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Thursday, June 25

Accenture quarterly net income falls slightly(4:51 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Accenture Ltd. (ACN: news, chart, profile) said late Thursday that fiscal third-quarter net income came in at $444 million, down slightly from a year earlier when the consulting and out-sourcing firm made $469 million. Net income per share, which includes minority interests in some Accenture businesses, came in at 68 cents a share in the latest period. Accenture shares climbed 5.6% to $33.40 during after-hours trading on Thursday.

Micron Technology loss widens to $290 million(4:16 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Micron Technology Inc. (MU: news, chart, profile) on Thursday reported a fiscal third-quarter loss of $290 million, or 36 cents a share, compared to a loss of $236 million, or 30 cents a share, during the same period a year ago. Revenue fell 26% to $1.1 billion from $1.5 billion in the prior year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had forecast the memory chip maker to lose 39 cents a share on $1.2 billion in sales.

Palm net losses grow in fourth quarter(4:10 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Palm Inc. saw net losses grow deeper on a sharp drop in sales in its fourth fiscal quarter -- which ended before the company's popular Pre smartphone went on sale. For the period ended May 29, the wireless device maker (PALM: news, chart, profile) reported a net loss of $105 million, or 78 cents a share, compared to a loss of $43.4 million, or 40 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Excluding stock-option charges and expenses related to restructuring, Palm said net losses would have totaled $53.4 million, or 40 cents a share, for the recent period. Revenue fell more than 70% to $86.8 million. Analysts were expecting a loss of 62 cents a share on revenue of $80.6 million, according to consensus forecasts from Thomson Reuters.

McCormick sees quarterly profit fall(7:27 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- McCormick & Co. (MKC: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that its fiscal second quarter net income was $50.7 million, or 38 cents share, compared to $53.3 million, or 41 cents a share, in the year ago period. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were 42 cents compared to 39 cents in the fiscal second quarter of 2008. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had expected, on average, adjusted earnings per share of 41 cents. The spice and seasonings maker reaffirmed its fiscal 2009 forecast of earnings per share between $2.24 and $2.28, and sales growth of 2% to 3%.

Lennar second-quarter loss widens to $125.2 mln(6:18 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Lennar Corp. (LEN: news, chart, profile) (LEN.B: news, chart, profile) on Thursday reported a net loss of $125.2 million, or 76 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $120.9 million, or 76 cents a share, in the same period in 2008. The results include a charge of 38 cents related to valuation adjustments and other write-offs and a 27-cent charge tied to a non-cash deferred tax asset valuation allowance. A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced a consensus forecast for a net loss of 70 cents a share. The Miami-based homebuilder said revenues totaled $891.9 million, a 21% decline. "As we continue our intense focus on rebuilding homebuilding profitability and on cash generation, we are well positioned with a strong balance sheet to navigate the current market and to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves," said Lennar CEO Stuart Miller, in a news release.

Hertz estimates second-quarter profit(6:01 am ET)
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Hertz Global Holdings Inc., (HTZ: news, chart, profile) the Park Ridge, N.J., car-rental provider, estimated on Thursday that second-quarter adjusted net income would range 9 cents to 10 cents a share on revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.75 billion. A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced a consensus estimate of a loss of 1 cent a share. Chairman and Chief Executive Mark P. Frissora said in a statement that the company was able to resume providing earnings estimates because "car-rental demand in the U.S. and Europe has stabilized" and "summer peak reservation build in both markets" is better than the company expected. And Hertz expects "no significant long-term financial impact from the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies," the executive said.

DSG International loss narrows(2:34 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. electronic goods retailer DSG International (UK:DSGI: news, chart, profile) said Thursday that its net loss for the year ending May 2 narrowed to 219.4 million pounds ($360.1 million) from 260.8 million pounds, while revenue slipped 1% to 8.36 billion pounds. Comparable sales for the fiscal year were down 9% and underlying retail profit fell 57% to 95.5 million pounds. DSG said it expects the weak conditions to continue through the coming year in many of its markets. It will focus on managing costs, margins, stock and cashflow, adding that it remains confident of its medium-term target of achieving a 3% to 4% return on sales.
Wednesday, June 24

Nike posts lower profit(4:33 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Nike Inc. (NKE: news, chart, profile) late Thursday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income fell 30% to $341.4 million, or 70 cents a share, compared to net income of $490.5 million, or 98 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, Nike said it earned 99 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had pegged the athletic shoe and apparel maker to earn 96 cents a share. Sales fell 7% to $4.7 billion. Nike said worldwide futures orders for Nike brand athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery from June 2009 through November 2009, was $7.8 billion, down 12% from a year ago. Nike shares fell 4.9% in late trading.

Bed Bath & Beyond profit up, same-store sales dip(4:25 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (BBBY: news, chart, profile) on Wednesday reported a first-quarter net income of $87.2 million, or 34 cents a share, up from $76.8 million, or 30 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 2.8% to $1.69 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for a profit, on average, of 24 cents a share with sales of $1.68 billion. Same store sales for the home furnishings retailer fell 1.6%. The shares jumped more than 6% to $30.12 in after-hours trading.

Red Hat tops views with profit increase(4:15 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Red Hat Inc. (RHT: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter net income rose to $18.5 million, or 10 cents a share, from $17.3 million, or 8 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. The business software provider said revenue for the period ended in May rose 11% to $174.4 million. Excluding special items, Red Hat said earnings for the quarter were 15 cents a share. Analysts on average had expected Red Hat to post earnings excluding special items of 14 cents a share, on $171.8 million in revenue, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

Seagate Technology raises revenue outlook(4:12 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Seagate Technology (STX: news, chart, profile) on Wednesday said that it expects its current, fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to between $2.2 billion and $2.3 billion, up from its prior forecast of $1.9 billion to $2.2 billion. The computer hard-disk drive maker said it believes the total addressable market for hard-disk drives to be 120 million units, up from its earlier estimate of 114 million units. Seagate also said that for its fiscal first quarter it expects revenue to be in a range of $2.35 billion to $2.5 billion.

Paychex earnings fall 16% in fourth quarter(4:10 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Paychex Inc. said Wedneday that earnings fell 16% for its fourth fiscal quarter on a decline in payroll services. The provider of payroll processing servcies (PAYX: news, chart, profile) reported earnings of $113.8 million, or 32 cents a share, for the quarter ended May 31, compared to earnings of $135.5 million, or 38 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Total revenue fell 4.5% to $495.9 million.

Supervalu sees first quarter below estimate(8:30 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Supervalu Inc. (SVU: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday that earnings for the first quarter would be substantially below "First Call consensus earnings for the quarter." Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings of 65 cents a share for the grocer. Chief Executive Craig Herkert stated, "Consumers have become more value focused and cautious in their spending which has pressured sales and margins greater than anticipated. We currently estimate our identical store sales will be approximately negative 3%."

Inchcape shares jump after trading update(3:17 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares in U.K. car dealer Inchcape (UK:INCH: news, chart, profile) rose 7.7% in early London trading after the group said its second-quarter pretax profit is expected to be significantly ahead of the 20 million pounds reported in the first quarter, though still well below the year-earlier figure. The group said total sales for the first five months of the year were down 16.3% and fell 22.6% at constant exchange rates. "Customer demand for new vehicles is still weak but our after-sales business, which represents approximately half of our gross profit, remains strong," the group said.

Stagecoach profit down 46%, dividend increased(2:33 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. bus and rail company Stagecoach (UK:SGC: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday that its net profit for fiscal 2009 fell 46% to 133.5 million pounds ($219.6 million), while revenue rose 19% to 2.1 billion pounds. The decline in profit was due to a tax benefit and gains from discontinued operations a year earlier. Underlying operating profit for the year ended April 30 rose 11% to 227.8 million pounds. The group said growth was driven by its bus operations, where comparable revenue increased, though overall rates of revenue and passenger volume growth have slowed, especially in the second half of the year. The group said it will pay a final dividend of 4.2 pence a share, up 3.7% from a year earlier.
Tuesday, June 23

N.Y. Times may charge for mobile content: report(11:45 pm ET)
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- New York Times Co. (NYT: news, chart, profile) is considering charging paid subscriptions to access its news on mobile devices, including Apple Inc.'s (AAPL: news, chart, profile) iPhone, because they allow for less advertising than the Web does, according to a Bloomberg News interview Tuesday with the company's head of digital operations. Martin Nisenholtz told the news agency that the New York Times is likely to begin charging users to access its news via mobile phones before it starts charging for access to its Web sites. "For publishers to offer their content for free in the mobile platform forever without getting paid very much money, I don't think it's going to be tenable," Nisenholtz was quoted as saying.

Darden reports higher profit(4:53 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI: news, chart, profile) late Tuesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $123 million, or 87 cents a share, compared to net income of $101.8 million, or 71 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $1.97 billion from $1.82 billion. Sales included an extra week of business in the most recent period. Same-restaurant sales for Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse fell 1.4%. For fiscal 2010, Darden said it expects to earn between $2.59 and $2.85 a share. Darden shares closed at $33 ahead of the report. The stock is up 17% this year.

Jabil Circuit swings to a $28.8 million loss(4:37 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL: news, chart, profile) on Tuesday reported a fiscal third-quarter loss of $28.8 million, or 14 cents a share, compared to a profit of $38.4 million, or 19 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue for the electronics contract manufacturer fell to $2.6 billion from last year's sales of $3.1 billion. Jabil said its earnings excluding one-time items, or what it calls its core earnings, were $8.5 million, or 4 cents a share. For its fourth-quarter, Jabil estimates it will lose up to 9 cents a share, or could earn as much as a penny a share, on revenue between $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion.