EARNINGS
BP PLC The first of the major oil companies to report quarterly earnings said third-quarter profit declined by 3.6 percent, slumping on lost Alaskan production, higher taxes in Britain and a sharp drop in gasoline prices. BP said net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 came to $6.23 billion, compared with $6.46 billion in the third quarter of 2005. Revenue climbed 4 percent to $70.7 billion. Production for the period averaged 3.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, down 0.2 percent from a year ago and down 5 percent from the second quarter this year.
Lockheed Martin Corp. The world’s largest defense contractor said third-quarter earnings rose 47 percent after benefiting from higher-profit work on long-term weapon-development projects, and raised its full-year forecast. Net income rose to $629 million, or $1.46 a share, from $427 million, or 96 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 4.4 percent to $9.61 billion, the Bethesda, Md.-based company said in a statement Tuesday.
Archstone-Smith Trust The Arapahoe County-based apartment owner and operator reported third-quarter profit of 60 cents a share, compared with 80 cents a share a year ago. Funds from operations, used to measure the financial performance of real-estate investment trusts, dropped to 55 cents a share from 65 cents a share a year ago.
Amazon.com Inc. The Internet retailer said Tuesday its third- quarter earnings fell by more than a third, but the company still managed to beat analysts’ expectations. The Seattle-based company reported net income of $19 million, or 5 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compares with earnings of $30 million, or 7 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Sales for the quarter rose 24 percent to $2.31 billion. Analysts polled by Thom son Financial were expecting earnings of 3 cents per share on average, on revenue of $2.25 billion.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. The biggest U.S. railroad by shipments said third-quarter profit rose 18 percent as it carried more freight. Net income climbed to $488 million, or $1.33 a share, from $414 million, or $1.09 a share, a year earlier, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Sales increased 19 percent to $3.8 billion.
