Several companies reported quarterly earnings Wednesday.
Harley-Davidson
Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc. said its profit rose 3 percent in the first quarter, in line with Wall Street expectations and helped by motorcycle sales growth in the United States and abroad.
For the quarter ended March 26, income increased to $234.6 million, or 86 cents per share, compared with $227.2 million, or 77 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 4 percent to $1.29 billion from $1.24 billion in the prior year.
Results fell in line with the expectations of analysts, who, on average, were expecting earnings of 86 cents per share on sales of $1.29 billion, according to a poll conducted by Thomson Financial.
Motorcycle sales increased by about 6 percent in the U.S. and almost 12 percent in international markets during the quarter, Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson said.
Circuit City
Circuit City Stores Inc. reported solid revenue growth and higher profits in the fourth quarter as it benefited from internal improvements and exceptionally strong sales of flat-panel televisions.
The retailer based in Richmond, Va., exceeded analysts' expectations in the quarter, reporting a 65 percent increase in its earnings. Both Circuit City, the No. 2 chain of consumer electronics stores, and the larger Best Buy Co. Inc. have benefited from robust industry sales of advanced-technology TVs and MP3 players.
Chief Executive Officer Philip J. Schoonover, a former Best Buy executive who has received a fair share of credit for Circuit City's turnaround, said the company also managed to improve its quarterly gross profit margin by better managing its supply chain.
For the fourth quarter ended Feb. 28, net income rose to $141.1 million, or 80 cents a share, up from $85.4 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.
Earnings from continuing operations were $146.6 million, or 84 cents a share, in the recent quarter. They exclude a $7.8 million reduction in pretax income that is tied to the company's more conservative approach in estimating the use of a customer rewards program.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had estimated quarterly earnings of 77 cents a share.
Sales rose nearly 13 percent to $3.91 billion in the quarter from $3.47 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose almost 12 percent, driven by a triple-digit increase in same-store sales of flat-panel TVs.
AMD
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said it swung to a first-quarter profit as Intel Corp.'s biggest rival for microprocessors benefited from market share gains and the spin-off of its unprofitable flash memory subsidiary.
The company based in Santa Clara, Calif., posted net income of $185 million, or 38 cents a share, for the quarter ended March 26, compared with a net loss of $17.4 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same period last year.
Sales grew 8.6 percent to $1.33 billion from $1.23 billion.
AMD's profit easily exceeded analysts consensus estimates of 30 cents a share.
The company said revenue for the current quarter would be "flat to slightly down" from the first quarter. That was slightly lower than the $1.35 billion analysts were expecting in a Thomson Financial survey.