For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 29, 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: Ford Motor Co. (F), Motorola Inc. (MOT), Google (GOOG), Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) and AstraZeneca plc (AZN).
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Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Ford: 1st Yearly Profit Since ‘05
Ford Motor Co. (F) has shown a profit of $8 million (excluding special items) for 2009, driven by favorable net pricing, structural cost reductions, net gains on debt reduction actions and strong Ford Credit results. This was the company’s first annual profit since 2005 and a $7.3 billion improvement over 2008.
In the fourth quarter of the year, Ford posted a profit of $1.6 billion or 43 cents per share (excluding special items), compared to a loss of $3.3 billion or $1.40 per share a year ago. The profit was significantly higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 24 cents per share.
Revenue in the fourth quarter revenue went up 22% to $35.4 billion. However, revenue declined 11% to $118.3 billion in 2009.
Motorola Beats but Sales Down
Motorola Inc. (MOT) today declared financial results for the fourth quarter 2009. Quarterly net income from continuing operations was $142 million or 6 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $3.66 million or $1.61 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Fourth quarter adjusted (excluding special items) EPS was 9 cents, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 cents. Improvement in net income was primarily due to the huge reduction in operating expenditure. Quarterly total revenue was $5,723 million, down 5% year-over-year and also below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,961 million.
Gross margin in the fourth quarter was 35.7% compared to 29.7% in the prior-year quarter and 33.2% in the previous quarter. Quarterly operating expenditure was $1.88 billion compared to a massive $3.8 billion in the year-ago quarter. Huge restructuring initiative taken by the company resulted in an approximate reduction of 8,000 in headcount. In full fiscal 2009, Motorola saved $1.9 billion in operating expenses, of which $1.5 billion was saved in its struggling Mobile Devices division alone.
During the reported quarter, Motorola generated a massive $877 million in cash from operations compared to $201 million in the prior-year quarter and $616 million in the previous quarter. Free cash flow (cash flow from operations less capital expenditure), in the same quarter was $791 million, compared to a mere $4 million in the year-ago quarter and $574 million in the previous quarter.
Cash, cash equivalents, & marketable securities at the end of fiscal 2009 were more than $8 billion, compared to $7.45 billion at the end of fiscal 2008. Total debt at the end of fiscal 2009 was $3.9 billion, compared to $4.2 billion at the end of fiscal 2008.
Quarterly revenue was $1,824 million, down 22% year over year. Operating loss was $132 million, a significant reduction from an operating loss of $595 million in the year-ago quarter and a loss of $183 million in the previous quarter.
During the reported quarter, Motorola shipped 12 million mobile phones, commanding a global market share of just 3.7%. However, the newly launched two Google (GOOG) Android software-based 3G smartphones CLIQ and DROID witnessed impressive results. Launched in the fourth quarter of 2009, these two devices generated sales of 2 million units together in the quarter.
Bristol-Myers Beats Zacks Estimate
This morning, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) reported fourth quarter and full-year results for fiscal 2009. The company earned 47 cents per share in the fourth quarter as opposed to 40 cents in the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter was 43 cents.
Net sales for the quarter came in at $5,033 million against $4,542 million in the year-ago quarter, representing an increase of 10.8%. The increase was primarily attributable to strong sales of Plavix, an anti-platelet blood thinner indicated to reduce the risk of heart attack in patients with atherosclerosis (the build-up of plaque and hardening of the arteries), as well as robust sales of HIV treatment drugs Reyataz and Sustiva.
Global sales of Plavix in the quarter rose 10% to $1.62 billion. Sales of Sustiva in the quarter came in at $358 million, up 19%. Reyataz sales for the quarter stood at $388 million, up 18%, and Baraclude sales came in at $212 million, up 39%. Abilify, used to treat schizophrenia and depression, continued to spearhead the company’s earnings growth, with global sales of $707 million, up 17% from the year-ago quarter. Sales of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Orencia stood at $168 million, up 30%, while the leukemia drug Sprycel registered sales of $119 million, up 38%.
However, cancer drug Erbitux generated sales of $167 million in the reported quarter, down 8%. Furthermore, Onglyza, co-developed with AstraZeneca plc (AZN), contributed approximately $4 million in sales in the quarter.
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