Earning Plays

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Friday, Sept. 5
Janus drops as J.P. Morgan cuts earnings outlook(11:36 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Janus Capital Group (JNS: news, chart, profile) saw its stock fall nearly 7% Friday morning as J.P. Morgan cut its earnings estimate for Janus' third quarter to 26 cents a share from 30 cents a share. It also lowered fourth quarter estimates to 25 cents a share from 28 cents a share. At around 11.30 a.m., Janus stock was down 6%, at $24.46. "Janus is the most exposed asset manager to deteriorating market conditions due to far fewer fixed income and money fund assets relative to peers as well as...big overweight positions in underperforming international securities and commodities," said J.P. Morgan. In early August, J.P. Morgan downgraded Janus to underweight from neutral.
Air Berlin passengers down 2.4% after capacity reduction(2:55 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Air Berlin (DE:AB1000: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its total passenger numbers in August fell 2.4% to 2.85 million, due to its targeted capacity reduction of 60,000 seats. The group said fleet capacity utilization fell 0.6 percentage points to 82.9%, mainly due holiday-related softness in its growing business travel segment.
JD Wetherspoon profit falls 24% as margin shrinks(2:33 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. pub operator JD Wetherspoon (UK:JDW: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its net profit for the year ending July 27 fell 24% to 35.5 million pounds as revenue rose 2.1% to 907.5 million pounds. The fiscal year was the first since the smoking ban was introduced in England in July 2007. The group said comparable food sales rose 7.9% in the year, while comparable bar sales were down 4.3%. The increased reliance on food sales as well as higher labor costs resulted in a margin of 9.6%, down from 10.3% a year earlier. In the first five weeks of the new fiscal year, comparable sales have risen 1.1%. The group said higher energy, food, labor and tax costs mean it will likely need to generate a 3% rise in comparable sales for the year to achieve a similar overall trading performance.
HMV comparable sales rise 4.1%(2:20 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. CD, DVD and book retailer HMV (UK:HMV: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its same-store sales grew 4.1% in the 18-weeks to Aug. 30, with total sales up 8.1%. The group said growth was driven by its HMV stores in the U.K. and Ireland, where comparable sales were up 4.3%. At its Waterstones book stores, comparable sales fell 4.3%, but would have declined only 1.7% if the previous year's launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were excluded. "In what is, undoubtedly, a tough consumer environment, the solid start made by the group to the new financial year means that our plans are in line with the board's expectations, and I remain confident that our strategic initiatives are on track," said CEO Simon Fox.
Thursday, Sept. 4
Take-Two swings to $51.8 million profit(4:08 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO: news, chart, profile) on Thursday reported a third-quarter profit of $51.8 million, or 67 cents a share, on revenue of $433.8 million. During the same period a year ago, Take-Two lost $58.5 million, or 81 cents a share, on $206.4 million in sales. Excluding one-time items, Take-Two would have earned $71.5 million, or 93 cents a share. By that measure, the company beat the forecasts of analysts surveyed by FactSet Research, who estimated Take-Two would earn 67 cents a share on $379.5 million in revenue. Take-Two said its results were helped by strong sales of its "Grand Theft Auto IV" video game and other titles.