TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has stopped selling crude to British and French companies, the oil ministry said on Sunday, in a retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions on the Islamic state's lifeblood, oil. "Exporting crude to British and French companies has been stopped ... we will sell our oil to new customers," spokesman …
Showing posts with label outlook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outlook. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
S&P improves California bond outlook to positive
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Standard & Poor's on Tuesday improved California's bond outlook from stable to positive, a sign the state might be poised for a credit-rating upgrade if the Legislature continues to make spending cuts and tax revenue meets projections.
Although California still faces a $9.2 billion deficit, the credit rating agency said the state has corrected a significant portion of its budget imbalance.
"We are revising the outlook because, barring any other credit deterioration, (we) think the state is poised for credit improvement — and potentially a higher rating — pending its ability to better align its cash performance and budget assumptions," S&P analyst Gabriel Petek said in a statement.
The agency's report says a higher rating is contingent on sufficiently credible solutions to the state's $9.2 billion deficit. That would include automatic spending cuts that are not subject to changes after the November election, if voters reject Gov. Jerry Brown's tax hikes.
Brown has proposed a mix of cuts and temporary tax hikes but Democrats who control the Legislature are opposed to more cuts.
If the state can reach a balanced budget by the summer, California's low credit rating might be turning a corner.
The last time the rating agency gave California a positive outlook was June 2007, when it had an A-plus rating. It now has a rating of A-minus. California's outlook improved from negative to stable last July after the last budget was passed.
Revenues, however, remain a concern. Last week, the state controller's office released its latest monthly report showing tax collections came in $528 million below the January projections in the governor's proposed budget.
"Our rating is still near the bottom when compared to other states," Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, said in a statement. "While this is movement in the right direction, Californians should delay celebration until we're closer to the top than the bottom."
Friday, February 10, 2012
True Religion shares tumble on earnings, outlook
VERNON, Calif. (AP) — True Religion Apparel Inc.'s shares tumbled almost 22 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the clothing company posted fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations and gave a disappointing outlook for 2012.
The designer jean maker reported after the market closed that it earned $14.5 million, or 57 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. That's down from $15.8 million, or 63 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
After excluding special costs impacting the quarter, including separation costs tied to the departure of key executives, the company earned 62 cents per share versus 64 cents last year. That fell short of the 71 cents per share that analysts polled by FactSet had anticipated.
True Religion's revenue increased nearly 8 percent to $119.4 million; analysts expected $128 million.
The company said that it saw stronger revenue from its stores and overseas business. True Religion said that sales at its own stores open at least a year rose 11 percent. That is considered a key indicator of financial performance as it strips away the impact of recently opened or closed stores.
But its wholesale business slipped as department stores and other retailers cut back their spending, which has been an ongoing problem for the company.
True Religion also reported that it earned $45 million, or $1.80 per share, for the full year, versus $43.5 million, or $1.75 per share, last year. It earned $1.88 versus $1.87 per share on an adjusted basis. Its annual revenue increased 15 percent to $419.8 million.
The company said it expects to earn $1.88 to $1.95 per share on revenue of $450 million to $460 million for the full year. But that falls short of analyst expectations of $2.37 per share on revenue of $494.3 million.
Shares of the company fell $7.94 to $28.80 in after-hours trading. Its stock closed the regular session at $36.74, down 26 cents.
True Religion, based in Vernon, makes designer jeans that are sold in its 109 company stores and other retailers worldwide.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Cisco Q3 revenue outlook strong after Q2 beat
(Reuters) - Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc promised further revenue growth after its second quarter results beat estimates, thanks to a restructuring, leading to a dividend increase.
The company, a sector bellwether because of its global scale and diverse client base, forecast 5 to 7 percent growth in fiscal third-quarter revenue.
That translates into a sales outlook of $11.4 billion to $11.6 billion, matching or slightly exceeding Wall Street's average forecast of $11.46 billion.
Executives also forecast gross margins of 61.5 to 62 percent in the fiscal third quarter ending April.
"Broadly speaking, people expected a good quarter. This is probably a little better than expected and the dividend is an added surprise," said Mizuho Securities analyst Joanna Makris.
Revenue rose 10.6 percent from the year-ago quarter to $11.5 billion. Analysts on average were expecting $11.23 billion.
Net income grew to $2.2 billion, or 40 cents per share, from $1.5 billion, or 27 cents share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, earnings were 47 cents per share, beating the average estimate of 43 cents a share, as compiled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Cisco said on Wednesday it plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per common share, up 2 cents from the previous quarter.
"Our operational focus continues to yield positive results - we hit our billion dollar expense reduction a quarter early," Chief Executive John Chambers said in a statement on Wednesday.
Cisco last year scaled back on consumer businesses and laid off thousands in a sweeping 4-month overhaul, aiming to cut expenses by $1 billion.
Cisco's core business is routers and switches, which direct Internet traffic, but the company has also focused on data centers, enabling and providing cloud computing technology and video platforms.
(Reporting By Nicola Leske in New York; Additional reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang)
Cisco Q3 revenue outlook strong after Q2 beat
(Reuters) - Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc promised further revenue growth after its second quarter results beat estimates, thanks to a restructuring, leading to a dividend increase.
The company, a sector bellwether because of its global scale and diverse client base, forecast 5 to 7 percent growth in fiscal third-quarter revenue.
That translates into a sales outlook of $11.4 billion to $11.6 billion, matching or slightly exceeding Wall Street's average forecast of $11.46 billion.
Executives also forecast gross margins of 61.5 to 62 percent in the fiscal third quarter ending April.
"Broadly speaking, people expected a good quarter. This is probably a little better than expected and the dividend is an added surprise," said Mizuho Securities analyst Joanna Makris.
Revenue rose 10.6 percent from the year-ago quarter to $11.5 billion. Analysts on average were expecting $11.23 billion.
Net income grew to $2.2 billion, or 40 cents per share, from $1.5 billion, or 27 cents share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, earnings were 47 cents per share, beating the average estimate of 43 cents a share, as compiled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Cisco said on Wednesday it plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per common share, up 2 cents from the previous quarter.
"Our operational focus continues to yield positive results - we hit our billion dollar expense reduction a quarter early," Chief Executive John Chambers said in a statement on Wednesday.
Cisco last year scaled back on consumer businesses and laid off thousands in a sweeping 4-month overhaul, aiming to cut expenses by $1 billion.
Cisco's core business is routers and switches, which direct Internet traffic, but the company has also focused on data centers, enabling and providing cloud computing technology and video platforms.
(Reporting By Nicola Leske in New York; Additional reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang)
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