Delta Petroleum
The Denver-based oil and natural gas exploration company posted a fourth quarter net loss of $30 million, up from $10.5 million during the same quarter a year ago.
The loss included $11.3 million in costs associated with exploratory drilling that led to no new oil and gas discovery.
Delta also announced Thursday a deal with EnCana to jointly develop the Vega area in the Piceance Basin. Delta is increasing its capital budget for 2008 from $250 million to $350 million to $370 million.
McClatchy Co.
The newspaper publisher said Thursday it took a $1.47 billion accounting charge in the fourth quarter to reflect further declines in its stock price and a tough outlook for its newspapers.
The non-cash charge brought McClatchy’s fourth-quarter loss to $1.43 billion, or $17.46 per share, wider than the loss of $279.3 million, or $3.40 per share, it recorded in the same period a year ago.
McClatchy had reported preliminary earnings on Feb. 4, but said at the time that it was still determining the size of the accounting charge it would take.
Dell
The world’s second-biggest personal-computer maker reported an unexpected drop in fourth- quarter profit after an expansion into retail failed to turn around sales.
Net income decreased 6 percent to $679 million, or 31 cents a share, from $726 million, or 32 cents, a year earlier, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said Thursday in a statement. Excluding some costs, earnings were 34 cents, missing the 36-cent prediction in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
Sears Holdings
The financier who leads the struggling retailer hinted Thursday at a plan that would allow some of the chain’s most popular brands to be sold at other stores.
In a public letter to investors, chairman Edward Lampert said Sears may expand locations where household names such as Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard are sold outside of the company’s Sears and Kmart stores.
Profit at the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company skidded to $426 million, or $3.17 per share, during the three months that ended Feb. 2, down 47 percent from $811 million, or $5.27 per share, during the same period last year. Revenue fell to $15.07 billion from $16.18 billion.
