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Friday, Oct. 10
Torchmark sees quarterly profit down to 72 cents a share (1:58 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Torchmark Corp. (TMK: news, chart, profile) on Friday said it expects its third-quarter net income to fall to 72 cents a share from $1.41 a share in third quarter of 2007. The decline is due to a $70 million charge from a writedown of debt issued by AIG, Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research are projecting the insurance holding company to earn $1.49 a share in the quarter. Net operating income in the third quarter is projected at $1.51 a share, up from $1.38 a share in the same period last year. Torchmark is scheduled to release third-quarter earnings on Oct. 22 after the market closes.
Lincoln Financial pre-announces third quarter profits(9:48 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Lincoln Financial Group (LNC: news, chart, profile) announced preliminary third-quarter results Friday, reporting expected profits between $120 million and $150 million, or 50 cents to 70 cents a share. Lincoln also said its board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend on common stock of 21 cents a share to be paid on Feb. 1, a cut from the 41.5 cents a share dividend paid in recent quarters. It said the cut would add about $50 million to capital each quarter. "While external conditions have pressured our earnings and stock price and have led to higher asset impairments, our liquidity position is strong both at the holding company and within our insurance operations," said Dennis Glass, president and chief executive officer.
Progressive posts losses for September and quarter(9:22 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Progressive Corp. (PGR: news, chart, profile) reported losses Friday for September and the third quarter. Net loss for the month was $630.8 million, or 95 cents a share. For the quarter, Progressive suffered a $684.2 million loss, or $1.03 cents a share. In the third quarter of 2007, Progressive reported net income of $299.2 million, or 42 cents a share.
Compuware's second-quarter profit to miss expectations(9:18 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Compuware Corp. (CPWR: news, chart, profile) said Friday that it expects to report second-quarter profit of about 8 cents a share on revenue of $268 million. On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research had expected the company to earn 15 cents a share on revenue of $308.8 million. "The current economic volatility has certainly extended buying cycles for businesses around the globe and unfortunately had a negative impact on the quarter," said Bob Paul, Compuware's president and chief operating officer. "Despite this difficult environment, I remain very optimistic about Compuware's future. I continue to believe that we will achieve our financial guidance for the year."
Brinker to post up to 35% drop in 1st-period share net(6:49 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Brinker International Inc., (EAT: news, chart, profile) the Dallas operator of restaurants including Chili's, On the Border, Maggiano's and Romano's, estimated fiscal first-quarter per-share earnings fell as much as 35%. For the quarter ended Sept. 24, the company estimated late on Thursday that net income would range 22 cents to 23 cents a share, compared with 34 cents in the year-earlier period. Adjusted profit, before special items and excluding Macaroni Grill, is seen at 19 cents to 20 cents, down as much as 46% from the year-earlier 35 cents. Comparable-restaurant sales fell 4% in the latest quarter, or 3% excluding Macaroni Grill, Brinker said. Brinker now sees fiscal 2009 adjusted earnings falling 15% to 25% from fiscal 2008. It had previously estimated growth of 8% to 10%. Fiscal 2009 comparable-restaurant sales should decline 2% to 4%, Brinker estimated. Brinker had said in August that it agreed to sell a majority interest in Romano's Macaroni Grill to an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital for $131.5 million.
GE meets lowered outlook as profit drops 22%(6:37 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- General Electric (GE: news, chart, profile) on Friday posted third-quarter results in line with the lowered outlook it gave in September. GE's net income dropped 22% to $4.31 billion, or 43 cents a share. From continuing operations, it earned 45 cents a share; GE had guided for earnings between 43 cents and 48 cents a share. Revenue rose 11% to $47.23 billion. GE said industrial growth should continue, and said the total orders backlog is up 20% to $170 billion. It added it's on track to earn roughly $20 billion this year.
Update: Host Hotels sees '08 net 81c-86c, margins to ease(6:33 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., (HST: news, chart, profile) the Bethesda, Md., real-estate-investment trust focused on lodging, estimated it would earn 81 cents to 86 cents a share for fiscal 2008. Three analysts surveyed by FactSet Research produced a consensus estimate of 86 cents of profit for the year. Funds from operations are seen at $1.75 to $1.80 for the year. Operating-profit margins should narrow 2.8 to 3.2 percentage points from fiscal 2007; comparable hotel operating margins should shrink 1 point to 1.25 points, Host estimated. Comparable revenue per available room is expected to fall 3% to 5% for the fourth quarter; for the year the figure should range from flat with to down 1% from the year-earlier level, Host said. (Adds estimates of revenue per available room.)
Host Hotels 3rd-period net off 44%, FFO down 18%(6:19 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., (HST: news, chart, profile) the Bethesda, Md., real-estate-investment trust focused on lodging, reported fiscal third-quarter net income fell 44% on 2.4% lower revenue. In the quarter ended Sept. 5, earnings fell to $54 million from $97 million in the year-earlier period. Net income available to common-stock holders fell 45% to $52 million, or 10 cents a share, from $95 million, or 18 cents, in the year-earlier period. The latest period included a gain of 2 cents a share from disposal of hotels. Revenue slipped to $1.17 billion from $1.2 billion. Host's third-period funds from operations, a closely watched metric among REITs, fell 18% to 31 cents a share. Comparable hotel revenue per available room fell 2.1% in the quarter.
Zhongpin raises earnings, revenue guidance(6:14 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Chinese meat and food processing company Zhongpin Inc. (HOGS: news, chart, profile) on Friday raised its earnings and revenue guidance for 2008, helped by lower pork prices and additional capacity at a new plant. The group said it now expects 2008 earnings of $1.15 to $1.19 a share, compared to its previous forecast of 98 cents to 41.07 a share. The group also said it is forecasting revenue of $550 million to $570 million, up from a previous forecast of $490 million to $520 million.
Asyst and suitor Aquest break off takeover talks(6:02 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Asyst Technologies Inc., (ASYT: news, chart, profile) the Fremont, Calif., provider of automation solutions to producers of computer chips and flat-panel displays, said talks under which it might have been acquired by Aquest Systems Corp. have ended. In July, Aquest approached Asyst with a proposal to pay $6.50 a share for the company, a 66% premium to Asyst's share price at the time. Asyst shares closed on Thursday at $1.25, valuing the company at about $63 million. Late on Thursday, Asyst said Aquest, the closely held Sunnyvale, Calif., provider of automation equipment for the semiconductor industry, was "unable to assemble and submit a transaction proposal" to buy Asyst. In the second quarter ended Sept. 30, Asyst booked $110 million of new orders, up from $63 million in the fiscal first quarter. And in the first week of its third quarter, Asyst received $30 million of additional orders related to a new semiconductor fabrication plant in Asia, it said. The company also said it and Key Bank (KEY: news, chart, profile) agreed to amend the company's credit line.
Infosys profit up 17.3%, but shares drop after forecast cut(1:06 am ET)
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Infosys Technologies (INFY: news, chart, profile) Friday reported a 17.3% growth in quarterly profits, helped by addition of new clients and stable billing rates, but its shares slumped after the Indian software company reduced its revenue and earnings-per-share estimates. Net income for the July-September period increased to $318 million, or 56 cents, from $271 million in the year-earlier quarter. The company lowered its EPS forecast for the year ending March 31 to $2.24 per American Depositary Share from at least $2.32 per ADS. It also cut its revenue forecast to a minimum of $4.72 billion from $4.97 billion predicted earlier. Infosys shares fell 6.9% in Mumbai morning trading.