Earnings Reports for Jan. 18

ByABC News
November 6, 2000, 4:27 PM

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Caterpillar Posts Increases in Q4, Year-end Earnings

Caterpillar reported a 10 percent boostin fourth-quarter profits today, citing slightly increased salesand better performance from its financial services that alsocontributed to increased year-end earnings.

The heavy equipment manufacturer reported fourth-quarterearnings of $264 million, up $25 million from the same quarter lastyear. Earnings per share were 76 cents, up nine cents fromfourth-quarter 1999 and easily beating Wall Street's expectations.

Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial had expectedCaterpillar's earnings to be 64 cents per share.

Fourth-quarter sales were $5.11 billion, a $95 million increaseover fourth-quarter 1999. The company said sales volume increased 3percent. Revenues in the Financial Products division, whichincludes investments, a financing arm and an insurance operation,increased 11 percent.

For fiscal year 2000, Caterpillar reported earnings of $1.05billion, up $107 million from 1999. Profit per share was $3.02.Full-year revenues were $20.18 billion, up 2 percent from theprevious year.

However, Chairman and CEO Glen Barton forecast anotherchallenging year ahead. He said an expected decline in NorthAmerican sales should be offset by higher sales in other markets,but profits are expected to be 5 to 10 percent lower than 2000.

"In general, many of the markets we serve will continue to becyclically depressed with excess capacity and ongoing pricepressure," he said.

Peoria-based Caterpillar designs and makes mining, constructionand agricultural machinery as well as engines for earth-moving andconstruction machines. It is the world's No. 1 maker ofearth-moving machinery.

Caterpillar operates manufacturing plants in 22 countries.

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Deltas Quarterly Earnings Fall 54 Percent

Delta Air Lines, which twoweeks ago reported a labor dispute with its pilots would reducerevenues, today said its quarterly earnings declined 54percent, falling below Wall Street analysts forecasts.

Atlanta-based Delta, the No. 3 U.S. airline, said netincome for the quarter ended in December was $79 million, or 60cents a share, compared with $171 million, or $1.22 a share, ayear earlier, excluding special items. Delta is in the processof switching to a calendar year from a fiscal year.

Analysts' consensus forecast was 62 cents a share, accordingto research firm First Call/Thomson Financial.

Revenues rose to $4.02 billion, from $3.68 billion in theyear-earlier period.

Last week, Delta asked a U.S. appeals court for aninjunction to stop an alleged work slowdown by a number of itsmore than 9,000 pilots.

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EBay Exceeds Analyst Estimates

Fourth-quarter profits at eBay Inc. beatWall Street expectations, as the mammoth Internet auctionsite said it had added a record 3.5 million users in the last threemonths of 2000.

In the quarter ended Dec. 31, eBay earned $23.9 million, or 9cents per share, compared with $3.8 million, or 1 cent per share inthe year-ago quarter.

Revenues rose 81 percent to $134 million.

Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial were expecting7 cents a share.

"We are extremely pleased with the strength of our business andwith the tremendous momentum we have going into the new year,"said Meg Whitman, eBay's president and CEO.

EBay said it now has 22.5 million registered users, more thantwice the 10 million it counted at the end of 1999. In the fourthquarter alone, users traded $1.6 billion worth of goods.

EBay was bullish on its 2001 outlook, saying its recent $120million purchase of a majority stake in Internet Auction Co. Ltd.,a South Korean online bidding site, likely will help push revenuetoward $150 million in the current first quarter and $665 millionfor all of 2001.

In comparison, eBay's revenues for all of 2000 were $431.4million, a 92 percent increase over 1999. Excluding the effect ofone-time charges and stock-related expenses, the company earned$58.6 million, or 21 cents a share, in 2000, up from $18.3 million,or 7 cents a share, in 1999.

EBay also said this week it is increasing the fees sellers mustpay to auction goods on the site, a move aimed at increasingprofits and reducing some clutter.

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Recall, Lawsuits Hurt Ford

Ford Motor, theworld's second-largest automaker, reported today a 33percent drop in fourth-quarter operating earnings, largely dueto weaker results from its core North American automotiveoperations.

Ford struggling to settle lawsuits in the wake of theBridgestone/Firestone tire recall said it earned $1.2billion, or 64 cents per share, in the quarter.

The results exclude one-time charges and the Visteon partsunit that was spun off last summer. Ford took a charge of $133million, or 7 cents a share, in the quarter for a write-down ofassets associated with the Nemak casting joint venture.

The earnings matched Wall Street forecasts of 64 cents ashare, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. However, thatwas after Ford warned last month that weather-related losses inNorth America and parts shortages in Europe would cut about 10cents from what was then an earnings estimate of 74 cents ashare.

The company earned $1.8 billion, or 83 cents a share, inthe fourth quarter of 1999, excluding a charge of $80 million,or 4 cents per share, for a lump sum payment associated withits union contract ratification.

Both the 2000 and the 1999 results were adjusted for Ford's$5.7 billion stockholder stock-cash swap.

Ford said its revenues fell 3 percent in the fourthquarter, to $42.6 billion from $43.9 billion a year earlier.

Ford Chief Executive Officer Jacques Nasser said theautomaker will contend with difficult conditions in NorthAmerica this year. "We will face softening U.S. marketconditions in 2001," he said in a statement. "We are focused onimproving our cost structure, bringing production in line withdemand, generating positive cash flow, and delivering anotheryear of strong financial results."

Despite the difficulties associated with Bridgestone/Firestone's recall of 6.5 milliontires, most of which were fitted as standard equipment on Fordvehicles, Ford shares have outperformed those of rival GeneralMotors, the world's No. 1 automaker, by about 32 percentin the past year.

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Microsoft Meets Lowered Expectations

Second-quarter profits at Microsoft Corp. rose 7percent, meeting analysts' lowered expectations, though thesoftware giant said it will fall short of third-quarter forecasts.

Shares of the company jumped 5 percent in after-hours trading.

Microsoft, which makes the Windows operating system foundon most personal computers, said net profits for its fiscal secondquarter, which ended Dec. 31, were $2.62 billion, or 47 cents ashare, up slightly from the $2.44 billion, or 47 cents a share, ayear earlier.