For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – April 9, 2010 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY), Vodafone (VOD), Telefonica (TEF), Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FTE).
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Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Bed Bath & Beyond Beats
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) recently reported better-than-expected fourth quarter fiscal 2009 results with net income of $226 million or 86 cents per share, compared to $141.4 million or 55 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. For fiscal 2009, Bed Bath reported net income of $600.0 million or $2.30 per share, compared to $425.1 million or $1.64 per share in the previous fiscal.
Both the quarterly and fiscal earnings per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13 cents and 14 cents, respectively. The improved performance during the quarter was primarily due to a 16.7% increase in net sales to $2.2 billion from $1.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. Same-store sales also increased approximately 11.5% during the quarter on a year-over-year basis.
For fiscal 2009, Bed Bath reported net sales of $7.8 billion compared to $7.2 billion in the previous fiscal – an increase of 8.6%. Same-store sales during fiscal 2009 increased 4.4% year over year.
Gross margin during the quarter increased 180 basis points to 42.6% versus 40.8% in the prior-year quarter. The increase was driven by decreases in coupon redemption and in inventory acquisition costs, which was partially offset by a shift in the mix of merchandise sold to lower margin categories.
Vodafone Intros 2G Mobile Browser
Vodafone (VOD) has teamed up with Norway-based browser developer Opera Software ASA to bring mobile Internet experience to millions of people across the emerging economies. The carrier plans to introduce a tailor-made version of the popular Opera Mini 5 mobile browser that will offer web access to low-end mobile handsets running on 2G networks.
This is great news for cell phone users in developing nations, especially for the low-to-mid income group who so far does not have the privilege of using a state-of-the-art mobile Internet browser. The move is also in parity with Vodafone’s recent launch of low-cost handsets across select developing nations.
The web browser will be initially launched across developing markets such as India, South Africa, Turkey, Tanzania and Egypt, with more markets to follow in the near future. The target markets include countries where deployment of wireline networks is challenging and people predominantly use their mobile phones for browsing the Internet.
The customized Opera Mini 5 browser will be embedded in 20 handsets and will also be downloadable on more than 250 GPRS and Java-capable handsets for Vodafone customers across select markets. Vodafone is offering on-screen browsing in local languages with intuitive icons to help users with lower literacy levels.
Moreover, Vodafone has designed a user interface for people naïve to web-based applications. A range of applications that offers informative services such as news, buying/selling services and job information are also in the pipeline. On the pricing front, the carrier plans to offer an array of affordable tariff plans for the target user base.
Given its supreme data compression capability, Opera Mini 5 not only requires less processing power on mobile devices, but also needs less network bandwidth than other mobile browsers. This offers rich on-screen browsing experience for users who frequently access web-based applications.
Vodafone’s core European markets are highly mature, given the high subscriber penetration rates. This has led to increased competition as large numbers of carriers including key rivals such as Telefonica (TEF), Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FTE) are battling for market share.
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