Merrill Lynch Profit up 42%

Elena
18 Jul, 2006
New York City

The Coca-Cola Co. reported a 7% increase in Q2 profit on a modest rise in sales, beating expectations. The beverage maker said it earned $1.84 billion, or 78 cents a share, up from $1.72 billion, or 72 cents a share a year ago. Merrill Lynch posted 42% profit growth in Q2 as the company managed a strong performance in its proprietary stock trading. The company reported a profit of $1.63 per share, compared with $1.14 per share last year on 29% revenue increase.

[R]9:00AM Stock futures pointed to a lower opening on PPI.[/R]
U.S. stock futures moved lower after government data showed a steeper-than-expected growth in U.S. producer prices, raising concerns of higher interest rates. The 0.5% rise in the PPI beat expectations for just a 0.3% gain, but the increase in the core index matched forecasts. Negative sentiment was also generated by the ongoing violent conflict in the Middle East and a notable rise by the price of oil, up $0.70 at $76 a barrel. Nonetheless, strong earnings helped limit losses. Merrill Lynch ((MER)), Dow components United Technologies ((UTX)) and Coca-Cola ((KO)) reported quarterly earnings above expectations. Shares of Target Corp. ((TGT)) are expected to be in focus as the retailer lowered its July sales forecast to 3% to 4% increase from previous forecast of 4% to 6% rise. Standard & Poor's 500 futures were down 1 point, about even with fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 12 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.50 points.


The Coca-Cola Co.((KO)), the world’s biggest beverage maker, reported a 7% increase in Q2 profit on a modest rise in sales, beating expectations. The beverage maker said it earned $1.84 billion, or 78 cents a share, up from $1.72 billion, or 72 cents a share a year ago. Revenue rose 3% to $6.48 billion, compared to $6.31 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Merrill Lynch ((MER)) posted 42% profit growth in Q2 as the company managed a strong performance in its proprietary stock trading. The company reported a profit of $1.63 per diluted share, compared with $1.14 per share last year on 29% revenue increase to $8.2 billion. The results surpassed projections for earnings of $1.52 per share on revenue of $7.53 billion.

Johnson & Johnson ((JNJ)) reported second-quarter earnings of $2.82 billion, or 95 cents a share, vs. $2.59 billion, or 86 cents a share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, excluding a charge of $87 million tied to Vascular Control Systems acquisition, earnings were $2.91 billion, or 98 cents a share in the second quarter. Sales advanced 4.7% from a year ago to $13.36 billion. Domestic sales grew 4.4% while international sales jumped 5.1%.

Jefferies Group ((JEF)) second-quarter earnings increased to $45.6 million or 32 cents a share, from $35.4 million, or 26 cents a share a year ago. Revenue advanced 33% to $457.1 million as investment banking revenue grew 20% and trading revenue jumped 16% from last year.

United Technologies ((UTX)), industrial company, reported that its second-quarter earnings advanced to $1.1 billion or $1.09 a share, from $971 million, or 95 cents a share a year ago. The latest quarter results include gains in excess of restructuring of 7 cents a share. Revenue rose to $12.26 billion from $11.15 billion a year ago, while growing demand in aerospace segment and better margin overshadowed the weakness at the company’s Carrier business. United Technologies boosted its 2006 earnings outlook to $3.55 to $3.65 a share on revenue of $46 billion to $47 billion.

Blackrock’s ((BLK)) second-quarter net income jumped 19% to $63.4 million, or 95 cents a share, from $53.3 million, or 80 cents a share a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $1.19 a share, while revenue increased 33% to $360.7 million. Assets under management totaled $464.1 billion at the end of the most recent quarter, $49.7 billion more that a year ago and above the previous quarter by $1 billion. BlackRock expects adjusted 2007 earnings of $6.45-$7.05 a share.

Traffix Inc. ((TRFX)), interactive media company, posted second-quarter net earnings of $636,961, or 4 cents a share, down from $707,684, or 5 cents a share a year ago as stock-based compensation expense of $197,880 lowered net income by 2 cents a share. Revenue in the most recent quarter increased 17% to $19 million from $16.3 million in the prior-year comparable period.

Digi International Inc. ((DGII)), networking products company, reported an increase in third-quarter sales as net income advanced to $3.35 million, or 14 cents a share, from $2.48 million, or 11 cents a share a year ago. Quarterly revenue grew to $35.9 million from $30.2 million in the prior-year period. For the fourth quarter, the company expects EPS income of 9 cents to 16 cents, or 11 cents to 18 cents on a pro forma basis and revenue of $34.5 million to $39.5 million.

Crown Holdings Inc. ((CCK)), packaging products supplier, posted second-quarter net earnings of $50 million, or 29 cents a share, up from $28 million, or 16 cents a share a year ago. Net income from continuing operations was $74 million, or 43 cents a share vs. $16 million, or 9 cents a share in the prior-year comparable quarter. Revenue was $1.81 billion vs. $1.78 billion last year, while quarterly gross profit was $247 million compared with $257 million.

U.S. Bancorp ((USB)), bank holding company, posted second-quarter earnings of $1.2 billion, up 7.1% from $1.12 billion a year earlier. Net income applicable to common shares totaled $1.18 billion, or 66 cents a share, up from $1.12 billion, or 60 cents a share last year. The strong performance was attributed to the growth in most of the company’s fee-based products as the latest period included a gain of $35 million tied to the company’s proportionate share of MasterCard’s IPO. Total net revenue on a taxable-equivalent basis for the quarter increased 4.5% from a year ago to $3.45 billion.


[R]8:00AM Oil prices rebounded amid the ongoing Mideast conflict.[/R]
Oil prices rebounded Tuesday, recovering from a steep decline yesterday as ongoing fighting in the Mideast added more tension to the already jittery market. The conflict built on persistent market concerns about the West''s nuclear standoff with Iran, threats of supply disruptions in Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico hurricane season. U.S. inventory figures were also awaited with expectations of drops in gasoline supplies and a slight increase in crude levels.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery on the Nymex rose 37 cents to $75.67 a barrel in electronic trading by midday in Europe. September Brent crude futures on London''s ICE Futures exchange rose 17 cents to $76.09 a barrel. Gasoline and heating oil futures rose more than 2 cents to $2.299 and $2.030 a gallon, respectively, on Tuesday. Natural gas futures were essentially flat at $5.780 per 1,000 cubic feet.


[R]7:00AM Asian markets closed in the red. The Nikkei dropped 2.75%[/R]
Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished in the red as modest U.S. gains overnight and retreating oil failed to prevent the heavy sell-off. The ongoing violent conflict in the Middle East also weighed on sentiment. Stock exchanges in Japan and South Korea reopened after a national holiday to close sharply lower following Monday session of broad decline. The Nikkei dropped for a fifth consecutive session, down 2.75%. The leading losers were blue-chip exporters, with Toyota Motor losing 2.6%, Sony Corp. falling 3.6%, Mitsubishi Motor slipping 4.04%, and Softbank, down 6.27%. South Korea''s Kospi tumbled 1.73%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.13%, with some telecom stocks falling down. Singapore’s Straits Times followed suit to close down 0.98%, while Australia’s benchmark lost 0.66%. China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.08% reflecting upbeat GDP data, showing 11.3% economic growth in the second quarter. Oil stocks dropped, with China’s largest oil company CNOOC falling 0.8% and oil refiner Sinopec, down 1.18%.


European stocks slightly advanced at mid-day trading, benefiting from improved guidance at Heineken, which helped offset some losses amid the ongoing Mideast fighting. The shares of the brewer rose 3.3% in Amsterdam after the company lifted its 2006 profit outlook. Among declining stocks, a notable loser was the French IT services group Atos Origin, which dropped 16.7% on revenue warning for the full year. U.K. online gaming stocks sharply dropped for a second straight session, with Party Gaming down 6.8%, and Sportingbet slipping 21.2%. A downbeat update from peer Empire Online also added pressure, with the stock falling 8%. The German DAX 30 added 0.2%, the French CAC 400 advanced 0.2%, while London FTSE 100 added a fraction of a percentage point at 5,701.