The Procter & Gamble Company (PG: chart) reported before market open Monday a 44% increase in its quarterly earnings, driven by rising sales and cost-cutting efforts. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based consumer products giant said that it earned $1.37 billion, or 50 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2004 ended June 30, up from net income of $955 million, or 34 cents a share, generated a year earlier, when results included restructuring charges. On an adjusted basis, earnings for the 2004 second quarter rose 13% from $1.21 billion, or 43 cents a share, last year. The earnings were 2 cents a share above Wall Street’s average forecast. Sales in the quarter advanced 19% to $12.96 billion from $10.92 billion, helped by strength in the company’s beauty and health care businesses. Beauty care delivered net sales of $4.41 billion for the quarter, up 43% from last year. Net sales in the health care unit climbed 18% to $1.64 billion. For the full fiscal year, P&G posted a profit of $6.48 billion, or $2.32 per share, on sales of $51.4 billion. For 2003 fiscal year, earnings totaled $5.19 billion, or $1.85 per share, on sales of $43.3 billion.

P&G shares closed Monday up $1.19, or 2.28%, at $53.34. The stock added 20 cents to $53.54 in after-hours trading.

priceline.com Incorporated (PCLN: chart) said Monday that its quarterly profits surged 48% from last year, citing expansion of its product line, acquisitions and strong demand for airline ticket and vacation packages. The Norwalk, Connecticut-based online travel service reported net income of $11.4 million, or 29 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with net income of $7.7 million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, earnings came to 32 cents a share, topping by a penny the mean analysts’ estimate. Quarterly revenue was up to $259.4 million from $239.6 million, in 2003.

The stock inched up 5 cents to $23.73 at market close Monday. Company shares plummeted 13.11% to $20.62 in after-market trade.

Macrovision Corporation (MVSN: chart) of Santa Clara, California, on Monday rolled out a second-quarter net profit of $8.8 million, or 18 cents per share, in contrast to a profit of $4.6 million, or 9 cents per share, for the 2003 comparable period. Excluding items, the developer of copyright protection reported earnings of $9.5 million, or 19 cents per share, for the quarter, up from $8.4 million, or 17 cents per share, a year ago, and a penny a share ahead of analysts’ projections. The company said results were boosted by higher revenue, which jumped 22% to $35.7 million from $29.2 million.

Macrovision shares shed 59 cents to close Monday at $21.05. The stock soared 6.32% to $22.38 in the extended session.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG: chart) announced Monday that its quarterly profits tumbled 41% from a year ago, due to weakness at its mortgage banking business. The Des Moines, Iowa-based financial services company posted net income of $119.7 million, or 37 cents a share, for its second quarter, against net income of $202.2 million, or 62 cents a share, for the 2003 equivalent. Earnings, excluding items, rose to 54 cents a share in the second quarter, from 51 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts were looking for a profit before items of 59 cents a share.

The stock gained 37 cents on Monday to $34.36.

ABN AMRO Holding N.V. (ABN: chart) said Monday that its second-quarter net earnings jumped 26% to €987 million ($1.18 billion) from net earnings of €782 million, for the same period in fiscal 2003. The Netherlands-based bank recorded sales of €4.77 billion ($5.72 billion) in the quarter, up 4% from last year. ABN Amro cited strength in its Brazilian unit and its wholesale and private client operations as main factors for the improvement.

Company shares closed Monday at $20.91, up 5 cents, or 0.24%.

BNP Paribas ((BNP.PA)), the France-based bank, reported Monday net income of €1.35 billion ($1.63 billion) for its fiscal 2004 second quarter, a 50% increase from €902 million in the prior-year corresponding quarter. For the first six months, earnings rose 40% to €2.61 billion ($3.16 billion). BNP Paribas attributed the results to strong retail banking performance.

Entergy Corporation (ETR: chart) of New Orleans, Louisiana, posted Monday higher quarterly profits, aided by strong results at its utility and nuclear business. The utility holding company announced earnings of $271 million, or $1.14 a share, for its second quarter, up 29% from prior-year earnings of $211.5 million, or 89 cents a share. Results were in line with Wall Street’s expectations. Quarterly revenue edged up 5.6% to $2.49 billion.

The stock rose 1.83% to close Monday at $58.55. Entergy shares added a penny to $58.56 in after-hours trading.

Unocal Corporation (UCL: chart) on Monday turned in a net profit of $341 million, or $1.25 a share, for its second quarter, in contrast to a profit of $177 million, or 68 cents a share, for the same quarter in 2003. The El Segundo, California-based oil and gas company said that second-quarter earnings, excluding items, were $231 million, or 86 cents a share, compared to $191 million, or 73 cents a share, last year. The mean estimate of analysts was for earnings of 83 cents a share. Unocal attributed the results to higher commodity prices and lower exploration costs.

Unocal shares dipped 4.41% on Monday to $37.05.

Bolstered by higher output, EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG: chart) of Houston, Texas, announced Monday a 34% rise in its quarterly earnings. The oil and gas producer posted a second-quarter profit of $142.2 million, or $1.20 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $106 million, or 91 cents a share. Excluding items, earnings totaled $1.04 cents a share, surpassing the average analysts’ forecast of 97 cents a share.

The stock dropped a penny to $63.54 at market close Monday.

Adobe Systems Incorporated (ADBE: chart) lifted Monday its third-quarter financial outlook, due to stronger demand for its Photoshop, Creative Suite and Acrobat products. The San Jose, California-based software company said that it now sees third-quarter earnings of 36 cents to 41 cents per share, on sales of $380 million to $400 million. That compares to the company’s previous guidance for earnings of 31 cents to 36 cents per share and sales of $360 million to $380 million.

Adobe shares dropped 21 cents to close Monday at $41.97. The stock surged 5.74% to $44.38 in after-market trade.