“ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mail-order and online druggist Express Scripts said on Monday its earnings jumped almost 74 percent as more people used generic drugs and it continued to absorb Medco Health Solutions.

Express Scripts Holding Co. acquired Medco last April, making it the largest pharmacy benefits manager by far. It now manages more than a billion prescriptions every year.

The company’s outlook for this year also topped Wall Street expectations.

Express Scripts earned $504.1 million, or 61 cents per share, in its fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31. Its adjusted earnings were $1.05 per share, slightly better than the $1.02 per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue more than doubled to $27.41 billion. Analysts predicted $27 billion.

In the fourth quarter a year ago, it earned $290.4 million, or 59 cents per share. Revenue was $12.1 billion.

The company’s $29.1 billion acquisition of Medco made it big enough to handle the prescriptions of more than one in three Americans. Revenue and prescription counts have swelled. In the most recent quarter, the number of claims it handled more than doubled to almost 411 million.

Pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, run prescription drug plans for employers, insurers and other customers. They process mail-order prescriptions and handle bills for prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies. They also negotiate lower drug prices and make money by reducing costs for health plan sponsors and members….”

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“Feb 19 (Reuters) – Medtronic Inc on Tuesday reported higher quarterlyearnings as sales rose slightly.

The maker of implantable heart devices, insulin pumps and products used for spine surgery reiterated its outlook for the fiscal year, calling for dilutedearnings per share of $3.66 to $3.70 on revenue growth of 3 percent to 4 percent.

Medtronic said its net earnings increased to $988 million, or 97 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter ended on Jan. 25 from $935 million, or 88 cents per diluted share, a year earlier…..”

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“Burger King Worldwide Inc.’s BKW +2.05% fourth-quarter profit jumped 94% as the hamburger chain recorded a sharp drop in expenses, outweighing a slump in revenue driven by foreign-currency headwinds.

Shares of Burger King rose 3.7% to $17.20 in recent premarket trading as results beat Wall Street estimates. The stock has risen 8.4% in the past three months.

Burger King has been working to revive its menu and marketing strategy to expand beyond its core 20-something male customer. Earlier this week, the company said it is adding lattes and flavored coffee to its menu, representing another attempt to catch up to rivalMcDonald’s Corp. MCD +0.25%

Burger King hopes its new marketing and menu changes will help it reclaim its position as the No. 2 hamburger chain behind McDonald’s, measured by U.S. systemwide sales. Last year, Burger King fell behind Wendy’s Co.,WEN +0.38% which moved up to No. 2…..”

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:Feb 15 (Reuters) – Kraft Foods Group Inc said fourth-quarter revenue likely declined 10.7 percent from a year earlier, largely due to reductions in trade inventories.

The company, spun off late last year from Mondelez International, said it estimated earnings of 15 cents per share for the quarter ended Dec. 29.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 22 cents per share on revenue of $4.74 billion in the fourth quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S….”

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“ANGELES (AP) — CBS Corp.’s revenue and earnings grew in the final quarter of the year, but the results fell short of analysts’ forecasts, sending shares down in after-market trading.

Net income in the three months through Dec. 31 came to $393 million, or 60 cents per share. That’s up from $370 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding discontinued operations, adjusted earnings came to 64 cents per share. That was below the 69 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue grew 2 percent to $3.7 billion, below the $3.83 billion analysts were expecting….”

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“SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – Feb 14, 2013) – Brocade^® ( NASDAQ : BRCD ) today reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended January 26, 2013. Brocade reported record first quarter revenue of $588.7 million, representing an increase of 5% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter. The company reported a GAAP loss per share of $(0.05), down from a profit of $0.12 per diluted share in Q1 2012. The Q1 2013 net loss was principally due to a non-cash tax charge, which reduced the company’s deferred tax assets as a result of a recent change in the California tax code. On a comparative basis, non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.21, up from $0.20 in Q1 2012.

“Brocade achieved record revenue in Q1 based on strong performances in both our storage and IP networking businesses,” said Lloyd Carney, CEO of Brocade. “As the new CEO, it is my top priority to ensure that the company continues to execute well in our core businesses to drive growth and shareholder value. Looking forward, I see new opportunities emerging in the networking industry due to disruptive IT market trends that are challenging the capabilities of today’s networks. It is clear that customers are looking for new technologies and approaches in networking to meet these challenges. I am excited and honored to navigate the company forward, delivering on these customer requirements in a way that drives top-line revenue through both innovation and operational efficiency.”…”

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“SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Agilent Technologies Inc. A -8.79% saw its shares fall more than 9% in after-hours trading Thursday following the company’s fiscal first-quarter results. Agilent said it earned $179 million, or 51 cents a share, on revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter ended Jan. 31. During the same period a year ago, Agilent earned $230 million, or 65 cents a share, on $1.64 billion in sales. Excluding one-time items, Agilent would have earned 63 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast Agilent to earn 67 cents a share on $1.69 billion in revenue….”

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“Zillow (Z) shares were up 12% in early trading Thursday, at a nearly five-month high, after the online real estate company late Wednesday topped Wall Street’s Q4 forecasts and Q1 outlook, saying it drew a record number of users in January.

Mobile users are flocking to the company’s apps, says Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff.

“We had more visits to Zillow on mobile than on the desktop” in Q4, Rascoff told IBD late Wednesday. “That’s a terrific accelerant to our business, because we monetize so well on mobile.”

Seattle-based Zillow reported a 2-cent-per-share profit for the quarter, down from 3 cents in Q4 2011 but ahead of the break-even quarter expected by analysts.

Revenue rose 73% to $34.3 million, better than the $31.3 million expected on Wall Street, according to FactSet Research….”

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“DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co on Thursday posted a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as its loss in Europewidened and the U.S. automaker was unable to hold vehicle prices in its core North American market.

GM completed its second full year as a public company since its fall 2010 initial public offering, which followed the bankruptcy restructuring and $50 billion U.S.-taxpayer bailout of the prior year.

Net income in the fourth quarter rose to $892 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with $472 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding several one-time items, GM earned 48 cents a share, 3 cents shy of what analysts polled byThomson Reuters I/B/E/S had expected….”

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“PepsiCo Inc., the world’s largest snack-food maker, said fourth-quarter profit rose 17 percent after boosting spending to market its 12 biggest brands.

Net income increased to $1.66 billion, or $1.06 a share, from $1.42 billion, or 89 cents, a year earlier, the Purchase, New York-based company said today in a statement. Profit excluding some items totaled $1.09 a share. Analysts had projected $1.05, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi has increased marketing to boost sales of brands such as Lay’s, Mountain Dew and Gatorade. Nooyi has also put renewed focus on U.S. soft drinks, including its flagship Pepsi-Cola, to revive lagging beverage sales and regain market share from Coca-Cola Co.…”

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“Nestle SA said it expects 2013 to be as challenging as last year, when sales missed analysts’ estimates on a slowdown in emerging markets, where the world’s largest food company makes more than 40 percent of its revenue.

Sales advanced 5.9 percent in 2012 on a so-called organic basis, missing the 6 percent average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The stock fell as much as 2.7 percent, the steepest intraday decline in almost four months, after the Vevey, Switzerland-based maker of Nescafe soluble coffee said revenue growth in emerging markets slowed to 11 percent last year from 13 percent in 2011….”

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“Kinross Gold Corp., Canada’s third- largest producer of the metal, took a $3.09 billion writedown on its Tasiast mine in Mauritania after it revised an expansion plan and industry capital and operating costs increased.

The company reported the impairment charge in its fourth- quarter earnings statement yesterday after the close of trading. Kinross took a $2.49 billion writedown on the same project in the year-earlier period. It acquired the mine as part of its C$8 billion ($7.99 billion) purchase of Red Back Mining Inc. in 2010.

“The impairment is a snapshot in time, it doesn’t necessarily reflect our view of the long-term potential of what this asset can be,” Chief Executive Officer J. Paul Rollinson said in an interview. “We believe this asset will be a core long-term asset for the company going forward.”

The company’s fourth-quarter net loss widened to $2.99 billion, or $2.62 a share, from $2.79 billion, or $2.45, a year earlier. Earnings excluding the Tasiast writedown and other one- time items were 24 cents, beating the 21-cent average of 21 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Sales rose to $1.19 billion from $919.8 billion, beating the $1.17 billion average of eight estimates. Output increased 16 percent to 724,510 so-called gold-equivalent ounces, which includes silver production. The average of six estimates was for 635,900 equivalent ounces.

Kinross was up 1 cent at $7.90 at 6:23 p.m. in after-hours trading in New York yesterday….”

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“Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer of the metal, posted an unexpected fourth- quarter loss after taking a $3 billion writedown on a Zambian copper mine it bought in 2011.

The loss was $3.06 billion, compared with net income of $959 million a year earlier, Toronto-based Barrick said today in a statement. Earnings excluding the writedown and other one-time items were $1.11 a share, beating the $1.05 average of 22 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose to $4.19 billion from $3.76 billion….”

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Source

“Feb 13 (Reuters) – MetLife Inc, the largest U.S. life insurer, reported a 90 percent fall in quarterly profit on derivative losses linked to its credit spreads but its operating profit beat estimates.

The company’s net income fell to $96 million, or 9 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, from $959 million, or 90 cents per share, a year earlier.

On an operating basis, MetLife earned $1.25 per share.

Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.18 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.”

Source

“Whole Foods shares are dropping sharply after the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report.

Shares were down 7% at $90.08, after the company reported earnings of 78 cents a share on sales of $3.86 billion. That was a match on the top line, and a penny better on the bottom line than Street consensus.

But the company offered a weak outlook for the rest of fiscal 2013. “The company does not expect to produce the same level of EPS growth over the remainder of the year as it produced in the first quarter,” the company said in a press release, “due primarily to tougher gross-margin comparisons, particularly in the second- and third-quarters of last year, along with its ongoing strategy to expand value offerings across the store.”

The company pegged FY13 EPS between $2.83-$2.87, which is says it’s maintaining. But Street consensus is for EPS of $2.90, according to FactSet.”

Source

“Networking equipment titan Cisco Systems (CSCO) this afternoon reported fiscal Q2 revenue in line and earnings per share that topped consensus.

Revenue in the three months ended in January rose to $12.1 billion, yielding EPS of 51 cents.

Analysts had been modeling $12.1 billion and 48 cents a share.”

“For the quarter, the food and beverage company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40 on revenues of $3.04 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.28 on revenues of $2.93 billion. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.30 and $3.37 billion in revenues.

On a GAAP basis, Dean Foods posted EPS of $0.20 for the quarter. Adjustments take into account the spin-off of The WhiteWave Foods Co. (NYSE: WWAV) and the sale of the Dean Foods’ Morningstar dairy business.

For the full year, adjusted EPS totaled $1.39 on revenues of $12.9 billion. The consensus estimate called for EPS of $1.29 on revenues of $12.77 billion. On a GAAP basis, EPS totaled $0.90 for the full year.,,,”

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:Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, said today that it has completed a preliminary assessment of the impact of the Venezuelan government’s intention to devalue its currency effective Feb. 13, 2013.

As a result of the devaluation, the company will incur a one-time, after-tax loss due to exchange of approximately $0.05 per share in the first quarter of 2013 related to the remeasurement of the local balance sheet at the date of the devaluation. Also, the company expects the impact of the devaluation on ongoing operations to be approximately $0.02 per share spread over the balance of 2013.

Since Jan. 1, 2010, Venezuela has been designated hyperinflationary and, as a result, local foreign operations are remeasured in U.S. dollars with the impact recorded in income. On Feb. 8, 2013, the Venezuelan government declared its intention to devalue its currency (bolívar fuerte). The official exchange rate is expected to move from 4.30 VEF/$ to 6.30 VEF/$….”

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“Duke Energy Corp. reported profit rose 51 percent in the fourth quarter, the second period after its $17.8 billion takeover of Progress Energy Inc. made it the largest U.S. utility owner as cooler temperatures boosted earnings from its regulated units.

Net income was $435 million, or 62 cents a share, compared with $288 million, or 65 cents, a year earlier, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke said in a statement today. Excluding costs associated with the merger, charges for a coal gasification plant in Indiana, discontinued operations and financial contracts, per-share profit was 70 cents. That was more than the average of 16 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The Progress purchase expanded Duke’s regulated sales of power to customers, a segment in which revenue almost doubled to $4.87 billion. Duke sees power demand increasing by less than 1 percent annually.

“It was a good start for the franchised electric and gas business,” Chief Financial Officer Lynn Good said today in a telephone interview. “We continue to have a very cautious outlook about load growth. For 2012, our load grew at slightly less than 1 percent and we think that’s a reasonable planning assumption.”

Rate Increases….”

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“MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Farm and construction equipment maker Deere & Co. said Wednesday that its first-quarter net income leaped 22 percent on growing sales of farm machinery at higher prices.

The Moline, Ill, company’s earnings soundly beat Wall Street expectations.

In the quarter ending Jan. 31, Deere said it earned $649.7 million, or $1.65 per share, compared with $532.9 million, or $1.30 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose almost 10 percent to $7.42 billion. Analysts surveyed by data provider FactSet expected earnings of $1.39 per share on revenue of $6.73 billion.

Deere is executing its marketing plans, expanding its global presence and keeping a tight grip on costs, Chairman and CEO Samuel Allen said in a statement.

The company predicted that sales would rise about 4 percent in the second quarter and 6 percent for the full year. It expects 2013 net income of about $3.3 billion, slightly more than its earlier forecasts and the predictions of analysts….”

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