Profit at Affiliated Managers up 26%

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Affiliated Managers Group Inc., which owns stakes in two dozen investment firms, said fourth-quarter profit rose 26 percent on rising stock markets and the purchase of Chicago Equity Partners LLC.

Net income climbed to 49 million, or $1.21 a share, from $38.8 million, or 90 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Cash earnings, which exclude some expenses, were $1.79 a share, exceeding analysts' estimates by 6 cents.

Revenue advanced 21 percent to $329 million, more than twice as fast as operating expenses. Compensation costs rose 7.4 percent to $114.4 million.

Earnings at Beverly-based Affiliated Managers increased each of the past five years from acquisitions and rising sales at companies such as hedge-fund manager AQR Capital Management. In December, Affiliated bought control of Chicago Equity Partners, which manages $12 billion and uses mathematical models to make investment decisions. (Bloomberg)

TD Banknorth gains after acquisition

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TD Banknorth Inc., the US consumer banking unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank, said fourth-quarter profit rose 50 percent on increased deposits from its purchase of Hudson United Bancorp.

Net income climbed to $83.4 million, or 36 cents a share, from $55.6 million, or 32 cents, a year ago, the Portland, Maine-based bank said.

Excluding one-time items, profit was 51 cents a share, in line with the average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Revenue rose 40 percent to $424 million from $303.5 million.

TD Banknorth has used acquisitions to increase deposits and counter declining margins as interest rates rise. (Bloomberg)

Sales at Teradyne fall in 4th quarter

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Teradyne Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings of $10.9 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with $224.1 million, or $1.07 a share, a year earlier, as revenue dropped and expenses rose.

On a pro forma basis, the North Reading supplier of testing equipment for electronics posted per-share earnings of 6 cents.

Revenue fell 24 percent to $263.1 million from $345.2 million.

Analysts expected revenue of $271 million.

The company expects first-quarter earnings to range from break-even to 3 cents a share, on sales of $245 million to $260 million. (Dow Jones)

EBay clobbers Wall St. estimates

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EBay Inc. reported fourth-quarter profit increased 24 percent from the same period last year, trouncing Wall Street forecasts and prompting executives to raise estimates for the current quarter.

Thanks to scorching holiday sales, the online auction company earned $349 million, or 25 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared to $279 million, or 20 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Revenue was $1.72 billion, up 29 percent from $1.33 billion in the year-ago period.

Excluding charges unrelated to ongoing operations, eBay earned $431 million, or 31 cents per share, up nearly 27 percent from the same quarter last year, when earnings were $340 million, or 24 cents per share.

On that basis, which does not comply with generally accepted accounting principles, analysts expected eBay to earn $402 million, or 28 cents per share, on sales of $1.67 billion.

Chief executive Meg Whitman said the company raised first-quarter 2007 sales guidance to a range of $1.67 billion to $1.72 billion. Excluding special items, eBay expects earnings per share to be in the range of 28 to 30 cents per share. (AP)

Subscribers lift Netflix revenue

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Netflix Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit surpassed analyst expectations as 654,000 more subscribers signed up for its online DVD-rental service, but the customer growth lagged behind Blockbuster Inc.'s -- underscoring the stiffening competition between the rivals.

Netflix said it earned $14.9 million, or 21 cents per share, during the final three months of 2006. That was down 61 percent from net income of $38.2 million, or 57 cents per share, in the prior year, but those results were pumped up by a $35 million windfall from taxes.

The 2006 quarter easily exceeded the average earnings estimate of 15 cents per share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue totaled $277.2 million, a 44 percent increase from $193 million in 2005. (AP)

Waters posts 6% improvement

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Waters Corp., which makes analytical equipment and software used in the pharmaceutical, biochemical, and industrial industries, said fourth-quarter profit grew 6 percent on increased sales.

Earnings for the Milford firm rose to $79.9 million, or 78 cents per share, from $75.6 million, or 69 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Adjusted earnings increased to 87 cents per share from 73 cents per share last year.

Revenue climbed to $386.9 million, up 16 percent from $332.3 million last year.

Foreign currency translation contributed 3 percent to the sales growth rate, the company said.

Analysts were expecting fourth-quarter earnings of 79 cents per share on sales of $361.7 million. (AP)

Cubist profitable on Cubicin sales

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Drug maker Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it swung to a fourth-quarter profit on improved sales of its core product, but results fell shy of Wall Street estimates.

The Lexington company reported a profit of $5.4 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with a loss of $6.7 million, or 12 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 53 percent to $56.5 million from $36.9 million last year on strong sales of the Cubicin antibiotic.

However, analysts expected earnings per share of 10 cents on revenue of $58.9 million.

Total costs and expenses increased by 25 percent to $52.6 million from the year-ago quarter. (AP)

Parexel rockets 80% in 2d quarter

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Pharmaceutical services company Parexel International Corp. of Waltham said fiscal 2007 second-quarter profit jumped 80 percent on higher service and reimbursement revenue.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2006, the company earned $9.1 million, or 32 cents per share, compared with $5 million, or 19 cents per share, during the year-ago period. Parexel's fiscal year ends June 30.

Analysts expected profit of 28 cents per share.

Revenue jumped 20 percent to $220 million from $183.5 million. Analysts expected revenue of $177.2 million. (AP)