Monday, Feb. 2, 2004 | 10:56 a.m.
Loss widens; deal announced
SAN DIEGO -- Gateway Inc. said its fourth-quarter loss widened as a result of a sharp drop in sales and charges related to its makeover from personal computer maker to consumer electronics company.
Gateway posted a loss of $111.3 million, or 35 cents a share, compared with $69.2 million, or 22 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. The latest period, which marked Gateway's 12th loss in 13 quarters, included charges of $41 million for restructuring and a tax provision of $24 million.
Revenue declined 17 percent to $875.1 million from $1.06 billion despite a raft of new flat-panel televisions, cameras, music players and other gadgets that the company hoped would validate its gamble to become a consumer electronics company.
Separately, Gateway said Friday that it would buy privately held eMachines Inc., for $30 million in cash and $50 million in Gateway stock, in a deal currently valued at $266 million.
The deal is the latest effort by the beleaguered company to stanch its losses and capture a bigger share of the market for low-end personal computers, where eMachines has shown rapid and consistent growth.
Earnings up on battery results
BOSTON -- Profit at The Gillette Co. rose 6 percent in the fourth quarter, the company said Thursday, due to the much-improved performance of its Duracell battery business.
Gillette reported a profit of $368 million, or 36 cents per share, up 6 percent from a year ago when the company earned 33 cents per share.
Sales rose 4 percent to $2.62 billion.
Cereal maker's profit falls
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Despite an 8 percent rise in sales, Kellogg Co.'s profit dipped during the fourth quarter.
The giant maker of cereals and breakfast foods said it earned $188 million, or 46 cents per share, in the October-December period compared with $191 million, or 47 cents per share, in the last three months of 2002.
Sales rose to $2.14 billion from $1.98 billion.
New drugs help sales
INDIANAPOLIS -- Eli Lilly and Co.'s fourth-quarter profit edged up 1 percent as new drugs fueled strong sales growth that was offset by higher marketing and manufacturing costs to support the new medications.
Lilly reported net income of $747.2 million for the October-December period, or 69 cents per share. That compared with $736.3 million, or 68 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Sales increased 17 percent to $3.47 billion from $2.96 billion.
Lilly reported 16 percent sales growth in the quarter for its established top-seller, Zyprexa. The antipsychotic drug, introduced in 1996 and now undergoing a patent challenge from generic drug makers in a trial before a federal judge in Indianapolis, posted $1.15 billion in sales. Lilly's diabetes products, Humulin and Humalog, together recorded 18 percent growth.
Manufacturer posts a profit
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- Honeywell International Inc., the world's largest maker of airplane-cockpit instruments, had a fourth-quarter profit of $407 million because of lower costs for asbestos lawsuits.
Net income was 47 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.47 billion, or $1.78, in a year-earlier period that was hurt by legal-settlement reserves. Sales rose 5.7 percent to $6.19 billion.
Toolmaker's profit jumps
TOWSON, Md. -- Black & Decker Corp. said its profit climbed 31 percent in the latest quarter, boosted by sales of DeWalt professional products and hardware.
The toolmaker said it had fourth-quarter net income of $99.5 million, or $1.27 a share, up from the previous year's $75.7 million, or 94 cents a share.
Sales rose 12 percent to $1.34 billion.
Hardware giant's profit increases
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- Stanley Works said its net income surged 92 percent in the fourth quarter, topping the company's forecast amid an 18 percent jump in sales.
The supplier of tools, hardware and doors said net income increased to $34.7 million, or 42 cents a share, from $18.1 million, or 20 cents a share, a year earlier.
Sales for the latest quarter climbed to $727.7 million from $614.3 million.
Chemical giant posts a profit
DETROIT -- Dow Chemical Co. said it swung to a fourth quarter profit, despite higher raw material costs, because of increased demand for its wide-array of products.
A year earlier, the maker of chemicals, plastics and fertilizer was hindered by merger-related costs and asbestos-related charges.
The company said it earned $929 million, or 99 cents per share, in the final three months of 2003, compared with a loss of $809 million, or 89 cents a share, a year ago.
Sales increased 20 percent to $8.3 billion.
Vacuum division hurts results
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Maytag Corp., the nation's third-largest home appliance maker, reported fourth-quarter earnings of $23.9 million, or 30 cents per share, up from $3.3 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding restructuring charges, losses on investments and other factors in the floor care business, earnings were 55 cents per share, down from 62 cents in the same period of 2002.
The earnings weakness was attributed to a decline in profitability in the company's Hoover floor care division, caused by a shift to lower priced products, said Ralph Hake, chief executive of Newton, Iowa-based Maytag.
Fourth-quarter sales rose 12.8 percent to $1.27 billion.
Chain's revenue rises, loss narrows
DALLAS -- 7-Eleven Inc.'s loss narrowed in the latest quarter, pared by increased revenue and merchandise sales at the convenience store chain.
The Dallas-based company reported a loss of $6.1 million, or 5 cents a share, for the fourth quarter. That compares with the previous year's loss of $11.5 million, or 11 cents a share, in the same period.
Revenue for the quarter rose about 9 percent to $2.72 billion from $2.5 billion.
Trucker posts small loss
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Yellow Roadway Corp., formed by the combination last month of the two biggest U.S. trucking companies, reported a $672,000 fourth-quarter loss because of costs related to the transaction.
The loss per share was 2 cents.
Yellow Roadway was created when Yellow Corp. bought the bigger Roadway Corp. for $1.07 billion.
Revenue, including 20 days of Roadway sales, rose 26 percent to $903.4 million from $716.8 million.
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