LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“So far this year, we’re seeing clear signs of stabilization and improvement that show promise for a gradual recovery in the residential housing market.”
Anand Nallathambi,
chief executive of CoreLogic Article, 1D
U.S. Cokesbury bookstores to close
The United Methodist Publishing House will close all of its Cokesbury bookstores in the country and move all retail sales to its online portal and call centers.
The publisher and distributor of religious books, Bibles and other Christian resources is based in Nashville.
The publishing house board voted to close its 38 fullline stores and 19 seminary stores. The only Cokesbury bookstore in Arkansas is at 715 Center St. in Little Rock.
In a recent customer survey, only 15 percent of respondents said they shop exclusively at the stores.
The last U.S. Cokesbury store is expected to close by April 30. Cokesbury said a schedule is not yet available.
- Jack Weatherly
Tax perk in past, Entergy profit dips
NEW ORLEANS - Electric power company Entergy Corp. reported a 46 percent drop in third-quarter earnings Monday compared with the year-ago period, when the company received favorable tax terms on costs for fixing damage to lines and equipment caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The utility posted net income of $337.1 million, or $1.89 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That was down from $628.1 million or $3.53 per share for the third quarter of 2011.
Revenue fell 13 percent to $2.96 billion from $3.39 billion last year, because of the impact of weather, including Hurricane Isaac. Analysts polled by FactSet, on average, expected earnings per share of $2.01 on revenue of $3.39 billion.
Fuel costs dropped 30 percent to $596.3 million. The big difference in the quarter came in taxes. Entergy booked income tax expenses of $232.5 million for the period, compared with a credit of $119.1 million last year.
Entergy serves 2.8 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The company expects earnings per share to fall at the upper end of a $3.44 and $4.24 range for the year. Adjusted results are expected to fall between $4.60 and $5.40.
Wall Street was forecasting full-year earnings of $5.45 per share, on average. Entergy shares fell 17 cents to $66.90 in Tuesday trading.
- The Associated PressNew customers aid CVS earnings rise
WOONSOCKET, R.I. - CVS Caremark Corp. said early Tuesday that its third-quarter earnings climbed 16 percent. The drugstore operator and pharmacy benefits manager posted revenue increases in both businesses, benefiting from new customers won from rivals, and raised its full-year earnings outlook.
The Woonsocket, R.I., company said it earned $1.01 billion, or 79 cents per share, in the three months that ended Sept. 30. That compares with earnings of $868 million, or 65 cents per share, in last year’s quarter. Adjusted earnings were 85 cents per share, 2 cents better than analysts expected. That excluded $121 million for the gradual writedown of acquisition-related assets.
Revenue jumped 13 percent to $30.2 billion, above the $30.09 billion analysts expected.
CVS said revenue from pharmacy services climbed 22 percent to $18.1 billion, mainly because of new client starts, growth of its Medicare Part D prescription program and higher medication prices. The segment processed about 255 million prescription claims in the quarter, up 11 percent.
Revenue from drugstores rose 5.5 percent to $15.5 billion, as revenue at stores open at least a year rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier. They filled about 210 million prescriptions in the quarter, up 12 percent, when counting 90-day prescriptions as three monthly prescriptions.
CVS shares rose 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $46.99 on Tuesday.
- The Associated Press
China offsets BMW woes elsewhere
FRANKFURT, Germany - Strong sales of its luxury cars in China helped Germany’s BMW AG overcome weak markets in crisis-ridden Europe.
Net profit rose 16 percent in the third quarter to $1.65 billion on a 13.7 percent jump in sales to a record $24.1 billion.
The Munich-based automaker said Tuesday it was sticking to its forecasts for 2012 sales and earnings to be up on the previous year despite “an increasingly uncertain market environment.”
Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer called it a “good third quarter” but added that in the fourth quarter the company and the auto sector as a whole “are likely to be confronted with adverse business conditions.”
Booming Asian sales helped the maker of the X5 sport utility vehicle and the 5-series sedan overcome a stagnant market in Europe. Chinese sales rose 30 percent, while European sales grew by a modest 2.6 percent as sales sagged in southern Europe, where the debt crisis is at its worst.
The company plans to deliver more than 1.7 million cars this year, posting new sales records at its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands.
BMW has defended its sales lead over Audi this year, boosted by 33 percent growth in China and a 7.1 percent advance in the U.S.
- The Associated Press and Bloomberg News
Poland scores gas-import discount
WARSAW, Poland - Poland has obtained a significant price reduction on the gas it imports from Russia, ending a legal dispute that had escalated to international arbitration, officials said Tuesday.
The head of Poland’s PGNiG gas and oil giant, Grazyna Piotrowska-Oliwa, said her company and Russian supplier Gazprom signed a deal in Warsaw on Monday that “changed the pricing formula” of their 2010 agreement by linking the cost of the gas to market prices.
That cuts the price by more than 15 percent, effective immediately, said Treasury Minister Mikolaj Budzanowski. This will save the government about $1 billion annually and brings Poland’s prices close to those paid by Germany, he added.
Poland imports almost 70 percent of its gas and 90 percent of its crude oil from Russia. The country is uncomfortable with that level of dependence, particularly since Moscow has in the past used its control of gas supplies as a bargaining chip in international political issues.
As a result of Tuesday’s deal, Piotrowska-Oliwa said gas prices for Polish consumers, including households, will be reduced as of Jan. 1, but declined to say by how much.
Business, Pages 34 on 11/07/2012