Nation : Earnings
Burger King net increases 39%
Burger King Holdings Inc. said yesterday that its fiscal second-quarter profit jumped 29 percent. Burger King said net income for the quarter rose to $49 million, or 36 cents per share, from $38 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 10 percent to $613 million from $559 million in 2007.
Mattel profit rises 15%
Mattel Inc. reported yesterday a 15 percent gain in fourth-quarter profit. The company said its net income grew to $328.5 million, or 89 cents per share, in the October-December period from $286.4 million, or 75 cents per share, in the prior-year quarter. The latest period included charges of about $42 million related to the company's recalls of the tainted toys and tax benefits of $47.3 million.
Colgate-Palmolive profit rises 3%
Colgate-Palmolive Co. said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 3 percent. The company reported net income rose to $414.9 million, or 77 cents a share, from $401.2 million, or 73 per share, a year ago.
Nasdaq net income rises 25%
Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., benefiting from the heavy trading volume that has accompanied Wall Street's recent volatility, said yesterday its fourth-quarter profit rose 25 percent. Excluding pretax gains such as $18.2 million tied to foreign currency option contracts and charges of $1.1 million stemming from retiring debt, Nasdaq earned $69.1 million, or 46 cents a share. Excluding other one-time items, the company earned $32.5 million, or 23 cents a share, in the prior fourth quarter.
Procter & Gamble profit rises 14%
Procter & Gamble Co. said yesterday that its earnings rose 14 percent in its fiscal second quarter as strong sales growth and cost-cutting measures more than offset higher commodity costs. P&G; said its net income rose to $3.27 billion, or 98 cents per share, in the October-December period from $2.86 billion, or 84 cents per share, a year ago. Sales grew 9 percent to $21.58 billion from $19.73 billion a year ago. P&G; also said it will separate its coffee business into an independent company. Cincinnati-based Folgers Coffee Co. had sales of about $1.6 billion in 2007.
Google profit misses expectations
Google Inc. said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit was $1.21 billion, or $3.79 per share, up 17 percent from $1.03 billion, or $3.29 per share, in the corresponding quarter of 2006. If not for stock awards given to its employees, Google said, it would have made $4.43 per share - a penny below the average estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
This column was compiled from dispatches by the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.