EARNINGS
Viacom Inc.: The entertainment conglomerate reported a 16 percent decline in net earnings for its third quarter Thursday on lower movie income and a compensation charge for dismissing its former chief executive, Tom Freston. Viacom, which owns MTV, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon and VH1, earned $356.8 million, or 50 cents per share, in the three months ended in September, versus $423.3 million, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had been expecting 48 cents per share. Revenues rose 7 percent to $2.66 billion, just ahead of the $2.63 billion that analyst had been expecting.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.: The tiremaker, dealing with a 5- week-old strike, on Thursday reported a loss of $48 million in the third quarter because of restructuring charges that include closing its plant in Tyler, Texas. Still, the results beat Wall Street expectations and Goodyear’s stock jumped more than 15 percent. The world’s third-
largest tiremaker reported a loss of 27 cents per share, compared with a profit of $142 million, or 70 cents per share, a year ago. Sales reached a record of $5.3 billion, up 6 percent from sales of $5 billion a year ago.
Delta Air Lines Inc.: The nation’s third-largest carrier said Thursday it swung to a $52 million profit in the third quarter thanks in part to a one-time gain due to a decrease in previously estimated pre-bankruptcy claims for restructuring of aircraft financing deals. The Atlanta-based company, which is operating under bankruptcy protection, said the profit for the three months ending Sept. 30 compared to a loss of $1.13 billion for the same period a year ago. Excluding reorganization items, Delta said it lost $46 million in the quarter. Revenue in the July-September quarter rose 8.1 percent to $4.66 billion, compared with revenue of $4.31 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Walt Disney Co.: The second-
largest U.S. media company said fourth-quarter profit soared on the box-office success of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and “Cars.” Net income doubled to $782 million, or 36 cents per share, from $379 million, or 19 cents, a year ago, Burbank, Calif.-based Disney said Thursday. Sales climbed 14 percent to $8.78 billion.
J.C. Penney Co.: The Plano, Texas-based retailer said Thursday its third-quarter earnings rose 22.6 percent on solid sales during the back-to-school period, and the department store chain raised its full-year profit forecast. For the quarter ended Oct. 28, the company reported net income of $287 million, or $1.26 per share, compared with $234 million, or 94 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $4.78 billion from $4.48 billion a year ago. Wall Street had forecast profit of $1.23 per share on sales of $4.75 billion, according to a Thomson Financial survey of 16 analysts.
