Business in the Burbs » Earnings season

Nutrition 21 expects quarterly loss of $4 million

Jay Loomis — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:06:10 +0000

Nutrition 21 Inc., a nutritional supplements company based in Purchase, said that it expects to report a net loss for its fiscal fourth quarter of about $4 million before taking into account an impairment charge for intangible assets.

Operating profit for the fiscal year is expected to be positive before the impairment charge, the company added. Nutrition 21 said that it expects revenues of about $5.5 million for the quarter.

Profits fall 58 percent at Bunge

Jay Loomis — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:32:21 +0000

Weakness in fertilizer markets contributed to sharply lower earnings at Bunge Ltd., the White Plains-based agribusiness giant that is major fertilizer supplier to Brazilian farmers.

Bunge reported net income of $313 million, or $2.28 a share, during the second quarter. That was down 58 percent from net income of $751 million, or $5.45 a share, a year earlier. Sales fell 23 percent to $11 billion.

Farmers cut back on their harvests last year after commodity prices plunged in response to the credit crisis and one of the worst economic crises since the Great Depression. With farmers planting less, that ate into the demand for the fertilizers and other agricutural products that Bunge sells to farmers.

Lower fertilizer prices contributed to a $53 million loss in Bunge’s fertilizer business during the quarter, a sharp reversal from the profit of $393 million a year earlier.

Other Bunge businesses also have suffered. Profits fell 33 percent in the company’s edible oil products unit, 75 percent in its milling products business and 27 percent in its agribusiness unit.

Alberto Weisser, Bunge’s chairman and chief executive officer, said that he is optimistic that business conditions in the agricultural markets will improve in the second half of the year.

“A large North American (soybean) harvest, which according to early indicators is likely, should provide us with ample volumes for our agribusiness operations in that region,” Weisser said in a written statement.

Nutrition 21 reports narrower loss

Allan Drury — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:55:59 +0000

Nutrition 21 Inc., the Purchase company that markets nutritional supplements, said this morning it lost $400,000, or a penny a share, in its fiscal third quarter.

The loss was narrower than the $8.2 million, or 13 cents a share, reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2008.

Revenues dropped to $8.6 million from $10.8 million in the quarter that ended in March.

Michael A. Zeher, the president and chief executive of the company, said the weak economy was the main reason for the drop in revenues. But he said the company’s bottom line results “continue to show dramatic improvement.”

He said the company is pleased with sales of the Iceland Health branded products. Consumer purchases at the retail level of those products rose 29 percent, he said.

“Despite significant economic headwinds, we are demonstrating that our combination of strong branding, safe and efficacious products, and effective marketing support are driving strong results,” he said.

Tal International reports profit

Allan Drury — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:26:04 +0000

Tal International Group Inc., the Purchase company that leases freight containers and chassis, earned $16.6 milllion, or 52 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $3.8 million, or 12 cents a share, last year. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $13.4 million, down from $16.7 million last year.

Drew Industries posts sharp 1Q loss

Jerry Gleeson — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:07:59 +0000

An impairment charge and a general decline in business led to a sharp first-quarter loss at Drew Industries Inc. of White Plains, a supplier of parts for manufactured homes and recreational vehicles.
The company lost $36.7 million, or $1.70 a share, on sales of $71 million. For the comparable quarter a year earlier, Drew had net income of $9.11 million, or 41 cents a share, on sales of $159.1 million.
Driving most of the loss last quarter was a non-cash charge of $29.4 million, or $1.36 a share. The company announced last month that it was taking the charge because of uncertainties in the economy in general, and in the RV and manufactured home industries.

BioScrip earns $3.3 million in first quarter

Allan Drury — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:00:32 +0000

BioScrip Inc., the pharmacy benefits management company in Elmsford, earned $3.3 million, or 8 cents a share, turning around last year’s loss of $500,000, or a penny a share, the company said this morning.

But revenue dropped slightly to $325.7 million from $327.5 million, the company said.
A BioScrip shareholder said in a letter this week the company should cut costs while exploring a sale.

Anchor Capital of Raleigh, N.C., said in a letter to the BioScrip board that investors have lost confidence in management’s ability to cut costs and operate the company’s assets “at a reasonable level of profitability.”

The company’s shares were trading at $3.04 this morning, up 23 cents, or 8.2 percent. The shares have gained 37 percent on the year.

Regeneron reports another Q1 loss

Allan Drury — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:56:32 +0000

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drug development company in Eastview, said this morning it lost $17.5 million, or 22 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $11.6 million, or 15 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008.

Total revenues increased to $75 million from $56.4 million in the same period of 2008. The company said the revenue came from contract research and development, technology licensing and net product sales.

Regeneron is working on new drugs with French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis and Bayer HealthCare.

IntegraMed grows revenue, profit

Allan Drury — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:50:04 +0000

IntegraMed America Inc., the Purchase company that runs vein clinics and fertility centers, said this morning its first-quarter profit rose to $920,000 from $621,000.

On a per-share basis, the company earned 10 cents in this year’s quarter, compared with 7 cents last year.

Revenues rose to $52.36 million from $45.61 million.

IntegraMed’s chief executive, Jay Higham, said in a statement released by the company, “Our businesses continue to perform well in a challenging economic environment, reaffirming our strategy of focusing on emerging niche medical specialties.”

The company’s revenue from all three of its business units grew.

Revenue from the fertility center business, the largest unit, grew 11 percent to $36.3 million. The increase was driven by a 7.6 percent rise money taken in by centers open at least a year. In addition, the company got revenue from the addition of new clinics.

Revenues from IntegraMed’s vein clinics business grew 22.7 to $10.8 million compared to $8.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

Consumer services revenue grew 30 percent to $5.2 million.

Tompkins Financial sees higher 1Q profit

Jerry Gleeson — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:34:09 +0000

Tompkins Financial Corp. of Ithaca, the owner of Mahopac National Bank and Tompkins Trustco, said it had first-quarter net income of $7.74 million, or 79 cents a share, on net interest income of $25.9 million. For the comparable quarter a year earlier, it had net income of $7.54 million, or 77 cents a share, on net interest income of $19.7 million.
The higher numbers partially reflect Tompkins’ acquisition in May 2008 of the parent company of Sleepy Hollow Bank, which was merged into Mahopac National.

Drew to take goodwill charge

Allan Drury — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:12:22 +0000

Drew Industries Inc., the White Plains company that provides parts for recreational vehicles and manufactured homes, said it expects to take a non-cash goodwill charge against its first-quarter earnings.

The company said it is still calculating the charge but expects it to include “all or substantially all” of the $45 million in goodwill recorded on the balance sheet. If the entire goodwill balance is written off, the impairment charge would be $29 million, net of taxes, or $1.36 a share.

Fred Zinn, the company’s president and chief executive, said the charge will not affect Drew’s operations, liquidity, cash flows or borrowing under its credit agreements.

Joe Giordano, Drew’s chief financial officer, said the charge is “largely the result of uncertainties in the economy, and in the RV and manufactured housing industries.”