus on the high-net-worth individuals in markets such as Russia, China, the Middle East and India to drive our luxury diamond jewelry and timepiece business," President Thomas J. O'Neill.
LDK trims earnings-estimate range, lifts revenue view(1:38 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- LDK Solar Ltd., (LDK: news, chart, profile) the Xinyu City, China, producer of solar wafers, the raw material used to make solar cells, estimates that for the first quarter it earned 40 cents to 44 cents a share on revenue of $225 million to $235 million. That earnings estimate trims a penny from the top and bottom of the range the company estimated in February, when it reported fourth-quarter 2007 earnings. And the new revenue estimate is up $15 million on the top and bottom of the range LDK estimated in February. Three analysts surveyed by FactSet Research are looking for 41 cents a share for the quarter.