Several companies, including some with Utah connections, reported quarterly financial results on Wednesday.
Security National
Salt Lake-based Security National Financial Corp. reported a pre-tax profit of nearly $2 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30. That compares with $377,000 in the year-ago quarter. Net earnings per common share were 22 cents, compared with 8 cents per share a year ago.
Revenues totaled $35.6 million, up from $26.7 million.
Security National has three business segments: mortgages, life insurance and cemeteries and mortuaries.
The company's stock rose 9 cents, or 2.3 percent, to close at $3.99 per share Wednesday on Nasdaq.
Whole Living
Provo-based Whole Living Inc. reported a net loss of $396,520, or 1 cent per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Revenue totaled $833,066.
The company develops, manufactures and distributes food products to five countries and all 50 states.
The company's stock fell less than one penny Wednesday to close at 10.5 cents per share. During the past year, the price has ranged from 7 cents to 21 cents.
Medtronic
Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. reported a 52 percent jump in quarterly income thanks to sales of implantable defibrillators and spinal devices, plus tax benefits.
Medtronic said Wednesday it earned $816.5 million, or 67 cents per share, during its fiscal second quarter, up from $535.7 million, or 44 cents per share, during the same period last year.
Excluding the tax gain and a charitable donation it would have earned $657.1 million, or 54 cents per share, matching the estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Revenues rose 15 percent, from $2.4 billion to $2.77 billion, slightly below the $2.78 billion Wall Street expected.
Ahead of the report, Medtronic shares lost 8 cents to close at $56.99 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares fell another 92 cents, or 1.6 percent, in late trading.
Zale
Zale Corp., the nation's biggest specialty jewelry retailer, reported Wednesday a wider loss for the first quarter, reflecting a charge for closing stores Company executives said they expect a healthy profit during the holidays, but they warned of price cutting among jewelers that could erode those earnings. They also said they would shift some advertising dollars from newspapers toward direct mail
Zale shares rose 76 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $27.87 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Zale's loss totaled $23.7 million, or 47 cents per share, for the three months ended Oct. 31 compared to a year-ago loss of $10.9 million, or 21 cents per share.
Excluding a charge of $5.3 million, or 10 cents per share, for closing about 30 Bailey Banks & Biddle stores, the company said it would have narrowed the recent loss to 36 cents per share.
Analysts, who typically exclude charges from their forecasts, had predicted a loss of 37 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
Revenue edged up 1 percent to $427.6 million from $422.8 million a year ago, falling short of analysts' forecast of $433.9 million.
Also, sales at stores open at least one year, a key measurement in retail known as same-store sales, slipped 1.2 percent.
Contributing: The Associated Press