U.S. Movers: Aetna, Colgate-Palmolive, Facebook, MasterCard, Dow

Mukesh Buch
31 Jan, 2013
New York City

Aetna fourth quarter net plunged 49% and Colgate-Palmolive net rose 1%. Facebook revenue climbed but net tumbled 69%. MasterCard net surged to $605 million. Time Warner net declined 9% and sales jumped. Dow Chemical quarterly loss widened.

[R]10:10 AM New York – Aetna fourth quarter net plunged 49% and Colgate-Palmolive net rose 1%. Facebook revenue climbed but net tumbled 69%. MasterCard net surged to $605 million. Time Warner net declined 9% and sales jumped. Dow Chemical quarterly loss widened.[/R]

Aetna Inc. ((AET)) slipped 2.1% or $1.06 to $47.88 after the insurance company said revenue in the fourth quarter ending in December jumped 16% to $9.93 billion from $8.57 billion in the same period of last year. Net income in the quarter plunged 49% to $190.1 million or 56 cents per diluted share compared to $372.6 million or $1.02 a share a year ago earlier.

Aetna said medical membership in the quarter increased to 18.2 million at the end of last year and total medical benefit ratio was 84.1% for the quarter and 82.2% for the year.

Aetna reaffirms full year operating earnings per share of at least $5.40.

Colgate-Palmolive Company ((CL)) dropped 2.9% or $3.24 to $107.42 after the consumer products maker reported net sales in the fourth quarter ending in December climbed 2.5% to $4.29 billion from $4.17 billion in the same period of last year. Net income in the quarter rose 1% to $598 million or $1.26 per diluted share compared to $590 million or $1.21 a share a year ago.

The company said net sales North America increased 4% and operating profit climbed 23% and global unit volume grew 1.5%, pricing increased 2.5%.

The company expects fiscal 2013 diluted earnings per share to grow at a double-digit.

Facebook, Inc. ((FB)) declined 5.6% or $1.82 to $29.37 after the social network website stated revenue in the fourth quarter ending in December soared 40% to $1.59 billion from $1.13 billion in the same period of last year. Net income in the quarter tumbled 69% to $64 million or 3 cents per diluted share compared to $205 million or 14 cents a share a year ago.

Facebook added revenue for the quarter from advertising increased to $1.33 billion, representing 84% of total revenue and mobile revenue represented approximately 23%. Monthly active users were 1.06 billion as of December 31 and mobile users were 680 million.

Hess Corporation ((HES)) decreased 1% or 73 cents to $67.15 after the energy company said total revenue in the fourth quarter ending in December climbed 1% to $9.70 billion from $8.82 billion in the same period of last year. Net income in the quarter swung to $566 million or $1.66 per diluted share compared to net loss of $131 million or 39 cents a share a year ago.

MasterCard Inc ((MA)) gained 1.8% or $9.30 to $525.93 after the electronic payment service provider reported revenue in the fourth quarter ending in December jumped 10% to $1.90 billion from $1.73 billion in the same period of last year. Net income in the quarter surged to $605 million or $4.86 per diluted share compared to $19 million or 15 cents a share a year ago.

MasterCard added worldwide purchase volume in the quarter rose 13% from a year ago to $727 billion. As of December 31, the company had issued 1.9 billion MasterCard and Maestro-branded cards.

Net revenue grew as processed transactions jumped 20% to 9.2 billion and cross-border volumes climbed 17% and worldwide purchase volume during the quarter increased 13%.

Qualcomm Inc ((QCOM)) jumped 5.7% or $3.67 to $67.20 after the communications products maker said total revenue in the fourth quarter ending in December surged 29% to $6.02 billion from $4.68 billion in the same period of last year. Net income in the quarter soared 36% to $1.91 billion or $1.09 per diluted share compared to $1.40 billion or 81 cents a share a year ago period.

Time Warner Cable Inc. ((TWC)) plunged 6.5% or $6.60 to $94.10 after the broadcasting and cable TV operator reported total revenue in the fourth quarter ending in December advanced 10% to $5.49 billion from $4.99 billion in the same period of last year. Net income in the quarter declined 9% to $513 million or $1.68 per diluted share compared to $564 billion or $1.75 a share a year ago.

The company said revenue from residential services increased 6.8% to $4.6 billion and business services revenue soared 25.9% to $515 million and advertising revenue surged 29.3% to $313 million from a year ago.

The Dow Chemical Company ((DOW)) dropped 4.5% or $1.56 to $33.05 after the diversified company said net sales in the fourth quarter ending in December slid 1% to $13.92 billion from $14.10 billion in the same period of last year. Net loss in the quarter widened to $716 million or 61 cents per diluted share compared to $20 million or 2 cents a share a year ago earlier.

United Parcel Service, Inc ((UPS)) slipped 1.2% or 98 cents to $80.25 after the courier service provider reported revenue in the fourth quarter ending in December grew 3% to $14.57 billion from $14.17 billion in the same period of last year. Net loss in the quarter swung to $1.75 billion or $1.83 per diluted share compared to net income of $725 million or 74 cents a share a year ago earlier.

In a separate press release of yesterday, United Parcel confirmed withdrawal of offer for TNT Express NV.