NEW YORK – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Alcoa Inc., Mills Corp. and Equity Inns Inc.
Alcoa Inc. (AA) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 37 cents a share, according to analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
Emmis Communications Corp. (EMMS) is seen posting a fiscal third-quarter loss of a penny a share.
Helen of Troy Ltd.'s (HELE) fiscal third-quarter results are expected to show a per-share profit of 77 cents.
Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) is expected to post fiscal first-quarter earnings of 85 cents a share, according to two analysts.
WD-40 Co. (WDFC) is seen reporting a fiscal first-quarter profit of 35 cents a share.
Watch list
BlackRock (BLK) shares could be set to rise 10% on the heels of recent gains, Buckingham Research Analyst William Katz said in the latest issue of Barron's. Katz cited the company's successful consulting business.
Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) have received a preliminary approval from the Pentagon to a joint venture for military-rocket launches, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The move comes after the companies convinced the Pentagon of the venture's projected cost savings, according to military and government officials cited by the newspaper.
Caraustar Industries Inc. (CSAR) said it intends to exit the coated recycled boxboard and the specialty contract packaging businesses. The company expects to record a pretax non-cash impairment charge of $80 million to $90 million for exiting the coated recycled boxboard business. For exiting the specialty packaging business, the company expects to record a pretax non-cash impairment charge of $12 million to $15 million.
ECC Capital Corp. (ECR) said it will cut 440 jobs, or 27% of its workforce, in a reorganization effort. The Irvine, Calif.-based mortgage finance real estate investment trust said it will consolidate seven wholesale loan processing centers into three, and that lending operations for its retail subsidiary, Bravo Credit Corp., will be consolidated into two centers. ECC Capital expects to complete the reorganization by March.
Equity Inns Inc. (ENN) corrected the fourth-quarter earnings forecast it released the day before. The Germantown, Tenn.-based real estate investment trust said it now expects a net loss applicable to common shareholders of $3.6 million to $4.7 million, or 7 cents to 9 cents a share. After Thursday's closing bell, the company had forecast net income applicable to common shareholders in the range of 7 cents to 9 cents a share. The change is due to a fourth quarter non-cash impairment charge of $4.3 million that previously was not properly considered in the fourth quarter forecast, the company said.
China-based display advertising firm Focus Media (FMCN) will pay $94 million in cash and $231 million in newly issued stock to buy Target Media, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter, the company said Saturday.
Horizon Health Corp. (HORC) reported fiscal first-quarter net earnings of $3.19 million, or 21 cents a share, up 7.1% from $2.98 million, or 26 cents a share, during the same period a year ago. The Lewisville, Texas-based health care services company posted revenue of $58.9 million compared with $47.3 million during the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast first-quarter earnings of 21 cents a share on revenue of revenue of $60 million.
Material Sciences Corp. (MSC) filed financial restatements for fiscal 2003, 2004 and 2005 to correct accounting for income taxes. The effect of the restatement for fiscal 2005 is an increase to the income tax provision of $1.2 million. The restated net loss is 2 cents per share, compared with the previous report of 6 cents. For fiscal 2004, the net loss after accounting for the effects of the restatement is $13.2 million, or 94 cents per share, compared with the previous report of 99 cents. The effect of the restatement on fiscal 2003 is a decrease in net income of $0.9 million, resulting in restated per-share earnings of 4 cents, compared with the previous report of 11 cents.
Mills Corp. (MLS) said it plans to restate its audited financial results from 2000 through 2004 and its unaudited quarterly results for 2005 to correct accounting errors related primarily to certain investments by Mills Enterprises Inc., a subsidiary. For the first nine months of 2005, the impact of the adjustments is expected to reduce net loss by 3 cents a share and increase funds from operations by 4 cents a share, the Arlington, Va.-based real estate investment trust said. The adjustments are expected to reduce net income by 3 cents a share in 2004, 8 cents a share in 2003 and 23 cents share in 2002. The adjustments are also expected to reduce FFO by 3 cents a share in 2004, 7 cents a share in 2003 and 23 cents a share in 2002. The company also said it expects to take a restructuring charge of $77 million in the fourth quarter.
Per-Se Technologies Inc. (PSTI) said it has completed its acquisition of NDCHealth Corp. Under the deal, NDCHealth shareholders will receive $14.05 in cash and 0.2253 of Per-Se common stock for each share of NDCHealth. Alpharetta, Ga.-based Per-Se said it expects the acquisition to add to its diluted per-share earnings and cash flow in 2006. In August, Per-Se agreed to pay $665 million for Atlanta-based NDCHealth's physician, hospital and retail pharmacy businesses. As part of the transaction, Amsterdam-based Wolters Kluwer (39588) agreed to acquire NDCHealth's pharmaceutical information management business for $382 million.
Roche (RHHDY) and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) said the Food and Drug Administration has approved Boniva Injection, the first intravenous medication for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The FDA approved a once-monthly Boniva tablet in March 2005. Boniva Injection is administered every three months. Roche and GlaxoSmithKline co-promote Boniva in every country except Japan.
Viacom's (VIAB) 's Paramount Pictures unit is in talks to sell for an undisclosed sum at least a portion of the DreamWorks movie library to financier George Soros, according to a report in Saturday's Wall Street Journal. The move would help Viacom pay for its purchase of live-action-movie studio DreamWorks SKG.
Westcorp (WES) and WFS Financial Inc. (WFSI) said their shareholders have approved the companies' acquisition by Wachovia Corp. (WB) . The deal, which was announced in September, is expected to close in the first quarter. Wachovia is buying Westcorp for $3.42 billion in stock, and is buying the 16% of WFS Financial not held by Irvine, Calif.-based Westcorp for $490 million.