The Pohang, South Korea-based steel maker Posco (PKH: chart) posted net profit of 1.26 trillion won in the April-June quarter versus net profit of 914.5 billion won in the year-ago comparable period.

Posco said operating profit increased 46% to 1.73 trillion won vs. 1.18 trillion won. Sales climbed 13% to 5.38 trillion won vs. 4.75 trillion won.

The results were disappointed analysts' expectations of quarterly net profit at 1.33 trillion won on sales of 5.93 trillion won.

Last week, Posco said that it would cut stainless steel output by 80,000 tons, or 5% of 2005 production target, between July and August after curtailing prices by 10%-11% in May. The company said it would reduce prices for low-end products from July as growing imports of Chinese steel products dump steel market prices.

Posco shares ended losing 1.1% to 187,000 won on Friday. The company’s earnings were reported after the closing bell.

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL: chart) raised its first-quarter earnings forecast on Friday, as operating margin was bolstered by lower-than-expected expected. The company didn't issue an earnings-per-share forecast and only disclosed that operating margin is seen to expand 5% to 5.5%, up versus its previous target for a 3.7% increase.

Polo backed its target for revenue to grow more than 20% vs. the year-ago $592.8 million, or to at least $711.3 million. Analysts expect first-quarter earnings at 25 cents a share.

Polo's third-quarter earnings were revised to 73 cents a share, while fourth-quarter profit was revised to 84 cents a share, as a result of pretax litigation costs and income tax provisions.

Polo's shares finished Thursday at $43.47, off 43 cents.

Siebel Systems (SEBL: chart), software maker, warned second-quarter sales will disappoint analysts’ estimate and added it expects to incur charges that will lead to an operating loss.

Siebel sees sales for the three-month period ended June 30 to be between $312 million and $314 million vs. sales of $301 million reported last year. Analysts expect revenue at $319 million.

Siebel's sales are seen to decline slightly this year to $1.32 billion as more companies prefer to buy software from larger competitorss like SAP and Salesforce.com.

Analysts expect Siebel to earn 3 cents a share versus 2 cents a share last year.

In after-hours trading, Siebel shares lost 29 cents, or more than 3%, to $8.50.

Kyphon (KYPH: chart), a medical device company, said that it now expects earnings and sales for 2Q above its earlier issued outlook. The company said it now sees a profit of about $0.16-$0.18 per share on revenue of $74.5-$75.0 million, a rise vs. its earlier targets of earnings of $0.12-$0.13 per share and revenue of $71-$73 million. Kyphon said its new and more positive guidance can be attributed to stronger-than-expected sales in both its U.S. and international businesses and lower-than-expected costs.

The Shaw Group Inc. (SGR: chart) posted a third-quarter net loss Friday of $21.7 million, or 31 cents a share, versus a restated net income in the year-earlier comparable period of $7.2 million, or 11 cents a share. The 2005 3Q results included charges of $47.8 million, or 44 cents a share, making adjusted earnings 23 cents a share. Revenue dropped to $907.2 million versus $917.8 million. Analysts expected earnings of 22 cents a share before items.

Shares of Shaw jumped 68 cents to $22.62.

Thursday after the closing bell, Alcoa (AA: chart), The Pittsburgh-based company, the first blue-chip company to report earnings for the second quarter, posted net income of $460 million, or 52 cents a share, up from $404 million, or 46 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter, beating expectations of 47 cents a share. The 14% rise is due to the sales of its shares in a Norwegian company and a tax benefit which offset high energy prices and restructuring costs.

Pro-Dex Inc. (PDEX: chart) said after Thursday's closing bell that it expets 4Q earnings of 7 cents to 8 cents a share, versus 5 cents a share a year ago. The company also expects sales of $4.4 million, versus $3.7 million a year earlier. For fiscal 2005, the company forecasts revenue of $13.9 million vs. the $14.5 million it earlier issued. Pro-Dex expects to meet the low end of its full-year earnings outlook of 18 cents per share.

Laidlaw International (LI: chart) on Thursday reported 3Q earnings from continuing operations of $30 million, or 30 cents a share, down versus $32 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales totaled $836 million compared with $838.1 million a year earlier. Analysts had been looking for a profit of 36 cents a share on sales of $822 million. The company also said it will now pay a 15-cent quarterly dividend.