Wine and spirit company, Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) reported adjusted earnings of $188.7 million or 96 cents a share for the fiscal second quarter compared to a profit of $131 million or 71 cents a share, in the year earlier quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecasted earnings of 88 cents a share. Revenue more than doubled to $1.46 billion from $698.50 million but fell short of analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Sales were bolstered by the recent acquisition of Groupo Modelo’s U.S. beer business. The Company raised its outlook for the fiscal 2014. Constellation now anticipates earnings to be in the range of $2.80 to $3.10 a share up from its earlier projection of $2.60 to $2.90 a share.
Shares of Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) edged lower on Wednesday as the agricultural products seller’s fiscal fourth quarter loss widened. The bottom line was hurt by flat margins, and lower sales at its seeds business and genomics division. Loss per share on non-GAAP basis was higher than analysts’ expectation while revenue also fell short of analysts’ forecast. The Company also handed downbeat guidance for the fiscal year 2014. Separately, Monsanto said that it has agreed to acquire farming data analytics company Climate Corp. for nearly $930 million in cash.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) is in final stages of negotiations with the world’s leading cocoa trader, Cargill Inc. to sale its coca business, reported Reuter, citing sources familiar with the matter as saying. If the deal materializes then it would create a giant in the Cocoa industry since it is dominated by two firms. Although financial details of the possible transaction were not known, analysts have valued ADM’s cocoa business unit at as much as $2 billion. The sources said that the deal is expected to be announced within few days.
Drug maker, Merck & Co; Inc. (NYSE: MRK) announced on Tuesday that it plans to cut 8,500 jobs as part of its bigger plan to streamline its research and development and improve its commercial focus. The Whitehouse Station, N.J; based Company expects to save nearly $2.5 billion in annual costs by the end of year 2015. By the end of 2014, the company anticipates to save $1 billion out of the total estimated savings. This is the second round of job cuts. The Company said earlier that it will cut 7,500 jobs.
Walgreen Company (NYSE: WAG), the largest drug store chain in the U.S. said on Tuesday that fiscal fourth quarter earnings soared 86%. Results were boosted by its acquisition of a beauty retailer Alliance Boots. For the latest period ended Aug. 31, the Deerfield Ill; based drug store chain reported a net income of $657 million or 69 cents a share compared to a profit of $353 million or 39 cents a share. Revenue jumped 5% to $17.94 billion. On adjusted basis earnings stood at 73 cents a share. Analysts had expected earnings of 72 cents a share on revenue of $17.96 billion.
Restaurant chain, Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) was downgraded to an “equal-weight” from an “overweight” by Morgan Stanley on Monday. Morgan Stanley currently keeps a price target of $19.00, which implies an upside potential of 15.83% over closing the stock’s closing price on Friday. Morgan Stanley said that a third of Panera’s customers indicated that prices were way too high, which the firm thinks impacts the frequency. Another cause for a concern was catering, which has slowed in the recent past, the research report said.
Apple has displaced Coca Cola to become the world’s most valuable brand, according to very closely watched annual brand survey, conducted by Interbrand. Interbrand, which is subsidiary of Omnicom Group, said in its report that Apple’s strong leadership, huge fan base and a gigantic brand appeal were some of the factors which helped the iPad maker to capture the No. 1 position. The survey, which also analyzes financial position of a company, put Coca Cola in the third position while Google was rated as the second most valuable company. The top 10 positions in the list featured mostly tech companies.
According to London’s Daily Telegraph, citing a source familiar with the matter as saying, King.com, the London based maker of Candy Crush Saga has filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The IPO aims to raise $5 billion. The year has been devoid of tech-related IPOs. According to a data provider, Dealogic, only one in six IPOs this year have been tech-related. The slowdown in tech-related IPOs is mainly due to Facebook’s (NASDAQ: FB) dud debut and drubbing of Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) after its IPO in December 2011.
Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE: AZZ) were hammered on Friday after the electrical equipment maker reported weaker-than-expected results for the fiscal second quarter and handed downbeat guidance for the current quarter. Besides, it also slashed its full year outlook. For the latest period, AZZ posted adjusted earnings of 57 cents a share while analysts’ consensus estimate was of 66 cents a share. Net sales climbed 24% to $189.78 million from $153.39 million but fell short of analysts’ forecast of $202.83 million. Separately, the Company announced a quarterly cash dividend of 14 cents a share. The dividend is payable on Oct. 25 to shareholders of record on Oct. 11.
McCormick & Co (NYSE: MKC) said on Thursday that fiscal third quarter profit remained flat as margins remained even, offsetting slight improvement in sales. Shares fell as the company provided downbeat outlook for full-year earnings. The Company expects earnings to be at lower end of its previous guidance. The Company said that weak demand for its industrial products from quick service restaurant segment will impact fiscal fourth quarter results. McCormick now expects adjusted earnings and sales to both grow by 7% while analysts’ polled by Thomson Reuters were anticipating 10% and 6% growth, respectively. |
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