Friday, May 9
Rating cut may lift borrowing costs for ILFC, AIG CEO says(9:45 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The downgrade of ratings on American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) could increase borrowing costs for the insurer's big aircraft leasing business ILFC, Chief Executive Martin Sullivan said on Friday during a conference call with analysts. Standard & Poor's downgraded AIG's ratings on Thursday and also cut ILFC to A+ from AA-. "There is a possibility obviously of increased funding costs to a subsidiary like ILFC," he said, according to a transcript of the call. Chief Financial Officer Steven Bensinger also noted that AIG had to post an extra $1.6 billion of collateral to support some of its obligations because of the downgrades.
Structured credit market hasn't rebounded, AIG CFO says(9:37 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The market for highly structured credit products exposed to residential mortgage securities hasn't rebounded, American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) Chief Financial Officer Steven Bensinger said on Friday during a conference call with analysts. "If you look at the commercial mortgage-backed securities market, that has certainly done somewhat better in the second quarter so far than in the previous few quarters," he explained. "However, in the highly structured credit market with residential mortgage, subprime and Alt-A securities, we don't see any precise evidence to date that those markets have rebounded." The closely watched ABX index, which has become a kind of benchmark for subprime mortgage securities, has recovered recently. But that "is not a good measure of what's happening in our portfolios," Bensinger stressed.
AIG execs say super senior CDO portfolio in 'run off'(9:06 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) executives said on Friday that the insurer's troubled portfolio of super senior collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) is in "run off." The total net exposure of AIG Financial Products, the insurer's derivatives unit, was $469.5 billion at the end of March, with $77.5 billion of that related to different types of CDOs, the company disclosed. "The portfolio is essentially in run off and during the quarter the notional exposure in the portfolio declined by almost $58 billion," Chief Financial Officer Steve Bensinger said during a conference call with analysts.
AIG CEO: One notch credit rating downgrade 'very manageable'(8:46 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) Chief Executive Martin Sullivan said on Friday that a one notch downgrade of the giant insurer's credit rating is "very manageable" and won't have a significant effect on operations. Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings downgraded AIG late Thursday after the insurer reported a record $7.8 billion net loss from the first quarter. "Importantly, both agencies kept the financial strength ratings of our insurance company subsidiares at the AA+ level, which is most important to us," Sullivan said, according to a transcript of a conference call with analysts on Friday.
Huntsman's first-quarter profit falls 85%(8:07 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Huntsman Corp. (HUN: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its first-quarter net income fell 84% to $7.3 million, or 3 cents a share, from $46.6 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier. Excluding items, non-GAAP earnings for the latest period were 7 cents a share, compared with 25 cents a year ago. The Salt Lake City chemical maker's revenue rose 13% to $2.54 billion from $2.25 billion. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 22 cents a share on revenue of $2.37 billion.
Leap Wireless narrows first-quarter loss(7:28 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Leap Wireless International Inc. (LEAP: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its first-quarter loss narrowed to $18.1 million, or 27 cents a share, from $24.2 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The San Diego provider of wireless-communications services said total revenue rose to $468.4 million from $393.4 million. Average revenue per user rose 0.4% to $44.98, while churn, the defection of customers to other providers, was 3.6% vs. the year-earlier 3.4%. Shares of Leap closed Thursday at $50.10.
Westar Energy profit doubles on tax gains(7:01 am ET)
Westar Energy Inc.'s (WR: news, chart, profile) first-quarter net income doubled on a tax gain as lower sales volumes and higher fuel costs hurt the company's margins on market-based sales. The largest electric utility in Kansas posted net income of $61.1 million, or 62 cents a basic share, up from $30.2 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results include a tax gain of 40 cents a share. The mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for earnings of 31 cents a share. Revenue climbed 9.9% to $406.8 million.
Cinemark profit down after year-ago gains, revenue up 6.1%(6:47 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Movie theatre operator Cinemark Holdings Inc. (CNK: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its first-quarter net profit fell 96% to $5.3 million, or 5 cents a share, from $118.2 million, or $1.25 a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter rose 6.1% to $401 million. Analysts polled by Thomson FactSet had expected earnings of 7 cents a share. The group said revenue growth was driven by a 1% increase in attendance, a 6.5% increase in average ticket prices and a 5.1% increase in concession revenue per patron. The company said its year-ago profit benefited from a gain of $129.6 million on the sale of an investment, partially offset by impairment charges of $49.7 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 5.1% to $84.2 million.
Warner Chilcott swings to profit, ups FY goal(6:26 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Warner Chilcott (WCRX: news, chart, profile) said it swung to a first quarter profit of $33.7 million, or 13 cents a share, with revenue up 5% to $229.5 million, on increased sales of Loestrin 24 FE, Doryx, Taclonex and Femcon FE. It lost $4.5 million in the year-earlier period. It would have earned 33 cents a share on an adjusted basis. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 28 cents a share. For the year, it still sees revenue to be in the range of $935 to $945 million, but it expects adjusted earnings from $1.30 to $1.35 a share -- up a nickel on both ends -- on estimates of income tax provisions and falling advertising and promotional expenses. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.29 a share.
Gray Television narrows loss as political ads grow(6:09 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Gray Television (GTN: news, chart, profile) said its first-quarter loss narrowed to $3.85 million, or 8 cents a share, from $10.5 million, or 24 cents a share, with revenue up 2% to $71 million, helped by increased political advertising. For the second quarter, it sees revenue between $78 million and $80 million. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of 10 cents a share.
Julius Baer reports 'satisfactory' start to year(2:38 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Swiss private bank Julius Baer (CH:002975865: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its performance in the first four months of the year has been "satisfactory given the continued difficult market environment." The group, which didn't provide figures on its performance, said assets under management suffered from the appreciation of the Swiss franc and negative market performance, but net new money was significant. The firm added it didn't suffer any losses related to the credit and liquidity crisis.
Gas Natural profit climbs 10.2%(2:30 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Spain's Gas Natural (ES:001687031: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its first-quarter net profit rose 10.2% to 335.8 million euros ($516.9 million), largely in line with expectations, as revenue grew 21.3% to 3.33 billion euros. Sales growth was mainly due to the increase in electricity prices in Spain together with greater electricity production and the commencement of electricity activity in Mexico.
Allianz posts 65% fall in Q1 net income; 845M euro markdown(2:11 am ET)
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Allianz Group (DE:840400: news, chart, profile) , Europe's largest insurer, said Friday that net income for the first quarter fell 65% to 1.15 billion euros ($1.77 billion), owing to a 845 million euro mark-down on structured products and lower realized gains from investments. Allianz said quarterly revenue fell 5.7% to 27.7 billion euros, down from 29.3 billion euros in the year-earlier period. Allianz said it has not booked any gains from capital investments during the quarter, compared to a 2 billion euro gain a year earlier. Allianz said most of mark-downs were tied asset-backed securities on the trading book of its banking arm Dresdner Bank.
Thursday, May 8
Ralcorp profit surges on one-time gain(5:40 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (RAH: news, chart, profile) reported late Thursday fiscal second-quarter net earnings of $38.5 million, or $1.46 a share, up from $500,000, or 2 cents, a year ago. The results got a boost from Ralcorp's non-cash gain on forward sale contracts stemming from its 19% stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. Excluding one-time items, earnings from ongoing operations were 86 cents a share in the latest quarter compared with 83 cents a year ago. Revenue for the first three months of the year rose 24% to $641.6 million from $519 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had predicted the St. Louis, Mo.-based cereal and snack company would earn 88 cents a share from ongoing operations on $604 million in revenue. Ralcorp shares rose 2.3% ahead of the report to close at $62.04.
Pepco posts 92% jump in profit (5:13 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Power provider Pepco Holdings, Inc. (POM: news, chart, profile) reported late Thursday first-quarter net income of $99.2 million, or 49 cents a share, up from $51.6 million, or 27 cents, a year ago. Operating revenue for the three months ended March 31 rose to $2.64 billion from $2.18 billion, with increases at both its regulated utility and merchant energy operations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted the Washington D.C.-based company would earn 35 cents a share. Pepco share fell 0.3% ahead of the report to close at $24.57.
Assured Guaranty posts first-quarter loss(5:08 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Assurance Guaranty Ltd. (AGO: news, chart, profile) on Thursday posted a net loss for its first quarter ended in March of $169.2 million, or $2.11 a share, compared to net income of $39 million, or 57 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. The decline in net income was due principally to an increase in pre-tax loss and loss adjustment expenses related to "U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities," and from a "$168.9 million increase over first quarter 2007 of after-tax unrealized losses on credit derivatives," Assurance Guaranty said in a statement.
CORRECT: RealNetworks profit slips, will split games unit(4:46 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - RealNetworks Inc. said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit fell sharply, due to comparisons to a period when it received a large antitrust settlement payment. Seattle-based digital media services company RealNetworks (RNWK: news, chart, profile) said net income for the period ended in March slid to $2.4 million, or 2 cents a share, from $39.96 million, or 22 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile revenue rose 14% to $147.6 million. Analysts on average estimated RealNetworks would post a loss of 2 cents a share for the period, and $141.56 million in revenue, according to FactSet Research. RealNetorks' results compare to the period a year earlier, when it saw "the final payment of $61 million related to Real's antitrust settlement and commercial agreements with Microsoft," the company said in a statement. Separately, RealNetworks announced it will split its "casual games" business into an independent company. (Corrects timing of settlement payment).
AIG reports $7.8 bln net loss; to raise $12.5 bln in capital(4:25 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) reported a $7.81 billion first-quarter net loss late Thursday and announced plans to raise $12.5 billion selling new shares, equity-linked securities and fixed-income securities with a large equity component included. The net loss was $7.81 billion, or $3.09 a share, versus net income of $4.13 billion, or $1.58 a share, a year earlier, the insurer said. The adjusted net loss in the latest quarter was $3.56 billion, or $1.41 a share. AIG was expected to lose 76 cents a share, according to the average estimate of 15 analysts in a Thomson Reuters survey.
Activision swings to profit on strong game sales(4:04 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (Marketwatch) - Activision Inc. swung to a profit for its fourth fiscal quarter as video game sales nearly doubled during the period. For the quarter ended March 31, the video game publisher (ATVI: news, chart, profile) reported earnings of $44.2 million, or 14 cents a share, compared to a loss of $14.4 million, or 5 cents a share, for the same period last year. Excluding charges related to the accounting of stock options, the company said it would have earned $54.9 million, or 17 cents a share. Revenue surged 93% to $602.5 million for the quarter. Analysts were expecting earnings of 4 cents a share on revenue of $364.8 million for the period, according to consensus estimates from FactSet Research.
CORRECT: Energy Conversion Devices up 37%, (2:43 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ENER: news, chart, profile) shares are rallying 37% to $47.77 after the manufacturer of thin-film flexible solar laminate products for buildings and rooftops swung to a third-quarter gain of $7 million, or 17 cents a share, from a loss of $5.4 million, or 14 cents a share in the prior quarter and a loss of $6.9 million, or 17 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue doubled to $70 million from $27 million in the year-ago period. Excluding charges, the company earned 25 cents a share in the latest quarter. The Rochester Hills, Mich. company beat the forecast for a loss of 2 cents a share, according to an analyst survey by FactSet. The company confirmed plans to add 120 megawatts of additional capacity to its existing Greenville facilities. ECD will internally fund the expansion through available funds and cash flow from operations. (Updated to correct prior-year loss and revenue.)
CORRECT: Omnicare posts lower first-quarter profit(2:22 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Omnicare Inc. (OCR: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that its first-quarter profit fell to $29.9 million, or 25 cents a share, from $43 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The pharmaceutical-care provider said sales for the quarter were down to $1.56 billion from $1.58 billion during the same period last year. (Corrects headline and story to reflect that company did not report a loss in the quarter.)
Dollar Tree reports first quarter sales rose 7.8%(9:01 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Discount retailer Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR: news, chart, profile) said Thursday it had first-quarter sales of $1.05 billion, up 7.8% from $975 million a year earlier. The company said April sales at stores open at least one year rose 2.1%. It credited solid growth in the first quarter to its food, health, beauty care and party supplies sectors.
Chico's FAS April same-store sales fall 15.5%(9:00 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year fell 15.5%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to fall 12%, according to Thomson Reuters. Sales for the four weeks ended May 3 fell 4.5% to $142 million. The retailer said it believes the Easter holiday shift helped April same-store sales by about 2% to 2.5%.
Nordstrom reports same-store sales down 3.8% in April(8:44 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Nordstrom Inc.'s (JWN: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that same-store sales, or sales of stores open at least a year, fell 3.8% in April. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to fall 1.8% for the month, according to Thomson Reuters. Net sales for the four weeks ended May 3 fell 0.6% to $600 million. The Seattle-based retailer said preliminary first quarter sales fell 3.8% to $1.8 billion, from $1.95 billion a year earlier. The company said it expected a the Memorial Day holiday shopping period to positively impact May sales.
Saks April same-store sales up 23.9%(8:44 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Saks Inc. (SKS: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year rose 23.9%. Analysts, on average, had expected the same-store sales to rise 1.1%, according to Thomson Reuters. Owned sales for the four weeks ended May 3 rose 24.3% to $349.7 million. It said sales for April were positively affected by increased promotional activity. The strongest categories at Saks Fifth Avenue were women's designer and "gold range" apparel, men's apparel and shoes, jewelry, women's shoes and handbags, the retailer said.
Fortress sees quarterly loss on market woes(8:30 am ET)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Fortress Investment Group (FIG: news, chart, profile) Thursday reported a quarterly loss of $68.9 million, or 74 cents a share, versus net income of $62.1 million in the same quarter the prior year. The company, which manages $34.2 billion of assets in private equity funds and hedge funds, said total revenue slipped to $200.9 million from $416.3 million. In the first quarter, Fortress raised $2.6 billion of total capital, or $1.9 billion net capital raised. Since the end of the first quarter, it has raised an additional $1.8 billion of total capital, bringing its year-to-date total capital raised to $4.4 billion, or $3.5 billion net capital raised.
Cablevision posts wider loss, revenue beats target(8:26 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC: news, chart, profile) on Thursday said its first-quarter loss widened to $31.6 million, or 11 cents a share, from $26.3 million, or 9 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue at the cable TV and programming giant rose 10% to $1.72 billion from $1.56 billion. Consolidated adjusted operating cash flow increased 8.9% to $515.9 million and consolidated operating income grew 44.2% to $245.5 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast earnings of 2 cents a share on revenue of $1.7 billion, on average.
Family Dollar's April same-store sales rise 4.3%(8:20 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year rose 4.3%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to rise 4.9%, according to Thomson Reuters. Net sales for the four weeks ended May 3 rose 7.2% to $516 million. The retailer said it expects May same-store sales to be flat to up 2%.
BJ's April same-store sales including fuel up 17.8% (8:14 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (BJ: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year increased by 17.8%, including a contribution of 5.5% from sales of gasoline. Analysts, on average, had expected the same-store sales to rise 10.8%, according to Thomson Reuters. Sales for the the month rose 20.4% to $744.5 million.
Abercrombie and Fitch reports same-store sales up 6%(8:15 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year rose 6%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to rise 2.3%, according to Thomson Reuters. Net sales for the four weeks ended May 3 rose 18% to $241 million. For the year to date, Abercrombie reported a net sales increase of 8% to $800 million from $742 million during the same period last year.
Rating cut may lift borrowing costs for ILFC, AIG CEO says(9:45 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The downgrade of ratings on American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) could increase borrowing costs for the insurer's big aircraft leasing business ILFC, Chief Executive Martin Sullivan said on Friday during a conference call with analysts. Standard & Poor's downgraded AIG's ratings on Thursday and also cut ILFC to A+ from AA-. "There is a possibility obviously of increased funding costs to a subsidiary like ILFC," he said, according to a transcript of the call. Chief Financial Officer Steven Bensinger also noted that AIG had to post an extra $1.6 billion of collateral to support some of its obligations because of the downgrades.
Structured credit market hasn't rebounded, AIG CFO says(9:37 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The market for highly structured credit products exposed to residential mortgage securities hasn't rebounded, American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) Chief Financial Officer Steven Bensinger said on Friday during a conference call with analysts. "If you look at the commercial mortgage-backed securities market, that has certainly done somewhat better in the second quarter so far than in the previous few quarters," he explained. "However, in the highly structured credit market with residential mortgage, subprime and Alt-A securities, we don't see any precise evidence to date that those markets have rebounded." The closely watched ABX index, which has become a kind of benchmark for subprime mortgage securities, has recovered recently. But that "is not a good measure of what's happening in our portfolios," Bensinger stressed.
AIG execs say super senior CDO portfolio in 'run off'(9:06 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) executives said on Friday that the insurer's troubled portfolio of super senior collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) is in "run off." The total net exposure of AIG Financial Products, the insurer's derivatives unit, was $469.5 billion at the end of March, with $77.5 billion of that related to different types of CDOs, the company disclosed. "The portfolio is essentially in run off and during the quarter the notional exposure in the portfolio declined by almost $58 billion," Chief Financial Officer Steve Bensinger said during a conference call with analysts.
AIG CEO: One notch credit rating downgrade 'very manageable'(8:46 am ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) Chief Executive Martin Sullivan said on Friday that a one notch downgrade of the giant insurer's credit rating is "very manageable" and won't have a significant effect on operations. Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings downgraded AIG late Thursday after the insurer reported a record $7.8 billion net loss from the first quarter. "Importantly, both agencies kept the financial strength ratings of our insurance company subsidiares at the AA+ level, which is most important to us," Sullivan said, according to a transcript of a conference call with analysts on Friday.
Huntsman's first-quarter profit falls 85%(8:07 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Huntsman Corp. (HUN: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its first-quarter net income fell 84% to $7.3 million, or 3 cents a share, from $46.6 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier. Excluding items, non-GAAP earnings for the latest period were 7 cents a share, compared with 25 cents a year ago. The Salt Lake City chemical maker's revenue rose 13% to $2.54 billion from $2.25 billion. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 22 cents a share on revenue of $2.37 billion.
Leap Wireless narrows first-quarter loss(7:28 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Leap Wireless International Inc. (LEAP: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its first-quarter loss narrowed to $18.1 million, or 27 cents a share, from $24.2 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The San Diego provider of wireless-communications services said total revenue rose to $468.4 million from $393.4 million. Average revenue per user rose 0.4% to $44.98, while churn, the defection of customers to other providers, was 3.6% vs. the year-earlier 3.4%. Shares of Leap closed Thursday at $50.10.
Westar Energy profit doubles on tax gains(7:01 am ET)
Westar Energy Inc.'s (WR: news, chart, profile) first-quarter net income doubled on a tax gain as lower sales volumes and higher fuel costs hurt the company's margins on market-based sales. The largest electric utility in Kansas posted net income of $61.1 million, or 62 cents a basic share, up from $30.2 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results include a tax gain of 40 cents a share. The mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for earnings of 31 cents a share. Revenue climbed 9.9% to $406.8 million.
Cinemark profit down after year-ago gains, revenue up 6.1%(6:47 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Movie theatre operator Cinemark Holdings Inc. (CNK: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its first-quarter net profit fell 96% to $5.3 million, or 5 cents a share, from $118.2 million, or $1.25 a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter rose 6.1% to $401 million. Analysts polled by Thomson FactSet had expected earnings of 7 cents a share. The group said revenue growth was driven by a 1% increase in attendance, a 6.5% increase in average ticket prices and a 5.1% increase in concession revenue per patron. The company said its year-ago profit benefited from a gain of $129.6 million on the sale of an investment, partially offset by impairment charges of $49.7 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 5.1% to $84.2 million.
Warner Chilcott swings to profit, ups FY goal(6:26 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Warner Chilcott (WCRX: news, chart, profile) said it swung to a first quarter profit of $33.7 million, or 13 cents a share, with revenue up 5% to $229.5 million, on increased sales of Loestrin 24 FE, Doryx, Taclonex and Femcon FE. It lost $4.5 million in the year-earlier period. It would have earned 33 cents a share on an adjusted basis. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 28 cents a share. For the year, it still sees revenue to be in the range of $935 to $945 million, but it expects adjusted earnings from $1.30 to $1.35 a share -- up a nickel on both ends -- on estimates of income tax provisions and falling advertising and promotional expenses. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.29 a share.
Gray Television narrows loss as political ads grow(6:09 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Gray Television (GTN: news, chart, profile) said its first-quarter loss narrowed to $3.85 million, or 8 cents a share, from $10.5 million, or 24 cents a share, with revenue up 2% to $71 million, helped by increased political advertising. For the second quarter, it sees revenue between $78 million and $80 million. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of 10 cents a share.
Julius Baer reports 'satisfactory' start to year(2:38 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Swiss private bank Julius Baer (CH:002975865: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its performance in the first four months of the year has been "satisfactory given the continued difficult market environment." The group, which didn't provide figures on its performance, said assets under management suffered from the appreciation of the Swiss franc and negative market performance, but net new money was significant. The firm added it didn't suffer any losses related to the credit and liquidity crisis.
Gas Natural profit climbs 10.2%(2:30 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Spain's Gas Natural (ES:001687031: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its first-quarter net profit rose 10.2% to 335.8 million euros ($516.9 million), largely in line with expectations, as revenue grew 21.3% to 3.33 billion euros. Sales growth was mainly due to the increase in electricity prices in Spain together with greater electricity production and the commencement of electricity activity in Mexico.
Allianz posts 65% fall in Q1 net income; 845M euro markdown(2:11 am ET)
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Allianz Group (DE:840400: news, chart, profile) , Europe's largest insurer, said Friday that net income for the first quarter fell 65% to 1.15 billion euros ($1.77 billion), owing to a 845 million euro mark-down on structured products and lower realized gains from investments. Allianz said quarterly revenue fell 5.7% to 27.7 billion euros, down from 29.3 billion euros in the year-earlier period. Allianz said it has not booked any gains from capital investments during the quarter, compared to a 2 billion euro gain a year earlier. Allianz said most of mark-downs were tied asset-backed securities on the trading book of its banking arm Dresdner Bank.
Thursday, May 8
Ralcorp profit surges on one-time gain(5:40 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (RAH: news, chart, profile) reported late Thursday fiscal second-quarter net earnings of $38.5 million, or $1.46 a share, up from $500,000, or 2 cents, a year ago. The results got a boost from Ralcorp's non-cash gain on forward sale contracts stemming from its 19% stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. Excluding one-time items, earnings from ongoing operations were 86 cents a share in the latest quarter compared with 83 cents a year ago. Revenue for the first three months of the year rose 24% to $641.6 million from $519 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had predicted the St. Louis, Mo.-based cereal and snack company would earn 88 cents a share from ongoing operations on $604 million in revenue. Ralcorp shares rose 2.3% ahead of the report to close at $62.04.
Pepco posts 92% jump in profit (5:13 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Power provider Pepco Holdings, Inc. (POM: news, chart, profile) reported late Thursday first-quarter net income of $99.2 million, or 49 cents a share, up from $51.6 million, or 27 cents, a year ago. Operating revenue for the three months ended March 31 rose to $2.64 billion from $2.18 billion, with increases at both its regulated utility and merchant energy operations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted the Washington D.C.-based company would earn 35 cents a share. Pepco share fell 0.3% ahead of the report to close at $24.57.
Assured Guaranty posts first-quarter loss(5:08 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Assurance Guaranty Ltd. (AGO: news, chart, profile) on Thursday posted a net loss for its first quarter ended in March of $169.2 million, or $2.11 a share, compared to net income of $39 million, or 57 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. The decline in net income was due principally to an increase in pre-tax loss and loss adjustment expenses related to "U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities," and from a "$168.9 million increase over first quarter 2007 of after-tax unrealized losses on credit derivatives," Assurance Guaranty said in a statement.
CORRECT: RealNetworks profit slips, will split games unit(4:46 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - RealNetworks Inc. said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit fell sharply, due to comparisons to a period when it received a large antitrust settlement payment. Seattle-based digital media services company RealNetworks (RNWK: news, chart, profile) said net income for the period ended in March slid to $2.4 million, or 2 cents a share, from $39.96 million, or 22 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile revenue rose 14% to $147.6 million. Analysts on average estimated RealNetworks would post a loss of 2 cents a share for the period, and $141.56 million in revenue, according to FactSet Research. RealNetorks' results compare to the period a year earlier, when it saw "the final payment of $61 million related to Real's antitrust settlement and commercial agreements with Microsoft," the company said in a statement. Separately, RealNetworks announced it will split its "casual games" business into an independent company. (Corrects timing of settlement payment).
AIG reports $7.8 bln net loss; to raise $12.5 bln in capital(4:25 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group (AIG: news, chart, profile) reported a $7.81 billion first-quarter net loss late Thursday and announced plans to raise $12.5 billion selling new shares, equity-linked securities and fixed-income securities with a large equity component included. The net loss was $7.81 billion, or $3.09 a share, versus net income of $4.13 billion, or $1.58 a share, a year earlier, the insurer said. The adjusted net loss in the latest quarter was $3.56 billion, or $1.41 a share. AIG was expected to lose 76 cents a share, according to the average estimate of 15 analysts in a Thomson Reuters survey.
Activision swings to profit on strong game sales(4:04 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (Marketwatch) - Activision Inc. swung to a profit for its fourth fiscal quarter as video game sales nearly doubled during the period. For the quarter ended March 31, the video game publisher (ATVI: news, chart, profile) reported earnings of $44.2 million, or 14 cents a share, compared to a loss of $14.4 million, or 5 cents a share, for the same period last year. Excluding charges related to the accounting of stock options, the company said it would have earned $54.9 million, or 17 cents a share. Revenue surged 93% to $602.5 million for the quarter. Analysts were expecting earnings of 4 cents a share on revenue of $364.8 million for the period, according to consensus estimates from FactSet Research.
CORRECT: Energy Conversion Devices up 37%, (2:43 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ENER: news, chart, profile) shares are rallying 37% to $47.77 after the manufacturer of thin-film flexible solar laminate products for buildings and rooftops swung to a third-quarter gain of $7 million, or 17 cents a share, from a loss of $5.4 million, or 14 cents a share in the prior quarter and a loss of $6.9 million, or 17 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue doubled to $70 million from $27 million in the year-ago period. Excluding charges, the company earned 25 cents a share in the latest quarter. The Rochester Hills, Mich. company beat the forecast for a loss of 2 cents a share, according to an analyst survey by FactSet. The company confirmed plans to add 120 megawatts of additional capacity to its existing Greenville facilities. ECD will internally fund the expansion through available funds and cash flow from operations. (Updated to correct prior-year loss and revenue.)
CORRECT: Omnicare posts lower first-quarter profit(2:22 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Omnicare Inc. (OCR: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that its first-quarter profit fell to $29.9 million, or 25 cents a share, from $43 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The pharmaceutical-care provider said sales for the quarter were down to $1.56 billion from $1.58 billion during the same period last year. (Corrects headline and story to reflect that company did not report a loss in the quarter.)
Dollar Tree reports first quarter sales rose 7.8%(9:01 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Discount retailer Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR: news, chart, profile) said Thursday it had first-quarter sales of $1.05 billion, up 7.8% from $975 million a year earlier. The company said April sales at stores open at least one year rose 2.1%. It credited solid growth in the first quarter to its food, health, beauty care and party supplies sectors.
Chico's FAS April same-store sales fall 15.5%(9:00 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year fell 15.5%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to fall 12%, according to Thomson Reuters. Sales for the four weeks ended May 3 fell 4.5% to $142 million. The retailer said it believes the Easter holiday shift helped April same-store sales by about 2% to 2.5%.
Nordstrom reports same-store sales down 3.8% in April(8:44 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Nordstrom Inc.'s (JWN: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that same-store sales, or sales of stores open at least a year, fell 3.8% in April. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to fall 1.8% for the month, according to Thomson Reuters. Net sales for the four weeks ended May 3 fell 0.6% to $600 million. The Seattle-based retailer said preliminary first quarter sales fell 3.8% to $1.8 billion, from $1.95 billion a year earlier. The company said it expected a the Memorial Day holiday shopping period to positively impact May sales.
Saks April same-store sales up 23.9%(8:44 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Saks Inc. (SKS: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year rose 23.9%. Analysts, on average, had expected the same-store sales to rise 1.1%, according to Thomson Reuters. Owned sales for the four weeks ended May 3 rose 24.3% to $349.7 million. It said sales for April were positively affected by increased promotional activity. The strongest categories at Saks Fifth Avenue were women's designer and "gold range" apparel, men's apparel and shoes, jewelry, women's shoes and handbags, the retailer said.
Fortress sees quarterly loss on market woes(8:30 am ET)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Fortress Investment Group (FIG: news, chart, profile) Thursday reported a quarterly loss of $68.9 million, or 74 cents a share, versus net income of $62.1 million in the same quarter the prior year. The company, which manages $34.2 billion of assets in private equity funds and hedge funds, said total revenue slipped to $200.9 million from $416.3 million. In the first quarter, Fortress raised $2.6 billion of total capital, or $1.9 billion net capital raised. Since the end of the first quarter, it has raised an additional $1.8 billion of total capital, bringing its year-to-date total capital raised to $4.4 billion, or $3.5 billion net capital raised.
Cablevision posts wider loss, revenue beats target(8:26 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC: news, chart, profile) on Thursday said its first-quarter loss widened to $31.6 million, or 11 cents a share, from $26.3 million, or 9 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue at the cable TV and programming giant rose 10% to $1.72 billion from $1.56 billion. Consolidated adjusted operating cash flow increased 8.9% to $515.9 million and consolidated operating income grew 44.2% to $245.5 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast earnings of 2 cents a share on revenue of $1.7 billion, on average.
Family Dollar's April same-store sales rise 4.3%(8:20 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year rose 4.3%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to rise 4.9%, according to Thomson Reuters. Net sales for the four weeks ended May 3 rose 7.2% to $516 million. The retailer said it expects May same-store sales to be flat to up 2%.
BJ's April same-store sales including fuel up 17.8% (8:14 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (BJ: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year increased by 17.8%, including a contribution of 5.5% from sales of gasoline. Analysts, on average, had expected the same-store sales to rise 10.8%, according to Thomson Reuters. Sales for the the month rose 20.4% to $744.5 million.
Abercrombie and Fitch reports same-store sales up 6%(8:15 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF: news, chart, profile) said Thursday its April sales at stores open at least one year rose 6%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to rise 2.3%, according to Thomson Reuters. Net sales for the four weeks ended May 3 rose 18% to $241 million. For the year to date, Abercrombie reported a net sales increase of 8% to $800 million from $742 million during the same period last year.
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