Forest Oil
The Denver-based oil-and-gas company swung to a fourth-quarter profit despite falling revenue and sales volume, as year-earlier results included steep oil-and-gas property write-downs.
Forest said last month it plans to increase its drilling activity this year after boosting liquidity with the sale of noncore assets in 2009.
For the latest quarter, Forest Oil posted a profit of $45.2 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $1.38 billion, or $14.50 a share. Excluding write-downs and other items, earnings per share rose to 56 cents from 32 cents. Revenue dropped 24 percent to $214.4 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 60 cents a share.
Lowe’s
Cost cuts and a modest sales gain helped fourth-quarter profit rise 27 percent.
The retailer said it expects sales to rise as the housing market recovers. But it forecast earnings for the prime spring quarter below analyst expectations.
Quarterly profit rose 27 percent to $205 million, or 14 cents per share, from $162 million, or 11 cents per share, last year. Revenue edged up nearly 2 percent to $10.17 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, predicted a profit of 12 cents per share.
Nordstrom
Second-quarter profit more than doubled compared with a year earlier, though it tempered its sales outlook for 2010 and its profit results fell slightly short of forecasts.
The department-store chain, based in Seattle, said it earned $172 million, or 77 cents per share, for the period that ended Jan. 30. A year earlier, Nordstrom earned $68 million, or 31 cents per share. The latest earnings were just short of the 79 cents per share that analysts expected. Sales rose to $2.54 billion.
Campbell Soup
Second-quarter profit rose on cost controls and favorable exchange rates even as U.S. soup sales waned.
The world’s largest soupmaker said Monday that earnings climbed 11 percent to $259 million, or 74 cents per share, meeting expectations.
Campbell, whose products also include V8 juices and Prego sauces, said sales increased 1 percent to $2.15 billion. U.S. soup sales fell 8 percent.
