Newmont Mining reported a 51 percent drop in third-quarter net income as its chief executive reaffirmed the gold mining giant’s 2008 forecast but said it may rethink some projects and priorities during the financial turmoil.
During a conference call with analysts, president and chief executive Richard O’Brien said Newmont is reviewing budgets and may delay some projects as it hunkers down against the global economic slowdown.
Newmont blamed the third- quarter net-income decline on higher production costs and plummeting copper sales. The Denver-based company also noted it recorded about $140 million in one-time gains in the year-ago quarter.
For the June-September quarter, Newmont reported net income of $196 million, or 43 cents a share, which compares with net income of $397 million, or 88 cents a share, last year. Revenue dipped to $1.4 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast average earnings of 42 cents a share.
Office Depot
The office-supply chain said it may close North American stores and sell some assets after it posted a worse-than-expected loss in the third quarter because of slumping sales in the region.
Chief financial officer Mike Newman said the retailer will conduct a strategic review of its asset base during the fourth quarter.
The chain said it lost $6.7 million, or 2 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 27. Excluding store- closing costs and the effect of a change to British tax law, it lost a penny per share.
That compares with a year- ago profit of $117.5 million, or 43 cents per share. Sales fell 7 percent to $3.66 billion from $3.94 billion last year.
Comcast
The nation’s largest cable operator on Wednesday reported a 38 percent increase in third-quarter earnings as a sharp drop in capital spending and higher cable-TV rates buoyed its bottom line.
In the quarter, Comcast earned $771 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $560 million, or 18 cents, a year ago.
Adjusted net income excluding one-time items rose by 23 percent to $691 million, or 24 cents per share. Revenue was up 10 percent to $8.55 billion.
Kraft Foods
The food giant said Wednesday its third-quarter profit more than doubled because of a one-time gain from the $2.6 billion sale of its Post cereals business.
On an ongoing basis, Kraft’s profit fell 6 percent.
But including the proceeds from the Post sale, the maker of Oscar Mayer luncheon meat and Ritz crackers said it earned $1.4 billion, or 93 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30.
That compares with profit of $596 million, or 38 cents per share, a year ago.
