BUSINESS BRIEFS
IBM has reason to celebrate after 4th-quarter surge
Associated Press
BOSTON — The fourth quarter usually is the best time of the year for IBM Corp., but rarely does it look this good.
The technology company said yesterday that its earnings per share in the quarter blew past analysts' expectations by 20 cents. IBM's executives felt the numbers were too good to sit on, so they released a peek at the results in advance of Thursday's full report for the quarter.
IBM's fourth-quarter revenue rose 10 percent to $28.9 billion, beating analysts' forecasts of $27.8 billion. IBM's earnings per share amounted to $2.80, easily beating the $2.60 expected by analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
The news sent IBM shares up 5.4 percent, or $5.26, to $102.93 yesterday.
GENENTECH STOCK FALLS ON EARNINGS
SAN FRANCISCO — Genentech Inc. barely scraped past Wall Street's expectations yesterday as the biotech giant renowned for its phenomenal growth posted a 6 percent rise in fourth-quarter profits.
Genentech's stock dropped in after-hours trading as sales of a key product also fell below expectations. Shares of Genentech fell 80 cents to $69.84 in after-hours trading after closing yesterday at $70.64..
Genentech earned $632 million, or 59 cents per share, compared with profit of $594 million, or 55 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose to $2.97 billion from $2.71 billion.
SAMSUNG RAIDED OVER SLUSH FUND
SEOUL, South Korea — Special prosecutors raided the headquarters of Samsung Group yesterday in a widening probe into allegations that the massive conglomerate set up a slush fund to bribe influential figures.
Yim Jun-seok, a Samsung spokesman, confirmed that investigators entered the strategic planning office at the conglomerate's headquarters in Seoul.
He provided no details. Investigators could not immediately be reached for comment.
The raid, which occurred in the same building where global technology giant Samsung Electronics, the flagship of the conglomerate, has its Seoul offices, came a day after investigators searched an office of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee and seven other locations.
Yonhap news agency reported that dozens of prosecutors and investigators seized documents and other materials related to the allegations.
AIRBUS WOULD BUILD JETS IN U.S.
The competition for the Pentagon's biggest contract in years intensified yesterday as European aircraft maker Airbus said it would assemble commercial jets in the U.S. if it wins the $40 billion award to build aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force.
The announcement marks the latest effort by Airbus and its partner, Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., to upset rival Boeing Co. to build the planes that would be used to refuel fighters and bombers while in flight. Boeing, with headquarters in Chicago, is considered the favorite after having won the initial contract that was overturned in the aftermath of a Pentagon procurement scandal several years ago that led to jail for an Air Force official and a Boeing executive.
TOSHIBA TO OFFER HD-DVD DEALS
CHICAGO — Determined to ensure HD-DVD remains a viable alternative in the high-definition DVD marketplace, Toshiba Corp. said yesterday it plans to jump-start its marketing campaign for the format via price cuts and a greater emphasis on advertising.
Toshiba, the Japanese technology giant, and Microsoft Corp. back the HD-DVD standard, which competes with Sony's Blu-ray format. Sony scored a major coup earlier this month when Warner Bros. Entertainment said it would release all of its high-definition DVDs in the Blu-ray format beginning in May, after issuing the discs in both formats for the past two years.
