Liberty Global Inc.
The largest owner of cable-television systems outside the U.S. reported a second-quarter loss because of foreign currency transactions and asset sales. The net loss was $123.4 million, or 67 cents a share, compared with net income of $29 million, or 19 cents, a year earlier, the Douglas County-based company said Thursday in a statement. Revenue more than doubled to $1.28 billion from $580.4 million after acquisitions. Liberty Global is expanding in South America and Europe to tap new markets. The company in April completed the acquisition of Santiago, Chile-based cable operator Metropolis-Intercom, followed by agreements to buy the largest cable operators in Ireland and Romania in May and July.
Target Corp.
The discount retailer on Thursday posted a steep decline in second-quarter profit from a year-ago period inflated by a hefty gain, but strong sales carried the company’s results ahead of Wall Street estimates. Net income fell to $540 million, or 61 cents per share, from $1.41 billion, or $1.53 per share, the year before, when the sale of its Marshall Field’s chain boosted earnings by $1.11 per share. On a continuing operations basis, Target’s earnings grew 50 percent over last year’s $360 million, or 39 cents per share. Revenue in the latest quarter totaled $11.99 billion, up nearly 14 percent from $10.56 billion a year earlier.
Dell Inc.
The world’s largest maker of personal computers reported second-quarter sales that missed analysts’ estimates and indicated revenue will fall short again this quarter after the company slashed prices to win market share. Sales rose 15 percent to $13.4 billion in the quarter ended July 29, $200 million short of the Round Rock, Texas-based company’s lowest forecast. Net income rose 28 percent to $1.02 billion, or 41 cents a share, from $799 million, or 31 cents, a year earlier, Dell said in a statement Thursday. The company was “too aggressive” in consumer price cuts, chief executive Kevin Rollins told reporters Thursday.
