FCStone Group's Fiscal 4Q Profit Surges FCStone Group Inc. said Thursday its profit surged in the fiscal fourth quarter as clients flocked to the commodity risk manager amid wild swings in the markets for oil and grain.
In the quarter ended Aug. 31, FCStone Group earned $12 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with income of $3.9 million, or 18 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected profit of 21 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial survey.
Revenue, which the company collects by charging fees for advice and trading services, plunged to $75.6 million from $317.1 million. The year-ago period included $269.3 million in revenue from sales of commodities. Analysts expected revenue of $61.3 million in the recent quarter.
Income rose in the recent quarter in part because the company recorded $264.5 million in cost of commodities sold in the 2006 quarter.
Suntech Power earnings nearly double, shares rally Solar panel maker Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd (STP.N: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Thursday quarterly earnings nearly doubled, beating analysts' estimates and driving its shares up more than 10 percent.
Third-quarter net income jumped to $53.3 million, or 32 cents a share, from $28.7 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net revenue more than doubled to $386.7 million from $163 million. Gross margins in the company's core business rose 24.4 percent.
Excluding items such as stock-based compensation, Suntech said it earned 36 cents per share.
Analysts, most of whom included stock-based compensation in their calculations, had expected profit of 28 cents per share. Including stock-based compensation and excluding restructuring and other expenses, Reuters Estimates said the company earned 32 cents per share.
Suntech posted a quarterly gross margin of 24 percent, versus German rival Q-Cells' (QCEG.DE: Quote, Profile , Research) third-quarter gross margin of 37 percent.
That difference was because, as a newer entrant to the sector, Suntech was paying higher prices for the silicon raw material used in solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity.
BEA Systems Inc. (BEAS) reported profit of $56 million, or 13 cents per share, compared to profit of $35.1 million, or 8 cents per share for the same quarter last year. The company posted revenue of $384.4 million for the quarter ended Oct. 31, compared to $347.7 million for the year-ago period. On a non-GAAP basis, the company reported earnings per share of 19 cents. Analysts had expected the company to report earnings per share of 13 cents on revenue of $349 million. BEA said it was on target to post a 7% to 11% increase in fourth-quarter revenue.
Autodesk shares down on 4th-qtr forecast Autodesk Inc (ADSK.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday posted a 47 percent jump in third-quarter profits but forecast lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, sending its shares lower in after-hours trade.
Net income increased to $85 million, or 35 cents per share, from $58 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier.
It forecast fourth-quarter earnings, excluding items, to range from 52 cents to 54 cents, while analysts on average had forecast fourth-quarter earnings, before items, of 54 cents per share on revenues of $581.8 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares of Autodesk fell 5.2 percent to $45 in after-hours trade, after closing down 7 cents to $47.46 a share on Nasdaq.
Autodesk, known for its AutoCAD design software, said revenues rose 18 percent to $538 million.
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