Earnings Watch=Updates, advisories and surprises
Dec. 7, 2010, 7:31 a.m. EST
Updates, advisories and surprises
AutoZone profit climbs 20%
(7:18 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- AutoZone Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!azo/quotes/nls/azo (AZO 261.91, -3.29, -1.24%) said Tuesday that its first-quarter earnings rose by 20% to $172.1 million, or $3.77 a share, from $143 million, or $2.82 a share, in the year-ago period. The car-parts retailer's revenue rose to $1.79 billion, from $1.59 billion. Wall Street analysts expected the Memphis, Tenn., company to earn $3.42 a share, on revenue of $1.72 billion, according to a survey by FactSet Research.
International growth drives Tesco sales up 8.2%
(2:39 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. supermarket giant Tesco PLC /quotes/comstock/23s!a:tsco (UK:TSCO 429.20, +9.20, +2.19%) said Tuesday that total group sales in the fiscal third quarter rose 8.2%. The company said its U.K. business grew faster than the industry as a whole and that it's continuing to see evidence of a steady consumer recovery in the country. Total U.K. sales excluding petrol rose 4.9% and comparable sales excluding petrol were up 1.5% in the quarter ended Nov. 27. Total international sales grew 15.2% compared to a year earlier, including a 38.5% rise for its U.S. Fresh & Easy stores and a 23.4% increase in its Asian operations. "Our continued investment in the shopping trip and our new space opening program across our markets are giving us good sales momentum and market share gains," said CEO Terry Leahy.
Wolseley 1st-quarter trading profit up 39%
(2:31 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Wolseley PLC, /quotes/comstock/11i!wosyy (WOSYY 2.85, +0.06, +2.15%) /quotes/comstock/23s!e:wos (UK:WOS 1,910, +80.00, +4.37%) the U.K. supplier of building materials and heating and plumbing products to contractors, reported on Tuesday that fiscal first-quarter trading profit rose 39% on 2% higher revenue. For the quarter ended Oct. 31, the profit figure -- operating profit before special items and amortization and impairment of intangibles -- reached 159 million pounds ($250.2 million) from 114 million in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue totaled 3.47 billion pounds, compared with 3.4 billion. Comparable revenue rose 4%. While "demand has improved in most countries, pricing competition has remained intense," Chief Executive Ian Meakins said in a statement.
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