US corporate results round-up
Boeing revenues up
PLANE-MAKING giant Boeing weathered cuts in US defence spending and higher pension costs as it said yesterday that revenue rose 21 per cent and quarterly profits were up three per cent.
Commercial unit sales that rose 34 per cent to $11.8bn and defence sales that rose seven per cent buoyed profits as pension costs rocketed 52 per cent to $593m. Boeing delivered a massive 150 commercial planes compared to 118 this time last year.
Conoco profits drop
OIL and gas producer ConocoPhillips reported a 32 per cent decline in second quarter profit yesterday, hit by lower energy prices and a drop in oil and gas output.
Output fell for the quarter to 1.54m barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) a day from 1.64m BOE a day a year ago, bringing profit down to $2.3bn from $3.4bn a year earlier.Conoco said it would spend $16bn this year, up from an earlier projection of $15bn.
AOL back in the black
WEB services firm AOL’s profits swung into positive territory this quarter to $970.8m following net losses of $11.8m this quarter last year, it said yesterday.
Earnings were swung up by the sale of 800 patents to Microsoft in April this year, bringing gross operating income growth for the first time in four years. Ad revenue also grew six per cent but the firm remains plagued by a lack of traction in its key display advertising business.
Ford beats forecasts
CAR manufacturer Ford reported a better than expected second quarter profit yesterday, but doubled its forecast for losses in Europe to $1bn.
The deepening economic crisis that has pushed overall auto sales to their lowest level in nearly 20 years pulled quarterly revenue at the firm down 6.2 per cent.
Second-quarter net income was $1bn, or 26 cents per share, down from $2.4bn, or 59 cents per share, a year ago.
Pepsi on track for 2012
DRINKS MAKER Pepsi reported quarterly revenues of $16.5bn yesterday as its performance indicators fell in line with full-year growth targets.
Net income fell to $1.49bn from the $1.89bn of last year due to the loss of revenue from its sale of bottling operations in China and Mexico.
The company said it sees 2012 as a transition year as it ramps up its marketing campaigns and cuts thousands of jobs in an effort to bolster performance.
US Airways hits a record
US AIRWAYS yesterday cited strong passenger demand as the driver of the highest quarterly profit in company history in the second quarter.
Operating revenue rose seven per cent to $3.75bn outpacing a rise of just 0.7 per cent in total operating expenses as tax costs fell four per cent. Meanwhile Delta reported a net loss after it took charges for fuel hedge contracts and staff buyouts, but said it expected a profit for the third quarter.