Earning Plays

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Friday, Oct. 24
Citadel: main hedge fund down 35% this year through Oct. 20(4:51 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Citadel Investment Group Founder Ken Griffin said on Friday that his firm's largest hedge fund, known as Kensington/Wellington, had fallen 35% so far this year, through the end of Oct. 20. Still, Griffin noted that most of the losses happened in the month after Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ: news, chart, profile) collapsed and stressed that performance has been better recently. In contrast, Citadel's market-making business has performed "spectacularly" this year and will be a major driver for the firm in future, Griffin said during a conference call with holders of the firm's medium-term notes. Still, Citadel will have to change its business to reflect unprecedented de-leveraging and fear in the markets. Some businesses, such as long/short equity trading, won't be affected much, but others will have to be more efficient in their use of Citadel's balance sheet, Griffin explained.
Analysts see more drilling cuts ahead for natural gas firms(1:59 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Analysts at Pritchard Capital Partners expect more natural gas producers to cut back on drilling plans on the heels of formal announcements from at least 10 companies. Energy firms will finance drilling from their cash flow, because equity and debt markets have dried up. Newfield Exploration (NFX: news, chart, profile) , Chesapeake Energy (CHK: news, chart, profile) , Petrohawk Energy Corp. (HK: news, chart, profile) , Penn Virginia Corp. (PVA: news, chart, profile) , SandRidge Energy Inc. (SD: news, chart, profile) , Quicksilver Resources (KWK: news, chart, profile) , Equitable Resources (EQT: news, chart, profile) , Denbury Resources (DNR: news, chart, profile) , ATP Oil & Gas (ATPG: news, chart, profile) and Energy XXI (EXXI: news, chart, profile) have all curbed their capital spending.
Gannett to suspend monthly revenue reports(11:05 am ET)
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Gannett Co. (GCI: news, chart, profile) said on a conference call that it intends to suspend monthly revenue reports indefinitely, partly because of the month-to-month volatilty of online revenue trends. The company is also making the move "because we don't believe providing this information on a monthly basis is significantly more helpful than simply providing it on a quarterly basis," said Gracia Martore, Gannett's chief financial officer. "We are not running our company on a month to month basis," she went on. "We are running our company on a more intermediate-to-long term basis. I think as we look at the trends, we will provide you with good information every quarter and that will hopefully be ample for all of you understand the direction the business is going in." Two analysts on the call told senior executives that Gannett's decision comes at an unfortunate time for many investors, who will want as many updates as possible given the many difficulties facing newspapers and television stations in the current climate.
Gannett's third-quarter profit falls(8:54 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its third-quarter net income fell more than 30% to $158 million, or 69 cents a share, from $234 million, or $1.01 a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding severance expenses, earnings in the period would have been 76 cents a share. A FactSet Research survey of analysts, on average, projected earnings of 75 cents a share. The McLean, Va., newspaper publisher said revenue fell 9% to $1.64 billion from $1.8 billion.
Exelon earnings fall in quarter(8:52 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Exelon Corp. (EXC: news, chart, profile) said Friday that third-quarter earnings were $700 million, or $1.06 a share, compared to to $780 million, or $1.15 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted operating earnings were $706 million, or $1.07 a share, compared with $823 million, or $1.21 a share, in 2007. Sales were $5.23 billion compared to $5.03 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings per share of $1.07 and sales of $5.23 billion. Operating earnings for 2008 are expected to be near the bottom of its guidance range of $4.15 to $4.30 per share, the company said.
XTO Energy to reduce debt by $1 billion in 2009(8:41 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- XTO Energy (XTO: news, chart, profile) said it plans to reduce its debt by about $1 billion in 2009. The Fort Worth, Texas natural gas producer said it's hedged approximately 70% of its expected natural gas production in 2009 at an equivalent price of $11 per million cubic feet equivalent, higher than the recent futures prices of $6.21. "Given these hedges and the current commodity strip pricing, XTO anticipates record cash flow and production volumes with the financial strength to reduce debt," said Bob R. Simpson, chairman and chief executive officer. "With our focus on delivering performance, particularly in these challenging times, we will continue to look for opportunities to increase our hedge position."
Energy stocks drop sharply in pre-market trades(8:11 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: news, chart, profile) shares fell 8.4% in pre-market trades Friday, dipping $5.89 to $64.50 after OPEC moved to cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day. Oil futures subtracted $4.77 to $73.07. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJ: news, chart, profile) fell 550 points. In pre-market trades, Chevron (CVX: news, chart, profile) fell 5.7% to $63 and ConocoPhillips (COP: news, chart, profile) gave up 9.7% to $46.50. Schlumberger (SLB: news, chart, profile) dropped 9.7% to $47. XTO Energy (XTO: news, chart, profile) subtracted 11% to $28.50. Chesapeake Energy (CHK: news, chart, profile) dropped 12.8% to $18.70.
Fortune Brands posts higher profit on one-time gain(7:49 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Fortune Brands Inc. (FO: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its second-quarter profit rose to $336 million, or $2.21 a share, from $209 million, or $1.33 a share, in the year-ago period. The Deerfield, Ill. maker of home and hardware products said revenue fell 10% to $1.92 billion from $2.15 billion, citing an "increasingly challenging economic environment." Excluding items, Fortune Brands said it earned $1.11 a share from continuing operations, down from $1.34 a share last year. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings, on average, of $1.09 a share. The company said it was targeting fourth-quarter earnings, before items, to be down at a low-30s-to-high-40s percentage rate versus the year-earlier $1.39 a share. For the full year, it is targeting results to be down at a high-teens-to-mid-20s percentage rate compared to $5.06 a share in 2007.
CORRECT: ITT Corp. net falls 6%, cuts '08 view on costs(7:47 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- ITT Corp. (ITT: news, chart, profile) said Friday third-quarter net income fell 6% to $216.3 million, or $1.18 a share, from $230.1 million, or $1.25 a share in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings totaled $1.12 a share in the latest period. Revenue at the White Plains, N.Y. industrial firm increased to $2.88 billion from $2.18 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $1.06 a share on revenue of $2.8 billion, according to a survey by Factset Research Inc. Looking ahead, ITT Corp. trimmed its 2008 earnings outlook by 14 cents a share to a range of $3.97-$4.03 a share to account for $48 million in additional restructuring charges in the fourth quarter. The company also trimmed its 2008 revenue outlook to $11.6 billion from $11.7 billion. On the plus side, ITT sees an improvement of 3 cents a share from operational performance. (Corrects figure for change in profit outlook.)
T. Rowe's net falls 13%(7:44 am ET)
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Investment manager T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW: news, chart, profile) on Friday said its third-quarter net income fell to $152.8 million, or 56 cents a share, from $174.8 million, or 63 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The Baltimore-based firm said assets under management declined 11% during the quarter to $345 billion. Net revenue fell to $554.8 million from $571 million. Analysts had forecast earnings of 56 cents a share on revenue of $551.6 million, according to a poll conducted by Thomson Reuters.
Viad cuts earnings outlook even as quarterly profit rises(6:19 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Viad Corp. (VVI: news, chart, profile) , a provider of convention- and event-marketing services, said third-quarter net income nearly doubled to $16.8 million, or 81 cents a share, from $8.5 million, or 41 cents a share, earned in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted earnings came in at 70 cents a share. Consensus forecasts were for earnings of 68 cents a share. Sales climbed 32% to $302.4 million. The group lowered its 2008 earnings guidance to a range of $2.12 to $2.22 a share, compared to an earlier forecast of $2.17 to $2.32 a share, citing lower revenue expectations at Becker Group as customers spend less on holiday decorations. In the fourth quarter the company expects earnings in the range of 1 cent to 11 cents a share and revenue between $195 million and $220 million.
ICBC third-quarter profit rises 25.5% on-year(5:22 am ET)
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Industrial & Commerical Bank of China (HK:1398: news, chart, profile) , the mainland's largest lender, Friday reported a 25.5% growth in third-quarter profit on strong growth in interest income, although fee income declined during the quarter. Net income attributable to shareholders came in at 28.20 billion yuan ($4.13 billion), or 0.09 yuan a share, from 22.46 billion yuan in the year-earlier period. ICBC shares lost 7.4% in Hong Kong and 2.6% in Shanghai before the results were declared.
Maruti Suzuki second-quarter profit tumbles 37% on-year(4:53 am ET)
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Maruti Suzuki India said Friday its fiscal second-quarter net income dropped 37% from the year-ago period due to an increase in raw material costs and higher depreciation charges. The company, India's largest car maker by market share, said net profit dropped to 2.96 billion rupees ($60 million), although sales revenue grew 6.1% during the quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet estimated a profit of 3.77 billion rupees. Maruti shares tumbled 12.7% in Mumbai afternoon trading.
National Express on track for 2008 targets(2:42 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Bus and train operator National Express Group (UK:NEX: news, chart, profile) said Friday that it's on track to hit its growth targets in 2008, with comparable revenue growth for the year to date of 9% in its rail portfolio and 7% in its bus operations. The group said it will continue to focus on minimizing costs as customers are becoming increasingly focused on securing the best value for money possible.
Software AG profit, revenue strengthen(2:32 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Germany's Software AG (DE:330400: news, chart, profile) said Friday that its third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes rose 50% to 48.7 million euros as revenue grew 14% to 180.1 million euros. The group said revenue growth was driven by both growth from both licenses and maintenance, while revenue from the professional services arm declined slightly. The company added its EBIT margin also strengthened to 27% from 20.5%.
Ahold's third-quarter sales rise 3.9%(2:17 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Dutch supermarket giant Ahold (NL:03325: news, chart, profile) on Friday said third-quarter sales rose 3.9% to 5.8 billion euros. At constant exchange rates, they climbed 7.6%. The company said it remains "vigilant" to any changes in consumer and competitor behavior. In the U.S., sales fell 1.7% to 3.37 billion euros. In Europe, sales increased 12.8% to 2.44 billion euros.