net income

Housing Stronger, Fannie Mae Posts $10 Billion Profit

August 8, 2013 by NewsMaker

Fannie said on Thursday that it would pay a dividend of $10.2 billion to the United States Treasury next month. It made no request for additional federal aid.

The company said the rise in home prices during the quarter enabled it to reduce reserves set aside for losses on mortgages, helping to bolster its net income.

The earnings for the period from April through June compared with the company’s net income of $5.1 billion in the second quarter of 2012.

The government rescued Fannie and its smaller sibling, Freddie Mac, during the financial crisis after both incurred major losses on risky mortgages. The companies received loans totaling about $187 billion.

Fannie said it expected to remain profitable “for the foreseeable future.”

Once the second-quarter dividend is paid, Fannie will have repaid $105 billion of the roughly $116 billion it received from taxpayers.

The latest quarterly gain followed a record $58.7 billion net income in the first quarter, when Fannie capitalized on tax benefits it had saved from its losses on loans during the crisis. It paid a first-quarter dividend of $59.4 billion to the Treasury.

The housing recovery that began last year has made Fannie and Freddie profitable again. Together they will have paid back about $146 billion of their government loans by next month. Those payments are helping make this year’s federal budget deficit the smallest since President Obama took office in 2009.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/09/business/fannie-mae-reports-earnings-of-10-billion.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Economy News Tagged With: government loans, net income, obama

Burger King Earnings Soar as Expenses Fall

April 27, 2013 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

Burger King’s first-quarter earnings more than doubled even though revenue fell, as the fast-food chain trimmed several restaurant-related expenses.

The Miami-based company had warned earlier this month that sales at established restaurants were expected to fall during the quarter, and they wound up declining 1.4 percent. That includes a 3 percent drop in the United States and Canada.

Burger King said competition and a strong first quarter last year hurt U.S. and Canadian sales comparisons to this year’s quarter. But it said sales from those countries rallied in March due in part to promotions like the $1.29 Whopper Jr.

The company has been adjusting its strategy to focus on more menu deals like that. McDonald’s has been particularly aggressive in touting its Dollar Menu to boost traffic at a time when the restaurant industry is barely growing. Wendy’s also revamped its value menu recently.

Overall, Burger King Worldwide Inc. said Friday its net income rose to $35.8 million, or 10 cents per share, in the quarter that ended March 31. That’s up from $14.3 million, or 4 cents per share, in the previous year’s quarter when it was still private.

The company previously said adjusted earnings, which don’t count certain one-time expenses, totaled 17 cents per share in the most recent quarter.

Revenue fell about 42 percent to $327.7 million. Analysts expected $305.8 million, according to FactSet.

Total restaurant expenses, which include things like food costs and payroll expenses, fell nearly 70 percent in the quarter to $108.1 million.

Burger King has been undergoing a revamp since it was purchased and taken private in 2010 by 3G Capital, a private investment firm run by Brazilian billionaires. The company has been selling more restaurants to franchisees, a move that lowers overhead costs. Instead of booking sales from those restaurants, that means Burger King would collect franchise fees instead.

In the first quarter, the company’s restaurant revenues tumbled 69 percent to $121.1 million, but its franchise and property revenues rose 19 percent to $206.6 million. The company sold 33 company-owned restaurants in the U.S. and Canada to franchisees during the quarter for $9.3 million.

Burger King said about 97 percent of its restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees.

The company’s selling, general and administrative expenses also fell about 30 percent to $66.7 million in the quarter.

3G Capital also has slashed costs, signed international expansion deals and changed the U.S. menu to appeal to a wider audience. The moves came ahead of the company’s return to public trading on the New York Stock Exchange last June.

Burger King says its efforts to revamp the brand remain on track. But CEO Bernardo Hees, a 3G partner, is moving on later this year to head Heinz, another 3G investment. Chief Financial Officer Daniel Schwartz, also a 3G partner, will succeed Lees as CEO at Burger King.

Burger King shares rose 21 cents, or 1.2 percent, to close at $18.27 Friday. They have traded between $12.91 and $20.20 since relisting.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/04/26/business/ap-us-earns-burger-king.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Economy News Tagged With: food chain, franchisees, net income

Intel Profits Fall as PC Slump Cuts Demand for Chips

April 16, 2013 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

The earnings decline points to the challenges facing the big chip maker as it struggles to make the transition beyond its lucrative stronghold as the leading supplier of the chips that power PCs.

As people do more and more of their computing on tablets and smartphones, personal computer sales are falling.

The company reported net income to $2.05 billion, a decline of 25 percent from $2.74 billion in the period a year earlier.

Intel’s earnings fell to 40 cents a share, compared with 53 cents a share a year ago. The quarter’s performance was just below Wall Street’s average estimate of 41 cents a share, as compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue in the first quarter slipped to $12.58 billion, down from $12.91 billion in the first quarter of 2012. That was in line with analysts’ forecast of $12.6 billion.

In after-hours trading, Intel shares were flat. In the regular trading session, the company’s shares added 54 cents a share, or 2.5 percent, to close at $21.92.

In a conference call to discuss the results, Intel executives were more optimistic about the rest of the year.

Stacy J. Smith, the chief financial officer, said the company should return to growth in the second half, and probably achieve “double-digit revenue growth for the year.”

An improving economy should help, as well as new products like its Haswell chips, a power-saving processor that supports touch-screen computing on ultrabook computers, which are hybrids of notebooks and tablets.

Haswell chips, Mr. Smith said, will be in products that will begin to ship this quarter.

A year ago, Intel was not positioned to follow demand into higher-growing markets like hybrid and tablet computers, said Paul S. Otellini, the chief executive, who plans to retire in May.

Now it is, he said. “Never before has our ability to compete across the spectrum of computing been greater,” Mr. Otellini said.

Intel’s business of selling high-end chips to power the server computers in data centers is growing. Its data center group reported a 7 percent increase in revenue in the quarter, to $2.6 billion.

But strength elsewhere is not enough to offset Intel’s dependence on the personal computer market.

In 2012, the company’s PC chip division accounted for 64 percent of Intel’s total revenue and 89 percent of its operating income.

Last week, the research firm IDC reported that worldwide personal computer shipments declined by nearly 14 percent in the first quarter of this year, the biggest drop since the research firm began tracking quarterly PC sales in 1994.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/technology/intel-profits-fall-as-pc-slump-cuts-demand-for-chips.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: net income, personal computer sales, reuters

Mobile Revolution Buffets Taiwan PC Rivals

February 24, 2013 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

TAIPEI — Two computer-making neighbors in the technologically inclined economy of Taiwan seem headed in opposite directions.

Personal computer sales have slumped worldwide as smartphones and tablets have proliferated and gained in popularity. One Taiwan heavyweight, Acer, has shared in the suffering: It is expected to report a second straight annual loss in 2012 after losing 6.6 billion Taiwan dollars, or $223 million at the current exchange rate, in 2011.

But another Taiwan-based PC company, Asustek, which sells computers under the Asus name, grew 43 percent in the quarter that ended in September, to 6.7 billion dollars in net income. The company’s PC sales rose 6.4 percent even as industrywide PC shipments declined 4.9 percent in the last three months of 2012, according to the research firm Gartner.

The companies’ divergent fortunes expose both the mistakes and the opportunities for PC makers in an epic shift in the way consumers use technology.

For more than a decade, with no serious alternatives for consumers, Acer, Dell and Hewlett-Packard treated the PC as a commodity: All of their machines used the same Intel chips and Microsoft software and even looked similar, analysts said. In that environment, PC makers made money by focusing on marketing and by cutting costs.

For Acer, much of that strategy was driven by the former chief executive, Gianfranco Lanci, who led the company from 2004 to 2011. During his tenure, the company focused only on marketing and distribution, while gutting research and development and outsourcing design and production, analysts said.

The spread of smartphones and tablets has challenged that business model. Consumers have more choices and increasingly focus on how their devices look and feel, how mobile they are and what content they can provide access to.

“At the moment, the PC market is saturated,” said Tracy Tsai, an analyst at Gartner. “When most users have a PC already, they are not looking for just a cheaper notebook. They want something better.”

That has meant meager profits or none for global PC brands. H.P. reported a $12.7 billion loss in the business year that ended in September 2012, while Dell’s poor performance has resulted in an effort to take the company private.

It is a problem that has manifested itself on the street as well. Stam Chuang, a manager at a retail shop in the Guanghua Digital Plaza in Taipei, said notebook sales at his store had dropped 10 percent during the past year.

“There’s only a set amount of demand for computing out there,” Mr. Chuang said. “So if consumers decide they want a tablet or smartphone, that share will get taken out of PCs.”

Because of its research and development cuts, Acer has struggled to produce smartphones and tablets that can compete with the sleek products from mobile powerhouses like Amazon.com, Apple and Samsung, analysts said.

Asustek, however, followed a strategy that emphasized design and innovation. Its personal computer growth in 2012 was driven by the Zenbook, an ultrathin laptop with a metallic finish, stereo speakers and backlit keys.

Jonney Shih, the chairman of Asustek, said he had foreseen the mobile revolution and wanted his company to differentiate itself from the competition.

“Even 10 years ago, I knew I had to be prepared,” Mr. Shih said.

He added that with computer architecture and chips shrinking, he had recognized that “the ‘phone computer’ was going to happen.”

Mr. Shih has become a cheerleader for what he calls “design thinking,” pushing his employees to be creative about building products that enrich the experience for consumers. Asustek incorporated a design and artistry category into its employee evaluation system.

The two companies’ revenue numbers are similar: In the third quarter of 2012, Acer brought in 87.4 billion dollars in revenue, compared with 96 billion dollars for Asustek, according to Bloomberg data.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/technology/mobile-revolution-buffets-taiwan-pc-rivals.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: business model, gianfranco, net income

DealBook: Credit Suisse Returns to Profit and Plans More Cost Cuts

February 8, 2013 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

Steffen Schmidt/European Pressphoto AgencyBrady Dougan, chief of Credit Suisse.

4:40 p.m. | Updated

LONDON — Credit Suisse said on Thursday that it had swung to a profit in the fourth quarter of last year from a loss in the period a year earlier, and announced that it would cut more costs than previously planned.

The bank, Switzerland’s second-biggest after UBS, said net income for the final three months of 2012 was 397 million Swiss francs ($436 million); it posted a loss of 637 million francs ($700 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Credit Suisse, based in Zurich, said it would increase its cost-cutting target by $440 million, to $4.83 billion, by the end of 2015.

“Going into 2013, revenues have so far been consistent with the good starts we have seen to prior years,” the chief executive, Brady W. Dougan, said in a statement, adding that profitability was “further benefiting from the strategic measures.”

On Tuesday, UBS reported a loss of $2.1 billion for the fourth quarter because of costs to settle legal matters, including its role in a global rate manipulation scandal. Both Swiss banks have reacted recently to stricter capital rules introduced by Swiss regulators by revamping their investment banking operations.

While UBS’s shares jumped after it said in October that it would eliminate 10,000 jobs, Credit Suisse investors were far less impressed with changes that the bank announced in November.

Those changes, announced by Mr. Dougan, included appointing a new co-head of investment banking and merging the bank’s asset management division into its wealth management and private banking unit.

The new structure is meant to help Mr. Dougan fulfill his pledge to save billions of francs by 2015, and to make the lines between wealth management and investment banking clearer.

Credit Suisse said on Thursday that 21 percent of its net revenue was from the collaboration among its different divisions. The bank also reduced its total compensation by 5 percent in 2012 from a year earlier.

Private banking and wealth management had a pretax profit of $1 billion in the quarter, up from $585 million in the period in 2011.

Investment banking had a pretax profit of $327 million, a turnaround from a loss of $1.54 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, as it made more money from debt sales and trading.

Credit Suisse said it proposed to pay a dividend of 10 centimes in cash and 65 centimes in shares for 2012.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/credit-suisse-returns-to-profit-eyes-more-cost-cuts/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: net income, steffen schmidt, wealth management

Refining Margins Help Profit at Exxon Mobil

February 1, 2013 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

DALLAS (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp. said Friday that fourth-quarter earnings rose 6 percent to $9.95 billion with help from higher refining profit margins.

The oil giant barely missed a record for full-year earnings. It earned $44.88 billion in 2012, about $340 million shy of its 2008 mark of $45.22 billion, an all-time high for a publicly traded company.

Exxon still makes most of its money by producing oil and gas, but that end of the business was less profitable than a year ago because of lower prices and production. The company made up the difference in the refining business.

The nation’s biggest oil company said Friday that net income equaled $2.20 per share, compared with $9.4 billion, or $1.97 per share, a year earlier. But revenue fell 5 percent to $115.17 billion, a drop of $6.44 billion.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected profit of $1.99 per share on revenue of $115.22 billion.

Profit from exploration and production of oil and gas fell 12 percent but still totaled $7.76 billion, more than three-fourths of Exxon’s income for the quarter. Production fell 5 percent, oil prices dipped, and the company took in less money from asset sales.

Exxon produces most of its oil outside the United States. Profit from overseas production tumbled by nearly one-fifth, but Exxon partly offset that by boosting its profit from U.S. production by more than one-third.

Outside of exploration and production, most of Exxon’s other profit comes from refining and selling petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. That business did very well in the fourth quarter, earning $1.8 billion, an increase of more than $1.3 billion from a year earlier, mainly due to higher refining margins.

Other oil refiners have also reported better margins this earnings season as they switched from foreign crude to cheaper U.S. oil. On Friday, benchmark U.S. crude oil was trading at about $97 per barrel, $19 less than the same amount of Brent crude, the measuring stick for international sources of oil.

At Exxon’s U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, “We have more than tripled the processing of (cheaper) North American crude over the last couple of years,” the company’s vice president of investor relations, David Rosenthal, told analysts on a conference call. He declined to give precise figures or percentages.

Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil said it spent $5 billion during the quarter buying back its own shares and plans to spend another $5 billion on buybacks in the first three months of 2013.

Exxon shares fell 10 cents to $89.88 in morning trading. They gained 4 percent in January.

Chevron Corp., the No. 2 U.S. oil company, reported that fourth-quarter net income rose 41 percent to $7.23 billion. That result was helped by a gain of $1.4 billion related to an exchange of assets in Australia.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/02/01/business/ap-us-earns-exxon-mobil.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: net income, oil and gas, oil company

Chrysler’s Earnings Soar in 2012

January 30, 2013 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

DETROIT — Chrysler, the smallest of the American automakers, on Wednesday reported a big increase in 2012 earnings that helped its Italian parent company, Fiat, become profitable for the year as well.

Chrysler said that its net income soared to $1.67 billion last year — about nine times as much as the $183 million it earned in 2011.

The exponential increase underscored the company’s comeback from its government bailout and bankruptcy in 2009, when it was taken over by Fiat.

In the fourth quarter alone, Chrysler said it earned $378 million, a 68 percent increase from $225 million in the same period in 2011. Revenue in the quarter was $17.2 billion, a 13 percent gain from $15.1 billion a year earlier.

“Chrysler concluded a very successful 2012 with a robust fourth-quarter performance,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with the auto research site TrueCar.com. “The company was the only domestic automaker to gain market share last year.”

Chrysler also benefited from having little exposure to the deepening economic crisis in Europe, where vehicle sales have fallen to the lowest levels in nearly 20 years.

The European problems, however, took a heavy toll on results at Fiat, which also reported earnings on Wednesday.

Without Chrysler, Fiat said it would have lost 1.04 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in 2012. But instead, Chrysler’s results helped Fiat earn a profit of 1.41 billion euros for the year, about a 15 percent decrease from the 1.65 billion euros the Italian automaker earned in 2011, which included Chrysler after the middle of the year.

In the fourth quarter, Fiat reported a profit of 388 million euros. Without Chrysler’s contributions, it would have lost 241 million euros.

Analysts said Chrysler’s strong performance in the surging United States market should compensate for Fiat’s troubles for some time to come.

“With Europe in the mess it is in, it’s going to be a tough slog for Fiat,” said Mike Wall, an analyst with the market-research firm IHS Automotive. “They need all the help Chrysler can give them.”

Fiat currently owns a 58.5 percent stake in Chrysler, and has been consolidating the American company’s performance into its own results since June 2011.

Chrysler has been growing steadily as it introduced new vehicles and revamped older models. Its revenue for 2012 was $65.8 billion, a 19.6 percent improvement from $55 billion the previous year.

For the year, its global vehicle sales increased to 2.2 million, an 18 percent increase from 1.9 million the previous year, and its market share in the United States improved to 11.2 percent, up from 10.5 percent a year earlier.

Sergio Marchionne, who serves as chief executive of both Chrysler and Fiat, said the turnaround at Chrysler was gaining momentum thanks to solid sales of core products like the Ram pickup and the Jeep Grand Cherokee S.U.V.

“We pause for a moment to enjoy our accomplishments,” Mr. Marchionne said, “but we will not stop.”

Mr. Marchionne forecast continued improvement for Chrysler this year. He said the company expected to earn net income of $2.2 billion in 2013, on revenue of $72 billion or higher.

He also outlined plans on Wednesday to bring more Fiat and Alfa Romeo models to the United States, even as Chrysler delays the introduction of some of its own new products.

The Alfa Romeo brand, which left the American market almost 20 years ago, will return with a sports car later this year. It is the first of several new Alfas destined for the United States over the next three years.

Fiat will also add several new products for the American market, building on its first offering, the tiny Fiat 500 microcar.

Mr. Marchionne said that a few Chrysler car models, mostly derived from Fiat platforms, would be delayed as a result.

“The product plan is a living document,” he said, referring to changes in Chrysler’s vehicle timetable. “And we continue to rework that document.”

Mr. Marchionne also said plans were fluid regarding an initial public offering of Chrysler stock. A health care trust for retired members of the United Automobile Workers union is seeking an I.P.O. to cash out its 41.5 percent ownership stake in Chrysler.

Chrysler’s large profits in 2012 will directly benefit its current hourly work force. About 31,000 union members will receive average profit-sharing checks of $2,250, the company said.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/business/chrysler-earnings-soar.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: exponential increase, market share, net income

US Airways Reports Sharply Higher Profits

January 23, 2013 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

Fewer empty seats made the difference in the last three months as revenue set a record.

Airlines successfully raised fares five times last year but have struggled to do so lately. Two attempts led by United Airlines this month failed after other airlines did not match the increases. For US Airways, one measure of fares, called passenger yield, the average fare paid per mileage, declined slightly in the fourth quarter.

The US Airways president, Scott Kirby, noted that full planes and improved demand typically lead to fare increases. There were fewer empty seats in the final quarter of 2012 — occupancy rose 2 percentage points to 83.9 percent. January bookings are up 8 percent from a year ago, Mr. Kirby said.

“While it’s taking some time, I expect that this strong environment will lead to improving yields across the industry,” Mr. Kirby said in a conference call with analysts.

Even without higher fares, having more passengers increased US Airways profits. Revenue for each seat flown one mile — an important performance indicator for airlines — rose 2.2 percent. US Airways’ net income for the quarter was $37 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $18 million, or 11 cents a share a year earlier. Excluding onetime items, net income was 26 cents per share, 7 cents higher than analyst forecasts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 3.9 percent compared with a year earlier, to $3.28 billon.

US Airways is in merger talks with American Airlines, but it did not discuss the topic on Wednesday, citing a nondisclosure agreement. American and its parent, the AMR Corporation, have been operating under bankruptcy protection since November 2011. Last week AMR reported a loss for the fourth quarter, excluding onetime items, of $88 million, an improvement of $121 million from a year earlier.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/business/us-airways-reports-sharply-higher-profits.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: merger talks, net income, three months

Oracle’s Profit Climbs 18%

December 19, 2012 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

The results were an improvement from Oracle’s previous quarter, when its revenue fell slightly from a year earlier.

The latest quarter spanned September through November. That makes Oracle the first technology bellwether to provide insight into corporate spending since the Nov. 6 re-election of President Obama and negotiations to avoid a fiscal crisis began to heat up in Washington.

Oracle said it earned $2.6 billion, or 53 cents a share, in its fiscal second quarter. That compares with net income of $2.2 billion, or 43 cents a share, a year earlier.

If not for charges for past acquisitions and certain other costs, Oracle said it would have earned 64 cents a share. On that basis, Oracle topped the average earnings estimate of 61 cents a share among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue increased 3 percent from last year to $9.1 billion, about $900 million more than analysts had projected.

In a particularly heartening sign, Oracle said sales of new software licenses and subscriptions to its online services climbed 17 percent from last year to outstrip the most optimistic predictions issued by management three months ago.

The flow of new licenses and subscriptions, which represent about a quarter of Oracle’s revenue, is closely tracked by investors because they lead to more revenue in the future from upgrades.

In the current quarter, which ends in February, Oracle expects software licenses and subscriptions to increase in the range of 3 percent to 13 percent from the previous year. The company, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., predicted its adjusted earnings in the current quarter will range from 64 cents to 68 cents a share on revenue ranging from $9.1 billion to $9.5 billion. That would be a 1 percent to 5 percent increase from the prior year.

Shares of in Oracle rose 1.28 percent in extended trading after the numbers came out. They ended regular trading at $32.88.

In Tuesday’s conference call, the chief executive, Lawrence Ellison, said some of the erosion in the hardware division has been by design as Oracle weeded out some of the less profitable equipment. He assured analysts that hardware revenue would start increasing in the final quarter of Oracle’s fiscal year, the period spanning March through May. Sun’s Java programming language already has been paying off for the software side of Oracle’s business, according to Mr. Ellison.

“Sun has already proven to be the most strategic and profitable acquisition Oracle has ever made,” he said.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/business/oracles-profit-climbs-18.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: bellwether, fiscal crisis, net income

DealBook: Societe Generale Profit Plunged in Third Quarter

November 8, 2012 by NewsMaker Leave a Comment

Jacky Naegelen/ReutersThe headquarters of Société Générale in Paris.

9:53 a.m. | Updated

PARIS – Société Générale, the big French bank, said on Thursday that its third-quarter profit plunged as it booked large one-time charges.

The bank reported that net income fell 86 percent, to 85 million euros ($108 million), from 622 million euros in the period a year earlier – well below the 139 million euros analysts surveyed by Reuters had been expecting. The bank said net revenue declined 17 percent, to 5.4 billion euros.

Société Générale, based in Paris, said its bottom line was hurt by one-time charges that included a cost of 389 million euros for revaluing its own debt. It also wrote down good will and had losses on the sale of assets in Greece and the United States. Excluding those items, the bank said underlying net income was 856 million euros.