Earning Plays

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Friday, Aug. 22
China Sunergy swings to profit as sales double(6:39 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Solar cell manufacturer China Sunergy Co. (CSUN: news, chart, profile) said Friday that it swung to a second quarter net profit of $3.1 million, or 8 cents a share, from a loss of $3.8 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the period almost doubled to $111.6 million from $56.2 million. The group said its performance was helped by efficiency improvements that helped strengthen margins. Gross margin was 10.4%, compared to 4.9% a year earlier. The company added it still faces potential challenges in the second half from both wafer cost and quality, leading it to forecast a third-quarter margin between 9% and 11%.
DryShips profit jumps on sale of three vessels(6:12 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- DryShips (DRYS: news, chart, profile) said late Thursday that second-quarter net income rose to $299.8 million, or $7.10 a share, from $110.8 million, or $3.12 a share, with revenue more than doubling to $302.7 million. Profit was boosted by a $3.21 a share gain on selling three vessels and a 29 cents a share gain on the valuation of interest-rate swaps. Its adjusted earnings of $3.60 a share was below FactSet compiled analyst estimates of $4.63 a share.
Outages to cost International Power $131 million(2:34 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- International Power (UK:IPR: news, chart, profile) said Friday that an outage at its Rugeley plant will likely have an impact of around 70 million pounds ($131 million) on its results for the year. That cost includes the 45 million pounds it was previously expecting from problems at one unit, as well as 25 million pounds for less serious damage at another. The company said the problem was caused by the introduction of new equipment designed to improve performance. The two damaged units are expected to be fixed in late September and early October.
Thursday, Aug. 21
Gap profit up 51%; backs forecast(4:44 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gap Inc. (GPS: news, chart, profile) late Thursday reported second-quarter profit rose 51% from a year-earlier and backed its full-year profit forecast. For quarter ended Aug. 2, Gap posted net income of $229 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with net income of $152 million, or 19 cents a share, last year. Sales fell 5% to $3.5 billion. Comparable store sales -- or sales at stores open at least one year -- fell 10%. Gap, which has been reducing inventory and cutting costs, reaffirmed its 2008 profit outlook for earnings between $1.30 and $1.35 a share.