Unocal 3rd-Quarter Earnings Leap Tenfold
Unocal Corp., which explores for oil and natural gas in Asia and the Gulf of Mexico, on Tuesday said third-quarter earnings rose more than tenfold as energy prices surged.
Profit from operations rose to $42 million, or 18 cents a share, from $4 million, or 2 cents, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose 14% to $1.59 billion from $1.39 billion.
Oil prices, buoyed by producing nations’ output cuts, have doubled this year, and most analysts expect prices to stay near current levels into next year. That’s good news for El Segundo-based Unocal and other exploration companies.
Third-quarter profit matched the average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. Unocal is expected to earn 33 cents in the fourth quarter. It made 11 cents a year earlier.
The price of crude oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange averaged $21.71 a barrel in the quarter, 53% more than a year earlier. Natural gas averaged 28% higher.
Unocal took charges of $10 million for environmental cleanup, $6 million for an ammonia plant accident and $2 million for litigation, resulting in net income of $24 million, or 10 cents a share.
In the year-earlier period, a gain of $32 million on an asset sale resulted in net income of $36 million, or 15 cents.
Unocal shares fell $1.25 to close at $34.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
At a Glance
* Avery Dennison Corp., the Pasadena-based maker of labels, office products and peel-and-stick postage stamps, reported record third-quarter net income of $66 million, or 65 cents per share, compared with $55.8 million, or 54 cents, a year ago. Sales rose to $961 million from $860.2 million. Sales growth, excluding the impact of currency, was 13.2% over last year.
* Los Angeles-based apparel maker Guess Inc. beat analysts’ earnings expectations by a dime per share in the third quarter, reporting that earnings were up 93% over the same period last year. For the three months ended Sept. 25, the company reported net earnings of $18.3 million, or 43 cents per share. Excluding a one-time gain, earnings were 38 cents as compared with 22 cents last year. Analysts polled by First Call had expected 28 cents per share. Revenue rose 20% to $155.5 million from $130.1 million.
* IHOP Corp., the Glendale-based developer, franchiser and operator of International House of Pancakes restaurants, reported record third-quarter net income of $8.6 million, of 42 cents per share, compared with $7.2 million, or 36 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose to $72 million from $66.3 million. Average sales per restaurant increased 0.6%. As of Sept. 30, there were 883 IHOP restaurants in the chain, 660 operated by franchisees, 149 operated by area licensees and 74 operated by IHOP.
* Malibu-based children’s toy maker and marketer JAKKS Pacific Inc. reported record third-quarter net income of $7.6 million, or 65 cents per share, on record sales of $60.2 million. A year ago, it reported net income of $3.4 million, or 45 cents, on sales of $34.2 million.
* Interactive game publisher THQ Inc. reported record third-quarter net income of $4.9 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $2.3 million, or 18 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 69% to $44.3 million from $26.2 million.
The Calabasas-based company also said THQ has revised terms of its agreement with JAKKS Pacific over the sale of THQ video games based on the World Wrestling Federation action figures, which are licensed and marketed by JAKKS. THQ will take in revenue from the sale of WWF video games, and JAKKS will receive a guaranteed return on game sales.
* Veterinary Centers of America Inc., a Santa Monica owner and operator of the largest network of free-standing vet clinics and laboratories in the U.S., reported third-quarter net income of $7.5 million, or 28 cents per share excluding charges, compared with $4.8 million, or 22 cents, a year ago. Revenue increased 12% to a record $83.6 million from $74.6 million.
