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Articles: GM profit jumps 49 percent

Posted by admin on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 01:20 AM

General Motors Corp.'s profit soared 49 percent in the second quarter, boosted largely by record earnings at its financial services arm and improved global automotive results despite wider losses in its European operations.
Even as its profit rose, GM's global and North American market share declined, however. The world's largest automaker said Wednesday it earned $1.34 billion, or $2.36 a share, in the April-June quarter, up from $901 million, or $1.58 a share, a year ago. The Wall Street consensus was for $2.24 a share. Revenue rose 7.1 percent to $49.1 billion from $45.9 billion a year ago. "General Motors Acceptance Corp. once again had an outstanding quarter . . . and our automotive operations reported improved earnings as well," said CEO Rick Wagoner. The GMAC business earned a record $860 million in the second quarter, up from $834 million in the year-ago period. Worldwide, GM's automotive earnings totaled $529 million in the quarter, up from $140 million a year ago, reflecting improved results in North America, Asia Pacific and the Latin America/Africa/Middle East regions. But the automaker's loss widened in Europe, a trouble spot for the company in recent quarters. In the second quarter, GM reported a loss of $45 million in Europe compared with a loss of $3 million a year ago. The most recent results reflect intense price competition, foreign exchange losses and restructuring costs for GM's share of a Fiat joint venture. In other earnings news: • Harrah's Entertainment Inc.: The Las Vegas-based gambling giant reported net income of $90.2 million, or 79 cents a share, for the latest quarter, compared with $76.7 million, or 69 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Second-quarter adjusted earnings were 79 cents a share, up from 74 cents a share a year ago. That met the average estimate of analysts. Last week, Harrah's -- which owns, operates and manages more than 20 casinos in 13 states, including Indiana -- said it would pay about $9.44 billion to acquire rival Caesars Entertainment Inc. to create the world's largest gambling company. • Dana Corp.: The auto parts maker credited strong sales in the North American heavy-truck market with helping double the company's second-quarter profits. It earned $108 million, or 72 cents per share, in the second quarter, compared with $52 million, or 35 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the company earned 49 cents per share, matching expectations of analysts. • J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.: The New York-based bank reported a loss of $548 million for the second quarter after pumping up its reserves by $2.3 billion to cover the expected cost of litigation stemming from the Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. bankruptcies. The results for the April-June period, which translate to a loss of 27 cents a share, compared with earnings of $1.83 billion, or 89 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding the litigation reserve and a $60 million charge related to its merger with Bank One, J.P. Morgan Chase's earnings for the second quarter would have been $1.81 billion, or 85 cents per share. That's better than the 83 cents expected by analysts. • General Dynamics: The defense conglomerate earned $300 million, or $1.49 a share, compared with earnings of $242 million, or $1.22 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding a small, one-time gain of $4 million, the company's per-share earnings were $1.49, well ahead of the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.40. • ImClone Systems Inc.: The New York-based drug company said it returned to a profit in the second quarter, as strong sales and product development helped its bottom line. Net income came to $24.3 million, or 29 cents a share, for the latest quarter, compared with a loss of $34.8 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had projected a second-quarter profit of 26 cents a share on revenue of $69 million. • Whirlpool Corp.: The appliance maker said it earned $106 million, or $1.53 per share, in the three months ended June 30. That compared with $94 million, or $1.35 per share, in the year-ago period. The latest results were 4 cents higher than the consensus forecast of $1.49 per share. • Lucent Technologies Inc.: The telecommunications equipment maker had net income of $387 million, or 8 cents a share, for the three months ended June 30. That compared with a loss of $254 million, or 7 cents a share, last year. Excluding 4 cents from certain items, the company earned 4 cents per share in the third quarter, double what analysts had anticipated. • AT&T Wireless Services Inc.: The wireless telephone giant earned $61 million, or 2 cents a share, in the April-June period, down from $228 million, or 8 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts predicted a 1 cent-a-share loss. • Starbucks Corp.: The largest U.S. coffee-shop chain said third-quarter profit rose to $98.1 million. Net income climbed to 24 cents a share, from $68.4 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier. The company was expected to earn 22 cents a share.

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