Bridgepoint’s fourth quarter 2013 earnings were in line with consensus estimates after adjusting for one-time accruals, and a 10.2% increase in starts relative to a third-quarter decline of 39.0% and consensus of 1.7% growth was an impressive result. The gain came as the company lapped significant enrollment counselor headcount reductions and orientation filters put in place in the fourth quarter of 2012. The company recently secured accreditation approval and has made massive changes to improve the value proposition for students, and this quarter’s result is an important step toward returning to enrollment and earnings growth, which were significantly disrupted by…
Author: Martin Flores
Chorus reported a fiscal 2013 result in line with analyst’s expectations. Fiscal 2014 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, is guided for a low single-digit decline. Our forecast of NZD 650 million is largely unchanged and represents a 2.2% decline on fiscal 2013. Roll-out of the fibre network, take-up of the service and capital expenditure remain the key drivers of Chorus’s valuation. Higher expenditure was a slight disappointment at the first-half result but, positively, full-year capital expenditure of NZD 681 million was in line with the revised guidance of NZD 640 million to NZD 690 million. Our…
U.S. insurance company Hartford financial (HIG) will its Japanese operations to leasing firm Orix (IX) for 90 billion yen ($875 million), and become the latest foreign insurer to exit from the Japanese market, the Nikkei news service reported on Friday. Shares in Hartford Financial Services Group rose 1.8% to $35.56, within the 52-week trading range of $24.67 to $36.76. ORIX stock was down 0.3% to $71.44 and within the 52-week range of $60.84 to $92.35. Hartford officials visiting Japan and representatives from ORIX agreed Friday on the general terms of the deal on Friday, with a final agreement expected as…
WorleyParsons has seen a number of new contract win ahead of the release of its fiscal 2013 result on 14 August. The forecasts and AUD 23 fair value estimate are unchanged, but the new contracts underpin assumptions for strong medium-term revenue and earnings growth. A number of the contract wins are for multi-year terms, providing services to brownfield sites and operating assets under WorleyParsons’ “Improve” business stream. WorleyParsons disappointed the market with a surprise fiscal 2013 earnings downgrade in May, mainly due to a slowdown in resources activity in Western Australia and slower-than-expected growth at its WorleyParsonsCord construction contracting business…
Eldorado Gold reported impressive second-quarter results, with healthy production expansion combined with a small decline in cash costs. In a quarter when gold miners have been struggling to adjust operations in the new price environment, Eldorado increased revenue by 9% to $267 million despite a 14% decline in realized gold prices. Gross profit declined 12%, primarily driven by an increase in total production costs due to increased production levels. Despite increased production, the firm maintained its position at the lower end of the industry curve, which should help Eldorado continue to generate returns despite the world of lower gold prices.…
UPS announced second-quarter earnings on July 12, so the stock is not expected to move much based on today’s earnings report and call. However, results confirm negative trends common to UPS, FedEx, and freight forwarders in recent quarters, as shippers continue to trade down from premium to more economical shipping services. Also, forwarders face a glut of airfreight capacity due to available passenger aircraft belly space, and this crimps airfreight forwarding yields. Still, UPS guides to 4%-13% EPS growth in the second half of the year. UPS grew second-quarter total revenue by a modest 1.2% and net income declined 4.0%…
Weyerhaeuser made a flurry of announcements over the weekend, including its biggest timberland acquisition in recent memory, the appointment of a new CEO, and the intention to pursue strategic alternatives for the homebuilding business. Collectively, the incremental news is positive. The timberland deal doesn’t come cheap relative to recent transactions, but given the high quality of the Pacific Northwest acreage (majority Douglas fir, very mature trees), some premium over typical pricing was probably warranted. New CEO Doyle Simons seems like a good fit, given his solid record in the same role at Temple-Inland. Before selling out to International Paper, Simons…
Computer Sciences Corporation reported fiscal fourth quarter results that were in line with analysts’ expectations. As was the case in the past few quarters, fourth-quarter results had many moving parts as management is still rightsizing operations. The company reported solid improvement in operating margin, partly offset by weak revenue and booking growth. Operating income came in at $212 million (5.7% margin) against a loss of $98 million in the year-ago period. Given the company’s recent costreduction initiatives, focus on higher-margin assignments, and improvement in contract underwriting process, we expect operating margins to expand in the coming quarters. CSC’s fourth-quarter revenue…
Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) earned EUR 146 million ($185 million), or EUR 0.03 per share, and an annualized 1.4% return on equity. Sequentially, the bank’s bottom line fell 70% because of higher Spanish assetimpairment losses and a non-cash badwill charge related to the acquisition of Unnim Banc, which BBVA acquired for EUR 1. Losses on Spanish real estate assets are far from over and the outlook for BBVA is largely unchanged. As has happened for some time, BBVA’s operations outside Spain helped the bank avoid significant losses. In the first nine months of 2012, Mexico, South America, Eurasia,…
China Construction Bank’s strong growth momentum continued into the first quarter, outperforming other stateowned banks, with year-on-year revenue and net profit growth of 14.5% and 15.7%, respectively. Peer-beating net interest income growth of 12.4% and a healthy 18.9% jump in fee income fueled the top-line performance. Similar to peers, CCB’s cost/income ratio fell 116 basis points, to 24%, partially offset by a 28% increase in provision charges. Despite faster growth in provision charges, t he improving operating efficiency resulted in a 15.7% surge in the bottom line. Analysts believe the key competitive strengths for the secondlargest Chinese bank–cost advantages in…
In the first quarter, Hub Group’s consolidated gross revenue expanded 4% from the same period last year. The year-over-year top-line increase reflects legacy-intermodal volume expansion and higher yields, as well as continued load growth in the Hub brokerage unit. Mode segment gross revenue was about flat from last year as intermodal growth offset declines in brokerage. In the legacy Hub businesses, brokerage revenue was up 4%, reflecting 4% volume growth; pricing was flat. Brokerage growth moderated from the 6% year-over-year gains posted in the second half of 2012. That said, recent trends compare favorably to high-single-digit revenue declines during the…
Morgan Stanley reported net income to common shareholders of $984 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, on $8.2 billion of net revenue for the first quarter of 2013. Excluding a $317 million noncash debt valuation adjustment, the company would have reported net revenue of $8.5 billion and income from continuing operations of $0.61 per diluted share. The company’s annualized return on average common equity excluding DVA was 7.5%. We are maintaining our economic moat rating and don’t anticipate making a material change to our fair value estimate. Net revenue excluding debt valuation adjustments decreased 5% from the previous year and…