07/22/2009：BA/PFE/WFC/MS ER

07/22/2009：BA/PFE/WFC/MS ER

BA

Boeing profit climbs in 2Q on strong defense sales

Boeing profit climbs 17 percent in 2nd quarter on stronger defense sales, cost cuts

Boeing Co. said Wednesday its second-quarter earnings rose 17 percent from a year earlier, when a charge weighed down results. Higher defense sales and lower costs in its commercial aircraft division boosted the company's profit in the latest period.

The Chicago-based company also said it would announce a revised schedule for its long-delayed 787 jetliner in the third quarter. Boeing's credibility suffered a serious blow last month when it announced the latest of several costly delays of the plane's inaugural test flight.

Boeing, the world's second-largest commercial plane maker, said it earned $998 million, or $1.41 per share, for the three months ended June 30. That compares with $852 million, or $1.16 per share, during the same period last year, which included a charge of 22 cents per share for late delivery of military aircraft.

Revenue edged up 1 percent to $17.15 billion from $16.96 billion in the year-earlier period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, had expected a profit of $1.21 per share on revenue of $17.15 billion. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Boeing and its European archrival, Airbus, face dwindling orders for new planes as the global recession undercuts demand for air travel and cargo services.

PFE
 
Drugmaker Pfizer's 2Q profit plunges 19 percent

Drugmaker Pfizer's 2Q profit plunges 19 percent on Wyeth acquisition charges, stronger dollar

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Drug giant Pfizer Inc. on Wednesday said its second-quarter profit plunged 19 percent, as the strong dollar pulled down revenue, and higher taxes and costs for its pending purchase of rival Wyeth hurt the bottom line. Still, Pfizer raised its 2009 profit forecast slightly.

The maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor, impotence treatment Viagra and stop-smoking drug Chantix said its net income was $2.26 billion, or 34 cents per share. That compares with net income of $2.78 billion, or 41 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2008.

Excluding charges totaling 14 cents per share, Pfizer's earnings per share were 48 cents, topping analyst estimates by a penny.

Revenue totaled $10.98 billion, down 9 percent from $12.13 billion in the second quarter of 2008.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings per share of 47 cents and revenue of $11.27 billion.

Pfizer expects to close on its $68 billion purchase of Wyeth -- the biggest deal in the industry this year -- late in the third quarter or in the fourth quarter. On Monday, 98 percent of Wyeth shareholders voted to approve the deal, which still requires approval from some regulators.

Sales were down in all five of New York-based Pfizer's business units, dropping the most, 20 percent, in the one marketing established products that have lost patent protection and whose sales are generally eroding.

Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker by sales, said unfavorable exchange rates reduced revenue by $1.1 billion, or 9 percent.

"Our results this quarter demonstrate our ability to continue to deliver solid operational performance despite a challenging and dynamic economic and operating environment," Pfizer Chief Executive Jeff Kindler said in a statement. "On a constant currency basis, all of our pharmaceutical units and animal health generated revenue growth during the quarter, with the exception of the established products unit."

Pharmaceutical sales fell 9 percent to $10.06 billion, as sales declined for some top products. Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug, saw sales fall 10 percent to $2.69 billion amid increasing competition, blood pressure treatment Norvasc saw a 17 percent drop to $518 million due to generic competition, and Chantix saw sales fall 7 percent to $192 million, mainly due to U.S. warnings about suicidal behavior and depression in some patients.

Due to the exchange rates, revenue for virtually all Pfizer drugs declined, with the exception of nerve pain treatment Lyrica and cancer drug Sutent, which each saw sales rise less than $20 million.

Animal health sales fell by 9 percent to $648 million. Because Wyeth also has an animal health division, the companies are planning to divest some of those products to win regulatory approval.

Yet Pfizer increased its profit forecast for the year to $1.90 to $2.00 per share, excluding one-time items, from $1.85 to $1.95 a share. The company also changed its forecast for revenue for 2009, setting it at $45 billion to $46 billion. The forecast had been for a wider range, $44 billion to $46 billion.

For the first six months, net income fell 10 percent, to $4.99 billion, or 74 cents per share, from $5.56 billion, or 82 cents per share. Revenue dropped by 9 percent, to $21.85 billion from $23.98 billion.

WFC

Wells Fargo profit rises; credit losses up

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC - News) on Wednesday said quarterly profit increased 47 percent as strong mortgage banking results and the acquisition of Wachovia Corp offset rising credit losses.

The San Francisco-based bank has been adding market share since buying Wachovia on December 31 and as rivals, including Countrywide Financial Corp, reduce risk or vanish.

Many analysts, though, have expressed worry that Wells Fargo will need to raise more capital to cover potential losses from real estate loans, including the option adjustable-rate mortgages it inherited when it bought Wachovia.

Despite getting $25 billion of federal bailout money, Wells Fargo was found under a federal "stress test" to have a $13.7 billion capital shortfall.

Second-quarter net income applicable to common shareholders rose to $2.58 billion, or 57 cents per share, from $1.75 billion, or 53 cents, a year earlier.

Before payment of dividends, net income rose 81 percent, the bank said. Revenue nearly doubled to $22.51 billion, with 39 percent of the total coming from Wachovia.

Results reflected per-share charges of 8 cents tied to helping replenish a federal deposit insurance fund, and 3 cents tied to merger and restructuring costs.

Chief Credit Officer Mike Loughlin said the bank expects credit losses and nonperforming assets to increase, despite "some moderation" in the rate of growth in some consumer portfolios.

Shares of Wells Fargo closed Tuesday at $25.35 on the New York Stock Exchange. Through Tuesday, they had fallen 14 percent this year, compared with a 19 percent drop in the KBW Bank Index (Philadelphia:^BKX - News).

MS

Morgan Stanley posts 2Q loss of more than $1.2B

Morgan Stanley posts loss amid TARP repayment and accounting charge tied to improving credit

NEW YORK (AP) -- Morgan Stanley says it lost more than $1.2 billion during the second quarter as it took a charge to repay government bailout money. The investment bank was also hurt for a second straight quarter by the improving value of its own debt.

Morgan Stanley says its net loss after payment of preferred dividends was $1.26 billion, or $1.10 per share, compared with earnings of $1.06 billion, or $1.02 per share, a year earlier.

The New York-based bank also recorded an $850 million, or 74 cents per share, charge for repaying the money it received from the government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Analysts forecast a loss of 49 cents per share for the quarter.