Aetna (NYSE:
AET -
News) said its fourth-quarter profit rose 4% on membership growth and higher premiums, and the health insurer raised its full-year profit forecast.
Air T (NasdaqCM:
AIRT -
News) shares dropped after the Maiden, N.C., provider of air cargo services posted third-quarter earnings of $304,000, or 11 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $675,000, or 25 cents a share. The company attributed the lower earnings to a decrease in international deicer sales and air cargo maintenance revenue.
Amvescap Plc (NYSE:
AVZ -
News) said preliminary month-end assets under management for January rose to $469 billion from $462.6 billion the previous month. The London-based company said long-term assets increased to $401.4 billion from $398.3 billion at the end of December. Meanwhile, money-market assets rose to $67.6 billion from $64.3 billion.
Beacon Roofing Supply (NasdaqGS:
BECN -
News) shares fell after the Peabody, Mass.-based company reported fiscal first-quarter net earnings of $8.81 million, or 20 cents a share, down from $12.9 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $380.2 million from $339.9 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast a per-share profit of 27 cents on revenue of $385.9 million.
Central Garden & Pet Co. (NasdaqGS:
CENT -
News) reported first-quarter net earnings of $2.97 billion, or 12 cents a share. During the same quarter a year ago, the company posted net earnings of $2.56 million, or 12 cents a share. On a post-dividend basis, the per-share loss was 4 cents, compared with a per-share profit of 4 cents a year ago.
Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:
EK -
News) increased its plans for job cuts and related charges, as it seeks to wind down a four-year restructuring program by year-end.
Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. (NasdaqGM:
EBHI -
News) said shareholders did not approve the company's proposed sale to a firm owned by affiliates of Sun Capital Partners Inc. and Golden Gate Capital for $9.25 a share. As a result, the Redmond, Wash.-based apparel retailer said it will continue to operate as a standalone publicly traded company.
Family Dollar Stores (NYSE:
FDO -
News) said same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose about 0.1% in January. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for same-store sales growth of 2.1%. Total sales for the five weeks ended Feb. 3 climbed 38.2% to $585.3 million compared with $423.4 million for the four week period ended Jan. 28, 2006. But total sales comparing the five weeks to the similar five weeks a year ago rose just 4%. The discount retailer said it now expects February same-store sales to be flat, although it still expects second-quarter earnings of 58 to 64 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson are expecting earnings of 62 cents a share.
Gottschalks Inc. (NYSE:
GOT -
News) said January same-store sales slipped 1%, while total sales rose 21% to $43.5 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a 3% same-store sales rise. "January was a clearance month for us as we deepened promotions in some soft line categories and, in particular, focused on selling through inventory in our home division as we continue to reposition our merchandise assortments in that category," the company said.
Gymboree (NasdaqGS:
GYMB -
News) shares fell after the San Francisco-based retailer said January same-store sales were flat compared with last year, while overall sales rose 24% to $62.5 million in the period. For the fourth-quarter, same-store sales rose 7% while overall sales rose 19% to $238.5 million. Gymboree expects fourth-quarter earnings of 64 to 66 cents a share, or 70 to 72 cents a share, excluding certain items. For 2007, the company forecast per-share earnings of $1.72 to $1.74, or $1.97 to $1.99 excluding items. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial are forecasting fourth-quarter earnings of 76 cents a share.
Hot Topic Inc. (NasdaqGS:
HOTT -
News) said its January sales at stores open at least a year fell 6.6% vs. a 0.7% fall in the same month last year. Analysts, on average, had expected the teen retailer to post a same-store-sales drop of 6.1%, according to Thomson Financial.
HSBC (NYSE:
HBC -
News) warned that bad-debt charges are set to exceed forecasts by about $1.76 billion, as higher interest rates and a lack of refinancing options in the slowing U.S. housing market leave customers unable to pay their mortgages.
Imperial Tobacco Group (NYSE:
ITY -
News) agreed to acquire Commonwealth Brands from closely held Houchens Industries Inc. for $1.9 billion (974 million pounds). Factoring in the net present value of tax benefits from the deal, the net cost is $1.5 billion. Commonwealth Brands, Bowling Green, Ky., is the No. 4 U.S. cigarette producer, with 3.7% of the American market, Imperial said.
Isilon Systems Inc. (NasdaqGM:
ISLN -
News) shares fell after the Seattle-based developer of clustered storage systems and software late Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $10.4 million, or 72 cents a share, vs. a net loss of $4.08 million, or 78 cents a share, last year. There were 14.55 million shares outstanding in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with 5.25 million a year ago Excluding items, the company posted a loss of $3.3 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of $4.1 million, or 9 cents a share, last year. Revenue rose to $20.7 million from $8.7 million. Isilon expects first-quarter revenue of $21 million to $23 million. For the full year 2007, the company expects revenue of $115 million to $125 million.
J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE:
JCP -
News) said its January sales at department stores open at least a year increased 3.6%. Analysts, on average, expected it to post a same-store sales gain of 3.5%, according to Thomson Financial. Total department-store sales for the four weeks ended Jan. 27 rose 5.5%, the Plano, Texas, company said. For February, Penney forecast comparable department-store sales to increase in the low-single digits.
JoS A Bank Clothiers (NasdaqGS:
JOSB -
News) said annual earnings will be at least $2.25 a share, up 15% from last year, with total sales up 18% to $546 million. January same-store sales dropped 4.7%, while direct marketing sales improved 42%, the company said. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a 1% rise in January same-store sales, and annual earnings of $2.17 a share.
Level 3 Communications (NasdaqGS:
LVLT -
News) said its fourth-quarter loss widened to $237 million from $169 million a year earlier as it announced that it would reduce headcount in 2007 by about 1,000 employees. The company said the fourth-quarter loss included a loss of $54 million for the extinguishment of debt. Level 3 posted a loss of 20 cents a share for the quarter, compared with a loss of 24 cents a share a year earlier, when the company had fewer shares outstanding. The Broomfield, Colo., telecommunications and information-services company said Thursday that revenue rose to $846 million from $418 million a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, expected a loss of 14 cents a share on revenue of $831.8 million. Level 3 forecast total communications revenue of $1 billion to $1.05 billion for the first quarter and $4.03 billion to $4.31 billion for the full year. The company also said its financing unit would offer $500 million in senior notes.
Shares of New Century Financial (NYSE:
NEW -
News) tumbled as much as 30% Thursday, hitting their lowest in nearly four years at one point, as investors punished the mortgage services provider over its warning that loan production for 2007 would fall short of expectations.
New York & Co. (NYSE:
NWY -
News) said its January sales at stores open at least one year rose 2.3%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to rise 2.9%, according to Thomson Financial. Net sales for the five weeks ended Feb. 3 rose 32.4% to $83.7 million. The retailer backed its fourth-quarter profit forecast of 37 cents to 46 cents a share. The company continues to expect to report an increase in gross margin for the fourth quarter due to improved merchandise margins and also still expects non-recurring litigation expenses of about 2 cents a share, which are included in its outlook.
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