DirecTV
A hefty merger-related charge drove the satellite-TV operator to report a fourth-quarter loss, and the weak economy and tight credit conditions resulted in the company adding fewer subscribers.
The nation’s largest satellite-TV operator added 119,000 net subscribers in the quarter, down from 301,000 a year earlier. It posted a loss of $32 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with year-ago profit of $332 million, or 32 cents per share.
The El Segundo, Calif., company in November merged with certain entertainment assets of Douglas County-based Liberty Media. Excluding a related charge, DirecTV would have earned 48 cents per share in the latest period. Revenue rose nearly 13 percent to $5.98 billion.
Williams Cos.
Fourth-quarter earnings rose 50 percent, falling short of analysts’ estimates, as the natural-gas transporter and exporter saw bigger year-earlier mark-to- market losses.
Williams, the largest natural-gas producer in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado, reported a profit of $172 million, or 29 cents a share, up from $115 million, or 20 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items such as mark-to-market adjustments, earnings fell to 27 cents from 32 cents.
Dell
Net income fell 6 percent in the last quarter despite early signs that businesses may be starting to buy new computers again.
Consumers snapped up low-cost laptops and smaller netbooks over the holidays, pushing Dell’s computer shipments up 29 percent. For the three months ended Jan. 29, Dell said earnings slipped to $334 million, or 17 cents per share. That was down from $351 million, or 18 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue increased 11 percent to $14.9 billion.
Excluding the costs of the acquisition of Perot Systems, Dell said it earned 28 cents per share, beating analysts’ expectations by a penny.
