Sotheby''s Holdings Inc. (
BID: chart), art and antiques auctioneer, said that its fourth-quarter net income jumped 40% to $70.3 million, or $1.09 per share compared with $50.3 million, or 87 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenue increased to $263 million from $205 million in the same period a year earlier. Income from continuing operations rose to $69.3 million, or $1.08 a share, compared to $51.7 million, or 90 cents per share in the third quarter, amid growth in auction commission revenue.
Ciena Corp. (
CIEN: chart), communications equipment maker, said it swung to a first-quarter profit of $11.1 million, or 12 cents a share, after revenue jumped 37% to $165 million. Excluding amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation and other items, it would''ve earned 22 cents a share.
Pacific Ethanol Inc. (
PEIX: chart), producer of the gasoline additive derived from grain, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $3.1 million, or 11 cents a share, narrower than the prior year''s loss of $5.1 million, or 18 cents a share. The company generated quarterly revenue of nearly $80.6 million, up from $36.1 million in the final three months of 2005. Pacific Ethanol said gross profit jumped to about $11.7 million in the latest quarter, up from $1.3 million a year earlier, as gross margin widened to 14.6% from 3.7% last year.
EchoStar Communications (
DISH: chart),
Delta Petroleum Corp. (
DPTR: chart), oil and gas company, reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $10.5 million, or 20 cents per share versus a last-year net profit of $1.57 million, or 3 cents per share. Revenue climbed to $44.1 million compared with $31.2 million in the same period a year earlier.
NCI Building Systems Inc. (
NCS: chart), construction products company, said that its fiscal first-quarter net earnings declined to $10.5 million, or 49 cents per share, compared with $12.9 million, 62 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed to $359.3 million versus $293.3 million in the same period a year earlier.
Input/Output Inc. (
IO: chart), which provides seismic services for the oil and gas industry, reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $13.7 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with $16.1 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed to $166.2 million versus $131 million in the same period a year earlier.
First American Corp. (
FAF: chart), mortgage insurer and business information provider, said that its fourth-quarter earnings declined to $104 million, or $1.06 per share, compared with a year-ago profit of $116.6 million, or $1.17 per share. Revenue decreased 2% to $2.16 billion versus $2.21 billion in the same period a year earlier.
R.H. Donnelley Corp. (
RHD: chart), publisher of Yellow Pages and operator of online local commercial search companies, reported fourth-quarter revenue more than doubled. Net revenue jumped to $618.9 million from $261.1 million in the year-earlier period, and the company swung to a pretax loss of $20.6 million from pretax profit of $20.7 million.