AIA Group profit up 54% to $2.7 billion
(9:45 PM ET) HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- AIA Group Ltd. /quotes/zigman/613725 HK:1299 -0.30% said Friday its net income for the 12 months ended Nov. 30 rose 54% to $2.7 billion, helped by growth in new business in China and Malaysia in addition to other markets. Analysts on average had expected profit of $2.1 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. The insurer said it expected profit for the period of as much as $2.3 billion in its prospectus ahead of its October IPO in Hong Kong, when it raised $17.8 billion in the city's largest-ever listing. AIA, whose parent American International Group scaled back its stake to a 33% holding during the share sale, said the value of its new business rose 22% to $667 million during the period. Earnings were 22 U.S. cents a share, compared to 15 U.S. cents a share a year earlier. The company didn't announce a dividend. AIA's shares were up 3.6% in early trade Friday in Hong Kong.
Harvey Norman first-half net profit falls 17%
(7:19 PM ET) SYDNEY (MarketWatch) - Australian retailer Harvey Norman Ltd. /quotes/zigman/132359 AU:HVN +0.40% said Friday it posted a first-half attributable net profit of 131.7 million Australian dollars ($133 million), down from A$158.8 million in the year-ago period. Revenue for the six months to 31 Dec. 2010 was A$590.3 million, down from A$593.6 million. The firm said the result was impacted by a challenging retail environment, strong Australian dollar and unseasonable weather. The retailer said the outlook is "positive despite the current economic and market headwinds".
Woolworths profit up, backs guidance
(5:23 PM ET) SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Australian retailer Woolworths Ltd. /quotes/zigman/128963 AU:WOW -1.02% /quotes/zigman/128962/quotes/nls/wolwf WOLWF -1.98% said Friday it posted a first-half attributable net profit of 1.16 billion Australian dollars ($1.17 billion), up from A$1.10 billion in the year-ago period. Revenue for the six months to Jan. 2. was A$28.4 billion, up from A$27.3 billion. The firm said its fiscal-year performance would be impacted by weak consumer confidence and economic uncertainty, and reiterated its guidance of net profit growth of between 5% and 8%. Woolworths also announced that it will acquire wine retailer The Cellarmasters Group for A$340 million.
AIG profit jumps on asset sales
(5:02 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Insurance giant American International Group /quotes/zigman/557836/quotes/nls/aig AIG -0.02% on Thursday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $11.2 billion, bolstered by $17.6 billion in gains from the sale of several businesses and the initial public offering of AIA Group, its Asian insurance business. For the quarter, AIG said its after-tax operating loss was $2.2 billion compared to a $1.3 billion loss in the same 2009 period. In after-hours trade, AIG shares rose 2% to $41.40. The stock is still up 72% over the last 12 months but has slipped lately. The U.S. government owns 92% stake in AIG, which nearly collapsed in 2008. AIG this spring is planning a big stock offering to extricate itself from the government.
Gap posts higher profit, announces more buybacks
(4:28 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gap Inc. /quotes/zigman/227242/quotes/nls/gps GPS +1.34% reported on Thursday a fourth-quarter profit of $365 million, or 60 cents a share, up from $352 million, or 51 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose to $4.36 billion from $4.24 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for a profit, on average, of 57 cents a share with sales of $4.36 billion. Separately, the clothing retailer said that it approved an additional $2 billion in share buybacks and that it plans to raise its annual dividend from 40 cents a share in 2010 to 45 cents a share in 2011.
Salesforce.com profit slips, sales rise 29%
(4:27 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Salesforce.com Inc. /quotes/zigman/338061/quotes/nls/crm CRM +0.08% said Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income fell to $10.9 million, or 8 cents a share, from $20.4 million, or 16 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. The San Francisco-based on-demand business software provider said revenue for the period ended Jan. 31 rose 29% to $456.9 million. Excluding one-time items, Salesforce.com said earnings for the quarter were 31 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had expected Salesforce.com to report fourth-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share, and $452.1 million in revenue.
First Solar boost posts nearly 4% higher profit
(4:27 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - First Solar, Inc. /quotes/zigman/102025/quotes/nls/fslr FSLR +1.37% reported late Thursday fourth-quarter net income rose 3.7% to $155.9 million, or $1.80 a share, from $150.3 million, or $1.65, a year ago. Revenue for the quarter fell 4.8% to $609.8 million from $641.3 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had, on average, predicted the Tempe, Ariz.-based solar power company would earn $1.77 a share on $646 million in revenue. For 2011, the company said it now sees sales totaling $3.7 billion to $3.8 billion and earnings per share of $9.25 to $9.75 for the full year. Analysts were looking for $9.12. First Solar shares were down 3.5% at $158.65 in after-hours trade. The stock is up 56% over the past 12 months.
DreamWorks Animation SKG profit nearly doubles
(4:14 PM ET) CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. /quotes/zigman/94726/quotes/nls/dwa DWA +2.40% said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit almost doubled on revenues from the theatrical films "Shrek: Forever After" and "Megamind." The company said it earned $85.2 million, or 99 cents a share, compared with a profit of $43.6 million, or 50 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $275.7 million from $194.2 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of just 73 cents a share on sales of $294.3 million.
Autodesk earnings jump 23% in fourth quarter
(4:13 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Autodesk Inc. said earnings rose by 23% in the fourth quarter thanks to strong demand for the company's design software. For the quarter ended Jan. 31, Autodesk /quotes/zigman/68719/quotes/nls/adsk ADSK -0.85% reported net income of $61.6 million, or 26 cents a share, compared to net income of $50.1 million, or 21 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. On a non-GAAP basis, the company said it would have earned 35 cents a share for the recent period. Revenue rose 16% to $527.7 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 33 cents a share on revenue of $514.7 million, according to consensus estimates from FactSet Research.
H&R Block shares up 6% on new customer increase
(10:31 AM ET) CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of tax preparation provider H&R Block /quotes/zigman/219890/quotes/nls/hrb HRB +1.21% were up 6% Thursday morning after the company said it has seen a 23% jump in new customers this tax season, thanks to increased marketing spending. After the closing bell on Wednesday, H&R Block also said it expects a "near break-even" fiscal third-quarter on sales of about $850 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were anticipating earnings of 15 cents a share on $883 million in revenue.
Sempra Energy earnings dip; sticks to 2011 view
(9:28 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Sempra Energy /quotes/zigman/208898/quotes/nls/sre SRE +1.70% said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings dropped to $280 million, or $1.15 a share, from $288 million, or $1.16 a share, in the year-ago period. The utility and energy infrastructure company said its adjusted earnings rose to $1.18 a share, from 88 cents a share. Revenue dipped to $2.35 billion, from $2.46 billion. Wall Street analysts expected Sempra to earn 91 cents a share on revenue of $2.5 billion, according to a survey by FactSet Research. The San Diego company said it continues to expect 2011 earnings of $4 to $4.30 a share, compared to the Wall Street estimate of $4.18 a share.
Heinz expects third-quarter profit to beat target