Nissan's Net Rises as Sales Offset Strong Yen Nissan Motor said its net profit rose 3.2% in the fiscal third quarter, as solid global sales offset the yen's surge.
Bharti Airtel Profit Drops 22% Bharti Airtel posted its eighth straight quarter of a lower net profit that also missed market expectations, as a surge in depreciation and tax expenses outdid gains from tepid call-traffic growth and higher tariffs.
Toyota Talks Up Despite Down Quarter Toyota lifted its full-year net income forecast, but expects its earnings to come in at nearly half the level of last year, and below the profitability projections of its smaller Japanese rivals.
BP Raises Dividend on Profit Increase BP raised its dividend for the first time since it resumed payouts in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, as the U.K. energy giant reported earnings that beat expectations.
UBS Will Slice 60% From Bonuses UBS said it will slash its investment-bank bonuses for 2011 by 60%, while the head of the unit will forgo any bonus following a trading scandal in September that cost the bank $2.3 billion.
Coke to Spend More on Marketing Coca-Cola plans to plow up to $650 million in new, annual cost savings back into supporting growth for its brands.
Arcelor Sees Tentative Recovery ArcelorMittal said it expects steel shipments to remain flat in the first half but that mining production will increase 10% as the company expands in the natural-resources sector.
BHP Posts Higher Revenue, Lower Net BHP Billiton reported a 5.5% drop in profit and said it expects volatility in commodity markets to persist given Europe's debt crisis and weakness in manufacturing and construction across key markets.
U.S. Companies Look Homeward U.S. manufacturers are adding capacity at home, replacing aging equipment and even moving production back from overseas.
Glaxo Repatriates Euro-Zone Cash Glaxo has been funneling cash back to the U.K. daily from banks in euro-zone countries as part of its strategy to reduce exposure to risks of a possible breakdown of the European monetary system.
Big U.S. Firms Sidestep Euro-Crisis Damage Survey shows U.S. companies' revenue from Europe rose in fourth quarter, but firms are expected to face more trouble there.
Hartford's Profit Slides as Lincoln National Swings to Loss Hartford Financial Services Group's fourth-quarter earnings fell 79% to $127 million, driven by investment losses and the rising cost of workers' compensation claims. Lincoln National swung to a loss as impairment charges weighed on the life-insurance and annuity company's bottom line.
Cotton Costs Hurt Levi Cotton costs weighed on Levi Strauss, whose profit fell 49% in the fiscal fourth quarter. Results were also skewed by a year-earlier tax benefit.
Lagardère Warns of Write-Down Lagardère warned of a substantial impairment charge on its sports division, the latest setback in the media-to-defense conglomerate's plan to dominate the sports marketing.
Cost Cuts Lift McClatchy McClatchy's fourth-quarter earnings nearly tripled as cost cutting at the newspaper publishing company helped to mitigate declining advertising and circulation revenue.
NAB Reviews UK Operations National Australia Bank said it is reviewing its operations in the U.K., where it owns more than 300 bank branches, after abandoning hopes of a near-term economic recovery there.
Lazard Pays for Previous Largess Wall Street makes nothing simple. Pay is no different. Investment bank Lazard is a case in point.
Lazard Swings to Loss Lazard swung to a loss in the fourth quarter as the investment bank struggled with a slump in advisory revenue and higher-than-expected compensation costs despite slashing year-end bonuses.
HCA's Profit Soars on Acquisition Gain HCA's earnings soared behind a big acquisition-related gain, plus help from continued growth in patient volumes and the hospital operator's cost-cutting efforts.
Humana's Net Jumps 86% Humana's earnings surged 86% as the health insurer continued to benefit from membership growth and light use of health benefits.
Hasbro's Net Edges Lower Hasbro's earnings slipped as the toy maker booked double-digit sales declines in the girls and games categories.
Anadarko Swings to Loss on Deepwater Horizon Charges Anadarko Petroleum swung to a fourth-quarter loss on Deepwater Horizon-related settlement charges and asset write-downs.
Suzuki's Net Falls 4.7% Suzuki Motor said net profit for the first nine months of its fiscal year fell 4.7%, squeezed by the strong yen and slumping sales in India.
NTT Posts 56% Slump in Profit NTT, Japan's biggest telecommunications-service company, said its net profit for the fiscal third quarter fell 56% due to a write-down in tax assets.
Hindustan Unilever Beats View Hindustan Unilever, India's largest consumer goods maker by sales, beat market estimates with an 18% jump in net profit for the quarter through December, but failed to impress investors as its sales didn't match expectations.
CNA Financial Profit Falls 37% CNA Financial reported a 37% decline in profit as the insurer recorded a wider operating loss in its noncore life and group lines of business.
Japan Tobacco's Net Jumps 67% Japan Tobacco, the world's third-largest tobacco company by sales, raised its full-year net profit outlook due a steady recovery of its domestic business.
KT Corp's Net Profit Rises KT Corp. said fourth-quarter net profit rose 13% on year largely due to gains from asset sales, but operating profit fell by nearly 20% on a decline in phone charges.
Upbeat Beam Sees Glass as Half-Full Spirits maker Beam, which posted better-than-expected earnings, expects established brands and new flavors to help it outperform the broader category's growth this year.
Tyson Foods Posts Lower Profit Tyson Foods reported a 48% drop in earnings on lower beef and chicken sales volume, though price increases helped boost revenue.
Restructuring Costs Weigh on Weyerhaeuser Weyerhaeuser's fourth-quarter earnings fell 62% as the company booked restructuring charges and write-downs, while the wood-products segment posted softer sales.
Aon's Profit Rises 20% Aon's fourth-quarter profit rose 20% as the insurance brokerage and consulting firm logged solid results in its human-resources business and benefited from restructuring.
Dr. Reddy's Profit Soars 88% Dr. Reddy's Laboratories reported a better-than-expected 88% rise in third quarter consolidated net profit, led primarily by exclusive sales of a generic schizophrenia drug in the U.S. and also the weak Indian rupee.
Posco Net Profit Falls 8.7% South Korean steelmaker Posco said net profit fell 8.7% in the fourth quarter because of a surge in raw material costs and a sharp decline in demand from China, the world's largest biggest steel consumer.
Cost Cuts Boost BT BT Group posted a 41% jump in third-quarter net profit, aided by further cost cutting, lower finance expenses and new contracts, and said it will reach some of its earnings targets a year earlier than expected.
Panasonic Forecasts $10 Billion Loss Panasonic revised its forecast loss for the current fiscal year to more than $10 billion, which would be the second-largest ever for a Japanese manufacturer.
Nikon Sinks to Loss on Thai Floods Nikon said it slipped into a net loss in the October-December quarter, as it absorbed the impact of floods on its operations in Thailand.
CME Will Protect Farmers' Hedges CME Group launched a fresh effort to rebuild market confidence damaged by the collapse of MF Global, creating a $100 million insurance fund to protect farmers and ranchers.
Fee Slump Hurts Blackstone Private-equity firm Blackstone posted a 12% drop in quarterly economic profit. The culprit: declines in performance-related fees and investment income across most business lines.
Kellogg, Sara Lee Raise Prices, Get Mixed Results Kellogg and Sara Lee relied on higher prices to grow sales, passing on higher costs for everything from cookies and cereal to coffee and lunch meat.
Web Streaming Is Viacom's Boon and Bane Web streaming is boosting Viacom's profit—but it may be undercutting it as well.
LVMH Calls 2011 a Year 'Of Global Prosperity' LVMH reported strong earnings for last year. The luxury-goods maker's sales jumped 16%, powered by the U.S. and Asia.
Retailers Post Solid Sales U.S. retailers delivered generally upbeat January sales as appetites for marked-down merchandise and greater spending confidence are on the rise. Costco and Target reported strong gains, while Macy's missed expectations.
N.Y. Times Profit Falls as Ads Slip New York Times Co. said weakness in print advertising at the flagship newspaper and poor results at About.com overshadowed growth in digital advertising and subscription revenues. Quarterly profit fell 12%.
Merck Swings to Profit Drug maker Merck swung to a profit amid fewer acquisition-related and restructuring charges, and it also reported a modest increase in revenue.
MasterCard Profit Slumps on Charge The credit-card company took a $495 million charge tied to pending litigation with U.S. merchants, although increased card spending helped its core earnings top expectations.
Sara Lee's Profit Falls 44% Sara Lee reported a 44% drop in quarterly earnings as the packaged-food company booked charges and saw its profit margins squeezed.
Hynix Swings to Net Loss Hynix Semiconductor said it sees a brighter market for chips and a rebound in dynamic-random-access-memory prices from the second quarter, after reporting a fourth-quarter net loss on weak PC demand.
Munich Re's Reassuring Prospects Reinsurers like Munich Re may be seen as staid, slow-moving beasts—but their talent as scavengers is underappreciated.
Cigna's Net Drops 37% Cigna earnings fell 37% amid acquisition-related charges and accounting changes, and the health insurer forecast lighter-than-expected earnings and rising use of medical services in the new year.
