Brewer drafts strong U.K. sales
GOLDEN, Colo. -- Adolph Coors Cos. said fourth-quarter earnings jumped 78 percent, more than analysts had forecast, because of rising U.K. sales and lower costs.
Net income climbed to $36.1 million, or 98 cents a share, the third-largest brewer said in a statement. Profit was 30 cents more than the average analyst forecast. Sales increased 4.3 percent to $1.02 billion, helped by the falling dollar.
Sales in Europe, including the U.K., rose 11 percent as the company boosted sales of its Carling Extra Cold line. Chief Executive Leo Kiely is introducing a new low-carbohydrate beer to try to reverse a decline in sales in the U.S., its largest market, amid competition from Anheuser-Busch Cos. and Miller Brewing Co.
The company earned $20.2 million, or 55 cents, a year earlier, when the company had $4.5 million in restructuring costs.
Extra: Ad revenue up
McLEAN, Va. -- Gannett Co., the country's largest newspaper publisher, said fourth-quarter profit rose 3 percent as advertising and circulation revenue advanced, helped by an increase in ad sales at USA Today.
Net income climbed to $358 million, or $1.31 a share, from $347 million, or $1.29, a year earlier, the company said. Sales rose 5.6 percent to $1.82 billion from $1.73 billion.
Gannett said advertising at its newspapers, which include 100 daily U.S. papers, jumped 9.9 percent to $1.21 billion. Circulation sales at the newspapers rose 3.7 percent to $307 million.
Revenue at the television unit tumbled 14 percent to $196.7 million as political advertising slipped from the year-earlier quarter.
Airline's loss narrows
INDIANAPOLIS -- ATA Holdings Corp., which operates as a discount airline flying to Las Vegas, Chicago and other cities, said its net loss in the fourth quarter narrowed to $19.6 million as the carrier trimmed operating costs.
Formerly known as American Trans Air, ATA posted a loss of $1.72 a share, an improvement from the loss of $55.1 million, or $4.90, posted a year ago. Revenue rose 19 percent to $369.1 million from $311 million.
ATA, which received partial U.S. government backing for a $165 million loan in 2002, last week won approval from creditors to delay by two years payments on $260.3 million in debt, allowing it to avoid a bankruptcy filing. ATA also delayed aircraft and lease payments as part of its plan to lower operating expenses.
U.S. increase moot against Parmalat
Columbus, Ga. -- Aflac Inc., the world's biggest seller of supplemental health insurance, said fourth-quarter profit fell 61 percent because of losses from Parmalat Finanziaria SpA bonds. New premium sales in the U.S. grew 7.7 percent.
Net income fell to $73 million, or 14 cents per share, from $186 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Profit excluding realized investment losses and other items was 50 cents a share, meeting an average estimate of 19 analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
U.S. sales were greater than predictions by the company and analysts such as Morgan Stanley's Nigel Dally, who had estimated no growth in the quarter. The sales are a sign Aflac may be reversing a slowdown in the U.S. while maintaining growth in Japan, its largest market. The company announced a $257 million pretax loss from Parmalat in December.
New sales in the U.S. rose to $345 million in the fourth quarter, the highest in the company's history, Aflac said. Sales in Japan increased 8.7 percent to $291 million.
Gold, taxes yield top dollar
DENVER -- Newmont Mining Corp., the world's largest gold producer, said Wednesday it more than doubled its fourth-quarter net income as it benefited from high gold prices and a tax gain.
The Denver-based company said quarterly net profit rose to $153.1 million, or 36 cents a share, from $75.1 million, or 19 cents a share, a year earlier. The results beat Wall Street expectations by 5 cents a share.
The results included charges totaling $58 million and a $72 million tax benefit from the release of valuation allowances, which combined boosted earnings by $14 million, or 3 cents a share.
Revenue rose to $821.4 million from $798.7 million.
Profit up as more travel
NEW YORK -- Cendant Corp., the leading real estate and travel-services company, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 17 percent, boosted by increased car rentals and hotel bookings.
Net income rose to $288 million, or 28 cents a share, from $247 million, or 24 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 12 percent to $4.35 billion from $3.88 billion, the New York-based company said in a statement.
Profit rose 10 percent at Cendant's hotel unit, boosted by sales growth in the company's timeshare business. Revenue at the vehicle-services unit, which includes the Avis and Budget car rental companies, rose 20 percent to $1.4 billion helped by Cendant's purchase of Budget in November 2002.
Business spending helps tech giant
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cisco Systems Inc. posted fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue that exceeded Wall Street's expectations as businesses loosened their purse strings and increased spending on networking equipment.
For the three months ended Jan. 24, Cisco earned $724 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with $991 million, or 14 cents per share, in the same period last year.
Excluding special items, including a $567 million charge related to an accounting change, the San Jose, Calif.-based company earned $1.3 billion, or 18 cents per share, compared with $1.1 billion, or 15 cents per share, in the same period last year.
Sales jumped 14.5 percent over the second quarter of fiscal 2003, to $5.4 billion from $4.7 billion.
Frito-Lay spices up earnings
NEW YORK -- PepsiCo Inc. posted a 30 percent rise in fourth-quarter earnings, boosted by strong gains from its Frito-Lay snacks unit and its North American beverage unit.
The Purchase, N.Y.-based soft-drink and snack-food giant said it recorded net income of $897 million, or 51 cents a share, up from $689 million, or 39 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the latest quarter was $8.07 billion, up 9.4 percent from $7.38 billion in the year-earlier period.
The latest results include a charge of $147 million, or six cents a share, for restructuring at both North American divisions and PepsiCo International. The company said the restructuring costs were offset by benefits from a favorable tax settlement.
Pepsi said revenue at its Frito-Lay North America unit was $2.7 billion, 6.1 percent higher than the previous fourth quarter. The unit accounts for roughly 40 percent of Pepsi's profit, ahead of its domestic beverage unit.
Global sales drive profit
TOKYO -- Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp.'s group net profit surged 60 percent during the latest quarter on robust sales worldwide that offset exchange rate losses in overseas earnings.
The world's second-biggest automaker said its profit totaled 286.4 billion yen ($2.7 billion) in the October-December period, up from 179.3 billion yen a year ago. Sales totaled 4.39 trillion yen ($41.6 billion), up 8 percent from 4.05 trillion yen.
Toyota sold 1.7 million vehicles globally in the quarter, up 10 percent from 1.5 million a year ago. Of that, overseas vehicle sales climbed nearly 15 percent to 1.14 million vehicles.
Last year, Toyota surpassed Ford Motor Co. of the United States as the world's second largest automaker in terms of global vehicles sold. Detroit-based General Motors Corp. remains the world's top car manufacturer.
Low-carb brews strong results
ST. LOUIS -- Anheuser-Busch Cos., the world's largest brewer, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 9.3 percent because of higher prices and increased sales of its lower- carbohydrate Michelob Ultra and Bud Light beers.
Net income climbed to $294.2 million, or 36 cents a share, from $269.2 million, or 32 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 3.8 percent to $3.22 billion from $3.1 billion, the St. Louis-based company said in a statement.
Anheuser-Busch got 2.7 percent more revenue per barrel in the U.S. than in the year-earlier period because of an October price increase and greater sales of its more expensive Michelob Ultra. The company is reducing carbohydrates in its Natural Light beer and will market the products to the growing number of U.S. drinkers switching from regular beers.
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