Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Tuesday, July 18, 2000
China delegates visiting Hawaii
A delegation of government and industry representatives from Hainan, China, are in Hawaii this week seeking to develop new economic partnerships, particularly in energy development.The group, headed by Wang Xintian, vice chairman of the standing committee of the Hainan Provincial People's Congress, are meeting with government and business officials. Hainan has had an agreement with the State of Hawaii since 1998 to cooperate in developing economic, business and cultural ties. For information about the visitors, call James Dorian at the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, 586-2352, or email him at jdorian@dbedt.hawaii.gov.
Digital Island shares tumble over buyout
SAN FRANCISCO -- Shares of Digital Island Inc., a maker of software for accelerating the Internet transmission of audio and video, fell 14.7 percent today after it reported a loss and said it would buy SoftAware Networks Inc. Shares, which fell as low as $35.87, closed down $6.56 to $38.06 in Nasdaq trading.After the close of trading yesterday, the company said it agreed to buy closely held SoftAware Networks Inc. for $438.4 million in cash and stock to add customers in the media and entertainment industries. Digital Island also said its second-quarter loss widened sevenfold. San Francisco-based Digital Island maintains a private computer network for corporate clients looking to deliver media and information at high speeds over the Internet.
Earnings Roundup
Microsoft beats Street
REDMOND, Wash. -- Microsoft Corp. said today that its profits rose 10 percent in the fourth quarter, topping Wall Street estimates as gains on the software giant's investments offset weaker operating income.The Redmond, Wash.-based company said profits rose to $2.41 billion, or 44 cents a share in the quarter, compared with $2.20 billion, or 40 cents a share a year earlier. Microsoft was expected to earn 42 cents a share, according to the average analyst estimate from First Call/Thomson Financial.
Revenues also met expectations at $5.8 billion, compared with $5.76 billion a year earlier. Most analysts had trimmed their revenue forecasts for Microsoft after the company warned last quarter that business demand for personal computers looked weak. However, before taxes, Microsoft also recorded $1.13 billion in income from gains on investments, meaning its net operating profit was $2.52 billion. A year earlier, investment gains were $485 million while operating income was $2.9 billion.
Intel's earnings soar
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Intel Corp. reported second-quarter profits that were a penny ahead of analyst forecasts, boosted by a whopping gain on the sale of investments as sales rose 23 percent from a year ago. After the stock market closed today, Intel said that for the quarter ended July 1, it had net income of $3.52 billion, or 50 cents a share, an increase of 98 percent from $1.78 billion, or 26 cents, a year ago. Sales rose to $8.3 billion from $6.75 billion. Those results include more than $2 billion from the sale of some stakes it holds in more than 100 companies. Those figures exclude acquisition-related costs and are adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split. The results were slightly ahead of analyst forecasts of 49 cents a share -- adjusted for the 2-for-1 split -- according to First Call/Thomson Financial, which tracks Wall Street estimates.
Apple net lower; sales up
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Apple Computer Inc. reported higher third-quarter sales and operating earnings, but said its net income declined because of higher investment gains a year earlier. The company said it earned $200 million, or 55 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared with $203 million, or 60 cents a share, in the same period last year.Apple said operating income excluding investment gains in the year-ago period had been 35 cents a share. Earnings in the latest period include a gain of $37 million or 10 cents a share, from the company's sale of shares of ARM Holdings Inc. Excluding that gain, operating income was 45 cents a share, narrowly surpassing the the consensus forecast among analysts, of 44 cents. The company said sales rose 17 percent to $1.83 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson said sales of its iMac computer were "relatively flat." Separately, Apple announced a new alliance with Circuit City Stores to offer Apple products in its 570 retail outlets.
GM tops expectations
DETROIT -- Second-quarter earnings at General Motors Corp. rose 1 percent, with a variety of higher costs in its automotive business offsetting growing revenues. The world's largest automaker said today its earnings were hurt by investments for new vehicles and services in the United States and Europe, and by losses at Isuzu, of which GM owns 49 percent.Nevertheless, GM earned $1.75 billion, or $2.93 a share, compared with $1.73 billion, or $2.66 a share, from continuing operations in the year-ago period. Including discontinued operations, GM earned $1.92 billion last year
This year's results exceeded Wall Street estimates; analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial projected $2.82 a share.
Reuters, Associated Press